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Thomas T. Wright expresses to Oscar W. Underwood that the U.S. needs more American ships in foreign trade and urges Congress to pass a ship subsidy bill to support the merchant marine and boost the southern economy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-11
W. R. Coates sends Theodore Roosevelt his poem about Panama, which former Secretary of State John Hay commended.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-11-06
President-elect Taft was sorry to hear about Harry Johnston’s unpleasant stay in Colón, and he addresses Johnston’s grievances in detail. The natural geography of the Colón harbor would make the kind of breakwater Johnston suggests both difficult and expensive to construct, but the board of engineers does plan to address the matter. The weather conditions that stranded Johnston in Colón were unusual, so travelers rarely have to stay at the Hotel Imperial. Although Taft agrees that the hotel is “dreadful,” it will probably be impossible to open the government’s hotels in Colón to ordinary travelers. These government hotels anger local hotel owners who must compete with them for customers. The Hotel Tivoli in Panama City is an exceptional case. Colón’s water supply has already improved greatly, but a filtration system is currently being added.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-06
Panamanian president Tomás Arias announces the separation of Panama from Colombia and the creation of their own independent nation. The “pacific” nature of the people and the open, honest government both contributed to this end result. There is hope that the Panama Canal and Panama’s relationship with the United States will bring happiness and abundance to the nation, still reeling from the “demoralization caused by the last war.” The Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty signed November 2 will help ensure this new time of peace and rebuilding. Self governance must be done with the good of the entire community in mind and a unity of purpose, as the intolerance of old will lead to ruin. The report writer recounts internal disagreements around the last election and the detention of Colombian, Cuban, Mexican, and Nicaraguan officials who were working against this new unity.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-23
The newspaper article “Roosevelt and Righteousness” discusses Theodore Roosevelt’s statements on morality and international justice, criticizing his foreign policy actions related to the Panama Canal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-09
Poultney Bigelow compares the challenges Ferdinand de Lesseps faced constructing the Suez Canal to those of the Panama Canal. He argues that real-estate ownership among canal officials is responsible for the crowded, unsanitary conditions of Colon and that the government has failed in its administration of the canal zone.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09
Following his attack on the board of consulting engineers for the Panama Canal, Philippe Bunau-Varilla’s hopes of becoming an engineer on the project have been dashed. Bunau-Varilla had proposed first building a lock canal that would gradually be dug into a sea-level canal; this plan was rejected as extravagant and unfeasible. Current plans are for a sea-level canal to be dug, which will take fifteen years and cost $230,000,000.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-20
Charles D. Sigsbee reports on the investigation into Colombia having sent a gunboat into the Gulf of Darien. He believes the Colombians’ purpose was not aggression toward Panama but to transport troops to control their own state of Cauca. Sigsbee also describes a strategy for protection of Panama from any possible future aggression by Colombia. Sigsbee encloses a letter from the United States Consulate in Colón.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-26
President Roosevelt became the first American President to visit a foreign country while in office on an inspection tour of the Panama Canal. On November 15, 1906, Roosevelt, Panamanian President Guerrero, and two unidentified men arrive and stand on a platform on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Mary in Panama City. Two women arrive at the ceremony; the woman on the right may be Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Guerrero delivers a welcoming address as dignitaries look on, and then Roosevelt speaks.
Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound
1906-11-15
President Roosevelt became the first American President to visit a foreign country while in office on an inspection tour of the Panama Canal. On November 15, 1906, a procession, including a marching band and escorts on horseback, leads Roosevelt and Panamanian President Guerrero to a platform as spectators gather.
Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound
1906-11-15
The film has about 2 feet of views of Dr. William Crawford Gorgas, chief sanitation officer of the Panama Canal (1904-1913) and a member of the Isthmian Canal Commission, standing in front of a building. The location of this sequence is undetermined. The remainder of the film shows Dr. Gorgas and an unidentified man riding on a Panama Canal Company train. The two men are silhouetted against passing scenery of the Canal Zone as Dr. Gorgas shows the other man points of interest. The train passes a body of water which is probably a part of the canal, countryside, buildings probably on Front Street, Colon, including a YMCA club. The final scene is of people walking across tracks after the train passes.
Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound
1904-1913
The march-two-step commemorates Theodore Roosevelt’s 1906 trip from Washington, D.C., to Panama, to view progress on the Panama Canal, the first time a United States President left the country while in office.
Gregory A. Wynn Theodore Roosevelt Collection
1906
John Hubbard relays plans to cease sending troops between Panama and Colon on the Panama Railroad.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-04
Commander Hubbard writes that Colombian troop movements threaten the free and uninterrupted transit of the Isthmus; he informs Colonel Torres that he has directed the Supervisor of the Panama Railroad Co. to cease transfer of all troops.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-04
Municipal leaders of Panama City have decided to join the movement seeking independence for the isthmus from Colombia. They hope that the United States will recognize their cause.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-04