Description

Under the agreements concluded between the United States and the Republic of Panama in 1903‒4 regarding the construction and operation of an isthmian canal, the United States acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone, a swath of territory across Panama that in most places extended five kilometers on each side of the center line of the canal. The residents of the zone were mainly U.S. citizens and West Indians engaged in the construction and operation of the canal. An Isthmian Canal Commission, composed of U.S. military and ...