USA HISTORY

Which president believed that a US-controlled canal across Central America was a major interest to America, and was largely responsible for construction of the Panama Canal?

(A) William Taft

(B) William McKinley

(C) Henry Cabot Lodge

(D) ** Theodore Roosevelt

Concept note-1: -United States. Theodore Roosevelt believed that a US-controlled canal across Central America was a vital strategic interest of the country. This idea gained wide circulation after the destruction of the USS Maine in Cuba on February 15, 1898.

Concept note-2: -President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal-a trans-isthmian canal.

Concept note-3: -In 1911, former President Theodore Roosevelt told an audience in Berkeley, California, that he had decided as chief executive to ensure access to the Isthmus of Panama, then part of the nation of Colombia, to get a canal built as the centerpiece of America’s growing global power.

Concept note-4: -The grand opening of the Panama Canal occurred on August 15, 1914, during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. There was little fanfare since World War I was erupting in Europe. Theodore Roosevelt’s “great enterprise, ” completed six months ahead of schedule, cost $352 million.

Concept note-5: -Roosevelt acted quickly. In 1902, the United States reached an agreement to buy rights to the French canal property and equipment for a sum not to exceed $40 million. The U.S. then began negotiating a Panama treaty with Colombia.