Turkish-American relations in the press: 1960-1964

Turkish-American relations, whose history dates back to the end of the 1600s, remained within the economic framework for a long time. Before declaring its independence, the USA had been transporting safely under the British flag in the Mediterranean sea. However, they could not find the former environment of confidence after declaring the independence and leaving British assurance. The first contact between the Ottoman Empire, which dominated the Mediterranean Sea at that time, and America occured while America was trading at the mentioned sea. In order to trade safely in the Mediterranean, America had to make agreements with Morocco, Algeria, Tripoli and Tunisia between the years 1786-1797. Because of the distance between The Ottoman Empire and The USA, a direct political relationship hadn't been able to established and these treaties established the basis of political relations between the two countries. Turkish - American relations, which had started to increase since the beginning of the 1800s, were mostly in the economic area. While trying to develop its trade by entering the Ottoman market, America was also trying to create the foundations of future political steps. America always supported schools, hospitals and places of worship established on the lands of Ottoman Empire with the aim of creating communities that sympathised the policies of America. Turkish-American relations, which came to a standstill with the beginning of the War of Independence, came back to the agenda with the idea of the American mandate that emerged in 1918-1922 and accelerated after the declaration of the Republic. The right of coast trading treaty (Seyr-i Sefain (ticaret ve denizcilik) anlaşması), which was signed 1st October. 1929, was seen as the withdrawal of American foreign capital to help Turkey's economic development. The assistance to Turkey by the United States was also articulated frequently after that date. While the size and extent of American assistance went on increasingly day by day, the expectations of America grew as well. This study which examines the Turkish-American relations between 1960-1963 shows that after Turkey became a member of NATO, America increased its assistance to Turkey in terms of economy and military. It also shows that America responded to the demands of Turkey positively which was trying to carry out its development plan and America also tried to show Turkey as a friendly and allied country to protect their self-interest on the area and Turkey.