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Spooner Act

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Coit Spooner, United States Senator from Wisconsin

The First Spooner Act of 1902 (also referred to as the Panama Canal Act, 32 Stat. 481)[1] was written by a United States senator from Wisconsin, John Coit Spooner, enacted on June 28, 1902, and signed by President Roosevelt the following day. It authorized purchasing the assets of a French syndicate called the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, provided that a treaty could be negotiated with the Republic of Colombia.

The syndicate, headed by Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, sold at a price reduced from $110 million to only $40 million. US lawyer William Nelson Cromwell subsequently received a commission of $800,000 for his lobbying.[2][3][4]

The Spooner Act was followed by the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of November 18, 1903.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Records of the Panama Canal". US National Archives. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Panama Canal Act [1902]". History Central. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  3. ^ "AMERICAN CANAL CONSTRUCTION". Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  4. ^ Kinzer, Stephen (2007). "3. From a Whorehouse to a White House". Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. pp. 56-62.
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