Panama Canal Railway
The Panama Railway also operated a significant shipping line, connecting its service with New York and San Francisco. It ran a Central American line of steamships linking Nicaragua, Costa Rica, San Salvador, and Guatemala to Panama City. The shipping service was greatly expanded when canal construction began. Ships included the SS "Salvador", SS "Guatemala", SS "Cristobel", and , which became the first of the ships to cross the completed canal in 1914.
In 1904 the United States took over the license to build and operate the canal. The choice to use locks and an artificial lake (Gatun) meant that the old railway route from 1855 had to be changed because it followed the Chagres River valley, which would be flooded by the lake. Also, the railway would be extended and altered continuously for the building process. The stock of the Panama Railway Company, vital in canal construction, was entirely controlled by the United States Secretary of War.
María de la Ossa de Amador
When the French company that owned the rights to build the Panama Canal went bankrupt, the United States bought the rights to build the canal in 1902. Contentious negotiations with Colombia led the United States to back the separatist movement in Panama, believing that negotiations would be more favorable to American interests from a small, weak newly developing state. To that end, Amador traveled to New York in September 1903 to work out how the United States was willing to support their separation movement. He returned to Panama to put plans in motion and asked his son, Manuel Encarnación to design the flag for the new nation. The design was completed on 1 November and de la Ossa and her sister-in-law Angélica Bergamonta de la Ossa, Jerónimo's wife, purchased the blue, red, and white fabrics from three different warehouses in Panama City, so as not to arouse suspicion. Having secured sufficient fabric to make two flags, the women worked through the night on 2 November using a portable sewing machine to complete the flag. A third, smaller flag was made of the fabric remnants by María Emilia, Angélica's daughter and the women were assisted by de la Ossa's domestic helper, Águeda.