Anglo-American Relations, Freedom and Nationalism Essay

Introduction

The analysis of Anglo-American expansions, which is discussed in this paper, dwells on the notion of Anglo-Saxonism, empire-building, and racial division as the indicators of the construction of the most powerful world colonies. The author of the work takes a strong objective position, in the dispute, which is marked by his attitude to Anglo-Saxon racism and American nationalism. Thus, in his reflection on the nature of the interrelations between two powerful empires, which arose at the end of the 19th century, the writer argues that the striving of the British Empire and the USA to embrace colonial politics stemmed from their mutual desires to rule the world. Indeed, history reveals that the final part of the 19th century made Anglicans and Americans closer to each other by establishing a form of hegemonic position for both states (Lehmkuhl and Schmidt 7).

In the article, it is suggested that the ties between the Britons and the USA authority strengthened, due to the racial-exceptionalism doctrine, which established itself in both empires at the time (Kramer 1326). The arguments for supporting mutual friendship between the powerful empires extended from such fundamental factors as building an alliance against the Slavic world countries, embracing exceptionalism, etc. The explanation of the breach, which evolved in Anglo-American relations, in the following years, also embraces logical and objective author’s interpretation. The writer relates to historical writing and political speeches by claiming the annexation of the Philippines to be the starting point of the misunderstanding. Thus, it is argued that anti-American attitudes stimulated radical anti-imperialism, which was supported by the Britons. On the other side, the controversial opinion of the Anglo-Boer War, in particular, American shifted support strengthened the disparity in the imperial interests of two empires (Kaufmann 4). Conclusively, the article provides a recounting of the Anglo-American relations from an objective perspective.

Analysis

The interpretation of freedom, which evolves in the work, is equally regarded by both Anglican and American empires. Thus, the alliance between two leading states, which was regarded by Churchill as “special relationships,” is based on the conception of absolute freedom from any types of encroachments (Brown 45). Thus, matching interests of the countries prioritized the idea of separating the mighty empires from the rest of the world in order to guarantee absolute safety from such governments as the authority of the Soviet Union. In fact, the notion of special freedom evolved from the course of the political developments of Anglican and American empires.

The freedom concept, which was embraced by Anglo-Saxons, disregarded the right for human independence for the other countries, which contradicted the interests of the empires. The tendency is demonstrated in an Anglo-American attachment to the active colonization and territorial annexation. The principal freedom ignorance acts were sustained by two states at the time when the United States started a violent struggle for the Philippines’ annexation. Later on, the British Empire demonstrated its bloody politics by initiating the Anglo-Boer war. Consequently, one may claim that both the Americans and the Britons, who became allies in the 19th century, took up a distorted notion of freedom, which imposed a veto on the ‘sacred’ communities of great empires but it never defined the character of the Anglo-American politics that concerned the rest of the world.

The paper employs the concept of nationalism as one of the central background notions of exceptionalism theory. Nationalism doctrine is addressed in the reflection on the American-Philippine opposition since the writer states that the idea of colonization was not merely a revelation of authority desire but also the creation of racial distinctions. The parallel to Anglican nationalism may be drawn if one compares the system to the Irish freedom movement, according to which the Irish claimed Anglican separation and did not announce themselves as the citizens of the British Empire (Llewellyn 77). In its turn, the alliance between Americans and Anglicans became not only a unifying factor for two authoritative states but also a sign of demarcation and the subsequent demarcation between the USA and England. Thus, in the 20th century, when the colonial politics revealed that both Anglicans and Americans stand for the interests of their own citizens and can not support each other in encroachment and annexation strategies, the breach arose, and nationalism distinctions ruined the ‘special relationships’ between two mighty empires (Ashton 1956).

Conclusion

The nationalism demarcation launched the creation of the U.S. racial ideology and started the long way of America to becoming the strongest world empire. Furthermore, nationalism theory has not simply separated America and Britain but turned two states in the fierce political rivals. After the union of America and England had neutralized the threat of Slavic encroachment, the authorities of two states realized that they had equal colonization interests. Mainly, both the USA and Great Britain desired to gain access to multiple Asian and African territories, which might have provided the opportunities for geographical extension and, thereby, the enhancement of imperial authority. Conclusively, the study provides a consistent overview of Anglo-American relations, which established itself at the end of the 19th century, and states that the conceptions of national exceptionalism despised the positioning of two empires in the geopolitical context.

Works Cited

Ashton, Nigel. “Eisenhower, Macmillian, and the problem of Nasser: Anglo-American Relations and Arab Nationalism.” The Journal of American History 21.4 (2004): 1954-1978. Print.

Brown, Rebekah. “A History of the Anglo-American Special Relationship.” Ashbrook Statesmanship 12.9 (2012): 39-100. Print.

Kaufmann, Eric. “American Exceptionalism Reconsidered: Anglo-Saxon Ethnogenesis in the ‘Universal’ Nation, 1776-1850.” The Journal of American History 3.8 (2001): 1-15. Print.

Kramer, Paul. “Empires, Exceptions, and Anglo-Saxons: Race and Rule between the British and United States Empires.” The Journal of American History 88.4 (2002): 1315-1353. Print.

Lehmkuhl, Ursula and Gustav Schmidt 2010, From Enmity to Friendship: Anglo-American Relations in the 19th and 20th Century. PDF file. Web.

Llewellyn, Matthew. Rule Britannia: Nationalism, Identity and the Modern Olympic Games, London: Routledge, 2014. Print.