The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal

by Julie Greene

A revelatory look at a momentous undertaking-from the workers' point of view The Panama Canal has long been celebrated as a triumph of American engineering and ingenuity. In The Canal Builders, Julie Greene reveals that this emphasis has obscured a far more remarkable element of the historic the tens of thousands of workingmen and workingwomen who traveled from all around the world to build it. Greene looks past the mythology surrounding the canal to expose the difficult working conditions and discriminatory policies involved in its construction. Drawing extensively on letters, memoirs, and government documents, the book chronicles both the struggles and the triumphs of the workers and their fami­lies. Prodigiously researched and vividly told, The Canal Builders explores the human dimensions of one of the world's greatest labor mobilizations, and reveals how it launched America's twentieth-century empire.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, American, Read For School, Labor

524 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 5, 2009

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about the construction of the Panama Canal that skims past the usual praise of American engineering and knowhow to focus in on the gritty lives and harsh conditions endured by those who performed the work. The book details the development of labor-management systems that organized, segregated, disciplined and motivated the thousands of American whites and West Indian blacks with technics that are embarrassingly racist, anti-union, and paternalistic when judged by today's standards. Of course the time period covered occurred 100 years ago (1904-1914) and not much about working conditions anywhere in the world lived up to current expectations. But the bad working conditions for the canal construction were exacerbated by its isolation, mix of nationalities, and transient population that flocked to the area for work.

Many of today's anti-federal government conservatives will probably be surprised to learn that the entire enterprise was run by the U.S. Federal Government. The only portion of the work that was contracted out was the lock gates. Everybody else working on the project were paid by the government and lived in government owned housing (unless they lived outside the 10 mile wide Canal Zone). The governance of the Zone is best described as a quasi-military "benevolent autocracy;" an arrangement more efficient than democratic. For example, an American civilian citizen arrested on felony charges in the Zone was not entitled to a trial jury (executive order made an exception for capital cases; too late in one case).

I was surprised to learn that some social liberals of the era praised the Canal Zone work environment as a model example of a worker's utopia possible within a socialistic system. Meanwhile there were Congressional hearings called to investigate charges by reports of corruption, prostitution and mismanagement. It's an example of how different people can look at the same situation and arrive at differing conclusions. I was also surprised to learn of the racial prejudice shown by some social progressives of the era. A report of Zone conditions prepared by a well known social worker recommended many improvements for American workers while almost totally ignoring the much worse conditions of the West Indian workers and their families.

This is a long book that by the end recounts sufficient examples of domestic squabbles, social friction and physical hardships to weary the reader. It makes a convincing case that the social problems related to the canal construction exceeded the engineering problems in complexity. Of course they were both complex, and it's good to remember that the death toll from accidents and disease was 5,600; mostly West Indians, people of color (22,000 earlier under the French). All human endeavors have their unpleasant underside, and this project was a major human endeavor with correspondingly large unpleasant problems that needed to be endured or solved. It is good to be reminded of this aspect of a project most often remembered as a glorious human achievement.

When I read about the two pay scales, gold for the mostly white employees and silver for the mostly colored West Indians, I assumed it was part of the archaic past. In the Epilog the author recounts her experience of being a passenger on a cruise ship passing through the Canal. While on the trip it was pointed out to her that the modern day version of the two pay scales was alive and well on the cruse ship. The dining staff was all European while the workers tending the buffet and cleaning tasks were Filipino. The two groups received different contracts, with different working and living conditions, different amounts of leisure time, and different pay rates. The ship officers didn't need to observe U.S. labor laws because it was registered outside the U.S.A. The book ends with the following observations:

"While the canal workers toiled for empire, their labor also helped create the infrastructure for a global economy--and in the decades since then, the processes of globalization have transformed the world. Yet when we see today how race, ethnicity, gender, and class shape the international division of labor, we might think back to the construction of the Panama Canal and the ways it contributed to many present conditions. Strategies devised during the canal construction project have reached across the decades to the current day. We can see them in the increasing importance of transnational migrant labor and the rapid flow of capital around the globe, in the persistent notion that citizens deserve certain rights that are denied to aliens, and in the sentimental and idealistic ways American sometimes approach the exercise of U.S. power around the world. . . . Who are the people toiling and digging today in the ditches of U.S. power abroad? They surely have stories to tell."

