The
Panama Canal Zone was a 553 square miles (1,432.3 km²)
unorganized U.S. territoryAn insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...
located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and an area generally extending 5 miles (8.1 km) on each side of the centerline, but excluding
Panama CityPanama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
and
ColónColón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of the Canal Zone. Its border spanned two of Panama's provinces and was created on November 18, 1903 with the signing of the
Hay-Bunau Varilla TreatyThe Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, that established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal...
. When
reservoirA reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the Zone.
On February 26, 1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed. In this, the Republic of Panama granted to the United States in perpetuity, the use, occupation and control of a zone of land and land under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation and protection of the canal.
From 1903 to 1979 the territory was controlled by the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which had built the canal and financed its construction. From 1979 to 1999 the canal itself was under joint U.S.-Panamanian control. In 1977 the
Torrijos-Carter TreatiesThe Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
established the neutrality of the canal.
Except during times of crisis or political tension, Panamanians could freely enter the Zone. In fact, normally anyone could walk across a street in
Panama CityPanama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
and enter the jurisdiction. However, the 1903 treaty placed restrictions on the rights of Panamanians to buy at retail stores in the Zone.
During U.S. control of the Canal Zone, the territory, apart from the canal itself, was used mainly for military purposes; however, approximately 3,000 American civilians (called "
ZonianA Zonian is a person associated with the Panama Canal Zone, a political entity which existed between 1903 and the absorption of the Canal Zone into the Republic of Panama between 1980 and 2000....
s") made up the core of permanent residents. U.S. military usage ended when the zone was returned to Panamanian control. It has now been integrated into the economic development of Panama, and is a tourist destination of sorts, especially for visiting
cruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s.
Notable people born in the Panama Canal Zone include
Richard PrinceRichard Prince is an American painter and photographer. Prince began appropriating photographs in 1975...
, Kenneth Bancroft Clark,
Rod CarewRodney Cline "Rod" Carew is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, second baseman and coach. He played from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels and was elected to the All-Star game every season except his last. In 1991, Carew was inducted into the National...
, geologist
Thomas H. JordanThomas H Jordan is a geophysicist and current director of the Southern California Earthquake Center at The University of Southern California. He was formerly the head of the Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a member of the...
, Edward A. Murphy, Jr. and
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, the
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
2008 presidential candidateThe United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
and
US SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
The largest U.S. Army unit based in the Canal Zone was the
193rd Infantry Brigade (Light)The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a United States Army infantry brigade, which was originally constituted in the Army's organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 97th Division. The brigade was reorganized and reconstituted in...
, a mixed parachute-infantry/air-assault-capable light infantry unit. It was honored in 1994 as the first major unit to deactivate in accordance with the
Panama Canal Treaty of 1977The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
treaty implementation plan, The brigade was reactivated in 2007, tasked with conducting basic combat training for new US Army recruits.
Documentary filmmaker
Frederick WisemanFrederick Wiseman is an American documentary filmmaker. He came to documentary filmmaking after first being trained as a lawyer...
made a film about the Panama Canal Zone, entitled
Canal Zone, which was released and shown on PBS in 1977.
Proposals for a canal
Proposals for a canal across the
Isthmus of PanamaThe Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
date back to 1529, soon after the Spanish conquest.
Álvaro de Saavedra CerónÁlvaro de Saavedra Cerón was one of the Spanish explorers in the Pacific Ocean. It is unknown the exact date and place of birth, but known to be born in the late 15th century or 16th century in Spain...
, one of the lieutenants of conquistador
Vasco Núñez de BalboaVasco Núñez de Balboa was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World.He traveled to the New World in...
