Turkish Coalition of America

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Turkish History

• founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Turks,
  originally a nomadic people from Central Asia,
  established several empires, Turkish history
  extends back thousands of years before the
  including the Seljuk Empire and later the Ottoman
  Empire, which was founded in Anatolia by Turkish
  ruler Osman in 1299. The Ottomans took
  Constantinople in 1453 and became a dominant
  world power encompassing Anatolia, the Maghreb in
  North Africa, southeastern Europe, parts of the
  Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf, modern day
  Iraq, and portions of the Caucasus.
• Consequently, the Ottoman Empire had a
  religiously and ethnically diverse population.
  Ottoman loss of territory starting

in 17th
the century
prompted
constitutional, educational, military
and
reforms to in the late
begin
18th
century.
However, due fragmentation national groups
to of
within the empire, slow economic and
technological progress, and the
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Ottomans ill-fated alliance with Germany, the
empire collapsed at the end of World War I.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who had risen to
prominence as a war hero in the Battle of
Gallipoli, subsequently united disparate Turkish
forces against the foreign occupation of Turkish
lands and in favor of national sovereignty. When
the Turkish Republic was founded in 1923
following the successful Turkish War of National
Liberation, Ataturk instituted sweeping reforms
that would affect every part of Turkish society.
Among other changes, he ordered the conversion
of the Turkish alphabet from Arabic to Latin
script, encouraged European dress, and
incorporated German, Swiss, and Italian law
codes into Turkish law. Ultimately, he fashioned
the government to emulate Western parliamentary
democracy. The Turkish American Community
Turkeys orientation
Western would
later contribute to its being a charter member
of the United Nations, its inclusion in NATO
since 1952, and its pursuit of EU membership.
Today, Turkeys partnership with the West, its
geographic location, and its identity as a
majority-Muslim nation with a secular and
democratic constitution make it a key player in
its region and in the world. As part of its
mission to enhance understanding of Turkey and
Turkish Americans, TCA has compiled the below
resources to provide further information on
Turkish history. These lists are
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for informational purposes only and do not
necessarily constitute TCAs endorsement of or
association with these sources.
The TCA Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress is open The TCA Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress is open
to undergraduate/graduate students and recent graduates of to undergraduate/graduate students and recent graduates of
Turkish American heritage who wish to become active in Turkish American heritage who wish to become active in
American civic and political life, contribute to U.S.-Turkey American civic and political life, contribute to U.S.-Turkey
relations and the Turkish American community, and who are relations and the Turkish American community, and who are
committed to advancing the TCA mission. Since the program committed to advancing the TCA mission. Since the program
began in 2014, 132 Turkish Americans have attended the began in 2014, 132 Turkish Americans have attended the
Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress.
Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress The
Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) is accepting
applications for the 6th Annual Turkish American
Youth Leadership Congress. Held every year in
Washington, DC, this years Youth Congress
will be held October 24-27, 2019. Students and
young professionals of Turkish American heritage
are encouraged to apply. The Youth Leadership
Congress is open to undergraduate/graduate
students and recent graduates of Turkish
American heritage who wish to become active in
American civic and political life, contribute to
U.S.-Turkey relations and the Turkish American
community, and who are committed to advancing
the TCA mission.
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