This book is a collection of official documents and correspondence related to the acquisition of the Panama Canal Zone by the United States. It includes the text of President Roosevelt's message to Congress on December 7, 1903, outlining the rationale for the acquisition, and the message on January 4, 1904, outlining the terms of the agreement with Colombia. The book provides a rare glimpse into the political and diplomatic maneuvering that led to one of the most significant engineering feats of the modern era. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.