There are so many types of cheese in the world and yet in most grocery stores in America the block of chedder is the mainstay while other cheeses are shuffled off as specialty foods. Why?
I'm sorry I can't say why America seems to like cheddar, however I I do know why Britain overwhelmingly favours it
Cheddars been around a long time in the UK, since before Henry VIII actually, as we have a record of him buying it. But Cheddar itself wasn't massively popular until WW2 where rationing meant that something nicknamed "Government Cheddar" became pretty much the only cheese being produced, since then it's been a mainstay
Although this is off the top of my head, the other reason is that cheddar tends to be the most neutral cheese, it's got a decent texture, not too strong or smelly etc
Sources
History Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company
http://www.cooksinfo.com/government-cheddar-cheese
Sorry for the non academic sources, but it seems that cheese isn't on the top of their to do list
you might want to try posting to /r/askculinary instead