Question

study guide
chapter 4, section 3 (continued)
in 1901 the united states and great britain signed the hay - pauncefote
treaty. the treaty gave the united states the exclusive right to build and con -
trol a canal through central america. the united states decided to build a
canal through panama. in 1903 panama was still a part of colombia. secretary
of state hay offered colombia $10 million and a yearly rent for the right to
build a canal and control a strip of land on either side of it. the colombian
government refused the offer.
the panamanians wanted the benefits of having a canal. they also did not
want to be under colombian control. as a result, tensions grew as
panamanian officials decided that the only way to get the canal was to declare
independence from colombia and make its own deal with the united states.
a small army staged an uprising in panama against colombia. president
roosevelt sent ships to panama to prevent colombia from interfering. the
united states recognized panamas independence, and the two nations signed
a treaty allowing the canal to be built. protesters in the united states and in
latin america condemned the nations actions. roosevelt justified u.s. actions
by stating that the canal shortened the distance from the atlantic to the pacific
ocean by about 8,000 nautical miles.
in 1904 president roosevelt expanded his \big stick\ diplomacy. in an
address to congress he declared the roosevelt corollary to the monroe
doctrine. in it, he said that the united states would intervene in latin
american affairs when necessary to help keep the western hemisphere eco -
omically and politically stable.
the united states applied the roosevelt corollary in the dominican
republic. the nation had fallen behind in paying its debts to european
nations. in 1905 the united states took on the responsibility of collecting tar -
iffs in the dominican republican. latin american nations resented the extent
of american involvement in the caribbean. president william howard taft,
roosevelts successor, continued roosevelts policies. taft focused more on
helping the regions industries than on military force. he believed that help -
ing the industries would increase u.s. trade, increase american businesses
profits, and help get latin american countries out of poverty. tafts policy
became known as dollar diplomacy.

1. why did president roosevelt want to build a canal across panama?

Explanation:

The text mentions that Roosevelt justified U.S. actions by stating the canal would shorten the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean by about 8,000 nautical miles. This implies a strategic and logistical reason related to maritime travel and trade.

Answer:

President Roosevelt wanted to build a canal across Panama because it would shorten the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean by about 8,000 nautical miles. This would likely have benefits for trade, military movement, and overall maritime efficiency.