[Political Interest]

Why do people say that the US and UK have always been allies? They had several encounters and even war throughout the 1800s. On what basis is there this idea of unbreakable friendship?

[Potemkin]

"Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests." - Lord Palmerstone

[Kapanda]

Why do people say that the US and UK have always been allies? They had several encounters and even war throughout the 1800s. On what basis is there this idea of unbreakable friendship?

I think that it is basically because if the US is in shits, the UK is in shits.

Now you don't even have to get a degree in International Affairs. I summarised everything for you in one sentence.

Oh, China is a rising threat, sorry, forgot about that.

Oh and Israel can't be touched. I guess you might have to get that degree after all.

[ThirdTerm]

There was a thaw in Anglo-American relations during the Spanish–American War and Britain supported the US which guaranteed the independence of Cuba and in return, the US supported Britain during the Boer War. The Zimmermann Telegram played a major role in America's entry into the First World War in 1917 and two million American soldiers, who were sent to Europe, changed dynamics of the war and it had become the norm for Britain to use America's military power to achieve its foreign policy objectives. It was Winston Churchill who coined the term "Special Relationship" to describe the close political relations between the two countries and his key wartime strategy was to drag America in to save Britain when it was fighting alone against Nazi Germany before 1941. More recently, Tony Blair sided with President Bush during the Iraq War just to maintain the Anglo-American relationship based on his ambitious perception of Britain’s role in the modern world.

Churchill did have a plausible plan, and if we are to believe his son Randolph's account, he began putting his plan into action on May 18, 1940. On that morning, Randolph was waiting outside the bathroom door for his father, who was shaving. Suddenly Churchill stopped shaving and said, through the open door: "I think I see my way through." "Do you mean that we can avoid defeat?" Randolph asked. "Of course I mean we can beat them," Churchill replied, "I shall drag the United States in." It was an obvious proposition for Churchill, whose mother was American and who was both fond of and familiar with the new superpower. But the US public wanted no part of the Europeans' fight. American arms shipments were modest, and although Churchill was eloquent in his warnings and appeals to Washington, even historians with a favorable view of Churchill believe that the situation would not have changed much if Hitler's ally, Japan, hadn't bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, thereby drawing the United States into the war.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-man-who-saved-europe-how-winston-churchill-stopped-the-nazis-a-712259-8.html

[Poelmo]

Why do people say that the US and UK have always been allies? They had several encounters and even war throughout the 1800s. On what basis is there this idea of unbreakable friendship?

They mostly settled their differences after the War of 1812 and by WWI they were allies and have remained allies ever since. Having a bunch of common enemies: Germany, The Soviet Union, Germany again, Japan, a bunch of Middle Eastern regimes, Russia and China, probably helped a lot, as well as the fact that the UK has always been the odd man out in Europe, a strong non-European ally suited them well.

[MadMonk]

And lets state the obvious as well; similar cultural and linguistic ties (although both sides would venomously disagree on both parts).

The UK, The US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. All different, all with a common Anglo identity/relationship.

[roxunreal]

"Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests." - Lord Palmerstone

They don't even have permanent interests.

[Political Interest]

Thank you all for your answers. Is America especially economically tied to the UK more than it is to any other country?

[Kapanda]

They don't even have permanent interests.

Survival.

[Kapanda]

Thank you all for your answers. Is America especially economically tied to the UK more than it is to any other country?

Google dat shit brah

[Nattering Nabob]

Why do people say that the US and UK have always been allies? They had several encounters and even war throughout the 1800s. On what basis is there this idea of unbreakable friendship?

It's the British hoodwinking the Americans...

[Sithsaber]

The US and the UK being natural allies has been a mantra since right after this nation's independence. It was either that or you were in the French camp.

[Poelmo]

The US and the UK being natural allies has been a mantra since right after this nation's independence. It was either that or you were in the French camp.

Most Americans were in the French camp during the early days. The French helped the Americans against the British in the revolutionary war and again in the war of 1812 (Napoleon was keeping the Brits so busy they couldn't spare enough troops to take the United States).

[Sithsaber]

Ingrained business interests and a fear of the Jacobin terrors put an end to that.