Panama Canal: A Construction That Changed the World

1. Panama Canal: A Construction That Changed the World Description: A Webquest for 9th-10th grade U.S. history

2. Introduction • You know that shortcut in our town that will cut your drive in half? Well think about it on a much bigger stage. We are talking about the Panama Canal! • This is a Webquest that will allow you to explore how the United States came to the decision to construct the Panama Canal and the economic, political, and social implications that came with. • Your task is to be advisers to President Theodore Roosevelt, and you are to help him weigh the positives and negatives in acquiring the canal. Before we sit down and debrief you on your exact tasks though, lets review the current situation.

3. The Situation at Hand The United States became interested in building the canal due to favoring a route across Nicaragua and also to purchase the French interests in the area. To pursue their interests, the United States supported Panama’s separatist movement. Panama achieved independence on November 3rd, 1903 with help from the U.S. and the U.S. was granted rights to build the Panama Canal. Should we do it? Now that we reviewed the situation, it is time to receive your assignments.

4. Task • You are a team of advisors to President T. Roosevelt. You are to see if the construction of the Panama Canal will benefit the United States. You know it is an expensive engineering project, but some of your sources think this project will be extremely beneficial in the future. • You will write one letter as a group to President Roosevelt once your group reaches a decision. • Each group member will have a specific role assigned in contributing to the decision.

5. Task Continued • 4 roles: Foreign Relations Adviser, Trade Adviser, Environmentalist, and Labor/Engineering Adviser • Foreign Relations Adviser: Your job is to weigh the pros/cons of this project and will have on the U.S. relations to Columbia and newly free Panama. • Trade Adviser: Your job is to weigh the pros/cons of the trade routes that will be established as well as the costs associated with this. • Environmentalist: Your job is to weigh the pros/cons of the environmental impact of the construction project. • Labor/Engineering Adviser Your job is to weigh the pros/cons of the labor force that will be used to build the canal and learn how it will actually work if completed. • See next slide for websites listed for each particular role.

6. Below are the Websites you will be using listed in a word Document. Resources References

7. Directions for Letter Assignment • You will turn in one letter per group! • Using traditional letter form, write one full page (12 pt. font, single spaced, times new roman, 1 inch margins). • In the body, be sure to include a different paragraph for each individual role. Make sure each paragraph highlights some of the pros and cons that you found in your research-use your T-charts! • Also, make sure it is clear if you are giving Roosevelt the green light or the red light on this project! • Below is the Word Document to the letter head you will write on. • Letter Head • Here is the Word Document to the T-chart below. • T-chart • Here is the Word Document to the Vocabulary List below. • Vocabulary List

8. Process Day 1: Get together in groups of 4 and decide your roles first. Each person needs to open the Word Document “Panama Canal T-Chart” and type in this document as you go. This chart will help you organize your thoughts as you analyze the pros/cons of each of your specific roles Finish T-chart by day 2. *As you fill in your T-chart, write down any vocabulary words you do not understand in the Vocabulary List worksheet so you can look them up later. Day 2: Come back together as an advising team and discuss the pros/cons you found. As a group, write one letter to President Roosevelt in your decision to go ahead and build the canal or not.

9. Conclusion • After the webquest, students will have a better understanding of the different contributing factors that went into the decision process of whether or not to construct the canal. This process can be applied to most situations the President has to make because he or she has to take into account information from advisers. Rarely does the President make a decision entirely on his or her own although it is presented that way sometimes. Additionally, students will have experience in researching a subject on the internet through “legit” sites instead of simple informational text sites such as Wikipedia. To conclude this unit as a class we can discuss how the Panama Canal still plays a role in global trade today. With the increase in globalization, it is important to realize the different factors that play in this global trade network.