Great Britain and the USA since 1945: Politics and Culture - Assignment Example

Great Britain and the USA since 1945: Politics, Economics, Media and Culture At the end of World War II British and American troops celebrated theirjoint victory over Germany, Japan and Italy with victory parades in Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. Together with the Soviet Red Army they had defeated the Axis, an enemy that at one point threatened to conquer Europe, Asia and Africa. In 1940, after the defeat of France Great Britain had stood alone in Europe against Germany. The Luftwafffe (the German air force) was bombing British cities and the Kriegsmarine and Wehrmacht (German navy and army) were threatening to invade. A British attack on Hitlers Europe seemed an impossibility. The United States was drawn into the war when the Japanese launched a sneak attack against Pearl Harbor (a U.S. Naval base in Hawaii) in December, 1941. The Japanese went on to conquer the Philippines, invade China and Korea, and threaten Australia. By 1942 the Japanese co-Prosperity Sphere dominated Asia. By the summer of 1942 the Axis dominated Asia, North Africa and Europe. (Keegan, 1990, p. 127 passim.) Gradually the Allied armies fought back and turned the tide. The Japanese were defeated at sea (at Midway and the Coral Sea) and island-hopping invasions pushed their conquests back. In Russia the German advance was stopped at Stalingrad and Kursk and the Red Army marched back into Europe. In France the Allies invaded in June 1944 and liberated northwest Europe. In the spring of 1945 Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered. Three months later Japan surrendered. (Keegan, 1990, pp. 369, 458, 574) Although the Allies marched together in victory parades they were no longer equal partners. During World War II the sun had set on the British empire for the last time. For America, the sun had risen on a new world power. British industry had been devastated by the German bombing, its armed forces had been bled white and its empire had been shattered by Axis conquests. In America industrial production had skyrocketed to meet the militarys insatiable demand for weapons, ammunition and vehicles. The American armed forces had increased in size exponentially and were positioned in Europe and throughout Asia. America had emerged as a global superpower, economically and culturally. The following brief discussion will focus on this shifting balance of power between the allied states of Great Britain and the United States. The political, economic and cultural impacts of Word War II on both nations will be considered, compared and contrasted. The Japanese surrender in August 1945 followed the explosion of two atomic bombs that were dropped on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The development of these bombs, the Manhattan project, was a joint effort of British and American scientists. However, the research laboratory was in the United States and it was American aircraft that dropped the bombs. This situation was symbolic of the changing relationship between the two countries militarily and politically. During World War II 244,000 members of the British military were killed and an additional 60,000 civilians dies for a total of fatal casualties of slightly more than 300,000. In contrast, and from a much larger population the Americans suffered no civilians killed and 292.000 military casualties. Therefore, proportionally, the United Kingdom suffered far higher casualties, civilian and military, than did the United States. Despite being victorious in the war, the British empire and commonwealth shrank in the wake of World War II while the American sphere of influence expanded. American influence in the western hemisphere was not impacted by German and Japanese conquests. America recaptured the Philippines, and ended the war with troops in Europe, Japan, Korea and a large number of other locations across the globe that they had not been in before World War II. The American military, having grown thrityfold during the war, dwarfed the British military at the end of World War II (Keegan, 1990, p. 218) In contrast, the British were unable to reassert their authority in areas of the world that had been British colonies before the war that had been conquered by the Axis powers. This was particularly true in the Middle East and India. According to empire historian Bernard Porter, “the middle east had gone very sour on Britain” and “India was only a little less amenable.” (Porter, 1984, p. 303) Within five years Britain had abandoned Palestine and India, the jewel in the crown of the British empire, was independent. At the same time Lend-lease had seen the British The British empire was devastated by Word War II. In contrast, the American sphere of influence and range of military influence grew. America emerged from the war with a larger global role while Great Britains role shrank. Economically, Americas role in the world grew while that of Great Britain shrank. The British merchant marine was devastated by submarine warfare and British industry