, suggested four possible routes, one of which closely tracks the present-day canal. Saavedra believed that such a canal would make it easier for European vessels to reach Asia. Although King Carlos I was enthusiastic, and ordered preliminary works started, his officials in Panama soon realized that such an undertaking was beyond 16th century technology. One official wrote to Carlos, "I pledge to Your Majesty that there is not a prince in the world with the power to accomplish this". The Spanish instead built a road across the isthmus. The road came to be crucial to Spain's economy as treasure obtained along the Pacific coast of South America was offloaded at
Panama CityPanama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
and hauled through the jungle to the Atlantic port of Nombre de Dios (today
ColónColón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
), and though additional canal building proposals were made throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, they came to naught.
The late 18th and early 19th century saw a number of canals built. The success of the
Erie CanalThe Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the collapse of the
Spanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
in Latin America led to a surge of American interest in building an interoceanic canal. Beginning in 1826, American officials began negotiations with
New GranadaNew Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia.*New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717*Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819...
(present day
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and
PanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
), hoping to gain a concession for the building of a canal. Jealous of their newly-obtained independence, and fearing that they would be dominated by an American presence, New Granadan officials declined American offers. The new nation was politically unstable, and Panama rebelled several times during the 19th century.
In 1836, US statesman Charles Biddle reached agreement with the New Granadan government to replace the old road with an improved one, or else a railroad, running from
Panama CityPanama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
on the Pacific Coast to the
Chagres RiverThe Chagres River is a river in central Panama. The central part of the river is dammed by the Gatun Dam and forms Gatun Lake, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal. Upstream lies the Madden Dam, creating the Alajuala Lake that is also part of the Canal water system...
, where a steamship service would allow passengers and freight to continue to Colón. His agreement was repudiated by the
JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
administration, which wanted rights to build a canal. In 1841, with Panama in rebellion again, British interests secured a right of way over the isthmus from the insurgent regime, and occupied
NicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n ports that might be the Atlantic teminus of a canal. In 1846, the new US envoy to
BogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Benjamin Bidlack was surprised when, soon after his arrival, the New Granadans proposed that the US be the guarantor of the neutrality of the isthmus. The resulting Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty allowed the US to intervene militarily to ensure that the interoceanic road (and when it was built, the Panama Railroad as well) was not disrupted. New Granada hoped that other nations would sign similar treaties, but the one with the US, which was ratified by the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in June 1848 after considerable lobbying by New Granada, was the only one.
The treaty led the US government to contract for steamship service to Panama from ports on both coasts. When the
California gold rushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
began in 1848, traffic through Panama greatly increased, and New Granada agreed to allow the Panama Railroad to be constructed by American interests. This first "transcontinental railroad" opened in 1850. There were riots in Panama CIty in 1856; several Americans were killed. US warships landed Marines, which occupied the railroad station and kept the railroad service from being interrupted by the unrest. The US demanded compensation from New Granada, including a zone 20 miles (32.2 km) wide to be governed by US officials and in which the US might build any "railway or passageway" it desire. The demand was dropped in the face of resistance by New Granadan officials, who accused the US of seeking a colony.
Through the remainder of the 19th century, the United States landed troops several times to preserve the railway connection. At the same time, it pursued a canal treaty with Colombia (as New Granada was renamed). One treaty signed in 1868 was rejected by the
Colombian SenateThe Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia...
, which hoped for better terms from the incoming Grant administration. Under this treaty, the canal would have been in the middle of a twenty-mile zone, under American management but Colombian sovereignty, and the canal would revert to Colombia in 99 years. The Grant administration did little to pursue a treaty, and in 1878, the concession to build the canal fell to a French firm. The French efforts eventually failed, but with Panama apparently unavailable, the US considered possible canal sites in Mexico and Nicaragua.
The
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
of 1898 added new life to the canal debate. During the war, American warships in the Atlantic seeking to reach battle zones in the Pacific had been forced to round
Cape HornCape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
. Influential naval pundits, such as Captain
Alfred Thayer MahanAlfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...
