Panama Canal

Teddy Roosevelt had a dream to make America a global power. It was realized through the Panama Canal. The French began construction in 1880, but it would take the inventive American's to discover a way to link the oceans. First, the diseases that attacked the workers had to be controlled. Then, an innovative design for a series of locks was developed. Finally, the dogged determination and backbreaking toil of the Americans was rewarded when the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were united on January 7, 1914. This is one of the most important achievements of the 20th century.