FOCUS: What were the benefits of the Panama Canal?
The Monroe Doctrine was issued in 1823 by President James Monroe declaring the US the protector of the Western Hemisphere. In the early 20th century, President Roosevelt wanted to make clear that he would enforce the Monroe Doctrine.
Thus, Roosevelt issued the Corollary to keep European countries out of Latin America, specifically the Dominican Republic.
Questions to consider:
1. How does Roosevelt define the goal of US foreign policy?
2. According to Roosevelt, what choices does a nation have when its rights are violated? Which does he advocate? Why?
3. What is your opinion of Roosevelt's assertion that "[c]hronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation"?
The Roosevelt Message was found on the web at
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-relations/roosevelt-corollary.htm
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Panama Canal Top The Panama Canal was begun by the French builders of the Suez Canal in 1881, though the project quickly faltered primarily due to technological limitations and the impact of tropical diseases, most notably malaria. By 1904, the United States, viewing the canal as crucial for economic well being, was ready to take up construction but balked at the price that Columbia, which controlled the canal site, demanded for construction to continue. Rather than acquiesce to Columbia’s demands, the United States staged an independence movement in the Columbian state of Panama Furthermore, the United States station naval gunboats off the coast to discourage Columbian interference. The independent nation of Panama quickly agreed to allow the United States to build the canal. By 1904, technological innovations eased construction difficulties for the Americans. The introduction of quinine limited the deaths caused by malaria and improvements in lock technology allowed engineers to overcome the elevation changes that bedeviled the French. When the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, it was regarded as a wonder of the modern world. Twice as long as the Suez Canal in Egypt, the Panama Canal was, at 51 miles, the largest artificial body of water in the world. Over 30 years of intermittent construction, approximately 80,000 laborers worked on the canal an estimated 30,000 of whom died, mostly from malaria. Construction of the canal cost the United States approximately $352 million dollars. By utilizing the canal, a ship sailing from San Francisco to New York could save nearly 8,000 miles
The first image is a photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt at the controls of a steam shovel at the canal site.
The second image is a photograph of two ships dredging the canal during construction.
Question to consider:
1. Has there been a comparable feat of construction in recent times? |
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