Is there a quality difference between Madame Alexander dolls and American Girl dolls?

American Girl dolls ( do not confuse with a magazine once affiliated with the GSA) are originally a series of historical types, with different names, backgrounds, eras- and props. The idea is something similar to , well historical models of classic cars, etc, but here done with dolls. all are made under the same House so to speak, including props like Felicity's so-called Guitar which is actually a Mandolin. ( Felicity is the American-Colonial doll) . The Madame Alexander dolls cover a wide range but are not primarily historical types- of course historical dolls are nothing new- on the male side- G.I. Joe and Johnny Reb. Jiohnny Reb and his famous Cannon were made by Marx during the Civil War centennial in the early sixties.