Effects of the Birth of the Us Navy

Initially, the US Navy was formed to fight the Barbary pirates at sea. The US realized they needed to defend their territory as well as their commerce. It also helped secure the US independence.

The Barbary Pirates would attack ships and asked for toll fees in order for their protection. The British had the money to pay and did so. The pirates were the least of their concerns. The Americans on the other hand had no intentions of paying the fees demanded by the Barbary pirates. This is when they decided that they needed ships to protect their sea trade.

The US Navy was formed when the Continental Congress met and voted to build two vessels in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 1775. One thing that was important to the creation of the ships for the Navy was that no expense should be spared. They wanted high quality ships. They initially started with two sailing ships that were to have ten carriage guns and swivel guns.

Although many in Congress knew that they needed a Navy there were still a few that still hoped to reconcile with their motherland so they did not authorize these fleets. They worried it would bring the relations further apart. But not all Congress was of this idea. There were a group of men that wanted a Continental Navy. Among them was a man called John Adams, from Massachusetts. He is now known as the father of the US Navy. He and a few others wanted a Navy because they wanted to defend the towns close to sea, protect the trading by sea, protect themselves from British raiders and also be able to get arms within other neutral nations. Congress was not united in the idea of creating a Continental Navy.

It wasn't until October 3 when some delegates from Rhode Island boldly went to Congress and resolved into building and manning an American fleet quickly. Some members that were also for a Navy thought that the proposal was too vague and they had no idea how much this would cost.

While Congress was deliberating on the idea of a Navy, France and England were at each other's throats. The US was trading with both England and France and this idea didn't sit well with either country. This would soon lead to the Quassait War and then the war with England of 1812. The British would kidnap American men and make them fight at sea for them. They kidnapped over 6,000 men. The French would capture Americans and hang them. They captured 316 American ships. Then France passes an edict to hang the soldiers.

John Adams goes to Congress and says that they needed a Navy quick. He gets authorization to build 24 boats and add them to the 8 ships they already had. They had six frigates that were build earlier and they were to build 2 more.

Congress acted on that in 1794 responding to the international crisis. They authorized the creation and manning of six frigates. The first of the three ships was called the USS United States. It was launched on May 10, 1796.