The United States and Fascist Italy : The Rise of American Finance in Europe

The Origins of American Hegemony in Europe Originally published in Italian in 1980, Gli Stati Uniti e il fascismo: Alle origini dell'egemonia Americana in Italia is regarded today as a crucial text on the relationship between the United States and Italy during the interwar years. Aside from the addition of two new prefaces - one by the author and one by the book's translator, Molly Tambor - the original text has remained unchanged, so that Anglophone readers now have the opportunity to engage with this classic work. By analyzing the enduring relationship between the United States - especially its financial establishment - and fascist Italy up until Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia in 1935, this book provides answers to some key questions about the interconnectedness of America's rise to hegemonic global financial power in the twentieth century and its support of Italian fascism during this time. Gian Giacomo Migone is Professor of History of Euroatlantic Relations at the University of Torino, Italy. He is the author of Problemi di Storia nei Rapporti tra Italia e Stati Uniti (1971) and Banchieri Americani e Mussolini (1979), and he has written numerous essays concerning Euro-Atlantic relations before, during, and after the Cold War. He was a member of the Italian Senate, where he chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, the United Nations System Staff College Advisory Board, the Civilian Affairs Committee, and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, from 1992 to 2001. He is the founder and first editor of L'indice dei Libri del Mese, an Italian cultural monthly. Molly Tambor is Assistant Professor of European History at Long Island University Post. She is the author of The Lost Wave: Women and Democracy in Postwar Italy (2014)-- Machine generated contents note: Introduction: the origins of American hegemony in Europe; 1. The United States and the rise of fascism in Italy; 2. United States economic policy toward Italy; 3. The United States and Italy confront the Great Depression; 4. Roosevelt and fascist Italy, from the London Economic Conference to the Italo-Ethiopian War (1933-6); 5. Conclusion. Gian Giacomo Migone ; translated by Molly Tambor. Originally published in Italian in 1980, Gli Stati Uniti e il fascismo: Alle origini dell'egemonia Americana in Italia is regarded today as a crucial text on the relationship between the United States and Italy during the interwar years. Aside from the addition of two new prefaces - one by the author and one by the book's translator, Molly Tambor - the original text has remained unchanged, so that Anglophone readers now have the opportunity to engage with this classic work. By analyzing the enduring relationship between the United States - especially its financial establishment - and fascist Italy up until Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia in 1935, this book provides answers to some key questions about the interconnectedness of America's rise to hegemonic global financial power in the twentieth century and its support of Italian fascism during this time-- Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. Cover......Page 1 Half-title Page......Page 3 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 10 Preface to the English Edition: “Je ne regrette rien”......Page 12 Preface to the Italian Edition: Sources, words, and debts......Page 38 Translator’s Preface......Page 46 1. American Economic Power after the First World War......Page 50 2. Class Conflict in the United States......Page 53 3. The Defeat of the American Working Class......Page 58 4. American Expansion in Europe......Page 62 5. American Policy for European Stabilization......Page 71 1. United States’ Policy and the Isolation of Italy before Fascism......Page 77 2. American Reactions to the Rise of Fascism......Page 85 3. The Matteotti Crisis and the Manipulation of the Press......Page 99 4. American Reactions to Mussolini’s Early Foreign Policy......Page 117 5. The Shaping of Italian Foreign Policy......Page 126 6. Mussolini’s Policy toward the United States......Page 131 1. The Question of War Debt......Page 135 2. The Role of the House of Morgan......Page 139 3. Italian War Debt: Background......Page 143 4. The Start of Negotiations......Page 154 5. The Volpi Mission......Page 166 6. Explaining the Accord......Page 180 7. American Investments in Italy......Page 190 8. The Morgan Bank and Investments......Page 199 9. American Investments in Europe......Page 214 10. The Stabilization of the Lira......Page 219 1. The Economic Crisis and International Relations......Page 241 2. Hoover and Stimson’s Foreign Policy......Page 248 3. Italian Foreign Policy from Mussolini to Grandi......Page 251 4. The London Naval Conference......Page 259 5. The World Disarmament Conference......Page 271 6. Economic Collaboration between the United States and Italy in the Face of the Crisis......Page 288 7. Grandi’s Visit to Washington......Page 306 8. The Lausanne Conference......Page 315 9. The Significance of Grandi’s Policies......Page 318 1. Foreign Policy during the Roosevelt Administration......Page 336 2. Roosevelt and Italian Fascism......Page 347 3. War in Ethiopia. Challenges the Principle of Collective Security......Page 358 4. The Role of the United States......Page 362 5. The Position of the Roosevelt Administration......Page 366 6. Italo-American Trade and the Oil Question......Page 375 7. The Debate on the Embargo of Raw Materials......Page 385 8. The Neutrality Act of 1936......Page 391 9. The Solidifying of Political Factions......Page 393 10. Italian-Americans and the Ethiopian War......Page 398 11. The Opposition of Exporters......Page 405 12. American Diplomats and Appeasement......Page 409 13. The Morgan Bank and Appeasement......Page 417 14. The Origins of American Opposition to the Dictatorships......Page 428 Conclusion......Page 438 Index......Page 446 Introduction: the origins of American hegemony in Europe 1. The United States and the rise of fascism in Italy 2. United States economic policy toward Italy 3. The United States and Italy confront the Great Depression 4. Roosevelt and fascist Italy, from the London Economic Conference to the Italo-Ethiopian War (1933-1936) Conclusion.