The Legacy of American Philhellenism

This concluding chapter evaluates the legacy of American philhellenism. Early Americans of the 1820s believed they were imparting wisdom and humanitarian relief to the Greek population. At the same time, their experiences in the Greek War of Independence had a profound impact on American culture that reverberated within politics and reform for decades to come. Indeed, although the Greek Fire initially aimed at helping the Greeks as an extension of philanthropic relief abroad, ironically, in the end, it transformed American society. Both the rhetoric of the Greek cause and participation in the movement influenced the participants, inspiring them to bring attention to abolition and women's rights through a global lens. Though the consensus among philhellenic organizations of the early 1820s was short-lived and not all supporters went on to become radical advocates of abolition and women's rights, the memory of the Greek cause continued to play a pivotal role in American reform through the nineteenth and into the early twentieth centuries.

Americans, Greeks, and Ottomans before 1821

This chapter provides context for the years leading up to the Greek War of Independence, tracing how early Americans came to know Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Early American interest in Greece was varied, inspiring merchants, Christian missionaries, politicians, intellectuals, and adventure seekers alike to take notice of the evolving situation within the Ottoman Empire. With Greece perceived as the intellectual and political ancestor of the American Republic, each of these groups at times disagreed but also worked together toward advancing an American presence in Greece and Western Asia. American perceptions of Greece were at first molded by European and American prejudices against the Ottoman Turks. While early Americans saw themselves as having a unique and particular interest in Greece and the Ottoman Empire as a result of their own revolution, the origins of American philhellenism should be understood as being part of a global conversation concerning commerce, diplomacy, and humanitarianism. Existing conflict within the Ottoman Empire combined with European and American interest in the region played an important role in the outbreak of the Greek Revolution and influenced how an American audience came to perceive the war.

The Spark of the Greek Fire

This introductory chapter presents an overview of the Greek Revolution and the “The Greek Fire,” a label used by early American newspapers for the national outpouring of sympathy and support for the Greek cause. The elements of the American Greek Fire consisted of enthusiasm for the Greek cause, driven by the belief that democratic ideals bound early Americans to Greece's ancient past. When the Greek Revolution began, American merchants, missionaries, and reformers had a presence in the Ottoman Empire and desired to increase their influence in the region. These American non-state actors both indirectly and directly steered the early course of American foreign affairs in the eastern Mediterranean. At times, they worked at cross-purposes and jeopardized one another's goals in the region. The chapter then looks at Greek classicism, the classical tradition in American politics, and the origins of the American philhellenic movement.

Philhellenism Joins with American Benevolence

This chapter explores the evolution of the American philhellenic movement and its emergence as distinct from the European movement. An important aspect of this transition concerns the way the American philhellenic movement became an extension of benevolent organizations directed toward assisting Greek women and children instead of Greek soldiers. Benevolent societies and community charity groups frequently centered around local churches were popular especially among elite and middle-class Protestant women in both the Northern and Southern states by the early nineteenth century. The chapter traces popular support for the Greek cause and illustrates how this support became more solidified through the activism of Lord Byron and the lack of official support from the U.S. government. Ultimately, while early Americans donated time, money, and supplies to aid the Greek cause, the goal was to provide relief to a Christian population and effect an independent Greek republic.

European Philhellenism Crosses the Atlantic

This chapter describes how Americans embraced European philhellenism and how it first evolved as a movement in the United States. Lord Byron's philhellenism and his subsequent pledge to join the Greek army particularly energized interest in the Greek cause on both sides of the Atlantic. Although the American philhellenic movement initially drew some momentum from its European counterpart, it quickly became a unique one in its own right. More than any other revolution of the nineteenth century, the Greek War of Independence saw Americans in both the North and South quickly connecting it with their own revolution, and they regarded it as their duty to raise public awareness and support for the cause. Americans quickly mobilized an active cause when it became obvious that the U.S. government would neither officially recognize Greek independence nor would provide the Greek army with military aid. This mobilization of popular support for the Greek cause generated what many newspapers termed “the Greek Fire.”

Philhellenes Clash with American Commerce

This chapter examines the internal conflict that emerged over popular support for the Greek cause. In 1815, after the War of 1812 and the Barbary Wars ended, American merchants hoped they had finally secured the ability to freely conduct business abroad. The goal had always been to advance an American perspective of commerce. National intervention had indeed secured a treaty, but popular intervention on the part of the philhellenes as well as European politics had prolonged the process. American officials not only had to navigate a geopolitical landscape, then dominated by less-than-friendly empires and monarchies, but they also struggled to explain to their Ottoman counterparts the nature of a republican society: some members of the American public may have supported Greek independence, but the United States government desired a friendly and lucrative relationship with the Sublime Porte. By the end of negotiations, the Greek Revolution had served as the backdrop for early American efforts at communicating their political identities to a larger world.

Abolitionism, Reform, and Philhellenic Rhetoric

This chapter discusses the masterpiece of the American sculptor Hiram Powers, The Greek Slave, which addresses the way popular support for the Greeks changed political rhetoric in America, specifically in antislavery and women's rights circles. Even though Americans characterized Ottoman slavery as a mark of despotism, before 1821 few Americans connected Ottoman slavery with American slavery. Slavery inflicted on Americans taken captive by North African states, which were loosely connected with the Ottoman Empire, dominated anti-Ottoman discussion throughout the Barbary Wars and was an important way the American public identified the Turks as tyrannical and despotic. By the close of the Greek Revolution, abolitionist authors, however, began to read philhellenic rhetoric against the grain, calling upon antebellum American audiences to do the same. Many Americans came to realize the contradiction in supporting reform on the other side of the world while similar problems existed at home, particularly with regard to slavery and women's rights.