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     The Panama Canal 
has an interesting history. President Theodore Roosevelt is the man given most 
credit for deciding to build the Canal. Briefly, here is how the canal was born: 
"The 
canal issue reached a critical point in 1902 and 1903. In a complex series of 
events, Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt decided on Panama over 
Nicaragua and negotiated a treaty with Colombia. Under the agreement, the United 
States would obtain a strip of land across the isthmus and build a canal. But 
Colombia's senate rejected the treaty. Panamanians feared the United States 
would build a canal in Nicaragua instead, so they took matters into their own 
hands. A group of Panamanians conspired with agents of the French company and 
the Panama Railroad to rebel against Colombian rule and declared Panama 
independent on November 3, 1903. The United States supported the revolt and used 
its navy to prevent Colombia from defeating the rebels."
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