Before the construction of the Panama Canal and before the country of Panama gained its independence from Colombia, there were many debates about the location of the canal. A majority of scholars and intellectuals agreed that Nicaragua was the ideal location because the country eliminated the need for locks, which would certainly be needed further south in Panama. However, some of the most prominent American figures of the time, such as: JP Morgan and United States President Teddy Roosevelt, disagreed. For what? Quite simply because they had fraud in mind. Both parties would benefit greatly because JP Morgan owned many shares in the De Lesseps company, which held the rights to build the Panama Canal. In order to satisfy its own desires, JP Morgan launched a smear campaign against Nicaragua, claiming that it was too dangerous to build there due to natural hazards such as volcanoes. A problem stood in Morgan's way. The Colombian government refused to grant the rights to build the canal to an American company. This refusal led JP Morgan and Teddy Roosevelt to develop, behind closed doors, a plan to use American weapons to dismantle the Colombian hold on Panama. The plan was adopted and was successful. In the eyes of historians, this act is the best example of gunboat policy. In this article I will discuss the libel lawsuit that Teddy Roosevelt initiated against Joseph Pulitzer because of his writings about Roosevelt, Morgan, and the fraud that was the Panama Canal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayJoseph Pulitzer, a writer for the New York World, became a centerpiece of defamation lawsuits after the presidential election of 1908 (Pierce 171). This was simply because the articles Pulitzer was writing exposed Roosevelt's gunboat policy and led to a second congressional investigation into the purchase, which infuriated Roosevelt because he was about to be exposed for his wrongdoing. Roosevelt was so anxious to save his own skin that he managed to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Before Roosevelt could take the case all the way to the Supreme Court, Roosevelt showed his true character in a letter he wrote to the United States Attorney in New York. In this letter, he wrote: “I know nothing about the law on criminal libel, but I would like it to be invoked against Pulitzer, du Monde. Would you like his various statements to be consulted? ". Reading this quote completely changed my mind about Teddy Roosevelt. This showed me that even though he had absolutely no idea how libel worked, he was willing to abuse his status in America to make unfair accusations against an innocent man. To further prove that Teddy Roosevelt is a crook who was only in it for the money, the next day he made a statement in the Lakes to the Gulf Waterway Association. In this statement he said that he was extremely happy with his own achievements in Panama, especially because they were beyond reproach and defamation action was possible against those who claimed to have been fraudulent. This further proved that Roosevelt was more than willing to take unfair legal action against those who disagreed with what he and his associates were doing in Panama. As long as Roosevelt's pockets were filled with cash, he was more than willing to take fraudulent legal action against those who would diminish his income. Of.