Why the early United States lacked ships of the line

Did HMS Victory's example make the early United States' lack of ships of the line more unforgivable?

Not necessarily; ships of the line demanded an industrial and institutional system far beyond heavy frigates, and the early US government may not have been ready to fund it.

An audience comment suggests that HMS Victory makes the early United States' lack of ships of the line look less forgivable. Heavy frigates were one level of investment, while ships of the line required an entire supporting system of yards, foundries, skilled labor, and procurement. The late-eighteenth- or early-nineteenth-century US government may not have been ready to fund that depth. Britain could later move its accumulated methods into steam and iron construction because inherited institutions accelerated the transition.