The Implications of the March on Rome, Case Study Example

Plan of Investigation

This plan of action relates how the research question ‘To what extent did inhabitants in Rome understand implications of the March on Rome at the time,’ is expected to be answered. As such, this section of the research will outline the methodology and a brief background to the events leading up to the March of Rome, which occurred in late October, 1922. Importantly, the discussion embraces a comparative analysis examining sources giving accounts of experiences encountered by the Roman community.

An explaination of the inhabitans response to these detail events occuring before, during, and after the march, exclusively, when Mussolini (1883-1945) gained leadership of Rome and the fascist party came into power (Signoretti, 1967) are expected to support the answers relating the extent to which they understood imoplications of the march of Rome. Therefore, a literature of review of relevant documents using key terms, March of Rome; inhabitants of Rome during October, 1922; Mussolini (1883-1945 and fascist party will be used toretrieve sources.

Primary sources taken from Fascimo a Roma and Corriere Della Serra referenced in Section C served as supportive data for evaluations made in this research project. It is the author’s desire to present a comprehensive account of this historic event with profound analyses of the effects they collectively had on the population. It must be understood the extent to which the inhabitants in Rome understood implications of the march on Rome at the time was clearly misconstrued because it was not a power conquest, but rather a power transition within the constitutional framework producing public surrender to Fascists intimidation (Gallo, 1973).

In illustrating the extent to which the inhabitants in Rome understood implications of the march on Rome, the accounts of the Italians during the period must be scrutinized. It is evident that most of them were not aware of what was happening. The night before the march there had been rumors about the Fascists gathering in the outskirts of Rome. They would gather in Tivoli, Monterotondo and Mentana village. That night before the march, public transport stopped, and there were soldiers guarding the main bridges and the public stations. Though there were streetcars in the morning, bold young men were travelling to the Fascist Party seat degli Avignonesi after which they would travel to Piazza Colonna (Gallo, 1973).

Summary of evidence

A huge demonstration was gathering, and many Italians thought that the gathering was to thank the king for not confirming the state of siege. It was not until the Il Monocolo(a newspaper) was raided and set on fire that some of the Italians started getting suspicious of the situation. The Trastevere Bridge was strictly guarded, and the king’s army also guarded the city center. Despite the presence of the king’s army in the city, the city did not look like it was under control (Lorenzo Mosca, personal interview by Matte).

There were pillars of smoke and a gun shop at the Pantheon Square had been assaulted and emptied. Yelling hooligans filled the streets, they were carrying arms and it looked like they were not bothered by the presence of the police. There was a demonstration from the Piazza Venezia to via Cesare Battisti, via Quattro Novembre and via XXIV Maggio. The royal Cavalrymen also followed on both sides without interfering with the protesters (Lorenzo Mosca, personal interview by Matte).

On 24 October 1922, Mussolini (1883-1945) declared before a massive crowd of 60,000 people attending the Fascist Congress in Naples that he desired to rule Italy. Blackshirts, residing in Po plain, further positioned themselves at strategic points in the country. By 26th October, 1922, Antonio Salandra (1853 -1931), former, prime minister alerted current Prime Minister Luigi Facta that Mussolini (1883-1945) was initiating his resignation and march on Rome. On 28 October, King Victor Emmanuel 111 (1869-1947) delivered power to Mussolini (1883-1945). He was fully supported by the business community, military, and the right-wing. By 29^th October, 1922 Mussolini (1883-1945) formed a new government (Chiurco, 1926).

On the morning of 28^th October, the resigning government posted a decree concerning the state of siege in the city. General Pulgiesi forbade the gathering of five people and also revoked the carrying of arms. Staging of public shows were prohibited, tram and vehicle circulations were suspended. Defence stations along the bridges leading to the city and government buildings formed a peculiar security system. The events that followed threw the town into disarray, for example, a strike led by the members of the Fascist Trade Union. There were flash mob meetings in various areas of the city, which posed difficulties to the police. The government later called off the state of siege. This was followed by a demonstration led by five thousand people including the city mayor and town council officials (Chiurco, 1926).

This protest parade converged at the piazza Del Quirinale. On the 30^th of October 1922, most headlines stated that the country through the leadership of the Fascist party had obtained true revolution. There were celebrations of the actions and victory by the Fascists party and the hailing of Mussolini (1883-1945) (Corriere della Sera, 1922).

Evaluation of sources

My first major source is the Fascimo a Roma , which attempts to illustrate the relevance of the march and the extent to which inhabvitant of Rome understaood the polital featured encomapssing this parade of power. This is an important peice of literature because it illustrates how the inhabitants understood the march. Various sources used in this text depicted low class workers hostility in trying to fight and oppose the actions of the Fascists (Farinacci,1941).

