Negotiating with Panama’s charismatic leader Torrijos was difficult,
but in 1977, Carter’s Administration reached an agreement with Panama to
resolve the Canal issue. The political forces in the U.S. would prove to be a
much more significant problem for Carter’s diplomatic efforts.
The Senate debate over ratifying the treaties, often called the "Great Debate Over Panama," was waged against a backdrop of the Cold War and the recent failure in Vietnam. The U.S. seemed to be slipping from its superpower position and although the Canal had lost some of its trade and defense value, many Americans were determined not to "give away" the Canal at the command of “tiny, third-world” Panama. "The 1970s was a time of declining American influence in the world. The Arab oil embargo 1973, fall of Saigon in 1975, and the general industrial decline created a feeling of helplessness to many Americans who came of age during World War II and the booming economy of the 1950s and 60s. Holding on to the canal was more a symbolic act to preserve a sense of agency and power in world affairs." ~Peter Catapano, Associate Professor of History Personal email interview |
Summary of the Terms of the
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