The U.S. Senate's approval of the Panama Canal treaties

The purpose of this investigation was to account for the reasons as to why the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977 were approved by the United States Senate. Particular attention was devoted to the strategies of the pro and antiforces during the time the Senate considered the treaties between late-September of 1977 and mid-April of 1978. The research effort illustrated the complexities involved in getting the "emotionally" laden treaties approved by over two-thirds of the U.S. Senate.

Despite the relatively "ineffective" role which the antitreaty forces played in gaining support for their cause, the study revealed that it still took an extraordinary effort on the part of the protreaty forces to gain the support necessary to approve the treaties as most all of the early indicators during the summer and early fall of l977 suggested that the treaties were doomed to defeat. With these thoughts in mind, I will set forth in the concluding chapter the major factors and events which led the Senate to approve the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977.