Abolitionism, Reform, and Philhellenic Rhetoric

This chapter discusses the masterpiece of the American sculptor Hiram Powers, The Greek Slave, which addresses the way popular support for the Greeks changed political rhetoric in America, specifically in antislavery and women's rights circles. Even though Americans characterized Ottoman slavery as a mark of despotism, before 1821 few Americans connected Ottoman slavery with American slavery. Slavery inflicted on Americans taken captive by North African states, which were loosely connected with the Ottoman Empire, dominated anti-Ottoman discussion throughout the Barbary Wars and was an important way the American public identified the Turks as tyrannical and despotic. By the close of the Greek Revolution, abolitionist authors, however, began to read philhellenic rhetoric against the grain, calling upon antebellum American audiences to do the same. Many Americans came to realize the contradiction in supporting reform on the other side of the world while similar problems existed at home, particularly with regard to slavery and women's rights.