Fortin, Jackie
To what extent did the March on Rome have a direct impact on the rise of Benito
Mussolini’s Fascist government?
Jackie Fortin
Historical Investigation
Subject: Grade 11 History
Supervisor: Mrs. Patricia Mills
Word Count: 1,973
Fortin, Jackie 3
A. Plan of Investigation
This historical investigation regards the extent of the impact the March on Rome had on
Benito Mussolini’s government. I was interested in Italy, and Mussolini and his totalitarian
fascist government caught my attention. I wished to focus on his rise, and the March on Rome
was intriguing. Research conducted was aimed towards what the March was and how it came to
be. In this process knowledge about Italy post-war, the Fascist party and Italy’s 1920s political
situation was acquired.
In order to complete this investigation, several book, internet and media sources aided my
comprehension of the March on Rome. Valuable information was found in different books from
the school’s library and other internet and media sources. This newly attained knowledge aided
the elaboration of my question; to what extent did the March on Rome have a direct impact on
the rise of Benito Mussolini’s government?
B. Summary of Evidence

After World War I, Italy was left poor and unstable. The end result of the Versailles
Treaty had been unfavorable and left them in critical conditions. (Anonymous.
http://staff.gps.edu/mines/Age%20of%20Anxiety%20-%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini.htm.
January 23, 2011.)

The Biennio Rosso took place in the two years following the First World War in a
context of economic and political crisis. (Marcia Su Roma. Dir. Dino Risi. Prod. Mario
Cecchi Gori. Perf. Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman. 1962. Online.)

Mussolini wished to change this and make Italy a global power. (Morgan, Philip. Italian
Fascism, 1915-1945. Houndmills [England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print.)
Fortin, Jackie 4

Between 1919 and 1922 five different governments ruled Italy unsuccessfully. ("Fascist
Italy." The Corner. Ed. TK Chung. The Corner, 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.thecorner.org/hist/total/f-italy.htm>.)

In 1919 Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist party.
(http://staff.gps.edu/mines/Age%20of%20Anxiety%20%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini.htm.)

Benito wanted to endure the power of the state by any means necessary, including
violence. (Sassoon, Donald. Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism. London: HarperPress,
2007. Print.)

When Mussolini found out that the Prime Minister Luigi Facta had given Gabriele
d'Annunzio the task of organizing a large manifestation on November 4, 1922 to
celebrate the national victory during the war, he chose to issue the March to speed up the
process and evade any possible competition. (Palla, Marco. Mussolini and Fascism. New
York: Interlink, 2000. Print.)

A few days previous to the March on Rome, Mussolini made sure to check with U.S.
Ambassador Richard Washburn Child, whether the U.S. government would support
Fascist participation in a future Italian government.
(http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/march_on_rome.htm)

Child encouraged him to proceed and told him that US would be fine with it. (Palla,
Marco. Mussolini and Fascism. New York: Interlink, 2000. Print.)

On October 26, former Prime Minister Antonio Salandra warned Prime Minister Luigi
Facta that Mussolini demanded his resignation and was preparing to march on Rome.
Fortin, Jackie 5
(Marcia Su Roma. Dir. Dino Risi. Prod. Mario Cecchi Gori. Perf. Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio
Gassman. 1962. Online.)

“The plan for the March would be as follows;
o 1. Fascists would be brought into Rome from all over Italy.
o 2. All-important public buildings would be taken over including those outside of
Rome in the important cities in the north.
o 3. Mussolini would demand the resignation of the government and that a new
Fascist government be allowed to take over.
o 4. Armed Fascists would be near Rome. If the government failed to meet these
demands, they would march into Rome and take over by the use of force.”
(http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/march_on_rome.htm)

“On October 28, fascists in many cities took over post offices, posted guards at the
railroad stations, and paraded before the army barracks and the prefectures in a generally
peaceful atmosphere and with the toleration of the military authorities.” (Morgan,
Philip. Italian Fascism, 1915-1945. Houndmills [England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Print.)

