US Navy Essay

The US Navy came to fruition due to the efforts of navalists including John Adams. Adams was able to further the development of the Navy during his presidency; he first articulated the advantages of a navy which then lead to the establishment of the Department of the Navy in 1798.
John Adams and other pro-naval congressmen forcefully expressed the benefits of a navy not only in distressing the enemy, but in making possible a system of maritime and naval operations to protect the American colonies (Pletcher). On the other hand, antinavalists, better known as Jeffersonians, believed that a appropriate naval force would consist of more of small gunboats that could defend the coasts of the United States.
The effect of John Adams and others in the creation of the Continental Navy in mid-1770’s was an impressive
Navy to be recognized as a separate cabinet than the War department, supported increased ship production and prepared existing ships for combat. In addition it installed the position of Secretary of the Navy “and he is hereby, authorized and empowered, immediately after he shall be appointed, and shall enter upon the duties of his office, to take possession of all the records, books, and documents, and all other matters and things appertaining to this department, which are now deposited in the office of the Secretary of War” and it set up the principal clerk which is meant to aid the Secretary of the Navy in whatever aspects deemed necessary (The Navy Department Library). “By the end of 1798, the navy owned 14 completed vessels and had more under construction. Naval shipyards, such as Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Washington Navy Yard, Boston Naval Shipyard and New York Navy Yard, sprung up around the turn of the century along important rivers and on the coastlines of major American cities to support increased ship production and to prepare existing ships for combat,”(National Park