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Article: Egypt, Relations with
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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EGYPT, RELATIONS WITH
EGYPT, RELATIONS WITH.
When John Led-yard (1751
–
1789) traveled to Egypt in the late eighteenth century, he had little enthusiasm for Egypt, stating that Alexandria was merely "a small town built on the ruins of antiquity." This first contact between Egypt and the United States illustrates the incidental, and somewhat disappointing, encounters that the new empire would experience until the twentieth century, when the United States adopted a pivotal role in the Middle East.
In general, the nineteenth century presented a wide spectrum of U.S. encounters with Egypt that were not motivated by diplomatic or economic concerns. Americans traveled to Egypt to tour ...