Panama Canal: The Endless Debate of the Carter-Torrijos Treaties
  • Title
  • Home
  • Background
  • Debate and Diplomacy
    • The Great Debate
    • Treaty and the Public
    • Treaty and the Senators
    • Carter the Chief Diplomat
    • Victory at Last
    • Senator List
  • Consequences, Successes and Failures
    • Short Term
    • Long Term
    • Unintended Consequences
  • Conclusion
  • Political Cartoons
  • Process Paper
  • Bibliography

The Great Debate:

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"The treaties just took on a life of their own. They became something so much bigger. No one could quite grasp it. No one really realized how politically explosive this would be. It seemed like such a reasonable thing to do, we really didn't grasp what was about to happen. It became such a lightning rod . . . It was enormous in terms of what we had to concede . . . . It was like borrowing a guy's last fifty bucks then asking for another 10. We simply wore out our welcome on the issue."
- Robert Beckel, 
Source: The Limits of Victory by George D. Moffett II

Click on the photographs below to get more information on the main points
of debate between the proponents and opponents of the Treaties.


 1. Canal Security

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 2. National Pride

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3. Wording of Treaty
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Senate: Advice and Consent
4. Fear of Communism

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5. Canal Operation and Maintenance

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6. Freedom And Sovereignty

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Treaty and the Public


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