The Panama Canal
The Panama CanalAmerican Foreign Policy
November 30, 1994
In 1825, a group of American businesspeople announced the
formation of a canal building company, with interests in constructing a
canal system across the Isthmus. This project was to take place in an
area now called Panama. The endeavor was filled with controversy.
Though the canal itself was not built until the early 1900’s every step
toward the building and ownership, was saturated with difficulty.
Walter LaFeber illustrates the dilemmas in a historical analysis. In
his work he states five questions that address the significance of the
Panama Canal to United States. This paper will discuss the historical
perspective of the book’s author, address pertinent three questions and
give a critique of LaFeber’s work, The Panama Canal.
For proper historical analysis one must understand the
importance of the Canal. The Panama Canal and the Canal Zone (the
immediate area surrounding the Canal) are important areas used for
trade. Even before the canal was built there were to large ports on
both sides of the Isthmus. Large amounts of cargo passed through the
Isthmus by a railroad that connected the two ports. The most important
cargo was the gold mined in California before the transcontinental
railroad was completed in the United States. It has strategic
significance because of its location, acting as a gateway connecting the
Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This allows for rapid naval deployment
between fleets in either ocean. These two facets make the Panama Canal
very important in the region.
LaFeber notes that Panamanian nationalism played a large role in
the creation of the canal and, consequently, the cause for the area’s
constant instability. The first expression occurred in the late 1800’s
with Panamanian struggle for independence from Columbia. The United
States eager to build the canal, and control its operation, used and
backed Panamanian nationalist. During the Roosevelt administration, not
only did the United States manipulate factors isolating Panama from
other world powers through the Monroe Doctrine; but it committed troops
aiding the revolutionaries against another sovereign state. The reason
this is a surprise is because the Roosevelt administration normally held
a position favoring stability. The United States had no legal right to
use force against Columbia.
Nationalism came back to haunt the United States. With the
treaty signed and a 99-year lease given to the United States, the Canal
was built. Since then, the United States has varied on its stance of
ownership and the principles of sovereignty concerning the Canal. The
ever persistent debate of who owns the Canal and who should have
sovereign control over it, has not been solved. The United States has
occasionally attempted to “claim” the Canal zone through various methods
such as military occupation, exclusion of Panamanians for important jobs
in Canal operations and even through the customary aspect of
international law....
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