Senator Benjamin Tillman's extravagant battleship proposals sat within a wider political argument. Other politicians shared parts of his outlook, and a coalition around them could have reduced U.S. Navy appropriations sharply. Under that outcome, the fleet might have concentrated on submarines, destroyers, and light cruisers instead of capital ships. Spectacular design proposals still depended on legislative control of naval budgets.
Notable Point · 32:43-33:04
How Tillman-style politics might shrink the U.S. fleet
The Tillman battleship proposals sat inside a wider political argument that could just as easily have cut naval funding and produced a submarine-destroyer-cruiser fleet.