The united states gained control of the land for the panama canal by

Hay-Herrán Treaty i n 1903, Americans leased Channel Area from the newly formed state of Panama in the years 1904 to 1914 - inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt - completed the construction of the canal. For more than 75 years Panama Canal Zone was under the jurisdiction of the US, treaty on the permanent neutrality and operation of the canal in Panama, signed September 7, 1977, asserted Panama rights to the land, the transfer took place in 1999