Below is a link to an excerpt from a book on the same subject, The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
http://eepurl.com/hElBxD

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Greene brings to life the society that developed in the Canal Zone from 1904 - 1914 and ends with a brief discussion of the aftermath of the Canal's opening. I haven't read McCullough's acclaimed book, but as I understand its content, Greene scopes out a totally different area. She does not focus on the engineering, financing or politics of its inception. Her concern is the life of the people, thousands of people, who built the canal.

Workers came from all over the world. An impressive table at the end documents this. They worked long and hard for their employer the ICC, an agency of the US government. Why and how did these faceless thousands sign up to go there? How did they live? What did they eat and wear? How did they sleep? What of their families? What about the fatalities? What were the ICC's personnel policies?

Greene describes the ICC's structure of gold and silver employees. She shows how the resulting caste system affected individuals and how individuals of both the gold and silver groups and others in the outside world felt about it.

Beyond the Zone's society, Greene introduces the larger issues. While the ICC's personnel policies are not acceptable today, were they enlightened for their day? What of the people of Panama, how did they feel about this endeavor? Were there movements for change?

The book ends with a short discussion of the construction's aftermath, yesterday and today. While contemporary attitudes and values no longer support a labor system based on race and gender rankings, the author shows how the work stata persists under the radar screen. A cruise ship, flagged in Panama, to whom the US has ceded the territory, embeds a similar system.

This is an excellent book. The author has a big topic but she is disciplined. Her balance between structure and anecdote is excellent. She initiates a discussion on many large topics that loom today. While its topic will not appeal to everyone, I highly recommend this book.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Canal Builders” by Julie Greene, apublished by The Penguin Press.

Category – History Publication Date – February 05, 2009.

There have been many books written about the Panama Canal, most of them have been written concerning the construction of the canal, not about the people who did the work.

Julie Greene has put together a fascinating book that describes who those people were and the trials and tribulations that they went through to bring the canal to fruition.

The book details that most of these people were not Americans, that the majority of them came from Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, Trinidad, and others. She explores the jobs available to them and how these jobs did not equate with the jobs given to Americans. It is not hard to understand that the pay scale was different as were the eating and housing facilities.

The work that these people did was back-breaking, filled with danger, and they were worked long hours. It was not unusual for one to work all day up to their waist in water, going home soaked, and putting the same wet clothes on the next morning. Medical attention was almost non-existent and very little if any compensation was given for injury or death.

A must read for those interested in the construction of the Panama Canal.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Greene illustrates a particular moment in American history during which empire and paternalism shone down on bastions of US influence and territory scattered around the world. The construction of Panama's canal in a zone carved through the heart of that nascent US ally called forth immense reserves of wealth and expertise as well as a work force drawn from throughout the United States and from as far away as India and Spain. Greene focuses on the culture and travails of this laboring community as well as the policies that policed everything from alcohol to unionization among those working for Uncle Sam.

Racism, paternalism, and a relentless drive towards completion characterized the decade of work on the canal under American control from 1904 to 1914. From scandals over poor conditions and low wages, Greene follows Theodore Roosevelt’s successful reclamation of the Panama Canal into a symbol of American innovation and might that endured in the public mind well into the 20th century.

With occasional flashes of personal narrative woven into the wider arc of national sentiment and managerial adaptation, The Canal Builders brings into focus a time when America surged beyond its geographic and historical bounds. The federal government Greene describes was urged to undertake great projects with the responsibility for racially segregating workers, prohibiting alcohol, and building a community embraced by socialists as a model for the world.

The Panama Canal, which united two great oceans and enhanced America’s military and commercial strengths as Europe fell into the First World War, deserves respect and has always received it. Greene has finally bestowed comparable recognition on the tens of thousands of men and women who toiled to bring it to completion and the world in which they lived.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the view that the most challenging aspect of building the Panama Canal was the technological and engineering feat, "[m]ore challenging was the task, endlessly discussed and debated by bureaucrats, of determining how best to motivate, manage, and discipline the people of the isthmus" (p. 4). Much of the story of Panama Canal workers has not been told. U.S. rather successfully pitted workers of different nationalities/races against each other, in part by system of gold and silver payrolls. Use of deportation and imprisonment for petty crimes to control workers. Both whiteness and (U.S.) citizenship criteria for being on gold roll as time progressed. But the workers resisted in many ways. Much of the book revolves around U.S. imperial ambitions, role of progressivism.

