A Brief History
On February 22, 1909, President Teddy Roosevelt made good on his advice to “carry a big stick.”
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find the “Great White Fleet,” 16 modern battleships of the U.S. Navy, along with various smaller craft, returning home.
Roosevelt was determined to show the world that the United States was a power to be reckoned with and so had this fleet painted all white so that it would be instantly recognized. It was!
On the pretext of a goodwill cruise, the Great White Fleet circled the globe to show friend and foe alike the power of the U.S. Navy and its ability to project that power anywhere in the world. The world had seen plenty of goodwill visits before as well as shows of force under the guise of “showing the flag,” but never had such a powerful fleet been painted up and paraded around every corner of the world!
Since ships could not steam around the world without refueling (prior to nuclear power), only a navy with adequate coaling stations along the way could perform such a feat. The Russians had paid heavily in the Russo-Japanese war (1905) for just that reason (among others), but the U.S. had gained all sorts of new possessions with the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, enabling them to pull it off. Additionally, with the lessons of the Russian disaster in mind, care was taken to assemble adequate merchant shipping to carry coal and other supplies to support the voyage.
Fourteen months, 20 ports, every continent, the traversing of the Suez Canal (Panama Canal not yet completed) and over 40,000 nautical miles later, the fleet made it safely home, a huge success! The U.S. Navy has reigned supreme ever since and has been able to carry out every mission the country needed done.
Just to make a point, a cracked aspect of this voyage (besides the white paint) was that the ships involved were the Navy’s Atlantic fleet, which served to show Pacific naval powers such as Japan that the U.S. could reinforce its formidable Pacific fleet as needed. Anchors aweigh!
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please read:
Reckner, James R. Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet (Bluejacket Books). Naval Institute Press, 2001.
Wimmel, Kenneth. Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet: American Sea Power Comes of Age. University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1264 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1264">154 Comments
Wow just another reason love Teddy Roosevelt.
I agree, what a bold statement to make on both a strategic and political level.
It is always about showing off as much might as you can. If you show off your whole fleet and people see it and are scared they would be less inclined to try and pick a fight. Too bad we do not have anything to flex in the current era.
It’s pretty amazing that something as simple as painting your fleet a different color can have such a significant impact
A very successful strategy to show the strength of the U.S Navy.
I’m wondering why the color white? I usually don’t associate white with power, why not use a color like red instead? Oh well, apparently it worked so what do I know?
I found it interesting that the Great White Fleet made the trip in 14 months with only 20 ports.
The US Navy was very much strengthened through the lead of Roosevelt
It surprised me that Roosevelt would paint all these ships white and almost put a target on them to just show power.
he world had seen plenty of goodwill visits before as well as shows of
force under the guise of “showing the flag,” but never had such a
powerful fleet been painted up and paraded around every corner of the
world! this was a very interesting statement that stood out to me. This to means met they warned there enemies before approaching ready to battle.
Wow, I think this incident could either be labeled the pinnacle of American arrogance, or American might. It really depends on if you’re from America or not. Therefore, I say the White fleet idea was absolutely brilliant and has TR’s name written all over it.
I think that making the white fleet was risky but it seemed to pay off for him.
Obviously having white naval ships had to of been a fad because they aren’t white anymore, maybe someone realized it was a risky move.
I feel like it was very confident of Roosevelt to paint the fleet white, making it instantly recognizable.
I’m surprised that Roosevelt painted the fleet white, and had the courage to sail the ships all around the world.
It is amazing when Roosevelt painted the fleet. I don’t like the idea of Russians who paid to Japanese.
Roosevelt was certainly formidable. Not many people would consider sailing a “peaceful” fleet around the world. I’m surprised none of the other countries found it threatening, though I suppose Roosevelt meant it to be a “Don’t mess with the US” kind of thing, so his goal would have been to scare them into submission.
Painting the ships white is a huge risk, but it worked in their favor.
That takes some guts to paint your whole fleet all white. You think it would be easier to see the ships in the water. I guess if you have to have guts to have glory though.
I love the confidence that Roosevelt had and the balls. I wouldn’t paint my ships white but he just believed in it but it turned out in our favor.
I am not surprised to see TR doing something that risky. TR was always so confident.