, urged construction of a Central American canal. In 1902, with the French efforts moribund, US President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
backed the Panama route, and Congress passed legislation authorizing him to purchase the French assets, on the condition that an agreement was reached with Colombia. In March 1902, Colombia set its terms for such a treaty: Colombia was to be sovereign over the canal, which would be policed by Colombians paid for by the United States. The host nation would recelive a larger percentage of the tolls than provided for in earlier draft treaties. The draft terms were quickly rejected by American officials. Roosevelt was in a hurry to secure the treaty, the Colombians, to whom the French property would revert in 1904, were not. Negotiations dragged on into 1903, during which time there was unrest in Panama CIty and Colón—the US sent in Marines to guard the trains. Nevertheless in early 1903, the US and Colombia signed a treaty which, despite Colombia's previous objections, gave the US a 6 miles (9.7 km) wide zone in which it could deploy troops with Colombian consent. On August 12, 1903, the Colombian Senate voted down the treaty, 24–0.
Roosevelt was angered by the Colombians' actons, especially when the Colombian Senate made a counteroffer, more financially advantageous to Colombia. A Frenchman who had worked on his nation's canal efforts, Philippe Bunau-Varilla represented Panamanian insurgents; he met with Roosevelt and with
Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John HayJohn Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
, who saw to it that his principals received covert support. When the revolution came in November 1903, the US intervened to protect the rebels, who succeeded in taking over the province, declaring it independent as the Republic of Panama. Bunau-Varilla was initially the Panamanian representative in the United States, though he was about to be displaced by actual Panamanians, and hastily negoitiated a treaty , giving the US a zone 20 miles (32.2 km) wide, and full authority to pass laws to govern that zone. The Panama Canal Zone (Canal Zone, or Zone) excluded Panama City and Colón, but included four offshore islands, and permitted the US to add to the zone any additional lands needed to carry on canal operations. The Panamanians were minded to disavow the treaty, but Bunau-Varilla told the new government that if Panama did not agree, the US would withdraw its protection and make the best terms it could with Colombia. The Panamanians agreed, even adding a provision to the new constitution, at US request, allowing the larger nation to intervene to preserve public order.
Construction years (1903–1914)
The treaty was approved by the provisional Panamanian government on December 2, 1903 and by the United States Senate on February 23, 1903. Under the treaty, the Panamanians received $10 million, much of which the United States required to be invested in the US, plus annual payments of $250,000, and with those payments made, as well as for the purchase of the French company assets, the Canal Zone was formally turned over by Panama on May 4, 1904, when American officials reopened the Panama City offices of the canal company, and raised the American flag
Governance of the Canal Zone
The canal was operated by the Panama Canal Company until 1979, when the Panama Canal Commission took over its governance until December 31, 1999. This situation was described as a cross between a colonial company enclave and a socialist government. Everyone worked for the Company or the Government in one form or another. There were no independent stores, goods were brought in and sold at a series of stores run by the company, such as a
commissaryA commissary is someone delegated by a superior to execute a duty or an office; in a formal, legal context, one who has received power from a legitimate superior authority to pass judgment in a certain cause or to take information concerning it.-Word history:...
, housewares, and so forth. Although denied by the government, for many years there was blatant racism in the Zone, with "gold" and "silver" facilities separated largely on the basis of color.
The Canal Zone had its own police force (
Canal Zone PoliceThe Canal Zone Police was a force that consisted of more than 400 police officers of all ranks split into two Divisions, Atlantic and Pacific, and between about 25 stations...
), courts, and judges (the
United States District Court for the Canal ZoneThe United States District Court for the Canal Zone is an extinct United States District Court. The District was abolished, effective March 31, 1982, as part of the process of returning the Canal Zone to Panama...
).
The head of the company was also the
Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. Residents did not own their homes; instead they rented houses that were assigned, primarily based on seniority in the zone. When an employee moved away, the house would be listed and employees could apply for it. The utility companies were also managed by the company.
Tensions and the end of the Canal Zone
In 1903, the United States, having failed to obtain from
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
the right to build a canal across the
Isthmus of PanamaThe Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
, which was part of that country, sent warships in support of Panamanian independence from Colombia. This being achieved, the new nation of Panama ceded the Americans the rights they wanted in the
Hay-Bunau Varilla TreatyThe Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, that established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal...