[Karl Schaeffer]

Excellent read written from the bottoms up view of the worker. Kinda like a "Peoples History of the Panama Canal". Not the history you get taught in school. Interesting treatise on American imperialism, labor relations, progressivism. An interesting note, keeping the canal under US control was one of the first issues used to galvanize conservative activists in the late 70's. Very dense, detail filled; yet, an enjoyable read. Good job Ms Green!

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected this to be a more "mechanical and technical" account of the building of Panama Canal, but instead it focused on the international workforce who built the canal, particularly the West Indians. Still interesting....

The first 175 pages of the book were about the inequities the workers were subject to. Although most employees came from the West Indies/the Caribbean, other workers were from India, Panama, Italy, Greece, Spain, East India, Portugal, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Colubia, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.
Almost all workers who were anything but WHITE U.S. AMERICAN CITIZENS were treated substandardly. They were segregated, received less pay (the silver and gold system), longer hours on the job, poorer working conditions (some jobs required them to stand in water all day, their clothes never dried out from day to day) and living conditions (housing without screens, chainlink cots with no sheets or blankets), substandard food (the only difference from what animals were fed was that it was slopped onto a plate---no chairs or tables for them either), separate pay stations for them to enter, etc. This just made me sick! All the while Americans back home were given a much different accounting of the conditions and progress being made.

There also were chapters on the "progressivism for the world" this canal system provided, one on women and the many roles they played (from prostitution to housewives), and the system of law and order that was created to attempt to keep and regulate some sort of order in an environment that was conducive to so much bad behavior, and the assimilation of the thousands or workers back into their homelands or other countries after the job was completed. All interesting.

[Mouldy Squid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I had expected, but interesting none the less. Greene presents a wealth of information not on the construction of the Canal, but on the people who build it. Divided roughly into sections regarding the major demographics of the canal workers, Greene uses a wealth of information on the lives of no just the men working on the canal, but the women, foreigners and Panamanians there as well. Her sources are the letters, court records, employment rolls and even folk songs and everything is meticulously researched. This research clearly explodes many of the myths that America tells itself about the building of the Panama Canal, showing it to be a more sordid and bigoted affair than has been previously admitted.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great job of arguing that--I'm tempted just to say showing how--the engineering wonder that built the Panama canal was based on the racist division and exploitation of workers, in the context of an imperialism that denied it was imperialism and relied on sentimental idealism about America's foreign policy and historical destiny. And then the brilliant epilogue brings us up to date and explainss how plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. In between the excellent prologue and epilogue I got bogged down in the details. But this is doubtless my failing as a reader. This seems to me a very worthy book.

[Juliana Maximiano Torres Carneiro]

An excellent intervention on the history of the canal from the point of view of the many workers who actually built it. Green moves away from the common narrative of extraordinary engineering feats made possible by the skills of American white civilization towards the story of the human toll of such feat. To me the book was useful as it also showed how Progressivism and the attachment to scientific ideas of productivity played a part in the labor organization in the Canal Zone.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except, as the picture says, it's called _The Canal Builders_. Have to wonder why it's now the "War of 1898" rather than "Spanish-American War" but the book also refers to the "Philippine-American War" (1899-1902). Why change the former if the latter is now the preferred option? I will never understand the conventions of some overly sensitive members of my profession.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since my dad comes from the CZ, this has been my other personal history book into the construction decade. There is so much information in here about that time period. The book is well written, at times a difficult read, but expertly categorized if a little redundant at times. Overall, a treasure to have, especially if you have family that was born and raised there.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about the actual workers that built the canal and the conditions they lived and worked in. It is amazing to think that this all happened 100 years ago and in some ways we have come a long way but in others we haven't changed much at all. Recommend read for all those that like to read on American History. Easy to read considering the context of the book.

[Linda Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great social history of the people who actually did the physical labor and those who supported them. This is an excellent and very readable book,with an Epilogue that gives a brief history of the Canal since its completion.

[Caryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fascinating and informative read regarding something I knew very little about. The fact that it focuses on the building of the Panama Canal from those who actually did the building is a much needed perspective often pushed to the wayside.

Greene has brought to life the trials and tribulations involved in such a monumental undertaking with a sharp interest in the injustices and prejudices faced daily by the workers. Like many historical events relating in particular to the U.S., the creation of the Panama Canal was founded on a firm belief in racial segregation and discrimination.

