how did the united states acquire the agreement to build the panama canal
On February 26, 1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed. In it, the Republic of Panama granted to the United States in perpetuity the use, occupation, and control of a zone of land and land under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection of the canal. From 1903 to 1979 the territory was controlled by the United States, which had purchased the land from the private and public owners, built the canal and financed its construction. The Canal Zone was abolished on October 1, 1979, as a term of the Torrijos -- Carter Treaties of 1977; the canal itself was under joint U.S. -- Panamanian control from 1979 until it was fully turned over to Panama on December 31, 1999.