Ships & Vessels
These “image essays” gather together striking images on the same theme from across the books in the exhibit.
American navalists took pride in the visual majesty of American sailing ships and steamships cruising the world’s oceans, even as they could not help but envy the more formidable navy of the British empire. Boosters of American empire used a fascination with indigenous vessels around the world to place American ships in a flattering light: bigger, faster, stronger, and thus able to aid and abet the British navy in imposing an inequitable “law of nations” on the globe.
Hover over any image to see source information; right click on any image to see a larger version; look under Research Resources for guides to all images in the digital exhibit.