One limitation of this source, however, when compared to the Corriere della Sera is that it does not provide examples on the experiences of the inhabitants. For example, the author related the extent of Romans understanding of the march to be contained in their responses demonstrated through protests; curiosity, lack of confidence, and the expectation of establishment oforder in the socieity as they hailed the new leadership (Farinacci,1941).

Fascimo a Roma also gave th eimpression that the extent tom which Romans understaood the relevance of this march lay in their poit of view that the Fascist party intended of to liberated Rome from oppressive rule. Here is where their understanding was misconstructed because all theyrecive in the process was more oppression by Facists political rule. According to the inhabitants, the actions that were committed by members of the Fascist party were revolutionary (Farinacci,1941).

A precise understanding was expressed in their acceptance of the March of Rome as being deirable fo rthe time they were facing at the hand of oppressive rulerships. They knew that revolutions were uncacceptible, but these manuveores could produce to be articulated as justifying the means to an end for for the party in gaining to power. They also felt that the country was in a desperate condition because of the inefficiency, incompetence and the feebleness of the governing class. The dishonesty depicted by the leading politicians and the desire to breakdown the machinery of the government pushed for revolutionary change by the fascist party (Farinacci,1941).

This is because it was the only means of bringing real improvement to Italy. The Fascist party adopted violent methods and submitted to violence. Another limitation expressed by the Fascimo a Roma author is that of focusing on Fascists acts without offering an analysis of the situation regarding how Romans percived the events from both positve and negative theorectical precmises and ttheir understanding of the implications as it relates to the research question asking the extent to which inhabitants understood the events contained in the March of Rome phenomenon (Farinacci,1941).

The Corriere della Sera is a newspaper publication published during the time of the march. It is a valuable source for the research as the narration of the events is based on the views of the inhabitants. For example, it gives an evaluation on how the media was against the actions of the Fascist Party when they burnt newsrooms and deprived them of the right to publish. This source portrays how the inhabitants understood the march from their curiosity, slight confidence, and the expectation of some kind of order as they cheered in demonstration. The educated upper and middle class, for example, the journalists portrayed some admiration for Mussolini (1883-1945) (Farinacci, 1941).

However, they did not admire the squads because Corriere della Sera gave conflicting reports of the march. This source communicated that inhabitants felt that Mussolini (1883-1945) usurped power. Further this media also reported that the inhabitants were comfortable with the Fascist party attempts of liberating the country from corrupt leadership. On the contrary Fascist party became violent towards Roman citizens (Cavaliere, 2012).

Corriere della Sera reported on the Clashes at Porta Trionfale published on the 30th of October 1922 profoundly offered insites into the extent romans understood the reasons and outcomes of the March of Rome. For example, the author immediately reveals the degree of tention existing in Rome as Italians awaited for the outcome of events. Even though the inhabitants particiapted in these events it did not assit in their perceition of the real deal thatv it was not new politcal way of adminstering the country but transiton fom one dictatorship rule to another. As such, this threw the town into disarray, for example, a strike led by the members of the Fascist Trade Union. There were flash mob meetings in various areas of the city, which posed difficulties to the police. The government later called off the state of siege (Corriere della Sera 1).

This was followed by a demonstration by five thousand people led by the city mayor and the town council at the piazza del Quirinale who went to hail the king (Corriere della Sera 1). This source is valuable as it gives an illustration of the behaviours of some of the inhabitants. From the illustration, it is evident that the inhabitants supported the actions of the Fascist Party. The limitation of the source is that it does not categorise the inhabitants, based on those who supported the March and those who were against the march(Corriere della Sera 1).

Analysis

The articles illustrated in the Fascimo a Roma give alternative views from many others regarding accounts on the march of Rome. These other accounts events revealed that the inhabitants never understood the intentions of the march. There was increased tension in Rome as the Italians waited for the events to come (1-2). This shows that the middle class were curious and slightly confident and they expected some kind of order from the demonstration. One article includes the movements by the Fascist party in October and depicts the irregular way that was used by Mussolini (1883-1945) to come to power (Cavaliere, 2012).

In the districts, hardworking citizens were tyrannised and subjected to outrages and extortion. This happened because of the actions of the Fascists in an attempt to break power. There were increased chaos and the destruction of property, for example, the burning of clubs and the destruction of cooperative stores. However, the inhabitants still supported the actions of the Fascists party, remembering the march as a decisive action against big government as it was before (Codova and Sabbatucci, 2008).

The other event is in the manner in which the Fascist party secured popularity, and the manner in which they supported the patriotic idea. Many inhabitants in Rome thought that Mussolini (1883-1945) and the Fascist party supported patriotism through the march. The articles reveal that there were insults and outrages that were heaped on the army and the flag. Despite the Fascist party supporting a patriotic idea, Mussolini (1883-1945) and other Fascist leaders depicted some hatred for the country. This is because even the inhabitants felt that the country never had a government as the rules were abused. It is evident that the Fascist military command forbade the Corriere della Sera from publishing (Cavaliere, 2012).

