Exploitative first half of 20th century factory working conditions with steampunk aesthetics scream Britain for me.
Thinking of America just shows that the reader has no proper contextual (historical) knowledge. Britain was on its zenith, literally the first superpower that existed ever. Literally had sway over colonies larger than the US.
Being cocksure and clueless kind of go badly with each other interpreting imaginative work from the last century or before.