Theodore Roosevelt And The Panama Canal

Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal

Background (context):

When Columbus discovered the New World, he was really seeking a water route to China and the riches of the Indies. If the Panama Canal had existed when he made his voyages he might have succeeded in his mission, for Columbus and his men actually spent Christmas of 1502 near what is now the Atlantic entrance to the Canal. Perhaps if the men had not been so tired, they would have discovered the Pacific Ocean before Balboa did it in 1513.

For many years after Columbus’ voyages, Europeans thought the New World was just a large land mass between them and the Far East. Explorers sailed up the broad rivers of both North and South America searching for a water route which would take them to the Pacific. Since no such route existed, men began to dream of building one by cutting a canal across the land barrier. The most logical spot would be the Isthmus of Panama.

Like many of man’s dream, the building of a canal took a long time to complete. The first serious attempts were not made until the late 1800's and they ended in dismal failure. An American company had attempted to build a canal through Nicaragua, in 1889, but went bankrupt after wasting 4.5 million dollars. A few years earlier a French company led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, a famous engineer who constructed the Suez Canal had begun work in a province of Colombia, called Panama, at the site of the present canal. Steaming hot jungle, torrential rain, and mosquitoes carrying malaria and yellow fever plagued the workers from the start. In all, 5,527 workers died before the project was abandoned in 1889 at a great financial loss.

One Frenchman who worked with De Lesseps, however did not give up. His name was Phillippe Bunau- Varilla. He was a brilliant and energetic French engineer who refused to quit when De Lesseps’ company went bankrupt. It was his hope that the U.S. would provide money which would help him succeed where the other companies had failed.

Teddy Roosevelt was also very interested in building a canal that would join the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. During the California gold rush many a clipper ship was lost trying to navigate through the treacherous winds and currents off Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. During the Spanish- American War of 1898, the warship Oregon took three months to steam from California around Cape Horn to the war which brought fame to Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy, like most Americans, saw the need for a fast and safe way of connecting the two oceans.

Once in the Presidency, he moved quickly and in 1903 a treaty was arranged with Colombia. The treaty provided that the U.S. pay $10 million to Colombia plus an annual rental fee of $250,000 in exchange for leasing a ten mile wide canal zone from the province of Panama.

Roosevelt, who was eager to ‘make the dirt fly’, was surprised and furious when the Colombian Congress refused to accept the treaty. In anger Roosevelt referred to the leaders of Colombia as “Homicidal Corruptionists” and added ‘that you could no more make an agreement with the Colombian rulers than you could nail jelly to the wall.”

Then in the fall of 1903, as luck would have it, a revolution took place in Panama. Revolutionists in the province of Panama declared their independence from Colombia and formed a new country which they called the Republic of Panama. Within days the new nations signed a canal treaty (Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty) with the U.S. on the same terms which Colombia had refused. Panama had gained its independence, and Theodore Roosevelt had his chance to start the canal. Read the following excerpt from President Theodore Roosevelt’s autobiography. Understand the argument TR is presenting in each section of the writing. Understand the explanations President Roosevelt provides to justify his actions in Panama. Pay particular attention to the adjectives he uses to describe his actions, the reaction of the Panamanians, and the benefits of his actions.

President Roosevelt’s Autobiography, 1913

 Published in 1913, one year after Roosevelt ran unsuccessfully for president on the Bull Moose/Progressive Party ticket  Would have been the first three-term president if he had won

“...We were not dealing with normal conditions on the Isthmus and in Colombia. We were dealing with the government of an irresponsible dictator and with a condition of affairs on the Isthmus itself which was marked by one uninterrupted series of outbreaks and revolutions...

On November 3, the revolution occurred. Practically everybody on the Isthmus, including all the Colombian troops that were already stationed there joined in the revolution and there wasn’t bloodshed. But on that same day 400 new Colombian troops were landed at Colon. Fortunately, the gunboat Nashville (U.S ship) under Commander Hubbard reached Colon almost immediately afterwards and when the commander of the Colombian forces threatened the lives and property of the Panamanians Hubbard landed a few score sailors and marines to protect them. By a mixture of firmness and tact he not only prevented any assault, but persuaded the Colombian commander to re-embark his troops for Colombia. On the Pacific side a Colombian gunboat shelled the city of Panama, with the result of killing one person – the only loss of life in the whole affair.

