page_title: Matthew C. Perry
section_title: Father of the Steam Navy
hierarchical_section_title: Matthew C. Perry / Naval career / Father of the Steam Navy
caption_attribution_description: English: US Postage Stamp, 5-cent, 1953 Opening of Japan Centennial issue, Commodore Perry Perry
context_page_description: Matthew Calbraith Perry was a Commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.
  Perry was interested in the education of naval officers, and assisted in the development of an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered "The Father of the Steam Navy" in the United States.
context_section_description: Perry had an ardent interest in and saw the need for naval education, supporting an apprentice system to train new seamen, and helped establish the curriculum for the United States Naval Academy. He was a vocal proponent of modernizing the Navy. Once promoted to captain, he oversaw construction of the Navy's second steam frigate USS Fulton, which he commanded after its completion. He was called "The Father of the Steam Navy", and he organized America's first corps of naval engineers, and conducted the first U.S. naval gunnery school while commanding Fulton in 1839–1841 off Sandy Hook on the coast of New Jersey.
caption: Commodore Matthew C. PerryU.S. postage, 1953 issue
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