22The White House
Washington, D.C.
March 1905
President Theodore Roosevelt believed that the twentieth century would become, as he called it, “America’s time.” He believed that the era of the United States isolating itself behind two ocean barriers had ended and that he would be the president to bring the United States to prominence on the world stage. He had an avid interest in international affairs, and his background as Assistant Secretary of the Navy served to fuel this interest, as did his passion for history. At the age of twenty-four, he had published History of the Naval War of 1812, which had become the definitive book on the subject. His interest in naval affairs had only heightened since then.
He intended to convert the United States Navy into a true “blue water” navy, and h
