--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: American audiences tend to…" description: "\"American audiences tend to underappreciate the British, but 240 years ago they were us: They were the most powerful nation on Earth. Their mercantile e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg" --- # American audiences tend to underappreciate the British… ![“American audiences tend to underappreciate the British, but 240 years ago they were us: They were the most powerful nation on Earth. Their mercantile empire spanned the planet. They had the most potent and experienced army and navy the world had ever seen.” quote by Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg) > “American audiences tend to underappreciate the British, but 240 years ago they were us: They were the most powerful nation on Earth. Their mercantile empire spanned the planet. They had the most potent and experienced army and navy the world had ever seen.” [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The British once ruled globally, but modern audiences often overlook their historic dominance and influence. **In simple terms:** Britain was once the world’s leading power. Key Takeaway Remember past global impacts. Themes history nationalism imperialism perception Mood analytical critical Type historical educational When to use this quote - education - policy analysis - media commentary - public discourse Key Concepts geopolitics colonial legacy cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - Why do we undervalue past empires? - How can we balance pride with critical view? A Different Perspective Modern bias can distort historical understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Audiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audiences/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Empire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empire/) [Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation/) [Navy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navy/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I understand why creative people like dark, but American audiences dont like dark. They like story. They do not respond to nervous breakdowns and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-moonves/i-understand-why-creative-people-like-dark-but-american-audiences/) [Leslie Moonves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-moonves/) > [With the casting in Israel, sometimes there were four or five people, that you could just flip a coin and choose from, that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kring/with-the-casting-in-israel-sometimes-there-were-four-or-five-people/) [Tim Kring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kring/) > [American audiences, a lot of people couldn't understand a word of 'The Witch.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/american-audiences-a-lot-of-people-couldn-t-understand-a-word-of-the/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [Cable penetrates 70 percent of American audiences now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/cable-penetrates-70-percent-of-american-audiences-now/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [I've gotten more flack from the remake nature of our 'Being Human' from American audiences than I have from British fans. Every fan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-witwer/i-ve-gotten-more-flack-from-the-remake-nature-of-our-being-human-from/) [Samuel Witwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-witwer/) > [What happens is people - especially, I think, audiences in the United States - people confront new things a little bit afraid. It's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/what-happens-is-people-especially-i-think-audiences-in-the-united/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [“There’s nothing American audiences like more than a tragedy with a happy ending.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-berkmann/there-s-nothing-american-audiences-like-more-than-a-tragedy-with-a/) [Marcus Berkmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-berkmann/) > [My American audiences are pretty mixed. I get all sorts of people, old and young. It's nice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aretha-franklin/my-american-audiences-are-pretty-mixed-i-get-all-sorts-of-people-old/) [Aretha Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aretha-franklin/) > [American audiences and European and Asian audiences are so different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/american-audiences-and-european-and-asian-audiences-are-so-different/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [American audiences don't react in the same way as European ones to African music because, I think, Europeans listen to this music through all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/american-audiences-don-t-react-in-the-same-way-as-european-ones-to/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Often, American audiences are underestimated by producers and movie studios. They often think we're dumber than we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-feldman/often-american-audiences-are-underestimated-by-producers-and-movie/) [Ben Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-feldman/) > [American audiences love period pieces. America doesn't have a lot of old things. It's a new country so I think we're a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/american-audiences-love-period-pieces-america-doesn-t-have-a-lot-of/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) > [I experienced many moments when we were able to overcome language barriers. When they like something during our shows, American audiences would tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yui-mizuno/i-experienced-many-moments-when-we-were-able-to-overcome-language/) [Yui Mizuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yui-mizuno/) > [I think American audiences like gangster movies. It's part of the culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/i-think-american-audiences-like-gangster-movies-it-s-part-of-the/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) > [I think American audiences