What are the pros and cons of the UK joining the US as a 51st state?
What would be in it for the UK?A totally relaxed way of driving.The USA is the land of the car. People just drive everywhere, even if it is only a 10 minute walk away (next to no pavements/sidewalks hence a lot of overweight people)…… what? I hear you say, that’s supposed to be good for the UK? Wait a moment, I’m getting there. Here in the UK we have grown to be a very impatient people and this is reflected in our driving style. It is all rush rush, get out of my way, habitual speeding, light flashing, tailgating, queue barging, dodgy overtaking, carving up, road raging, too much traffic on narrow rutted oversignposted and speedcamera’d road mayhem.I have recently returned from a three week fly/drive holiday in New England where I did some 2000 incredibly stress free miles of driving. My vehicle seemed typical of half of other road users (a Nissan SUV with for me an overlarge 3 litre V6 engine…. the other half were in 5 litre V8 pickup trucks) and whilst for a Brit this meant a one handed, one foot, curiously uninvolving, lazy driving style it fitted in with the surprisingly polite and non threatening US driving experience. It seemed to me that almost everyone more or less observed the speed limits and rarely overtook except on the highway, patiently waited for me to figure out if I could turn right at this red light and kept their distance. Even driving through downtown Boston was a doddle (easy) compared to London or even Southampton where I live. I would arrive at all my destinations stress, perspiration and white knuckled free and usually with time to spare despite the impression of having dawdled (gone slowly) along on the way.It all helps to keep the road rage beast at bay; but then I guess that many US road users, as well as the Police, carry a deterrent to bad road behaviour so no one takes a chance of upsetting some good ol’ boy looking to assert his 2nd amendment rights.Anyway, I’ll settle for that if you can include petrol (gas) at a typical price (in New England) of around $2.60 per gallon and the Yanks learn how to play and appreciate cricket.Mind you, as our Christmas turkeys voted for Brexit, joining things seems to be out of fashion here in the UK.……And finally…. Go Eagles……. a Superbowl title is way overdue!
Would the United Kingdom be part of the United States of America in the future?
“It is always a joy to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believes that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.”Sherlock Holmes, speaking in "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor".There was a time when it was a fantasy for some people, a single great English-speaking empire led by the United Kingdom in the Old World and the United States in the New World. But the British Empire is no more and imperialism is out of fashion. Britain's future lies firmly with Europe and European concerns (despite a subset of nincompoops in its population who think otherwise). They will never rejoin until nation-states disappear entirely. Britain's culture and government are not compatible with those of the United States.
Will the UK support Europe in a war if they leave the EU?
As you well know there is no such a thing as a free lunch, hence the UK will support Europe only if itself feels threaten or if its interests are at stake. As someone said “countries do not have friends, only interests”. However it is obvious that the security of the UK is intertwined with that of Europe and so the UK will bear some of the costs of any future European conflict either internal or external. One more reason for staying in the EU or very close to it and support the organisation which has kept Europe at peace with itself for over 70 years.
If the U.K. leaves the E.U., should the United States invite Britain and Scotland to become the 51st and 52nd states?
As I’m not an American myself, I don’t have any idea on what people over there might think.OTOH, if Americans want to invite us to join the US, I would write to the Washington post and say this -Dear Americans ,I deeply appreciate the offer to join the USA.You speak the same language as us, you have the same Democratic system and you have the greatest military, scientific and cultural establishments on the planet.However, if you think that Texas is big and Hawaiiis exotic, you just have n’t got a clue about the UK.Scotland is part of Britain anyway , but even if you said “ England and Scotland”, you still don’t realise what you are asking and inviting to take on or take in.We in the UK are a nation where everyone - yes , absolutely everyone expects to have healthcare as a basic human right.No, we don’t see corporations as deserving of Personhood, either. We spell colour and honour with a U, and we have use the same words as you but with different meanings to them.We have got used to decimal currency and even metric measure- we are not likely to give any of these up.Unless you were willing to accord us special status and allow us to keep these traditions, I don’t think the arrangement would last - and that’s only us English - the Scots are so totally different that you would be well advised to leave them be. Neither the Romans nor the Normans nor anyone else totally subdued the Scots - so I don’t fancy your chances, frankly.Britain is too quirky a place to be integrated anywhere else. We were the ones who invented Magna Carta and it was our writers who inspired your War of Independence. For this reason , I would urge you to reconsider - as i don’t think the planned merger would work.Yours, Gerry Haines.
How did European ideas and political developments influence the American colonist? ...2nd part to it. READ PLZ?
America was heavily influenced by ideas and philosophies from Europe. America's founders did not create the notion of a republic. They got that from the Ancient Romans, but much of what they wanted to do with politics had a greater influence coming from Britain. Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both had great influence on American thinkers, with Locke being the more influential as Hobbes' solution was not the thing the American founders wanted. America's legal structure is also based on English Common Law, with the exception of the state of Louisiana, which is based off of the Napoleonic Code, which has its real beginnings back to Justinian's Code and Roman Law. The American Revolution also had a great influence on Europe and France in particular. Some French officers who fought in the Revolution, like the Marquis de Lafayette, loved the American notion of liberty and began to support similar reforms in France, and as the middle class learned more about the American Revolution, they become more supportive of its goals, which would eventually lead to the French Revolution, the Terror, and Napoleon.
Help with us history questions please?!?
Why were thousands of Japanese Americans forced to leave their homes and live in internment camps for the duration of World War II? They refused to take loyalty pledges to the American government. President Roosevelt ordered people of Japanese ancestry to be moved from the West Coast and put in internment camps. Many Japanese Americans were secretly spying for the Japanese government. The United States forced all descendants of Axis Power immigrants to be interned, including Germans and Italians. Why did the Allies pursue a “Europe First” strategy? They believed that Japan posed little threat to their interests. They considered Germany to be their most dangerous enemy. They felt that Japan would soon seek peace if it was not attacked. They believed victory in Europe would be quick and easy. In the most important naval battle of World War II, the United States claimed a decisive victory in Operation Sea Lion. decisively defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway. suffered its first major defeat since the Battle of Coral Sea. lost to the more powerful Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. What was one long-term effect of the bracero program? It initiated decades of migratory labor in western states. It kept southern states from losing their rural populations. It encouraged African Americans to fight military segregation. It led to the Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles. In what way did Americans’ lives change during World War II? Congress reduced taxes on working Americans to boost morale. The government relaxed controls on wages and prices. Americans found it easier than ever to buy consumer goods. Some goods were rationed to free up resources for war production. President Truman decided to use the atomic bomb against Japan to prolong the war. to save American lives. to test the bomb. to prove an ethical point. What was the goal of Hitler’s “Final Solution”? a military victory over the Soviets that would ensure a supply of oil the unification of all Germanic people into the Third Reich the extermination of all Jews in areas controlled by Germany the elimination of all socialist and communist regimes in Europe