Echoes of the American Revolution in the Risorgimento: Views from the Republican diaspora in the United States (1835-1860)

Echoes of the American Revolution widely resounded throughout the Risorgimento. Liberal and Republican writers overflowed with enthusiasm for the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, praising the moral virtues of the new nation, the adoption of advanced practices of political participation, and the establishment of a representative government. George Washington became a symbol of liberty; the US. constitution a benchmark for future written constitutions; the Congress a potential model for the creation of a national assembly. Even though historiography has long analyzed the influence of the American Revolution in pre-unification Italy, less attention has been paid to actors who experienced the United States. Italian émigrés, I argue, acted as cultural transfers, contributing to create, shape, and transmit narratives of the American Revolution focusing on three key-features: the Republican ethos of the founding fathers; the federalist system; and the pursuit of economic and religious freedom