Abstract:

This paper focus on the data related to the Kazakh steppe in travelogues and research books written by American travelers and researchers. Most of these books were published by major American publishers in the period 1870-1960 and are stored in American libraries. Many people thought that the relationship between the USA and Kazakhstan was established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, that is, after Kazakhstan gained independence. I argue that the cultural relationship between these two countries dates back to the 1880s. The author of this paper conducted a year-long study at George Washington University entitled "American Travelers and the Kazakh Steppe", found 35 rare books from the US and conducted a comparative study.

In each book, each researcher described the history and culture of the Kazakh steppe in a different way. I was interested in these situations. The research findings of the found data can serve as evidence for the study of the past social and historical conditions of modern Central Asia, including Kazakhstan. I believe that many American travelers and scientists wrote down what they saw during their trip to the Kazakh steppe and wrote down the political and social situation of that time. For example, Eugene Schuyler , the first US PhD, diplomat and researcher traveled to the countries of Central Asia (former territory of Turkestan) in the 1870s and wrote a two-volume work called «Turkistan; notes of a journey in Russian Turkistan, Khokand, Bukhara, and Kuldja» (Published in New York, Scribner, Armstrong & co., 1876). In this book, what the author has seen and learned from the Kazakh steppe, the data collected is very valuable and interesting.

The role of the data on the Kazakh steppe in this research work is very important for the Kazakh society, because during the Soviet Union there were many distortions in the Kazakh culture for political reasons. Various data in the books of American travelers and explorers can be irrefutable proof of those conditions. At the same time, data from early printed books stored in the US Library of Congress is also very important.

This paper is based on published materials, including data from books written by research scholars such as historians Henry H. Howorth, Ralph Fox, Nelson Fell and so on. Through these studies, I argue that in my work I have a full reason to prove that the connection between America and Kazakh is too far.