Objective:
Identify America's role in the Panama
revolution and then building the Panama Canal
APK/Vocab
• Roosevelt Corollary – no Europeans in West
– Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick
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Revolution
Permit
Treaty
Lease
Negotiate
Locks
Importance
• A main reason the United States built the
Panama Canal was to
– 1. close the Western Hemisphere to new
European colonization.
– 2. reduce travel time for commercial and military
shipping.
– 3. promote an isolationist foreign policy.
– 4. prevent the spread of communism.
French - The 1800’s
• 1835 France is given a
permit to build a canal
across Panama.
• However first they have
to come up with a plan
to build the canal.
• In 1881 they finally
start.
Building the Canal
The next few pictures show what the
area looked like when the French
started building the canal. What
challenges do you think they faced
building a canal in this type of area?
Image Courtesy of:
http://www.anu.edu.au/BoZo/jennions/images/Panama%20lake.jpg
Courtesy of: http://www.canalmuseum.com/photos/panamacanalphoto002.htm
Courtesy of: http://www.canalmuseum.com/photos/panamacanalphoto002.htm
Courtesy of: http://www.canalmuseum.com/photos/panamacanalphoto003.htm
After looking at these pictures what do
you think would be the challenges of
trying to build a canal through a tropical
jungle and mountains?
The French Give Up
• 1881 A French company begins
construction on the canal.
• After eight years France gives up on the
project.
• Over 20,000 construction workers died
working on the project for France and the
company trying to build the canal goes
bankrupt.
Why was it so important to build a
canal?
• It is 1904. Theodore Roosevelt is president,
and the United States is fast becoming one
of the most powerful nations in the world.
Such recent inventions as the telephone
and the automobile make the 3,000 mile
wide country seem a lot smaller.
But, what if a canal were built where the land
between North America and South America is
narrowest-across Panama? That could shorten
the trip by nearly 8,000 miles!
Panama Canal
• In 1901 the United States negotiated the
rights to build a canal in the Caribbean
– Had to allow all nations to use it
• U.S. decides to construct canal in Panama,
which was part of Colombia
• Colombia did not agree to the financial terms
offered by the United States
Panama Canal
• Roosevelt strongly encourages Panamanians to
rebel and declare their independence
• Under TR’s foreign policy, use brokers a treaty, which
Panama to construct a canal and lease the land for
99 years
Panama Canal
• 250 million cubic yards
of soil removed
• Ten years to construct
• Workers died of yellow
fever and malaria
Panama Canal
TR in Panama
(Construction begins in 1904)
Here are the giant locks
Courtesy of: http://www.canalmuseum.com/photos/panamacanalphoto026.htm
Here are the giant locks being built
Photo from the Canal Zone Brats www.czbrats.com
Here are the giant
locks being built
Photos Courtesy of
www.panamacanal.com
Here is how the Panama
Canal works
Image Courtesy of: http://www.panamacanal-cruises.com/panama-canal-pictures/crosssections.jpg
Here is how the Panama
Canal works
Photo Courtesy of: http://navy.memorieshop.com/Panama/ProfilePC.jpg
Here is one of the maps used when
making the canal
Photos Courtesy of
www.panamacanal.com
The Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine: 1905
Chronic wrongdoing… may
in America, as elsewhere,
ultimately require
intervention by some
civilized nation, and in the
Western Hemisphere the
adherence of the United
States to the Monroe
Doctrine may force the
United States, however
reluctantly, in flagrant
cases of such wrongdoing
or impotence, to the
exercise of an
international police power .
Speak Softly,
But Carry a Big Stick!
Panama Canal Today
Panama Canal
Working Conditions
Imagine working on the Panama Canal. By
noon the temperature is about 100
degrees. It’s humid-so humid that after it
rains steam rises from the ground and your
clothes become soaking wet. There is no
shade, no air-conditioning, and no place to
get cool.
Working Conditions
The average yearly rainfall is about 80
inches. Flooding makes the ground like
pudding, and you can sink up to your
knees in mud. Tropical diseases, such as
yellow fever and malaria are spread easily
by mosquitoes.
Working Conditions
A tropical jungle may be a fascinating
place for scientists to work, but for
workers trying to build a canal it’s a
nightmare. Imagine trying to dig out
tons of dirt in a jungle like this. And
there was no insect repellent to keep
the bugs from biting.
Working conditions
As one worker said, “There was no shelter
from the sun or the rain. There were no trees,
and when the sun shines, you get it. When
the rain falls you get it.”
Importance
• A main reason the United States built the
Panama Canal was to
– 1. close the Western Hemisphere to new
European colonization.
– 2. reduce travel time for commercial and military
shipping.
– 3. promote an isolationist foreign policy.
– 4. prevent the spread of communism.
Closure
• The United States gained control of the land it
needed to build the Panama Canal by
– 1. negotiating with Mexico.
– 2. invading and attacking Colombia.
– 3. implementing the Open Door Policy.
– 4. encouraging and supporting Panamanian
independence.
Closure
• The main reason the U.S. supported a
Panamanian rebellion against Colombia in
1903 was to
– 1. gain the rights to complete a canal linking the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
– 2. increase the number of democratic nations in
Latin America.
– 3. reduce European colonialism in the Western
Hemisphere.
– 4. prevent a foreign power from seizing land in
Central America.
Closure
• For many years after the United States had
obtained the land to build the Panama Canal,
Latin American countries
– 1. became friendly toward the United States
because of the canal.
– 2. refused to use the canal and refused to trade
with the United States.
– 3. were angry at the United States for its role in
the Panama Revolution.
– 4. received regular payments to help provide
security for the canal.
Closure
• Which President is responsible for the building
of a canal in Panama
– 1. William McKinley
– 2. Theodore Roosevelt
– 3. Woodrow Wilson
– 4. Howard Taft