Treaty Ratification: The Senate Debate

Each side of the debate had compelling reasons for supporting or opposing the treaties:

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Support

The Carter Administration strived to:

• Rectify the injustice of keeping the Panama Canal away from Panamanian control, when in fact the U.S. never had sovereignty over the Canal
• Promote better relations with all of Latin America

Opposition

The conservative New Right and the public majority believed that:

• the Panama Canal was American-built and funded, and should be American-owned
  
• the U.S. would be more secure by maintaining economic and military control over the Canal

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“From the point of view of the United States we are confident that this treaty will not only protect but strengthen our national security interests. It will also be a strongly positive element in our overall relationship with our Latin American neighbors and preserve our common interest in an open, secure, and efficient canal.”                                                                                 
~Ellsworth Bunker, who negotiated for the treaties with Panama for over ten years

 “This is no time for America to abandon a claim to a symbol of our national resolve and a vital safeguard of economic and military security for the entire free world. There must be no surrender in Panama.”
                                                     ~Surrender in Panama: The Case Against the Treaties

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Click picture to move to "Support"