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How Did The Panama Canal Aided Trade For The World?

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At the turn of the 20th century, the United States became interested in national imperialism and aimed to build a thriving empire. After Manifest Destiny had ended, Americans were still feeling for more territory and colonization because that was all our country ever knew. So, because of this need to expand outside the United States borders, there came a new idea to expand outside our comfort zone. After reaching both of our coasts, naval commander, Alfred. T. Mahan published a book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History. Mahan said that for the United States to be a successful imperialist power like Great Britain and other European forces, they had to create a canal along the isthmus of somewhere in Central America, establish friendly ports …show more content…

Countries that frequently occupied the canal with trade were Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, which brought cargo to the states and into Europe. The waterway provided new markets for Asia and for Asia, strengthening our relations with them. Thatcher said that as we benefited from trade with Asia and Europe since the United States provided the trade, we were growing correspondingly, occupying more and more of the trade and growing our economy (The Panama Canal 64). This growth in our trade with Asia and Europe helped secure the U.S.'s spot as a world power. The Panama Canal aided trade for the world by drastically shortening trade distance and times, opening the United States to trade access in Central America, and helping trade relations with Asia. The United States' foreign policy grew more robust because the Panama Canal provided new obstacles the United States had to deal with. President Roosevelt established a central point of foreign policy in the early 20th century: the Roosevelt Colliery. The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine, which said the United States could use military force to oversee countries with which they pose a threat that they have relations …show more content…

This swept the world because people started to respect the United States as a real imperial power, and countries across Latin America wanted their support. Ultimately, The Panama Canal influenced the United States' presence in Latin America because the U.S. used Panama's location and democratic establishments to spread into the 20 other countries of Central America. The Panama Canal was more than just an impressive engineering achievement; it represented America's ascent to world power. The canal was crucial in shaping the United States into a global superpower by improving trade relations with Asia, establishing key precedents that shaped foreign policy, and expanding the country's democratic influence in Latin America. As the canal became an essential shipping route for many countries worldwide, it boosted the United States' standing as a global leader, much like the Suez Canal did for European powers. Not only did the United States expand international trade forever, but it also shared this greatness with many other

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