Panama Canal

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Panama Canal
The building of the Panama Canal took 34 years
from the initial effort in 1880 to actually
opening the canal in 1914. The building of the
canal is considered one of the greatest
engineering feats in history.
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Panama Canal

To sail from Atlantic to Pacific, ships navigated
around Cape Horn, the treacherous southern
extremity of South America. A New York to San
Francisco journey measured some 13,000 miles and
took months.
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Panama Canal

• Describe two reasons why the President Roosevelt
  wanted to build a canal through Panama?
• American builders faced difficult problems that
  threatened to derail the project such as tropical
  diseases like Malaria and Yellow Fever.

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Panama Canal
Using the first step of the AHPPA describe the
problem that the political cartoon is
showing? What are three consequences from the
problem shown in the political cartoon?
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Panama Canal
Using the second step of the AHPPA , gather
evidence to support how tropical diseases were a
problem during the construction of the Panama
Canal?
List three ways you think would help combat these
tropical diseases?
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Panama Canal

• Dr. William Gorgas, was hired to eradicate yellow
  fever , like he had in Havana years before. He
  was able to accomplish his goal by killing the
  mosquitoes that carried the diseases. Workers
• Drained swamps, swept drainage ditches, paved
  roads and installed plumbing.
• Sprayed pesticides by the ton.
• Entire towns rose from the jungle, complete with
  housing, schools, churches, commissaries, and
  social halls.

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Panama Canal
It is estimated that over 80,000 persons took
part in the construction and that over 30,000
lives were lost in both French and American
efforts.
U.S President Theodore Roosevelt Visiting the
canal construction site.
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Panama Canal
1909 Lock Construction
The American expenditures from 1904 to 1914
totaled 352,000,000, far more than the cost of
anything built by the United States Government up
to that time. In todays money it would cost
7,448,028,707.72
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At the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side, workers
poured enough concrete to build a wall 8' wide,
12' high, and 133 miles long. They built culverts
the size of railroad tunnels to channel water
from Gatun Lake into the locks.
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Panama Canal
By August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal was
officially opened by the passing of the SS Ancon.
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Panama Canal
Map of the Panama Canal

Figure 3 A map showing the route of the
completed canal. A series of "locks" are used to
control the water level within the canal.
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Panama Canal

• Mr. Henry
• North Syracuse Junior High
• mhenry_at_nscsd.org