TR was once again a great man. I love that he was so confident in his actions. That is why he goes down as one of the greatest leaders of this country.
Roosevelt was a great President and better gloater then any other President. It any other nation did the exact same thing they would either cause a war or would not be taken seriously.
TR took the risk and it definitely worked in our favor. He established us as the best navy in the world. He proved a point to the world not to mess with us.
Teddy Roosevelt took a gamble with the Great White Fleet and it payed off.
Sometimes risk actually turn out good!
I think it was a big risk for Roosevelt to paint the fleet white. But it ended up paying of in the end.
Teddy was a smart man that knew when to bluff and when to kick butt.
Very impressive approach by Teddy Roosavelt!
The navy today is bland in comparison to Teddy’s Great White fleet
I wouldn’t call our Navy bland. Mainly because they can be anywhere in
the world in a matter of hours, and they probably draw the most media
attention in our military largely due to the SEALs.The SEALs are probably the least bland group in the military which is why they earn bigger movies from their stories. Act of Valor, American Sniper, Zero Dark Thirty and Lone Survivor are pretty recent examples. I was by no means offended by your comment, but just have to post something on here and I view them in a completely different light than you apparently.
very impressive by Teddy, but the Navy is not bland in anyway. the Navy is becoming one of the greatest branches of military. like DW said, those movies are all about the SEALS
The navy is a good branch with great tactics however it is only getting better
Teddy Roosevelt was a huge badass.
Teddy took a risk and it came out nicely. Yay teddy!
Teddy roosevelt is one of my favorite presidents also hes a bamf
Teddy Roosevelt definitely wanted to prove a point, and he did so in a successful, respectable way! It effectively showed the strength of the US Navy.
This was an interesting tactic for Roosevelt to use to prove that the United States was powerful. It was a risky move on his part but definitely paid off in the end!
I think that Teddy Roosevelt wanted to show the world that the United States was a country not to be messed with; that we were not to be underestimated. I think that by parading them around he wanted to show everyone that we hold “the big stick” and while we are peaceful now, we could strike if you do anything against us. I think that Teddy Roosevelt is someone who contributed to making what we are today: a superpower.
Roosevelt was a great leader. He wanted to prove a point as Mikayla mentioned, but I think he also wanted to make American’s proud of the power that the country held. “Fourteen months, 20 pots, every continent, and over 40,000 nautical miles”’; I think that is impressive.
Sometimes to show you have power you have to make a statement. This is yet another reason Roosevelt was a great leader, he showed the world the type of force we have and it was statement saying if you want some we are ready.
Roosevelt created this voyage and fleet to show the world the US was powerful and ready for any fight that was thrown at her. Although now looking at it, this event can contribute to the US being looked at as a monster. Who else would parade their forces around just so everyone knew not to mess with them. Maybe a bully? Do not get me wrong, I think America usually fights for what is good, but that doesn’t mean we don’t make any enemies along the way.
Roosevelt was a president who believed power brought peace. This shows in the fact that he sent a fleet of Navy ships around the world. The voyage showed the U.S. as a super-power who had the ability to stop at ports all around the world. I did not know that countries did this to assert their dominance, but it seems that the U.S. has been dominant ever since.
The act of sailing the navy ship across the whole world is quite ignorant. Not just sailing the ship but painting it white so that everyone knows it’s the U.S. The U.S. loves to show our dominance and sailing the ship across the world is defiantly showing our dominance as a nation.
The US showing its naval power in this way has benefited us in the years since. We are still known as the most powerful Navy today because of the Voyage this fleet made all the way around the world. The purpose of the Great White Fleet was to show power around the world and that the power presented was worldwide.
It’s crazy to think that the fleet circled the globe. I wonder how long it took during that time.
What a powerful move! But what else would expect from such a powerful man such as Teddy. I bet we did not make a ton of friends by waving our fleet in the faces of the entire world.
I’ve never heard of the great white fleet I had no idea Roosevelt used them to prove to the world the United States was a major power to be reckoned with. It’s pretty awesome Roosevelt painted the ships white and paraded them around the world to be seen and feared but I wonder how much fuel and supplies were wasted doing so?
