The First Spooner Act of 1902 (also referred to as the Panama Canal Act, 32 Stat. 481) was written by a

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from

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, John Coit Spooner, enacted on June 28, 1902, and signed by President Roosevelt the following day. It authorized purchasing the assets of a French syndicate called the ''Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama'', provided that a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

could be negotiated with the Republic of

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. The syndicate, headed by Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, sold at a price reduced from $110 million to only $40 million. US lawyer William Nelson Cromwell subsequently received a commission of $800,000 for his lobbying. The Spooner Act was followed by the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of November 18, 1903.

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External links

* http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/spooner.htm * http://www.answers.com/topic/panama-canal-purchase-act-1902 Panama Canal United States federal admiralty and maritime legislation United States foreign relations legislation {{Panama-stub

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