How are the Panama Canal Treaty and other foreign ventures emblematic of contemporary American foreign affairs?
Well, the US has been pursuing its own interests – power mainly- all the time and everywhere, if you read about the Panama Canal history you will see what I mean, I just copied a bit: Congress responded by passing the Spooner Act (June 1902), authorizing $40 million to purchase French rights to canal construction in Panama, but stipulating further that if the Colombian government failed to provide the necessary land, then the U.S. would open negotiations with Nicaragua. The secretary of state hastily negotiated the Hay-Herrán Treaty in 1903, a proposed agreement that would have given the U.S. the necessary lease rights for canal construction in the Panama. The Colombian Senate, however, refused to ratify the treaty, causing the president to berate the Colombians for blocking a major “highway of civilization.” Secretary of State John Hay and President Roosevelt let their wishes be known. The United States would smile favorably upon an independent Panama. Bunau-Varilla, with a large comm
