Spencer Traster

June 1, 2015
English 9 Honors
Mrs. Babcock
Mussolini Research Project
Mussolini rose to power by promising to fix the country, gaining support of the Working Class
population and staying on good terms with the Roman Catholic Church. The state of Italy was very poor
before the rise of Mussolini, for the country had a weak economy and a weaker government. Italy was left
ravaged by the First World War and, like most, blamed Germany on her devastation. The public thought
that they would be able to gain from sending representatives to Versailles and the signing of the Treaty.
Instead, the Italian delegation was seen as secondary and led the public to believe that her leaders... had
been humiliated, and they were left unable to recuperate (Trueman).

Along with Italys humiliation at Versailles, the countrys economy and government began to
collapse. The economy played a very large part in disrupting the governmental system down to its core.
The Socialists took advantage of Italys weakened state and started a Soviet-style revolution. To respond,
a new, militant movement appeared... intimidat[ing]... socialists while employing Fascism (Killinger
30). The new group would be the basis for the Fascist movement.

Mussolini, apart from saying he could save Italy, also had to rally support of the countrys people.
The working class had been fighting for years to have better working conditions and more fulfillment of
their basic needs. They led riots and strikes to get what they wanted. He used suppression to break up
strikes formed by the Working Class using the Squadristi who were a group of military veterans
(Gajjar). Later, he decided to create the Liberal Agenda to gain their support.

In addition to gaining support of the Working Class, he also needed to gain support of The Roman
Catholic Church. Since Mussolini had to keep good relations with the Church, he had to remain a follower

of the faith. It was also one of the most powerful institutions of Italy, so therefore, he couldnt afford to
anger the Pope or any other clergy official. They also worked together to operate two sides of the same
coin Mussolini [would] govern political Italy, the Church governed the spiritual (Trueman).

To solidify his position, Mussolini forced the government to accept Fascism and made King
Emmanuel believe only he could fix the country. Mussolini planned to take all of the Fascists from across
Italy and gather them in Rome. From there, he would take over the main cities of Italy where Allimportant buildings would be takenincluding those outside of Rome in cities in the north
(Trueman). He would then demand that the government resign in turn for a new, Fascist government. If
they refused these terms, Mussolini planned to take over the government by force.

He also solidified power by telling King Emmanuel he was the only person capable of stabilizing
Italy. Mussolini believed that King Emmanuel didnt want to see any conflict similar to that of World War I.
He was correct. The king believed that any sort of new conflict would only fuel a civil war. To keep that
from happening, King Emmanuel brought Mussolini to Rome and swore him in as the Prime Minister. The
King then let them celebrate their victory and Only then were the Fascists allowed to march through
Rome. (Trueman).

After his rise to power, Mussolini also had to maintain his new power. He maintained his position
by improving some aspects of the economy and keeping control of the people. Mussolini helped to
improve the economy by gathering new land for farms and infrastructure, trying to make the lira more
stable, and producing more grain. Mussolini wanted to get Italys economy stabilized, so introduced
proposed a plan in which he introduced three battles; the Battle for Land... Lira... and Grain. (Trueman).
The first of these was to gain land from the swamps and marshes of Italy. Some of the land cleared would
be used for roads and houses, while other land would be made arable.

Along with his Battle for Land, Mussolini also introduced the Battle for Lira and the Battle for
Grain. Mussolini introduced his Battle for Lira, in which he inflated the value of the nations currency by
making exports more expensive. As Italy was still growing and its economy was still weak, the plan
collapsed on itself and ultimately failed. He also introduced his Battle for Grain, in which he wanted to

make Italy mostly self- sufficient. With this, grain, and therein bread, became more expensive. This meant
that the poor couldnt buy the main portion of their diet, but the rich made money from the profits.
Although two out of the initial three battles were won, he eventually lost the war to regrow Italian
economy, for Mussolinis plans for... economic growth were based on weaknesses he could not
overcome. (Trueman).

Along with fixing his countrys economy, he also had to maintain control over Italys populous. In
order to manipulate the people to the Fascists command, Mussolini had to first show his support of the
Catholic Church. To do so, he renewed his vows to his wife and christened his children. This gave him
immense support. Although he was portraying the life of an avid follower, he planned on giving the
Church itself what it wanted in return for supporting him and his cause. He created the Lateran Treaties,
which gave them exactly what they asked for which included 110 acres of land to the Catholic Church to
form their own city... in which [it]... was able to run that small state by itself (Gajjar).

Along with using the Lateran Treaties, Mussolini also used the Concordat to use the Church to
benefit his cause. Mussolini planned to have the Church accept the Fascists. He did this with signing of
the Concordat, which made it so Roman Catholic the state religion; this was fait accompli, the Pope
could elect his own bishops, religion was forced to be taught in schools, and that the Church was fully in
charge of all marriages (Trueman).This also helped to gain support of people who would have otherwise
not accepted the Fascists, but accepted the Catholic faith.

As well as rising to a dictatorship over Italy, Mussolini also fell from his mighty position. Mussolini
began his descent from power after he joined the Second World War and lost many key battles. Mussolini
made the grave mistake of joining the war. Many think that Mussolini was either afraid of takeover by
Germany or just wanted a piece of France. Either way, He declared war on France and lost much of his
colonies in Africa and his army. He was Mussolini was disposed by... revolt and Emmanuel III
appointed Marshal Badoglio the new Prime Minister, for not withholding the might of the empire
(Wilfried). He was arrested just as the Allies took southern Italy and created a new, anti- Fascist
government.

With much of his popularity gone, and his glory fading, Mussolini also faced the rejection to add
Joseph Stalin to the side of the Axis and large military defeats. After his forces fell, he suffer great losses
in both Greece and North Africa. He ended up with Germany coming to aid them and Hitler dragged
Mussolini in his wake, particularly once the German-Soviet war overwhelmed Axis strategy (History
Channel). With Hitler very close to him, he implored that Hitler make peace with Stalin to drag his forces
to their side.

After Mussolinis many military defeats, the people of Italy stripped him of his power and killed
him. Mussolini attempted to flee the country into Switzerland, but was caught by partisans and taken back
to Rome. He and Claretta Petacci were shot; their bodies Their bodies [were] transported to Milan
where they [were] hung in Piazza Loreto, to be humiliated. As the crowds gather, they rejoice that
Mussolini and the Italian conflict have ended.

After the death of, Il Duce, the body was taken, found and taken again. Mussolinis body, after
being taken down, was placed in an unmarked grave in Musocco cemetery. It was dug up by a neo-fascist
and hidden. In three months time, the body is found and it is retrieved by police and interred in
Cerro Maggiore convent (Harris). Its final resting place is in the family plot in Predappio.