Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

History

First Advisor

Dr. Yücel Yanikdağ

Second Advisor

Dr. Sydney Watts

Abstract

During the early Turkish Republic, a goal of the new government was to set up systems that would help develop the country. One of these systems was their medical infrastructure which included medical education, public health, and hospitals. Ever suspicious of foreign investment since the events leading to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish government decided to employ the help of the American aid organization, the Rockefeller Foundation because of their seeming lack of imperialistic goals. Turkish government and the Rockefeller Foundation sought to further their aims through cooperation. The Turkish government sought to gain legitimacy for its new state through medicine and extend the government’s reach into the almost untouched rural provinces. The Rockefeller Foundation sought to spread American influence to bring American on to the world stage. This paper shows the reasons that each actor had for their goals as well as the particular shape that these interactions took.

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