Facta wanted to declare a state of siege for Rome but the King refused. He then resigned.
(Morgan, Philip. Italian Fascism, 1915-1945. Houndmills [England: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2004. Print.)

King Victor was convinced that conflict with Fascists would lead to civil war.
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Mussolini_s_March_on_Rome/)
Fortin, Jackie 6

Victor Emmanuel knew that his cousin, the Duke of Aosta, was a Fascist supporter. He
was fearful that his cousin would replace him if he stood up to Mussolini and failed.
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Mussolini_s_March_on_Rome/)

On October 29th, 1922, Mussolini was summoned to meet the king in Rome.
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Mussolini_s_March_on_Rome/)

On October 30th, Mussolini was sworn in as Prime Minister. The Fascists who had
gathered outside of Rome were allowed to march in triumph.
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Mussolini_s_March_on_Rome/)
C. Evaluation of Sources
Source 1: Schoenherr, Steven, ed. "The Rise of Benito Mussolini." Editorial. History Web
Pages. Web. 17 Apr. 2010.
<http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/WW2Timeline/Prelude05.html>.
The article “The Rise of Benito Mussolini” in the San Diego University website was very
useful for my historical investigation because it had very valuable information for me to use.
The article on this web page was edited by Steven Schoenherr when he was still teaching at
the University of San Diego in 2005. He got his B.A. at the Indiana University, his M.A. and
Ph.D. at the University of Delaware and is now a retired History professor. It appears that the
author’s purpose was to give concise information about Mussolini, focusing on the time
when he was in power. It has a lot of information about what he did and the events
mentioned were arranged chronologically. This source was important for my topic because it
Fortin, Jackie 7
gave me basic concepts I needed to know about Mussolini and the rise of his fascist
government. It gave explicit details of the March on Rome and how it influenced many
Italians into supporting fascism. There was little subjectivity; however it was a bit against
fascism. His use of primary sources like Mussolini’s own definition of fascism in the 1932
Italian Encyclopedia gave the source reliability. I did not encounter any limitations since the
site was very organized and in chronological order. It was not too broad or too specific; it
gave the right amount of information that was needed in each section.
Source 2: Palla, Marco. Mussolini and Fascism. New York: Interlink, 2000. Print.
Marco Palla published Mussolini and Fascism in 2000. Palla teaches Contemporary Italian
History at the University of Trieste in Italy. He has written other books like Florence Under
the Fascist Regime 1929-1934 and Fascism and the Corporate State. Based on the fact that
Marco Palla is Italian, one can infer that he possesses a great amount of knowledge about
Italy and its history. Marco’s purpose was to inform the readers what had taken place in Italy.
He gave background information about Italy before fascism began and then elaborated more
on Mussolini and his new take of fascism. I think this source is of great value because Marco
Palla was using sources as were Benito Mussolini’s own book about his government, and
about 10 more secondary sources of books written by other people that referred to the same
subject. I believe a limitation for this book was the fact that the author is Italian, which might
lead people to think that he could perhaps have a different view of the subject, being this a
more personal one related to his national identity. The book itself covers about 30 years if not
Fortin, Jackie 8
more of pure Italian history and fascist information, which might make the book a bit less
specific. Nonetheless, it was written prudently in a way that lets the readers know what was
going on without overflowing with data.
D. Analysis
The March on Rome took place on October 28, 1922 and that practically marked the
beginning of Fascist Italy. Benito Mussolini had been planning to take control over Italy and
transform it into a powerful nation but it was not to be an easy job. At this time, Italy had just
come out of the Biennio Rosso, which were the two years following the First World War. The
Biennio Rosso in Italy was characterized for high unemployment rates, political unsteadiness and
economic disaster. Everyone was disappointed because Italy had gone into World War I
expecting to gain land or at least prestige, but the Treaty of Versailles gave them nothing and
