Historian and author of "Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions," Jessica M. Lepler walks us through the failed idea to build the world’s first interoceanic canal.

In the 1820s, there was a little-known dream to unite the world by building a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As Spanish American nations declared independence and new canals intensified US expansion and British industrialization, many imagined the construction of an interoceanic canal as predestined.

Although the idea of literally changing the world by connecting the oceans proved too revolutionary for the Age of Revolution, the quest itself changed history. Canal dreams prompted political transformations, financial crisis, recognition of new countries, concern about climate change, and more. Full of adventure, corruption, far-reaching consequences, and present-day parallels, Lepler’s absorbing narrative cuts through two centuries, revealing that dreams do not need to come true to make history.

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The Clements Bookworm is a free monthly webinar series featuring guests discussing topics in American history.