428 America's Forgotten Quest to Link Two Oceans

428 America's Forgotten Quest to Link Two Oceans

In the 1820s, American entrepreneurs, engineers, and politicians dared to dream big. They believed they could cut a canal, not through Panama, but through the wild, rain-soaked terrain of Nicaragua. Their goal: To link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and transform global trade forever. But what inspired these ambitious "canal dreamers?” And why did they believe Nicaragua held the key to controlling the future of commerce? Jessica Lepler, Associate Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire and author of Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions, joins us to explore this nearly forgotten story of innovation, illusion, and international ambition in early American history. Jessica’s Website | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/428 EPISODE OUTLINE00:01:00 Introduction00:04:05 Desire to Build a Canal Across Central America00:08:01 Political Landscape of Central America During the 1820s00:09:55 Creating a Stable Central American Government00:11:55 Geography of the Nicaraguan Canal Route00:16:03 Economic Opportunities of an Interoceanic Canal00:17:57 Individual vs. State Interest in a Nicaraguan Canal00:21:58 Why Americans Sought A Private Canal Contract00:26:44 Information Canal Dreamers Relied On to Build a Canal00:33:12 Competitive Advantages of American Canal Dreamers00:35:40 American Surveys of a Central American Canal Route00:39:12 Influence of the Erie Canal00:42:32 Why the Nicaraguan Canal Failed00:44:50 What Canal Dreamers Reveal About the Early United States 0046:40 Overview of the Panama Canal00:49:50 Time Warp00:56:00 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 028: Building the Erie Canal🎧 Episode 090: The Age of American Revolutions🎧 Episode 113: Building the Empire State🎧 Episode 165: The Age of Revolutions🎧 Episode 186: The New Map of Empire🎧 Episode 329: Freemasonry in Early AmericaSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(484)

422: Plantation Goods: How Northern Industry Fueled Slavery

422: Plantation Goods: How Northern Industry Fueled Slavery

When we talk about slavery in Early America, we often focus on plantations: their large, fertile fields, their cash crops, and the people who labored on those fields to produce those cash crops under ...

7 Okt 20251h 12min

BFW Revisited: Origins of American Manufacturing

BFW Revisited: Origins of American Manufacturing

When we picture the early United States, we often imagine a young nation fighting for political independence. But what about economic independence—and what did it take to achieve it? Historian Lindsa...

30 Sep 20251h 2min

421 Loyalism and Revolution in Georgia

421 Loyalism and Revolution in Georgia

What if loyalty, not rebellion, was the default position in revolutionary British North America? It’s easy to forget that before 1776, most colonists identified as proud Britons. They didn’t see them...

23 Sep 20251h 1min

BFW Revisited: Loyalism in the British Atlantic World

BFW Revisited: Loyalism in the British Atlantic World

When we think of the American Revolution, we often focus on the patriots who fought for independence. But what about the Loyalists—those who chose to remain faithful to the British crown? In this epi...

16 Sep 20251h 10min

420: Creating the U.S. Federal Government

420: Creating the U.S. Federal Government

When we think about the founding of the United States, we often focus on the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and those first landmark elections. But how did the United States actually build its f...

9 Sep 20251h 20min

BFW Revisited: Women & the Constitutional Moment of 1787

BFW Revisited: Women & the Constitutional Moment of 1787

Each September, Constitution Day marks the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. But beyond celebration, this commemoration invites deeper reflection: Whose voices helped shape this...

2 Sep 20251h 16min

419 The North Carolina Regulator Movement

419 The North Carolina Regulator Movement

What happens when the very people meant to uphold justice become the ones exploiting it? In the 1760s, North Carolina farmers watched sheriffs pocket their tax payments, judges rule in favor of corru...

26 Aug 20251h 4min

BFW Revisited: The Tory's Wife

BFW Revisited: The Tory's Wife

Revolutionary upheaval didn't just reshape governments—it transformed daily life for ordinary families across colonial America.  In this revisited episode, historian Cynthia Kierner reveals the remar...

19 Aug 20251h 5min

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