In 1827, when Greek was struggling to gain their independence, they sent a letter of gratitude to President John Quincy Adams for "extending a helping hand toward the Old World". It was a very proud moment for America, whose citizens and representatives in Congress had shared their patriotic zeal around the globe to both materially and spiritually support Greeks in the revolt against the Islamic Ottoman Empire. President John Adams shared the news of a letter from the people of Greece and gave credit to "the representatives of that nation to whom this tribute of gratitude was intended to be paid, and to whom it was justly due." His words are vague, and could be meant to give credit to heroes like Daniel Webster in Congress or those of the American citizens. Nevertheless, it was a proud moment for America.
On March 25, 1821, on the Feast of Annunciation, Christian Greeks in the Southern region of Greece began their revolt against the Islamic Ottoman Empire that had been ruling Greece since 1453. The Greek revolts led to deadly fighting thought the region, and the reaction of the Ottoman empire was fierce, culminating with the public hanging of the Patriarch of the the Greek Orthodox Church, Gregory V. after Easter Sunday services in what became known as the Constantinople Massacre of 1821. It was a time of mass executions, destruction of churches, and looting of the property owned by the Greeks. When news of the these events and the ongoing revolution reached the ordinary people of Europe it was greeted with enthusiasm. Hundreds of young men from all over Europe gathered in the French ports to book a passage to Greece and join the revolution. The cry "Freedom or death" became the motto of the revolution. Patriotic Greeks were successful early on, even capturing Athens in 1822, but by 1827 the Turks had recaptured Athens and most of the Greek Isles.
It is without question, that success of America's own revolution and the French Revolution that followed played a significant role in stimulating not only the Greeks, but also many ordinary people of Europe who joined them enthusiastically. But even more important, the American people joined them in both spirit and material, by celebrating all things Greek, and responding to Greek appeal for sympathy by sending arms and vessels, and some even volunteering to go to Greece. In 1822, President James Monroe described it in this way: "The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is susceptible." Philhellenism (love of everything Greek) was taking hold not only in Europe, but across the United States. The Greek "senate" at Calamata reciprocated with a revolution which declared, "that having deliberately resolved to live or die for freedom, they were drawn by an irresistible sympathy to the people of the United States". (Tuckerman 1887)
Throughout the revolution, news of the men, women and children who were tortured and put to death, and stories of Christians carried off and sold into slavery reached the American press, and they responded in noble fashion by describing the horrors and telling stories of the sacrifices of the many heroes among the Greeks. Many citizens of the United States wanted not only to send good wishes, but urged that our government to provide whatever assistance was possible. When, then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams received a Greek appeal for recognition of their independence, he replied that the United States was limited by their policy of neutrality, "Yet we cherish the most friendly relations toward the Greeks". For the time being, assistance from the United States would need to come only from the generosity of her citizens. But, in 1825 public pressure on Congress and the White house, led Daniel Webster to push a resolution in the House, that would defray the expenses of sending an "agent or commission to Greece, when the President shall deem it expedient t make such an appointment". The dedication to a policy of neutrality was breaking down, and in Webster's speech he was looking to capitalize on the enthusiasm and excitement of the country at large, when he spoke of the "cause of liberty and Christianity" and "a sense of our duty, our character, and our own interests" (Tuckerman 1887) . The house committee never voted on the resolution, but Webster's speech was widely printed and widely circulated by the press.
Support from American citizens, and members of Congress like Henry Clay was very well received by the Greek patriots and in response President John Quincy Adams received a letter of gratitude from the President of "The Third National Assembly of Greece". The letter included a very touching message for America, "In extending a helping hand toward the Old World, and encouraging it in its march to freedom and civilization, the New World covers itself with increased glory and does honor to humility. Greece, Sir, has received with gratitude the signal testimonies of the philanthropic sentiments of the people of North America, as well as its generous assistance."
In his 1827 State of the Union address, after a few words of our shared interest with Emperor Nicholas in the Greek revolution, President Adams shared that the "sympathies which the people and Government of the United States have so warmly indulged with their cause have been acknowledged by their Government in a letter of thanks" had been received. In a moment of truth, Adams wanted to give credit where credit was due by communicating to Congress that the letter was for "the representatives of that nation to whom this tribute of gratitude was intended to be paid, and to whom it was justly due." The words are a bit vague, and can be interpreted as meaning the credit is due to certain Congressman like Webster or to the American people they represent. Either way, it was a very proud moment for America.
"Since the accession of the Emperor Nicholas to the imperial throne of all the Russias the friendly dispositions toward the United States so constantly manifested by his predecessor have continued unabated, and have been recently testified by the appointment of a minister plenipotentiary to reside at this place. From the interest taken by this Sovereign in behalf of the suffering Greeks and from the spirit with which others of the great European powers are cooperating with him the friends of freedom and of humanity may indulge the hope that they will obtain relief from that most unequal of conflicts which they have so long and so gallantly sustained; that they will enjoy the blessing of self government, which by their sufferings in the cause of liberty they have richly earned, and that their independence will be secured by those liberal institutions of which their country furnished the earliest examples in the history of man-kind, and which have consecrated to immortal remembrance the very soil for which they are now again profusely pouring forth their blood. The sympathies which the people and Government of the United States have so warmly indulged with their cause have been acknowledged by their Government in a letter of thanks, which I have received from their illustrious President, a translation of which is now communicated to Congress, the representatives of that nation to whom this tribute of gratitude was intended to be paid, and to whom it was justly due."
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). John Quincy Adams: Third Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29469 [Accessed 9 May 2018].Stateoftheunionhistory.com. (2018). 1822 James Monroe - Greek War of Independence, Philhellenism. [online] Available at: http://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2017/08/1822-james-monroe-greek-war-of.html [Accessed 9 May 2018].
Tuckerman, C. (1887). The United States and the Greek Revolution. The Magazine of American History, (The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries Volume 18), pp.217 - 232.
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