Benjamin Alden Bidlack

Benjamin Alden Bidlack was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney who served as a member of the US House of Representatives and was later appointed chargé d'affaires to New Granada. While serving in New Granada he negotiated an agreement later known as the Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty. This treaty was the only instance in the nineteenth century where the United States committed to defend the sovereignty of a Latin American state at the request of that state. The pact helped pave the way for the construction of the Panama Canal.