[pfflier]

Uh - geopolitics isn't your strong suit, right? We haven't been protected by oceans since the first battleships were designed.

Uh...Uh the entire hemisphere was subjugated started in the 1400's by countries with navies and the will to invade the "new world".

[Chainmail]

Exactly. So rather than allow that cycle to overcome us, we should stay ahead of the threats, right?

Just lucky for us (assuming your forebears came from Europe) that the Chippewas or the Iroquois were short on numbers and ocean-going amphibious transport.