like gangster movies. You know, it's part of the culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/i-think-american-audiences-like-gangster-movies-you-know-it-s-part-of/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) ## More by Rick Atkinson > [“To his brother Edgar he confided, “I suffer from the usual difficulty that besets the higher commander—things can be ordered and started, but actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/to-his-brother-edgar-he-confided-i-suffer-from-the-usual-difficulty/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“To make it perfectly clear to you: suppose you lose a hand or an ear is shot off, or perhaps a piece of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/to-make-it-perfectly-clear-to-you-suppose-you-lose-a-hand-or-an-ear/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“I could hear them yell and laugh each time and there was nothing I could do about it…. I saw them do it, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/i-could-hear-them-yell-and-laugh-each-time-and-there-was-nothing-i/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“The largest contingent of invaders—drawn from the U.S. 1st Infantry and 1st Armored divisions aboard thirty-four transport ships—would storm ashore at Beach Z near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/the-largest-contingent-of-invaders-drawn-from-the-u-s-1st-infantry/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [Global war is a clash of systems, not just battalions biffing one another in some godforsaken forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/global-war-is-a-clash-of-systems-not-just-battalions-biffing-one/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“fifty-six, his hour had come round. He was a paradox and would always remain one, a great tangle of calculated mannerisms and raw, uncalculated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/fifty-six-his-hour-had-come-round-he-was-a-paradox-and-would-always/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“If U-boats torpedoed a transport during the Atlantic passage, how many destroyers should be left behind to pick up survivors? Hewitt was not certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/if-u-boats-torpedoed-a-transport-during-the-atlantic-passage-how-many/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [There were almost 11,000 American soldiers killed in Germany in April of 1945, the last full month of the war. That's almost as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/there-were-almost-11-000-american-soldiers-killed-in-germany-in-april/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“TWO hundred and thirty nautical miles southeast of Gibraltar, Oran perched above the sea, a splinter of Europe cast onto the African shore. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/two-hundred-and-thirty-nautical-miles-southeast-of-gibraltar-oran/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“blared “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” clearly audible on the hillcrest, where a lieutenant who was immune to the prevailing confidence of his seniors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/blared-the-stars-and-stripes-forever-clearly-audible-on-the-hillcrest/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“The troops also edged toward that timeless state common to veteran armies in which the men trusted no one less wretched than themselves. Still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/the-troops-also-edged-toward-that-timeless-state-common-to-veteran/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“In the first half of 1944, battle casualty rates for every 1,000 bomber crewmen serving six months in combat included 712 killed or missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/in-the-first-half-of-1944-battle-casualty-rates-for-every-1-000/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“In less than three years he would be the most celebrated American battle captain of the twentieth century, a man whose name—like those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/in-less-than-three-years-he-would-be-the-most-celebrated-american/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“If you don’t succeed, I don’t want to see you alive,” he advised. “I see no point in surviving defeat, and I am sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/if-you-don-t-succeed-i-don-t-want-to-see-you-alive-he-advised-i-see/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [In searching for a rationale to go to war, Bush settled on the notion of Saddam as an incarnation of evil, basically, and convinced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/in-searching-for-a-rationale-to-go-to-war-bush-settled-on-the-notion/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) [Explore all 93 Rick Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "American audiences tend to underappreciate the British, but 240 years ago they were us: They were the most powerful nation on Earth. Their mercantile empire spanned the planet. They had the most potent and experienced army and navy the world had ever seen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Atkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/american-audiences-tend-to-underappreciate-the-british-but-240-years/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/american-audiences-tend-to-underappreciate-the-british-but-240-years/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/rick-atkinson-7144_american_american-audiences-tend-to-underapprecia_1451006.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American audiences tend to underappreciate the British, but 240 years ago they were us: They were the most…” — Rick Atkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rick Atkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "American audiences tend to underappreciate the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/american-audiences-tend-to-underappreciate-the-british-but-240-years/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/american-audiences-tend-to-underappreciate-the-british-but-240-years/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```