Dakota Sunrise
02-03-2009, 07:33 PM
I've been working my a$$ off on this essay for my history class since last Tuesday (which was my first day of H.S.).:doh: I've had a ton of other homework too lately, and I had to research all of this information (which sounds easier than it really was :rolleyes:) so it's taken me a while to get it done. It's also the first report that I've ever written for anyone other than my mom, so I really didn't know exactly how it should be written, etc. He (my teacher) gave us a bunch of guildelines to go by, and I did my best to follow them. I don't know how well I did... probably not very.:rolleyes: But at least I can say that I did my best, and if he doesn't like it, well... I tried.:innocent:
I thought I'd share incase anyone has a great wish to hear a lot of boring information about the Panama Canal.:p
I have to hand this in tomorrow, and I've gone over it 3 times all ready. But sometimes fresh eyes will see something that the writer keeps missing, so if there's any puncuation errors or typos please tell me. Other then that, just let me know what you think of it. xD (I put some extra spaces in it between paragraphs to make it easier to read.):) You can be honest- if it sucks, feel free to tell me.;) I hope it's long enough. In the font/format the teacher told us to use it's 3 and 1/3 pages long. (Should I staple it together before I hand it in or what?)
The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a manmade waterway that connects the Atlantic (by way of the Caribbean Sea) and the Pacific Oceans. In a 40 mile stretch from shore to shore, the canal never gets shallower then 41 feet. From Limon Bay at Colon on the Atlantic side, to Balboa on the Pacific side, a ship is raised 85 feet above sea level by a series of locks, and then lowered again on the other side.
Although the concept of such a canal was envisioned several centuries earlier, the first construction was not undertaken until the early twentieth century.
In 1878, a French company under Ferdinand De Lesseps took on the massive undertaking of building a canal capable of providing passage for shipping across Panama. This created a shortcut from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific. Work began in 1881, but the project was never carried out. Poor planning, lack of funding, severe construction obstacles, and an alarming amount of deaths among workers (mostly due to diseases like malaria and yellow fever) all were contributing factors. This plague of problems finally forced the company into bankruptcy and their attempt was abandoned.
Faced with charges of corruption and mismanagement, the French courts transferred all rights and assets to a new company under Philippe Bunau-Varilla in 1894.
Although the United States favored Nicaragua as the building site, William Nelson Cromwell, an American representative of the French Company, put all his efforts toward convincing the U.S. government to use the Panama route. Plilippe Bunau-Varilla, a leading figure for the new company, persuaded the French directors to reduce the price of the company’s rights. This gained the support and approval of President Theodore Roosevelt, and soon Congress authorized the purchase of the French’s rights and took over construction of the Panama Canal.
In 1901, the U.S. and the United Kingdom signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. This agreement gave the United States the right to construct and control the canal. The British strengthened ties with the U.S., recognizing the German threat and understanding that this would simplify a treaty to permit a solely U.S.-run canal. This treaty, though granting all canal-building rights to the United States, promised that all nations would be permitted to freely use and access the canal and that it should never be taken by force.
The Hay-Pauncefote was followed by the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty (signed by Panama and the U.S. on November 18, 1903), which assured the U.S. control of the waterway and the permanent lease of a ten mile strip for the canal in perpetuity. With this treaty, Panama’s independence was recognized, and the new republic was to be compensated with $10 million and an annual payment of $250,000, beginning in 1913. This strip is known today as the Canal Zone.
The U.S. began building in 1904. Like those before them who had tried and failed, they were faced with many problems that would have to be overcome in order for their project to succeed. One of their most challenging tasks was ridding the area of the mosquitoes that had caused the deaths of so many.
President Roosevelt turned the project over to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Under Army medical officer Colonel William Gorgas, the workers (known as “Gorgas Gangs”) treated all standing bodies of water with a combination of oil and insecticide, fumigated buildings, and covered windows with wire screens. Health workers were sent on a door-to-door search for mosquitoes and their eggs, and all sick workers were quarantined.
The labor force poured in once the working conditions improved, and by 1913 the payroll had increased to approximately 65,000 men. Some 12,000 workers were recruited from southern Europe, though most were West Indians. The administrative, professional, and supervisory jobs were filled by approximately five thousand U.S. citizens.
The Continental Divide, which originally rose to 110 meters (360 ft) above sea level at its highest point, was one of the greatest obstacles that stood in the way of the canal. It took much effort to cut through this barrier of rock, and came to be known as one of the greatest engineering feats of its time.
This massive operation involved six thousand men. It took sixty million pounds of dynamite to make the cut. The loose rock and soil was removed by train.
Channels had to be cut from each coast. Huge Gatun Lake was in the middle of the Isthmus. The Chagres River had to be dammed to create the lake.
Back in 1883, it was discovered that the tide level was almost 19 feet higher on the Pacific side than the Atlantic side, which was thought to be a navigational danger. To fix the problem, the engineers decided a lock system was needed. Ships had to be raised from sea level to the Gatun Lake altitude. Three sets of locks were constructed (Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and Miraflores) on the Pacific side. The ships would enter the lock, which would then be flooded with water, raising the ship to the next level. On the other side of the canal the locks would be flooded with water, the ship would enter, and the lock would be drained to lower the ship. The lock chambers were 303 meters long and 33 meters wide which limited the size of the vessel that could travel the canal.
