Peace settlement and dreadnought consequences

Peace negotiations could redistribute Cuba, the Philippines, and Hawaii while imposing limits on American fleet procurement. A coalition conference would be harder than the bilateral Treaty of Ghent model because Germany, Spain, Japan, and other participants would seek rewards Britain itself did not need. American defeat would probably return Roosevelt to power with a mandate to rebuild the US Navy, while continued German naval laws left Britain facing two quantitative challenges. One possible British response is a more radical HMS Dreadnought: a 24-knot ship with fifteen 14-inch guns, superfiring or triple turrets, rather than the historical 21-knot design armed with ten 12-inch guns. Such a jump would exploit British industrial and research capacity while forcing German and American designers to develop new guns, turrets, and layouts. The cost of the conflict could also lead London and Washington to create safeguards against another Anglo-American war.