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The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an
unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...
of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, located in the
Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the territory of
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
, consisting of the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
and an area generally extending on each side of the centerline, but excluding
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
and Colón. Its capital was Balboa. The Panama Canal Zone was created on November 18, 1903 from the territory of Panama; established with the signing of the
Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty ( es, Tratado Hay-Bunau Varilla) was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal. It was named ...
, which allowed for the construction of the Panama Canal within the territory by the United States. The zone existed until October 1, 1979, when it was incorporated back into Panama. In 1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed. In it, the Republic of Panama granted to the United States in perpetuity the use, occupation, and control of a zone of land and land underwater for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection of the canal. From 1903 to 1979, the territory was controlled by the United States, which had purchased the land from its private and public owners, built the canal and financed its construction. The Canal Zone was abolished in 1979, as a term of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties two years earlier; the canal itself was later under joint U.S.–Panamanian control until it was fully turned over to Panama in 1999.


History


Proposals for a canal

Proposals for a canal across the
Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
date back to 1529, soon after the Spanish conquest.
Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón (often written as Álvaro de Saavedra) (d. 1529) was one of the Spanish explorers in the Pacific Ocean. The exact date and place of his birth are unknown, but he was born in the late 15th century or early 16th century in ...
, a lieutenant of conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa, suggested four possible routes, one of which closely tracks the present-day canal. Saavedra believed that such a canal would make it easier for European vessels to reach Asia. Although King
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
was enthusiastic and ordered preliminary works started, his officials in Panama soon realized that such an undertaking was beyond the capabilities of 16th-century technology. One official wrote to Charles, "I pledge to Your Majesty that there is not a prince in the world with the power to accomplish this".Maurer and Yu, pp. 15–18. The Spanish instead built a road across the isthmus. The road came to be crucial to Spain's economy, as treasure obtained along the Pacific coast of South America was offloaded at
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
and hauled through the jungle to the Atlantic port of Nombre de Dios, close to present-day Colón. Although additional canal building proposals were made throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, they came to naught. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw a number of canals built. The success of the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...
in the United States and the collapse of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in Latin America led to a surge of American interest in building an interoceanic canal. Beginning in 1826, US officials began negotiations with
Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia ( Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to ...
(present-day
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
and
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
), hoping to gain a concession for the building of a canal. Jealous of their newly obtained independence and fearing that they would be dominated by an American presence, the president
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...
and New Granadan officials declined American offers. The new nation was politically unstable, and Panama rebelled several times during the 19th century. In 1836 U.S. statesman Charles Biddle reached an agreement with the New Granadan government to replace the old road with an improved one or a railroad, running from
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
on the Pacific coast to the Chagres River, where a steamship service would allow passengers and freight to continue to Colón. His agreement was repudiated by the
Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...
administration, which wanted rights to build a canal. In 1841, with Panama in rebellion again, British interests secured a right of way over the isthmus from the insurgent regime and occupied Nicaraguan ports that might have served as the Atlantic terminus of a canal. In 1846 the new US envoy to
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, Benjamin Bidlack, was surprised when, soon after his arrival, the New Granadans proposed that the United States be the guarantor of the neutrality of the isthmus. The resulting
Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty The Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty (also known as the Bidlack Treaty and Treaty of New Granada) was a treaty signed between New Granada (today Colombia and Panama) and the United States, on December 12, 1846.Kellogg Institute at the University of Not ...
