February 23, 1904

Panama Canal Zone

U.S. Senate Consents to the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty

Sixty-six senators voted yes and fourteen voted no — and the United States still did not control the canal site when the chamber adjourned.

A 66–14 roll call, and nothing handed over

On 23 February 1904 the U.S. Senate voted to advise and consent to ratification of the Hay–Bunau-Varilla canal convention. The roll call was 66–14, satisfying the Constitution's two-thirds requirement for senators present.

The Senate acted by adopting a ratification resolution. It did not itself complete presidential ratification, put the treaty into force, pay Panama, or transfer the Canal Zone that day.

Panama's provisional government had already approved the convention on 2 December 1903.

Four dates, not one

President Theodore Roosevelt performed the United States' formal act of ratification on 25 February. The ratifications were exchanged and the treaty proclaimed on 26 February, which is when it became internationally operative.

Physical possession of the canal site and the French company's property followed on 4 May 1904. At that handover, Lieutenant Mark Brooke received keys to storehouses and Ancon Hospital.

Saying the Senate "ratified" the treaty is common shorthand; its constitutional action was advice and consent.

The $10 million that stayed put

The approved treaty made $10,000,000 in gold payable upon the exchange of ratifications, with a $250,000 annual payment beginning nine years after that exchange. Nothing was paid out on 23 February.

The often-quoted $40 million was a different transaction: the purchase of the New Panama Canal Company's property, not payment to Panama for the zone.

The listing's claim that $10 million bought control on this date collapses a Senate vote, a presidential ratification, an exchange of instruments and a physical handover into one event.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited

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