US Navy Battleships 1895-1908: The Great White Fleet and the beginning of US global naval power

The last predreadnought battleships were the first tool of international hard power wielded by the United States, a nation which would become the world's dominant political and military power of the 20th century.

These battleships were the stars of the 1907–09 Great White Fleet circumnavigation, in which the emerging power and reach of the US Navy was displayed around the world. They also took part in the bombardment and landings at Veracruz, some served as convoy escorts in World War I, and...