The Panama Canal Between 1904 And 1914

For centuries, the idea of how to access the West Indies puzzled many sailors from across the globe. During colonial times, Europeans coveted the spices and goods found in Asian countries, but the inability of their sponsored expeditions to discover a time-saving western passageway hindered their interaction with this region of the world. As time progressed, nations began to find ways to trade with Asia, but the routes taken were long, expensive, and hazardous. According to an article found in the publication, Civil Engineering, “… the only way for a ship to travel between the oceans was via the Strait of Magellan, at the southern tip of South America, a dangerous and time-consuming route.” However, in nineteen fourteen, their struggles finally ended. At last, the completion of the Panama Canal provided a shorter sea route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean for trading countries all over the world. This occasion revolutionized sea travel and was consequently a widely documented and publicized event. Countless images and articles were created throughout the early twentieth century, which magnified the importance of this project. This collection of primary sources captures the significance of the Panama Canal for the American people and the international community at that time. The synchronic analysis of such documents will foster a greater appreciation for the Panama Canal and the influence it has had on civilization since its inception.

In 1876 a French company wanted to build the canal cutting right through panama, but disease and hazardous conditions paused the work. America got impatient and bought the canal sight from the French company in 1901 for $40 million. Although America bought the sight they still had to pay $10 million plus the rental fee of $250,000. However this was rejected by the Colombian Senate and America had to go back to stage one. by this point in time the Panamanians believed America would help them gain independence from Columbia. The Panamanians began to revolt and America sent a war ship to protect them, and stopped columbia from sending forces to Panama. Panama now had independance and America got the canal back. Building the Canal was rough many workers suffered from yellow fever and Malaria. the Panama canal was finished in 1914. Since then the Panama Canal has been a big

It is interesting to see how Americans saw themselves and their capitalistic system during the early 1900s. The American quest to civilize the world with plans like the Panama Canal was referred to as a gift, a selfless act from the United States for the betterment of mankind (Herring 2008, 337). I am certain that the Panama Canal created many opportunities for the people in Central America, but was it in fact a sign of American kindness or was that canal done because it increased trade, income, and improved security in the United States? Furthermore, how wrong was Norman Angell? His theory did not hold for more than four years. Mankind is incapable of achieving peace and will continue to live in a constant state of struggle. Additionally, the early 1900s had a resemblance to the Cold War that started four decades later. The Russians and the British encircled Germany and contained her, and yet Stalin was surprise when the allies did the same to him after WWII?

Known as one of the greatest engineering feats in all of history, the Panama Canal is an essential asset for international trade and travel today, uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the Central American Isthmus in Panama, Colombia. Its construction required the perseverance, innovation, time and money of at first, France and of second, America. Construction began with Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps at the helm of the project in the early 1880’s; however, dreams of a Central American canal were had as early as the 1500’s with the Spanish and Christopher Columbus. His plan was to dig a sea level canal, similar to a successful one he had made previously. But after nearly 8 years of futile labor, and lack of progress, Lesseps

In order to get to the Pacific Ocean from the east coast of the United States you must either, go around Canada, go around South America, or go all the way around the world. These were the only ways to get to the Pacific from the Atlantic Ocean until 1914. The most common way the American navy would get there was around South America. In many instances when there was problems on the west or east coast that needed naval intervention it took a significant amount of time for the navy to reinforce them. This could end up being a serious problem for the United States if there was any large scale problem on the west or east coast that involved the navy, it could take a detrimental amount of time for the reinforcements to arrive. They needed a way to connect the two seas so that it could help them to reduce the time necessary to get from one coast to another and so that other ships could get access to both seas without much trouble. The creation of the Panama Canal was the most efficient and effective way to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The Panama Canal was originally started back in the 1880s by the French and is considered by some to be the 8th Wonder of the World. Construction may have started in the 1880s, but the idea for such a canal started long before that time. Surveying for the canal started all the way back in the 1550s. The idea for such a canal came from how inconvenient travel and trade was without the canal. Ships used to have to travel all the way around the southern tip of South America to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The French finally decided to try and build a canal between the two oceans after over 300 years of different surveys being down around the area. The French chose to build the canal through Panama. There were close to 22,000 deaths caused by disease or accidents in the construction of the canal. The French were plagued by Malaria, or yellow fever, and were given many setbacks throughout their 9 year effort to build the canal. This combined with the French attempt going bankrupt caused them to have to give up on the try. The United States then came to agreement and signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty with the French, officially

During the late 1800s, a French company had tried to link the Atlantic to the Pacific across the Isthmus of Panama but failed. The French had abandoned the attempt to build and convinced the U.S. to buy the company’s claim. In 1903, the U.S. government purchases the Panama route for $40 million. Roosevelt stepped in and dispatched warships to the waters off Panama to support a Panamanian rebellion against Colombia. Soon after that, Panama declared its independence from Colombia. Panama immediately granted America control over the “canal zone.” America payed Panama $10 million and an annual rent of $250,000 to secure the

The canal, which the U.S. handed over to Panama in 1999, can handle ships up to 106 feet wide, 965 feet long and 39 feet deep but after expansion will be able to handle ships up to 161 feet wide, 1,200 feet long and 49 feet deep. Some of those larger ships can carry nearly triple the cargo of the ships going through the canal today.

