Date of Award
12-2018
Document Type
Thesis
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Program
History
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Thesis Advisor
Virginia Williams
Committee Member
Donald Rakestraw
Committee Member
J. Edward Lee
Keywords
Panama, United States, Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, Panamanian Flag Riots, Carter-Torrijos Treaties, Sovereignty
Abstract
After the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 the Panamanian people had to live in an occupied country. The U.S. took control of a ten-mile stretch of land surrounding a canal of immense importance to world trade. The U.S. policy makers ignored the pleas, complaints, and demonstrations of the Panamanian people as they struggled for sovereignty in their country. This thesis will show, through the use of primary sources from the U.S. government that U.S. policy makers refused to see the importance of sovereignty to the Panamanian people until the 1964 Panamanian Flag Riots. After that episode, U.S. policy makers dramatically shifted their ideas about Panamanian sovereignty and began working on handing the Canal to Panama. South Carolina politicians and others would continue to oppose sovereignty for Panama, while more moderate politicians prevailed in working toward a compromise for Panama, which resulted in the Carter – Torrijos Treaties of 1977.
Recommended Citation
Humphrey, William Edward, "From Riots to Sovereignty: United States Policy Makers Ideas, Perceptions, and Reactions to the Panamanian Struggle for Sovereignty" (2018). Graduate Theses. 96.
https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/graduatetheses/96
Included in
Diplomatic History Commons, Latin American History Commons, Political History Commons, United States History Commons
