Another group that was overwhelmingly supportive of Italian fascism was American big business, which praised Mussolini for bringing order and stability to the Italian economy. The president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Julian Barnes, repeatedly declared in speeches and magazine articles that "Mussolini is without question a great man." James Emery of the National Association of Manufacturers praised Il Duce at a NAM convention for "leading through the streets of a reunited country a great body of citizens" who rescued Italy from "the blighting hand of radical socialism." Referring to the American economy, the Wall Street Journal titled an editorial "Needed A Mussolini." Thomas W. Lamont, head of the J. P. Morgan banking network, called himself a "missionary" for fascism and devoted himself to "quiet preaching" on its behalf. According to [historian John P.] Diggins, "With few exceptions, the dominant voices of business responded to fascism with hearty enthusiasm." Many later directed their firms to donate money to the Nazi party.

Thaddeus Russell, A Renegade History of the United States (246-247)