The fact that the United States navy was able to do this had to be intimidating to military forces around the world. To show the Pacific fleet and its enemies that the Atlantic fleet can be there to support them had to be a huge statement that the United States naval forces were not to be reckoned with.
That is crazy that in fourteen months and twenty ports this ship was able to make it around the world. It really showed everyone that America was becoming something amazing and was here to stay.
Pretty bold to paint your ships all white in a blue sea. Definitely was a statement by Roosevelt. And not only to paint the ships white but then to sail the world, traveling through enemy waters is something I’ve never heard of.
It is amazing that Roosevelt pulled this off. I can not imagine the fear of other nations after seeing what the United States was capable of. We were a little bit of show offs but we had to prove a point to the rest of the world not to mess with us.
This undertaking was important to demonstrate to the world the power of the United States navy. The 40,000 mile journey was a huge success because it demonstrated the naval power to the whole world. Other countries would think twice about attacking the United States Navy.
What a powerful statement to the rest of the world that the US cannot and should not be reckoned with. Teddy Roosevelt showed the world that the United States is a superpower, ready to help or destroy you if needed. I think we have demonstrated that mentality since. It served us well and will continue for generations to come.
What an amazing accomplishment for the US Navy. To complete this 40,000 mile journey was unheard of and a huge success. This was bold of Roosevelt and made a huge statement to all of the other countries around the world. I love that Roosevelt painted the fleet all white to make it instantly recognizable.
Teddy Roosevelt was a man that liked to show his pride for his country and this world tour of 16 battleships was definitely an effective way of doing that.
Again, Roosevelt was a man of great accomplishments and with these 16 ships coming home, shows power and dignity in our nation.
I love the attitude to show off how powerful America had become with a tour around the world. I think it is sort of comical.
I love Roosevelt’s ideas of showing off the power of America by the tour of 16 ships.
What an incredible journey! Luckily we had friendly refueling ports spread around the world in order to achieve this accomplishment.
And to think that 200 years prior, it took longer just to sail across the Atlantic.
I love the attitude to show off America’s power. We don’t see that anymore.
I think it is soo cool our Navy is powerful. Sailing across and the Atlantic to show we are powerful. What a cool journey.
This is a fascinating journey and it is really cool that the U.S did it to show it’s power and ability.
The great white fleet shows Americas military power
The Great White Fleet just went to show how when Roosevelt had an idea, he was determined to get there. Traveling to 20 ports in every continent seemed like a huge stride for the US, especially during this time when there was not yet nuclear power.
The Great White Fleet showed the United States great Military power!
This is a fascinating journey, it really shows how powerful our Navy is!
The Great White Fleet showed the world the power of the U.S. Navy, and also portrayed just how powerful Roosevelt’s influence/power was as well. -ACL
The Great White Fleet showed the rest of the world that the U.S. was a superpower they didn’t want to go up against.
The painted white attribute seems like a bad decision on any sort of stealth but it installed fear.
what a major accomplishment for the early United States.
The great white fleet showed how powerful the U.S really was
The tour around the world is so American-like and patriotic in a sense! America is number 1!!!! (not biased)
the tour of the world was to boast about how sweet the us is, such an american thing to do, be cocky af
Our government has always gone the extra mile to prove that we are a power not to be messed with and we have the resources and ability to go to war at almost anytime.
Was this another example of the United States flexing their muscles? There is alot to be said about the unknown and the element of surprise.
Teddy Roosevelt, What a boss. He knew how to show people what is up that’s for sure!
The tour of the world showed that the U.S. had a superior military and a force to be reckoned with and is still true today.
President Roosevelt knew what he was doing and how to get it done. The Great White Fleet showed the rest of the world that America had a powerful navy and military. Too bad American pride is missing in many of the people who run our government now.
The great White Fleet is so interesting! It is incredible that they safely made it all the way back home!
This is a prime example of how powerful America’s military and navy was. It is hard to believe they traveled 40,000 miles!
Roosevelt worked so diligently to showcase America’s greatness. I love that he was more about actions than a lot of talk.
Roosevelt contributed more to history than I think he gets credit for. Americas Navy has been a dominant force since the early 1900s and is still viewed that way today because of what Roosevelt accomplished at this time.
