History of San Marino - 19th Century

19th Century

In the spring of 1861, shortly before the beginning of the American Civil War, the government of San Marino wrote a letter (in "perfect Italian on one side, and imperfect but clear English on the other") to United States President Abraham Lincoln, proposing an "alliance" between the two democratic nations and offering the President honorary San Marino citizenship. Lincoln accepted the offer, writing (with his Secretary of State, William H. Seward) in reply that San Marino proved that "government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring."

Presaging a theme he would bring to the fore, using similar language, in his Gettysburg Address in 1863, Lincoln wrote: “You have kindly adverted to the trial through which this Republic is now passing. It is one of deep import. It involves the question whether a Representative republic, extended and aggrandized so much as to be safe against foreign enemies can save itself from the dangers of domestic faction. I have faith in a good result...."

After the unification of the Kingdom of Italy a treaty in 1862 confirmed San Marino's independence. It was revised in 1872.

Towards the end of the 19th Century, San Marino experienced economic depression: a large increase in the birth rate coupled with a widening of the gap between agricultural and industrial development led people to seek their fortunes in more industrialised countries.

The Sammarinese first sought seasonal employment in Tuscany, Rome, Genoa and Trieste, but in the latter half of the century whole families were uprooted, with the first permanent migrations to the Americas (United States, Argentina and Uruguay) and to Greece, Germany and Austria.

This phenomenon lasted up to the 1970s, with a pause during the First World War and an increase during the Fascist period in Italy. Even today there are still large concentrations of San Marino citizens residing in foreign countries, above all, in the United States, in France and in Argentina. There are more than 15,000 San Marino citizens spread throughout the world.

An important turning-point in the political and social life of the country took place on March 25, 1906, when the Arengo met; out of 1,054 heads of family, 805 were present.

Each head of family received a ballot which contained two questions: the first asking if the Government of San Marino should be headed by a Principal and Sovereign Council, and the second, if the number of members of the Council should be proportionate between the city population and the rural population. This was the first move towards a referendum and true democracy in San Marino. In the past, similar attempts were made by people such as Pietro Franciosi, but without results. In the same year a second referendum took place on May 5 dealing with the first electoral laws and on June 10 the first political elections in San Marino's history resulted in an overwhelming victory of the exponents of democracy.