A really gripping read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Greene's history of the Panama Canal is a classic example of "history from below" - this is the story of the men and women who built the canal, built the canal towns, and those who "mined the builders", rather than of Teddy Roosevelt, John Hay and Philippe Bunau-Varilla. While there are some pieces that felt more detailed and small-bore than was of interest, in general, Greene's focus on the roles of race, ethnicity and class in shaping the social milieu of the canal zone is consistent and interesting. Her epilogue is excellent - it not only brings the story itself to a close, but connects past to present in a compelling way.

[Mariah Oleszkowicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read after reading about the technical and political goings-on around the canal. This dove deeper into the men and women who actually built the big ditch and how they related to each other, the Zonians, and the Panamainians. The Epilogue did a quick tour through 1999 when the canal was handed back to Panama. There is mention about how conservatives really latched on to the necessity of the canal and in the 1976 election made it a really big thing and how it helped move the republicans further right.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of books about Panama and the canal, and this is one of my favourites. It portraits the workers life, doesn’t just skim over how the actual individuals life was but even highlights stories that you cannot find anywhere else as the author had to go into the Panamian archives to find them as most of them were destroyed. As someone who spent hours in a library in Panama looking through photos of the time the canal was built, this was the perfect read to add the stories to those pictures.

[Brighton Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a class this summer and thought it was one of the better historical accounts I have ever read. Greene is very detailed in describing and accounting the lives of the workers in the Canal Zone. It was long and sometimes hard to get through some chapters that felt repetitive, but over all a very good historical book.

[Patricio Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly thorough book that tells the story of the human aspect of the canal, especially the blatant discrimination that the Western world has since worked hard to eradicate. Choose another book if looking for an engineering viewpoint of the Canal.

[Matthew Rohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very strong and wide ranging labor history that uses the Panama Canal Zone as a case study of the American imperial frontier in the progressive era. Would have liked more attention to the geopolitics of the canal and its construction but the book is doing what it's doing very wel

[Hannah Seeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry in spots, but an informative take on who really built the Panama Canal, the crazy things that the builders had to deal with during its construction, and how it fueled American nationalism.

[Steven Yenzer]

This one just couldn't hold my interest.

[Duff Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 14 disc audiobook that could easily be edited to 10.
Lots of interesting facts about a fascinating accomplishment but where is an editor when you need one?

[Ioana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Canal Builders is a social history of the men and women who built and otherwise worked in the Panama Canal Zone from 1904-1913 (with a few details about the history of the Zone since, to the present). Greene examines the experiences of white "gold" workers, of other white immigrants, of "West Indian" "silver" employees, of African American US citizens, of women. Thesis: the Herculean task of building the canal was not primarily a problem of science or manpower, but of governing such an ambiguous place (located at the intersection of legal traditions, political commitments, and on the soil of US Empire).

After the first chapters, which focus on the Canal workers, Greene includes sections on the law and order forces at play in the Zone, and on the International Fair of 1915 in San Francisco dedicated to the magnificence of the Canal (helping us picture how the Canal was imagined immediately after its completion).

I am not giving this book a 5 because I felt it was a bit lacking in analysis, as well as in evidence of what was going on back in the States during the construction. The book is beautifully written, includes much useful information and rigorous research, but in terms of analyzing the real construction of Empire--not as strong.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are expecting this book to focus on the mechanics and engineering of how the canal was built, then you will be disappointed, as I was. Instead, this book focuses on the human factor and labour movements. This most interesting part of this book folks was the first chapter and epilogue, there is a lot of repetition of facts throughout the book that would test the patience of some people, and it certainly tested mine, thank God I finish reading it before I became motivated to throw this book into the fire. Sorry, but that's how I feel about this book. It was a miracle that I even gave it a two star rating.

[Judd Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew very little about the Panama Canal before reading this book. I am about 170 pages into it and the vast majority of the reading has been about the labor and racial relations involved and very little information about the technical aspect of building the "Great Ditch". I hope that the rest of the book will cover more of the day to day lives of the individuals doing the work. I prefer to read about the lives of the ordinary people that are involved in history rather than reading about the major historical figures involved.

[Stephanie C · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting for a non fiction- a little long and drawn out and lots of detail

[Regina Reimann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get through more than 50 pages. Dry as eating cardboard.

[Andrew Sebastian]

File Under: Social Impact of Large Infrastructure Projects