Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Commanding Petty Despots : The American Navy in the New Republic, Hardback Book

Commanding Petty Despots : The American Navy in the New Republic Hardback

Hardback

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks

Description

Commanding Petty Despots: The American Navy in the New Republic tells the story of the creation of the American Navy.

Rather than focus on the well-known frigate duels and fleet engagements, Thomas Sheppard emphasizes the overlooked story of the institutional formation of the Navy.

Sheppard looks at civilian control of the military, and how this concept evolved in the early American republic.

For naval officers obsessed with honor and reputation, being willing to put themselves in harm's way was never a problem, but they were far less enthusiastic about taking orders from a civilian Secretary of the Navy.

Accustomed to giving orders and receiving absolute obedience at sea, captains were quick to engage in blatantly insubordinate behavior towards their superiors in Washington. The civilian government did not always discourage such thinking.

The new American nation needed leaders who were zealous for their honor and quick to engage in heroic acts on behalf of their nation.

The most troublesome officers could also be the most effective during the Revolution and the Quasi and Barbary Wars.

First Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert tolerated insubordination from "spirited" officers who secured respect for the American republic from European powers.

However, by the end of the War of 1812, the culture of the Navy's officer corps had grown considerably when it came to civil-military strains.

A new generation of naval officers, far more attuned to duty and subordination, had risen to prominence, and Stoddert's successors increasingly demanded recognition of civilian supremacy from the officer corps.

Although the creation of the Board of Navy Commissioners in 1815 gave the officer corps a greater role in managing the Navy, by that time the authority of the Secretary of the Navy--as an extension of the president--was firmly entrenched.

Information

£44.95

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information