Roosevelt made a huge stance with the Great White Fleet. He showed off America’s power through the military and navy. This was one huge contributing factor to showing others that the United States were the most superior military force.
What a marketing technique and a show of strength. bravo!
This article made it evident to me that Roosevelt was more accomplished than I ever thought. This was a major way to show power through our military.
This was very interesting. I did not know about the white fleet. He definitely knew how to make a statement.
I think the Great White Fleet is such an amazing accomplishment for Roosevelt and the United States. To make it all the way around the globe and back safely is impressive during the time era that they did.
The Great White Fleet is an interesting part of history, I have never heard of it before this article. Roosevelt projected such a creative and strong form of showing the power of the US military and Navy.
The white fleet, definitely showed to world that the US was prepared. It does seem a little unnecessary to me though. I am curious as to how much money was spent on this voyage, even though I understand its’ importance.
Overall, I think that the painting and voyage Great White Fleet was a good move by president Roosevelt. Although it probably looked a little bit overwhelming, it did show people from other countries how dominant and powerful the United States is.
I have never heard of The Great White Fleet until no. At the time this was a great voyage to show how strong America was, and a way to show that we were prepared. The amount of coal that must have been used to make this journey would be something that I would want to find out.
From the article, we can see that president Roosevelt did two great things. The first one was that he mediated the war between Japan and Russia. It also helped he to get the Nobel Prize for Peace. The next one was that he paid a lot of attention to build military force, especially for building naval power in Panama Canal. I have to say that he was a man of vision.
It probably cost a lot of money for the newly painted Navy ships to parade around the world, but it must have been worth it to Roosevelt to show that America was a force to be reckoned with.
What a great way to show the world the power of the Naval force and the United States. I hope future presidents use Roosevelt as an inspiration to be just as great at showing the pride of the United States.
Again this article is proving what a great president Roosevelt was and how mediated rather than making it worse.
I like president Roosevelt, he made sense with his actions and kept us safe. Hope this is not the reason we are in debt though.
Along with the other article, this is such a great article about president Roosevelt.
Roosevelt did so much for our nation. To me he does not get enough credit! He wanted to prove our strength and was not afraid to do it!
Roosevelt was a tough guy and knew when he needed to show that toughness.
I like how president Roosevelt showed his protection for out country, the fact that our naval sailed around the world is amazing.
Roosevelt stood his ground for America which is commendable! Imagine how intimidating it must have been to see all of our ships.
Roosevelt was sure confident in the strength of the Navy. I like how he ordered ships to be painted white so they could be so recognizable and everyone knew they were from the USA.
I never knew or understood what the saying “always carry a big stick” meant or stood for until I read this article.
America still has the strongest navy in the world.
Sometimes you have to show off to show that you mean business.
Another great article to show that Teddy was not messing around when it came to this country. He had the power and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
A show of force is just as important as the ability to back it up.
Roosevelt was a man not to be toyed with. He was making it clear to to other countries who was in charge and who could back up any declarations of war.
This just represents how when tested, a leader will not mess around! Kind of reminds me of the don’t mess with the bull or you’ll get the horns!
I like how Roosevelt showed people we are big and tough don’t mess with us. It was a great thing, the you get presidents in there to take our troops and power away which starts making us look week. Now we have Trump lets see how he does, He already wants to build more ships to help protect our country.
I wish more people of power had the attitude of Teddy. I think we could get much more accomplished as a country with a hard nosed leader like Roosevelt.
Completing this fourteen month voyage was such a feat for its time! The nursing student side of me can’t help but be curious what the health of the sailors must have been like since they wee all in such close quarters with limited healthcare!
These are the moments in history that made America a super-power in the world and a beacon for other countries to emulate. I think we could do with a bit more of this these days.
Just shows our military forces have always striped to be the best. Land, Air, and Sea!
It was these kinds of ideas that made Teddy Rosevelt so great. Who would have come up with the idea to paint an entire fleet of sixteen plus ships white and parade it around the world not just to show boat but to intimidate the rest of the world. What made this idea even greater was its success.
Very interesting, the great white fleet was a good idea. With 16 uniform white battle ships completing a journey around the globe. Teddy Roosevelt wanted to make a statement, and that statement was “DO NOT MESS WITH AMERICA”.
