Why the early US Navy favored coastal defense

Why did the early United States favor coastal monitors instead of an ocean-going ironclad like HMS Warrior?

American policy was reluctant to fund distant naval operations and concentrated instead on local coastal defense.

The United States concentrated on coastal monitors instead of building an ocean-going ironclad comparable to HMS Warrior. The country's early naval policy was ambivalent about operations far from home waters. Some coastal-defence proposals even involved very small armed boats moved overland by vehicles or horses. The monitor preference reflected a wider emphasis on local defence rather than a failure to copy a foreign ship.