The American-built waterway across the Isthmus of Panama,
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with
the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger
ship. The rush of settlers to California and Oregon in the mid
19th century was the initial impetus of the U.S. desire to build
an artificial waterway across Central America. In 1855, the
United States completed a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama
(then part of Colombia), prompting various parties to propose
canal-building plans. Ultimately, Colombia awarded rights to
build the canal to Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French entrepreneur
who had completed the Suez Canal in 1869. Construction on a sea-
level canal began in 1881, but inadequate planning, disease
among the workers, and financial problems drove Lesseps' company
into bankruptcy in 1889. Three years later, Philippe-Jean Bunau-
Varilla, a former chief engineer of the canal works and a French
citizen, acquired the assets of the defunct French company. By
the turn of the centu