The United States' potential strength was never automatically available to the Navy. Congress could recognise a naval requirement in one measure while delaying or denying the appropriation needed to build it. Legislators could also decide that a different program should receive funding instead of the Navy's preferred plan. Peacetime electoral incentives made armed-forces spending especially difficult to prioritise.
Notable Point · 32:35-34:01
Congress and interwar U.S. naval growth
American industrial potential did not automatically become naval power because Congress could recognise a requirement without funding it or could substitute a different program.