Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is one of the greatest works of engineering and modern achievements of mankind. An all-water passage through the continental divide of the Panama region had been suggested since early Spanish colonial times of the 16th century. The reality of a canal through the Isthmus of Panama came to be when the French began work in 1881. After 20 years of laboring on the construction of the canal the French had exhausted their resources and capital. As the U.S. expanded across the North American continent and continued to become a world power, a more practical way was needed to travel from Pacific to Atlantic. The United States purchased the rights and assets from France in 1902 and took over the task of building the canal. President Roosevelt saw the opportunity of having an inter-oceanic canal that would provide easy access to the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans for the U.S. merchant and naval ships. The U.S. labored for ten years and in 1914 the canal was finished. The accomplishment of constructing the Panama Canal was a major factor in the U.S. becoming a dominant force throughout the seas. Millions of dollars and thousands of lives later one of the greatest endeavors of mankind was complete.
1. Cameron, Ian. The Impossible Dream: the Building of the Panama Canal. New York: William Morrow, 1972. 4. Lee, William Storrs. The Strength to Move a Mountain. New York: Putnam, 1958. France saw the U.S. as the only country that could complete the task and offered to sell their assets to the U.S. The Isthmian Canal Commission under the McKinley administration surveyed the region and thought Nicaragua was the best choice for the placement of a canal to connect both oceans. In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt took over the presidency and he saw a canal as vital and indispensable for the U.S. and their destiny as a world power. He firmly believed in the power of a country was in its naval force and having control of a waterway between the two great oceans would allow the U.S. to control the seas. He signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty with Britain that renounced Britain's interest in the canal project and permitted the U.S. to build and fortify the canal. (Horowitz et.al. 76) The U.S. had learned that during the Spanish-American war it could have used a inter-oceanic canal as it took one of its warships over sixty days to reach Cuba from the California coast by traveling around the horn of South America. After the war it had also acquired territory throughout the Pacific. Having a canal in place would allow its ships to move more efficient throughout seas. In 1902 the U.S. purchased the assets and rights to the land from France for $40,000,000. The government decided on Panama because it would be shorter, straighter and require fewer locks, along with an already established railroad. The U.S. signed the Hay-Herran Treaty with Colombia for a sovereign strip of land 10 miles wide in order to build the canal. The treaty had the U.S. paying Colombia $10,000,000 and an annuity of $250.000 every year after ten years. The Colombian government rejected the treaty. Roosevelt became impatient and supported the uprising of the Panama republic to separate from Colombia. The U.S. sent warships on both sides of the Isthmus to keep the Colombians from quelling the independence movement of Panama. In 1903 Panama declared its independence. A new treaty with Panama was now signed. The
Some common words found in the essay are:
Yellow Fever, Panama Canal, Nearly Panama, Goethals Taft, President Roosevelt, South America, Treaty Colombia, Hay-Buneau-Varilla Treaty, Theodore Roosevelt, Treaty Britain, yellow fever, panama canal, french company, building panama canal, isthmus panama, contracted malaria, canal president, world power, president roosevelt, canal isthmus panama, lock canal, sea-level canal,
Approximate Word count = 1479
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
