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Imported Movements Seeded Domestic Fascism
- Fascism spread to the U.S. early via Italian and German immigrant groups in the 1920s and 1930s.
- These movements mixed foreign influence with local grievances to gain footholds in American cities.
Intellectuals Made Fascism Plausible
- Lawrence Dennis argued the Depression made fascism preferable to communism and capitalism's collapse inevitable.
- His intellectual framing helped normalize authoritarian alternatives among American readers.
Pelley’s Spiritual Conversion To Fascism
- William Dudley Pelley parlayed spiritualism and anti-Semitism into the Silver Legion with silver shirts and a paramilitary vibe.
- He promised a ‘Christian Commonwealth’ excluding Jews and re-enslaving Black Americans as part of his plan.