Benito Mussolini, the late dictator of Italy, was nicknamed IL Duce which translates to “the leader”. During Mussolini’s reign as dictator over Italy, he aimed to return the country to its former glory. Benito Mussolini’s doctrine of Fascism influenced his economic and political decisions concerning Italy in various ways.
Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in Predappio, Italy. His full name was Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini. Alessandro, his father, was a blacksmith and Rosa, his mother, was a school teacher. Mussolini’s father was politically a socialist but his son soon parted from his father’s ways.
In 1912, Mussolini was appointed to be the editor of the socialist newspaper Avanti!. Mussolini eventually became unemployed due to his support of Italian intervention in World War I. After the war had ended, Benito Mussolini established a group of veterans known as Fasci di Combattimento which can mean “Union for Struggle”, “Union of Combat”, or “Fighting League”. In 1922, Mussolini commanded what he called the “March on Rome”. He ordered that thousands of Fascists to seize control of Rome. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy appointed Mussolini to be prime minister before the march could take place. However, Mussolini did not officially become dictator until the year 1925. He had previously compromised with parliament until he declared himself dictator of Italy in January of 1925.
Mussolini’s doctrine of Fascism is a spiritual concept that emphasizes the importance of man using all his energy and being aware of all his problems. It also describes that man can form and mold his own world through his free will. Mussolini also states “War alone keys up all human energies to their maximum tension and sets the seal of nobility o...
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Mussolini was considered one of the first modern dictators and he essentially paved the way for Hitler and others to follow. Italy was still in chaos after World War I and showed no signs of recovery. When Mussolini attempted his rise to power, he did it through the political channels being voted in by the people. However, rather than seeking to improve Italy, “Mussolini's new cause became personal power; he sought to place himself in the position of dictator” (Gale). The way in which Mussolini spoke captivated crowds and made Italy fall in love with him. What Mussolini lacked in height he made up for in public speaking, as one of his critics describes, “Yet by the power of his public speaking, by his gestures and tone of voice, he was capable of inspiring tremendous enthusiasm in the crowds who gathered to hear him” (Gale). Italy felt as if Mussolini’s cult of personality was never going to leave, like it seemed as if Big Brother was never going to
Mussolini’s population policy was a clear effort to exercise his authoritarian control over the people of Italy, regulating the most personal and private details of their lives. In his bid for complete control, he used new laws, propaganda, and sometimes brutal tactics in order for his wishes to be recognized. It is during the 1920’s to the 1940’s that totalitarian control over the state escalated into full dictatorships, with the wills of the people being manipulated into a set of beliefs that would promote the fascist state and “doctrines.”
Benito Mussolini (1833-1945) was a dictator who found fascism and ruled for twenty-one years. He tried to build Italy into a great empire but it was left occupied by armies of other nations. ‘Dictator-like’ people who were looked up to in the eyes of the public controlled the Brave New World.
Benito adopted his father’s Socialist beliefs. His views began to change during the war when Mussolini broke with his fellow Socialists and supported Italy’s entrance into the war. He formed the National Fascist Party, which fought leftist organizations. The...
Mussolini allied himself to Hitler, trusting him to prop his leadership. Benito Mussolini rose into power in the wake of World War I and became Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. Mussolini’s destiny was to rule Italy as a modern Caesar and to re-create the Roman Empire which means that he also wants to gain control not only in his own country, but in other countries as well by waging wars over other countries like Libya, Ethiopia, Albania, and Somalia. He wanted to gain the Mediterranean-African empire through was against French. On April 28, 1945, Mussolini was assassinated. Insurgents captured him while he was on a run because, the German surrender made Mussolini to take off, and then shot him.
Fascism is defined as, “an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.” Peter Hyland reports that throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, an economic depression was growing and becoming widespread throughout the world. People were losing faith in their democracies and in capitalism. Leaders who gained power supported powerful militarism, nationalism, and initiated the return of an authoritarian rule. J.R. Oppenheimer says that the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe and Russia instigated a “critical step on the path to war.” In 1922, Benito Mussolini held leadership in Italy, promising a proficient and militaristic nationalistic state. During his control as prime minister, he gained a large group of followers, banned the disparagement of government, and used extreme violence against his enemies within the parliament.
