191 Journalism History 41:4 (Winter 2016) he Image and the Perception of the Turk in Freedom’s Journal ERDEM GÜVEN he importance of Freedom’s Journal to African American society as the irst African American newspaper in the United States is indisputable. News and articles that were published in this newspaper had great impact on African American society of the nineteenth century. he newspaper had a crucial role in creating consciousness about racism and slavery problems in the United States. Freedom’s Journal was also trying to raise awareness within the ranks of African Americans regarding the problem of slavery in other countries and was furthermore committed to enlightening African Americans about those distant countries. he Ottoman Empire was one of those “distant and unknown countries,” especially for the African Americans in those years (1820s). In this article, the perception of “the Turk” in Freedom’s Journal has been examined through published news, poems, and articles that were especially focused on the Greek Uprising, Islam, the Janissaries, and the role of women in Ottoman society. Literature research techniques have been used as a method of research for this paper. In all, 103 issues of Freedom’s Journal that were published weekly from 1827 to 1829 have been searched and all scripts that were related to subjects such as the Ottoman Empire, Islam, and the Greek Uprising have been examined. ERDEM GÜVEN, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and member of the faculty of communication at Kastamonu University, where he specializes in communication studies and Middle Eastern sociology. He has published several books and papers in Turkish and English related to intercultural communication, including “Kuzguncuk as a Village of Mutual Respect and Harmony” in the book Sites of Jewish Memory and Mekan-Kimlik- Yahudilik. Special acknowledgements to Dr. Mehmet Yilmazata, undersecreteriat of the Turkish Treasury, for his contributions to this article. Correspondence to eguven@kastamonu.edu.tr. F reedom’s Journal was the irst newspaper that was owned and operated by African Americans, 1 launched in New York City. It should be stressed that Freedom’s Journal as the irst publication of its kind was dedicated to the advancement of political consciousness among the African American population. herefore, it was the irst “independent communications network among black freed men” and as such assumed a pioneering role in the evolvement of the “black press.” 2 While it had a relatively modest number of printed copies (roughly eight hundred), it was widely distributed among the African American population in and around New York state. Besides setting an example for other journals to dedicate themselves to the “black cause,” it also inspired the evolvement of white working-class newspapers. 3 After the pioneering role of Freedom’s Journal, about a half-dozen African American newspapers such as the North Star were published during the antebellum era. 4 Freedom’s Journal is important not only in terms of prewar journalism covering abolitionist causes but also as a distinctive publication that covered international subjects. One interesting aspect of Freedom’s Journal was its coverage of international events such as the Greek War of Independence (1821); the Greek Uprising against the Ottoman Empire was instrumentalized by the paper for its own agenda. his article deals with a subject that has been overlooked: that the Freedom’s Journal’s publishers were trying to connect the race-based institution of slavery in North America with a group perceived as slaves, the Janissary Corps in the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, in a somehow contradictory way, Freedom’s Journal tried to link adversaries (Janissary soldiers and Greek insurgents) in its argument against slavery. his article attempts to identify the scope and publication history of Freedom’s Journal regarding the Greek Uprising and its links to abolitionism and the Janissary Corps. Freedom’s Journal’s relevant issues themselves have been used as primary sources while secondary literature on race and the contemporary media of the early nineteenth century have been chosen in order to support this article’s thesis. Freedom’s Journal was founded and edited by two free-born African Americans in March 1827: Samuel E. Cornish, who was the pastor of the First Colored Presbyterian Church in New York City, and John B. Russwurm, a graduate of Bowdoin College. In September