Christian Solidarity Quotes
Greece was then a small country and Turkey a giant world power as the Ottoman Empire. The had been nothing adverse in US relations with the Turks and yet here was a US president emotionally siding with the Greeks against the Turks. There were two reasons. First, we were in constant conflict with the Barbary States which were Muslims as were the Turks. Americans, not ignorant of the Crusades and the historical conflict tended to side with their co-religionists. Second, the Ottoman Empire was as non-republican and undemocratic as the worst monarchies, and Greece was fighting for its freedom. It is hard to tell which factor was more influential.
The active involvement of organized religion in partisan politics is nothing new. The Methodist church not only actively campaigned for Abraham Lincoln, but viewed him as the selection of God.