1 The Panama Canal An Oral History Project

2 Panama Canal Location

3 Background of Parties Involved 1534 Idea of a Panama Canal suggested 1529 Working plans drawn up 1848 California Gold Rush 1876 International company formed 1881 French take over canal construction 1904 U.S. Government purchases rights to build and operate --begins construction 1914 Panama Canal completed (St. George, 1989)

4 (Shepherd, 1911) NE SW (20 ft. tidal difference) (1 ft. tidal difference)

How do the locks work? 5

What is Oral History?  Oral history is a self-conscious, disciplined conversation between people about a historically significant event of the past to create a record of the event. Although the conversation takes the form of an interview, in which one person--the interviewer--asks questions of another person--variously referred to as the interviewee or narrator-- oral history is, at its heart, a dialogue. 6

Questions Simple, Structured, Single Topic Open-ended & concrete Determined in advance and submitted to the Interviewee Off-limits questions

The Interviewee Fits your questions Willing Validated

A Few Other Things Informed Consent Recording Equipment Dress Location Questioning Techniques Informal Time After Thank You Note

10 Panama Canal Background (canalmuseum.com, 2001) SW NE Culebra Cut Continental Divide Gatun Lake Gatun Dam Chagres River Pacific Breakwater Atlantic Breakwater Miraflores Lock Madden Lake Pedro Miguel Locks Gatun Locks (Madden Dam) Mr. Robert Dill at 104 years of age telling his story.

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12 Engineers YearEngineerAccomplishments Ferdinand de Lesseps Organized French Company John Wallace Started U.S. Construction John Stevens Employed Lock System George Goethals Final Organization of Construction  Atlantic Division: William Sibert  Central Division: David Gaillard  Pacific Division: Sydney Williamson (St. George, 1989)

13  George W. Goethals, Chief Engineer,  John F. Wallace, Chief Engineer,  John F. Stevens, Chief Engineer, (Pictured Left to Right) (CZ Brats, 2007)

14 Equipment Used  Marion Steam Shovel- Bucyrus type  Excavation rate for one shovel:  150 cu.yds./hr.  Average of 40 in use per day at Culebra Cut  Approximately 100 purchased by U.S. (canalmuseum.com, 2001)

15 Bucyrus Steam Shovel (Gus Steigler’s Days in Panama, 2007)

16 Culebra Cut Before and After BeforeAfter * 20,000,000 cu. yds. added to excavation due to slides * 25% of total spoil removed ( canalmuseum.com, 2001 )

17 The Panama Canal “Path Between the Seas” (canalmuseum.com, 2001) The Culebra Cut Today

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19 Disease  Major Problems  Umbrella Ants  Standing Water  Open Sewage  Mosquitoes  Malaria  Yellow Fever ( canalmuseum.com, 2001; McCullough, 1977 )

20 Disease Solution  Dr. William Gorges  Drain Swamps  Install Plumbing  Maintain Roads  Use Pesticides ( canalmuseum.com, 2001; McCullough, 1977 )

21 Project Safety  Overall 30,000 lives lost between French and American efforts  Main causes  Rock Slides  Explosives  Disease  Upheavals  Sink Holes (canalmuseum.com, 2001; Canal Zone Images.com, 2007)

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23 Dynamite/Blasting  Total: 4,535,000 lbs. of dynamite used in canal construction  Blast holes were:  feet deep  Filled with lbs. of dynamite ( canalmuseum.com, 2001; The Panama Canal )

24 Blasting  Common Problems  Steam shovels hit unexploded charges  Lightning  Human Error  December 12, 1908  52 holes; 44,000 lbs. dynamite  26 killed; 40 injured ( canalmuseum.com, 2001; St. George, 1989 )

25 Train/Railways  Total: 160 steam locomotives used throughout project  Approximately 10 in use at all times  4,000 wagon cars  Ligerwood Loader ( canalmuseum.com, 2001; Gaillard Cut, 2007 )

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27 Chart of Expenditures Total French contribution $287,000,000 $287,000,000 U.S. buys all property rights to canal from the French $40,000,000 $40,000,000 U.S. Cost for equipment and materials $312,000,000 $312,000,000 U.S. contribution to finish canal $352,000,000 $352,000,000 Total cost to build canal $639,000,000 $639,000,000 Note: U.S. came in $23,000,000 under budget. (canalmuseum.com, 2001)

Opening of the Panama Canal President Wilson detonated the dike at Camboa via telegraph October 10, 1913 in Washington, DC.

29 Conclusions  Greatest engineering accomplishment of it’s time  Largest dam until Hoover Dam  Trip from New York to San Francisco  7,872 miles and months of travel saved  “Nation Sized” project  More than just canal construction  New towns (still flourishing today)  Dredging of canal  Rock slides continue  More than 232,000,000 cu.yds. since 1914 (St. George, 1989)

Robert Dill   Worked 5 ½ years on the Canal Special Thanks The History Channel Modern Marvels: The Panama Canal (Permission granted for educational use) Narrated by Harian Saperstein 30

31 (Gomex/Routers, 2007) Gatun Locks

32 References  canalmuseum.com. (2001). Retrieved November 29, 2007, from  Canal Zone Images. (2007). Retrieved December 6, 2007, from  CZ Brats. (2007) Retrieved December 6, 2007, from  Gaillard Cut. (2007). Retrieved December 6, 2007, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culebra_Cut en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culebra_Cut  Gomex/Routers J.M. (2007). Retrieved December 10, 2007, from news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/photogalleries/panama-canal/ news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/photogalleries/panama-canal/  Gus Steigler’s Days in Panama. (2007). Retrieved December 6, 2007, from  Joel’s Blog, (2005). Retrieved December 10, 2007 from  Marion Steam Shovel Company, (2007). Retrieved on December 10, 2007, from  McCullough, D. (1977). The path between the seas. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster  Shepherd, W.R. (1911). Historical atlas. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. Retrieved December 8, 2007, from  St. George, J. (1989).Panama canal: Gateway to the world. New York, NY: G.P.Putnam’s Sons.  The Panama Canal. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from

33 The Panama Canal An Oral History Project