2: Relationship with USA

20 January 2023 14:59

STARTER

Was Britain dependent on the US in dealing with crises 1951-1997?

- Korean War (1950-53)

- Suez Crisis (1956)

'junior partner'
- Falklands (1982)
- Gulf War (1990-91)

• One argument FOR

• One argument AGAINST

• Militarily - can act independently, e.g. Suez, Falklands

• Diplomatically/economically/logistically/politically - need US support

What did Churchill mean when he referred to a war-time 'Special Relationship'?

• Unique partnership between US-Britain

• Cultural ties -> The English Speaking Peoples - shared history, shared destiny
• Shared ideology -> liberal democracies, capitalist
• Personal connections to the USA ->
• Economic ties -> Assistance comes from USA, most powerful alliance within the war context

KEY ENQUIRIES

1. How successful was the Special Relationship as an aspect of Britain's foreign policy?

Success criteria:

• Economically -> will the US support Britain in foreign policy/military expeditions

○ Trade
• Extent of alignment on policy -> e.g. will US/Britain agree on the Empire
• Equality of relationship -> balance of power in the relationship
• Security -> US would aid Britain if Britain was under threat

Decade and Positive aspects Negative aspects Overall judgement

PM/Pres
1940s • Churchill spoke of the • One-way economic
(Churchill & 'Special Relationship' and
Attlee/ FDR the bond of the 'English
and Truman) Speaking Peoples'
• From 1940 – Lend-Lease
Act and Destroyers for
Bases • USA had much wider
• From 1941-45; British and
American forces fighting
alongside each other in
North Africa, Italy and
France.
• Part of Big Three 'Grand
Alliance' (Yalta, Potsdam) • Tensions over
• Co-operate in development decolonisation of the
of nuclear weapons
(Manhattan Project)
• Churchill gives 'Iron
Curtain' speech in Fulton,
Missouri, US in 1946 which
starts Cold War; US/UK
collaborate in Berlin Airlift
(1947), and form NATO in
1949.
1950s Korean War; Britain
(Churchill, contributes substantial forces
Eden & to support US-led UN army in
Macmillan/ Korea.
Truman,
Eisenhower) Eisenhower and Macmillan's
close personal relationship
(Macmillan had been a senior
diplomat in North Africa
during WWI whilst
Eisenhower commanded the
US forces there)
1960s Kennedy and Macmillan got
(Macmillan, on well - Kennedy saw the
Wilson/ British PM as a "father
Kennedy, figure".
Johnson)
Macmillan advised Kennedy Decolonisation reduced
in the Berlin Crisis (1961) and Britain's importance as a
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
1970s Callaghan and Carter were
(Wilson, personally close and
Heath & continued the harmonious
Callaghan/ relationship.
Carter)
The IMF, a US-dominated
institution, loaned $3.9bn to
Britain in 1976 (with
conditions).
1980s Reagan and Thatcher - New
(Thatcher/ Right conservative
Reagan) partnership with many
collaborations; close personal
relationship.
1. Falklands – US provides
logistical and basing support,
as well as publicly backing
Britain over Argentina.
2. Libya – joint action against
the 'rogue state' Libya in
1986; US planes bomb Libya,
having trained in UK airbases.
3. Both Reagan and Thatcher
oppose sanctions against
apartheid South Africa
1990s Cooperation in the Gulf War;
(Major/ Bush US-led coalition against Iraq,
Snr, Clinton) with Britain playing a
substantial role in the ground
and air war.
Cooperation in Yugoslavia –
the Dayton Agreement in
1995 for example was
brokered by the US and UK to
end violence in the Balkans.
Cooperation in Iraq – both
US/UK enforce no-fly zones
to protect the Kurdish
population in the north.
relationship; Britain very
dependent on USA
(repaying Lend Lease
loans, Marshall Plan Aid,
£3.8bn debt).
security concerns than
Britain, and did not see
Britain as useful in these
areas, e.g. Latin America.
US defending Taiwan,
Turkey, Iran etc.
British Empire and the
Atlantic Charter
Britain's subordinate status
in the Cold War; e.g. in Korea
Britain contributes 80,000
troops, the US 1.7 million.
Suez Crisis (1956);
Eisenhower orders Britain to
withdraw from Egypt
because of his own domestic
and strategic concerns.
Britain hs no choice but to
comply.
Some rivalries in the Middle
East/ spheres of influence. In
Iran, Britain needs US help to
overthrow Mossadegh the
nationalist leader; in Saudi
Arabia, the Saudis gravitate
towards the US and allow US
oil company ARAMCO to
exploit the oil reserves.
Kennedy's cancellation of
'Skybolt' joint missiles. This
meant Britain had to buy
American missiles instead.
global power. Britain plays
no role in 1961 Berlin Crisis
or 1962 Cuban Missile
Crisis – it is a bipolar world
now, between the Soviets
and the Americans.
Vietnam War tensions.
Harold Wilson refuses to
send British troops to
Vietnam.
Heath bringing Britain into
the EEC (1973); Britain
orientating towards Europe
rather than the special
relationship. Heath told US
that UK policies towards US
would have to be co-
ordinated with EEC first.
Some tensions:
1. Nuclear strategy – Britain able to capitalise on her
insisted on keeping their
own nuclear deterrent rather the usa to provide political
than reducing their arms.
[Thatcher thought Britain's
nuclear weapons "levelled
the playing field" with the
Soviets and getting rid of
them would be disastrous] - decisions without
however, the UK relies on
the US for support for their the invasion of Grenada
nuclear programme.
2. Opposition to SDI,
Reagan's missile defence
system [Thatcher thought
that everyone developing SDI highlighting the
tech would undermine the
idea of Mutually Assured
Destruction and leave
Britain more vulnerable]