allowed the United States to intervene militarily to ensure that the interoceanic road (and when it was built, the Panama Railroad as well) would not be disrupted. New Granada hoped that other nations would sign similar treaties, but the one with the United States, which was ratified by the
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
in June 1848 after considerable lobbying by New Granada, was the only one. The treaty led the U.S. government to contract for steamship service to Panama from ports on both coasts. When the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...
began in 1848, traffic through Panama greatly increased, and New Granada agreed to allow the Panama Railroad to be constructed by American interests. This first "transcontinental railroad" opened in 1850. There were riots in Panama City in 1856; several Americans were killed. US warships landed
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
, who occupied the railroad station and kept the railroad service from being interrupted by the unrest. The United States demanded compensation from New Granada, including a zone wide, to be governed by US officials and in which the United States might build any "railway or passageway" it desired. The demand was dropped in the face of resistance by New Granadan officials, who accused the United States of seeking a colony. Through the remainder of the 19th century, the United States landed troops several times to preserve the railway connection. At the same time, it pursued a canal treaty with Colombia (as New Granada was renamed). One treaty, signed in 1868, was rejected by the Colombian Senate, which hoped for better terms from the incoming
Grant administration The presidency of Ulysses S. Grant began on March 4, 1869, when Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated as the 18th president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1877. The Reconstruction era took place during Grant's two terms of office. The K ...
. Under this treaty, the canal would have been in the middle of a 20-mile zone, under American management but Colombian sovereignty, and the canal would revert to Colombia in 99 years. The Grant administration did little to pursue a treaty and, in 1878, the concession to build the canal fell to a French firm. The French efforts eventually failed, but with Panama apparently unavailable, the United States considered possible canal sites in Mexico and
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...
. The
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
of 1898 added new life to the canal debate. During the war, American warships in the Atlantic seeking to reach battle zones in the Pacific had been forced to round
Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...
. Influential naval pundits, such as Captain
Alfred Thayer Mahan Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book '' The Influence of Sea Powe ...
, urged the construction of a Central American canal. In 1902, with the French efforts moribund, US president
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
backed the Panama route, and Congress passed legislation authorizing him to purchase the French assets on the condition that an agreement was reached with Colombia. In March 1902 Colombia set its terms for such a treaty: Colombia was to be sovereign over the canal, which would be policed by Colombians paid for by the United States. The host nation would receive a larger percentage of the tolls than provided for in earlier draft treaties. The draft terms were quickly rejected by American officials. Roosevelt was in a hurry to secure the treaty; the Colombians, to whom the French property would revert in 1904, were not. Negotiations dragged on into 1903, during which time there was unrest in Panama City and Colón; the United States sent in Marines to guard the trains. Nevertheless, in early 1903, the United States and Colombia signed a treaty which, despite Colombia's previous objections, gave the United States a wide zone in which it could deploy troops with Colombian consent. On August 12, 1903, the Colombian Senate voted down the treaty 24–0. Roosevelt was angered by the Colombians' actions, especially when the Colombian Senate made a counteroffer that was more financially advantageous to Colombia. A Frenchman who had worked on his nation's canal efforts,
Philippe Bunau-Varilla Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla () (26 July 1859 – 18 May 1940) was a French engineer and soldier. With the assistance of American lobbyist and lawyer William Nelson Cromwell, Bunau-Varilla greatly influenced Washington's decision concerning t ...
, represented Panamanian insurgents; he met with Roosevelt and with Secretary of State
John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was U ...
, who saw to it that his principals received covert support. When the revolution came in November 1903, the United States intervened to protect the rebels, who succeeded in taking over the province, declaring it independent as the Republic of Panama. Bunau-Varilla was initially the Panamanian representative in the United States, though he was about to be displaced by actual Panamanians, and hastily negotiated a treaty, giving the United States a zone wide and full authority to pass laws to govern that zone. The Panama Canal Zone (Canal Zone, or Zone) excluded Panama City and Colón, but included four offshore islands, and permitted the United States to add to the zone any additional lands needed to carry on canal operations. The Panamanians were minded to disavow the treaty, but Bunau-Varilla told the new government that if Panama did not agree, the United States would withdraw its protection and make the best terms it could with Colombia. The Panamanians agreed, even adding a provision to the new constitution, at US request, allowing the larger nation to intervene to preserve public order.


