The turn-of-the-century was a crossroads in the histories of Great Britain and the
United States. Britain was experiencing relative decline. Though the greatest empire in
history, Britain was overextended and weaker than the United States in the Western
Hemisphere. Conversely, the United States was taking the world stage and establishing its
dominance in the Western Hemisphere. At this crossroads, the two nations formed an
entente.
The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901, which secured the American right to an
interoceanic canal and the settlement of the Alaskan boundary dispute in 1903 ushered in
Anglo-American friendship. In both issues, however, the United States gained extremely
favorable agreements. The relative power imbalance enabled American leaders like
Theodore Roosevelt to bargain from a superior position. Britain, thus, had no choice
except yielding to American demands.
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