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U.S. buys rights to Canal's property
In 1902, the U.S. reached an agreement to buy the French Canal rights and equipment, a sum not to exceed $ 40 million. The U.S. began negociating a panama treaty with columbia. The U.S. department of war would direct excavation. In the press and in the public sensed scandal. -
Panama's Independence
In 1903, Panama declared its independence without any trouble from Columbia. Three months later the panamanians granted the U.S. control of the Panama Canal zone, having to sign the Hay-Bunav- Varilla Treaty. The U.S. started to work on the canal right away. -
U.S. continues after French
French men acting for panama signed treaty giving U.S. the right to build the canal. The U.S. had to continue where the French left off. It would be hard to build the canal with so much obstacles in the way. One dangerous obstacle was yellow fever. Another obstacle was mountains. -
Building the Canal
The U.S. began building the Panama Canal, because the French started and just lefr the project, it was hard for the U.S. workers to pick back up. It took many months to make the canal. After workers were done digging in that area many rockslides would come down and bury men alive. It would take many months to clean it up. Also the rockslides would derail trains. -
Yellow fever being contained
Gorges wipes out Yellow fever by putting oil into water souces. Also spraying out mosqitos inside the shacks. Yellow Fever is a dangerous virus. The Yellow fever can cause people to die if not taken care of. This made workers leave the site so they wouldn't get sick. This was the problem why the French quit. -
Roosevelt visits the Canal
In November 1906, Roosevelt visited the canal, posing at the controls of a Bucyrus shovel. It seemed that the project couldn't fail. On Febuary 12, 1907 a dispireted Cheif Engineer Stevens quit. He was to down because the project was going down because of Yellow Fever and other disasters. From the looks of it the project would not have made it. -
The Canal is Finished
The Panama Canal opened officially on August 15, 1904. The world noticed it scarcely. German soldiers were going across Belgium to Paris; the newspapers had Panama to their back pages. The greatest engineering project in the history of the world. Soon after it had been dwarfed by the totality of World War 1 -
Reflection
Success and hardships of the Panama Canal can be related to the scpripture Acts 17:26, " He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them". Some hardships the workers had to deal with included, rockslides, yellow fever, and derailed trains. Some Successes were when they got rid of Yellow fever, and built giant locks. The goal of the Panama Canal was to shorten the distance that took 2 months, to about 8 hours from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean or oppisite. -
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