10.3 The Panama Canal
Answer the questions using notes from the ppt.
Who originally started building the canal?
2. Why did they fail? 2 reasons.
1.
Panama Canal
The building of the Panama Canal took 34 years
from the initial effort in 1880 to actually opening the
canal in 1914. The building of the canal is
considered one of the greatest engineering feats in
history.
French Failure
 1879 - the French buy land in Panama to build a




canal
Quickly run out of money and desire
Many men die to tropical disease
French sell the rights to the land to the US in 1901
for $40 million
Columbia tells US they are not allowed to dig the
canal
3. Why was it important to build the canal for
North Americans?
4. What is an isthmus?
The Panama Canal
 Both the United States and Europe wanted to build a
canal across Central America
 This would save time and be less dangerous than
going around Cape Horn in Chile
 Isthmus of Panama - the area known as Panama is
50 miles mile and was owned by Columbia
Panama
Canal
Panama
Canal
isthmus
a narrow strip of
land connecting
two larger land
areas.
 Clayton-
Bulwer
Treaty
 Called for
Britain and
US to jointly
build and
maintain
canal.
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
 Secretary of State
John Hay
 Got Britain to
surrender their
interests in building
Panama Canal IF
U.S. let any vessel
use canal
5. What country owned the land we know as Panama?
Hay-Herran Treaty
 Columbia controls
present day Panama.
 Thomas Herran
Colombian minister
made a treaty with Sec
State John Hay.
 US would pay $10
million plus $250,000
a year for 99 years.
 Colombia rejects offer
because they feel they
can get a better deal
6. How did Teddy become President?
7. What did Teddy force people of Panama to do?
Teddy Roosevelt
 Now president due
to President
McKinley's
assassination
 Is furious he did not
get permission for
the canal by
Columbia.
 He is determined to
get what he wants.
 Philippe Bunau-Varilla
He plots a revolt…
Great idea
Philippe
Hey TR
let’s start a
revolt in
Panama.




the French man …tells
TR that the people of
Panama would like to
become independent
from Columbia
TR likes the idea and the
Panamanian revolt
begins
11.2.1903 US warships
head into Colon,
Panama
11.4.1903 Panama
declares itself
independent
America builds the
canal!!!!!
TR takes Action
 TR really wants a canal and isn’t bothered by the fact
that Columbia won’t allow him to build it.
 TR supports a revolution by Panama to overthrow
Columbia.
 US sends ships, men, and support.
 Panama is free - One day revolt ends with Panama’s
independence
Let’s Make a Deal
 US recognizes Panama as a country on 11/6/1903
 US and Panama cut a deal - US leases land for 99
years for $10 million and $250,000 annually
(Turned down by Columbia)
 US begins construction of a huge ditch through the
country of Panama
Panama Canal Facts
 Tolls for the canal are
decided by the Panama Canal
Authority and are based on
vessel type, size, and the type
of cargo carried
Richard Halliburton
Length of vessel 50ft
More than 50 ft
More than 80 ft
More than 100 ft
US$500
US$750
US$1,000
US$1,500
Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and
paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cent
To sail from Atlantic to
Pacific, ships navigated
around Cape Horn, the
treacherous southern
extremity of South America.
A New York to San
Francisco journey
measured some 13,000
miles and took months.
8. How was the Panama Canal made?
The Canal
 The canal consists of
artificial lakes, several
improved and artificial
channels, and
 three sets of locks. An
additional artificial lake,
Alajuela Lake (known
during the American era
as Madden Lake),
 acts as a reservoir for
the canal
9. What tropical
diseases were a
problem during the
construction of the
Panama Canal?
10. List three ways you
think would help
combat these tropical
diseases?
Issues With Construction
 Had to help a
rebellion in Columbia
 Malaria and Yellow
Fever spread by
mosquitoes
 6000 lives lost
 11. How were the problems with bugs solved?
 American builders faced difficult problems that
threatened to derail the project such as tropical
diseases like Malaria and Yellow Fever.
Dr. William Gorgas, was hired to eradicate
yellow fever , like he had in Havana years
before. He was able to accomplish his goal
by killing the mosquitoes that carried the
diseases. Workers:
1. Drained swamps, swept
drainage ditches, paved
roads and installed
plumbing.
2. Sprayed pesticides by the
ton.
3. Entire towns rose from the
jungle, complete with
housing, schools, churches,
commissaries, and social
halls.
Building the
Panama Canal
Construction
 Used France’s
unfinished canal to
start
 Locks built to go over
mountains
 51 miles long
 $375 million + $300
million of French
At the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side, workers poured
enough concrete to build a wall 8' wide, 12' high, and 133
miles long. They built culverts the size of railroad
tunnels to channel water from Gatun Lake into the
locks.
By August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal
was officially opened by the passing
of the SS Ancon.
Panama Canal
Figure 3: A map showing the route of
the completed canal. A series of "locks"
are used to control the water level
within the canal.
1909 Lock Construction
The American
expenditures
from 1904 to
1914 totaled
$352,000,000,
far more than
the cost of
anything built
by the United
States
Government up
to that time. In
today’s money it
would cost
$7,448,028,707.72
Monroe Doctrine
 Stated that European
powers were no longer
to colonize or interfere
with the affairs of the
newly independent
states of the Americas.
 The United States
would not interfere
with existing colonies
or their dependencies
in the Western
Hemisphere.
 13. What is the Roosevelt Corollary?
Roosevelt Corollary
 Roosevelt's extension of
the Monroe Doctrine
asserted the right of the
United States to
intervene to stabilize the
economic affairs of small
nations in the Caribbean
and Central America if
they were unable to pay
their international
debts.
Roosevelt Corollary
 Monroe Doctrine (1828) - US closes Latin America
to new European colonies
 Roosevelt Corollary (1905) - US to serve as police
in Latin America and intervene as necessary
 Anarchy Protection - TR thought US should get
involved any time there is lawlessness in Western
Hemisphere to aid the country and protect the US
Foreign Policy of
SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK
Theodore Roosevelt
“I took the canal zone and let Congress
debate, and while the debate goes on,
the canal construction does also.”
Theodore Roosevelt after being asked
about how he feels that Congress does
not support his decision to take the
Canal Zone.
Benefits of the Panama Canal
 Shorter Distance - former route was 12,600 miles.
Now 4,900 miles
 Security - US Navy can get places quicker so it helps
with protection of US and imperialism
 Information - US controls who travels through the
canal
 Power - Sends a message of power and action of US
to the world
TR as the Top Cop of Western
Hemisphere
 1903 - Panama Canal
 1905 - Takes over Dominican Republic’s finances
after a revolution until they became stable
 1906 - US sends troops to Cuba to halt a revolution
(remember that we controlled Cuba with the Platt
Amendment)