Full Description
This survey of American naval history features original chapters from key scholars in the field that trace the relationship between the American Navy and the position of the United States on the global political stage over the past 250 years. * Places equal weight on the influence of major wartime campaigns and naval efforts to defend and expand America s political and economic interests during times of peace * Includes an array of illustrations and 56 new maps, seamlessly integrated within each chapter * Each chapter features sidebars with biographical sketches of influential leaders and descriptions of weapons and technological developments of the era
Contents
List of Contributors ix List of Maps xiii List of Figures xv List of Tables xvii List of Vignettes xix Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxiii 1. Sea Power and the Modern State System 1 2. The American War for Independence at Sea 11 3. Genesis of the US Navy, 1785 1806 26 4. The Naval War of 1812 and the Confirmation of Independence, 1807 1815 42 5. The Squadron Navy: Agent of a Commercial Empire, 1815 1890 58 6. Technological Revolution at Sea 74 7. The Civil War: Blockade and Counter-Blockade 87 8. The Civil War on Rivers and Coastal Waters 101 9. The New Navy, 1865 1895 116 10. War with Spain and the Revolution in Naval Affairs, 1895 1910 133 11. Defending Imperial Interests in Asia and the Caribbean, 1898 1941 149 12. Naval Rivalry and World War I at Sea, 1900 1920 163 13. Finding Certainty in Uncertain Times: The Navy in the Interwar Years 179 14. World War II in the Atlantic and Mediterranean 193 15. Defense in the Pacific, 1937 1943 210 16. Offensive in the Pacific, 1943 1944 225 17. The Victory of Sea Power in the Pacifi c 242 18. The Uneasy Transition, 1945 1953 259 19. Cold War Challenges, 1953 1963 274 20. The Test of Vietnam 289 21. Twilight of the Cold War: Contraction, Reform, and Revival 305 22. Contours of Conflict: Worldwide War on Terrorism, 1990 2015 323 23. Quo Vadis? 339 Further Reading 355 Index 363
