In 1831, more than 80 years before the Panama Canal would open up a passageway from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, President Andrew Jackson wrote enthusiastically about the "commerce of greatest importance" if such a canal could be built. Civil war in the area had upended the plans in previous years, but Jackson now had word that peace had returned and plans were back on.
In 1826, Congress first considered a plan to finance a canal through Nicaragua after the newly established Federal Republic of Central America hired surveyors to chart the route but rejected it because of political unrest. The canal was to follow the San Juan River from the Caribbean Sea to Lake Nicaragua and then a series of locks and tunnels would take ships to the Pacific Ocean. The plan was first presented to Congress in 1826 but was not approved because the Federal Republic of Central America was heading into civil war. Central America first declared its independence from Spain and Mexico in 1823, but by 1826 regional rivalries dominated the Central American affairs and factions of conservatives and liberals fought for control of Congress. Conservatives preferred monarchies and tight integration with the churches, while the liberals wanted a constitutional federated form of government. Liberals of Guatemala tried to intervene and establish federal control over the Central America, but the other provinces resisted and led a mob uprising organized by the church and conservatives. The rule of law and order was lost, and constitutional authority was destroyed resulting in civil war. At this point, even Central America had to shelve any contemplation of building a canal. The Civil war ended in 1829, but in 1830, Costa Rica which bordered the San Juan River seceded from the federation putting any plans for a Nicaragua canal had to be put on hold.
In 1831, President Andrew Jackson wrote in his State of the Union Address that the Central American plans for the canal were back on. He had received word from Central America that differences which had prevailed in their internal affairs had been peaceably adjusted. In May of 1830 Costa Rica yielded to the federation. With peace in Central America, commerce plans for a "magnificent project of a ship canal through the dominions of that State from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean" were back on. Jackson reminded Congress that if such a canal could be completed it would be "a great and beneficial commerce between the two countries -- a commerce of the greatest important". Jackson did not urge Congress to reconsider, but he sure seemed be enthusiastic about it.
"From Central America I have received assurances of the most friendly kind and a gratifying application for our good offices to remove a supposed indisposition toward that Government in a neighboring State. This application was immediately and successfully complied with. They gave us also the pleasing intelligence that differences which had prevailed in their internal affairs had been peaceably adjusted. Our treaty with this Republic continues to be faithfully observed, and promises a great and beneficial commerce between the two countries -- a commerce of the greatest importance if the magnificent project of a ship canal through the dominions of that State from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, now in serious contemplation, shall be executed."
Seven years later, Nicaragua separated from the federation, followed by Honduras and Costa Rica. No further action by the U.S. were taken on a Nicaraguan Canal until 1849 when the Nicaraguan government signed a contract with Cornelius Vanderbilt, giving his Accessory Transit Company the exclusive right to construct a waterway within 12 years. This, and many attempts at building a Nicaraguan Canal were made, but none have yet materialized.
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Third Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/third-annual-message-3 [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].
Foster, L. (2008). A Brief History of Central America. Facts on File Inc, pp.144-147.
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Federal Republic of Central America. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Central_America [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of the Nicaragua Canal. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Nicaragua_Canal [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].
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