3. US invasion of Grenada – relationship between the
the US invaded Grenada, a
Commonwealth territory
who had the Queen as their were able to competently
head of state, without
informing Britain.
Disagreements over Ireland/
Northern Ireland – US had
substantial Irish population
which wanted justice for
Catholic population in
Northern Ireland. Irish
Americans donate to IRA
through NORAID charity.
In the 1940s, Britain’s
relationship with the USA
was very one sided
towards the Americans
i.e. the balance of power
was unequal. Britain was
largely dependent on the
USA and was largely
dominated by the USA,
due to their differences in
political objectives and
due to Britain’s weakness
after the Second World
War.
Despite there being
cooperation between the
two sides in WW2, it was
still outweighed by the
overall imbalance in
power between the US
who remained dominent
There was a huge
inequality in the dynamics
of their relationship,
which is evident by them
being subordinate to the
US in the Korean War
despite its success.
Additionally even though
Britain contributed
arguably this was
insignificant as the US
could have secured a
success independently
and being forced out of
Suez due to US
condemnation of their
actions- this shows the US
had ultimate decision
making power, even in
securing British influence
in the Middle East,
therefore highlighting the
disparity between British
objectives versus
American foreign policy
objectives and showing
that they weren’t aligned.
The importance of Britain
influencing American
foreign policy was
decreasing, whilst How aligned/close were the USA and the UK over the course of the
America influencing second half of the 20th century?
Britain was increasing
(missiles), due to
decolonisation and the
increased tensions in the
Cold War (the USA being
more focused on the
USSR) which some may
argue was the highest
point to which Britain was
no longer a priority
causing an unequal
balance in the relationship
especially in the economic
perspective, there was still
some diplomatic and
military ties. How much influence did Britain have on the decisions made by the 'Special
Relationship' over the course of the second half of the 20th century?
Overall, Diplomatically
Britian is becoming less
reliant on USA, so the
relationship is becoming Judgement 1: Britain was declining in
less special- negative power because of the collapse of
Economically Britian is still Empire. The 'Special Relationship' with
heavily dependant on the the USA enabled Britain to retain a seat
USA, a positive aspect of at the top table of international
the special relationship as relations as the USA's primary
the USA loaned 3.9 billion (although junior) partner. This allowed
to Britain. for a great deal of combined
operations, economic assistance to
So it wasn’t just a loan but Britain for the post-war recovery,
a major economic bailout support for Britain (e.g. Falklands).
which prevented from Britain still had key autonomy (e.g. over
Britain collapsing the Vietnam issue)
economically hence
highlighting the extent of Judgement 2: The USA pressured
economic dependence Britain to decolonise, which reduced
and imbalance, but also Britain's power. The close relationship
highlighting the US with the US locked Britain into a
protecting Britains position of dependency where they had
economy which in a way is to conform to US demands, e.g. in 1956
a degree of security. during the Suez Crisis. Throughout the
relationship, Britain was relegated to
Overall : not successful-
secondary status. The SR distracted
although thatcher was
Britain from other more viable
opportunities to boost their global
special relationship with
power, i.e. closer relations with Europe
and logistical support for
the Falklands, the
disagreements between
nuclear technology and
the usa making military
informing britian such as
suggests that there is a
power imbalance between
the two and lack of
alignment between their
policies, therefore
unsuccessful nature of the
“special relationship”
Contrastingly, it can be
argued that the
USA and Britain was
successful as they both
work together in joint
action to deal with the
‘rogue state’ Libya in
1986, as the UK allowed
the US to use their
airbases to bomb Libya in
1986.
Success alignment in
policy in terms of military
cooperation in the Gulf
War which had seen
Britian and the US playing
an even and diplomatic
success in Yugoslavia.
Despite there being minor
disagreements within
Ireland, still able to
compromise with the
1998 Good Friday
agreement.
Furthermore ,The
cooperation and
agreements suggest there
is a form of equality of
relationship and
alignment in their policies.

STARTER

Review your plan for this question – be ready to write ONE perfect paragraph

"The Special Relationship had a positive impact on Britain's global position between 1951 and 1997."
How far do you agree with the statement? [20]

• Introduction
○ Overall judgment - thesis statement
○ The topics you will discuss
§ Lay out the criteria you will be using or the themes of analysis
○ BRIEF context
• Paragraph x3
○ Topic - criteria/theme
○ 3x precise evidence
○ Chain of reasoning -> Explain and relate the evidence to the criteria/argument
○ Comparative - offer the alternative contenders; critique/evaluation of that argument
○ Interim judgment/Mini-conclusion - return to your thesis
• Conclusion
- Restating the arguments of the introduction
- No new evidence
- Argue why the criteria/themes outweigh each other
§ E.g. Economic -> provides the basis for political
- Restating of thesis statement consistent with introduction