British Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent visit to Washington has revived interest in what is frequently called the “Special Relationship”
between Great Britain and the United States. Many Americans may be
familiar with the phrase, as it is often used to characterize the
strength of the ties between London and Washington made manifest by the
strong British commitment to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; by our
joint struggle against international terrorism; and by the bonds of
language and history, stretching all the way back to the birth of the
Thirteen Colonies.
There is also a general awareness that the phrase is often used to
describe the military alliance established by our two countries during
the Second World War, symbolized by successful invasion of Normandy by
British, American and Canadian troops on June 6, 1944. Less well known
is the fact that the “Special Relationship” can be directly tied to the
wartime leadership of US President Franklin Roosevelt, who purposely
sought closer ties with the British as a means to enhance and extend
American military and economic power during the dark days of 1939-40
when the world teetered on the brink of the catastrophe that would
become World War II.
Like any President, FDR’s foremost responsibility was to maintain the
security of the United States against possible attack. Given the
threats posed by fascist Germany and Japan, the relative size of our
armed forces in comparison with other states and the reluctance of an
“isolationist” Congress to authorize military expenditures in peacetime,
this proved to be no easy task. Indeed, in June of 1939 the roughly
180,000-man US Army ranked 19th in the world-smaller than
Portugal’s! To bolster America’s security, FDR not only called for an
increase in the size of the nation’s military budget, and the repeal of
the arms embargo provisions within the 1930s neutrality legislation, he
also quietly sought to strengthen America’s ties with Great Britain-the
one nation whose combined military, political and economic strength
might serve as a bulwark against a possible Axis aggression in the
Western Hemisphere.
Given the United States’ status today as the world’s lone superpower,
it is hard for most Americans to imagine a time when we might look to
Great Britain and the Royal Navy as America’s first line of defense; yet
on the eve of the Second World War until well into the early 1940s,
Great Britain’s combined military strength exceeded that of the United
States. FDR was well aware of this. He also understood that it would
take time for the United States to catch up with her potential allies
and adversaries. Hence one of the fastest and most efficient means for
him to bolster America’s security was to strengthen the ties between
Great Britain and the United States.
FDR began this effort in June of 1939, with a much celebrated
invitation to the King and Queen of England to visit Washington and Hyde
Park-the first time a reigning British Monarch had set foot on American
soil. Hope this helps