since they had lost troops they were worse than when they entered the war. Italy was full of riots,
revolts and strikes for two years and between 1919 and 1922 there were five different
governments in office. Each government wished to rebuild Italy and improve it but they all
ended without success. Mussolini was a violent man with pro-war tendencies, but what he longed
for the most was for Italy to be strong and rise in power once again. Since Fascism was a
totalitarian and authoritarian political ideology, many people viewed it as too radical and
opposed it. Other nations like the United States did not see it as a threat and gave approval for it.
Mussolini knew it was time to change things in Italy but for that, he needed to come into power.
People were concerned with the decisiveness Mussolini showed when it came to gaining
control over Italy. One of them was Prime Minister Luigi de Facta, who preceded Mussolini in
that position. He opposed Mussolini and was warned that he was asking for his resignation and
Fortin, Jackie 9
threatened with marching on Rome if he did not comply with such “requirement”. Mussolini
arrived upon Rome and marched along with all his followers. The plan was for the fascists to
take over all public buildings that day, while Mussolini demanded the resignation of the current
government, including Luigi de Facta, and proclaimed that a Fascist government should be
allowed to rule. There would be armed fascists near Rome just in case the government did not
meet the demands and they would have to take over by force. This scared King Emmanuel
because he feared that if he did not comply with these requirements, things would turn against
him. He was afraid that a civil war would break out and Italy would end up being even more
damaged than what it was after the First World War. If this was not the case, his cousin Duke of
Aosta was a Fascist supporter, and could potentially become his replacement. Due to the fear that
prevailed in the King’s mind, Mussolini was invited to his Palace the day after the March and
was then asked to form part of the government as Italy’s new Prime Minister.
The March on Rome clearly had a huge impact on the rise of Mussolini’s government
because it was the last thing the King could bear. He saw that Mussolini had many followers and
knew if he didn’t do what the Fascists wanted, dark times would lie ahead. It was the day after
this manifestation that Mussolini was invited to form part of the government of Italy and from
that day on, Italy was never to be the same.
E.
Conclusion
The March on Rome had a very strong and direct impact on the rise of Benito
Mussolini’s fascist government in Italy. The aftermath of World War I made it extremely
hard for them to rise as a powerful nation. Italians were hopeless and did not see a brighter
future. At this point Mussolini presented Italians with newfound hope. The March on Rome
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proved that he was decided to do whatever it took for him to get to power, inspiring
nationalism into many souls. Once in power, he could start to transform Italy.
The March on Rome was a turning point in his struggle for power because it evinced the
fact that he was concerned for the future of Italy and would persevere. The March on Rome
had such an impact on King Victor Emmanuel that he feared he would be dethroned or a civil
war would break out if he did not agree to Mussolini’s demands. So, Mussolini was
appointed a part of the new Italian cabinet and this is where the totalitarian Fascist regime
begins.
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Works Cited
Bosworth, J.R. Mussolini. New York: Oxford UP, 2002. 584. Web.
"Fascist Italy." The Corner. Ed. TK Chung. The Corner, 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.thecorner.org/hist/total/f-italy.htm>.
Sassoon, Donald. Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism. London: HarperPress, 2007. Print.
Schoenherr, Steven, ed. "The Rise of Benito Mussolini." Editorial. History Web Pages. Web. 17
Apr. 2010. <http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/WW2Timeline/Prelude05.html>.
Marcia Su Roma. Dir. Dino Risi. Prod. Mario Cecchi Gori. Perf. Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio
Gassman. 1962. Online.
Unknown. "Italy and the Rise of Mussolini." Web. 16 Apr. 2010.
<http://staff.gps.edu/mines/Age%20of%20Anxiety%20-%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini.htm>.
Morgan, Philip. Italian Fascism, 1915-1945. Houndmills [England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Print.
Palla, Marco. Mussolini and Fascism. New York: Interlink, 2000. Print.