Why a large defense budget produced a cruiser-heavy fleet

How does the United States have nearly as many battleships as the much larger British campaign empire?

It spends heavily on defense, concentrates its short-ranged battleships near home waters, and directs much of its construction toward cruisers.

The answer separates defense expenditure from the number of battleships a navy fields. In this campaign, American capital ships tend to be short-ranged and concentrated near home waters. Much of the construction effort instead goes into heavy and light cruisers. The comparison shows why a large budget can produce a powerful but differently balanced fleet rather than matching an opponent ship for ship.