During the nearly four hundred years that had elapsed since Balboa crossed the Isthmus, there had been a good deal of talk about building an Isthmus ca.n.a.l, and there had been various discussions of the subject and negotiations about it in Washington for the previous half century.
So far it had all resulted merely in conversation; and the time had come when unless somebody was prepared to act with decision we would have to resign ourselves to at least half a century of further conversation.
Under the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty signed shortly after I became President, and thanks to our negotiations with the French Panama Company, the United States at last acquired a possession, so far as Europe was concerned, which warranted her in immediately undertaking the task. It remained to decide where the ca.n.a.l should be, whether along the line already pioneered by the French company in Panama, or in Nicaragua.
Panama belonged to the Republic of Colombia. Nicaragua bid eagerly for the privilege of having the United States build the ca.n.a.l through her territory. As long as it was doubtful which route we would decide upon, Colombia extended every promise of friendly cooperation; at the Pan-American Congress in Mexico her delegate joined in the unanimous vote which requested the United States forthwith to build the ca.n.a.l; and at her eager request we negotiated the Hay-Herran Treaty with her, which gave us the right to build the ca.n.a.l across Panama. A board of experts sent to the Isthmus had reported that this route was better than the Nicaragua route, and that it would be well to build the ca.n.a.l over it provided we could purchase the rights of the French company for forty million dollars; but that otherwise they would advise taking the Nicaragua route. Ever since 1846 we had had a treaty with the power then in control of the Isthmus, the Republic of New Granada, the predecessor of the Republic of Colombia and of the present Republic of Panama, by which treaty the United States was guaranteed free and open right of way across the Isthmus of Panama by any mode of communication that might be constructed, while in return our Government guaranteed the perfect neutrality of the Isthmus with a view to the preservation of free transit.
For nearly fifty years we had a.s.serted the right to prevent the closing of this highway of commerce. Secretary of State Ca.s.s in 1858 officially stated the American position as follows:
"Sovereignty has its duties as well as its rights, and none of these local governments, even if administered with more regard to the just demands of other nations than they have been, would be permitted, in a spirit of Eastern isolation, to close the gates of intercourse of the great highways of the world, and justify the act by the pretension that these avenues of trade and travel belong to them and that they choose to shut them, or, what is almost equivalent, to enc.u.mber them with such unjust relations as would prevent their general use."
We had again and again been forced to intervene to protect the transit across the Isthmus, and the intervention was frequently at the request of Colombia herself. The effort to build a ca.n.a.l by private capital had been made under De Lesseps and had resulted in lamentable failure. Every serious proposal to build the ca.n.a.l in such manner had been abandoned.
The United States had repeatedly announced that we would not permit it to be built or controlled by any old-world government. Colombia was utterly impotent to build it herself. Under these circ.u.mstances it had become a matter of imperative obligation that we should build it ourselves without further delay.
I took final action in 1903. During the preceding fifty-three years the Governments of New Granada and of its successor, Colombia, had been in a constant state of flux; and the State of Panama had sometimes been treated as almost independent, in a loose Federal league, and sometimes as the mere property of the Government at Bogota; and there had been innumerable appeals to arms, sometimes of adequate, sometimes for inadequate, reasons. The following is a partial list of the disturbances on the Isthmus of Panama during the period in question, as reported to us by our consuls. It is not possible to give a complete list, and some of the reports that speak of "revolutions" must mean unsuccessful revolutions:
May 22, 1850.--Outbreak; two Americans killed. War vessel demanded to quell outbreak.
October, 1850.--Revolutionary plot to bring about independence of the Isthmus.
July 22, 1851.--Revolution in four Southern provinces.
November 14, 1851.--Outbreak at Chagres. Man-of-war requested for Chagres.
June 27, 1853.--Insurrection at Bogota, and consequent disturbance on Isthmus. War vessel demanded.
May 23, 1854.--Political disturbances. War vessel requested.
June 28, 1854.--Attempted revolution.
October 24, 1854.--Independence of Isthmus demanded by provincial legislature.
April, 1856.--Riot, and ma.s.sacre of Americans.
May 4, 1856.--Riot.
May 18, 1856.--Riot.
June 3, 1856.--Riot.
October 2, 1856.--Conflict between two native parties. United States force landed.
December 18, 1858.--Attempted secession of Panama.
April, 1859.--Riots.
September, 1860.--Outbreak.
October 4, 1860.--Landing of United States forces in consequence.
May 23, 1861.--Intervention of the United States force required, by intendente.
October 2, 1861.--Insurrection and civil war.
April 4, 1862.--Measures to prevent rebels crossing Isthmus.
June 13, 1862.--Mosquera"s troops refused admittance to Panama.
March, 1865.--Revolution, and United States troops landed.
August, 1865.--Riots; unsuccessful attempt to invade Panama.
March, 1866.--Unsuccessful revolution.
April, 1867.--Attempt to overthrow Government.
August, 1867.--Attempt at revolution.
July 5, 1868.--Revolution; provisional government inaugurated.
August 29, 1868.--Revolution; provisional government overthrown.
April, 1871.--Revolution; followed apparently by counter revolution.
April, 1873.--Revolution and civil war which lasted to October, 1875.
August, 1876.--Civil war which lasted until April, 1877.
July, 1878.--Rebellion.
December, 1878.--Revolt.
April, 1879.--Revolution.
June, 1879.--Revolution.
March, 1883.--Riot.
May, 1883.--Riot.
June, 1884.--Revolutionary attempt.
December, 1884.--Revolutionary attempt.
January, 1885.--Revolutionary disturbances.
March, 1885.--Revolution.
April, 1887.--Disturbance on Panama Railroad.
November, 1887.--Disturbance on line of ca.n.a.l.