Changing Perceptions of il Duce Tracing Political Trends in the Italian-American Media during the Early Years of Fascism

Abstract

Scholars of Italian-American history have traditionally asserted that the ethnic community's media during the 1920s and 1930s was pro-Fascist leaning. This thesis challenges that narrative by proving that moderate, and often ambivalent, opinions existed at one time, and the shift to a philo-Fascist position was an active process. Using a survey of six Italian-language sources from diverse cities during the inauguration of Benito Mussolini's regime, research shows that interpretations varied significantly. One of the newspapers, Il Cittadino Italo-Americano (Youngstown, Ohio) is then used as a case study to better understand why events in Italy were interpreted in certain ways. The thesis concludes with methods used by the Italian Fascist government to alter the journalistic atmosphere in the United States, thus leading to an environment only conducive to a philo-Fascist stance.