The construction of the Panama Canal was first brought up by the French on January 1, 1880. The actual construction of the Panama Canal then started on January 20, 1882. The French had 29,908,000 cubic yards of construction room. The French spent a total of 260,000,000 dollars. During the construction of the Panama Canal when the French where in control there were 20,000 deaths. The United States then paid the French 40,000,000 dollars for the rights and property of the Panama Canal. The Canal Zone was then finally acquired for by treaty from Panama on February 23, 1904. The United States paid panama 10,000,000 dollars for the Canal Zone. The United States then began construction on the Panama Canal September 26, 1913. There were 25,000 United States deaths in the construction of the Panama Canal.

Panama is an isthmus or a land bridge in Central America that links North America to South America. The Atlantic Ocean (this includes the Caribbean Sea) lies north of the country while the Pacific Ocean is to the south. Panama borders the Republic of Columbia to the east and the Republic of Costa Rica to the west. (See Figure 1 in Appendix: Map of Panama). Approximately, 3.86 million people live in this country and 1 million live in its capital Panama City. Major cities to consider entering the business market are: Panama City (its largest city and capital) on the pacific side and Colon, located on the Atlantic side, is the second largest free zone in the world, “which has become a vital trading and transshipment center serving the region

Panama Canal turned out to be a much bigger success than the failed French attempt; however, the first American engineer to head the project, John F. Wallace, barely learned from de Lesseps’ failure. He wanted to construct a separate sea-level canal with nearly the same design, a feat too difficult for the technology of the time (Parker). Again, hardships tore at the spirit of the workers, including malaria and yellow fever, but this time the Americans did not particularly care if the canal was finished or not, they just wanted money for hard labor. Many workers, seeing the foolishness of their employers, left the Isthmus of Panama to return home. Eventually, Wallace resigned, so Roosevelt hired a new engineer, John Stevens. Stevens, unlike his two predecessors, realized that the easiest way to finish a canal was to have a lake and lock system, in which two walls are raised around a ship, and the water level is adjusted to the sea level on the other side of the wall (Theodore). Man-made Lake Gatun was to account for approximately half the length of the canal, and the remaining distance was to be a long ditch (Hansen). Yet another more sensible action Stevens took was to allow Col. William C. Gorgas to take care of the disease. Gorgas pushed for vaccines and ordered for the gardening system at the hospital to be changed (44g.). With disease no longer an issue and an improved design, the Panama Canal was finally opened to commerce on August 15, 1914. In

The Independence of Panama and the Construction of the Canal. From the era of the Spanish conquerors, the idea was to build a canal through the narrow territory of Panama. At the end of the 19th century, Panama rose on the world stage when renowned French architect Ferdinand de Lesseps announced his plans to create a canal on the isthmus. The architect was already worldwide acclaimed for having built a level canal in Sweden. Unfortunately, the French failed and more than 20 thousand people died from malaria and yellow fever during the attempt. In addition, France suffered huge economic losses because of

According to Lapp, Flood, and Aman (2011) thematic units are an effective method of instruction for making a connection between students and texts. They go on to say that a thematic unit “organizes instruction around concepts to be studied, multiple sources of information, and authentic texts within the context of meaningful and relevant instructional activity (p. 363). Bringing attention to a specific theme and studying it in depth, through multiple representations, can be rewarding as well engaging to students. Thematic units shine the light on a particular theme/concepts, so that students can have a clearer understanding and a greater depth of knowledge surrounding the topic, while utilizing inquiry, investigation, and critical thinking skills.

This essentially points to the complete breach of the floodwall that would follow the formation of the crack (or water-filled gap), as had happened at a certain point along the 17th Street Canal. The results of this study also demonstrate another major error on the side of the USACE: the penetration depth of the sheet piles. According to the centrifuge model tests carried out on the model of the Orleans Avenue Canal North and the London Avenue Canal, when the canal levels were increased from normal levels to Katrina flood level there was a small movement of the wall [Ubilia]. However, when the water level was held at Katrina levels for a long period of time, there was no further movement of the wall, and the levee remained stable. The level was then increased to one near the top of the floodwall, which caused movement of the wall and the formation of a crack. However, there were no failure of the levee was reported. So, we know that there was a failure of the 17th Street Canal, but none with the Orleans Avenue Canal North. The difference in the structure of these two canals were that the sheet pile penetration depth of the Orleans Avenue Canal North was greater than that of the 17th Street Canal. This is a prime example of negligence on the part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Further research into this matter reveals that this is actually the result of a misinterpretation of the results of a study carried out by the Army Corps of Engineers into the penetration depth of

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is the southernmost country of Central America. The capital is Panama City. Panama population is about 3.6 million people.