Why Build The Panama Canal

In Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, they made several references to the Panama Canal that I had trouble understanding. “They say a mad Frenchmen dreamed up this Panama project, and convinced the devil to give him an army of workers” (Nottage 15). The Panama Canal plays a huge part in this play, and while I know the basics of its creation, I wanted to further investigate the details of how it was made. According to PBS source, “at least 25,000 workers died during the combined French and U.S construction periods of the Panama Canal” (PBS). This fact was very surprising since no one ever talks about how deadly the construction of the canal was. It helped me understand the struggles of George a lot more. According to another source, “The

Theodore Roosevelt wanted to begin construction of the Panama canal before the campaigning of 1904. The treaty and $100 million offered to Colombia for the land for the canal was rejected by the Colombian government. Roosevelt was a man with short temper and the mentality that he was always right so he decided to take action and began with the killing of Chinese man and a donkey. Panama signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty fifteen days later and the Panama was purchased by the U.S. for $15 million. To many people it seemed as though Roosevelt was actively trying to take away canal from colombia but that was not true. Construction began in 1904 and was finished ten years later in 1914 with the total cost of $400 million to build. Latin American nations were having hard time paying debts so countries such as Britain and Germany decided to send a force to South America to force them to pay. Theodore Roosevelt did not like this so he created the Roosevelt Corollary to keep the Monroe Doctrine together. This said that no other country could “bully” Latin America except the U.S. and Latin America felt Uncle Sam was being

The construction of the Panama Canal has a number of important foreign policy implies, First it led to the United States' supporting independent factions, who separated the republic of Panama from Colombia, and it also led to the granting of sovereign land rights to the United States over the Panama Canal Zone. The Panama Canal had massive suggestions for

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

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.

The Panama Canal is an important part of Panama and United States history. The Panama Canal was constructed in order to make the journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean shorter. This is extremely important because it shortens the journey for cargo ships making them financially more efficient. The Panama Canal was once owned by the United States but is now owned by Panama. The Panama Canal is a perfect example of countries working together for a common goal.

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

Before the 1900s, in order to get from the Atlantic ocean to the pacific ocean, you had to go around South America then all the way up again to reach your destination. Everyone was getting tired of going the long way, until a French company that was lead by Ferdinand de Lesseps came up with the idea of making a canal through Panama. However, the French ended failing because of the obstacles that came their way. Later on the U.S. wanted to continue building the canal, plus they had more to gain from this canal. They got the permission to build a canal through Panama and began working. Of course many obstacles were faced, but finally on August 15, 1914, the canal was completed. Everyone was saying that the Panama Canal would change the face of

There was some question about whether the most practical and efficient route for a canal would be in Panama or through Nicaragua. President McKinley had ordered a commission to decide “the most feasible and practical route wherever that may be” (Washington Post). Both were feasible options but they were really trying to figure out which one would be more efficient and to the most interest of

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

The Panama canal is a unique structure, and the amount it took to build is mind blowing. Many people helped to build the canal, but it was too dangerous for the workers that helped. They eventually faced hard rain, earthquakes and fires around them and their work would be destroyed every storm they encountered. Mosquitoes had parasites that got workers at the canal sick and some even died because the parasites carried malaria and yellow fever. These catastrophes were too much for the workers and someone had to change something in order for the Panama canal to be complete.

The Panama canal is an advanced canal for the time it was built. First of all the canal works as a lock system. The lock system can raise a ship up and down. Therefor the railroad system, was an extreme help to many people. The railroad system assisted in moving all the dirt and rock away from where they were building the canal. Building the canal employed people as workers to construct the Panama canal.

The Panama Canal has been a thought since the 1500’s with Spain’s King Charles I, but it was only until the 1900s when the rough terrain

The Panama Canal was opened in 1914, its opening was a remarkable engineering feat and provided a vital link to world shipping. The Panama Canal was a massive undertaking not only from an engineering stand point but a political one as well. The project was first taken on by the French. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had over seen the completion of the Suez Canal just years before took the charge. The French attempt seemed doomed from the start poor planning and lack of expertise led the French to failure. Malaria and Yellow Fever decimated the work force throughout the project. The prospect of an interocean canal seemed bleak. American recognized the potential and began making moves to secure rights to acquire the operation. The US bought out the

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