Who was president when you began construction of the Panama Canal?

The construction of the Panama Canal began in 1880; Rutherford Hayes was president at the time; however it began as a French project with no direct involvement by the United States. This plan was abandoned in 1898 due to the high Death Rate of the workers from tropical diseases. Theodore Roosevelt was President when the United States took over the Panama Canal Construction program in 1903.

teddyroseivelt