The Panama Canal connecting two Countries
The Panama Canal was one of the United States greatest accomplishments. It changed the way the world did business forever, it also had a great effect on mankind. With the French failing at the project and a disease ridden canal everyone thought we the U.S. was crazy at taking this project over.
French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps was the first to raise the money to construct the canal, due to his success with the Suez Canal. Then on January 1st, 1881 the project began, De Lesseps wanted to construct the canal at sea-level. What he didn’t realize was the rain in Panama would last up to four months and swell the river. There were snakes and insects that would infest the river causing yellow fever and malaria. By 1884 the death rate was over 200 deaths a month and De Lesseps was out of money.
At the time that the US acquired the project Theodore Roosevelt was President, who turned out to be a key factor in the building of the canal. He wanted to be able to trade from the New York market to the Asian market using a faster more productive route. During the acquisition the Panamanian people were planning a revolt from the French and wanted President Roosevelt’s support of money and troops. Once the U.S took the project over President Roosevelt appointed John Findlay Wallace a former chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad but Wallace left just one year later due to poor work conditions. He was then succeeded by John Frank Stevens a self-educated engineer who had built the Great Northern Railroad. Stevens was put to task with poor work conditions such as yellow fever and malaria as well as the death of any workers due to unsafe work equipment and raging river water as well as explosive that were used to dig out the canal. The US was forced to hire Colonel William C. Gorgas to head the sanitation conditions and bring down the death rate of the diseases. He began fumigating buildings, screening in buildings and eliminating stagnant water.
John Stevens realized that the canal would not withstand the river waters if it were to be built at sea level. Therefore he began to design a lock system to raise the ships 85 ft above sea level. Stevens decided to leave in 1907 and Roosevelt would then appoint Army Major George Goethals to the project. Goethals would see the completion.
Then on August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal officially opened, this would cause significant changes to the world trade market and would forever change the way the world would import and export goods. The canal would forever be one of the U.S. greatest accomplishment.