History of the Panama Canal
During World War II, the canal proved a vital part of the U.S. military strategy, allowing ships to transfer easily between the Atlantic and Pacific. Politically, the Canal remained a territory of the United States until 1977, when the Torrijos–Carter Treaties began the process of transferring territorial control of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, a process completed on 31 December 1999.
History of Panama
By the time the Canal opened in 1914, many Panamanians still questioned the validity of the treaty. The controversy surrounding the US's presence in Panama was a major issue in Panamanian politics throughout the following decades and revisions to the Hay—Bunau-Varilla Treaty in 1936 (Arias-Roosevelt/Hull-Alfaro Treaty) and 1955 (Remon-Eisenhower Treaty) both failed to adequately address the situation. The controversy would continue until the US agreed to hand over the Canal Zone wholly to Panama in the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties.