Vanderbilt University
Stories from the Panama Canal
The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...
Curated OER
The United States and the World
Journey through highlights of the late 19th and early 20th century with your history class. Topics covered are the highlights of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, the Spanish American War, the building of the Panama Canal, and World War...
Curated OER
This Great Enterprise”: Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal
Students explore the implications of the "Great Enterprise." In this Panama Canal lesson plan, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding President Teddy Roosevelt and Panama Canal. Students respond to discussion...
Curated OER
The Panama Canal, The World's Most Important Shortcut
Pupils, through teacher lecture and online activities, study the Panama Canal. They discuss how it was made and the hardships the workers encountered while building it. Through the eyes of one of these workers, they write a short letter...
Curated OER
An Uphill Swim
Students explore the concepts and engineering principles used in a canal lock system and apply those concepts to navigate a boat through a working model of a canal lock waterway.
American Museum of Natural History
Being an Archeologist: Chuck Spencer
Meet Chuck Spencer, an archeologist who studies the Zapotec people who lived in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico over 2000 years ago. Spencer shares in print his response to questions posed by kids.
Curated OER
Walter Reed's Yellow Fever Studies
Middle schoolers and high schoolers examine the ethics of using human test subjects in scientific research. They do a simulation which focuses on yellow fever and how human subjects were used to develop a treatment/cure for the disease...
Curated OER
Imperialism: Beginnings and Basic Structure
A great presentation awaits young historians as they delve into the causes, types, and motives for British Imperialism. Each slide provides clear information regarding new imperialism occurring from 1875-1948. Justifications for...
Curated OER
Late 19th Century U.S. Foreign Policy
Eleventh graders discover that many of the issues the United States faces today elicit the same type of political, philosophical and moral debate that has divided the country in the past.
Curated OER
Lines From Behind the Lines
Fifth graders create a timeline of events in a soldiers life. In this World War I lesson, 5th graders learn about the Great Depression and World War I. Students watch video segments about World War I and examine primary sources from...
Curated OER
Foundations of WWI
Students explore how World War I created a foundation for the United States to become a world power. In this World History lesson, students work in small groups to create posters and an oral presentation to share their findings with the...
Curated OER
Segregated Soldiers
Fifth graders explore the role of African American troops in World War I. In this World War I lesson, 5th graders analyze a collection of letters from an African American soldier. Students create memorials to the men who fought in the...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Panama Canal
Regarded as one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the Panama Canal opened for business on August 15, 1914. America's ingenuity and innovation had triumphed over insurmountable odds. PBS brings us this incredible story via online...
US Department of State
Department of State: Building the Panama Canal
A brief description of the diplomacy involved between the United States and other countries leading up to the building of the Panama Canal.
A&E Television
History.com: Why the Construction of the Panama Canal Was So Difficult and Deadly
A staggering 25,000 workers lost their lives. And artificial limb makers clamored for contracts with the canal builders. In a quest to fulfill a centuries-old dream to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the builders of the Panama...
Digital History
Digital History: How the Us Obtained the Panama Canal [Pdf]
The story behind building a canal through the isthmus of Panama is one of incompetence and corruption on the part of the French, who first attempted the feat. Many of the actions of the United States in acquiring the land through which...
Yale University
Yale University: Hay Bunau Varilla Treaty
Open this page to read the full text of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which gave the U.S. rights to build the Panama Canal.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Libraries: Make the Dirt Fly!
This online exhibition takes a detailed look at the construction of the Panama Canal. Content explores why the canal was built, how the route was chosen, how much man power and machine power it took to move all that dirt, hazards of the...
CZBrats
Building the Dams
This page is an article entitled "Building the Dams," from "The History of the Panama Canal" by Ira E. Bennett, Historical Publishing Company, 1915. It gives a very detailed account of this important event in the history of the Panama...
CZBrats
The Americans in Panama the Life Cost
This page is a chapter from the book entitled "Americans in Panama" copyright 1913. It outlines the lives lost and the health advances made during the period of building the Canal.
American Presidency Project
American Presidency Project: Remarks on the Decision to Build a Sea Level Canal
More than eleven months following the riots in the Panama Canal Zone, President Lyndon Johnson speaks concerning the decisions to build a larger, more efficient sea level canal for trade purposes and to negotiate a "New treaty on the...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Foreign Policy 1890 1914: Roosevelt's "Big Stick" Foreign Policy
The 'Big Stick' foreign policy of Theodore Roosevelt is explained, and how it was used in the building of the Panama Canal and to maneuver an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Empire Building
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lengthy essay about American focus on foreign affairs after the Civil War, expanding particularly in the late 19th century. Read about U.S. exploits in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel by Victor Appleton
Classic Reader provides numerous classic works from famous authors. One work is Tom Swift and his Big Tunnel, an adventure, multi-chapter book written by the ghost writer Victor Appleton. In this book's quest, the main character assists...