preview

Benito Mussolini Research Paper

Decent Essays

Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian Socialist politician born in Fratta Polesine, Italy. He graduated from the University of Bologna, entered law practice, joined the Italian Socialist Party, and was elected as the Chamber of Deputies three times, becoming secretary of his party. He was the first leader to openly oppose Italy entering World War I and Mussolini’s belief in Fascism. On May 30, 1924, he publicly condemned Mussolini, saying that the Fascists deceived the people during their recent elections and used unnecessary violence to obtain votes. Two weeks after Matteotti’s public condemnation of Mussolini, he disappeared. About month after his death, Matteotti was found buried in a grave just outside Rome with a carpenter’s knife through his …show more content…

He was originally a Socialist, however, when he read Karl Marx’s theory about social revolution, he began to favor going to war and enlisted in fighting in the war—developing strong fascist ideals. Wounded in the war, he came back to Italy and wanted to spread his ideas and opinions with others and captivated others with his conviction. His power was established after the March on Rome, where an event was held where Fascists working with Mussolini seized control of the government and announced their ruling by parading through Rome. Luigi Facta—their previous Prime Minister—tried to take control of Rome, but Victor Emmanuel III did not sign the order, resulting in their army terminating any potential threatening Fascists before they attacked them. In 1922, he became the youngest Italian Prime Minister in history and created a law that enabled Fascists to hold the most of authority within the government. From there, Mussolini implemented many more laws and changes, one of which including the Ceka, which was a group of professional gangsters hired by Mussolini himself to scare the Italian citizens into voting for Fascists during the elections. He held a deep animosity for Socialism and was trying to wipe out leftist groups with terroristic tactics, such as mass murder and extreme propaganda. In addition, he also introduced a diarchy where he and Victor Emmanuel were both political leaders and banned all opposing newspapers and political parties, determined to make the country completely totalitarian. In 1927, he created and was the head of the OVRA, which was a secret police force with official state support and a death penalty. Mussolini had a strong desire to conquer more land and spread his empire, so in October 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia and killed many people within the country by gas bombing Ethiopia, resulting in the League of Nations trying to impose sanctions. Italy was also allies with Germany and

Get Access