Daveraj
Khuti
2-23-15
I
PLEDGE DK
US
History
The Great White Fleet
In 1906 tensions between Japan and
the United States were high; problems with Japan began to pop up shortly after
President Theodore Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth, earlier that
year, which ceased the Russo-Japanese War. That conflict had left the Russian
fleet destroyed and embarrassed, and it helped to display the Japanese’s
advanced, powerful, and disciplined Navy. Despite the Japanese’s obvious
dominance over the Russians on the seas, they felt that they failed to receive
all that they deserved at the peace table and for that they blamed Roosevelt.
During that same
year, anti-Japanese feeling were spreading through California,
the San Francisco Board of Education voted to segregate all immigrant and
descendent Japanese school children from white school children. Also the
newspapers of that time issued a dire warning about a “Yellow Peril”, the high
tensions between whites and Japanese lead to many being burned, beaten, and/or
killed. The government eventually intervened attempting to lower tension, they
created the “Gentleman’s Agreement” which persuaded Japan to quietly limit the
outflow of immigrant workers to the US. All of these events combined offended
the Japanese and worked to raise tensions even higher.
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| A map of The Great White Fleet's voyage |
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| The Flagship Connecticut, one of a set of a commemorative postcards of the Great White Fleet |
In October 1907 President Roosevelt
ordered a defense study of the Philippines, which eventually caused the US Navy
to shift its focus from the Atlantic to the Pacific. President Roosevelt saw
that the Philippines created a natural barrier between Japan and the resources
in East Asia. He believed that if the Japanese wished to control the Southwest
Pacific it was crucial for them to seize the Islands. Unfortunately for America
the Japanese had the ability to, if they wanted, to take control of the
Philippines, the US military’s study came to the conclusion that the
Philippines must be sacrificed if Japanese ever attacked.
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| A postcard made in 1908 which welcomed the fleet to Australia |
At this time the majority of the
American battle fleet was concentrated in the Atlantic, and there were only a
few armored cruisers on duty in the Pacific. President Roosevelt consulted with
his advisers and believed that in the event of war with Japan, the small
Asiatic Battle Fleet would have to abandon the Philippines of the ports in the US
and would have to wait until we had the strength to mount an offensive. In
order to have the capacity to mount an offensive, if it was ever needed, the US
navy had to improve; so from 1904 to 1907 American shipyards constructed 11 new
and powerful battleships to give the United States a deathly and powerful Navy.
The United States naval power was now second only to that of Great Britain. In
early June 1907, Roosevelt decided to discreetly begin to assemble an Atlantic
battle fleet in Hampton Roads, Virginia; on June 27, 1907 he transferred the
American battleship fleet to the Pacific. Rumors began to circulate about what
the motives of this fleet were, but on August 23 1907 Secretary Loeb announced
that the fleet would leave from San Francisco to go on a world tour.
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| President Roosevelt(on the 12-inch (30 cm) gun turret at right) addresses officers and crewmen on the Connecticut, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, upon her return from the Fleet's cruise around |
The US was not the first country
that had tried to circumnavigate the globe, but the Great White Fleet was the
first attempt with an entire battle fleet. The closest previous attempt was
done by the Russian fleet to the Sea of Japan, but the Russian’s fleet
devastating defeat by the Japanese Navy was partially caused by their strenuous
journey from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific. Unlike the Russians in 1905,
Roosevelt was actually sending messages to the Japanese saying that the US
battle fleet could be transferred into a fighting force from its concentration
in the Atlantic to the Pacific, if that course of action was needed. Roosevelt
hoped that the fleet’s successful journey would prove to the Japanese, British,
and Germans that it was possible, and show the new strength of the United
States Navy. Roosevelt was interested to see the condition of the fleet after
such a long and tiring journey, he said “I want all failures, blunders, and
shortcomings to be made apparent in time of peace and not in time of war”.
Roosevelt sent sixteen American
Warships containing 14,000 Americans sailors which ended up visiting twenty
ports on six continents. The goal of the voyage was to remind everyone that
“the Pacific is as much our home waters as the Atlantic”. Although the voyage
was a peaceful one, the motives were a bit backhanded. Roosevelt stated that
the journey was meant to improve the relations with nations around the world,
but in fact the voyage was a way for Roosevelt to demonstrate to the rest of
the world the power and capabilities of the US Navy. It worked to show the
other nations around the world that the US Navy had now “arrived” as a powerful
navy power; America’s naval power was now only second to that of Great Britain.
A great success that was a result of the trip was the Root-Takahira Agreement
which was an agreement that emphasized the wishes of both governments to
maintain the status quo in the Pacific and to defend the Open Door policy and
the integrity and independence of China. They also “resolved” the tensions in
the Pacific agreeing to respect each other’s territory which resulted in a
growth in trade between the two nations. It also
acknowledged Japan’s right to
annex Korea, the agreement was considered a diplomatic victory by most in the
US, and thankfully war was averted.
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| The Connecticut leads the way for the fleet in 1907 |
A great example of the successful
diplomatic nature of the journey was the fleet was the fleet was docked in
Egypt, they got word that there had been an earthquake in Sicily. This gave the
United States the perfect opportunity to show its friendship to Italy by
offering aid to the sufferers. The Connecticut, Illinois, Culgoa, and Yankton
were dispatched at once to aid the Italians in their troubles; the Illinois recovered
the bodies of the American consul and his wife, who had died when their
building collapsed on them. The Scorpion and Celtic were sent to Sicily to relieve
the Connecticut and Illinois so they could rejoin with the main fleet and
finish out their journey.
