"Special Relationship"

The lecture on the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States was one of my favorite lectures from the second half of the program. Living here and traveling throughout Europe I am always interested to see people’s response to finding out I am American. For the most part peoples’ response have been positive but I have also run into situations that we not so positive and a bit awkward. Thus I have always wondered about the relationship the United States has developed with other countries, especially the United Kingdom. The lecture focused on their similarities in language, economics and government. The lecturer also went over cultural similarities. The history of this “special relationship” began with the original 13 colonies. With British occupancy of the east coast of the US, England had a heavy influence on policy and culture. The part I enjoyed most was the activity at the end of the lecture. This gave a great visual as to how alike the United Kingdom is to the United States compared to the European Union. For example, British obesity and the size of their smoking population is closer in common to the United States. The language spoken in both countries is an obvious similarity, although slang in both countries differs a little. Living in London, our countries cultural similarities have been quite obvious to observe.

Therefore the part I found most interesting was the similarities within our governments. Our American Bill of Rights found some inspiration from the English Magna Carta. The big difference between law, government and policies is the United States has a written constitution and the United Kingdom does not. Such similarities may stem from constant allied relationships through wartime. It was exciting to take a step back and time and learn where our relationship routed and how it has grown. Learning about British history this semester has given me a better insight into American history and where our history began.