The Game of United States Diplomacy Within the Ottoman Empire: How the United States’ Interests in the Ottoman Empire Delayed its Entrance into the Great War

At the outbreak of World War I, the Ottoman Empire expanded its diplomatic ties with many world powers, in hopes of remaining the gateway to the Middle East. The empire remained a target for land acquisition by Britain, France, and Russia through their expansion of imperialist interests. The United States at this time was a budding superpower that established a diplomatic tie with the Ottomans through Henry Morgenthau, the United States diplomat to Constantinople. The United States attempted to use its neutrality and diplomacy to keep the Ottoman Empire out of the Great War, prolonging the eventual Ottoman entry into World War I. The United States created a unique bond with the Ottoman Empire due to its lack of interest in Ottoman lands, but with more of an interest in building an economic, social, and political relationship. Scholars have overlooked the history of the United States’ interests within the Ottoman Empire during the few months leading up to the Great War. As such, historians have missed the beginning stages of the United States becoming a global superpower. Using the primary sources from the United States’ National Archives, this essay will discuss the untold history of American interests within the Ottoman Empire