The Formation Of A Constitutional Partnership: Ahmet Emin (Yalman), Ottoman InternationalStudents, And The Transformation OfOttoman-American Relations In The SecondConstitutional Period

The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 inaugurated a new constitutional era in theOttoman Empire, unleashing hopes of a reinvigorated state committed to progressafter the decades of authoritarian Hamidian rule. While crowds of Ottomans ofdiverse backgrounds gathered in the streets to celebrate the dawn of a new era, foreignpowers had mixed reactions to the changes brought about by the revolution. Incontrast to the ambivalence of others, the official American reactions were unequivocallypositive. The Ottoman-American relationship had been relatively unimportantto both states, though Americans had significant interest in the Ottoman Empirethrough trade and missionary presence. The historiography of Ottoman-Americanrelations tends not to focus on the second constitutional period. However, the 1908Revolution witnessed a more significant transformation in the Ottoman-Americanrelationship than is often assumed. This thesis will analyze American diplomaticresponses to the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, arguing that the shared commitmentto constitutionalism emerging from the revolution opened up possibilities ofcooperation that had not existed before, as seen in the Ottoman student experienceColumbia University and especially that of Ahmet Emin (Yalman) . The cooperationof American and Ottoman embassies, Columbia University professors andadministration, and Ottoman students forged ties of trust and cooperation rootedin the possibilities of progress that could emerge from constitutional friendship.