. Over time, though, the existence of the Canal Zone, a political exclave of the U.S. that cut
PanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
geographically in half and had its own courts, police and civil government, became a cause of conflict between the two countries. Demonstrations occurred at the opening of the
Bridge of the AmericasThe Bridge of the Americas is a road bridge in Panama, which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. Completed in 1962, at a cost of US$20 million, it was the only non-swinging bridge connecting the north and south American land masses until the opening of the Centennial Bridge in 2004...
in 1962 and serious rioting occurred in 1964. This led to the United States easing its controls in the Zone. For example, Panamanian flags were allowed to be flown with American ones. After extensive negotiations the Canal Zone ceased to exist on October 1, 1979 in compliance with provisions of the
Torrijos-Carter TreatiesThe Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
.
Gold Roll and Silver Roll
From its first days, the labor force in the Canal Zone (which was almost entirely publicly employed) was divided into a Gold Roll, upon which an employee's name was enrolled, and a Silver Roll. The origins of this are unclear, but it was the practice on the 19th century Panama Railroad to pay Americans in US gold and local workers in silver coin. Although some Canal Zone officials compared the Gold Roll to military officers and Silver Roll to enlisted men, the characteristic that determined which roll an employee was placed upon was race. With very few exceptions, American and Northern European whites were placed on the Gold Roll, blacks and southern European whites on the Silver Roll. American blacks were generally not hired, black employees were from the Caribbean, often from
BarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. American whites seeking work as laborers, which were almost entirely Silver Roll, were discouraged from applying. In the early days of the system bosses could promote exceptional workers from Silver to Gold, but this soon ceased as race came to be the determining factor. As a result of the initial policy,, there were several hundred skilled blacks and southern Europeans on the Gold Roll. In November 1906, Chief Engineer
John StevensJohn Frank Stevens was an American engineer who built the Great Northern Railway in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907.- Biography :...
ordered that most blacks on the Gold Roll be placed on a silver roll instead (a few remained in such roles as teachers and postmasters); the following month the Canal Commission reported that the 3,700 Gold Roll employees were "almost all white Americans"; the 13,000 Silver Roll workers were "mostly aliens". On February 8, 1908, President Roosevelt ordered that no further non-Americans be placed on the Gold Roll. After the Panamanians objected, the Gold Roll was reopened to them in December 1908; however efforts to remove blacks and non-Americans from the Gold Roll continued.
Until 1918, when all employees began to be paid in US dollars, Gold Roll employees were paid in gold, in American currency, while their Silver Roll counterparts were paid in silver coin, initially in
Colombian pesoThe peso is the currency of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is COP and it is also informally abbreviated as COL$. However, the official peso symbol is $. As 20 July 2011, the exchange rate of the Colombian peso is 1750 Colombian pesos to 1 U.S. dollar.-History:The peso has been the currency of Colombia...
s. Through the years of canal construction, Silver Roll workers were paid with coins from various nations; in several years, coin was imported from the United States because of local shortages. Even after 1918, both the designations and the disparity in privileges lingered.
Housing and goods
Canal Zone housing was constructed in the early days of construction, as part of Stevens' plans. Housing constructed then were for couples and families were structures containing four two-story apartments. The units had corregated-iron roofs, and were uniformly painted gray with white trim. Constructed of pine clapboard, they had long windows and high ceilings, allowing for air movement. Better-paid employees were entitled to more square feet of housing—the unit in which allowances were expressed. Initially, employees received one square foot per dollar of monthly salary. Stevens from the first encouraged Gold Roll employee to send for their wives and children: to encourage them to do so, wives were granted a housing allowance equal to their husband's, even though they might not be employees. Bachelors mostly resided in hotel-like structures. The structures all had screened verandas and up-to-date plumbing. The government furnished power, water, coal for cooking, ice for the icebox, lawn care, groundskeeping, garbage disposal, and, for bachelors only, maid service.
