United States vs. Colombia for the land of Panama The United States government used several covert activities to acquire the land for the Panama Canal, such as the Spooner Act. The United States wanted the land of Panama to build a Canal but first the United States need the land from Colombia. The United States became vitally interested in canal projects during the Spanish-American War of 1898. In 1902 the U.S. Congress passed the Spooner Act, which was the basic law for the construction of the Panama Canal. The law declared that the United States had the right to build a canal on the land over the isthmus o