The Panama Canal Essay -- History Historical Essays

The skimmer transmission channel In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt had a dream of a dominant America in both major oceans, connected by an American canal. With his inspiration, construction began on what has been called the largest project of any kind of all time undertaken. Now that it is complete, the Panama Canal makes the world a much little place for ocean-going vessels of all sizes. Ideas for a canal across Panama cede been in the works ever since the time the lot was discovered. In 1513, Vasco Nuez de Balboa pass the 50-mile wide land bridge and claimed the water on the other grimace in the name of Spain. Shortly after, in 1534, a team was displace to survey possible canal routes that would follow the Chagres River, but it was deemed to be hopeless to build at the time. There were no other notable instances of participation in a canal until 1848, when the California Gold Rush brush the United States. The Panama railroad was completed in 1851, and transported millions of dollars worth of metallic and other riches from one sea to the next. In 1952, future chairperson Ulysses S. Grant led the American Fourth Infantry across the isthmus and 150 of his men died of cholera in the jungle, inspiring him to commission surveys in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama during his presidency in 1969. The survey teams, which were supervised by the secretary of the Navy, decided that a route through Nicaragua would be the best for a transcontinental canal (www.pancanal.com). Three decades later, President McKinleys U.S. Isthmian Canal Commission would also favor the Nicaraguan route, but for reasons which will be discussed later, the Panamanian route was ultimately chosen. The only physical attribute of Panama t... ... On December 31, 1999 the Panama Canal was handed over to the state of Panama, ending United States influence there for almost a century. As it always has been, the canal is to remain neutral, safe, and open to vessels from all nations for as desire as it is in operation. Although the circumstances by which the construction of the canal came just about were less than diplomatic, the final state of the passageway represents a free and passable ideology for mankind.BibliographyLaFeber, Walter. The Panama Canal. Oxford University Press New York, 1978.A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama. A WGBH Production In Association With The British Broadcasting Corporation. WGBH stem Boston, 1999.The Panama Canal. http//www.pancanal.com/eng/history/index.html. Panama CanalAuthority 2001.CanalMuseum.com. http//www.canalmuseum.com. Ared Networks 2002.