Or was it just a gradual decline in tensions?
Did the government ever feel a certain way towards Britain that the general public disagreed with?
Basically, how are we strong allies with England today after years of war in America's early years?
Thanks for any replies!
Henry Adams, who served as an American diplomat in London during the Civil War, and whose father, grandfather, and great grandfather (Charles Francis Adams, John Quincy Adams, and John Adams) had all served as the US Minister to the Court of Saint James (i.e. the American Ambassador in the United Kingdom) dated the definitive change as occurring during the Spanish American War in 1898.
At that point, and for the first time, Britain found that it had no objections to American foreign policy in the western hemisphere, while America found that it's interests were aligned with Britain's on the continent, giving final form to an Atlantic system that survives to this day.
Here's the relevant chapter from Adam's autobiography "The Education of Henry Adams" in which he explains his view http://www.bartleby.com/159/24.html
NB: He refers to himself in the third person throughout.
I don't think Americans purely saw Britain as "The Enemy" at really any point during their independent history. Even in the War of 1812, so soon after the revolution, the vote was the closest Congress has ever had on a war declaration, and large parts of the country opposed the war. New England for example had a strong trading relationship with Britain and didn't want to see this jeopardised for "Mr Madison's war."
The period where relations significantly improved was at the start of the 20th century, with the period running from 1898 to the outbreak of WW1 known as the Great Rapprochement. This was a general warming of relations between the two countries, for example, British support for the US in the Spanish American War. Over time there recognition of the shared values between the US and Britain began to come more to the fore. This combines with reduction of Anglophobia among the large amount of former Irish Catholic immigrants when the Irish Free State was granted independence. WW2 is what ultimately cemented an alliance between the countries.
Ultimately it came down to a recognition of both sides that there was little point on conflict, as neither side had anything to gain. Britain had little interest in rocking the boat in the Americas, while US policy towards the rest of the world was often closely aligned with Britain's. This leads on to closer relations, especially when confronted with outside threats