On February 22, 1909 the Great White
Fleet steamed home at last, they were welcomed back to America at Hampton Roads
by President Theodore Roosevelt in the presidential yacht. The successful
journey of The Great White Fleet changed the Japanese and in fact the whole worlds
view of the United States. The US was no longer seen as a country still trying
to establish itself; they were now seen as a legitimate and powerful nation. A
Japanese statesman believed that the American fleet’s visit to the Pacific
marked the beginning of a new era in Asiatic affairs. When the American fleet finally
returned home they had completely altered the balance of power in the East; although
the voyage successfully lowered tensions with Japan and they had temporarily avoided
anytime of military altercations for now. After the successful return of the
fleet President Roosevelt still remained a realist about the idea of permanent
peace in the Pacific, he said “Sooner or later, the Japanese will try to bolster up their power by another war. Unfortunately for us, we have what they want most, the Philippines. When the time comes, we will win over Japan, but it will
be one of the most disastrous conflicts the world has ever seen”.
Works Cited
"Around the World with the Fleet." Los Angeles Herald [Los Angeles] 7 Mar. 1909, The Fleet's Tour of
the World: 5. Library of Congress.
Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1909-03-07/ed-1/seq-37/>.
This source is a newspaper article from The Los Angeles Herald, published in
Los Angeles, CA on March 7, 1909. This article was published 13 days after the
fleet returned from its tour around the world, the article was about the
comments General Benjamin F. Tracy, former Secretary of the Navy, towards
"the wonderful achievements of the navy" during their peaceful trip
around the world. He also commented on the impact that the trip has made around
the world and how it has changed the perspective of the United States Navy in
the eyes of the International Community. The reason that I chose this source is
because it provides a reflection on the trip and its impacts and it also
provides a view of the achievements of the fleet from a former high ranking
official in the Navy, which gives it a relative truthfulness.
"Eager to Sail." Washington
Herald [Washington D.C.] 15 Dec. 1907, sec. 5: 11-13. Library of Congress. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1907-12-15/ed-1/seq-1/#words=COMMANDERS+SAIL+Commander+EAGER+Command+Commanding+Battle+Fleet>.
This source is a newspaper from The Washington Herald, published in Washington
D.C. on December 15, 1907. This primary source provided me with information
about the mindset and attitude of the United States Navy before they embarked
on their journey around the world, it also provided a quote from Rear Admiral
Robley D. Evans, the commander and chief of the fleet. His quote explained what
the goal of the fleet was and how the nation felt/should feel to all the
soldiers departing. I chose this source because of it was published a day
before the fleet departed from Hampton Roads, VA; so the article provides
legitimate insight into the attitude and hopes that the sailors had before the
departed. And this works well with the other newspaper article I chose from The
Los Angeles Herald, because I am able to compare and contrast with relative
truth whether or not they completed their goals.
McKinley, Mike. "Cruise of the Great White Fleet." Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S.
Navy, 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/cruise-great-white-fleet-mckinley.html>.
This website was extremely helpful to me during my research because it provided
me with an in depth and chronological account of most of the events that
transpired during the voyage. It also used quotes from sailors that actually
were on the fleet and that helped me to draw accurate conclusions about what it
might have been like the be a part of the fleet. The actual accounts it
included were not just from actual sailors but it also mentioned the people who
worked with the coal engines and the servants who all helped out on the boats
behind the scenes. This information from the Naval History and Heritage Command
is highly reliable because it comes the publisher of the sight is the U.S.
Navy. The information was useful to my research because it showed me more
information about what it might have been like to be a part of the fleet and it
showed me more about the relationships that the sailors had with each other
during this long journey. Plus it also provided me with a specific and accurate
account of the journey.
Morris, Edmund. "Such a Fleet and Such a Day." Chapter
29. Theodore Rex. New York: Random,
2001. 493-505. Print. This book written by Edmund Morris was helpful to me and
my research because it showed the build up to the deployment of the fleet and
the actual events that transpired in congress before and after the fleet was
deployed. It showed me how not all of the citizens of America agreed with the
idea of the Great White Fleet, and it was all interesting to learn how there
was also reluctance in Congress about whether or not to release the funds needed
for the fleet to happen. This book also provided me with a lot of technical
information about the actual voyage and the lengths and hardships they faced
throughout the whole voyage. This was all useful because it showed me
information about what occurred behind the scenes back in America while the
fleet was travelling around the world, which was useful because it opened my
eyes to both parts of the story.
Pike, John E. "Great White Fleet (16 Dec 1907 - 22 Feb
1909)." Global Security. Ed.
John E. Pike. N.p., 7 May 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/great-white-fleet.htm>.
This website provided me with information about the effects of the Great White
Fleet had on the whole world and even the effects that the fleet had on the
citizens of the US and the way it changed the dynamic of everything related to
world power. The information about how the fleet changed the dynamic in the
pacific was useful to my research because I was able to see how the fleet
actually accomplished its mission of temporarily defused the tensions between
the US and Japan. And it showed me the significance of the color that they
painted each boat and how that has created a tradition in the Navy. This
information about the temporary and long term effects of the fleet was helpful
to my research because I was able to see the actual use of the mission and to
see how effective it was on the world and in the US.
Ward, Geoffrey C. "Oughtn't We All be Proud?" In the
Arena. The Roosevelts: An Intimate
History. By Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
2014. 144-45. Print. This book written by Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns offered
me a basic understanding of the Great White Fleet and the influence President
Roosevelt had in its creation and voyage. This source told me about the
original tensions that began to grow between Japan and the US, and that
information told me how and why the Great White Fleet was created. This book
also told me about the reaction Roosevelt had towards the successful return of
the fleet from around the world and what he believed were the effects of the
journey. This book was a good source because it showed me basic information
about the fleet which allowed me to know which parts to investigate into more,
and it showed me the accurate reaction of Roosevelt towards the fleet and its
mission.
