On 3 March 1909, Roosevelt warned William Taft against dividing the battleship fleet between the Atlantic and Pacific before the Panama Canal was complete. Keeping the fleet concentrated preserved its ability to act as a major force. One interpretation dates international recognition of American world-power status to the Great White Fleet's voyage, rather than to the Spanish-American War. Spain's weakened position made victory over it a less convincing demonstration of American strength. The circumnavigation supplied visible evidence that the United States could send a battle fleet around the world, shaping expectations that it would have a stake in the First World War.
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The voyage that announced America as a world power
The circumnavigation, more than the Spanish-American War alone, made American world-power status difficult for other states to ignore.