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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Gustave Eiffel eventually is able to clear his name, but what does he do afterward?

2. Ferdinand de Lesseps resells lottery bonds on Nov. 15, 1887, and says Gustave Eiffel will build two huge lock flights, gates, and apparatus to lift ships over the Chagres at flood stage that are what?

3. "The Hero" is a reference to the esteem surrounding Ferdinand de Lesseps at what point in history?

4. What do closed subcommittees at the 1879 Congris International d'Ytudes du Canal Interocyanique in Paris establish that the Nicaragua canal route is?

5. Chapter 8 summarizes what evolves in the courtrooms and subsequent to massive corporate collapse that affects how many French investors?

Short Essay Questions

1. As hard as they work, what are some of the problems the French engineers encounter?

2. What are the essential elements, pros and cons, to A.G. Menocal's canal proposal?

3. What role does Chicago Times-Herald reporter Walter Wellman play in the Central American canal scenario?

4. What are the two routes U.S. proponents of a Central American canal fight for?

5. Who are the three prominent directors of the Turr Syndicate and what are their backgrounds?

6. In Chapter 1 of his book, David McCullough views a number of expeditions that were made in Central America in the early 19th-century looking for the ideal route, but what did he find as common to every canal proposal?

7. Why is it that Ferdinand de Lesseps takes on doing the Suez Canal?

8. Among the earliest authoritative studies, the Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, published in 1811, is sketchy about a number of things, but is adamant about what?

9. Why is it yellow fever causes instant panic in comparison to other tropical diseases?

10. What does Ferdinand de Lesseps and those accompanying him encounter at Barbacoas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ferdinand de Lesseps begins publishing his "Bullet in du Canal Interocyanique" and George W. Goethals his "Canal Record. How are they alike? How do they differ? Are they merely propaganda organs, or is there some legitimacy to them? How effective is each?

Essay Topic 2

What is social life like in the Canal Zone in the latter half of the construction period? Has the war on pestilence and disease been effective? What is offered to prompt individuals to come to Panama, or bring their families? What is the cost of living in Panama like? What social events are available to employees after work hours?

Essay Topic 3

David McCullough notes in his initial chapter that all early 19th-century canal plans are preposterous. Every survey is flawed due to assumptions and inaccurate data. Yet the Suez Canal was successfully opening on November 1869, after ten years of construction. It is twice as long as the Panama Canal, which did not open until 1914. Actual work on the Panama did not start until 1880, a decade following the Suez opening. Central America afforded at least 19 possible locations to select from. Explain what causes so many problems in constructing the Panama Canal. What took so long? Why was there such a lengthy battle in Washington? What caused the loss of so many lives?

(see the answer keys)

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