Mahan cultivated an American sea-power culture

The farming analogy presents Mahan as someone who prepared political ground before a navy could grow from it. His arguments made U.S. naval investment intelligible to the American political imagination. British advocates such as John Fisher could point to American and German building programmes when requesting support for the Royal Navy. In Japan, memories of the American opening of the country made foreign fleet growth a direct security concern. Japanese interest in Britain also reflected fear of a Franco-American combination, with the Royal Navy expected to contain Atlantic forces while Japan faced the American Pacific Fleet. Each country adapted Mahan's influence to its own threats and alliance calculations.