Construction (1903–1914)

The treaty was approved by the provisional Panamanian government on December 2, 1903, and by the US Senate on February 23, 1904. Under the treaty, Panama received , much of which the United States required to be invested in that country, plus annual payments of ; with those payments made, as well as for the purchase of the French company assets, the Canal Zone was formally turned over by Panama on May 4, 1904, when American officials reopened the Panama City offices of the canal company and raised the American flag. This marked the beginning point for U.S. excavation and construction which concluded in August 1914 with the opening of the canal to commercial traffic.


Governance

By order of President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
under the Panama Canal Acts of 1902 and 1904 the
secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
was made supervisor of canal construction and the second
Isthmian Canal Commission The Isthmian Canal Commission (often known as the ICC) was an American administration commission set up to oversee the construction of the Panama Canal in the early years of American involvement. Established on February 26, 1904, it was given cont ...
made the governing body for the Canal Zone. Under the Panama Canal Act of May 24, 1912, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
issued Executive Order 1885, January 27, 1914, effective April 1, 1914, abolishing the previous governance and placing it under the direction of the Secretary of War, with the entity designated as The Panama Canal. This Executive Order charged the Governor of the Panama Canal with "completion, maintenance, operation, government and sanitation of the Panama Canal and its adjuncts and the government of the Canal Zone." A number of departments were specified in the order, with others to be established as needed by the Governor of the Panama Canal with approval of the President and under the supervision of the Secretary of War. Defense of the canal was the responsibility of the Secretary of War who retained control of troops with provisions for presidential appointment of an Army officer in wartime who would have "exclusive authority over the operation of the Panama Canal and the Government of the Canal Zone." The executive order noted in closing "that the supervision of the operations of the Panama Canal under the permanent organization should be under the Secretary of War," thus establishing the essentially military arrangement and atmosphere for the canal and Canal Zone. On September 5, 1939, with the outbreak of war in Europe Executive Order 8232 placed governance of the Canal and "all its adjuncts and appurtenances, including the government of the Canal Zone" under the exclusive control of the Commanding General, Panama Canal Department for the duration. Effective July 1, 1951, under an act of Congress dated September 26, 1950 (64 Stat. 1038), governance of the Canal Zone was through the Canal Zone Government with the canal operated by the Panama Canal Company until 1979 when the Panama Canal Commission took over its governance. The entire structure was under the control of the United States government with the
secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...
appointing the Panama Canal Company board of directors and the Canal Zone Government was entirely financed by the company. The office of the governor of the Panama Canal Zone was not usually a stepping stone to higher political office but a position given to US Army active duty general officers of the
United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
. The governor was also president of the Panama Canal Company. The Canal Zone had its own police force (the
Canal Zone Police The Canal Zone Police was a U.S. Federal Government-based American overseas police force that consisted of more than 400 officers and was responsible for the security of Panama Canal Zone property, as well as general policing duties, using a wide r ...
), courts, and judges (the
United States District Court for the Canal Zone The United States District Court for the Canal Zone (in case citations, D.C.Z.) was a United States District Court that existed in the Panama Canal Zone of Panama from 1914 to 1982. Appeals were taken to the United States Court of Appeals for t ...
). Despite being an
unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...
, the Canal Zone was never granted a congressional delegate. Everyone worked for the company or the government in one form or another. Residents did not own their homes; instead, they rented houses assigned primarily based on seniority in the zone. When an employee moved away, the house would be listed and employees could apply for it. The utility companies were also managed by the company. There were no independent stores; goods were brought in and sold at stores run by the company, such as a
commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...
, housewares, and so forth. In 1952 the Panama Canal Company was required to go on a break-even basis in an announcement made in the form of the president's budget submission to the United States Congress. Though company officials had been involved in previewing the requirement, there was no disclosure in advance, even though the Bureau of the Budget directed that the new régime become effective on March 1. The company organization was realigned into three main divisions; Canal Activity and Commercial Activity with the Service Activity providing services to both operating activities at rates sufficient to recover costs. Rate adjustments in housing and other employee services would be required and a form of valuation, compared to a property tax, would be used to determine each division's contribution to the Canal Zone Government.


Territory

Panama Canal Zone was located within the territory of
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
, consisting of the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
and an area generally extending on each side of the centerline, but excluding
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
and Colón, which would have otherwise fallen in part within the limits of the Canal Zone. When artificial lakes were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the zone. Its border spanned two of the
provinces of Panama Panama is divided into ten province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the R ...
: Colón and Panamá. The total area of the territory was 553 square miles (1,430 km2). Although it was a United States territory, the zone did not have formal boundary restrictions on Panamanians transiting to either half of their country, or for any other visitors. A Panama Canal fence did exist along the main highway, although it was only a safety measure to separate pedestrians from traffic, and some of the U.S. territories was beyond it. In Panama City, if there were no protests interfering with movement, one could enter the Zone simply by crossing a street.


Tensions and the end of the Canal Zone

In 1903, the United States, having failed to obtain from
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
the right to build a canal across the
Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
, which was part of that country, sent warships in support of Panamanian independence from Colombia. This being achieved, the new nation of Panama ceded to the Americans the rights they wanted in the
Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty ( es, Tratado Hay-Bunau Varilla) was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal. It was named ...
. Over time, though, the existence of the Canal Zone, a political exclave of the United States that cut
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
geographically in half and had its own courts, police, and civil government, became a cause of conflict between the two countries. Major rioting and clashes occurred on May 21, 1958, and on November 3, 1959. Demonstrations occurred at the opening of the Thatcher Ferry Bridge, now known as the Bridge of the Americas, in 1962 and serious rioting occurred in January 1964. This led to the United States easing its controls in the Zone. For example, Panamanian flags were allowed to be flown alongside American ones. After extensive negotiations, the Canal Zone ceased to exist on October 1, 1979, in compliance with provisions of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties. In 1989, the United States invaded Panama and virtually all of the military operations took place within the Canal Zone including Operation Acid Gambit, the Raid at Renacer Prison among many others including operations at the entrance, exit and all of the locks.


