Posted by 6dasarkel on November 16, 2008 at 8:00pm
See that man there in the white suit? That's Teddy Roosevelt. In case you haven't paid attention in Mr. Bruns' class lately, he was our 26th predident. But wait! What about the other men in the white suits? Who are they? Which white suit-wearing man is Teddy? Where did this picture take place? Why is everyone wearing white suits? So many questions!
First of all, the photograph with all the white suit people was taken in 1906 at a construction site in the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal is a water passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It was started in 1880 by the French who weren't very successful. An estimated 21,000 workers died within an 8 year period so in 1893, the French gave up. The US, eager to take over the project, forced Columbia to allow the construction of the canal under US command.
So which of the men wearing a white suit is Teddy? There are a possible 5 men in the first photo who could be wearing white depending on how bad yoru vision is. President Roosevelt is the one sitting on the big steam shovel machine dealy. He posed in this picture for photagraphers while on a trip to inspect the construction of the Panama Canal. This 2 1/2 week trip was actually the first time a president had left the US while in office. Roosevelt left the US a second time during his presidency to go on an African Safari/European tour.
Wearing a white suit in a big mud pit sounds a little impractical, don't you think? In the early 1900's, wearing a white suit in Panama was a symbol of authority. Some men would change their suits more than once in a day to keep themselves looking spotless. Other important people, such as Taft, Nixon, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, wore white suits on their trips to the Panama Canal. The term "flour-sack suits" was coined from this trend because a lot of white suits were made of flour sacks at that time.The other men wearing white suits are presumably construction workers, foremen, overseers, etc.The Panama Canal was completed in 1914. Roosevelt was no longer in office but he deserves a lot of credit for the take off of the canal. Since the US built the canal with a 99 year lease, Panama was recently given ownership of it.-SaraSources!=Dhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20001021.TRPANAMA/TPStory/specialTravelhttp://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/graph%20harv%20col/HC2x5.jpghttp://www.gipsymoth.org/images/Country%20Data/800px-Panama_Canal_Gatun_Lo.jpghttp://mauialmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/teddy-roosevelt.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal
you beast. at first i noticed you had no longer done the history of danielley and pape-dawg, and quickly lost interest. but you won me over my love. and for that i am proud.
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