Fascism

Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. Similar political movements spread across Europe between World War One and World War Two and took several forms such as Nazism and Clerical fascism. Neofascism is generally used to describe post-WWII movements seen to have fascist attributes.

Fascism in the United States?

This idea was first brought up in the cautionary novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis. Cases have been made both for and against this allegation on all sides of the political spectrum. For example, there are those on the right who claim that the US has been Fascist since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some on the political left see fascism in authoritarian policies of various Republican administrations or the Christian Right. Few scholars take these claims seriously (see Neo-Fascism).

Related Topics:
It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Neo-Fascism

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In 1933, retired General Smedley Butler testified to the McCormack-Dickstein Committee that he had been approached by a group of wealthy business interests, led by the Du Pont and J. P. Morgan industrial empires, to orchestrate a fascist coup against Roosevelt. The alleged coup attempt has come to be known as the Business Plot.

Related Topics:
1933 - Smedley Butler - Du Pont - J. P. Morgan - Business Plot

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