Italian-American Relations - the Perspective of the US Government

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Politics - Region: USA, grade: 2 (B), University of Bonn (Political Science), course: Proseminar, language: English, abstract: The view of the United States of America concerning Italy after Benito Mussolini's 'March on Rome' was important for the whole of Europe. The political course of the fascist country also affected the surrounding European states. In the primary phase of the fascist regime, the U.S. government was in the position to alter parts of Italy's policy course, by applying political pressure. Thus America's foreign policy towards Italy did not only concern this one country. It also had consequences for the rest of Europe, and the start of the Second World War. This work is concerned with the view of the successive American administrations towards Italy after Mussolini's ascension to power. Questions being answered are: How did the U.S. government react after the fascist ruler took over Italy? Did the administration valuate Mussolini as a positive or a negative change for the European country? Was a thread visible in the U.S. attitude concerning Italy? What were the government's reactions to Italy's cooperation with Hitler? And: Could a different American political strategy concerning Italy have hindered Hitler's war efforts? To answer those questions, the work is structured along three main parts. The first part is addressed with the U.S. government's position after Benito Mussolini's soaring to power. This part is divided into a description of America's characterization of the new leader and an account of the first times the U.S. questioned their view on Italy. Following this evaluation, the second part deals with the American view in the times of The Great Depression. The third part is concerned with the administrations view after Hitler's rise to power. Finally the conclusion marks the end of this work. Mainly four books were used: David F Schmitz' 'The United States and fascist Italy, 1922 - 1940' gives a well structured and informative overview of the American - Italian relations from Mussolini's ascension to power, until the begin of The Second World War. Another useful book, in the first parts handling this topic, is H. Stuart Hughes' 'The United States and Italy'1. John P. Diggins' work ' Mussolini and Fascism: The view from America'2 is mainly concerned with the public opinion in the U.S. toward Italy and very informative. Another well written and informative book dealing with America's foreign policy is William L. Langer's and S. Everett Gleason's book 'The challenge to isolation: The world crisis of 1937 - 1940 and American foreign policy'.