Welcome American Fleet

Date1908

Object number00045883

NamePostcard

MediumColour print on paper

DimensionsOverall: 92 x 142 mm

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionThis postcard titled 'Welcome' was issued by the Department of Communications in commemoration of the visit of the American Fleet, October 1908 to Yokohama, Japan. Features an image of one of the warships, possibly the VERMONT, from the Fleet over a background of an anchor, roses and a rope coiled to spell out 'American Fleet'. Posted from Yokohama 19 October 1908 by a sailor on USS VERMONT.HistoryIn December 1907 United States President Theodore Roosevelt sent the US Atlantic Battle Fleet of 16 battleships and seven auxiliary ships on an 18 month goodwill cruise around the world. The fleet was a chance for the Navy to practice seamanship and express America's world power. Roosevelt was also concerned about rising Japanese aggression and their expansionist foreign policy. The cruise would be a political and public relations exercise to build domestic support for more naval construction. Led by the flagship, USS CONNECTICUT, the Great White Fleet as it became known, consisted of 16 battleships painted white, as was the practice of all US Navy ships in times of peace. The ships sailed in four divisions of four ships each. Early in the voyage the order of the ships was altered to allow the best-looking vessels to be at the front of the fleet. The cruise incorporated six continents, 26 countries and 32 ports with 614 officers and 13,504 crew. It consumed 435,000 tons of coal, more than any other naval expedition and was the largest fleet to ever accomplish a circumnavigation of the globe.SignificancePrinted ephemera captures a moment in time and in this case it represents the enormous impact of the Great White Fleet world tour in 1908.