was destroyed by German bombing raids. American domestic production was undamaged by warfare and its economy had grown massively during the war. Between 1939 and 1945 the American “gross national product more than doubled...and industrial production also nearly doubled.” (Keegan, 1990, p. 218) Militarily, economically and demographically the United States was larger than Great Britain in every sense at the end of World War II. This was true in a way that had not been the case prior to 1939. This shift may have started earlier, many historians trace it to World War I (1914-1918). However, it was plainly evident and undeniable in 1945 that the United States had superseded Great Britain. This situation was reflected in geopolitical developments in the fifteen years after 1945. All of Europe, not just Great Britain, was devastated by World War II and its economy was in a shambles. Plans to restore the European economies were spearheaded by the United States and named after an American. The Marshall Plan saw American cash flow into Europe to rebuild industrial plant, purchased from the United States, and, initially, to purchase American products—from farm equipment to foodstuffs. The size of the American economy and its intrusion into Europe made the U.S. Dollar the “keystone of the post-war world economy planned and guaranteed by the USA...” (Hobsbawm, 1995, p. 241) The diplomatic reality of the 1950s was the Cold War – the geopolitical conflict between the state socialism of the Soviet Union and the capitalism of the United States – and a bipolar world. Great Britain was a key American ally, as were the states of western Europe, but the face of international relations was the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent China. The Korean War of the 1950s was an American led war fought against the communist state of North Korea and its communist supporters. The Vietnam War of the 1960s was an American led war fought against the communist state of North Vietnam and its communist supporters. (Karnow, 1983, pp. 218-223) After World War II the United States became increasingly involved in global affairs economically, politically and militarily. In contrast, the international role of Great Britain, its empire and the Commonwealth shrank. American cultural influence followed from its increasing physical presence in the world and its political and economic penetration of the globe. America and Great Britain still share many elements of culture – they are both predominantly Christian and capitalist countries. They share the concept of the weekend, the holidays of Christmas and Easter, a September to May school year and a host of other traditions. However, America has clearly emerged as a cultural giant over Great Britain. This shift is illustrated by the motion picture and film industry. Hollywood is the center of global movie production. Great Britain still has a movie industry but it has gotten smaller since World War II while Hollywood has grown. The stars of Hollywood such as Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie dominate and films such as Knight and Day and Salt have global reach. Salt, a Hollywood film, debuted in Moscow. Knight and Day will be sub-titled or dubbed and appear in theatres and languages around the globe. Since 1963 the British film industry has only produced 100 movies in a year a handful of times. The United States has produced more than 100 movies in every year since World War II. (Screen Online) Similar statistics verify that American television production, book publishing and other media and cultural output has vastly exceeded that of Great Britain since 1945. The same is also true of American retailers and manufacturers. The American fast food chains such as McDonalds and Burger King are found all over the globe (even in Iraq, Israel and other unlikely locations) while the same cannot be said of British restaurants and retail chains. Culturally, economically and diplomatically the United States has displaced Great Britain in the sixty-five years since World War II ended. That said the situation has also had implications for Britain both negative and positive. Shared language and and cultural heritage has given Britain a privileged place among American allies. On the other hand, the desire to maintain that close bond has had negative implications for Great Britain: For proof of this one only has to ask former Prime Minister Tony Major and the Labour party whose political fortunes were destroyed by the decision to support the American invasion of Iraq. Works Cited Hobsbawm, Eric. (1995). Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914-1991. London: Abacus Books. Karnow, Stanley. (1983). Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking. Keegan, John. (1990). The Second World War. Viking: New York. Porter, Bernard. (1984). The Lions Share: A Short History of British Imperialism, 1850-1983. 2nd ed. London: Longman. Screen Online. “Facts: UK Feature Films Produced 1912-2003.” Web. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/facts/fact2.html. Accessed 20 July 2010. Read More