In the first days of the Canal Zone, the ICC provided no food, and workers had to fend for themselves, obtaining poor-quality food at inflate prices from Panamanian merchants. When Stevens arrived in 1905, he ordered food to be provided at cost, leading to the establishment of the Canal Zone Commissary. The functions of the Commissary quickly grew, generally against the will of the Panamanian government, which saw more and more goods services provided in the Zone rather than in Panama. Merchants could not compete with the Commissary's prices or quality; for example it boasted that the meat it sold had been refrigerated every moment from the Chicago slaughterhouse to the moment it was passed to the consumer. By 1913, it consisted of 22 general stores, seven cigar stores, seventeen hostels, two hotels, and a mail-order division. It served high-quality meals at small expense to workers, and more expensive meals to upper-echelon Canal employees and others able to afford it.
The Commissary was a source of friction between Canal Zone and Panama for several other reasons. The Commissary dominated sales of supplies to passing ships: Panamanian merchants could make no sales within Canal Zone waters. The Commissary was off-limits to Panamanians who were not resident in the Canal Zone or employed there, a restriction nominally for the benefit of Panamanian storekeepers, who feared the loss of trade. Panama had laws restricting imports from the Canal Zone; these were indifferently enforced Goods from the Commissary would sometimes show up in Panamanian stores and in vendor displays, where
comisario goods were deemed of high quality.
Citizenship
Although the Panama Canal Zone was legally an unincorporated U.S. territory until the implementation of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties in 1979, questions arose almost from its inception as to whether the Zone was considered part of the United States for constitutional purposes, or, in the phrase of the day, whether the Constitution followed the flag. In 1901 the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in
Downes v. BidwellDownes v. Bidwell, , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided whether United States territories were subject to the provisions and protections of the United States Constitution. This question is sometimes stated as "does the Constitution follow the flag?". The resulting decision...
that unincorporated territories are not the United States. On July 28, 1904, Controller of the Treasury Robert Tracewell stated: "While the general spirit and purpose of the Constitution is applicable to the zone, that domain is not a part of the United States within the full meaning of the Constitution and laws of the country." Accordingly, the Supreme Court held in 1905 in
Rasmussen v. United States that the full Constitution only applies for incorporated territories of the United States. Until the rulings in these so-called "
Insular CasesThe Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S. in the Spanish-American War . The name "insular" derives from the fact that these territories are islands and were administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs...
", children born of two U.S. citizens in the Canal Zone had been subject to the
Naturalization Act of 1795The United States Naturalization Act of January 29, 1795 repealed and replaced the Naturalization Act of 1790. The 1795 Act differed from the 1790 Act by increasing the period of required residence from two to five years in the United States, by introducing the Declaration of Intention...
, which granted statutory U.S. citizenship at birth. With the ruling of 1905 persons born in the Canal Zone only became U.S. nationals, not citizens. This no man's land with regard to U.S. citizenship was perpetuated until Congress passed legislation in 1937, which corrected this deficiency. The law is now
codifiedThe Code of Laws of the United States of America is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States...
under title 8 section 1403. It not only grants statutory and declaratory born citizenship to those born in the Canal Zone after February 26, 1904, with at least one U.S. citizen parent, but also did so retroactively for all children born of at least one U.S. citizen in the Canal Zone before the law's enactment.
Townships and military installations
The Canal Zone was generally divided into two sections, the Pacific Side and the Atlantic Side, with Gatun Lake separating them.
A partial list of Canal Zone townships and military installations:
- Pacific Side
- Townships
- Ancón
Ancón is a "corregimiento" in central Panama , northeast of the [town-]limits of the town of Balboa. Ancon Hill is also the name of a large hill that overlooks Panama City, and served as a form of protection from pirates, and sea invasion...