Demonstrated in his speeches, Mussolini was quick to violence and stubborn in his own ideologies. As inventor of fascism, Hitler befriended Mussolini which lead to the Anti-Jewish Laws of 1938. Ironically, Mussolini previously claimed, “Anti-semitism does not exist in Italy” (“Benito Mussolini”). These laws came as a surprise to the people of Italy, especially the Jewish friends of Mussolini who helped found his fascist state. The pressure to demonstrate his power to Hitler lead Mussolini to dishonor his loyal friends. Furthermore, his determination to control his nation lead to the use of secret police. “No one had a right to protection from the dictator, even if he were unreasonable or unjust… the secret police enforced his policies in sometimes cruel ways. Public opinion began to turn against him” (“Benito Mussolini” 4). Mussolini sacrificed the opinion of the public to maintain his dictatorship, he did not have to be justified by the law to punish someone. According to the Italians of the time, “Mussolini is always right”(“Benito Mussolini” ). This popular campaign slogan demonstrated the self-glorified attitude that Mussolini held. He did not feel guilty for using any means necessary to accomplish his goals, because he was always right. The people of Italy suffered because an ambitious, self-glorified person was in
When Benito wrote some ignorant and cruel suggestions and ideas in the newspaper. So the he was fired. He then decided to created his own newspaper. He called it, "Li Popolo d’ Italia" (The People of Italy). He hoped the war between Italy and Turkey might lead to collapse of society that might bring him to power.
After being wounded in the trenches during World War I, he was sent home because of an injury only to become editor of his own newspaper. It was called Il Popolo d'Italia or The People of Italy. This represented his changing of his pacifist views, he used his paper to spread his new ideas and gain support. Mussolini also organized a pro-war group called Fasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria. After the war he joined a different group called the Arditi Association, which was a military assembly composed of WWI veterans. Both of the associations contributed to the beginning of fascism. In 1919, Mussolini founded the Fasci de Combattimento, which was the skeletal structure for what was to become the political movement of Fascism. This attracted the attention of the lower-middle class with its nationalistic, anti-liberal ideas.
“Fascism is a religion. The twentieth century will be known in history as the century of fascism” (Fascist). Those are the words of Benito Mussolini, an Italian journalist who started a political party of his own. Born in 1883, Mussolini became involved in socialist politics in Switzerland when he moved there in 1902 (BBC). Although he was active with the socialist party, Mussolini started publishing editorials that supported World War I, which he was drafted in himself in 1915 (Mussolini). This led to his expulsion from the socialist party. Ready for a major change, Mussolini gathered many nationalistic groups in Italy together and formed a single organization under his leadership (Mussolini). Rising to power in the wake of the Great War, Benito Mussolini was a violent, military-minded dictator who saw to the emergence of the National Fascist Party in Italy.
"For Fascism, the growth of the empire is an essential manifestation of vitality." It is a governing system best suited for communities who are rising after many years of foreign servitude. (www.fordham.edu) Military conquest was seen as a way to solve the nation's economic problems. The Fascist male was thought to be a Darwinian and not humanitarian. He should ...
"The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy. In the beginning of his rise to the top, Mussolini was popular amongst his people. His popularity was high, and people began to trust in his judgment and ideas. (4) He was, in essence, saving the people from the turmoil that had ensued the nat...
Gesink, Indira. "Fascism, Nazism and Road to WWII." World Civilizations II. Baldwin Wallace University. Marting Hall, Berea. 3 April 2014. Class lecture.
Benito Mussolini was the premier-dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He was the founder and leader of Italian Fascism. Mussolini, along with his Facets government, was able to successfully suppress the Mafia during the time of World War II. However, after the war ended in 1945, the Mafia emerged and ruled once again. Over the next thirty years, the Sicilian Mafia was not only able to gain control Sicily, but all of Italy as well.
It is true that the Italian dictatorship was more conservative in its application than that of Hitler’s reign of terror. But, both the fascist ideas and rulings of these two leaders proved to have some similarities worth mentioning. Both leaders left their countries with an economic and social debt to the Allies, which is still strong in the minds of many older members of the community.