Why cannon production constrained the early United States

Why were cannon a limiting factor for the early United States?

The United States lacked enough established heavy foundries and had to create costly production infrastructure that Britain had accumulated and expanded over centuries.

Producing naval cannon in quantity required foundries, skilled labor, and supporting heavy infrastructure rather than merely placing an order. From independence through the War of 1812, the United States had not invested enough to scale that system quickly. Britain could expand existing bronze- and iron-gun facilities whose roots the panel traces to the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. The comparison explains why building a thousand cannon over a decade could still be a major industrial constraint for a newer naval power.