Locks, Crocs, and Skeeters
Although Locks, Crocs, and Skeeters begins with a poem about the dangers of the Panama Canal area, most of the book includes a history of the 400 years during which Kings, explorers, diplomats, engineers, scientists, manufacturers, and workers dreamed about digging a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, ending with the Americans’ opening the Panama Canal in 1914.The incentive to build the canal was to cut 7,800 miles off the route from New York to San Francisco. The Canal would save weeks, if not months, of travel and would eliminate the dangerous journey around South America. The cost of building the canal was expensive in both lives and dollars. Over 30,000 people lost their lives, mainly from smallpox, cholera, dysentery, fever, and malaria. The U.S. spent more to build the canal than it spent to buy the Louisiana Territory.
Economic Concepts
- Incentives
- Cost and Benefits
- Goods and Services
- Economic Wants
- Productive Resources
Grade Levels
- Intermediate (4-6)
Related Subjects
- Geography
- World History
- Science
- U.S. History
Teacher Tips for Using this Book
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