However, Mussolini (1883-1945) the leaders of the Fascist Party realized the damage that the ban had caused, therefore, he decided to give them their freedom. It can be argued that the violence that was committed by the government and the fascist party, might have contributed to the exuberant character portrayed among many Italians during the time. This is because Mussolini led by the Fascist party planted a seed that produced a crop, which amounted to increased revolutionary activity in the country. This is because it was a revolution that disobeyed and set the state at naught by wildly cheering the king and the army (Police Report, 1922).

Despite the actions portrayed by Mussolini (1883-1945) and the Fascist party seeming bad, they endeavoured to make good. The revolutionists demanded the reestablishment of law and order. They also demanded respect for property and life, and equal justice for all Italians without distinction of class. One of the positive effects of a government born of such a revolution would be one that abstained from vengeance on the beaten enemies (Mosca, Lorenzo, 1922).

The following desctriptive analysis clearly shows that other than destroying property, some of the young men who engaged in demonstrations were also hurt. Reports indicated that a young man belonging to a group dubbed Sempre Pronti ‘whenever ready’ got burnt during the demonstrations. The Fascists caused a lot of chaos in the villages causing clashes that lasted for a while (Codova and Sabbatucci, 2008).

The articles explain that some of Rome’s inhabitants understood that the march was never a conquest of power as was celebrated. However, it was a precipitating force following the transfer of power in the framework of the constitution. It should be noted that the transition only became possible because the public authorities never wanted to face intimidation from the fascists. The sources reveal that the king refused to follow the prime ministers advice of implementing a martial law against Mussolini and the Fascist party. This is because the king considered the aftermath, which he knew would have led to a civil war in Italy (Mosca, Lorenzo, 1922).

The optimism depicted in Mussolini’s (1883-1945) opinions shows that, he had a corporatist view that put emphasis on state power, instead of businesses and citizens through governing industry bodies that were controlled by the Fascists. The march in Rome in October 1922 marked the beginning of the long term bid for imperialist predominance in Italy. This is because working class organizations were crushed in an attempt to maximize industrial production (Mosca, Lorenzo, 1922).

Conclusion

The question asked in this research was to what extent did inhabitants of Rome understand implications of the March on Rome at the time? From the facts and analysis presented in this resarch their understanding was limited. Precisely, Romans never really saw that it was a power transition within the constitutional framework. This transiton actually produced public surrender to Fascists intimidation. Intially and even further into Mussolini’s rule they felt that was a revolution whereby they were delivered from Facists governance. This ideology is highly supported by Lornzo Mosca ‘s thesis. Sources used in this research shows where the king refused to follow the prime ministers advice of implementing a martial law against Mussolini and the Fascist party after considering the consequences (Mosca, Lorenzo, 1922). The Fascist demonstration is compared to cockroach; the respectabnle middle class at windows is a negative connotation.Ultimately the kingis depicted as an irreponsible idiot.

Event after event leading to the siege of power highlights articulation of occurrences that led to the establishment of Mussolini (1883-1945) and the Fascist Party. Historically, this was considered the most vulnerable Italian political party. The extent of vulnerability used was demonstrated when Mussolini (1883-1945) and the Fascist party staged a coup even after knowing they were not part of the Italian army (Mosca, Lorenzo, 1922). This march made a difference in the history of Italy because the government was forced to embrace fascism. Mussolini’s (1883-1945) bluff was successful, and he was appointed prime minister. Indeed this was the extent to was the true extent to which inhabitants of Rome understood implications of the March on Rome at that time (Chiurco,1926).

Works Cited

Cassells, Alan. Fascist Italy. Arlington Heights, IL: H. Davidson, 1985.Print

Cavaliere,Fania Il Novecento di Fanny Kaufmann, Passigli Editore,2012,pages 179/181. Print.

Chiurco, “Storia della Rivoluzione Fascista”, La Marcia su Roma 1926, p.238-239. Print.

Codova, Ferdinando and Sabbatucci, Giovanni. Fascimo a Roma. 2008. Print.

Corriere della Sera. The National Crisis. 1922. Print

Corriere della Sera . Clashes at Porta Trionfale.1922. Print

Farinacci “Storia della Rivoluzione Fascista”, La marcia su Roma 1941, p.420-422. Print

Gallo, Max. Mussolini’s Italy: Twenty Years of the Fascist Era. New York: Macmillan, 1973.Print

Mosca, Lorenzo Professor of Contemporay History,University la Sapienza Roma,”The birth of Fascism in Rome,1919/1922,MatteoCatelli’s personal interview, Rome October 22,2013

Police Report (Sechi) on the Proletarian Defence Committee, sept. 2 1922, env. 64. Print

Signoretti Alfredo, Come Diventai Fascista,Volpe, Roma, 1967. Print