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====Background====
Prior to 1914, Mussolini was a committed socialist. <ref>John Whittam. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719040043/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0719040043&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=e4bbe537193f219127ba43a1cb7de8eb Fascist Italy]''. (Manchester, England; New York, New York, USA: Manchester University Press, 2006). p. 165.</ref> However, when the socialists adopted a policy of neutrality in World War One, Mussolini opposed it and was later expelled from the party.<ref> Whittam, p. 166</ref> . Mussolini was a well-known journalist and had strongly advocated for Italy’s entrance into the war in his newspaper, in 1914. Mussolini was an Italian Nationalist, and he wanted to unify his country, he regularly employed nationalist rhetoric that portrayed Italy as a great power to eliminate regional loyalties that had kept the country divided despite the official unification of the country in 1871.
When Italy did enter the war on the side of the Allies in 1915, Mussolini volunteered and served with distinction on the front. He was severely injured in 1917 and was forced to leave the army.<ref>Whittam, p. 117.</ref> Mussolini, like Hitler, Mussolini was deeply influenced by the war, and he came to believe that war was essential for a nation, as it would allow it and its people to achieve greatness. Later on, as leader of Italy, he would seize every opportunity to become involved in war and conflict. The war also confirmed Mussolini in his belief that action mattered more than debate and reason, and this was central to his fascist ideology, in turn, this led to the glorification of violence.<ref> Kallis, Aristotle. 2000. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415216125/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415216125&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=7f886345b5e4f3a16e2fc31dab010522 Fascist Ideology]''( London, Routledge 2000)p. 45.</ref>
However, Mussolini though increasingly popular was unable to secure power through constitutional means. The Italian Fascist party only won 35 seats in the election of 1921, far less than the Socialists. Still, Mussolini was determined to win power for himself and his Party. The coalition government was very unpopular and during a period of instability, the Fascists descended on Rome in their thousands, to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister. <ref>Farrell, Nicholas. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1842121235/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1842121235&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1ded7d46b1d91a3be742b28a7a7209d3 Mussolini: A New Life]''. London: Phoenix Press, 2003, p. 154 </ref> Some 30,000 Blackshirts traveled from all over Italy demanding a change in the government. This became known as the ‘March on Rome’.
Typical of Mussolini the event was stage-managed and theatrical. The Black Shirts were well drilled and disciplined. This was a deliberate policy of demonstrating that the Fascists were a force that supported law and order and the opposite of the Communists and Socialists who were seen as dangerous and destabilizing. During the March on Rome, Mussolini made sure he was photographed with the marchers and made many speeches when he repeatedly stated that Itlay was in danger and that only he and his party could save the country. the March on Rome was a piece of theater designed to win him and his party the popular support they needed to seize the government of the country. The Fascists arrived in Rome and many wondered what would occur. Mussolini and others feared that there would be bloodshed and that the army would fire on the marchers.<ref>Farrell, p. 155</ref>
====A conspiracy?====
====Conclusion====
The Italian Fascists would later portray their seizure of power as a ‘revolution.’ Powerful elites in Italy allowed them to take control in 1921. Italian elites wanted to ensure that Italy did not become a Socialist or Communist country. They saw the establishment of the Fascist government as the best way to avoid this fate. Without the fear of a ‘Red Revolution,’ the Italian army, monarchy, and others would never have allowed Mussolini to assume power in Rome. Mussolini and the Fascists were not the most popular group in Italy and they could never have come to power by purely democratic means. The fear of Communist Revolution meant that they were permitted to assume power and stay in power.
====Suggested Readings====
* Kallis, Aristotle. 2000. [http://''%5Bhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415216125/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415216125&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=7f886345b5e4f3a16e2fc31dab010522%20Fascist%20Ideology%5D'' Fascist Ideology] ( London, Routledge 2000)
*Anthony James Gregor (1979). [http://''%5Bhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520037995/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0520037995&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4a5f21e69ccadd77db64058f31f928c3%20Young%20Mussolini%20and%20the%20Intellectual%20Origins%20of%20Fascism%5D'' Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism]. University of California Press
*De Grand, Alexander. [http://''%5Bhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/027596874X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=027596874X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=42fa8cf7dcd7f08fc94cb2f38709ff8a%20The%20Hunchback's%20Tailor:%20Giovanni%20Giolitti%20and%20Liberal%20Italy%20from%20the%20Challenge%20of%20Mass%20Politics%20to%20the%20Rise%20of%20Fascism,%201882–1922%5D'' The Hunchback's Tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and Liberal Italy from the Challenge of Mass Politics to the Rise of Fascism], 1882–1922(2001)
*De Grand, Alexander. Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development. Oxford University Press: Oxford,
Farrell, Nicholas. [http://''%5Bhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1842121235/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1842121235&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1ded7d46b1d91a3be742b28a7a7209d3%20Mussolini:%20A%20New%20Life%5D'' Mussolini: A New Life]. London: Phoenix Press, 2003
* Bosworth, Richard J. B. [http://''%5Bhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143038567/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143038567&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ccf60885755b7018e8e260f6899f1260%20Mussolini's%20Italy%5D'' Mussolini's Italy]
* John Whittam. [http://''%5Bhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719040043/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0719040043&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=e4bbe537193f219127ba43a1cb7de8eb%20Fascist%20Italy%5D'' Fascist Italy]. (Manchester, England; New York, New York, USA: Manchester University Press, 2006)
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