Introduction to Social Studies – 6th grade
DUE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2008: 20th Century Leaders
Using the worksheet you did in class and my example (Mussolini), compile a page of images and information about your leader. You will need at least three sources, and one must be a book.
Please write 3-5 paragraphs about your leader in your own words. Use some of the vocabulary words we have been studying.
Follow my example below.
P.S. Remember to study for the vocabulary test on Thursday!
Mussolini by Diego Rivera, 1933
Benito Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945)
Benito Mussolini was a truly awful person. He was the leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943. I think if I had lived in Italy at the time when Mussolini was in power, I would have felt terrified of being tortured and killed. Just knowing my personality, I think it would have been very hard for me to go along with his terrible program of Fascism, and I know that Mussolini killed many people who disagreed with him.
Mussolini was drafted into the Italian Army when he was a young man and forced to fight in World War I. World War I was so horrible and so many people died that it was called "the war to end all wars." Both Germany and Italy were on the losing side in World War I, and after the war, their people were starving.
In 1919, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party with the support of many unemployed war veterans. He organized them into armed gangs known as Black Shirts. They terrorized anyone who disagreed with them. In October 1922, the Black Shirts marched through the streets of Rome and began to take over the country. The King of Italy asked Mussolini to form a government because Italy was in chaos with people rioting and looting for food.
By 1925, Mussolini had changed the government from a democracy to a Fascist state. He took the title of "Il Duce" or "The Leader." He wanted to make Italy an empire again, just like the Roman empire. He was a nationalist, an imperialist, and a racist. He later became friends with Hitler and persecuted Italian Jews.
In 1935, Mussolini invaded and conquered Ethiopia. forcing Emperor Haile Selassie to flee to England. He joined with Hitler and declared war on England and France. Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed ways of defeating Mussolini. They sent troops to Sicily. Mussolini was captured and imprisoned, but he was rescued by German commandos sent by his friend Hitler. The Germans took over Italy and put Mussolini back in charge. But the British and American troops kept advancing, and Mussolini fled to Switzerland. Before he could get there, he and his mistress were captured by their Italian enemies and executed.
Sources:
History of the World National Geographic, New York, 2006
www.bbc.co.uk
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
