| Prize Possession Contributor(s): Major, John (Author) |
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ISBN: 0521433061 ISBN-13: 9780521433068 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $163.40 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 1993 Annotation: Prize Possession is a comprehensive history of U.S. policy toward the Panama Canal between 1903 and 1979. Although the book focuses on the first two generations of tenure of the Canal Zone, between 1904 and 1955, John Major also provides an extensive look at the nineteenth-century background, the making of the 1903 canal treaty with Panama, the move after 1955 toward the new treaty settlement of 1977, and the crucial significance of the Canal to American policy-makers and their public. The main body of the work surveys five key issues raised by American control of the Canal: its defense against naval bombardment, sabotage and air attack, and its role in U.S. war planning; its highly paternalistic administration; the racism of its labor relations; its severe commercial impact on Panama; and the profound influence of the Zone on Panamanian politics and government. The book is based for the most part on the hitherto largely untapped sources of U.S. government agencies, namely, the State, War, and Navy departments and the Canal Zone administration, as well as on the papers of such key figures as Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Philippe Bunau-Varilla. It makes an important and original contribution to our knowledge and understanding of a subject that has yet to receive its due from historians. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | International Relations - General - History | Caribbean & West Indies - General - History | United States - 20th Century |
| Dewey: 327.730 |
| LCCN: 92032406 |
| Physical Information: 1.16" H x 6.32" W x 9.34" (1.66 lbs) 456 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Caribbean & West Indies - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Prize Possession is a comprehensive history of U.S. policy toward the Panama Canal between 1903 and 1979, focusing on five key themes: the Canal's defense and its place in American strategy; the Zone's autocratic system of government; its strictly segregated labor force; its commercial development at the expense of Panama; and the equally controversial issue of U.S. intervention in Panamanian politics. The book is based for the most part on the hitherto largely untapped sources of U.S. government agencies, namely the State, War, and Navy Departments, and the Canal Zone administration, as well as on the papers of notable dramatis personae such as Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Philippe Bunau-Varilla. |