The First Spooner Act of 1902 (also referred to as the Panama Canal Act, 32 Stat. 481)[1] was written by a United States Senator from Wisconsin, John Coit Spooner, enacted on June 28, 1902, and signed by President Roosevelt the following day. It authorized purchasing the assets of a French syndicate called the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, provided that a treaty could be negotiated with the Republic of Colombia.