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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UM! films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy subm itted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI* EVANGELIZING THE ORIENT: AMERICAN MISSIONARIES IN IRAN, 1890-1940 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Matthew Mark Davis, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Peter L. Hahn, Adviser ^ Professor Michael J. Hogan >/ [__ Adviser Professor Stephen F. Dale Department of History UMI Number: 3022470 UMI UMI Microform 3022470 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT American missionaries were continuously active in Iran from 1832 until 1979 and yet their foundational role in shaping the relationship between America and Iran has been largely ignored. The missionaries brought with them to Iran an ideology of mission that informed their actions. Although their primary objective was the “evangelization of Iran in this generation,” they also undertook other secular enterprises in support of evangelism. The missionaries believed that both Christianization and Westernization were interrelated and sought to bring the blessings of Western civilization and the Christian faith to Iran. As a result, the missionaries were both consciously and unconsciously agents of Western cultural transmission in the country. The missionaries’ work took shape along evangelistic, medical, and educational lines. In addition to administering churches, the missionaries also opened many hospitals, dispensaries, and schools throughout northern Iran. The schools especially provided missionaries with significant influence among Iran’s elite. The missionaries tried unsuccessfully to remain aloof from Iranian and imperial politics. As long as the Iranian central government remained weak, the missionaries were able to carry on their work without much government interference. With the rise of Reza Shah, however, their work was gradually curtailed, resulting in the closure of all American missionary schools in 1939. The missionaries impressed Iranians of all classes with their sacrificial service to a country that was not their own. One American missionary, Howard Baskersdlle, died a martyr to Iran’s Constitutional Revolution and was honored by subsequent generations of Iranians as the “Lafayette of Iran.” American missionaries also provided great service to Iranians during World War I. As a result, the missionaries raised Iranian expectations of the United States to an unrealistic level and contributed to the disillusion of many Iranians toward America in the post-World War II era. This dissertation is based on primary documents from the Presbyterian Historical Society, the Princeton Theological Seminary, the National Archives and Record Administration, the British Public Record Office, and the University of Oregon Archives. Tills study also draws on both primary and secondary published Persian-language sources. Ill Dedicated to Holly Davis IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I received financial support from many avenues that made my education and dissertation research possible. The G.I. Bill and the Army College Fund subsidized my undergraduate education at Millersville University. The Ohio State University’s Department of History provided generous financial assistance that allowed me to attend graduate school. A Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship provided me with the time and money to devote an entire year to dissertation research without distraction. Research grants from the Office of International Studies, the Department of History, and the Graduate School at Ohio State also defrayed the expenses of research trips to London, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Princeton, and Eugene, Oregon. I am greatly indebted to the archivists and staff at various archives around the world. I would especially like to acknowledge the fiiendly and helpful staff at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Princeton Theological Seminary. The staff at both archives went out of their way to help me with my research. I would also like to thank my advisers. Professors Peter Hahn, Michael Hogan, and Stephen Dale, each of whom made significant contributions to this dissertation. Professor Richard Davis, Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages, though not officially on the dissertation committee, provided much help at the early stages of the dissertation. The contributions of this dissertation owe much to the gracious help provided by these scholars. Needless to say, all mistakes are my own. No acknowledgement would be complete without recognizing the support of my family. My father. Reverend William S. Davis, ignited a lifelong love of history in me and introduced me to many missionaries throughout my youth. My father-in-law. Professor James C. Parks, encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D. and provided much wisdom and encouragement along the way. My mother-in-law, Vicki Parks, served as a research assistant at times and critiqued earlier permutations of the dissertation. Above and beyond all reasonable expectations of one’s in-laws, the Parks’ also provided me with room and board for several months while I did research in Philadelphia. Most importantly, my wife, Holly Davis, unfailingly provided me with love, encouragement, and financial support all throughout graduate school, as well as a beautiful daughter. This dissertation could not have been attempted, much less completed, without her unfailing support. VI VITA December 17, 1970 .........................................Bom — Warsaw, Indiana July, 1989 - June, 1993 ................................United States Army, Enlisted May, 1996 ........................................................B.A., Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Millersville, Pennsylvania June, 1998 ..................................................... Master of Arts, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio September, 1996 - present ............................Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1999 — present............................................... Editorial Assistant/Assistant Editor Diplomatic Historv 2000 — present............................................... Special Projects Editor Retrieving the American Past FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History Studies in: American Diplomatic History Modem American History Middle Eastem History VII TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .....................................................................................................................................ii Dedication.................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................v V ita...........................................................................................................................................vii Note on Transliteration...........................................................................................................ix Chapters: 1 - Introduction: American Missionaries in Iran: The Forgotten Foundations of a Relationship....................................................................................... 1 2. “A Good Field for the Work:” The Origins of American Mission Work in Iran in the Nineteenth Century ........................................................................................43 3. The Ideology of Mission: American Missionaries, Financial Advisors, and the Ideology of Social and Economic Reform ...................................................................... 80 4. Defenders of the Oppressed: Missionaries, Mirrder, and Mayhem in West Persia, 1890-1907 ................................................................................................ 125 5. The Legend of Howard Baskerville: American Missionaries and the Constitutional Revolution of 1907-1911 ....................................................................