German naval spending could expand only while it left enough money for the Army. Naval laws did not make that allocation permanent, because legislators could change them under pressure from the land forces. A larger American fleet would make the argument for abandoning an unaffordable naval competition more attractive to German Army advocates. Their preferred alternative was to concentrate resources on continental military power. The United States faced a different strategic calculation because a peer land threat would generally have to cross the sea before reaching it. That geography gave American leaders more freedom to favor the Navy within the military budget.
Notable Point · 40:14-42:25
Why German and American naval budgets faced different limits
German naval competition depended on the Army's funding requirements, while American geography made a larger naval share of military expenditure easier to justify.