- built on the lower slopes of Ancon HillAncon Hill is a steep 654-foot hill which overlooks Panama City, Panama adjacent to the township of Ancón.-Natural Features:It was under U.S. jurisdiction as part of the Panama Canal Zone for much of the 20th century and therefore was never developed like most of the surrounding urbanized parts of...
, adjacent to Panama CityPanama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
. Also home to Gorgas HospitalGorgas Hospital was a U.S. Army hospital in Panama City, Panama named for Army Surgeon General William C. Gorgas .Built on the site of an earlier French hospital called L'Hospital Notre Dame de Canal, it was originally christened Ancon Hospital by the Americans. It was originally built of wood,...
.
- Balboa
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...
- Administrative capital, as well as location of the harbor and main Pacific Side high school
- Balboa Heights
- Cardenas
Cardenas was a township in the old Panama Canal Zone. It was original founded to house FAA personnel. Later, additional housing was constructed for staff members of the Middle America Research Unit , a medical research laboratory of the National Institute of Health .Its only access from the main...
- as the Canal Zone was gradually handed over to Panamanian control, Cardenas was one of the last ZonianA Zonian is a person associated with the Panama Canal Zone, a political entity which existed between 1903 and the absorption of the Canal Zone into the Republic of Panama between 1980 and 2000....
holdouts.
- Cocoli
- Corozal
- Curundu: on military base, but housed civilian military workers
- Curundu Heights
- Diablo
Diablo was one of many townships in the Panama Canal Zone. It was established in 1905 by William Luke Jenkins.It was located directly across from the entrance to Albrook AFB, on a low hill overlooking the canal just past Balboa Harbor. The Diablo clubhouse was a center for social activity, and...
- Diablo Heights
- Gamboa
Gamboa is a small town in the Republic of Panama. It was one of a handful of permanent Canal Zone townships, built to house employees of the Panama Canal and their dependents. The name Gamboa is the name of a tree of the quince family.- Location :...
- headquarters of dredging division, located on Gatun LakeGatun Lake is a large artificial lake situated in the Republic of Panama; it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships for of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama....
. Many new arrivals to the Canal Zone were assigned here.
- La Boca: home of the Panama Canal College
- Los Ríos
- Paraíso
Paraíso is a town in the Republic of Panama, located just north of the Panama Canal's Pedro Miguel Locks. It was a vibrant township of the old Canal Zone, though it was segregated for most of its history.-Early history:...
- Pedro Miguel
- Red Tank
Red Tank was a township in the Panama Canal Zone.It was abandoned at some time during the 1940s or 1950s, and vegetation was allowed to overgrow the site. The beginnings of this townsite are hazy. A 1904 timetable for the Panama Railroad shows a stop called Pedro Miguel Tank, five-tenths of a mile...
: was abandoned and allowed to be overgrown sometime around 1950.
- Rosseau: built as a naval hospital during WWII, housed FAA personnel until Cardenas was built. Torn down after about 20 years
- Military Installations
- Fort Amador
Fort Amador and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases protecting the Pacific end of the Panama Canal at the Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Grant consisted of a series of islands lying just offshore, some connected to Amador via a...
- on the coast, partly built on land extended into the sea using excavation materials from the canal construction
- Fort Clayton
Fort Clayton was a United States Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone, later part of the Republic of Panama. Fort Clayton was located northwest of Balboa, Panama, with the Panama Canal located nearby. It closed in 1999 pursuant to the Torrijos-Carter Treaties...
- Corozal Army Post (close to, but separate from the civilian township)
- Fort Kobbe
Fort Kobbe was an Army fort created in 1932 that was adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in Panama. It was a relatively small post, and housed a battalion of paratroopers , a firing battery of artillery M-102 105mm; six gun battery with survey and search light section, a battalion of engineers , and a...
- Rodman Marine Barracks
- Albrook Air Force Base
Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama. It was closed on 30 September 1997 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which specified that United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zone be closed and the facilities be turned over to the...
