Victoria, Queen of England, exerted an astonishing influence on every aspect of American life during her reign from June 20, 1837, to January 22, 1901. American dependence upon England in matters of taste and style was not new, for during almost the entire Colonial period the Colonists had attempted to approximate British modes of living. As America struggled for her independence, an intense interest in French politics developed. Many American tastemakers, such as Thomas Jefferson, turned to Paris for inspiration. Consequently, Parisian fashions and taste dominated the American scene for much of the last quarter of the eighteenth century and for the first decades of the nineteenth century. Under Victoria, England once again became a fountainhead of style and taste for Americans.