In the big ship’s wake

President Roosevelt grins as he stands in a boat labeled “Lock Canal System” while a generic figure labeled “Senate” sits in a large bucket filling with water labeled “Senatorial Kicks.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

History remembers, and credits, Theodore Roosevelt with the building of the Panama Canal. He famously said that he “took” Panama himself, and let Congress debate him, instead of the canal, as construction proceeded. This was a paradigm that he applied to other initiatives throughout his presidency. This sentiment implies what was the case — that work on the canal in all its particulars was controversial, and it remains the case more than a century later.

History is less assertive about the several international attempts to build a transoceanic canal over previous decades, failures in Nicaragua and Colombia that nevertheless advanced the concept and feelings of inevitability of a canal connecting the great seas. Additionally, despite the opposition of some anti-imperialist congressmen, and various American business interests who might have been negatively impacted by a canal (for instance, road and rail industries), a canal was actively promoted by prominent politicians.

None of these facts, easily obscured by the passage of time, and the magnetic spotlight on the president, subtract from Roosevelt’s role. The uncountable challenges and opposition he faced are substantial; and his overcoming major obstacles, sometimes ordering personnel changes and reversing decisions on mechanics, geography, and logistics, are testament to his remarkable management skills.

As the Panama Canal was built ahead of schedule and under budget, history should affirm that the virtual miracles were not only those of conquering tropical diseases and achieving what the French could not.

The number of United States senators who pleaded (sometimes through enabling legislation) for a Nicaraguan or Colombian-Panamanian canal in some sense smoothed Roosevelt’s path for the “path between the seas.

On the other hand, some senators continued with their interest in details of the canal’s construction — to the point of guessing and second-guessing about the route, whether to choose sea-level or lock-systems, etc. The president variously thought congressional input to be, variously, meddlesome or helpful.

J. H. Donahey’s cartoon (delivered and presumably seen by the president, as evidenced by the mailing label) portrays Roosevelt’s view of congressional input as meddlesome, and evidently agrees. The specific is was the choice of a lock-system, as in many of the world’s great canals then (Suez) and since (the Great Lakes). Roosevelt, who in fact changed his engineering and medical teams during the canal’s construction, ultimately advocated locks instead of a sea-level approach.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-18

Creator(s)

Donahey, J. H. (James Harrison), 1875-1949

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Page Count

1

Production Method

Printed

Record Type

Image

Resource Type

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation