Final answer:
By the 1890s, following the Naval Act of 1890 and influenced by Alfred Mahan's strategies, the United States became the third-strongest naval power globally, trailing only behind Spain and Great Britain.
Step-by-step explanation:
By the 1890s, the United States had significantly increased its naval strength, becoming the third-ranked naval power globally. Influenced by Alfred Mahan's strategies for creating and maintaining an empire, presented in his work The Influence of Seapower upon History, the U.S. government passed the Naval Act of 1890, which enabled the construction of a new, modernized fleet. By 1898, the fleet grew to include an active fleet of 160 vessels, boosting its global standing from ranking twelfth previously. Acquisitions like the Midway Islands and the push for a canal across Central America underlined the strategic actions taken to solidify the U.S. Navy's global position.