“The voyage (to California) by way of Cape Horn will occupy on an average, five or six months, while by the Isthmus route, the trip is accomplished in as many weeks!” -- Gregory’s Guide for California Travelers via the (land route) Isthmus of Panama, 1850

Goals for Latin America 1901 Theodore Roosevelt became President He wanted to build a canal across Central America He was determined to keep European powers from interfering in the affairs of Latin American countries The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty granted the United States the sole right to construct, control and defend a Central American canal Said that canal was to remain free and open to ships from all nations on equal terms

History of the Canal Big Stick Policy (U.S. intervention in Latin America)Big Stick Policy (U.S. intervention in Latin America) 1903 Panama revolts from Colombia. U.S.A. recognizes independence.1903 Panama revolts from Colombia. U.S.A. recognizes independence. Construction took seven years to complete.Construction took seven years to complete.

Originally the U.S. was planning on building a canal in Nicaragua because it was close to sea-level and it would follow Lake Nicaragua & San Juan River In 1902 the House of Representatives voted 308 to 2 to build in Nicaragua

Ferdinand De Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt, organized a French company to build a canal in Panama Disease and delays bankrupted the company After the House of Representatives voted to build a Nicaraguan Canal, the French company went bankrupt & offered to sell its assets to the United States Teddy Roosevelt wanted to accept the deal but Congress still wanted to build in Nicaragua

In May 1902 a volcano exploded killing 30,000 people & the U.S. became concerned with the destructive power of volcanoes

Problems Mosquitoes carried yellow fever and malaria.Mosquitoes carried yellow fever and malaria. The land was tough to break through.The land was tough to break through.

How Did the Americans Control the Mosquitoes? Thousands of sanitary workers scoured the Canal Zone looking for water sources where mosquitoes could breed. By spraying a thin film of oil on the water’s surface, they smothered any mosquito larvae that might be living there. Using techniques that William Gorgas developed in Havana where he battled yellow fever after the Spanish-American War, workers fumigated buildings, removed standing water, installed door and window screens, and cut grass.

TR comes to watch the construction.

From the Atlantic Ocean the Panama Canal runs south for ten miles (17 km) and then eastward to the Pacific Ocean. The total soil excavated from the canal would build a pyramid 4,200 feet (1,280 meters) high. During the construction engineers working on the project earned from $225 to $600 per month. Physicians earned from $150 to $300. The project consumed as much as twelve million pounds of dynamite per year. Gatun Lake, the highest part of the canal, is about 85 feet (26 meters) above sea level.

The Commissary Department provided food for the entire work force and baked as many as six million loaves of bread, 650,000 rolls, and 114,000 pounds of cake per year. It took nine hours and forty minutes for the passage of the first ship through the canal. The average is 8-10 hours. When the canal opened tolls were set at $1.20 per ton for freight and $1.50 per ton for passengers. A freighter carrying a cargo of 4,500 tons paid a toll of $5,400. When the Panama Canal opened to traffic, the United States had spent $352 million.