No one connected with the American government had any part in preparing, inciting, or encouraging the revolution and except for the reports of our military and naval officers, which I forwarded to Congress, no one connected with the government had any previous knowledge concerning the proposed revolution, and except such as was accessible to any person who read the newspapers and kept abreast of current questions and current affairs. By the unanimous action of its people, and without the firing of a shot...Panama declared itself an independent nation. The time for hesitation on our part had passed.

My belief then was, and the events have occurred since have more than justified it, that from the standpoint of the U.S. it was imperative, not only for civil but for military reasons were not of convenience, but on vital necessity, and did not admit of indefinite delay...

...In Panama, as in Cuba and Santo Domingo, it was the action of the American people, against the outcries of the professed apostles of peace, which alone brought peace. We gave to the people of Panama self-government and freed them from subjugation to alien oppressors. “We did our best to get Colombia to let us treat her with a more generous justice; we exercised patience to Colombia beyond the verge of proper forbearance...

Colombia was solely responsible for her own humiliation; and she had not then, and she has not now, one shadow of claim upon us; all the wrong that was done was done by her...

I deeply regretted, and now deeply regret the fact that the Colombian government rendered it necessary for me to take the action I took; but I had no alternative, consistent with the full performance of my duty to my own people, and the nations of mankind...” Using Roosevelt’s autobiography and the 6 additional sources answer the two investigative questions listed below in a ONE PAGE analytical paper. Don’t use first (I) or second person pronouns (You).

For each of the sources in this activity, ask the following guide questions:

1. According to each source, what role did the United States play in the Panamanian Revolution? 2. Is there any information contained in the six sources that challenges the assertions President Roosevelt makes in his autobiography? Make at least three connections using direct quotes and internal citations.

Source list:

1. “The Man Who Invented Panama,” Philippe Bunau-Varialla’s interview with Eric Sevareid of CBS, 1940 2. Private letter from President Roosevelt to William Roscoe Thayer, 1915 3. From a letter by Jose Marroquid, President of Columbia: “The Rights of Columbia—A Protest and Appeal,” November, 1903 4. “The Man Behind the Egg,” political cartoon, New York Times, 1903 5. “Panama or Bust,” political cartoon, New York Times, 1903 6. From a speech by Theodore Roosevelt at the University of California on March 25, 1911

Reference terms:

Theodore Roosevelt 26th U.S. president 1901-1909

Philippe Bunau-Varilla French engineer/soldier who greatly influenced America’s decision to construct a canal through the isthmus of Panama John Hay 37th United States Secretary of State, in office from 1898-1905 Jose Marroquin President of Columbia, early 1900s

Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, 1903 It established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal. It was named after its two primary negotiators, Phillipe Bunau-Varilla, the French diplomatic representative of Panama, and U.S. Secretary of State John Hay. Panama Canal Treaty, 1977 Signed by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos promising an end to U.S. control over the canal beginning in 2000. It also gave the U.S. permanent authority to defend the canal if it were placed under threat as a neutral water passage. DOCUMENT 1

“The Man Who Invented Panama” Philippe Bunau-Varilla’s Interview with Eric Sevareid of CBS, 1940

 Given to an investigative journalist  Occurred thirty-seven years after the events  Bunau-Varilla was almost 90 years old

“I called on Mr. Roosevelt and asked him point blank if, when the revolt took place, an American warship would be sent to Panama to ‘protect American lives and interest.’ The President looked at me and said nothing. Of course, a President could not give such a commitment, especially to a foreigner and private citizen like me. But his look was enough for me. I took the gamble.”

