The Great White Fleet, By Daveraj Khuti

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

A map of The Great White Fleet's voyage

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.

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.

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.

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 world, 22 February 1909.

            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

The Connecticut leads the way for the fleet in 1907

acknowledged Japan’s right to annex Korea, the agreement was considered a diplomatic victory by most in the US, and thankfully war was averted.

            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.