Yes. The American Civil War was used as a "counter-model" for proposed ideas of abolition in Brazil and a prime example of the evils of slavery. In 1867 Pedro II addresses the problem for the first time in his annual "Throne Speech": "The servile element in the Empire must not be left out of your consideration."

Gradual abolition was the prevailing anti-slavery trend. In this regard, Congressman Silveria da Mota managed to approve a law forbidding the separation of families in 1869: "Had the Southern states followed this system of slow improvement of slavery, perhaps, gentlemen, we wouldn't be seeing the North American union in danger today, perhaps we wouldn't be seeing the United States under two flags." [...] "We have the same institution of slavery, but it's softened here. We don't subscribe to the supposition that slaves have no souls as decreed by the congressmen of South Carolina."

A Brazilian journalist who witnessed the Civil War asks in 1866: "The gigantic bloodbath in the United States of North America, triggered in 1861, ended with the defeat of the South, and consequently with the abolition - Spain and Portugal discuss the subject regarding their colonies - Is it possible for Brazil to maintain its unity regarding this question for much longer?"

The Paraguayan War (1864-70), a gigantic bloodbath in its own right, also motivated the State Council to discuss the problem of slavery; that a large segment of the population simply couldn't be trusted in the event of a war. The Law of Free Birth (1871) was approved with universal opposition from landowners and criticism from abolitionists. But it fulfilled its purpose of beginning a gradual dismantling of the system by freeing slaves when they became 21 years old. The Haitian and Jamaican revolts also frightened many in the elites and the literati.

Joaquim Nabuco, one of the leading Brazilian abolitionists, was closely connected with his British and American counterparts, but specially the former. He said in the 1860s: "Slavery shouldn't be suppressed in Brazil through a servile war, least of all through insurrections and local assaults. Neither should it be suppressed through a civil war, following the example of the United States." Nabuco inquired Americans about the state of Southern agriculture after abolition. One of them was the former Confederate general and ambassador to Brazil Henry Hilliard, who actively supported abolitionism in that country.

In conclusion, the American Civil War was interpreted in Brazil primarily as a warning against the maintenance of a dangerous institution and that its abolition should follow a gradual course until its completion.