Interoceanic Transportation and the Two Panamas Under the ‘1St Democracy’ (1830S–1870S)

CHAPTER SEVEN

INTEROCEANIC TRANSPORTATION AND THE TWO PANAMAS UNDER THE ‘1ST DEMOCRACY’ (1830S–1870S)

A. American Territoriality Over Interoceanic Transportation During the ‘1st democracy’ (1830s–1870s)

The ‘1st republic’ (1780s–1820s) was the period of territorial enlargement in the Atlantic “world.” The beginning of the ‘1st democracy’ (1830s–1870s), also known as the Middle Period, Civil War, and Recon- struction, was also a period of territorial enlargement into the Pacific “world,” but it was mostly a period of consolidation of inland territories through internal transportation improvements. Adding territory on the Pacific side of the continental divide led to expanded federal powers over transportation improvements for the general welfare and common defense of the United States, which had become two coasts separated by a continent but with no natural water connection between them. With the exception of the treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska in 1867, most of the territorial enlargement of the United States into the Pacific “world” occurred during the tenure of Democratic President James K. Polk (1846–1850). The 1846 Oregon Treaty with Britain resolved the border dispute over Oregon Country , and Oregon Territory (1848–1853) became a territorial possession of the United States. As a result of the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) and the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , Mexico was forced to accept the loss of Texas (1845) and the territories of Upper California (Alta Cali- fornia) and New Mexico (Nuevo México). A final adjustment between Mexico and the United States was signed in 1853, an agreement called the Gadsden Purchase, which added a section of territory possessing certain physiographic advantages for a southern transcontinental rail- road route. Still, in the absence of transcontinental railroads before 1869, overland travel for American passengers and troops on wagon roads from gateway cities like St. Louis or Kansas City to Oregon Ter- ritory or California took at least three to five weeks. On 3 March 1835, under the tenure of Democratic President Andrew Jackson (1829–1837), a Senate resolution about a treaty with New Granada was adopted: 126 chapter seven

Resolved, That the President of the United States be respectfully requested to consider the expediency of opening negotiations with the Governments of Central America and New Granada for the purpose of effectually protecting, by suitable treaty stipulations with them, such individuals or companies as may undertake to open a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by the construction of a ship canal across the isthmus which connects North and South America, and of securing forever by such stipulations the free and equal rights of navi- gating such a canal to all such nations on the payment of such reason- able tolls as may be established to compensate the capitalists who may engage in such undertaking and complete the work. The resolution illustrates that the policy of the United States during the ‘1st democracy’ was avoidant when it came to an interoceanic canal owned and operated by the federal government in foreign territory. At the beginning of the ‘1st democracy’ the constitutionality of the powers of Congress over railroads and canals was still uncertain when it came to the reserved powers of the States. Any potential use of the powers of Congress over an interoceanic canal in a foreign territory was beyond consideration. Interoceanic communication by rail or canal or other means in foreign territory was left to private enterprise, aided by creating a regime of neutrality and free transit in treaties with interoceanic communication-adjacent sovereign states in Latin America and non-adjacent maritime powers in Europe. The policy of the ‘1st democracy’ was to prevent powerful European governments from gaining exclusive control and influence over interoceanic communication through Latin America, but avoid entangling alliances with Latin American nations. Presidents during the ‘1st democracy’ asserted that the United States had an equal stake in protecting the free and neutral use of interoceanic communication across Central America. That policy was implemented in the 1850 Clayton- Bulwer Treaty between the United States and Britain, which stated that neither nation would attempt to enforce exclusive control over use of any form of interoceanic communication across the isthmus that separated North and South America. Presidents during the ‘1st democracy’ also asserted they would avoid entangling defensive alliances with newly independent Latin American nations against Europe in exchange for exclusive American privileges, an avoidant posture demonstrated by cautions articulated during ratification of the 1846 Bidlack-Mallarino Treaty and the disavowal of the 1849 Hise Treaty with Nicaragua . Under the protective umbrella of the 1846 Bidlack-Mallarino Treaty between the United States and New Granada , in 1848 the Panama