Lifestyle of residents


"Gold" roll and "silver" roll

During its construction and into the 1940s, the labor force in the Canal Zone (which was almost entirely publicly employed) was divided into a "gold" roll (short for payroll) classification, and a "silver" roll classification. The origins of this system are unclear, but it was the practice on the 19th-century Panama Railroad to pay Americans in US gold and local workers in silver coin. Although some Canal Zone officials compared the gold roll to military officers and the silver roll to enlisted men, the characteristic that determined on which roll an employee was placed was race. With very few exceptions, American and Northern European whites were placed on the gold roll, and blacks and southern European whites on the silver roll. American blacks were generally not hired; black employees were from the Caribbean, often from
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
. American whites seeking work as laborers, which were almost entirely silver roll positions, were discouraged from applying. In the early days of the system, bosses could promote exceptional workers from silver to gold, but this practice soon ceased as race came to be the determining factor. As a result of the initial policy, there were several hundred skilled blacks and Southern Europeans on the gold roll.Maurer and Yu, p. 111. In November 1906, Chief Engineer John Stevens ordered that most blacks on the gold roll be placed on the silver roll instead (a few remained in such roles as teachers and postmasters); the following month, the Canal Commission reported that the 3,700 gold roll employees were "almost all white Americans" and the 13,000 silver roll workers were "mostly aliens".Major, pp. 78–81. On February 8, 1908, President Roosevelt ordered that no further non-Americans be placed on the gold roll. After Panamanians objected, the gold roll was reopened to them in December 1908; however, efforts to remove blacks and non-Americans from the gold roll continued. Until 1918, when all employees began to be paid in US dollars, gold roll employees were paid in gold, in American currency, while their silver roll counterparts were paid in silver coin, initially Colombian pesos. Through the years of canal construction, silver roll workers were paid with coins from various nations; in several years, coin was imported from the United States because of local shortages. Even after 1918, both the designations and the disparity in privileges lingered.


"Diasporization" in the Panama Canal Zone

Until the end of World War II in 1945, the Panama Canal Zone operated under a
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sou ...
society, where the category of "gold" represented white, U.S. workers and the title "silver" represented the non-white, non-U.S. workers on the Zone. There were even separate entrances for each group at the Post Office. After the strike of 1920, the Afro diasporic workers were banned from unionizing by the U.S. Canal officials. As a result, the Panama Canal West Indian Employees Association (PCWIEA) was created in 1924 to fill this vacuum of representation. The PCWIEA did not garner much support on the Canal Zone because of its restrictive membership policies and the haunting of the 1920 strike and its damaging consequences. However, in 1946, the PCWIEA summoned the
Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...
(CIO) for representation and the establishment of a local union. In July of that year, the West Indian and Panamanian workers received a charter for Local 713 of the United Public Workers of America (UPWA)-CIO. Together, with the assistance of U.S. representatives for the Local, these Afro-diasporic workers came together to secure material benefits in their livelihoods. They organized together in order to pose a serious threat to the Jim Crow system which resulted, however, only in minimal gains. American segregationist policies persisted as it related to housing and schooling. In the end, ties to communism destroyed the UPWA and as a result Local 713 collapsed. Nevertheless, Frank Gurridy describes this as diasporization, "diaspora in action, or the ways Afro-diasporic linkages were made in practice". In the case of the Panama Canal Zone, these linkages were made not only by the West Indian and Panamanian communities, but also between the Afro descended workers on the Zone and African Americans, on the mainland of the U.S., through the transnational struggle to dismantle the system of Jim Crow.


Community


Housing and goods

Canal Zone housing was constructed in the early days of construction, as part of Stevens' plans. Housing constructed for couples and families consisted of structures containing four two-story apartments. The units had corrugated-iron roofs, and were uniformly painted gray with white trim. Constructed of pine clapboard, they had long windows and high ceilings, allowing for air movement. Better-paid employees were entitled to more square feet of housing, the unit in which allowances were expressed. Initially, employees received one square foot per dollar of monthly salary. Stevens from the first encouraged gold roll employees to send for their wives and children; to encourage them to do so, wives were granted a housing allowance equal to their husband's, even if they were not employees. Bachelors mostly resided in hotel-like structures. The structures all had screened verandas and up-to-date plumbing. The government furnished power, water, coal for cooking, ice for iceboxes, lawn care, groundskeeping, garbage disposal, and, for bachelors only, maid service. In the first days of the Canal Zone, the ICC provided no food, and workers had to fend for themselves, obtaining poor-quality food at inflated prices from Panamanian merchants. When Stevens arrived in 1905, he ordered food to be provided at cost, leading to the establishment of the Canal Zone Commissary. The functions of the Commissary quickly grew, generally against the will of the Panamanian government, which saw more and more goods and services provided in the Zone rather than in Panama. Merchants could not compete with the commissary's prices or quality; for example, it boasted that the meat it sold had been refrigerated every moment from the Chicago slaughterhouse to the moment it was passed to the consumer. By 1913, it consisted of 22 general stores, 7 cigar stores, 22 hostels, 2 hotels, and a mail-order division. It served high-quality meals at small expense to workers and more expensive meals to upper-echelon canal employees and others able to afford it. The commissary was a source of friction between the Canal Zone and Panama for several other reasons. The commissary dominated sales of supplies to passing ships. The commissary was off limits to individuals who were not in the U.S. Military, employees of the Panama Canal Company, the Canal Zone Government and/or their dependents. This restriction was requested by Panama for the benefit of Panamanian storekeepers, who feared the loss of trade. Panama had laws restricting imports from the Canal Zone. Goods from the commissary would sometimes show up in Panamanian stores and in vendor displays, where ''Comisariato'' goods were deemed of high quality. Additionally, there were separate commissaries on the U.S. military installations that were available only to the U.S. Military personnel and their dependents. Employees and dependents of the Panama Canal Company/Government were not allowed to utilize the commissaries, exchanges, package stores, theaters, gas stations, and other facilities on the U.S. Military installations.


