The American Civil War in the Italian press, 1861–1865

The American Civil War garnered significant interest in the Italian press. Despite the challenges faced by the nascent Kingdom of Italy and the rise of brigandage in the Mezzogiorno, newspapers across the political spectrum closely followed the conflict between Unionists and Confederates. In addition to documenting the military events, observers and commentators extensively covered the main issues related to the American Civil War, including the merits and drawbacks of the republican-federal system, the abolition of slavery, and the Second French intervention in Mexico. During years of fierce civil violence, the conflict served as a lens to explore issues that transcended the United States and pertained to the institutional, political and social challenges undertaken by nation states undergoing unification or reorganization. Through contrasting ideological perspectives, Italian newspapers reframed the American Civil War in the context of Italy’s contemporary reality, thereby challenging the traditional view of the United States as an ‘exception’ in the nineteenth-century Western world. What emerged was a new, and in many ways less idealized, archetype of the United States, distinct from both the ‘land of freedom’ vision and the ‘land of opportunity’ image that had become prevalent during the Risorgimento.