Italian Fascism
- Use of a paramilitary (private army) force to come to power. In Mussolini, the paramilitary force was called the "blackshirts."
- Mussolini came to power after the "march on Rome," which was not in fact violent but rather threatening,
- Private ownership heavily encouraged.
- Censorship of the media.
- Imperialistic (not necessarily militaristic. Spreading of influence).
- Nationalistic.
- Militaristic.
- Non-democratic.
- Often Totalitarian and dictatorial.
- "Anti-liberal, anti-mass democracy, anti-socialist."
Mussolini:
- Acerbo Law: legitimizing his leadership of Italy through a law that said that the house that has the most votes in automatically given 2/3 of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The blackshirts saw to it that Mussolini would get the majority of votes.
- Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti murdered for speaking out against fascists.
- In 1926, all anti-fascist parties are eliminated,
The Lateran Accords:
- The Catholic Church was the most powerful remaining body in Italy.
- Fearing Mussolini's wrath, Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Accords which:
- Gave the church all control over religious education in the country.
- Made Catholicism the state religion.
- Made the Vatican city a country separate from Italy,
- in return for supporting Mussolini and the Fascists.
Subjunctive Question: Could Hitler have risen to Power in Germany without first learning the Fascist template from Mussolini?
WIKIPEDIA (The March on Rome)
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"Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy."
- Mussolini |