November 18, 1903: America Gains the Rights to the Panama Canal

Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla

November 18, 1903: The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., giving America the right to build the Panama Canal.

President Theodore Roosevelt knew a canal would be of great benefit to American military might, and also to American business. And the rest of the world would benefit, too, and America could make money off of that.

In 1903, an agreement was reached between American and Colombian diplomats for America to take over the building of the canal. But the Senate of Colombia rejected the treaty. So Roosevelt provided aid to the Panamanian rebels, and they gained their independence from Colombia. A new agreement was reached, and TR was soon telling people, "I took Panama."

Article I of the treaty was America's recognition of the independence of the Republic of Panama. Articles II through XXVI (2 through 26) gave America what became known as the Panama Canal Zone, and explained America's rights within that Zone, including the right to build the Canal.

Signing for America was the Secretary of State, John Hay. As a young man, he was an aide to President Abraham Lincoln, providing a direct link between Honest Abe and TR. He died 2 years later.

John Hay

Signing for Panama was Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, the country's French diplomatic representative, an indispensable provider for the Panamanian rebels, and previously the chief engineer of France's since-abandoned effort at building a Panama Canal.

Construction began on May 4, 1904. On November 14, 1906, TR visited the construction zone, becoming the 1st incumbent President of the United States to visit another country. He became identified with the canal to the point where a palindrome -- a word or saying that reads the same forward and backward -- was coined: "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!"

Unlike Hay, Bunau-Varilla lived long enough to attend the Canal's opening. But he could not do so: By the time it opened on August 15, 1914, World War I had broken out. Though already 55 years old, he returned to France to aid in its war effort. He was supervising engineering works at the Battle of Verdun in 1916, when an exploding shell cost him a leg.

He survived that war, but died on May 18, 1940, mere days before the Nazis rolled into Paris. Nevertheless, the Panama Canal enabled American ships to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean much quicker than before, which would have required going all the way around South America. The Canal proved vital in the Allied victories in both World Wars.

In 1977, a new treaty was signed, giving control over the Canal Zone back to Panama, effective in 1999.

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November 18, 1903 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. Basketball barely existed, and hockey had only begun to be professional. So there were no games on this historic day.