A Gunboat and a New Nation (Nov. 3, 1903)

The Daily Muster · Nov 3, 2026 · 10m

A U.S. Navy gunboat helped a country be born, and with it a canal.

The Daily Muster: one story from American history, every day.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

1:07 The Dream of a Shortcut

3:02 Orders by Telegraph

4:24 A Nation in a Day

6:20 The Frenchman's Signature

7:10 The Big Ditch

8:18 Two Words

SOURCES

- Foreign Relations of the United States, 1903, Navy Department telegrams on Panama, documents 280-306 (Office of the Historian), incl. Hubbard to the Secretary of the Navy, November 3-5, 1903: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1903/d295

- FRUS 1903, document 280: Navy Department to…