Trafalgar, Battle of (1805)

Review of a Professor Phillipp Fleischer painting of a dying Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Collection

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Creation Date

Unknown

President Roosevelt thinks that French Ensor Chadwick has correctly characterized Spaniards in comparison to other European races and nationalities. Roosevelt reflects on some of the strengths and weaknesses of various European navies, and how this has changed through time.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-08

President Roosevelt congratulates Baron Kentarō Kaneko on Japan’s naval success.  

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-31

Diplomat John Ridgely Carter informs President Roosevelt that he can expect a bust of Admiral Lord Nelson and plaque commemorating Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar courtesy of the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-15

Carl Cavanagh Hodge examines Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas and policies regarding naval policy in the context of international relations and a naval arms race in the first decade of the twentieth century. Hodge emphasizes Roosevelt’s reading and use of the ideas of naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, and he compares American naval plans with those of Great Britain and Germany. Hodge frames Roosevelt’s policies within the context of friendly relations with Great Britain, an increasingly assertive Germany, and the rising power of Japan, especially in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War. Hodge highlights the acquisition and construction of the Panama Canal and the voyage of the Great White Fleet as key parts of Roosevelt’s overall naval strategy. He notes Roosevelt’s embrace of the battleship as a means of engaging other nations’ fleets abroad, and he asserts that Roosevelt saw the fleet as an important symbol of American power. 

 

Eight photographs, including those of Roosevelt and Mahan, and one illustration supplement the article. A text with the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appears in the endnotes.