American reaction to President Roosevelt securing the Panama Canal Zone was quite positive. The United States was in an imperialistic mood in the early 1900s. The United States wanted to spread its influence worldwide in the late 1890s and early 1900s. We had just gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. We were also interested in building a canal in Central America.
The United States wanted to be the country that...
American reaction to President Roosevelt securing the Panama Canal Zone was quite positive. The United States was in an imperialistic mood in the early 1900s. The United States wanted to spread its influence worldwide in the late 1890s and early 1900s. We had just gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. We were also interested in building a canal in Central America.
The United States wanted to be the country that built the Panama Canal. People from other countries had tried to do this, but they weren’t successful. We offered Columbia $10 million for the land to build the canal, plus a yearly rent of $250,000. When Columbia refused this offer, we supported a rebellion in Panama against Columbia. When Columbia tried to end the rebellion, our military wouldn’t allow them to end the rebellion. We quickly recognized the independence of Panama and offered them the same deal with Panama that Columbia had refused. The Panamanian government accepted the offer. By building the Panama Canal, we could significantly shorten the time it took to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It also showed American ingenuity at work.
Since the building of the Panama Canal helped reinforce the idea that our country was a world power as well as showing the capability of American business, industry, technology, medicine, and creativity, many Americans were very supportive of our effort to secure the Panama Canal Zone as well as our building of the Panama Canal.
No comments:
Post a Comment