Question

How did the United States acquire the Panama Canal?

It acquired the isthmus during the Spanish-American War.
It purchased the territory from neighboring Nicaragua.
It supported Panamanian independence from Colombia.
It annexed Panama as a territory of the United States.

Answer 1

The good answer is: It supported Panamanian independence from Colombia.

Step-by-step explanation:

Panama issued a declaration of independence from Colombia with the support of the United States. The move was planned by a local political faction linked to the Panama Canal Company, a French-American company that was interested in building a waterway connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific through the isthmus of Panama. The proclamation date is November 3, 1903. The action enjoyed the tacit approval of the Theodore Roosevelt administration. It impeded an armed response from Colombia by paralizing local trains and sending a US Navy ship.