Fascists March On Rome

"Fellow countrymen, in a few days you will have not a ministry, but a government."

Rome, Oct. 30.--- A Roman triumph was staged here today by the victorious Fascisti, who call themselves the inheritors of the traditions of the ancient empire.  All night long the streets of  the Italian capital echoed to the tramp of the marching feet of the picturesque legionnaires, who are entering the city to strengthen the choice of their leader, Mussolini, as the new Premier by King Victor Emmanuel.

"Fellow countrymen, in a few days you will have not a ministry, but a government," declared Benito Mussolini, Premier designate, to a crowd outside the Quirinal this evening as he came from a long audience with the King.  

Ghosts of an Old Empire

This is how Wilbur Forrest, writer for the New York Tribune, began his article "Ghosts of an Old Empire Rise As Fascisti March in Rome," on October 30, 1922, the day after Mussolini's famous march on the Italian capital.  He continues....

The Fascisti themselves are not much of an army to look at.  They are garbed in part in their famous black shirts, whence their popular nickname is derived; they wear also black tassled skull caps and nondescript trousers and leggings.  Their weapons match the latter articles, some carrying rifles, others shotguns and some blackjacks, and a few have only heavy sticks.  Their discipline is of the strictest, however.  When a manifesto was issued from their headquarters yesterday warning that "the slightest incident or act of youthful impatience may compromise the fate of the nation," and "their is no room for traitors in the ranks of the Fascisti," every member of the organization was aware of the gravity of the admonition, and their was no attempt to violate the order, which demands "iron, blind, silent obedience to their leaders."

"There is no room for traitors in the ranks of the Fascisti"

So, who were these Fascists and their founder, Benito Mussolini, who would become known simply as "The Leader?"  What were their beliefs, and how did they impact the political world until this very day?  We shall explore these questions, as we try to understand the true nature of Fascism and how it has evolved in modern times.  

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