Roosevelt later described his meeting with Bunau-Varilla:

“He is a very able fellow and it was his business to find out what he thought our government would do. I have no doubts that he was able to make a very accurate guess, and to advise his people accordingly. In fact, he would have been a very dull man if he had been unable to make such a guess.” *

*Quoted in J.B Bishop, Theodore Roosevelt and His Time (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1920), p. 296. DOCUMENT 2

The Life and Letters of John Hay, July 2, 1915

Private letter from President Roosevelt to William Roscoe Thayer

 Private letter

 Written after the 1912 election in which Roosevelt was denied a third term

 Tensions are high between the United States and Mexico

Reviewing the transaction after a dozen years, Mr. Roosevelt says in a private letter to me dated July 2, 1915:--

“To talk of Colombia as a responsible Power to be dealt with as we would deal with Holland or Belgium or Switzerland or Denmark is a mere absurdity. The analogy is with a group of Sicilian or Calabrian bandits; with Villa and Carranza at this moment. You could no more make an agreement with the Colombian rulers than you could nail currant jelly to a wall -- and the failure to nail currant jelly to a wall is not due to the nail; it is due to the currant jelly. I did my best to get them to act straight. Then I determined that I would do what ought to be done without regard to them. The people of Panama were a unit in desiring the Canal and in wishing to overthrow the rule of Colombia. If they had not revolted, I should have recommended Congress to take possession of the Isthmus by force of arms; and, as you will see, I had actually written the first draft of my message to this effect. When they revolted, I promptly used the Navy to prevent the bandits, who had tried to hold us up, from spending months of futile bloodshed in conquering or endeavoring to conquer the Isthmus, to the lasting damage of the Isthmus, of us, and of the world. I did not consult Hay, or Root, or anyone else as to what I did, because a council of war does not fight; and I intended to do the job once for all.”

Thayer, William Roscoe. The Life and Letters of John Hay. 1915: 327-328. Google Books. Web.August 19, 2011. DOCUMENT 3

From a letter by Jose Marroquin, President of Colombia

 Written to protest the presence of U.S. Navy and Marines in Panama at the outset of the Panamanian Revolution  Jose Marroquin felt mistreated by the U.S. after the revolution  Was worried that the loss of Panama might lead to his loss of power in Columbia

The Rights of Colombia - A Protest and Appeal (November, 1903)

“The government of the U.S. is treating Colombia in a manner that seems dishonorable to all the people of that country. American Secretary of State, Hay, has astonished the world by finding a right to exclude the troops of Colombia from the Isthmus of Panama.

The U.S. violated international law by recognizing the independence of Panama only days after the revolution and before the nation of Colombia had a chance to put down the insurrection. Colombia did not recognize the southern states which seceded during the American Civil War - why should the U.S. recognize the seceding states of Panama?

How are you to escape the condemnation of history? Never has any nation dealt with a weak one in a way that seemed dishonorable to any considerable part of its own people but that history has affirmed the judgment of the protesting minority?” DOCUMENT 4

“The Man Behind the Egg,” political cartoon, New York Times, 1903

 Published in the New York Times investigative story on the events in Panama

 Muckraking attempt to investigate the president D OCUMENT 5

“Panama or Bust,” political cartoon, New York Times, 1903

 New York Times was developed to counter the yellow journalism of other New York newspapers  Not supportive of American imperial efforts DOCUMENT 6

From a speech by Theodore Roosevelt at the University of California on March 25, 1911

 Roosevelt has been out of the presidency for two years  The former president is frustrated on Taft’s conservative administration

“I am interested in the Panama Canal because I started it. If I had followed conventional, conservative methods, I should have submitted a dignified state paper of approximately 200 pages to Congress and the debate would have been going on yet, but I took the Canal Zone and let Congress debate, and while the debate goes on, the Canal does also.”

While returning by ship from Europe in 1914, Roosevelt reportedly told a shipboard acquaintance:

“People say that I fomented insurrection in Panama prior to the time I became President. While I was President I kept my foot down on those revolutions so that when the revolution referred to did occur, I did not have to foment it, I simply lifted my foot.”