History Of The Panama Canal

1431 Words6 Pages
There have been many important events in the history of America between the United States and Latin American countries. Out of all of them constructing the Panama Canal is one of the most important, complex, and time consuming. The Panama Canal still to this day is important to the overall global economy and without it would be much harder, time consuming, and expensive to import and export goods all over the world. When looking into the history of the Panama Canal it is necessary to go as far back as the Clayton Bulwer Treaty in 1850 when the thought of the canal location entered into our young nation’s mind. When exploring this topic one must realize that we cannot fully grasp the importance of it by just merely studying the United States, Columbia, and Panama’s interactions throughout the time line of the Panama canal without looking at the roles Great Britain and France plaid in it. The economic importance of the Panama Canal is so great still to this day that most cannot wrap their minds around it. Not only is the Panama Canal important for the people of Panama because it creates jobs and income for the country. It is economically important to the whole world. The Canal transports 4 percent of world trade and 16 percent of total United States borne trade. Virtually all countries use the Panama Canal. The top five countries that use the canal in order are the United States of America, Peoples Republic of China, Japan, Chili, and South Korea. Between 12,000 and 15,000 ships cross the Panama Canal every year which comes out to be about 40 a day. The first time America had anything to do with the area of the canal was in 1850 which is when the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was signed. President Zachary Taylor’s secretary of state, John M. Clayton, met with a British representative, Sir Henry Bulwer, to discuss a potentially troublesome issue in Central America. Both
Open Document