British and American Naval Power: Politics and Policy, 1900-1936

by Phillips O'Brien

Overview

U.S. and British naval power developed in quite different ways in the early 20th century before the Second World War. This study compares, contrasts, and evaluates both British and American naval power as well as the politics that led to the development of each. Naval power was the single greatest manifestation of national power for both countries. Their armies were small and their air forces only existed for part of the period covered. For Great Britain, naval power was vital to her very existence, and for the U.S., naval power was far and away the most effective tool the country could use to exercise armed influence around the world. Therefore, the decisions made about the relative strengths of the two navies were in many ways the most important strategic choices the British and American governments ever made. An important book for military historians and those interested in the exercise and the extension of power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275958985
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/23/1998
Series:	Praeger Studies in Diplomacy and Strategic Thought
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

PHILLIPS PAYSON O'BRIEN is a lecturer in Modern History at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. From 1991 until 1996 he was both the Mellon Research Fellow in American History at Cambridge University and a Drapers Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Introduction
Before the War
Naval Policy in Great Britain and the United States
British Naval Power from the Two Power Standard to 1908
Theodore Roosevelt and American Naval Power
The 1909 Naval Estimates Crisis
From Taft to Wilson
The Inter-War Years
Anglo-American Rivalry and the Paris Peace Conference
The Washington Conference and the Question of Naval Parity
The Geneva Conference: A Crisis in Anglo-American Relations
The Highpoint and Collapse of the Naval Arms Control Process
Conclusion
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

O'Brien (modern history, U. of Glasgow) evaluates the development of the US and British navies during the years prior to WWI and through the interwar years, focusing on specific incidents and issues to highlight reevaluations and changes in naval policy and consequently, in the balance of power between the US, Britain, and other countries. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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