The Royal Navy could stop most trade into and out of the United States after American intervention for Russia activated the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Lost commerce would hurt influential businesses and their connections in Congress, giving the blockade political as well as economic leverage. Sustained pressure might eventually make continued war too costly for influential decision-makers. The scenario uses the commercial and naval balance of 1905 to explain why blockade could matter.
Notable Point · 2:12:48-2:13:45
How a Royal Navy blockade might pressure the United States in 1905
The counterfactual gives blockade unusual leverage because American exporters and politically connected commercial interests still depended heavily on overseas trade.