Sea power. Mahan believed that national greatness was inextricably associated with the sea, with its commercial use in peace and its control in war; and he used history as a stock of examples to exemplify his theories, arguing that the education of naval officers should be based on a rigorous study of history.Click to see full answer. Then, what was the significance of Alfred Thayer Mahan?In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, a lecturer in naval history and the president of the United States Naval War College, published The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783, a revolutionary analysis of the importance of naval power as a factor in the rise of the British Empire.Secondly, what effect did Alfred Thayer Mahan have on America? Mahan’s theories had an impact on both the United States and the world. In the late 1890s, the U.S. annexed Hawaii and made it an official U.S. territory. After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. also gained access to places like Puerto Rico and the Philippines, where it set up naval bases. Keeping this in consideration, what did Alfred Thayer Mahan believe about imperialism? As a result we began to seek out foreign markets. There was a widely-held belief that the U.S. needed ships, not to make war, but to protect its rights and prestige (nationalistic pride). Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was a naval strategist, historian, and leading advocate of a powerful U.S. Navy.What is Alfred Thayer Mahan main legacy?Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914) was an American naval officer who wrote extensively on naval strategy and the history of sea power. From his studies of naval warfare he drew principles of strategy that greatly influenced the development and employment of naval forces during the first half of the twentieth century.