Shortly after Roosevelt became President, an agreement was reached with the French Panama Company, and the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty was signed, by which the United States acquired possession, so far as Europe was concerned, which warranted her undertaking the task.
The logical location for the canal was the line already begun by the French company in Panama. Panama belonged to Colombia. Colombia had promised friendly co-operation. Her delegate to the Pan-American Congress in Mexico had joined in the unanimous vote which requested the United States to proceed with building the canal.
Both Colombia and the Isthmus had been places of frequent revolutions and outbreaks. Many times United States warships had been forced to patrol the Isthmus, at times at the urgent request of the Colombian government. Through another revolution Colombia had come under the dictatorship of Marquin, its former vice-president. Marquin, although he had consented to the Hay-Herran Treaty, by which Colombia had agreed to the building of the canal, now made use of his power as a dictator to break his promise. He summoned a congress especially to break the canal treaty. This congress, which Roosevelt describes as “a congress of mere puppets,” carried out Marquin’s wishes. The treaty was rejected.
The President, through Secretary Hay, had warned Colombia that grave consequences might follow her rejection of the treaty. He had information that the entire population of Panama felt that it was of vital concern to their prosperity that the canal be immediately built; newspaper correspondents predicted a revolution on the Isthmus.
On November 8, 1903, the revolution occurred. The Colombian troops stationed on the Isthmus joined in the revolution, and there was no bloodshed, except the life of an unfortunate Chinaman.
Roosevelt immediately recognized the Republic of Panama and the other principal nations did likewise. A canal treaty was at once negotiated with the new republic, and, after considerable debate in the Senate, the treaty was ratified by that body and the work on the canal began.
Roosevelt’s case against Colombia was that, so long as the United States was considering the alternative route through Nicaragua, Colombia eagerly pressed this country to build a canal across the Isthmus. When the United States was committed to this latter course, Colombia, under her usurper, refused to fulfil the agreement, with the hope of securing the rights and property of the French Panama Company, so as to secure the $40,000,000 the United States had authorized as payment to this company. John Hay thus defended Roosevelt’s course: “The action of the President in the Panama matter is not only in the strictest accordance with the principles of justice and equity, and in line with the best precedents of our public policy, but it was the only course he could have taken in compliance with our treaty rights and obligations.”
In November, 1906, the President’s interest in the work on the canal led him to go in person to Panama. This act caused a storm of disapproval in certain quarters, similar to that which President Wilson met when he decided to attend the peace conference at Paris. Roosevelt’s critics pointed out that no President had ever gone beyond the bounds of his country. Roosevelt went and let his critics howl. Here, in one thing at least, Wilson and Roosevelt were in agreement, namely, that where the President of this country sets foot that place is within the sphere of the United States.