Video

Video by Daniel Garas

The Naval Act of 1794

Naval History and Heritage Command

March 26, 2019 | 5:23

Restoring readiness, increasing lethality, building capacity.
Phrases like these read off like the bullet points to a new and futuristic naval strategy.
But in reality, these concepts are a return to our naval roots.

Some three months before President Washington signed the Naval Act of 1794 into law ─ the act authorizing the construction of the Navy’s first six frigates ─ Congress passed a resolution to establish with haste a national navy that could protect U.S. commercial vessels from attacks by Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean and nearby Atlantic waters.

The resolution passed narrowly ─ 46 to 44 ─ and resulted in the creation of a nine-man committee to study issues of naval buildup, especially cost and size. On 6 February 1794, the committee recommended four 44-gunships and two 20-gun ships.

In this video, we examine the circumstances surrounding the Naval Act of 1794 and its lasting impact on the Navy today.