USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

[SOURCES]
How did the US get the right to build the Panama Canal?

(A) ** They supported the Panamanians in a revolution, then leased the land

(B) They went to war with Panama for the land.

(C) They tricked Panama into giving them the land.

(D) They purchased the land from Colombua

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -In 1903, Panama declared its independence from Colombia in a U.S.-backed revolution and the U.S. and Panama signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, in which the U.S. agreed to pay Panama $10 million for a perpetual lease on land for the canal, plus $250, 000 annually in rent.

Concept note-2: -In 1903, the United States negotiated a treaty with Colombia that granted the United States the right to construct and operate a canal for 100 years within a zone six-miles wide across Panama.

Concept note-3: -World power was consistent with maritime power. Americans knew they needed this to move ships from east to west quickly. If they did that, they would control power because they would control the oceans. The Canal was a geopolitical strategy to make the United States the most powerful nation on earth.