The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, bisects the isthmus in a series of massive locks and dams. As Theodore Roosevelt had planned, the canal greatly strengthened the U.S. Navy by allowing ships to move from the Atlantic to the Pacific in a matter of days.

READING THE MAP How long was the trip from New York to San Francisco before the Panama Canal was built? After it was built?

CONNECTIONS How did Roosevelt’s desire for a canal lead to independence for Panama? How did the canal benefit the U.S. Navy?