Benito Mussolini Rise To Power Research Paper

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent” (Douglas MacArthur). Benito Mussolini was the prime minister of Italy. Mussolini was very loyal towards Italy and set out to make changes to advance his country. Mussolini is also the founder of Fascism which was adapted by Italy. Mussolini also had ties with Adolf Hitler before and during World War Two. Many people would argue whether or not Benito Mussolini was a good leader or a bad leader. What we do know is that during Mussolini’s rule of Italy, he made a negative impact on the country. Even though Benito Mussolini stayed loyal to Italy and made Fascism successful, he had a negative impact by working with Hitler and giving Italy a bad reputation.

He won over the people of Italy using the same techniques and imagery that Hitler used in his homeland. The fascist ideas, and idea of an ultimate Italian empire, appealed to Mussolini, and he would stop at nothing to gain power.

Benito Mussolini and his creation of Fascism was the glue that held Italy together. Fascism promised national unity and condemned the Socialist party. To understand how Fascism became powerful within Italy, it is imperative to acknowledge the driving force behind this regime. To put it bluntly, violence played an essential role in the development of the Fascist party. Mussolini’s practice of fierceness was able to create a formidable system of government that did not tolerate weakness. In 1919, Benito Mussolini give an Afternoon speech, where he stressed the difference between Socialism and Fascism. Here, he states, “We declare war, against socialism, not because it is socialism, but because it opposes nationalism” (Stone 2013, 38).

"My objective is simple. I want to make Italy great, respected and feared," (UXL Biographies 1). This was a quote from one of the most famous dictators in Italy, Benito Mussolini. Before World War One, Mussolini was director of the Avanti, a socialist newspaper in Milan, but he began to disagree with socialists so he broke ties and joined the military, reaching the rank of corporal. After he was discharged from the army, he created the fascist party and worked towards dismantling all socialist institutions (UXL Biographies 1). Mussolini was a powerful public speaker and delivered speeches mainly about how great he would make Italy. This allowed him to gain the public’s trust, leading to him becoming Prime Minister and later the dictator of Italy (UXL Biographies 1). In April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress were fleeing anti-fascist partisans disguised as German soldiers. When they were crossing the Swiss border, him and his mistress were captured by partisans and the next day were shot and killed. (Klein 1). The assassination of Benito Mussolini was justified because of he adopted Nazi ideals about Jews and he ultimately initiated the demise of his country and followers. Despite this many believe that Mussolini actually helped Italy.

During the Second World War, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the leader of the Italian Nationalist Fascist government. He was head of the Italian government from 1922 till 1943. The significance of Mussolini is that he played a key role acting as the Italian Prime Minister and established a totalitarian regime, during this time, as the unchallenged supreme leader, known as ‘Il Duce’. Fascism consisted of many contributors of which Mussolini with all his quirks was the key to most of its failures and successes, making him the most significant player that is worthy of being investigated. This topic is worthy of being investigated as Mussolini made a lot of decisions that lead to the death of many, but the question as to

Fascism was first detected after World War I in Italy. After the war, the people of Italy were ready for a new political aspect. Benito Mussolini was the man who brought this fascist ideology to Italy. Mussolini has been looking for the perfect opportunity to take complete control of a country and now was the time to do so. “In 1919 Mussolini and his followers, mostly war veterans, were organized along paramilitary lines and wore black shirts and uniforms.”(Halsall pg.2) After defeats at the polls Mussolini used his new financial backing to clothe a gang of thugs who

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

Irritated with not receiving anything they were promised, the common people, turned on their own city and government leaders, thus leading to chaotic turmoil in Italy. In the time of need, Benito Mussolini rose to power with prodigious aspirations to make Italy superior. After coming into power, Mussolini created a new form of government called fascism. Fascism is an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. Mussolini had his own secret service, the Black Shirts, however he was less cruel compared to Stalin. As time went on, Stalin became more audacious in fighting against the Socialist party by using his Black Shirts to coerce local government officials out of office. Although this was illegal in the eyes of the Italian government, the government refused to bring it to subject because the Fascists were seen as a solution to the unappealing of a probable Socialist takeover. The knowledge of an Italian fascist leader in Italy, caught the attention of many people, one of which was none other than Adolf Hitler, a person Mussolini

Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred political ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the Doctrine of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolini’s major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, organization and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist only for the improvement of society as a whole. Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolini’s success based on it and

Countries had suffered huge losses in the war and the call for change was a common topic amongst all its participants. The idea of radical revolution was still fresh in the minds of the poor and working classes, making it easy for someone to come and control the chaos. Using various sources such as Christopher Hibbert’s Il Duce and chapters from Mussolini’s own diary we will analyze the exact steps that aided in the dictator’s ease in rising to power. Mussolini’s rise to power was can be largely credited to his tactic of changing his stance on views constantly, his politically influenced upbringing, and the events put in motion after Italy’s loss in Caporetto.

