The USS Delaware, authorized in the Naval Appropriations Bill of 1906, achieved several distinctions even before its keel was laid. It is a point of considerable historical interest that this battleship was the first United States naval vessel to be authorized without having its tonnage specified in an appropriations bill. Secondly, it seems also to have been the first naval vessel whose plans had to be specifically reviewed by Congress as a condition of its construction. At least, Secretary of the Navy Charles J. Bonaparte declared: “So far as I am aware, this is the only instance in which disapproval of this policy [of secrecy relative to ships’ plans] has been apparently indicated by the legislative branch of any government.”
The unique features of the authorization for the Delaware stemmed from the circumstances which gave birth to it. The British battleship Dreadnought, whose keel was laid in October, 1905, spurred an international race in capital ship construction. President Theodore Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of the U. S. Navy, and in his annual message to Congress that December he said: “What is now clearly necessary is to substitute efficient for inefficient units as the latter become worn out or as it becomes apparent that they are useless. Probably the result would be attained by adding a single battleship to our Navy each year, the superseded or outworn vessels being laid up or broken up as they are thus replaced.” In line with this thinking, Representative George E. Foss of Illinois introduced a bill in April, 1906, calling for what he described as “a ship that shall be the largest battleship in all the world if the Secretary chooses to make it so.” Quite naturally Foss was warmly commended by Roosevelt, who believed that a battleship’s efficiency was directly proportional to its size.
In the House, however, the battleship proposal was roundly attacked by advocates of economy and pacifism. Representative James A. Tawney of Minnesota, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, was frankly critical of the administration’s naval policy.” “This policy,” he said, “implies a total disregard of necessity or expense and [requires] that, like children competing for the most glittering and expensive toys, we must compete with the nations of the world in the construction of the largest and most expensive battleships in order to satisfy our national pride—vanity.” Declaring that appropriations for defense purposes involved nearly 200 million dollars, Tawney pointed out that this figure added to the continuing costs of past wars exceeded very appreciably the entire receipts of the government in the fiscal year 1897. He therefore argued that the construction of another battleship should be postponed. Representative Richard Bart- holdt of Missouri took essentially the same position, but he did so by proposing an amendment that tied the fate of the battleship to the outcome of the second Hague Conference. His amendment failed, as did another seeking to eliminate the battleship authorization completely.
The most interesting suggestion of all was made by Representative John S. Williams of Mississippi. He offered the following amendment:
That whereas the British sea monster which we are imitating has been named the Dreadnaught—an archaic name—this man-of-war is hereby named the Skeered o’ Nothin’ as an expression of our true American spirit: Provided further, That it is hereby made the duty of the first captain who shall command her to challenge in the nation’s name, the so-called “Dreadnaught” to a duel à l’outrance, to take place upon the sea somewhere in sight of Long Island, and that upon the occasion of the combat the President and his Cabinet, except, of course, the Secretary of Agriculture, who is ex-officio a non-combatant, being all of them fond of a strenuous life, shall be entertained on the quarter-deck as guests of the ship and of the nation.
As might be expected, this amendment was ruled out of order, and debate proceeded in a more serious vein. The provision calling for Congressional review of the battleship’s plans was added later when the bill was being debated in the Senate.
The plans were accepted by Congress, and a sister-ship, the North Dakota, was authorized in March, 1907. The Delaware was launched February 6, 1909, and was commissioned at Norfolk on April 4, 1910. Slightly over 518 feet overall, displacing 20,099 tons, the Delaware averaged 21.56 knots on her trials. As the Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair commented in his 1910 report, the Delaware and the North Dakota “were, at the time of their design, the largest battleships actually authorized for construction.” In the interim, however, new, larger ships had been authorized, making it clear that Congress endorsed the principle—if not the name—of “Skeered, o’ Nothin’.”
The Delaware proved her worth in World War I while serving with the British Grand Fleet. In the end, however, the advocates of disarmament who had opposed her construction were also seemingly vindicated. In 1925 the ship was cut into scrap to comply with agreements reached at the Washington Disarmament Conference.