Citizenship

Although the Panama Canal Zone was legal territory of the United States until the implementation of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties in 1979, questions arose almost from its inception as to whether it was considered part of the United States for constitutional purposes, or, in the phrase of the day, whether the Constitution followed the flag. In 1901 the US Supreme Court had ruled in '' Downes v. Bidwell'' that unincorporated territories are not the United States. On July 28, 1904, Controller of the Treasury Robert Tracewell stated, "While the general spirit and purpose of the Constitution is applicable to the zone, that domain is not a part of the United States within the full meaning of the Constitution and laws of the country." Accordingly, the Supreme Court held in 1905 in '' Rasmussen v. United States'' that the full Constitution only applies for incorporated territories of the United States. The treaty with Panama made no mention of the nationality status of the native inhabitants of the Zone. Pursuant to the principles of international law, they became non-citizen U.S. nationals unless they elected to retain their previous nationality. Children of non-citizen U.S. nationals generally acquired the status of their parents. However, for most nationality purposes, the Canal Zone was considered to be foreign territory and the status persons acquired at birth was governed by Sec. 1993 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (Act of February 10, 1855, 10 Stat. 604), which granted them statutory US citizenship at birth but only if their fathers were, at the time of the child's birth, U.S. citizens who had previously resided in the United States. In 1934 the law was amended to allow for citizenship to be acquired at birth through either parent if the parent was a U.S. citizen who had previously resided in the United States. In 1937 a new law (Act of August 4, 1937, 50 Stat. 558) was enacted to provide for US citizenship to persons born in the Canal Zone (since 1904) to a U.S. citizen parent without that parent needing to have been previously resident in the United States. The law is now codified under title 8, section 1403. It not only grants statutory and declaratory born citizenship to those born in the Canal Zone after February 26, 1904, of at least one US citizen parent, but also does so retroactively for all children born of at least one US citizen in the Canal Zone before the law's enactment. In 2008, during a minor controversy over whether
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
, born in the Zone in 1936, was legally eligible for the presidency, the US Senate passed a non-binding resolution that McCain was a "natural-born Citizen" of the United States.


