The history of the United States is intimately and inextricably linked to the sea. For over 250 years the US Navy has been the backbone of America's presence abroad. This groundbreaking new study provides an accessible and engaging survey of US naval history, tracing the relationship between the American Navy and the position of the United States on the global political stage. The volume places equal weight on the influence of major wartime campaigns and naval efforts to defend and expand America's interests during times of peace. Designed to be accessible to students and scholars alike, the book contains a host of pedagogical features, including many illustrations and maps integrated with the text. Each chapter is enhanced with detailed vignettes featuring biographical sketches of influential leaders and descriptions of weapons and technological developments of the period. -- James C. Bradford is Professor of Naval and Early American History at Texas A&M University, USA. A past president of the North American Society for Oceanic History, he held the Class of 1957 Distinguished Chair in Naval Heritage at the US Naval Academy, and has been the recipient of the George H. W. Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in International Teaching and the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naval Historical Foundation. --Book Jacket.