Benefits of the Panama Canal

     The Panama Canal, located right above South America, drastically changed trade for the US and Europe. Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the making of the Panama Canal by both British and American workers. Both America and Great Britain wanted to have an inter-continental canal because the journey, by ship, between the two countries was cut in half. This allowed for more trade because the ships could move faster and because the ships required less fuel Europe was more open to trade. Also, with the travel time cut in half, more food could be traded because many of the foods would rot on the voyage before the canal was built. Therefore, with the canal in place, more fruits and vegetables can be sold, and new foods can be spread. The US could ship supplies a lot faster with the canal and this benefited the US a lot. Overall, the Panama Canal helped both the US and European economy.

    The Canal also helped the navy a lot because they could travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific a lot faster. If San Francisco needed more naval troops, ships from New York City could get there a lot faster. This allowed the US to have fewer ships in the water and put the money used for those ships into something else more beneficial. Also, other ships attacking the US will have a longer distance to travel if they want to go from one side of the US to the other.