Notable people

* Leo Barker (born 1959)
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
player, born in Colón, Panama Canal Zone. *
Earl Bell Earl Holmes Bell (born August 25, 1955) is a retired American pole vaulter. He competed at the 1976, 1984 and 1988 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1984, placing fourth in 1988 and sixth in 1976. He also briefly held the world record in 1976, ...
(born 1955) American Olympic
pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the M ...
er, born in the Panama Canal Zone. * Frederick C. Blesse (1921–2012),
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
and
flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
, born in Colón, Panama Canal Zone. *
Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins ...
(born 1945) Panamanian former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
(MLB)
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
, second baseman and
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
who played from 1967 to 1985 for the
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
and the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
, born in Gatún, Panama Canal Zone. *
Kenneth B. Clark Kenneth Bancroft Clark (July 24, 1914 – May 1, 2005) and Mamie Phipps Clark (April 18, 1917 – August 11, 1983) were American psychologists who as a married team conducted research among children and were active in the Civil Rights Movement. T ...
(1914–2005), American psychologist who, as a married team, conducted research among children and were active in the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
; he was born in Panama Canal Zone. * John G. Claybourn (1886–1967), civil engineer and Dredging Division Superintendent of the
Isthmian Canal Commission The Isthmian Canal Commission (often known as the ICC) was an American administration commission set up to oversee the construction of the Panama Canal in the early years of American involvement. Established on February 26, 1904, it was given cont ...
. He was the original designer of Gamboa, Panama. * The Del Rubio Triplets (1921–1996, 2001, 2011), Edith, Elena, and Mildred Boyd triplets, singers, born in Ancón, Panama Canal Zone. * Bill Dunn (born 1961),
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
politician, a Republican, and the former Acting-Speaker of the
Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consi ...
. *
Charles Patrick Garcia Charles Patrick García (born February 28, 1961) is an American businessman and banker. He started Garcia Trujillo LLC, a consulting, merchant banking, and venture capital firm where he was the CEO. In June 2014, García was selected to lead the A ...
(born 1961), He grew up in Panama City and graduated from Balboa High School. * Ernest Hallen (1875–1947), American who work as the official photographer of the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
. * John Hayes (born 1955), American former professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
player; he was born in Panama Canal Zone. * George Headley (1909–1983), West Indian cricketer, born in Colón, Panama Canal Zone. *
Jeff Hennessy Jefferson Thomas Hennessy Sr. (October 27, 1929 – March 24, 2015) was trampoline coach and physical educator. He was an Associate Professor of Physical Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 1959 to 1986, served as the dir ...
(1929–2015), American trampoline coach and physical educator. * Tom Hughes (1934–2019), American retired
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
appeared in two
games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...
for the
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
; born in Ancón, Panama Canal Zone. *
Karen Hughes Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956) is the global vice chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and as a ...
(born 1956), American politician and businesswomen, the daughter of Harold Parfitt, the last U.S. Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. * Norman Seaton Ives (1923–1978), American artist,
graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
, educator, and fine art publisher; born in the Panama Canal Zone. *
Eric Jackson Eric Jackson may refer to: * Eric Jackson (journalist) (born 1952), Panamanian politician, journalist, and radio talk show host *Eric Jackson (kayaker) (born 1964), freestyle kayaker, kayak designer, and founder of Jackson Kayak * Eric M. Jackson, ...
(born 1952), American politician, journalist, and radio talk show host; born in Colón, Panama Canal Zone and resided there from 1952 to June 1966. *
Thomas H. Jordan Thomas H. Jordan is an American seismologist, and former director (2002-2017) of the Southern California Earthquake Center at The University of Southern California. He was formerly the head of the Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Depar ...
(born 1948), American
seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
, and former director (2002 to 2017) of the Southern California Earthquake Center at The University of Southern California. *
Shoshana Johnson Shoshana Nyree Johnson (born January 18, 1973) is a Panamanian-born former United States soldier, and the first black female prisoner of war in the military history of the United States. Johnson was a Specialist of the U.S. Army 507th Mainte ...
(born 1973), Panamanian-born former
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
soldier, and the first black female
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
in the military history of the United States. *
Stephen J. Kopp Stephen James Kopp (March 28, 1951 – December 17, 2014) was an American educator. He was president of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia from 2005 until his death in 2014. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from ...
(1951–2014), American educator and former president of
Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...
in Huntington,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
from 2005 to 2014. *
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
(1936–2018), the Republican 2008 presidential nominee and former
US Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
from
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
; born at the
Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on th ...
Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone. * Gustavo A. Mellander, noted historian and expert on Panamanian history and seasoned university administrator; graduate of Balboa High School and the Canal Zone Junior College.Congressional Record, House of Representatives, April 23, 1985, Wash. DC} * Edward A. Murphy Jr. (1918–1990), American
aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
, for whom Murphy's law is named; born in the Panama Canal Zone. *
John S. Palmore John S. Palmore (August 6, 1917 – July 4, 2017) was an American judge who served as Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 1959 until it became the Supreme Court of Kentucky in 1975, and on the latter court until his retirement, in 1982 ...
(1917–2017), American judge; served as the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court; born in the Panama Canal Zone. *
Richard Prince Richard Prince (born 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image, ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a rephotographing of a photograph by Sam Abell and ...
(born 1949),
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
and
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in oth ...
; born in the Panama Canal Zone. * Thomas Sancton Sr. (1915–2012),
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
novelist and journalist. * Manny Sanguillén (born 1944),
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
MLB catcher, for the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. *
Klea Scott Klea Scott (born December 25, 1968) is a Panamanian-born Canadian actress, known for her roles on television. She starred in the short-lived CBS police drama ''Brooklyn South'' (1997–98), and later was cast as Emma Hollis on the Fox television ...
(born 1968), Canadian actress, born in Panama City, Panama Canal Zone. * Louis E. Sola (born 1968), Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, raised in Panama Canal Zone. * Charles S. Spencer (born 1950), American curator and anthropologist, born in Panama Canal Zone. * Sage Steele (born 1972), American
television anchor A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...
, born in Panama Canal Zone and spend early childhood there, she is from a U.S. Army family. *
Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has co ...
(born 1945), musician, graduated from Lincoln High School. *
Hillary Waugh Hillary Baldwin Waugh (June 22, 1920 – December 8, 2008) was a pioneering American mystery novelist. In 1989, he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Pseudonyms used by Waugh included Elissa Grandower, Harry Walker and H. ...
(1920–2008), mystery writer, who served in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
as an air pilot in the Panama Canal Zone.


Culture

Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...
made the film ''Canal Zone'', which was released and aired on PBS in 1977.


