The Panama Canal (nov 18, 1901 – aug 15, 1914)

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As the U.S. was experiencing a resurgence of expansionistic desires, the construction of a canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to facilitate naval travel in the Western Hemisphere became increasingly important. The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty (1901), in which Britain agreed to let the U.S. construct such a canal alone, was essentially the greenlight that the U.S. needed in order to start developing this project. Initially the canal was supposed to be built in Colombia, but because Colombia kept demanding more money as well as ownership of the canal, Roosevelt decided instead to organize a revolt in Panama against Colombia. With the assistance of the U.S. navy, Panama quickly won its independence in 1903, and that same year, the rights to develop the “Canal Zone” (a 51-mile by 10-mile strip of land on which the Panama Canal was to be made) were signed over to the U.S. in the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. Roosevelt’s overbearing tactics used to secure the “Canal Zone” triggered antipathy from Latin American countries who felt the U.S. was abusing its power, and the U.S. later made concessions to Colombia and Panama to try and make up for it. Construction began a year after the acquisition of the land and took a decade to complete, with thousands of workers losing their lives in the process (mostly due to diseases like malaria and yellow fever).

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