The Panama Canal is one of the world’s premiere feats of engineering. It took more than 40 million laborers ten years to build. It was also the most expensive project ever undertaken by the U.S. government, costing close to $390 million. Since 1977, a new treaty has given Panama control of the canal. This year approximately 1,300 ships will pass through the waterway, and more than half of the cargo carried will be going to or coming from U.S. ports. With the expansion of global trade, the volume of cargo the canal carries continues to grow.
The end.
I thought I'd share incase anyone has a great wish to hear a lot of boring information about the Panama Canal.:p
I have to hand this in tomorrow, and I've gone over it 3 times all ready. But sometimes fresh eyes will see something that the writer keeps missing, so if there's any puncuation errors or typos please tell me. Other then that, just let me know what you think of it. xD (I put some extra spaces in it between paragraphs to make it easier to read.):) You can be honest- if it sucks, feel free to tell me.;) I hope it's long enough. In the font/format the teacher told us to use it's 3 and 1/3 pages long. (Should I staple it together before I hand it in or what?)
The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a manmade waterway that connects the Atlantic (by way of the Caribbean Sea) and the Pacific Oceans. In a 40 mile stretch from shore to shore, the canal never gets shallower then 41 feet. From Limon Bay at Colon on the Atlantic side, to Balboa on the Pacific side, a ship is raised 85 feet above sea level by a series of locks, and then lowered again on the other side.
Although the concept of such a canal was envisioned several centuries earlier, the first construction was not undertaken until the early twentieth century.
In 1878, a French company under Ferdinand De Lesseps took on the massive undertaking of building a canal capable of providing passage for shipping across Panama. This created a shortcut from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific. Work began in 1881, but the project was never carried out. Poor planning, lack of funding, severe construction obstacles, and an alarming amount of deaths among workers (mostly due to diseases like malaria and yellow fever) all were contributing factors. This plague of problems finally forced the company into bankruptcy and their attempt was abandoned.
Faced with charges of corruption and mismanagement, the French courts transferred all rights and assets to a new company under Philippe Bunau-Varilla in 1894.
Although the United States favored Nicaragua as the building site, William Nelson Cromwell, an American representative of the French Company, put all his efforts toward convincing the U.S. government to use the Panama route. Plilippe Bunau-Varilla, a leading figure for the new company, persuaded the French directors to reduce the price of the company’s rights. This gained the support and approval of President Theodore Roosevelt, and soon Congress authorized the purchase of the French’s rights and took over construction of the Panama Canal.
In 1901, the U.S. and the United Kingdom signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. This agreement gave the United States the right to construct and control the canal. The British strengthened ties with the U.S., recognizing the German threat and understanding that this would simplify a treaty to permit a solely U.S.-run canal. This treaty, though granting all canal-building rights to the United States, promised that all nations would be permitted to freely use and access the canal and that it should never be taken by force.
The Hay-Pauncefote was followed by the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty (signed by Panama and the U.S. on November 18, 1903), which assured the U.S. control of the waterway and the permanent lease of a ten mile strip for the canal in perpetuity. With this treaty, Panama’s independence was recognized, and the new republic was to be compensated with $10 million and an annual payment of $250,000, beginning in 1913. This strip is known today as the Canal Zone.
The U.S. began building in 1904. Like those before them who had tried and failed, they were faced with many problems that would have to be overcome in order for their project to succeed. One of their most challenging tasks was ridding the area of the mosquitoes that had caused the deaths of so many.
President Roosevelt turned the project over to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Under Army medical officer Colonel William Gorgas, the workers (known as “Gorgas Gangs”) treated all standing bodies of water with a combination of oil and insecticide, fumigated buildings, and covered windows with wire screens. Health workers were sent on a door-to-door search for mosquitoes and their eggs, and all sick workers were quarantined.
The labor force poured in once the working conditions improved, and by 1913 the payroll had increased to approximately 65,000 men. Some 12,000 workers were recruited from southern Europe, though most were West Indians. The administrative, professional, and supervisory jobs were filled by approximately five thousand U.S. citizens.
The Continental Divide, which originally rose to 110 meters (360 ft) above sea level at its highest point, was one of the greatest obstacles that stood in the way of the canal. It took much effort to cut through this barrier of rock, and came to be known as one of the greatest engineering feats of its time.
This massive operation involved six thousand men. It took sixty million pounds of dynamite to make the cut. The loose rock and soil was removed by train.
Channels had to be cut from each coast. Huge Gatun Lake was in the middle of the Isthmus. The Chagres River had to be dammed to create the lake.
Back in 1883, it was discovered that the tide level was almost 19 feet higher on the Pacific side than the Atlantic side, which was thought to be a navigational danger. To fix the problem, the engineers decided a lock system was needed. Ships had to be raised from sea level to the Gatun Lake altitude. Three sets of locks were constructed (Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and Miraflores) on the Pacific side. The ships would enter the lock, which would then be flooded with water, raising the ship to the next level. On the other side of the canal the locks would be flooded with water, the ship would enter, and the lock would be drained to lower the ship. The lock chambers were 303 meters long and 33 meters wide which limited the size of the vessel that could travel the canal.
The Panama Canal is one of the world’s premiere feats of engineering. It took more than 40 million laborers ten years to build. It was also the most expensive project ever undertaken by the U.S. government, costing close to $390 million. Since 1977, a new treaty has given Panama control of the canal. This year approximately 1,300 ships will pass through the waterway, and more than half of the cargo carried will be going to or coming from U.S. ports. With the expansion of global trade, the volume of cargo the canal carries continues to grow.
The end.