Why did the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty have to be eliminated for the construction of the Panama Canal?
Zachary Taylor’s secretary of state, John M. Clayton, met with a British representative, Sir Henry Bulwer, to calm a potentially troublesome issue in Central America. Both powers had studied the feasibility of constructing a canal to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow isthmus in Central America. Initially the most promising site appeared to be in Nicaragua. Neither party was prepared in 1850 to undertake the massive project, but wanted to ensure that one country would not act in the absence of the other. Under the terms of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, the two parties agreed: Not to seek exclusive control of the canal or territory on either side of such a canal Not to fortify any position in the canal area Not to establish colonies in Central America The Treaty was ratified in the Senate, but was viewed in a negative light by the public, which regarded it as a renunciation of the Monroe Doctrine. Most historians of diplomacy today view the agreement more positively, a
