USS Chicago and the first USS Texas make the U.S. Navy's transformation tangible. Chicago belonged to the early protected-cruiser effort, while Texas represented the new battleship programme and a response to capable South American fleets. Brazil and other regional powers could field naval capabilities that the underfunded United States lacked. Theoretical industrial potential became sea power only when political support paid for actual ships.
Chapter · 36:58-40:00
From USS Chicago to the first USS Texas
Chicago and the first USS Texas show an American navy moving from protected cruisers toward a modern battle fleet in the 1880s and 1890s.