Patriotic Sentiment and National Pride in Panama Canal - Assignment Example

The paper "Patriotic Sentiment and National Pride in the Panama Canal" is a wonderful example of an assignment on history. The intense patriotic sentiment and national pride in the Panama Canal started after the end of the Suez Canal. The project started in 1904 with the guidance of chief engineer John Wallace. In as much as it started under praises and hope of success from the Suez Canal, several challenges prevailed to both European and Spanish laborers. The film A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama shares these sentiments with Julie Greene’s book Spaniards on the Silver Roll: Labor Troubles and Liminality in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904-1914. 

In the film, the building of the canal gets guided by smart people without the wisdom to harmonize different cultures. The deadly look through Nova’s eye brings into perspective a 30-year-old period of torment. The human trap in the film leads to the death of many laborers mainly European and Spanish labourers1. They have no access to information, are victims of corruption and discrimination in terms of payment. For example, many laborers received 10 cents an hour, an amount not able to sustain anybody.
The racial segregation in the book also unveils the imperial and complex labor issues in the Canal Zone. Green notes that laborers have the opportunity to suffer but cannot air their grievances. For example, when the Spaniards protest against the right to eat in the job, a foreman suspends 500 people for insubordination2. The high number of workers raises many labor concerns; however, race and nationality take priority during the construction period. Interestingly, recruitment agents promise heavens despite the deplorable conditions. Worse of all, laborers have no protection from the police or any labor unions. Read More