Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
immigration usa during world war 2
italian economy during mussolini
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: immigration usa during world war 2
Italy in the Twentieth Century
Only thirty years after the Piedmontese army marched into Rome to unite Italy under one government, the country suddenly found itself on the brink of the twentieth century and a rapidly changing world. The twentieth century would mark the beginning of great changes throughout Europe, and Italy would not be left untouched. What set the stage for these changes, though, were the years just prior to, and directly after 1900.
The decade before 1900 can be thought of in terms of its government leaders, most notably, Francesco Crispi. Crispi attempted to lead Italy with administrative reforms and expansion abroad. The 1890s, however, also marked a time of great crisis, as riots over the prices of food grew increasingly common, and government oppression became more and more blatant. It was not uncommon for the prime ministers of the time to issue decrees without parliament by claiming royal authority, or to dissolve opposition parties. Even the end of the Sicilian fasci movement, which carried out strikes and opposition demonstrations, came when Crispi sent the military in on one of their strikes, imprisoning all of their leaders.
Crispi's attempts to turn Italy into a world power through colonialism failed as well. In the 1890s, the Italian government's various attempts at turning nearby African nation Ethiopia into a colony were met with heavy losses and crushing defeats. Although Italy did manage to conquer Libya, it did not help very much. Libya's annexation in 1896 lowered living conditions for the lower class and increased prices across the nation. Libya was a veritable economic sinkhole for Italy, even as peasants from the South emigrated in large numbers to seek work there. Wit...
... middle of paper ...
...in small part, to the founding of Fiat), took precedence over injustices in the south. The Italian government held positivist philosophy dear, even then, and explained southern Italy's backwardness with racist claims of its people's inferiority. Southern politicians clamored for tax relief and government aid, but were often met with indifference. Even the nominal attempts at tax relief that were made were rendered ineffectual by the beginning of World War I. This atmosphere led to a vast emigration from southern Italy to the United States, from which many Italians returned within a few years with new experiences and new values.
The increase in wealth and middle class power led to the defeat of Giolitti and his coalition in the elections of 1914, and conservatives assumed power. World War I was just over the horizon, waiting to change everything yet again.
In response to the democratic backlash after World War I, in response to the Treaty of Versailles and the economic failure after the war, countries turned to a totalitarian, fascist government, regulating every facet of life of the people it ruled. Fascist Italy was no exception—over the years 1921-1943, Italy instituted a population policy, controlling it and causing it to rise. Italy’s population policy consisted of the regulation of family size, often exercising Mussolini’s bid for control in extreme manners. The reactions consisted of an economic counterpoint of family size, and disapproval of this new regime.
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
Multiple historians have touched on the change in government during Fascist Italy’s reign in World War II. In Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development, Alexander De Grand clarifies the many promises Benito Mussolini fabricated for the Italian people in order to get them to join his cause such as the improvement on poverty with the rise of a new Roman Empire. De Grand also gives an opposite view, with some citizens seeing Fascism as a “model of efficiency.” In Melton S. Davis’ Who Defends Rome?, t...
Next, we will discuss the Risorgimento, a 19th-century movement for unification of Italy that would ultimately establish the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Before this time, the Italian peninsula
Italy achieved her unification in 1870. She had a constitutional monarchy like that of Great Britain, but democratic society failed to develop in Italy because the government was controlled by corrupt politicians, called the party bosses. They controlled the elections by bribing the voters. Once they were in power, they were more interested in achieving personal gains for themselves than in solving the social and economic problems of the people. As a result of this political corruption, Italy remained a poor country. Industrial progress was slow. Italy was poor in natural resources and lack of fertile land. Many of the farm laborers were landless and were often unemployed, so millions of Italians were forced to emigrate.
To begin with, this is determined by Italy's weak and foreign expansion policy. In 1871, the long-torn apartness of Italy achieved unity, providing favorable conditions for the development of capitalism. But the reunification is completed from top to bottom, retaining a large number of feudal remnants, which seriously hindered the further development of the Italian economy, resulting in the backwardness of Italy, mainly in three aspects: First, backward agriculture, food production is extremely
Benito Mussolini decided to get Italy involved in World War II. This decision had a negative impact on Italy. After World War I, the Italian people were angry that Italy did not get more land from the peace settlement. Getting Italy involved in World War II was not necessary. Getting involved in this war could have easily been avoided, but Mussolini decided to help and tries to give Italians what they wanted. What the Italians hoped to gain from World War I was never received. The gaining of land for Italy seemed as if it was a necessity to Mussolini. To gain more land, Mussolini led Italy into World War II. Things did not work out as expected for Mussolini. Thinking he had everything under control and that everything would go his way, things backfired and many men were lost during World War II. He also made Italy mar...
