After her return, she operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean until April 1939, when she was ordered to duty in the Pacific.
Gradnja letalonosilke se je pričela 16. julija 1934 v ladjedelnici Newport News Shipbuilding in splovljena je bila 3. oktobra 1936; sponzor splovitve je bila Lulie Swanson, žena sekretarja za Vojno mornarico ZDA Clauda S. Swansona.