American Public Opinion on Ankara's Becoming the Capital in The New York Times and The Washington Post

Capitals all over the world have been the centers where decisions are taken on political, economic, administrative, military, security and all matters concerning the country. Since the arrival of the Turks in Anatolia, their capitals have also changed according to the position and status of the state. Therefore, capturing the capital of a country means the destruction of that state. After the Armistice of Mondros, signed on October 30, 1918, the occupation of Istanbul, the centuries-old capital of the Ottoman Empire, by the Entente Powers caused the departure and center of the National Struggle to shift to Anatolia. With the arrival of Mustafa Kemal in Ankara on 27 December 1919 and the statement that the headquarters of the Representative Committee, which is the representative of the Turkish Nation, is Ankara, Ankara became the de facto capital from the beginning of the National Struggle. After the Turkish nation's rightful struggle that resulted in victory, the sultanate was abolished on November 1, 1922, but the center of the caliphate was still Istanbul. With a proposal submitted to the Speaker of the Assembly on October 9, 1923, it was proposed that Ankara be officially declared the capital. Ankara, the ancient city that has been at the center of many Turkish Empires for thousands of years, became the capital of the new Turkish State on October 13, 1923, with the voting and the law enacted after the negotiations. Ankara's being the capital city received a reaction not only from within the country but also from abroad. The fact that Ankara is the capital has been the subject of many news in the international press as well as in the Turkish press. In this study, it will be tried to explain how Ankara's being the capital of the Republic of Türkiye was received by the American public, especially The New York Times and The Washington Post, which are the leading newspapers of the American press.

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