Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism
- Mussolini: the Founder of Fascism
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- Formed the first fascist government in Italy in 1923
- Supports Hitler throughout the 1930
- Supports the fascist government in spain during Spanish Civil War
- Joins in alliance with hitler in 1939
- The founder of fascism
- Used blackshirts as a paramilitary force
- Comes to power in 1923 after the March on Rome
- King Emmanuel III refused to sign an emergency legislation to prevent it - he refused allowing Mussolini to come to power
- Acerbo Law - forced through parliament guaranteed that the party with the most votes would get 2/3 of the seats of the Chamber of Deputies
- Socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti murdered for speaking out against the Fascists
- By 1926 all anti-fascist parties had been eliminated
- Freedom of press, assembly and speech were eliminated
- Private ownership (capitalism) encouraged and aided by the gov't
- Censorship of the media
- Imperialistic
- Nationalistic
- Militaristic
- Non-democratic
- Often totalitarian dictatorship
- "anti-liberal, anti-mass democracy, anti-socialist"
The Great Depression: The Main Ingredient
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- Unemployment high
- Many angry workers
- Hitler, like Roosevelt provided jobs and helped the economy recover through make work projects (eg. Autobahn)
- Fascist's build armies
The Lateran Accords, 1929
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- The Catholic church was the most powerful remaining body in Italy
- Fearing Mussolini's wrath Pope Pius XI signed a deal
- control over religious education in schools
- Recognition as the state of religion
- the right for the pope to rule his own state known as the Vatican
- Mussolini got recognition by the church as the legitimate leader
Summary
Benito Mussolini was the leader of not only a successful takeover, but also the first takeover within Italy. Furthermore, his strategy was essentially a scam. Mussolini’s ordered his ‘Blackshirts’ to cause anarchy so they could then pretend to step in and resolve the situation.