Roosevelt Document Establishing Panama Canal Sold for $49,711

A historic document signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, crucial to the construction of the Panama Canal, has sold for $49,711 at RR Auction's sale of presidential documents and artifacts.

The partly-printed document, dated February 24, 1904, features Roosevelt's directive to his Secretary of State authorizing the exchange of ratifications for a treaty with Panama that provided for the construction of a ship canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The document is boldly signed by Roosevelt as "T. Roosevelt."

This directive came just two days before the proclamation of the Isthmian Canal Convention marking a pivotal moment in American engineering and politics. The Panama Canal, completed between 1904 and 1914 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, dramatically changed maritime trade by reducing both the time and distance ships needed to travel between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.

"This document represents a pivotal moment not only in American history but in global commerce," said Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice President at RR Auction. "The foresight of President Roosevelt to connect two oceans set the stage for the modern era of trade."


Other highlights included:

• Thomas Jefferson signed letter as Secretary of State, announcing the ratification of the Bill of Rights to Governor Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire which fetched $43,751
• another Jefferson signed letter, on the scientific progress in Europe and expressing concern over the return to 'Gothic darkness' sold for $41,250
• George Washington signed document as President, commissioning one of the 16 original US Marshals, went for $25,000
• President Abraham Lincoln appointment document, signed just days before the First Battle of Bull Run, appointing a Surveyor General for Illinois and Missouri, sold for $22,154
• Walt Disney signed Disneyland ticket booklet cover fetched $21,996
• Jimmy Carter's correspondence archive, a collection of 70 signed letters discussing a wide range of topics including religion, geopolitics, and personal insights, made $21,360