Peyton O’Laughlin
My research question is Does the history of Panama consistently become framed in a lens of economic advantage? Panama, along with various Central American countries, is famously disregarded in the discussion of Latin America due to its small size and population. Likewise, Panama has significant amounts of natural resources and a beneficial geographical location, between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. These factors resulted in decades of colonial and neocolonial actions by domestic and foreign influences. Sentiments regarding the economic benefit of the nation and its utility in effectively handling trade developments and resources have long been present. Ultimately, the goal of my public history project is to examine primary sources and pieces of Panamanian and Latin American history to observe how significant historical figures, countries, and institutions view Panama in the larger discussion of Latin America and individual sovereignty with regards to economic advantage and prestige.
Sources:
Hay, John, Canal Treaties: Executive Documents Presented to the United States Senate, Washington: United States Department of States, 1914. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100346769
Carter, Jimmy, “Address to the Nation on the Panama Canal Treaties,” (Speec, Washington, DC, February 1st, 1978), The American Presidency Project, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-the-panama-canal-treaties
Ovidio Diaz Espino, How Wall Street Created a Nation: J.P. Morgan, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Panama Canal, MJF Books, New York, 2001.
Mauer, Noel and Carlos Yu, What Roosevelt Took: The Economic Impact of the Panama Canal, 1903-37, Harvard Business School, 2006. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/06-041.pdf
Palka, Eugene J., A GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW OF PANAMA: Pathway to the Continents and Link between the Seas, United States Military Academy, Springer, 2005. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/1-4020-3297-8_1.pdf
Great tie with economic history, especially when looking at the titles of your sources. I know many people think of the Panama canal when they hear of Panama and that whole history has economic undertones. In your research question, “Does the history of Panama consistently become framed in a lens of economic advantage?” I’m wondering “who” is framing this lens of economic advantage? Will it be historians who are framing this? Foreigners? The government? Cultural elements like art or movies? Everyday people? Just an idea to think about!
I think this will be an good topic to research. As well as many other Americans, whenever I hear Panama, I always think about the canal which supports the economic lens you describe. It will be interesting to see how figures from Panama view their country’s importance in an economic sense, but also in other aspects of their culture as well