'A Striking Thing': Leadership, Strategic Communications, and Roosevelt's Great White Fleet

Abstract

The voyage of the U.S. Navy's "Great White Fleet" constituted an exercise in personal leadership on the part of President Theodore Roosevelt and in international leadership on the part of a United States announcing its arrival as a world power. Sixteen battleships, eight armored cruisers, six torpedo-boat destroyers, and associated auxiliaries steamed out of Hampton Roads in December 1907, embarking on a world cruise.1 The fleet rounded South America before standing out across the Pacific, stopping at a variety of ports of call along the way. It passed through Malacca, the Bab el Mandeb, Suez, and Gibraltar before returning home through the Atlantic. The vessels entered harbor in early 1909, allowing "TR" to conclude his presidency on a triumphant note.2

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA519197

Entities

People

  • James R. Holmes

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Diplomacy
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Leadership
  • Naval Warfare
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • Security
  • Strategic Communications
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Oceanography.