Townships and military installations

The Canal Zone was generally divided into two sections, the Pacific side and the Atlantic side, separated by Gatun Lake. A partial list of Canal Zone townships and military installations:


Pacific (Gulf Coast) side


Townships

* Ancón – built on the lower slopes of Ancon Hill, adjacent to
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
. Also home to Gorgas Hospital. * Balboa – the Zone's administrative capital, as well as location of the harbor and main Pacific-side high school. * Balboa Heights * Cardenas – as the Canal Zone was gradually handed over to Panamanian control, Cardenas was one of the last Zonian holdouts. *Cocoli *Corozal – site of the Pacific side cemetery *
Curundú Curundú is a corregimiento within Panama City, in Panamá District, Panamá Province, Panama with a population of 16,361 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 17,933; its population as of 2000 was 19,019. It was also home to the Curundú B ...
– on a military base, but housed civilian military workers, also home to the Junior High School for the Pacific Side *Curundu Heights * Diablo *Diablo Heights * Gamboa – headquarters of dredging division, located on Gatun Lake. Many new arrivals to the Canal Zone were assigned here. *La Boca – home of the Panama Canal College. * Los Rios * Paraíso *
Pedro Miguel Pedro Miguel is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the northeastern part of the municipality of Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores. Pedro Miguel is located 6 km north of the city of Horta on the main regional road that encircles the ...
* Red Tank – abandoned and allowed to be overgrown around 1950. *Rosseau – built as a naval hospital during World War II, housed FAA personnel until Cardenas was built. Torn down after about 20 years.


Military installations

* Forts Amador, Grant, and Kobbe were the Harbor Defenses of Balboa of the
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
from 1912 through 1948 *
Fort Amador Fort Amador ( es, Fuerte Amador) and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases built to protect the Pacific (southern) end of the Panama Canal at Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Gran ...
– on the coast, partly built on land extended into the sea using excavation materials from the canal construction * Fort Grant - coastal artillery fort, on an island chain extending seaward from Fort Amador *
Fort Clayton Fort Clayton was a United States Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone, later part of the Republic of Panama. Base Fort Clayton was located northwest of Balboa, Panama, with the Panama Canal located nearby. It closed in 1999 pursuant ...
– on the east side of the canal, it was the headquarters of the 193rd Infantry and the Southern Command Network (SCN), an American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) outlet. *Corozal Army Post – close to, but separate from, the civilian township. * Fort Kobbe - coastal artillery fort *
Rodman Naval Station Rodman may refer to: Places in the United States * Rodman, Iowa * Rodman, New York, a town ** Rodman (CDP), New York, a hamlet in the town * Rodman Mountains, California * Rodman Reservoir, Florida People Surname * Alex Rodman (born 1987), E ...
(which includes the Marine Barracks) *
Albrook Air Force Base Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama. It was closed on 30 September 1997 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which specified that United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zon ...
*
Howard Air Force Base Howard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Panama. It discontinued military operations on 1 November 1999 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which specified that US military facilities in the former ...
*
Quarry Heights This is a list of United States military installations in Panama, all of which fall within the former Canal zone. The U.S. military installations in Panama were turned over to local authorities by 1999. Transition phases In 1903, the Hay–Bunau- ...
– headquarters of the United States Southern Command.


Atlantic (Caribbean) side


Townships

* Brazos Heights: privately owned housing (by United Brands and other, mostly shipping companies) where employees and owners of shipping agencies, lawyers, and the head of the YMCA lived. *
Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on th ...
– main hospital and site of the only Atlantic-side high school, Cristobal High School. * Cristóbal – main harbor and port. * Gatún *
Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight u ...
* Mount Hope – site of the only Atlantic-side cemetery and drydock. *Rainbow City, now Arco Iris


Military installations

* Forts Randolph, De Lesseps, and Sherman were the Harbor Defenses of Cristobal of the
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
from 1912 through 1948 * Fort Gulick – home to the School of the Americas. * Galeta Island * Fort Randolph – coastal artillery fort, located on Margarita Island in Manzanillo Bay. *
Fort De Lesseps Fort De Lesseps was a small U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps fort located at the northern tip of Colón, Panama. It was named after Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a Fren ...
– coastal artillery fort located in Colón. * Fort Davis * France Field *
Fort Sherman Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base in Panama, located on Toro Point at the Caribbean (northern) end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón, Panama, Colón (which is on the eastern bank). It wa ...
– built as a coastal artillery fort, later home to the Jungle Operations Training Center.


