The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is possibly one of the most well known man made geographic features ever. Only five days after the U.S. secured Panama's independence from Columbia, the first canal treaty was signed with the United States. Signing the treaty

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.

Roosevelt felt strongly about trade throughout the world. In 1904 the Isthmus of Panama was first broken by American shovel. After months of negotiation, the Latin American government allowed the creation of the Panama Canal. The U.S. military and other volunteers did most of the work. But because of Yellow Fever and Malaria , few workers returned. In 1914 the Canal Zone was finished and for the first time the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were flowing together.

First, the United States had bought a lease in Panama from France for 40 million dollars. The United States also had bought a 99-year lease on a part of land in Panama for 10 million dollars, plus 250,000 dollars as an annual rent. The total cost to build the canal was 375 million dollars (pancanal.com).The workers who built the canal got sick and died from diseases which were malaria and yellow fever. From these diseases, 5,609 American workers died (thesilverpeopleheritage.wordpress.com). Another downside to building the Panama Canal and to the American Empire was that it was not only costly towards the United States finances, it was also extremely costly towards the environment. It cost ten dollars to kill one mosquito (economist.com). Plus, oil-polluted watercourses and insecticides killed other animals besides mosquitos. The United States spent a lot of time, money, and effort trying to build the canal.

He started the construction of the Panama Canal, aware of the strategic need of a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific

Canals were a significant development in human history because they allowed societies to more freely transport goods by ship if natural rivers were not present and to provide irrigation for crops growing in drier soil. The most well-known example of a canal dramatically improving human productivity is the Panama Canal, opened officially in 1914 in the country of Panama in Central America. The canal joined the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and allowed ships to transport goods across the world much more quickly and efficiently.

This was Theodore Roosevelt's first act as president. The Panama Canal was a project that would have a canal built to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and be used in international trading. The British and the French have both thought about and attempted this before and now the United States would try. The canal was supposed to travel through the Nicaragua, but Roosevelt wanted the canal to travel across the Isthmus Mountains because he thought the larger ships would not fit through the Nicaragua. So, he attempted to sign a treaty with Columbia but was rejected by the Colombian senate. Roosevelt decided to plan with Philippe Bunau-Varilla who represented the French Panama Canal Company. His plan was to have panama revolt against columbia. On November 3, 1903 the revolution was announced and now considered panama independent. Roosevelt was able to get the treaty signed by Panama on November 18 that would allow the United States to build the canal. “When it was completed in 1913 at a cost of $387 million, the canal represented one of the most expensive construction projects ever undertaken” (Linn, Charles). Although the canal was not finished until 1913, Theodore Roosevelt still considered it the greatest achievement of his

WHAT: After U.S intervention into Panama, the U.S. had the want, the will, and the power to finish the canal which the French had started in 1881 and abandoned in 1894. The U.S. Began construction of the canal in 1904 under

Assuredly the Panama Canal, If you didn’t know already, was one of the most economic and socialized marvels of its time. It was, at first, attempted by the French in the late 1800s, but they were unable to carry out the canal because of financial problems. Not only that, but yellow fever and malaria flooded the campgrounds with the aid of mosquitoes, which made the workforce unbalanced (Avery). Then in 1904, the Americans were to take over under the leadership and guidance of President Theodore Roosevelt. Even then Americans had a difficult time with construction. Moreover, with the canal built, it’s more sufficient then sailing around the tip of South America. Even today, the canal is used several times a day to bring

The workers started off by creating a railroad to cross over and deliver items/tools for the workers to use, while building the canal. They have to dig through the jungle and flatten out land. Once they were done with that they would dig and make river and stream holes. The workers would blow up the land connection to the river/stream hole to the ocean. That is so the water could get through the continent. Most of the workers came from African Areas or South America Areas. TNT (the bomb) was the object the workers would use to blow up the river/stream hold to the ocean.

Also, the Panama Canal was very different compared to other events or inventions that happened in history. While in the making of the Panama Canal, it was the first time that the President had left the country. President Roosevelt was the first to leave the United States, while in office to go to Panama and to see how the canal was going. Then, it was also the first time that a lock canal was ever attempted to be made. To be able to pass the mountains of culebra they had to build a lock canal. In addition, there was also a bloodless revolution when Panama was gaining its independence from

In 1903, the United states under President Theodore Roosevelt signed a treaty with Panama which gave over the rights to build and control the passage through what we now know as the famous Panama Canal, with the purpose of creating a politically, economically and geographically significant waterway that would allow for the travel of ships from the

Constructing the Panama Canal was not easy, they had to overcome diseases, deaths, machine problems and many more. Yellow fever has been around for centuries and the workers in panama contracted it. Not only that but mosquitoes that were carrying around malaria got a lot of the population sick/ infected. A man named walter reed had contracted malaria and survived. He requested 1 million for sanitation and killing mosquitoes but got denied, then he got the money he requested. He reduced the amount of infected people down to 5%. Besides diseases and animals there were bigger problems. The land. It was not level and there were mountains in the way. So they built locks to go over the mountains, but there is also flooding there so they built a dam. Still to this day their are still problems with the

This is a good thing about Latin America because it would probably impact the economy if it wasn’t there. It is the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal is a waterway that brings together the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. It really helped trade in Latin America. The canal was built by the Americans in 1904 and a lot of leaders took over the project, including John Wallace, John Stevens and George Washington Goethals. The project was finished in 1914 after taking 10 years to build. The Panama Canal is an important feature to Latin America because it is a quicker way to import and export goods or cargo. It made it easier because instead of going all the way around South America you can go through Panama which saves you a lot of time. That means a lot of more ships pass through. If there was no Panama Canal like I said it would take a lot longer to travel to bring stuff somewhere by water. I also think there would be less ships traveling because not a lot of people would like to travel a long time at sea. I also think a lot of people would die because the trip would take so long. That is how the Panama Canal impacted Latin America in a good way.

The canal was the best thing that ever happened to Panama. The Panama Canal was started under President Roosevelt and completed by his successor, William Howard Taft. The canal was built across an isthmus, a narrow body of land that connects two larger land areas, which connects North and South America. In some places in Panama the isthmus is only 50 miles across. The French started the canal in the late 1800’s. They had just built the then famous Suez Canal with relative ease. The Suez Canal, unlike the Panama Canal, was a straight canal on level ground, in a relatively dry climate. The French had failed in building the Panama Canal because of the tropical climate, in which deadly tropical diseases consumed their