Webb, Clive (2020) Observing America: what mass-observation reveals about British views of the USA. Journal of Transatlantic Studies, 18 (3). pp. 296-313. ISSN 1479-4012

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Abstract

Since its foundation in 1937, the social research organisation Mass-Observation has systematically documented the opinions of a British public experiencing profound societal change. This includes the most extensive data available on grassroots attitudes towards the USA, from the outbreak of the Second World War to the final phase of the Cold War. Most of the scholarship on Anglo-American relations focuses on the political and diplomatic elites of Britain and the USA. The extent to which their interaction reflected and reinforced public opinion is seldom considered. This article uses the Mass-Observation archive to situate elite interaction within the broader context of public opinion. In so doing, it assesses the extent to which British political leaders have in their dealings with the USA represented the views of the electorate they serve.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Mass-Observation, Anglo-American Special Relationship, anti-Americanism, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan
Schools and Departments:	School of History, Art History and Philosophy > History
Depositing User:	Clive Webb
Date Deposited:	03 Aug 2020 09:20
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2021 01:00
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/92880

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