• Home Page
  • Alfred Thayer Mahan On American Sea Power

Alfred Thayer Mahan On American Sea Power

Great Essays
Show More
Introduction
Alfred Thayer Mahan recognized the existence of the intermediate field of study and practice between naval policy, strategy and tactics. His theories created a foundation for modern operational art and operational warfare while analyzing contributing factors of politics, social and economic conditions while keeping maritime interests at the forefront of his beliefs. As classical naval theoretician, he shaped the service culture and military doctrine for a multiplicity of navies on a global scale through the examination of European and American naval history referencing the particular effect of operational sea power. Mahan created lessons that could be universally applied and specifically analyzed the British rise to power as a …show more content…
Mahan wrote in The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1860-1783) “Americans must see themselves as inhabitant of a maritime state in a world of strong opposing navies...a new strategy for the U.S. Navy--offensive sea control” (Baer, 1993, p. 1). Prior to the war, Americans never possessed a regular naval force capable of acting in an offensive posture against the enemy in any effective way. The Continental navy, therefore, naturally resorted injuring the enemy through preying upon British commerce. State navies and privateers were engaged in the same pursuit with over 2,000 American vessels employed in privateering and predatory warfare consisting of intercepting the enemy’s transports and supply convoys (Allison, 2011). Colonists could make no headway against the fleets of Great Britain, and were consequently forced to abandon the sea to them, resorting to diplomatic discussions with the French. The French knew that the Americans would be better suited as allies rather than enemies in their endeavor to defeat England. By December 16, 1777, the French foreign minister and delegates of King Louis XVI informed the Second Continental Congress that the French king was ready to recognize the independence of the United States, and form a contingent defensive

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Brits Hit The Bricks Case Study
    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Brits Hit The Bricks Case Study

    Why the Brits Hit the Bricks The British Army was the most powerful army in the world and had successfully thwarted the major European powers that threatened their borders or interest abroad. However, the British lost the American Revolution because of the inability to apprehend or disperse Washington’s armed forces, The Franco-American alliance, waning support from Loyalists, and most importantly, the British failed to efficiently supply the Royal Army during the conflict. The Brits had never faced an opponent in a war such as the one fought in the New World. The implementation of European war strategies on colonists that were so effective in the Seven Years’ War did not work in Britain’s favor during the American Revolutionary War.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Battle Of Yorktown Research Paper
    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Battle Of Yorktown Research Paper

    On October 19, 1781, the British surrendered to the American Army during the Battle of Yorktown. Our British general Cornwallis had his base at Yorktown, at the peninsula in Chesapeake Bay, so the British could get supplies from ships arriving in New York. This turned out to become a big mistake… General George Washington saw this as a chance for him to trap the British. In August, a huge French fleet helping to fight for the Americans came from the West Indies and blocked Chesapeake bay.…

    • 369 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Mahan Sea Power Analysis
    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mahan Sea Power Analysis

    Mahan’s ideas on sea power are said in the reading to be revolutionary for his time. In 1865, the United States Navy went from being the world’s strongest sea power to the one the weakest. Many ships were sold off and funding for the Navy was cut drastically. This drought lasted for twenty years. Mahan said the nation that controls the seas is the nation that controls communication.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Napoleonic War Dbq
    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Napoleonic War Dbq

    One habit of the Royal Navy during the beginning of the 19th century, known as impressment, was to force crewmembers on American vessels to enlist in the Royal Navy by claiming them as English deserters, as there was at the time no way to distinguish Americans from British (Heidler). These acts constituted a military effort against the United States, which was at the time immoral because the United States was neutral, not a French ally. The British took their military pressure one step further, however, by blockading United States shores to prevent trade with the French and even killing Americans on ships in United States waters (Taylor 29). As the United States was at the time a neutral nation, the British never should have been blockading the United States to prevent trade from occurring as the United States was not involved in the war at all, let alone opening fire on American trade vessels in United States seas. By committing such egregious actions as forcing Americans into Royal Navy service and opening fire on American trade vessels, Great Britain refused to respect the neutral rights of the United…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    War Of 1812 DBQ
    • 1608 Words
    • 6 Pages

    War Of 1812 DBQ

    The War of 1812 ended in a stalemate due to the lack of unity between the Americans for and against the war, as well as the different reasonings for going to war. Previously, America was trying to stay out of the foreign war between France and Britain. However, in 1806, Britain passed the Orders in Council, which closed European ports under French control to foreign shipping. Then, Napoleon of France ordered that all merchant ships entering British ships be seized.…

    • 1608 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Strengths And Weaknesses Of The British Military
    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Strengths And Weaknesses Of The British Military

    During the 18th century the British military was seen as the World’s greatest superpower. Britain seemed to continually gain moment over the century, achieving many victories against other superpowers of the time, such as France and Spain. The British maintained dominating military might through their naval supremacy and a professionally trained army of more than 50,000 soldiers. Their navy was not only the best in terms of quality, but quantity as well, with 131 naval warships alone.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On How Did The Colonists Win The American Revolution
    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On How Did The Colonists Win The American Revolution

