Time Line 800 BCE 1000 CE Ancient mariners from the Mid dle East are thought to have traveled to the Americas They call it Ard Majhoola and Maples YM 1492 At least one Arab guide Louis de Torre accompanies Columbus on his famous voyage to the Americas 1528 Moroccan Zammouri guides a Spanish expe dition into
1539 Estaphan the Arab a Moroccan guide explores the Southwest 1776 Private Nathan Badeen from Syria dies fight ing in the American Revolution 1777 The Kingdom of Morocco is the first country to recognize the new United States as a sov ereign nation 1790 South Carolina rules that Moroccan Arabs liv ing in the state should be treated according to the laws for whites not the laws for blacks from Africa However enslaved Moroccans are not freed in spite of the law 1840 Captain Ahmed bin Naaman from Oman sails into New York Harbor making him the first Arab delegate to visit the United States it was the beginning of trade between the two Countries 1850 1920 Called the Pioneers the largest group from Greater Syria comes to the United States during these years Most work in factories or as peddlers setting up vast trading networks across the
1856 The US military imports camels to use in mil itary operations in the Southwest Arab camel drivers are hired and brought to America to work with the animals 1865 Over 5 300 Arab Muslim Americans serve in the Civil War 1869 The opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt makes it possible for more people to emigrate from places like Yemen 1875 Many Arabs arrive through New Orleans Louisiana which provides access to the north and west 1876 The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia attracts Arab merchants especially those from Palestine They do so well that many stay and peddle items from the Holy Land 1890 Syrians and Lebanese begin to move west Some are attracted to mining in the South West 1892 Kawkab America the first Arabic language newspaper in America begins
1893 The World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago draws many merchants from the Arab world Some Arab American families in the Great Lakes area trace their ancestors to these merchants 1900 Dr Tannous Daoud is elected president of the North Dakota Farming Association 1909 The Department of Justice rules that George Shishim a policeman in Venice California can become an American citizen Until this time few Arabs were allowed to become citi zens because the US government considered them Asian and Asians were denied citizen ship Mr Shishim testified that if he was Asian so was Jesus Christ as they had both been born in the same land 1911 Ameen Rihani is the first Arab American to publish a novel in the United States The Book of Khalid 1915 Al Rabitah al Qalamiyah The Pen Bond a literary association was formed in New York City by Kahlil Gibran and friends 1916 A number of Syrian and Lebanese Americans
