European governments had seen a generation mauled in the First World War, while the United States wanted to avoid another European conflict. Japan's much lighter wartime losses made that emotional setting less universal than treaty advocates assumed. In this interpretation, the limit belonged to a peace movement that hoped constraining weapons would constrain war, even though the figure did not follow naturally from existing capital-ship designs. Political resonance could therefore prevail over naval architecture and replacement logic.
Notable Point · 19:54-21:15
Why the 35,000-ton battleship limit was politically attractive
The 35,000-ton limit is linked to postwar horror and the belief that weaker battleships could make another war less likely.