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This study intends to problematize interpretations of Sarmiento’s thinking and the liberal nature of his ideas through an analysis of a lecture he delivered before the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1865. We show how difficult it is to reduce his thought to that of an enemy of South American Indians and gauchos, and how the civilization–barbarism dichotomy is neither univocal nor constant in his work. In the lecture, he recovers some characteristics of Spanish culture, looks for distinctive features of Latin America, and underlines the importance of political federalism. He also highlights the role of religion and the bonds between religious models, civic cultures, and North American religious pluralism, in opposition to the monopolistic model of colonial Catholicism.