Could American naval construction serve as a jobs program?

Could the United States have used naval construction as a job-creation program?

Yes. Earlier naval races had already stimulated shipyards, heavy industry, and skilled employment in both Britain and the United States.

A naval program distributes demand through yards, steel, machinery, weapons, and skilled trades rather than paying only for completed hulls. Late nineteenth-century British naval expansion, and similar American effects, provide examples of military spending accelerating wider industrial development.