Primary Sources: The 1910's: Panama Canal

Concluded November 18, 1903; ratification advised by the Senate February 23, 1904; ratified by President February 25,1904; ratifications exchanged February 26, 1904; proclaimed February 26, 1904. (U.S. Stats., vol. 33.)

"is a joint project from the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries and the Panama Canal Museum. Panama and the Canal builds from the former Panama Canal Museum's rich collection of Panama and Canal Zone materials and the extensive holdings on Panama and the whole of Latin America from the George A. Smathers Libraries' Latin American & Caribbean Collection, Government Documents Collection, and Map & Imagery Library. The Government Documents Department the Center of Excellence for the U.S. Panama Canal Commission and its predecessor agencies."

"The A.B. Nichols Panama Canal Collection was gathered and organized during the tenure of Aurin B. Nichols as Office Engineer at the Panama Canal. Nichols was first employed by the Isthmian Canal Commission in 1899 to survey the Nicaraguan route. In 1904, he was assigned to the Panama Canal and served as Assistant Engineer at the Gatun site. He was later promoted to Resident Engineer at the Culebra Cut site. In 1906, he was appointed Office Engineer there and retired in 1914. Nichols was from Philadelphia. The bulk of the materials in these notebooks and albums were collected/created by A.B. Nichols, from 1906 to 1917, with additional material added by Nichols during his retirement years, as late as 1923."

The story of the Panama Canal construction, which TR considered one of his most valuable contributions to foreign affairs. Most prominent views are of the need for building the canal, the early attempts, the actual construction, and finally the canal in operation. [Part 1]: Sequences of stills, mostly maps, showing the need for a shorter way from ocean to ocean; views of the early attempts by Ferdinand de Lesseps; USS Oregon which had to sail around South America from the Pacific to fight in the Spanish-American War; scenes of President William McKinley and TR in 1901; brief shot of TR, Lyman J. Gage, Philander C. Knox, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, William R. Day, Elihu Root, Charles E. Smith, and James Wilson at McKinley's funeral in Canton, Ohio, 1901; medium close shot of Dr. William C. Gorgas, who had charge of sanitation during the building of the Panama Canal; workers clearing the canal of yellow fever; TR's visit to Panama in 1906 and his meeting with President Manuel Amador Guerrero; view of Colonel George W. Goethals, chief engineer and first governor; [Part 2, 14:09 min.]: sequences of machinery, huge cranes, gigantic steam shovels, and men working on the actual construction of the canal; various shots of Gamboa Dike, Miraflores [and Gatun] Locks, and Gaillard (Culebra) Cut; launch of two barges in lock, boats, and battleships using the canal; final sequence is of President Calvin Coolidge speaking.

"Today in History–September 7–the Library of Congress features the Panama Canal. On this date in 1977 U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian Chief of Government Omar Torrijos signed the Panama Canal Treaty and Neutrality Treaty, which officially authorized the transfer of the canal’s authority from the United States to the Panama Canal Authority on December 31, 1999. Find out more by visiting the Today in History section and reviewing the Panama Canal timeline below. Then click the links below to access more primary sources about how the canal was built and resources related to Panama."