Latin American Policies,
the Roosevelt Corollary,
and the Panama Canal
Chapter 22: Section 4
Pages 656-659
Question #1:
In what year
was the
Roosevelt
Corollary
issued?
Answer:
1904
Answer:
Question #2:
Why did the
United States
want to build the
Panama Canal?
In order to
connect the
Atlantic to the
Pacific coasts,
thus cutting the
sea voyage
around South
America in half.
Answer:
Question #3:
DefineIsthmus
A narrow
strip of land
connecting
two larger
bodies of
land.
Question #4:
Why did President
Roosevelt believe
that building and
controlling the
Panama Canal was
important?
Answer:
He believed
the canal
would make
the U.S.
Stronger both
militarily and
economically.
Question #5:
Columbia controlled
Panama and did not
want to lease the
isthmus of Panama to
the United States.
So, how did Roosevelt
get the right to build
and control the
Panama Canal?
Answer:
Roosevelt encouraged
the Panamanians to
revolt and fight for their
independence. He sent
a warship to the port of
Colon as if to show that
the U.S. would help the
rebels and stopped the
Columbian ships from
getting to Panama to
stop the revolt.
Answer:
Question #6:
When did the
United States
recognize Panama’s
independence from
Columbia?
November 6,
1903
Question #7:
Two weeks
after Panama
gained its
independence
from Columbia,
what did the
United States
receive?
Answer:
A ten mile strip of land
between the isthmus of
Panama for the price of
$10 million upfront and
an annual rent of
$250,000 a year.
*NOTE: The U.S.
controlled the canal
until 1999.
Question #8:
When was the
Panama Canal
finally
completed?
Answer:
August 15,
1914
Answer:
Question #9:
The canal reduced
shipping costs by
cutting more than
7,000 miles off
the voyage from
New York City to
San Francisco.
Answer:
Question #10:
The canal also
helped extend
naval power by
allowing the
United States
fleet to move
freely between
the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans.
Answer:
Question #11:
In the long run, the
canal guaranteed a
strong American
presence in Latin
America, where the
U.S. now had
valuable property it
intended to protect
(the Panama
Canal).
Answer:
Question #12:
Roosevelt often
said, a country
should “speak
softly and carry a
big stick.” By this
he meant that the
United States
should respond to
foreign crises not
by threats but with
military action.
Question #13:
Why did Roosevelt
believe the United
States had the right to
use “international
police power” to help
Venezuela and the
Dominican Republic
when threatened by
Europe?
Answer:
According to the
Roosevelt Corollary,
the U.S. has the
“right to interfere in
any economic
matter in Latin
America.”
He believed a threat
to the western
hemisphere was a
potential threat to
the U.S.