History 102SY The United States and the Middle East 1900 to the Present

Woodrow Wilson and the Breakup of the Ottoman Empire

Three issues drawing US into Middle East during WWI: 1) Armenian issue 2) Zionist issue 3) Imperialist issue

Imperialist Issue November 1917—Bolsheviks seized power in Russia

Late 1917—Bolsheviks exposed Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 Imperialist Issue Mark SykesFrançois Georges- Picot

January 1918—Wilson issued Fourteen Points; Point Twelve called for breakup of Ottoman Empire and “autonomous development” of Empire’s non- Turkish components Imperialist Issue

November 1918—Germany, Austria, and Turkey were defeated With dissolution of Ottoman Empire, US now faced same three issues as during war: imperialist issue, Zionist issue, and Armenian issue

Henry King 1919—Wilson sent King-Crane Commission to Middle East to ascertain wishes of native inhabitants Charles Crane Imperialism and Zionism

Henry King King-Crane Commission concluded that 1) Syrian population was adamantly opposed to French mandate in Syria and 2) Zionist program should not be implemented Charles Crane Imperialism and Zionism

But Wilson was in no position to heed King- Crane recommendations

1920—At Treaty of San Remo France got single mandate over Syria and Lebanon; Britain got separate mandates over Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine

Sykes-Picot and San Remo

—Britain and France urged US to assume mandates over Constantinople and Turkish Straits and over newly proclaimed Armenian republic Armenian issue

Neither idea came to fruition Armenian issue

1920—Turkish forces crushed Armenian republic, whose territory was reabsorbed by Turkey and Soviet Union

1923—In Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey, led by Mustafa Kemal, regained sovereignty over Straits Mustafa Kamal

1922—British and French mandates formally established in Middle East

The Interwar Period

During interwar years US official involvement in ME was minimal, but images and ideas about ME circulated widely in American popular culture

Post-WWI situation in ME: Ottoman Empire dissolved—Turkey became modern republic

Post-WWI situation in ME: 1920s and 1930s—Mustafa Kamal Ataturk was Turkey’s president; encouraged Westernization and secularization

Post-WWI situation in ME: Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine placed under British mandates; Syria and Lebanon under French mandate

Post-WWI situation in ME: Saudi Arabia and Iran were nominally independent; Egypt remained a British protectorate

In 1920s US public and government turned away from Woodrow Wilson’s policy of active involvement in world politics

Immigration Act of 1924 Established quotas for nationalities based on their percentage of U.S. population in 1890 Virtually excluded all East Asian immigrants

New media and travel possibilities Nevertheless, technology and mass culture made Americans more, not less, connected to outside world in 1920s

1916—Sherif Hussein launched “Arab Revolt” against Ottoman Empire

During WWI—Col. T.E. Lawrence assisted Arab revolt against Ottoman Empire Myth of “Lawrence of Arabia”

During WWI—Lowell Thomas “discovered” Lawrence Myth of “Lawrence of Arabia”

After war Thomas publicized Lawrence’s exploits in US, helping to spark Arabian craze in 1920s Myth of “Lawrence of Arabia” 1919

After war Thomas publicized Lawrence’s exploits in US, helping to spark Arabian craze in 1920s Myth of “Lawrence of Arabia” 1919

Arabesque themes in US popular culture

Rudolph Valentino Arabesque themes in US popular culture

1921 Arabesque themes in US popular culture 1926

1921

Arabesque themes in US popular culture “The Sultan of Swat” Babe Ruth

Arabesque themes in US popular culture

1919

By 1930s Americans increasingly concerned with two ME issues: Zionism and oil

Hadassah sewing circle, Boston, s and early 1930s—American Zionist groups declined Zionism

Rise of Hitler in 1930s revived Zionist movement

November 1938—Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) 1938—Nazis stepped up persecution of Jews

Kristallnacht produced major exodus of Jews out of Germany

Amid global depression, German Jewish refugees had severe difficulty getting visas to enter other Western countries

Immigration Act of 1924

President Franklin Roosevelt was sympathetic to Jewish refugees but did little to ease immigration restrictions

American Zionists grew stronger in mid- to late 1930s; pressured Britain to ease restrictions on Jewish immigration into Palestine Zionist Organization of America convention, New York, 1939

Britain initially responded favorably to Zionist pressure, but began to have second thoughts in late 1930s, due to intensity of Palestinian and Arab opposition to Zionism Palestinian rebels against British rule, late 1930s

1939—Britain issued White Paper Placed strict limits on numbers of Jews admitted to Palestine each year Regulated land sales in Palestine to Zionist institutions and individuals

David Ben-Gurion Zionists bitterly opposed White Paper, which appeared as refugee situation in Europe was growing increasingly dire

Oil In 1920s reliance on automobile (and thus demand for oil) grew extremely rapidly in US

Oil

1928—American oil companies signed “Red Line Agreement” with British, French, and Dutch companies for excavating for oil in former Ottoman Empire

1933—Standard Oil of California (SOCAL) got concession to prospect for oil in Saudi Arabia

1938—Socal struck oil