The idea of the US Navy to build battlecruisers came up in the early 30s in response to the German schwere Kreuzer (heavy cruisers) of the Deutschland class. With a standard displacement of 12,000 BRT, a maximum speed of 28 knots and a primary armament of six 28cm guns, the vessels of the Deutschland class were just that. The US Bureau of Construction and Repair didn't take steps yet in that direction. As battlecruisers for the American navy had never been completed, it took a long time before said Bureau came up with a definite design based on an enhanced version of the heavy Baltimore class cruisers.
Mighty Hood, that is how the British called HMS Hood in the interbellum. During that period, she was indeed the largest battleship in the world and the British were proud of their symbol of maritime military power. The vessel strongly appealed to the imagination by her fire power, speed and dimensions in a period in which the British population felt a strong affinity towards the Royal Navy.