    The colonists were able to win the American Revolution against the British, even though they faced several detriments. The colonists were able to achieve victory against their dominant adversary; the British, attributable to numerous factors. However, Assistance from the French, the soldiers’ determination, and their battle tactics were the most influential events that occurred in determining the colonists’ victory in the end. The American Revolution wasn’t the effect of one particular event, rather a series of Acts that Parliament passed that eventually lead to the war.…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Why Was The War Of 1812 Important
    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why Was The War Of 1812 Important

    The War of 1812 Sir there have been reports of the British attacking our us ships and sailors! The British have gone at this way to long. They keep taking our cargo and imprisoning our sailors. The actions the British were taking were getting out of hand and made America mad. In retaliation America attacked British ships which lead up to the war of 1812.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Offensive Attack Definition
    • 77 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Offensive Attack Definition

    In February of 1776, the American Navy launched an offensive attack. Instead of attacking their fleet, they attacked the British supply on Nassau, in Bahamas. They snatched the main supply on the fort, and raised the flag of the American Revolution. This was significant because after being successful in Nassau, they repeated this, seizing other British supply. This affected the colonists because it weakened the British navy in the West Indies, and other British navies later on.…

    • 77 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    War Of 1812 Analysis
    • 105 Words
    • 1 Pages

    War Of 1812 Analysis

    During the War of 1812, also referred to as the “Second War of Independence”, the U.S declared war on Britain because it felt that the blockage of its ports, and the general interference with the Navy was too bitter a pill to swallow. Additionally, the U.S. was not happy with how searches were carried out on its ships. The Britain also took over the shipping and the U.S. was forced to adhere to their rules. The blockage of ports and interference of the navy is the element that James Madison says covers three quarters of the globe in his 1812 State of the Union…

    • 105 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq Alien And Sedition Acts Essay
    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Dbq Alien And Sedition Acts Essay

    Under the impression that the United States was secretly in cahoots with France due to their alliance, despite the implementation of the Neutrality Acts, the British attacked American vessels in the French West Indies. They seized 300 merchant ships and hundreds of seamen, some of whom they employed on their own ships and others they incarcerated in dungeons. In 1794 Washington sent John Jay to London to treat with the British about their violations of America’s neutral rights but, due in part to Hamilton selling out Jay’s bargaining tactics to the Britons, he instead ended up binding American merchants to pre-Revolutionary debts, received only tentative assurance that Britain would remove her posts on U.S. soil, and none at all that they would cease future maritime attacks and seizures.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Britain's Victory Exposed The Need For Greater Control, By Fred Anderson
    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Britain's Victory Exposed The Need For Greater Control, By Fred Anderson

    As time fosters distance from the American Revolution, it is expected that the manner in which historians examine this era also has changed and adapted. Even when the facts have remained unaffected, various schools of thought have generated differing opinions of the events surrounding this conflict. This has led to the war not only being studied, but also the individual historian’s directions being dissected as well. Examples of this shifting historiography can be observed within the edited collection of essays and sources within Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791, specifically within the chapter entitled “The British Empire and the War for North America”. Utilizing both source documents and essays, the editors of this chapter put together a perspective of the American Revolution…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Thomas Paine's Argumentative Analysis
    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Thomas Paine's Argumentative Analysis

    The British weren’t interested in protecting the Americans from their combatants, rather they were more fixated on protecting themselves from their enemies. His argument is further strengthened when he adds that, “France and Spain never were, nor perhaps ever will be, our enemies as Americans, but as our being the subjects of Great Britain.” His arguments serve to prove that the British never protected America, but made her more vulnerable to enmity. He diminishes the value of the English army by revealing that “not a tenth of them are fit for service.” He continues on to explain why even a fifth of their navy that’s fit for service is not available due to a large demand from Africa, The East and West Indies, and the Mediterranean.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    War Of 1812 Research Paper
    • 1693 Words
    • 7 Pages

    War Of 1812 Research Paper

    Along with advantages, there was also plenty of disadvantages, one being that there were barely twelve ships ready for naval battle. There were many small sea battles between the British Navy and American sailors, but one of the most memorable was the ship Chesapeake, which contributed to the United States feelings about war (“An American Perspective of the War of 1812”). Government officials discussed the situations of war (Coles 2). After discussion, President Madison asked, “ For a declaration of war on Britain on four major grounds; impressment of American Seamen, violation of American neutral rights, territorial waters blockade of the New Worlds ports, and British refusal to revoke the order” (Ripley and Tucker 12). England showed much more enthusiasm towards France because of Napoleon and his army (Coles 189).…

    • 1693 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Essay On Landpower
    • 1103 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Landpower

    Landpower is the most versatile and flexible of the various elements of military power. These concepts, coupled with landpower’s recognized interdependency on the other elements of military power, explain the extraordinary jointness of the American way of conducting land warfare. This interdependence and jointness are the keys to understanding what landpower is both well suited for, and ill-suited to accomplish. It also informs not only how the U.S. Army and Marines organized to fight in the Pacific during WWII, but also why they continue to task organize and fight as a unified, joint landpower team…

    • 1103 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings