The Quiz: Which U.S. President oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal?
William McKinley
Grover Cleveland
Theodore Roosevelt
Rutherford B. Hayes
After French officials tried and failed to build a canal in the same region years earlier, the U.S. purchased Panama’s canal zone for $40 million in 1902 and decided to attempt the project themselves. Construction commenced in 1904, and while it was still on track during a visit from President Theodore Roosvelt in 1906, the project suffered several setbacks and wasn’t completed until 1914 during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency.
The correct answer to this quiz is Theodore Roosevelt.