[quote=ucodegen][quote briansd1]Of course, Britain has royalty and an international upper class.[/quote]
I think that ‘getting rid of’ the landed aristocracy has actually helped France. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see all sorts of tax exemptions for the landed aristocracy in Britain. It is interesting to note of the wealthy media people in the US buying large land holdings in Britain.. though I don’t hear that much of it occurring France.[/quote]

The aristocracy is a spent force in Europe, even in the UK. Reform of the House of Lords, and high taxes over the decades have seen to that.

Language is the common denominator in relations. The US has as much in common with many European countries. There’s probably more German blood running through American veins than British. I see Germanic stoicism, French obsession with looks, British love of traditions, and Italian temperament all present in the US. Having lived in France and the UK, I would say the modern world glosses over many of the outward cultural distinctions, so preference for one over the other is more based on fickleness. Since the founding fathers were all of British descent, and France for centuries the natural enemy of the British, I would be surprised if allegiance to France was anything other than a recoil from the British. I’m not an historian, but it seems plausible.