Huey Long

If you talked to many Americans suffering under the Great Depression in 1935, Huey P. Long may have been seen as a savior. To others, he was a totalitarian threat to the very foundations of America. His personality and charisma made him a titan of American politics in the first half of the 1930s, a figure strongly identified as fighting on the side of those most hurt by the Great Depression. Whatever a Huey Long presidential administration may have looked like remains just a fantasy, outlined in his book My First 100 Days. How did a man who was so popular, he was viewed as having a real chance at defeating Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 election, end his life with violent insurrections against him?

Fig. 1 - Huey P. Long in 1910

Huey Long Biography

Born in a poor Louisiana parish in 1893, Long's early years demonstrate a combination of raw intelligence and recklessness that would eventually make him an important politician. His school record showed this when he received a scholarship for his debate performance but didn't attend the college because he didn't graduate from high school. Later, he was given money by his brother for law school which he lost gambling, leaving him with only a single semester of college at that point. After spending time as a traveling salesman, he reentered law school, which he did not finish. Still, using his powers of persuasion, he received special permission to take the bar exam anyway, which he passed.

Early Public Service

From the beginning, Long's political career focused on fighting the abuses of monopolies. His first position was on the Louisiana Railroad Commission, where after being elected in 1918, he fought against high rates. He switched his focus from rail companies to telephone companies when he became chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 1922. He then unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Louisiana on a platform attacking Standard Oil, while he heavily invested in rival companies.

Fig. 2 - Huey P. Long for Governor Poster

Kingfish Huey Long

In 1928, Long successfully ran for governor. In office, he would earn the nickname "Kingfish," after a character on the popular Amos 'n' Andy radio show and his adversaries would soon view Long as attempting to make himself a king. He placed cronies in various positions, authorized police to make arrests without warrants, gave his office investigative powers, and even accused his rivals of taking bribes. For average voters, he was the person who heavily invested in education and infrastructure with money taken from taxing the rich. Despite FBI investigations into voter fraud, and obviously living beyond his means as Governor thanks to kickbacks on government deals, Long's constituents loved him for what he provided. The powerful interests he had upset turned to everything from impeachment to death threats, but Long remained unharmed.

Impeachment

After Long tried to introduce a tax on oil in 1929, he was quickly impeached under a variety of charges from bribery to various moral concerns. The charges had been brought by a state representative with ties to Standard Oil and the session degenerated into a brawl, with brass knuckles and Long's brother biting a state representative on the neck being reported. Ultimately, Long was able to convince enough state senators to not convict him and the articles of impeachment were unable to take effect.

Fig. 3 - Senator Huey P. Long¹

Senator Huey Long

Elected to the US Senate in 1930, just two years after becoming governor of Louisiana, Long continued to exert tremendous control over the state. He even delayed taking his Senate seat by months so that he could consolidate his hold on Louisiana by firing the Lieutenant Governor and installing loyal replacements. He maintained extreme control to the point where he personally oversaw who was hired as a teacher, police officer, or firefighter in the state and centralized power at the state level. Although putting himself on the national stage for a presidential run by joining the Senate, Long always kept his eyes on Louisiana.

Long had a difficult relationship with the press, who often depicted him as a tyrant. Often, he called the newspapers liars. He retaliated by founding his own paper named the Louisiana Progress, later American Progress when Long became a national political figure. Long forced all state employees to subscribe to the paper.

Huey Long Share Our Wealth

From the Senate, Huey Long offered a significantly more radical plan for the US economy than the New Deal. By capping any one individual's personal worth at $50 million, Long proposed to take a significant amount of the very wealthiest in the nation's fortunes. The money gained through heavy taxation on high-income individuals and the wealth cap would be redistributed through public works and other government programs. His lengthy list of ideas for the money included:

• Free college and job training
• Old age pensions
• Veterans' benefits
• Payments to families whose income was less than a third of the national average
• Shorter work weeks
• More economic regulation
• Debt moratorium

Long even promoted the idea that local clubs should be organized around the country to promote his Share Our Wealth plan.

Huey Long New Deal

Huey Long and Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a strained relationship. At one time allies, Long eventually dropped support for Roosevelt, as he saw a chance for himself to become president with a more radical agenda. Long was considered to be the only real threat to FDR's reelection in 1936. Roosevelt was suspicious of him and had Long under various IRS and FBI investigations.

Fig. 4 - Long after a filibuster

Huey Long Assassination

On September 10, 1935, Huey Long died of internal bleeding, a result of gunshot wounds received on September 8, 1935. Officially, Long had been assassinated by Dr. Carl Weiss, a man whose father-in-law was about to lose his position as a judge due to Long. Some have suggested that Long actually died from a bullet shot by his own guards in the chaos, but the issue is still debated. Whatever the case, Long had many enemies who were plotting violence against him.

Square Deal Club

Huey Long had a strong effect on people, in one direction or the other. His home was shot at, he received death threats, and even was the victim of arson attempts. Opposition to him was so strong that a group calling itself the Square Deal Association, tried to take over a courthouse in Louisiana in an attempt at armed insurrection. The group was not a tiny fringe element, considering 200 people took part in the insurrection before the governor put it down with the National Guard.

Huey Long Significance

Estimation of Huey Long often resides in how individuals feel about his political platform. He undeniably sought to raise the standard of living for many poor Americans, but just as undeniably was a corrupt, authoritarian figure. When later politicians have offered populist rhetoric, and been accused of some combination of corruption, cult of personality, or totalitarian aims, the name Huey P. Long has been invoked as a comparison.