The Panama Canal officially opened on August 15, 1914. In a cartoon celebrating the event, Uncle Sam and a bear representing President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed ships at the first lock gate. Festivities in Panama were subdued, however, as the outbreak of World War I forced cancellation of a fleet of international warships scheduled to parade through the canal.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
Open for Business, drawing by Clifford Berryman, August 15, 1914
Exploring Panama
The Panama Canal awakened widespread interest in the region, but it was not only tourists who were curious. The United States had rights to control the Canal Zone in perpetuity under the 1904 treaty with Panama, and in 1923 scientists founded a biological laboratory there. Under a new treaty, ratified in 1978 with the consent of the U.S. Senate, the United States returned the zone to Panama in 1979. Yet the laboratory––now named the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute––continues its important work, expanding our understanding of biodiversity.
The Panama Canal officially opened on August 15, 1914. In a cartoon celebrating the event, Uncle Sam and a bear representing President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed ships at the first lock gate. Festivities in Panama were subdued, however, as the outbreak of World War I forced cancellation of a fleet of international warships scheduled to parade through the canal.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
