The Study Of United States And The Armenian Question(1830-1922)

Since the arrival of American missionaries in the Ottoman Empire,the United States has expanded in the Near East in a unique pattern of "a combination of navy,commerce and missionaries," and American missionaries have been tightly involved in the Armenian issue.This paper works in the following aspects: first,it takes the issue between the United States and Armenia from 1830 to 1922 as the research object;second,it studies the policy from the perspective of the history of international relations of the United States on the issue of Armenia;further still,it analyzes the changes in the countermeasures of the United States and the underlying causes and influences of these changes.The American missionary activities served as a promoter of the tendency toward independence of the Armenians,which was a critical factor of the later Armenian Genocide.In the mid-1990 s,the slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire drew extensive attention from the U.S.government and public opinion,and American attention to the incident became a signal of a shift of U.S.policy.After World War I,President Wilson ended up in failure in repeated efforts on the issue of Armenian autonomy and the arbitration of "Armenian territory".Yet,the United States achieved greatly in the policy of fund-raising and relief for Armenian refugees.With the republic of Armenia's integration into the Soviet Union and the triumph of the Kemal's Revolution,the successor Warren Harding's government disengaged from the near east,which basically marked an end of American policy on Armenia issue.Throughout the history from the 1830 s to the 1920 s,America's continued interest in Armenia was essentially a typical example that of American characteristics expansion model.Even in the period of "Isolationism" pursued by the United States,the Armenian problem was deeply influenced and to a certain extent influenced its development.However,advantages and weaknesses of the "Cultural Diplomacy" of the United States should be viewed impartially.First,it is the vanguard which pursuing American hegemony,is another form of aggression and expansion;additionally,its "Cultural Diplomacy" is,to some degree,instrumental.With schools,hospitals,and relief programs setting up,countless lives of Armenian refugees being saved,development of culture and education for Armenians promoting,the missionaries have dedicated wholly to those courses.Due to the geopolitical position,national strengths and the changes of its foreign policies,the United States finally failed to solve the Armenian problem that lasted for more than a hundred years.Eventually,the Soviet Union solved the Armenian problem by occupying Armenia by force as one of its republics.The United States cannot place impact on the Armenian problem any longer,and the focus on Armenia drew to a close in 1922 with the withdrawal of the United States near east aid and relief and rehabilitation agency from the Caucasus.