Early Turkish Immigration to the United States in the Late 19Th and Early 20Th Centuries
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THE MISSING LINK: EARLY TURKISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY BILAL SERT, B.A., M.S. DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST 2014 DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my parents Selahattin (1947- 2007) and Meliyha, who always instilled in me love of learning and education, my wife Vildan, who uncomplainingly supported me even in my most difficult times throughout my studentship, my mentor Dr. Mahmoud Sadri, who has been more than a professor since I started PhD program , and Fethullah Gulen, who have changed my life and inspired me through education and dedication. ITHAF Tezimi evvela kalbimi ilim ogrenme askiyla dolduran ve varliklariyla dunya ahiret iftihar ettigim ve edecegim 2007 yilinda vefaat eden babam Selahattin Hocaefendi’ye ve annelerin sultani Meliha Hanimefendi’ye, bana ogrenciligim muddedtince sonsuz bir sabirla destek olan ve bununla da kalmayip bana iki mukemmel kiz cocugu armagan eden sevgili esim Vildan Hanimefendi’ye, ogrenciligimin her safhasinda bana bir hoca dan daha fazlasi olmus hatta ailemden biri olarak kabul ettigim ve kadirsinasligini omrum boyunca asla unutmayacagim muhterem hocam Dr. Mahmoud Sadri Beyefendi’ye, ve en sonunda bana mukaddes hedefler dogrultusunda ilham veren ve hayatimi anlamli hale getiren muhterem Fethullah Gulen Hocaefendi ye ithaf ediyorum. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dear Dr. Mahmoud Sadri, who thought me how to become an independent thinker, an objective academician, and a good friend. You are one of my best luck ever I have had. I cannot put my exact emotions for you in words so you are the one of whom I dedicated this dissertation to. From the deepest part of my heart, thank you very much unique person. I would like to thank Dear Dr. James Williams, who has been always available and ready to help 24/7. If I am PhD today, you know that I owe this to yours and Dr. Sadri’s unlimited patient and great support. By the way, I will always remember your three pages long vital, life changing recommendations in my first semester at TWU J. I will never forget your great encouragement, mentorship, and friendship for five years of my studentship. Thank you Dr. Williams, wise, patient, hard working and beautiful man. I would like to thank Dear Dr. Philip Yang. As you know, I have learned a lot from you. You played a significant role in my and all other Turkish students’ academic lives. Your tidy work ethic, professionalism, smiley face and enthusiasm for helping students taught me so much about professor& student relationship. I would like to thank Dr. Jessica Gullion for her kindness, accessibility, and patience against my loquaciousness. J I would like to thank Ms. Samantha Farmer, my friends Kavitha Koshy and Soni Thapa-Oli for their friendship and valuable support especially in my first year at TWU. I would like to thank Mr. Kerim Yuksel who supported me a lot and became a part of my family. Being an international student, I never felt lonely in the United States with his existence and brotherhood. Finally, I would like to thank Dear Mr. Keray Nouri and Ahmed Mustafa for their contributions and guidance through mining hitherto uncovered facts about their ancestors and other honorable early Turkish immigrants’ offspring in the United States. iv ABSTRACT BILAL SERT THE MISSING LINK: EARLY TURKISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES AUGUST 2014 Sociologists, economists, and historians have the study of international migration because of its social and economic impact both in sending and receiving countries. European, Asian, Latino, Cuban and African immigration waves and immigrants’ adaptation experiences in the United States have been explored in great depth. When it comes to the Turkish Immigration, however, the literature is limited to the migrants who have been coming to the New Land for last two/three decades in search of higher education and better life standards. I have located archival documents and early Turkish immigrants’ offspring currently residing in multiple states in the United States. I confirmed that 40-50,000 early Turkish immigrants arrived at the American East Cost’s seaports in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This information merits elaborate sociological treatment since early Turkish immigration and immigrants’ adaptation experiences in the United States have been neglected in sociological literature. Therefore, I decided to conduct a research that can be considered as the first step for tracking early Turkish immigration to the United States from a sociological point of view. The aim of v this study is to answer two sociological inquiries: First, what are initiating factors of early Turkish immigration to the United States? Second, what are early Turkish immigrants’ adaptation experiences in the United Sates? Using qualitative research method I concluded that initiating factors and adaptation experiences in early Turkish immigration to the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries cannot be explained through single motive. Various and multifaceted factors initiated and sustained early Turkish immigration to the New Land and multiple internal and external factors led early Turkish immigrants’ adaptation experiences. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION .................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... v LIST OF PICTURES ....................................................................................... ix LIST OF DIAGRAMS ...................................................................................... x LIST OF MAPS ............................................................................................... xi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Research Problem ......................................................... 3 Research Questions ................................................................................. 4 Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 5 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 7 The Extant Literature ................................................................................ 7 Relevant Sociological Literature ............................................................. 10 Initiating Factors……………..…………………………………………... ..... 10 Adaptation Experiences .......................................................................... 13 Overview ................................................................................................. 19 III. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 20 Method .................................................................................................... 20 Data ........................................................................................................ 22 vii Data Collection ....................................................................................... 25 Data Analysis .......................................................................................... 29 Limitations ............................................................................................... 31 IV. DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS FOR EARLY TURKISH IMMIGRANTS ........ 35 The Number of Early Turkish Immigrants .............................................. 36 Age Sex and Marital Status ................................................................... 39 Socioeconomic Status ........................................................................... 41 The Origins of Early Turkish Immigrants ............................................... 43 V. INITIATING FACTORS FOR EARLY TURKISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES ...................................................................... 45 Accelerating Factors .............................................................................. 47 Missionary Activities and Foreign Schools ............................................ 54 Social Network and Chain Migration ...................................................... 62 Chapter Summary .................................................................................. 69 VI. EARLY TURKISH IMMIGRANTS’ ADAPTATION EXPERIENCES ......... 70 Further Explorations Concerning Adaptation Experiences .................... 98 VII. CONCLUSIONS: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS……………………………………………………..………104 Suggestions For Further Research On Turkish Immigration……………109 REFERENCES .......................................................................................... .110 viii LIST OF PICTURES Picture Page 1. The Arab (Turkish) Colony in New York City ............................................ 72 2. Turkish Village and Mosque Constructed in 1893, Chicago ..................... 77 3. Turkish Village and Mosque Constructed in 1893, Chicago ..................... 77 4. Early Turkish Immigrants Working in Tannery Factory in Peabody, MA .