This definitely was intended to make a statement to the world.
This was definitely a statement to the rest of the world, as TR intended it to be. He showed not only the country, but the whole world that the US Navy is a force to be reckoned with!
The statement that Roosevelt sent to the world really did come across that the United States Navy was (and still is) a force to be reckoned with. I am proud of my sister-in-law who is a United States Navy Sailor.
Be glad when our military is back to exhibiting that some kind of might. Deterrence is expensive but cheaper than having to fight.
I didn’t realize how much of a statement that would make to others. I guess if you see a huge fleet of battleships, that can be intimidating and make you realize that you don’t want to mess with that country. It’s great to know that our Navy is still the top around the world. Blessings sent to those individuals who apart of our brave military branches.
This is why I think that President Roosevelt was the best president, because he didn’t have to go to war to show everyone that U.S. was a power house, plus he also learned from other people mistakes.
The fourteen-month mission had to be long. Considering the technology of the day, the housing and the food accommodation must have been limited. President Roosevelt was a man of action.
A cracked aspect of this voyage was that the ships involved were the Navy’s Atlantic fleet serving to show Pacific naval powers such as Japan that the U.S. could reinforce its formidable Pacific fleet as needed.
It was the beginning of the United States having the most powerful fleet in the world.
Instead of costing the U.S. all types of money fighting a war, why not use the power and presence of 16 battle ships for deterrence and intimidation. Showing your force is important but being able to show that you can actually back it up is another.
Roosevelt used these ships like that guy at the gym that always drops the weights really loud. Like the rest of the world was probably like “Okay we get it, you’re strong.”
Making such a large statement, having our ships circle the globe, would definitely make others take notice especially since no other country was able to do so.
Teddy Roosevelt great man with a great mind, he had no problem showing the world exactly how strong America was. There was no hiding and keeping secrets he put it out there for everyone to see.
Good stuff right here! The Suez is an amazing canal to go through, not very wide at all! When carriers go through their flight deck hangs over the land on either side… talk about sweating bullets in navigation! I have some amazing pictures from each trip through, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Suez bridge, armed militants, tanks, all of our defense stationed manned, and other really cool sights!
This is a turning point in history for the US, and places all over!
I had no idea that during this time the Panama Canal wasn’t finished yet.
What a show of strength and power! Now I can see why the phrase, “speak softly and carry a big stick” became so prevalent in TR’s days. Just think of all the white paint it took to paint those ships!
If I didn’t know any better, this sounds like the precursor to U.S. foreign policy that we see being carried out in the modern times of today.
Teddy was the man. He was such a large part of American being viewed as the tough, powerhouse that it is today. He wasn’t hiding, he wanted people to know that he was coming and be scared when they saw him.
I find this bit of history exciting to read but parading around seems a little extreme. Nonetheless, extremely cool!
I found this article very interesting as i was unaware just how much we used the canals for travel.
Great White Fleet indeed, quite the accomplishment! Way to go U.S. Navy!
Interesting to paint the ships white. I, like Tiffany, find it a bit extreme.
Interesting! 40,000 nautical miles is unbelievable!
This was a huge statement to the world.
I found this very interesting, and also agree that it seems a but “extreme”.
I did not know about this. That is a long trip on a boat!
It was great American was fighting with Spanish and finally wining the war. Later, Crossing the Suez Canal about 40,000 nautical miles was incredible.
It was fantastic by knowing American was wining the fight with Spanish, it was surprising me that they were passing through Suez Canal and over 40,000 nautical miles later and get home safely.
40,000 nautical miles is a crazy distance! This trip seems like it was legendary in the history of the American Navy.
This trip was amazing for the American navy and was a huge step for them as well. 40,000 nautical miles is a long long way!
That’s an insane distance! It’s amazing! 40,000 nautical miles!
Wow, 40,000 miles is a lot!
How amazing! What an incredible distance for the navy to travel. They sure couldn’t be missed with the all white fleet of ships.
I’ve always liked the idea of “carrying a big stick”. I can’t even believe that they traveled that many miles though!
40,000 miles is incredible for a navy fleet! That is quite a long journey aboard the boat, I bet the crew got bored and tired.