Changes

Some in Latin America complain about imperialism by the United States there.  After the French unsuccessfully attempted in the 1880s to build a canal across the thin isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Americans were ready to apply our “can do” determination and innovation to the project.  President Teddy Roosevelt rejected a demand by Colombia to sell the land to us, and waited until after Panama won its independence from Colombia.  Panama then granted the United States a ten-mile-wide path across its country.  The United States completed the Panama Canal in 1914 and it became an instant success for shipping.

Some in Latin America complain about imperialism by the United States there.  After the French unsuccessfully attempted in the 1880s to build a canal across the thin isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Americans were ready to apply our “can do” determination and innovation to the project.  President Teddy Roosevelt rejected a demand by Colombia to sell the land to us, and waited until after Panama won its independence from Colombia.  Panama then granted the United States a ten-mile-wide path across its country.  The United States completed the Panama Canal in 1914 and it became an instant success for shipping.

Democratic President Jimmy Carter arranged for the United States to agree to give the canal back to Panama, even though Americans paid for its construction.  The transfer of the Canal back to Panama began in 1979 and culminated in 1999.  President Carter claimed the Canal was part of improper imperialism or colonization by the United States in Latin America.  In New Jersey, a Republican Senator who favored the give-back treaty was defeated in his own primary for reelection, reflecting enormous public disapproval of the treaty.  Today Panama allows communist China to run the canal, making many wonder if the United States would even be able to use it again in wartime.

Democratic President Jimmy Carter arranged for the United States to agree to give the canal back to Panama in the late 1900s, even though Americans paid for its construction.  President Carter claimed the Canal was part of improper imperialism or colonization by the United States in Latin America.  In New Jersey, a Republican Senator who favored the give-back treaty was defeated in his own primary for reelection, reflecting enormous public disapproval of the treaty.  Today Panama allows communist China to run the canal.

The Monroe Doctrine has an important corollary today, known as the Roosevelt Corollary, announced by the aggressive President Teddy Roosevelt in 1904.  Under the Roosevelt Corollary the United States may intervene in and occupy any country in Latin America to protect interests of the United States.  Communism remains a threat to the United States in the Latin American countries of Cuba and Venezuela, and in recent years the president of Venezuela (Hugo Chavez) called President Bush the “devil” in a speech given before the United Nations.  In December 2006, Chavez then won a landslide reelection in Venezuela, and promised more socialism for that country and perhaps others in the region.

The Monroe Doctrine has an important corollary today, known as the Roosevelt Corollary, announced by the aggressive President Teddy Roosevelt in 1904.  Under the Roosevelt Corollary the United States may intervene in and occupy any country in Latin America to protect interests of the United States.  Communism remains a threat to the United States in the Latin American countries of Cuba and Venezuela, and in recent years the president of Venezuela (Hugo Chavez) called President Bush the “devil” in a speech given before the United Nations.

=== British India ===

=== British India ===