He was also the leader of the National Fascist Party making him the youngest prime minister of Italy. At the beginning, Mussolini had a lot of the nation’s support. He passed laws and changes that pleased the people, gaining more of their trust. Those who weren’t supporters of him tried proving he was dishonest. He took control of the Italian schools to tach his beliefs in order to have generations of citizens who believed as he did. By 1936, he took over Ethiopia and two-thirds of the businesses in Italy. During his conquest of Ethiopia, Adolf Hitler offered support. Mussolini did not like him at first, but he was convinced later on with Hitler’s constant support for an alliance with the Nazi Germany. He became strongly influenced by him. Therefore, in WWII in 1940, Italy sided with Germany. The Italians became unhappy with Benito until they fired him from his supreme leader rule at last in 1942. In 1943, Mussolini became the head of the Italian Social Republic in Northern Italy by Hitler’s order. Unfortunately, for him, the Allied Powers captured him that same year after his first escape and was shot and

The Father of Fascism, Il Duce (or The Leader), the Iron Prefect; all these refer to the same man: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini. From 1922 until 1943, he was the dictator of Italy, spreading a Socialist agenda throughout the nation, siding with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Germany to defeat the Allied Powers that threatened to destroy their regimes. Not completely fond of Nazism, however, Mussolini promoted his ideologies through Fascism, a nationalistic and strict form of government, led by a single person in charge, usually a dictator, as in Mussolini’s case. Presenting himself to his people in a time of utter political and economic chaos, his straightforward attitude and unfaltering confidence persuaded the Italian people to agree that he should be put in a position of power. His promotion into the Italian government created a period of low unemployment and increased nationalism, barely needing to force young men into the draft, as they volunteered to try and protect the country they loved, fighting under the

Benito Mussolini, who was appointed prime minister at the head of a Fascist cabinet, cooperated with the Italian parliament, but aided by his police and soon became the dictator of Italy. “The Fascist State is wide awake and has a will of its own. For this reason, it can be described as “ethical” (Reilly 898). The Fascist state has a spiritual force and it sums up all the moral and intellectual life of man. Fascism, is totalitarian, in which no individuals or groups including political parties, cultural associations, unions, and social classes were allowed outside the state.

Mussolini and Hitler’s time in power was around the time its countries were most vulnerable. Their power was so successful because of their full and unconditional support from its people. If they were failing somehow, through their use of propaganda they made it seem like they were booming, socially, economically and politically. Adolf Hitler, born and raised in 1889, Austria. Dying in April 1945 Germany, he commit suicide just two days after Mussolini died by firing squad alongside his mistress, in Italy. Benito Mussolini was born in 1883 Italy where he bullied many kids (Downing, 2001). Hitler was able to successfully work his way up from the inside of government, which overall explains why Hitler’s 12 years in power went more smoothly than Mussolini’s 18 years. Due to both leaders having fascist policies allowed their countries to be alike. Their personality cults did not necessarily help them rise to power but it certainly consolidated their positions once ‘Fuhrer’ or ‘Duce’. Also, their propaganda use strongly encouraged the people to support their leader and gain respect for them. The events prior to their rise played a significant role when analysing their personalities, ideologies, and propaganda. To a large extent, their

In Italy and Germany especially, dictators were able to gain trust in desperate citizens by promising change and prosperity. Benito Mussolini, an Italian leader, built the political movement called fascism. These systems of government rules through terror, fear, and by giving attention to nationalism and racism. In 1922, Mussolini became prime minister by using black-shrited followers to enforce his strict rules. Mussolini had won over nationalists by swearing to turn Italy into something like a new Roman Empire. 1935, Mussolini’s fascist troops actually invaded Ethiopia in Africa. The League of Nations tried to form a halt to all of the madness, however, it had little success.