The Great Rapprochement

The Great Rapprochement, a term usually attributed to Bradford Perkins, is used to describe the convergence of social and political objectives, between the United States and the British Empire, in the two decades before World War I.

Mixed Feelings

Since the American Revolution, the United States and the British Empire's relationship had been troubled. There had been the War of 1812, U.S-Canadian border disputes, and a general suspicion between the two. The U.S was seen as a potential threat by the British Empire, and the British Empire was seen by the U.S as the antique and aristocratic empire that had once ruled them.

However, the Americans were aware of how much they owed to their British background, and the British institutions had always contrasted favorably against their European counterparts; as early as 1823, the United Kingdom backed up the American Monroe Doctrine, presaging future cooperation. The differences that had separated an agrarian and anti-imperialist United States, and the Industrialized British Empire, had rapidly diminished in the decades preceding the Great War. The United States emerged from the American Civil War (1865) a major industrial power, and emerged from the Spanish-American War (1898), an imperial power with possessions in the Caribbean and Pacific: the Philippines, Hawaii, Cuba, Alaska, and others. With the decline of Anglophobia in the United States, Great Britain was also desirous of a long term ally that would prevent an upset in Britain's Balance of Power, which the German Empire and Russian Empire appeared to threaten.

hared Interests

Otto von Bismarck remarked at the end of the 19th century that the most significant event of the 20th century would be 'The fact that the North Americans speak English'. [Jason Cenoz, "English in Europe: The Acquisition of a Third Language," ] Most in United States and the British Empire also shared a common heritage. In the 1790 census British made up 80% of the White population [U.S. Census Bureau, "1790" ] . Between 1790 and 1890 12,827,470 immigrants were Naturalized, of those 7,305,410 came from the British Empire [Report of the Industrial Commission 1890, "Vol 15, pg 267"] .Leading figures in both the United States and Great Britain began to see the two countries as centres of Democracy, in a world threatened by rising autocracies, i.e., the German Empire, Russian Empire, and the Japanese Empire.

The Spanish-American War

The most notable sign of a warming in Anglo-American relations, was Great Britain's actions during the Spanish-American War. Great Britain had an expressed policy of maintaining the sovereignty of Spain in Cuba, because the threat of possession of Cuba by an unfriendly U.S might harm British trade in the Caribbean. However with the warming of Anglo-American relations and a guarantee of Cuban independence by the U.S in 1898, Britain abandoned this policy [Henry Watterson,"History of the Spanish-American War" pg 389 ] .

At the start of the Spanish-American War most Continental European powers remained neutral but sided with Spain because of political ties and investments in Spanish Colonies, notably Germany [Henry Watterson,"History of the Spanish-American War" pg 392 ] . Great Britain also remained neutral but openly sided with the U.S. During the War, Britain sold coal and ships to the U.S. Navy and allowed the U.S Military to use Britain's undersea cables to communicate [www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/foreignpol.htm ] . When Commodore Dewey's fleet sailed out of Hong Kong's harbor for Battle of Manila Bay (1898)
Manila, the British soldiers and sailors in the harbor cheered for them [The Relations of the United States and Spain: The Spanish-American War "French Ensor Chadwick" pg 156] .

Footnotes

cholarly sources

* Bradford Perkins, "The Great Rapprochement" (1968).
* David Henry Burton, "British-American Diplomacy 1895-1917: Early Years of the Special Relationship" (1999).
* James C. Bennett, "The Anglosphere Challenge" (2004).
* Iestyn Adams, "Brothers Across The Ocean: British Foreign Policy and the Origins of the Anglo-American 'special relationship'" (2005).

ee also

Special Relationship