The controversial concept of Emancipation in the Nation-Building Process: the American Civil War and Italian Unification

Thanks to a number of distinguished scholars who have focused on European and American national movements, both separately and in a comparative perspective, the emancipation concept can be analyzed within a broader Atlantic discourse, from freedom from bondage to national independence – this last is linked to issues like the center-periphery conflict and the parallel development of democratic institutions. Based on the analysis and comparison of the studies to date existing, this article discusses the emancipation issue with a particular focus on two case-studies: the movement for the Southern union, which brought to the American Civil War and the formation of the Confederate States of America in 1861, and the contemporary building process of Italy as a nation.