f the revolt when he ordered a U.S. warship to prevent Colombian troops from entering the isthmus. (Panama) Now Panama had its independence and the U.S. had the right to build the canal.The Canal Zone was ten miles wide and 50 miles long; it embraced an area of 553 square miles- an area that, totaling 5 percent of the nation's landmass speared its way directly through the heart of Panama. The Panamanians complained that it chopped their already small country into smaller pieces. The split made it difficult, if not impossible for Panama to grow as a single united nation and with the Canal lying in their path, the people would have trouble moving from one side of the country to the other. Families and friends would be separated. Business would be difficult to conduct across the waterway. Political views might grow too different on each side. In the end, Panama could end up being two countries. (Dolan 101) But these concerns would have to wait the treaty had already been signed, in fact the Canal was already nearing completion.When the canal was finished in 1914(McCullogh 609) it was approximately 51 miles long. Passage through it by a ship sailing from New York to San Francisco saved 7, 872 miles and it the same plans of operation that the canal has today. It was also very costly. The canal had cost the Americans $352 million. When added you that to the French expenditures the total peaks out approximately at $639 million. In 1914 this made the Panama Canal the greatest single construction project in American History. In, lives the canal cost the Americans 5,609; workers, added to the French, the total swells to nearly 25,000. (McNeese 85)Another cost to the United States was an indemnity to Columbia of $25 million during the Wilson administration. Apparently this was to smooth out tensions between the two countries. As can be expected Columbia was infuriated by the aid Panama received from the United States. Now Columbia...
