Losing the Faith: British Historians and the Last Best Hope

Author: Newman, Simon

Source: Comparative American Studies, Volume 6, Number 2, June 2008 , pp. 161-178(18)

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Abstract:

This essay explores the ways in which historians in Britain developed American history, focusing on attitudes towards the founding of the American republic. With reference to such historians as Goldwin Smith, Lord Acton, Winston Churchill, and Denis Brogan, the essay traces how they helped legitimate the United States as a subject of serious study, and the ways in which their work informed the creation of American Studies in Britain. Historians and students in Britain came to respect the ideals on which the American republic had been founded: against the backdrop of international fascism and communism the United States represented freedom and political progress. More recently, however, British ideas about American exceptionalism have faded, as international organizations have developed alternative protectors of democracy and liberty. The erosion of an American ideal once held dear by British historians symbolizes the end of a particular kind of American history in Britain.

Keywords: WINSTON CHURCHILL; EUROPEAN UNION; AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM; AMERICAN REVOLUTION; LORD ACTON; DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; DENIS BROGAN

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/147757008X280803

Publication date: 2008-06-01

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