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Chronicling America
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Newspaper The American Citizen (Omaha, Neb.) 1923-1985

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About The American Citizen (Omaha, Neb.) 1923-1985

Touted in the masthead as the "Official organ of the 'Order Sons of Italy' in America," the American Citizen was the primary newspaper dedicated to the Italian American community of Omaha, Nebraska. The Sons of Italy was a fraternal organization with the stated goal of assisting Italian immigrants to become productive American citizens. The American Citizen was a vital part of this mission, and it described itself as, "A weekly newspaper devoted to Americanization, Education, and Problems of Peace."

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a vast influx of Italian immigrants to Nebraska. Not only did they settle almost exclusively in a single town, Omaha, but most had emigrated from a single town. Of the 60,000 Omahans claiming Italian heritage in 2021, nearly two-thirds traced their origins to the town of Carlentini, Sicily. Drawn by promises of employment with the Union Pacific railroad, these immigrants built a community of expatriates, complete with organizations like the Sons of Italy and the American Italian Heritage Society, which provided aid to new arrivals in cases of sickness, death, or unemployment.

In the years preceding and following World War I, there was an explosion of Italian-centric newspapers in Omaha. The majority of these papers, including the American Citizen, were written in Italian, save for the occasional article or ad placement in English. Most opened and closed in the span of a few years. The American Citizen proved to be the exception with its lengthy run of over half a century. Founded in Des Moines, Iowa, the American Citizen was purchased by Alfred C. Pini in 1924, who moved to Omaha and established a printing operation there. Within two years he moved his operation to St. Louis, Missouri, but not before striking a deal with notable Italian community member Joseph Glazario to serve as editor and manager of the paper in Omaha, a role which he held until 1938. Victor Failla would then take the reins for the next 42 years until his passing in 1980.

Like several of the German language papers in Nebraska, the American Citizen featured a nationalistic slant in the interwar period. An undercurrent of resentment against the victorious Allied powers from WWI can be detected throughout the 1920s in the paper, and in some articles, this resentment blossoms into attempts at rationalizing Italy's deepening ties to Nazi Germany. As the United States and Italy came into direct conflict, however, every attempt was made in the paper to proclaim the loyalty of its readership.

The American Citizen, published weekly on Mondays, was primarily printed in Italian, but it featured ample space dedicated to English language content as well. The paper included question-and-answer columns detailing information needed to earn American citizenship. The American Citizen strove to ensure the old ways were cherished as well. Columbus Day emerged as an annual opportunity for the paper to celebrate its rich Italian heritage with jumbo-sized issues of more than twenty pages, far exceeding the consistent four page runs typical of the rest of the year. As editor, Failla maintained the predominance of Italian language news in the paper as long as he lived, even as more and more of his clientele lost its bilingual character. As the subscription base shrunk, the paper moved to a semi-monthly publication schedule before reducing to a quarterly schedule by the late 1980s.

Provided By: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The American Citizen (Omaha, Neb.) 1923-1985

Dates of Publication

  • 1923-1985

Created / Published

  • Omaha, Neb. : A.C. Pini, 1923-

Headings

  • -  Italian Americans--Nebraska--Newspapers
  • -  Italian Americans--Iowa--Newspapers
  • -  Omaha (Neb.)--Newspapers
  • -  Douglas County (Neb.)--Newspapers
  • -  Iowa--Newspapers
  • -  Italian Americans
  • -  Iowa
  • -  Nebraska
  • -  Nebraska--Douglas County
  • -  Nebraska--Omaha
  • -  United States--Nebraska--Douglas--Omaha

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Quarterly,
  • -  Began 1923 ; ceased Dec. 1985.
  • -  "A.C. Pini - Founder-Publisher, 1923-1957," Cf. pub. statement, 1971.
  • -  "An independent Italian language newspaper established in 1923 for Nebraska and W. Iowa," <1971-73>.
  • -  "La nostra modesta opera per tener viva la nostra lingua," <1971-73> ; trans." Our modest effort to keep our language alive."
  • -  Masthead ornament: Title emblazoned across the Statue of Liberty.
  • -  "Official organ of the "Order Sons of Italy in America" .
  • -  Available on microfilm (1938-1985) from Nebraska State Historical Society.
  • -  English and Italian.
  • -  Description based on: 58th year, no. 9 (July 30, 1981); title from caption.
  • -  Latest issue consulted: (July 30, 1981).

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn81002003

OCLC Number

  • 7785992

ISSN Number

  • 0279-3555

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The American Citizen Omaha, Neb. -1985. (Omaha, NE), Jan. 1 1923. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn81002003/.

APA citation style:

(1923, January 1) The American Citizen Omaha, Neb. -1985. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn81002003/.

MLA citation style:

The American Citizen Omaha, Neb. -1985. (Omaha, NE) 1 Jan. 1923. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn81002003/.