![]() The United States was given the right to build a naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1887, and, in the same year, Americans on the islands forced the Hawaiian rulers to create a constitutional monarchy under American control. American missionaries and commercial interests had long been active in Hawaii by the 1840s, they controlled the sugar plantations and held positions in government. The true prize in the Pacific, however, was the Hawaiian Islands. In 1878, a treaty was negotiated that gave the United States the right to establish a naval station at Pago Pago in Samoa. ![]() Seward as an important step in establishing a foothold in Asian markets. The purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, though derided at the time as “Seward's Folly,” was seen by Secretary of State William H. Before and after the war, several small islands in the Pacific were acquired as coaling stations for American ships: Howland and Baker Islands in 1857 and the Midway Islands in 1867. Nonetheless, steps were taken to extend American influence beyond the continental United States. BushĪround the time of the Civil War, the majority of Americans showed little interest in foreign policy national concerns were industrialization, the settlement of the West, and domestic politics. From Vice President to President: George H.W.The United States under Ford and Carter.A New Society: Economic & Social Change.American Society and Culture, 1865–1900.Germany also took note of Mahan’s writing, building their navy to rival Great Britain’s. Mahan’s books inspired the buildup of Great Britain’s sea power, regarded prior to the advent of World War II, as the greatest naval power in the world. Before his death in December 1914, Mahan foretold the defeat of the Central Powers and of the German navy in World War I. His other major books included The Life of Nelson (1897) and The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence (1913). In The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present and Future (1897), Mahan sought to arouse his fellow Americans to a realization of their maritime responsibilities. In 1906 Mahan and other naval captains who had served in the Civil War were promoted to the rank of rear admiral. He served as president of the American Historical Association in 1902. Navy in 1896 but was subsequently recalled serving on the Naval War Board during the Spanish-American War (1898). Both books were avidly read in Great Britain and Germany, where they influenced the buildup of naval forces in the years prior to World War I. In his second book, The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire 1812 (1793-1812), Mahan stressed the interdependence of the military and commercial control of the sea and asserted that the control of seaborne commerce can determine the outcome of wars. The book, which came at a time of great technological improvement in warships, won immediate recognition abroad. In this book he argued for the paramount importance of sea power in national historical supremacy. In 1890 Mahan published his college lectures as The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783. ![]() Mahan became the college’s president in 1886 and held that post until 1889. ![]() In 1884 he was invited by Stephen Luce, president of the newly established Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, to lecture on naval history and tactics there. Dahlgren, and was steadily promoted, reaching the rank of captain in 1885. He fought in the American Civil War, later served on the staff of Adm. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1859 and went on to serve 40 years of active duty in the United States Navy. Mahan was the son of a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. His most prominent work, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783, had a widespread impact on navies around the world. (Photo/Bruce Newman)Īlfred Thayer Mahan (September 27, 1840–December 1, 1914) was a US Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian. ![]()
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