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^^The picture is cherry-picked, to fit in with the title of the article, but the article also gave stats.
I've never been to England. I've been to western Europe, and the countryside in W. Germany looks somewhat like PA. The tulips fields in the Netherlands looked like the cornfields in IL, except much prettier. (Tulips were in bloom when we were there.)
The UK also has the most pro-unregulated free market political culture in Europe. The political culture is more familiar to an American. A Margaret Thatcher free market conservative would be unlikely in continental Europe, and there's more of a culture of capitalism a force to be tamed in continental Europe. It also had the closest resembling a two party system in Europe, and the least prone to illiberal, anti-freedom policies. Unlike much of Europe, there was never much of a fascist or communist movement nor the tradition of revolutionary violence. The UK has the highest income inequality in Western Europe, closest to the US, and has the most decayed rust-belt cities. The cities also built in a way that they tend to avoid apartment blocks, unlike many older continental European cities, but similar to many American ones, though they have lots and lots of rowhouses, not unlike older parts of eastern PA. Its mill architecture resembles New England, though yes, British influence is more obvious here.
In many ways, a lot of what makes the US unique is what made the UK somewhat different from the rest of continental Europe and taken to its extreme once the settlers were free to create a new society.
I always wondered why some states have the word Commonwealth in their official name like The Commonwealth of Virginia or The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I guess these names come from the colonial era but why other states don't have this and why they kept the name.
The Scotch-Irish are a part of UK culture, which did not exist at the time of the revolution, when PA was being settled. The Scotch-Irish did not care for the Brits. They were overwhelmingly Presbyterian, and the Brits came up with some requirement that "all crown officials be of the Anglican faith; this regulation eventually included all those in the military, or employed by civil service, municipal corporations, and educational institutions. The Scots-Irish, devoutly Presbyterian, were not only excluded from any sort of power, even their clergy was stripped of its authority to perform marriages. (Thus the genealogist seeking information may need to look at Anglican marriage records.)" The Scots-Irish in the Southern United States: An Overview | Katharine Garstka
King George actually referred to the American Revolution as a "Presbyterian rebellion." I've read that this was because the bulk of the American fighting force was Scots-Irish. However, it's possible that "Presbyterian" could be used as a catchall for those Protestants who opposed the Church of England, so it would include the New England Calvinists as well (the other major force of the Revolution). Many of the leaders were Anglican, but that seemed less important to the British than the fact that the fighting force was protestant.
Yes they are part of the commonwealth because they did not go through the trouble of overthrowing the King like we did. We pride ourselves on having done that and for that reason many don't like to be reminded that England still is the foundation this nation was built upon.
In the case of Australia, the British loosened the reigns fairly quickly once the first signs of rebellion emerged. In Victoria a series of skirmishes between the colonial government and gold miners, (essentially over the issue of taxation without representation) culminated in open battle at Ballarat. The rebels received widespread public support when tried, and the jury failed to find them guilty of any crime. The result, almost immediate introduction of an elected legislature. A comparatively short time later, moves to create Australia, as an independent nation comprised of former British colonies began.
Last edited by Richard1098; 06-20-2013 at 12:59 AM..
I'm afraid you are denying the obvious. Every institution, and basis of law, concept of democracy and free market economics on which the US is founded has roots in Britain. Your language and culture from Shakespeare, Dickens, to the Beatles originate in Britain. All but three of the US presidents are of British origin and all but two of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence are of British heritage.
Pretty much every American of any consequence has British heritage from Bill Gates to Henry Ford to Neil Armstrong. There are no Italian or Hispanic or Scandinavian heritage Presidents and in my recollection only one Dutch and one German.
The most democratic and prosperous countries in the world and those that have made the greatest contributions to the world are Britain and its English speaking former colonies.
I'm beginning to think that you have not thought this one through and have an agenda in not accepting the blatantly obvious.
Firstly Britain has an NHS but then all Western European democracies have similar models based on universal healthcare. So are you saying that the US mirrors Germany or Sweden but not the UK? The very reason you are aware of the NHS is because the US constantly looks to Britain and not so much to the rest of Europe. Similarly Britain's welfare system mirrors that of the rest of Western Europe and church attendance and marriage has declined throughout Western Europe. Your comment that US relates more similarly to Australia and Canada is also confused. The reason for this and the common link?..... Former British colonies perhaps. LOL.
But your comments contrasting densely populated Britain with sparsely populated US are quite laughable. Are you not familiar with the concept of migrants from the old world pioneering the new where land was plentiful and free? You are siting the very reason the new world was pioneered in the first place.
I'm afraid you are denying the obvious. Every institution, and basis of law, concept of democracy and free market economics on which the US is founded has roots in Britain. Your language and culture from Shakespeare, Dickens, to the Beatles originate in Britain. All but three of the US presidents are of British origin and all but two of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence are of British heritage.
Pretty much every American of any consequence has British heritage from Bill Gates to Henry Ford to Neil Armstrong. There are no Italian or Hispanic or Scandinavian heritage Presidents and in my recollection only one Dutch and one German.
The most democratic and prosperous countries in the world and those that have made the greatest contributions to the world are Britain and its English speaking former colonies.
An easy statement to make, while naming three persons of consequence. Attached are a couple persons of consequence, of German heritage. (Neil Armstrong is one).
Very weak. Last time the UK had a significant infuence on the US was in the 19th century.
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