I wouldn't agree to your analysis. The French financed the US Independence movement. The Founding Fathers looked to the French for inspiration when drafting t

I wouldn't agree to your analysis. The French financed the US Independence movement. The Founding Fathers looked to the French for inspiration when drafting the US Constitution. From before its independence until roughly the Vietnam War, France was arguably the closest ally to the United States. The shared dream did, indeed, mean exterminating the current residents. The current residents were often described in news accounts from the time as inhuman savages, not unlike how Africans were viewed. While it's not something I'd want to put forward as key to our identity, it most certainly was key to our identity. Predating the Manifest Destiny, the people of what the United States saw themselves as the right, God-given rulers of the land. It's disgusting, and lead to one of the few "successful" genocides in human history. But it most certainly did unite the early United States of America. Shared culture? Yes, there were many different religions in the early United States. However, they all had a united cause--they were fleeing religious persecution in their home country. This includes the Catholics (fleeing England), Lutherans, Calvinists, Quakers, and Unitarians. It is so much a part of US history that the US Constitution guarantees religious freedom as its first Article. Religious freedom is at the very heart of the founding of the United States, and it is a result of this realization that many American immigrants were fleeing religious persecution in their country of origin. So, basically, the differences between the US and the EU are exactly as the GP mentioned. They were very strong allies to France--the US constitution even includes almost direct quotes from French writers of the time; France both financed the US war of independence and the US bailed out France from the Napoleanic wars by purchasing the Louisiana Purchase. And while they didn't share the same religion, many fled from religious persecution--it was such a common cause that it was enshrined as the first Article to the US Constitution. The US was, indeed, actively engaged in genocide. This, at least, is one thing the US shared with Europe. Europe, from at least the time of the Crusades, but continuing through the slave trade and the many genocides in the 1800s and 1900s, most certainly shares this thread in common with the United States. Congratulations on making the point so clearly that the two cases, in this fashion, were very similar.