This was my experience with Berkeley too, and decided not to apply (I'm a medievalist, not a modern europeanist). Early on in the apps process, many schools I was interested in either explicitly or implicitly expressed a preference for Americanist scholars, especially those interested in studying race/ethnicity in America (probably as a direct result of the horrific events of this past summer). I'm also told that time to degree for Americanists can be faster than for medievalists or european scholars because they have fewer language prereqs and don't need to go overseas to reach their archives, and it's probably in a school's best interest to fund a student for 5-6 years as opposed to 6-7 years.
Good luck to you both! This cycle has been brutal.