“THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF NAVAL TACTICS”: THE U.S. NAVY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS, 1919-1939 A Dissertation by RYAN DAVID WADLE Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2011 Major Subject: History “The Fourth Dimension of Naval Tactics": The U.S. Navy and Public Relations, 1919- 1939 Copyright 2011 Ryan David Wadle “THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF NAVAL TACTICS”: THE U.S. NAVY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS, 1919-1939 A Dissertation by RYAN DAVID WADLE Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, James C. Bradford Committee Members, Ralph Adams Terrence Hoagwood John C. Lenihan Brian Linn Head of Department, Walter Buenger May 2011 Major Subject: History iii ABSTRACT “The Fourth Dimension of Naval Tactics”: The U.S. Navy and Public Relations, 1919- 1939. (May 2011) Ryan David Wadle, B.A., Iowa State University; M.A., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. James C. Bradford Prior to 1917, the United States Navy only utilized public relations techniques during times of war or to attract recruits into naval service. Following World I, the Navy confronted several daunting problems, including the postwar demobilization of naval assets, the proposed creation of an independent air service, and a public desire for naval arms limitation which many officers believed would endanger the Navy‟s ability to fulfill its missions. These issues threatened the generous support that the Navy had received from Congress for a quarter of a century, and also hampered the service‟s attempts to incorporate new weapons systems into its arsenal and recruit high-quality manpower. In response to these challenges, the Navy developed a peacetime public relations capability during the interwar period, despite the fact that many senior naval officials placed a low priority on public relations. Their attitude led subordinates in different parts of the Navy Department to perform public relations tasks despite lacking official orders to carry out such work. Such efforts were haphazard, redundant, handicapped by tradition, and dependent largely upon individual initiative. iv To augment its meager capabilities, the Navy relied upon external groups, such as the Navy League, to lobby the public for naval expansion. The service also developed formal and informal ties to the mass media, particularly the rapidly expanding motion picture industry. These disparate elements attempted to convince the public that the Navy was a haven for morally upright masculine behavior, a service able to integrate aircraft and submarines into its force structure and keep their operators safe, and a vital national asset with value beyond basic national defense. During the interwar period, the Navy expanded and reorganized the ways in which it courted public opinion. By forging ties with motion picture studios, radio broadcasters, and the print media, it was able to improve the image of the service, attract high quality recruits, and gained the public support for its drive to gain the resources needed to modernize and expand the fleet. During the same era, naval officials became more adept at minimizing the negative impact of the accidents linked to the development of aviation and submarines. Developments of the era laid the foundation for the institutional development of public relations and enhanced media relations during World War II and in the decades that followed. v To Jenny, who makes all of this worth it. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. James C. Bradford, for the time, the support, and the patience that he invested in my project. His critical eye and sound advice aided me throughout the process, and the finished result is as much his as mine. Dr. Brian Linn, Dr. John Lenihan, Dr. Terrence Hoagwood, and Dr. Ralph Adams saw this project through from conception to completion and contributed valuable ideas and editorial assistance at several critical junctures. I am in their debt. Completion of this project would not have been possible without the John D. Hayes Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Naval History I received from the Naval History and Heritage Command. Dr. John Sherwood and Dr. Sarandis Papadopoulos have given me excellent career and research advice, and Dr. Michael Crawford tirelessly worked on my behalf to secure funding. The Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research also supported my research through a stipendiary fellowship and a research matching grant. In particular, I thank Dr. James Rosenheim for the Center‟s generous financial support over the past few years. I would also like to thank the Naval War College Foundation, particularly Dr. John Hattendorf and Edward S. Miller, for awarding me with the Edward S. Miller Research Fellowship to examine the extensive sources at the Naval War College Library in June 2009. vii The projected required extensive research in a number of different archives scattered throughout the country, and the staffs at each facility contributed to the success of my research. I thank the staffs of the Houghton Library at Harvard University, the Warner Brothers Archive at the University of Southern California, the Bancroft Library at the University of California-Berkeley, and the Library of Congress for their research assistance. I want to single out Charles Johnson and Nate Patch at the National Archives, Dr. Evelyn Cherpak at the Naval War College Library, Barbara Hall at the Margaret Herrick Library, Dr. David Chapman at Texas A&M‟s Cushing Library, and Mark Quigley at the UCLA Film and Television Archive for their valuable assistance in locating new and valuable sources that I incorporated into this project. I must mention the support given me by my friends and family during the time it took to complete this dissertation. I thank Larry Burke for his invaluable assistance during the research phase of the project, Emily Hoeflinger and Paul Springer for opening their homes to a weary researcher, and my frequent late night writing companion, Albert the Cat. My graduate school colleagues at Texas A&M, especially Roger Horky, Jessica Herzogenrath, and Jon Beall, provided several valuable insights and critiques of this project. Michael Beauchamp and Sudina Paungpetch allowed me to bend their ears and were always available as dinner hosts and guests. Finally, thanks to my wife, Jenny, for serving, at various times, as an editor, a sounding board, a fair critic, and a source of encouragement. This project could not have been completed without her patience and love. I accept responsibility for any errors found in the text of this dissertation. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERWAR NAVY PUBLIC RELATIONS ........................................................................ 1 II FROM THE SIX FRIGATES TO THE NEW NAVALISM: NAVY PUBLIC RELATIONS, 1794-1918 ..................................................... 16 III DISARMAMENT, AVIATION, AND THE BIG NAVY BOYS: THE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL MILIEU OF POSTWAR NAVY PUBLIC RELATIONS, 1919-1922 ......................................... 52 IV A SUSTAINED PUBLICITY: NAVY PUBLIC RELATIONS, 1919- 1939 ...................................................................................................... 90 V FIRST RATE IDEAS: THE NAVY AND LOBBYING AND HISTORICAL ORGANIZATIONS, 1919-1939 ................................. 137 ix CHAPTER Page VI OFFICERS AND MOGULS: THE NAVY AND THE MEDIA, 1919- 1939 ...................................................................................................... 173 VII “THE FINEST QUALITIES OF AMERICAN MANHOOD”: THE IDEAL SAILOR, RECRUITING, AND MASCULINITY, 1919-1939 223 VIII REPLACING THE FAMILIAR WITH THE NEW: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF NAVAL TRANSFORMATION, 1919-1939 ..... 266 IX “NATIONAL INSURANCE”: PUBLIC DEFINITIONS OF THE NAVY‟S MISSION, 1922-1939 .......................................................... 315 X CONCLUSIONS: EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NAVY PUBLIC RELATIONS ON THE EVE OF WAR ................... 357 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 379 VITA ......................................................................................................................... 398 x LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1 Still Frames from Film Trailer Intended for the Recruitment of African- Americans, 1936 ......................................................................................... 229 2 “Navy Ships Visit Many Lands,” 1921 ...................................................... 234 3 Closing Shot of Our Navy in the Near East, 1923 ..................................... 236 4 “Fellowship of the Sea,” 1924 ...................................................................