their silence on black women's lives on the lack of sources. Yet, the memoirs of white women speak often about these women's relationships to their domestics and the race relations of the Canal. Sue Core's book, which focuses explicitly on the relationship between Americans and West Indians in service jobs, has been completely ignored by Canal historians. The court records, which have many cases featuring black women, have sat in the National Archives since the 1980's, easily accessible to any visitor, yet only Julie Greene has looked at them. There is not as much information about black women as there is about other groups in the Canal, but their stories are not hidden—they are everywhere. Only in retrospect has the Canal become a purely American construction. This thesis tells the story of West Indian women in the Panama Canal during the decade of construction—their migration, their work and their family life. The first chapter discusses black women's motivations to migrate and their experience traveling and settling in Panama. Black women had many reasons to migrate to the Canal. They based their decision to migrate on a variety of factors, including economic incentives, emotional relationships and a desire for a new start. The second chapter describes the different types of labor women performed in the Canal Zone and how they negotiated the authority between themselves and their bosses. Lastly, the third chapter looks at divorce and insanity cases, and explores how black women manipulated the American system to gain more freedoms, as well as how this system at times protected them. These chapters show how black women took advantage of the opportunities available in Panama at the time, seeking independence in their jobs and relationships. The sources also show the highly public and interactive nature of black women's lives. Jane Hall, for example, owned a boarding-house frequented by West Indian workers and
their silence on black women's lives on the lack of sources. Yet, the memoirs of white women speak often about these women's relationships to their domestics and the race relations of the Canal. Sue Core's book, which focuses explicitly on the relationship between Americans and West Indians in service jobs, has been completely ignored by Canal historians. The court records, which have many cases featuring black women, have sat in the National Archives since the 1980's, easily accessible to any visitor, yet only Julie Greene has looked at them. There is not as much information about black women as there is about other groups in the Canal, but their stories are not hidden—they are everywhere. Only in retrospect has the Canal become a purely American construction. This thesis tells the story of West Indian women in the Panama Canal during the decade of construction—their migration, their work and their family life. The first chapter discusses black women's motivations to migrate and their experience traveling and settling in Panama. Black women had many reasons to migrate to the Canal. They based their decision to migrate on a variety of factors, including economic incentives, emotional relationships and a desire for a new start. The second chapter describes the different types of labor women performed in the Canal Zone and how they negotiated the authority between themselves and their bosses. Lastly, the third chapter looks at divorce and insanity cases, and explores how black women manipulated the American system to gain more freedoms, as well as how this system at times protected them. These chapters show how black women took advantage of the opportunities available in Panama at the time, seeking independence in their jobs and relationships. The sources also show the highly public and interactive nature of black women's lives. Jane Hall, for example, owned a boarding-house frequented by West Indian workers and
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