Navy: Difference between revisions

The United States Navy traces its origins to the [[Continental Navy]], which was established during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. After suffering significant loss of goods and personnel at the hands of the [[Barbary pirates]] from [[Algiers]], the [[United States Congress]] passed the [[Naval Act of 1794]] for the construction of [[Original six frigates of the United States Navy|six heavy frigates]], the first ships of the Navy. The United States Navy played a major role in the American Civil War by [[Union blockade|blockading]] the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the [[World War II]] defeat of [[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]]. The United States Navy emerged from World War II as the most powerful navy in the world. The modern United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], the [[Mediterranean]], and the Indian Ocean. It is a [[blue-water navy]] with the ability to [[power projection|project force]] onto the [[littoral zone|littoral regions]] of the world, engage in forward deployments during peacetime and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it a frequent actor in American foreign and military policy.<!-- any history details in between belongs in the History/Origins section below -->

The Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5yB7hMbYjjUC&pg=PG1|title=American Naval History, 1607–1865: Overcoming the Colonial Legacy|last=Dull|first=Jonathan R.|publisher=U. of Nebraska Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-8032-4471-9|pages=1–16|access-date=17 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126040429/https://books.google.com/books?id=5yB7hMbYjjUC&pg=PG1|archive-date=26 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In the early stages of the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[Massachusetts]] had its own [[Massachusetts Naval Militia]]. The rationale for establishing a national navy was debated in the [[Second Continental Congress|Second]] [[Continental Congress]]. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, and make it easier to seek support from foreign countries. Detractors countered that challenging the British [[Royal Navy]], then the world's preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief [[George Washington]] resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going [[schooner]] [[USS Hannah|USS ''Hannah'']] to interdict British merchantmen and reported the captures to the Congress. On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels to be armed for a cruise against British merchantmen; this resolution created the [[Continental Navy]] and is considered the first establishment of the U.S. Navy.<ref name="Continental"/> The Continental Navy achieved mixed results; it was successful in a number of engagements and raided many British merchant vessels, but it lost twenty-four of its vessels<ref name="love">{{cite book |last=Love | first=Robert W. Jr. |title=History of the US Navy |volume=One: 1775–1941 |location=Harrisburg |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8117-1862-2}}</ref> and at one point was reduced to two in active service.<ref name="Howarth">{{cite book |last=Howarth |first=Steven |title=To Shining Sea: A history of the United States Navy 1776–1991 |location=New York |publisher=Random House |year=1991 |isbn=0-394-57662-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/toshiningseahist00howa}}</ref> In August 1785, after the Revolutionary War had drawn to a close, [[Congress of the Confederation|Congress]] had sold {{USS|Alliance|1778|2}}, the last ship remaining in the Continental Navy due to a lack of funds to maintain the ship or support a navy.<ref name="Alliance">{{cite DANFS |title=Alliance |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a7/alliance-i.htm |access-date=31 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="AbbotVIPICXV">Abbot 1896, Volume I Part I Chapter XV</ref>