On congratulating the United States of America on the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we should never forget the foundations on which that great nation is built and the need to restore them and strengthen the irrevocable ties that bind Britain and America, in spite of occasional hiccups.
The great British 18th century thinkers that observed events in America and provided the philosophical basis for modern Conservatism were clear that the American colonies should be “let go” and foresaw the rapid rise in population and prosperity of the future United States.
Adam Smith, whose works influenced the thinking of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, thought that defence of the colonies was a massive financial burden and preferred that Britain should have a profitable, duty-free trade agreement with a friendly sovereign neighbour.
In his 1775 “Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies,” Edmund Burke saw that “the people of the colonies are descendants of Englishmen. England, Sir, is a nation, which still I hope respects, and formerly adored, her freedom. The colonists emigrated from you when this part of your character was most predominant; and they took this bias and direction the moment they parted from your hands. They are therefore not only devoted to liberty, but to liberty according to English ideas, and on English principles.”
President Trump echoed these sentiments when he welcomed His Majesty King Charles III to the White House in March 2026, adding that “we share that same root. We speak the same language. We hold the same values. And together, our warriors have defended the same extraordinary civilization under twin banners of red, white and blue.”
Throughout history our Western civilisations have faced terrible threats and challenges and in the end, with God’s grace, right has prevailed.
Once more we live in difficult and threatening times and our peoples are despondent and open to easy, wrong-headed influence. And our leaders often lack wisdom. It is ever more vital to the cause of freedom and liberty that Britain and America stand strongly together with mutual affection, understanding and respect.
Geoffrey Van Orden CBE is a Senior Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, a Washington D.C. based foreign policy and defense think tank.
