TCT-FC-PANAMA-DEATHS · Foreign policy
Thirty-eight thousand Americans died building the Panama Canal
Claim summary
Thirty-eight thousand Americans died building the Panama Canal
Paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation. Consult the source for the full wording.
2025-01-20; occurrence documented in the linked FactCheck.org report.
What the evidence shows
The historian consulted by FactCheck.org estimated fewer than 1,000 American deaths. His estimate of roughly 7,600 deaths during the U.S. construction phase included many workers from other countries; it was not a count of Americans.
Tracker classification based on FactCheck.org’s evidence. FactCheck.org does not assign this site's rating labels.
Sources and attribution
Tracker synthesis of published reporting; classification belongs to the tracker.