During the late 1800's Italy became one of the most overcrowded countries in Europe. Many Italians began to consider the possibility of leaving Italy to escape the new low wages and high taxes. For centuries the entire Italian peninsula was divided into quarreling states, with foreign powers often controlling several states. In this chaotic situation, the feudal system ruled above the economic system, leaving money only in the hands of a select few (Wikepedia.com, 2007).
Despite intense feelings of nationalism, when Italy’s opportunity came to unify in early 1848 the leaders and the people became hopelessly divided.
The allied powers promised Italy land in exchange for joining them against the central powers during WWI. But, Italy was mostly ignored during the Treaty of Versailles and received very little land. This can be seen as one of the reasons Mussolini aligned with the Axis powers in WWII. He knew that the allies did not treated Italy fairly so he went against them in the next war. He also began invading countries in Africa such as Ethiopia so that Italy could establish itself as the rightful leading power of the Mediterranean. While the invasion of other countries may seem bad, Mussolini did it to increase the power of his own country. He fought for Italy first, proving himself a true nationalist. Another example of this can be found when Hitler came to power and it became apparent to Mussolini that Austria was threatened. He wanted Italy to have influence in Austria, so he threatened to go to war with Germany in the event of an invasion of
"The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy. In the beginning of his rise to the top, Mussolini was popular amongst his people. His popularity was high, and people began to trust in his judgment and ideas. (4) He was, in essence, saving the people from the turmoil that had ensued the nat...
Giuseppe Garibaldi has gone down in history as a hero for his role in the unification of Italy. He beat all odds in his unthinkable quest to free Italy from the grips of the French and Austro-Hungarian empires through his commitment and perseverance to his cause. His remarkable feat shows that any undertaking, no matter how seemingly impossible, can be done with enough diligence and
During the Twentieth-Century, there were several dramatic economic changes and events. Going from being a complete agricultural nation to being an industrial super, enduring a great depression, having a civil rights movement and so many more, the 20th Century carries the names of some of the world’s most important events. Although history has flourished with all of its game changers, the solute most important event of the 1900’s was World War 2. The second world war, just decades after the first, “was the most widespread and deadliest war in history, involving more than 300 countries and resulting in more than 50 million military and civilian dead,” according to History.com. After World War I had ended, the peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles, created in 1919, had a purpose of obligating Germany to relinquish territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. However these new territories were very susceptible to aggression from its neighboring countries, Germany and the Soviet Union. During this time there was still a great deal of tension between the countries/ territories. Italy and Japan viewed the treaty as a failure to acknowledge the status of the two’s world powers. Also Germans saw that rather than being defeated at the close of World War I, they were betrayed. With the economy being exceptionally deprived and a great deal of political instability, this set the stage for dictatorships that according to Twentieth-Century America “offered territorial expansion by military conquest as a way to redress old rivalries, dominate trade and gain access to raw materials”. Countries such as Japan began making use of propaganda’s stressing that Japans “greatness” must be reassured. Italy’s Fascist dictator, Benito Mus...
In the early years of the twentieth century, Italy has created a new system of government, however suffered social and economic conditions. Improvements were made however, poverty and literacy were still problems that have not been solved well. While entering World War I, the nation was neutral up until joining the British and French in exchange for certain advantages. However, it was unsuccessful as Italy failed to take control of the territories that it claimed at the Versailles Peace Conference,and suffered significant losses. The ideology of fascism occurred when the power of Italy was shrinking and the idea of being a pacifist became weak. Benito Mussolini created a group of fascists to represent a means to stop the socialists and the communists coming into his nation.
Even in recent times the action of war has been useful in condensing scattered elements of nationality, and in liberating subject populations. United Italy was formed directly or indirectly by the war of 1859, 1866, and 187O. The last war realised the dreams of German poets, and united the Teutonic nations more closely than the shrewdest statesmen could have conceived to be possible a few years ago. That same war, so calamitous for France, will yet regenerate that great country, and make her more prosperous than she has ever been. Th...