The spectacular waterway leading from Panama’s pacific coast to the Caribbean was a concept considered by leaders and businessmen as far back as the early fifteen hundreds. The French were the first to begin construction on the canal. Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, who was previously in charge of the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt, organized the effort.

In 1899 the US Congress formed the Isthmian Canal Commission to look at the possibilities of a Central American canal and to recommend a course. At first the commission decided on a route through Nicaragua, but later reversed its decision. The Lesseps Company offered its resources to the United States at a price of forty million. The U.S. and the Read more