Panama Canal Treaty implementation

On 1 October 1979, the day the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 took effect, most of the land within the former Canal Zone was transferred to Panama. However, the treaty set aside many Canal Zone areas and facilities for transfer during the following 20 years. The treaty specifically categorized areas and facilities by name as "Military Areas of Coordination", "Defense Sites" and "Areas Subject to Separate Bilateral Agreement". These were to be transferred by the U.S. to Panama during certain time windows or simply by the end of the 243-month treaty period. On 1 October 1979, among the many such parcels so designated in the treaty, 35 emerged as
enclaves An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
(surrounded entirely by land solely under Panamanian jurisdiction). In later years as other areas were turned over to Panama, nine more enclaves emerged. At least 13 other parcels each were enclosed partly by land under the absolute jurisdiction of Panama and partly by an "Area of Civil Coordination" (housing), which under the treaty was subject to elements of both U.S. and Panamanian public law. In addition, the 1977 treaty designated numerous areas and individual facilities as "Canal Operating Areas" for joint U.S.-Panama ongoing operations by a commission. On the effective date of the treaty, many of these, including Madden Dam, became newly surrounded by the territory of Panama. Just after noon local time on 31 December 1999, all former Canal Zone parcels of all types had come under the exclusive jurisdiction of Panama. The 44 enclaves of U.S. territory that existed under the treaty are shown in the table below. : : * Enclaves are a subset of those areas that were categorized in the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty as "Military Area of Coordination", "Defense Site" and "Area Subject to Separate Bilateral Agreement". The map legends and color coding that are contained in the Panama Canal Treaty Annex provide visual corroborations of the treaty language.


Postage stamps

The Panama Canal Zone issued its own postage stamps from 1904 until October 25, 1978. Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986, p. 166. During the early years, United States postage stamps overprinted "Canal Zone" were used. After a few years, accredited Canal Zone stamps were issued. After a transition period during which
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
took over the administration of postal service, Canal Zone stamps became invalid. The two-letter state abbreviation for mail sent to the Zone was CZ.


Canal Zone Matches

Damp Proof "Canal Zone Matches" were manufactured by Jönköpings Westra Tändsticksfabriks, Sweden expressly for the Panama Canal Company.


Amateur radio

Amateur radio licenses were issued by the United States
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
and carried the prefix KZ5, the initial 'K' indicating a station under American jurisdiction. The
American Radio Relay League The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska o ...
had a Canal Zone section, and the Canal Zone was considered an ''entity'' for purposes of the
DX Century Club An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication (or "working") with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazine ...
. Contacts with Canal Zone stations from before repatriation may still be counted for DXCC credit separate from Panama. The KZ5 amateur radio prefix has been issued to license operators since 1979 but today has no special meaning.


See also

*
Martyrs' Day (Panama) Martyrs' Day ( es, Día de los Mártires) is a Panamanian day of national mourning which commemorates the January 9, 1964 anti-American riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. The riot started after a Panamanian flag was torn and s ...
* Panama Railway *
Rail transport in Panama Since 2008, there was only one functioning railroad in Panama, a number that increased to two in 2014 with the opening of the Panama Metro. The first one was the Panama Canal Railway, operated by the Panama Canal Railway Company, successor of Panam ...
* Transcontinental Railroad#Panama * List of former United States military installations in Panama * List of Governors of Panama Canal Zone *
Postage stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone Postage stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone is a subject that covers the postal system, postage stamps used and mail sent to and from the Panama Canal Zone from 1904 up until October 1978, after the United States relinquished its authorit ...


References


Further reading and viewing

* * * Dimock, Marshall E. (1934) ''Government-operated enterprise in the Panama Canal Zone'' (University of Chicago Press
online
* Donoghue, Michael E. (2014). ''Borderland on the Isthmus: Race, Culture, and the Struggle for the Canal Zone.'' Durham, NC: Duke University Press. * Frenkel, Stephen. (2002) "Geographical representations of the 'Other': the landscape of the Panama Canal Zone." ''Journal of Historical Geography'' 28.1 (2002): 85–99, covers 1910–1940. *Greene, Julie (2009). ''The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal''. New York: The Penguin Press. * Greene, Julie. (2004) "Spaniards on the Silver roll: Labor troubles and Liminality in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904–1914." ''International Labor and Working-Class History'' 66 (2004): 78–98. *Harding, Robert C. (2001). Military Foundations of Panamanian Politics. Transaction Publishers. *Harding, Robert C. (2006). The History of Panama. Greenwood Publishing. * *Knapp, Herbert and Knapp, Mary (1984). ''Red, White and Blue Paradise: The American Canal Zone in Panama''. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich. . *Major, John (1993). ''Prize Possession: The United States and the Panama Canal, 1903–1979''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * * McCullough, David (1977). '' The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914''. New York: Simon and Schuster. . * Mellander, Gustavo A., Mellander, Nelly, Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390. (1999) * Mellander, Gustavo A., The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years." Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568. (1971) * * * * *


External links


Official Handbook of the Panama Canal—1915
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20000901031553/http://www.americahurrah.com/CZmap/MapIndex.htm Maps of the Canal Zonebr>Live Panama Canal webcamsAir Defense of the Panama Canal 1958–1970Panama & the Canal Digital CollectionPanama Canal Centennial Online ExhibitMedicine in the Panama Canal Zone: The Samuel Taylor Darling Memorial Library Archives
{{Authority control 1903 establishments in the United States 1979 disestablishments in the United States International borders Regions of Central America