- Howard Air Force Base
Howard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Panama. It was closed on 1 November 1999 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which specified that United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zone be closed and the facilities be turned over to the...
- Quarry Heights: Headquarters, United States Southern Command
The United States Southern Command , located in Miami, Florida, is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning and operations in Central and South America, the Caribbean The United States Southern Command...
- Atlantic Side
- Townships
- Brazos Heights: privately owned housing (by United Brands and other, mostly shipping companies) where employees/owners of shipping agencies, lawyers and the head of the YMCA lived
- Coco Solo
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base established in 1918 on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama....
: main hospital and only Atlantic Side high school (called Cristobal High School)
- Cristóbal: main harbor and port
- Gatún
Gatun is a small town on the Atlantic Side of the Panama Canal, located south of the city of Colón at the point in which Gatun Lake meets the channel to the Caribbean Sea...
- Margarita
- Mount Hope
There are several places named Mount Hope:in Antarctica*Mount Hope , a hill at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier*Mount Hope , a mountain in the Eternity Range, Palmer Landin Australia:* Mount Hope, New South Wales...
: site of the only Atlantic side cemetery and the only drydock
- Rainbow City
Rainbow City is a section of the city of Colón in the Republic of Panama. It was originally built as segregated housing for Panama Canal employees and was developed into a proper town by the Canal Zone Government...
- Military Installations
- Fort Gulick
Fort Gulick was a U.S. Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone located on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near Fort Davis, on Gatun Lake.-History:It was perhaps best known as the location of the School of the Americas...
: home to School of the Americas
- Galeta Island
- Fort Randolph (Panama)
Fort Randolph was a Coast Artillery Corps fort built to defend the northern end of the Panama canal in conjunction with Fort Sherman.-History:...
: was located on Margarita island in Manzanillo bay
- Fort De Lesseps: located in Colon
- Fort Davis
- France Field
Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport is a commercial airport located in Colón, Panama, offering scheduled airline flights to the national capital, Panama City, and to other destinations....
- Fort Sherman
Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base located on Toro Point at the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón . It was the primary defensive base for the Atlantic sector of the Canal, and was also the center for US jungle warfare training...
: home to Jungle Operations Training Center
Postage stamps
The Panama Canal Zone issued its own postage stamps beginning in 1904 and ending on October 25, 1978. After a transition period
PanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
administrated the stamps.
See also
- Panama Railway
The Panama Canal Railway Company is a railway line that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across Panama in Central America. It is jointly owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway and Mi-Jack Products...
- Rail transport in Panama
Since 1974, the only functioning railroad in Panama is Panama Canal Railway Company, successor of Panama Railway - the oldest transcontinental railroad in the world. It provides passenger and freight service between Panama City and Colón...
- Transcontinental Railroad#Panama
- List of Governors of Panama Canal Zone
Further reading
- Greene, Julie (2009). The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal. New York: The Penguin Press. ISBN 9781594202018.
- Harding, Robert C. (2001). Military Foundations of Panamanian Politics. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0765800756.
- Harding, Robert C. (2006). The History of Panama. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 978-0313333224.
- Knapp, Herbert and Knapp, Mary (1984). Red, White and Blue Paradise: The American Canal Zone in Panama. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich. ISBN 0151761353.
- Major, John (1993). Prize Possession: The United States and the Panama Canal, 1903–1979. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521521260.
- Maurer, Noel and Yu, Carlos (2011). The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691147383.
- McCullough, David (1977). The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671244095.
- Murillo, Luis E. (1995). The Noriega Mess: The Drugs, the Canal, and Why America Invaded. 1096 pages, illustrated. Berkeley: Video Books. ISBN 0-923444-02-5.
- Mellander, Gustavo A. (1971) The United States in Panamanian Politics:The Intriguing Formative Years. Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers, OCLC 138568
- Mellander, Gustavo A.; Nelly Maldonado Mellander (1999). Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390.
External links