In order to keep society informed of his goals, Huey Long regularly used the radio to campaign and present his policies. His charismatic approach caught the attention of many citizens.[8] He often referred to himself as the “Kingfish”, a nickname taken from a popular comedy show, “Amos n’ Andy”. The show was set in an African American community, resulting in an increase of African American supporters.[9] In the end, he gained many supporters from his wittiness. Huey also acclimatized the catchphrase “Every Man a King, But No One Wears a Crown” from William Jennings Bryan, a famous populists speaker. He used this slogan in majority of his broadcasts and eventually made a song out of it. This caught the attention of thousands of Americans and Huey Long continued to gain supporters, but not everyone was persuaded by his charming personality.
Long used his position to his advantage and placed supporters in every level of government in order to win legislative support.[10] More and more people were seen moving towards the left. Ernest Hemingway, an American journalist, claimed, “Huey Long did not break; and if bravery is a quality which can be embodied either in a cautious reformer or a foolish tyrant, then Huey Long was brave”.[11] He also offered people a change to work in his administration, which caused citizens to trust him because they felt as if he put so much effort in providing jobs.[12] On the other hand, his opposition criticized long as simply wanting to acquire personal power through dictatorship. Raymond Graham Swing though of Huey Long as “a crass, verbose, and power mad dictator with the ability to destroy the institution of American democracy”.[13] Although many did not agree with Huey’s actions, they could not deny that Huey Long was seen as a threat.[14]
Roosevelt certainly saw Long as a threat and he attempted to weaken Huey’s influence in America.[15] Roosevelt purposefully offered some of Huey’s rivals to the positive of regulating federal spending. In addition, Roosevelt ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate Huey’s investments, contracts, and other transactions.[16] Roosevelt used his campaign to establish a nationwide political pole in order to sum up the amount of supporters Huey Long gained over the course of the campaigning process.[17] Roosevelt proposed his Second New Deal in 1935,[18] reflected some of Huey Long’s ideas. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration Act was seen as an exact imitation of Long’s infrastructure programs he established in Louisiana before being elected Senate. Also, Roosevelt’s Social Security Act was similar to Huey’s proposal of old-age pensions.[19]
Huey quickly realized that although he had acquired a great amount of supporters, both parties refused to implicate his programs.[20] Therefore, in the 1936 election, Long ran against Roosevelt as a third party challenger.[21] Although Huey did not gain enough support to win, he continued to campaign. He began receiving an ample amount of threats and on September 8th of 1935, Huey Long was shot and killed in a walkway of the Louisiana State Capitol and died a couple of days later.[22] After his death, many condolence letters were sent to his children expressing their appreciation of Longs contempt for his loss.[23]
C. Evaluation of Sources
Although Huey Long’s, “Share Our Wealth” plan was unveiled in 1934, Long’s speech over a nationwide radio broadcast was recorded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in which Long proposes his exact economic plan in 1935.[24] The purpose of this broadcast was for long to reach out for supporters and to propose his “Share Our Wealth” plan, in which he wants to use state power and state funds to improve social services, to build roads, bridges, and schools. This broadcast is valuable to the investigation because it provides Long’s outlook on the depression, in which he felt that wealth, was distributed unevenly. The limitations include Huey’s possible exaggeration of his opinion on social inequality during the Great Depression, which may inaccurately reflect the economic situation of the time period.
Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression by Glen Jeansonne is a secondary source printed in New York, New York in 1993. The purpose of this novel is to provide an in depth outlook on Huey Long’s legacy and impact on American literature by tracing the events that took place during his childhood, early career, his time as senator, and his death.[25] This document is valuable to assess this investigation because it provides information on why Huey Long fought against the rich and his reasons and goals for running for president, such as democracy. The limitations of this document include the books portrayal of Long’s life, without specific focus on Long’s criticism of Frederick Roosevelt.
D. Analysis
Tracing the events and sources provided in Part B and C; it is possible to conclude that Huey Long acted as one of the biggest political challenges to Roosevelt’s presidency through many factors. Huey’s ability to show opposition to Roosevelt’s New Deal reflects his courage to fight for the poor and the redistribution of wealth.[26] By rewarding the poor, he is putting himself at great risk to receive a lack of support from the wealthier citizens. By proposing his “Share Our Wealth” plan to America he took a great risk of facing opposition in order to provide compensation for the less fortunate.[27] This plan changed many citizens view of Huey Long, whether positive or negative.
The poor looked up to Huey Long and his use of the nickname “Kingfish” from an African American show greatly expanded his African American supporters. Although this may be seen as a negative aspect, discrimination was an ordinary practice amongst many voters, which occasionally was a concern in the campaigns of his opponents.[28] By acquiring more supporters, it is evident that Long’s broadcast caused him to become a topic of concern for Roosevelt’s supporters. Therefore, his charisma indirectly took a lot of attention away from Roosevelt’s campaigning.
Roosevelt’s actions after Long’s rise to power reflect Roosevelt’s hesitation of Long’s power. Roosevelt traced Huey Long’s every move in order to ensure that Roosevelt does not lose any power.[29] The fact that Roosevelt took time out of his campaigning to send the Federal Bureau of Investigation to watch Huey Long suggests his weakness and anxiety that Huey Long may have acquire more supporters. Also, when Roosevelt makes it a part of his campaign to hold the first nationwide political poll, it is evident that Roosevelt goal is to find out how many citizens are in favor of Huey Long.[30] This shows that Roosevelt’s campaign not only strived to gain supporters, but also strived to assess how great a threat a Long candidacy would be to the President’s re-election.
When Roosevelt released the programs of his New Deal, many ideas reflected those of Huey Long’s that were previously presented to the public.[31] The fact that Roosevelt altered the focus of his programs reflects how Long’s ideas appealed more to the public than Roosevelt’s ideas. Therefore, Roosevelt felt it was his only option to propose ideas similar to Long’s in order to gain back supporters that he lost.
Huey Long became the central topic of many Americans and it is evident that his opposition turned to threatening his life because he was seen to acquire too much power.[32] Huey had a great chance at winning against Roosevelt in the 1936 Presidential election, but his opponents would not let this happen. The fact that Huey would not give up irritated his opposition. The only way to get him out of the way was to threaten his life and resort to violence. Therefore before he was killed because he was seen as a major threat to Roosevelt’s presidency[33]. After his death, condolence letters were sent to him, suggesting that even though he is dead, he still has many supporters who will live to remember his legacy.[34]
E. Conclusion
By analyzing Huey Long and Roosevelt’s plan of actions during the Great Depression, it is possible to sum up this historical investigation. Huey Long was a definite threat to Roosevelt’s presidency through three factors. These factors include his ability to have courage to critique Roosevelt’s New Deal. Secondly, the release of his own “Share Our Wealth” plan took a great amount of attention away from Roosevelt’s campaigning. Thirdly, his ability to strive for democracy and run against Roosevelt as a third party shows his true courage to obtain power. Lastly, his charisma, which helped him earn a great amount of supporters. All of these factors played a role in Huey Long’s rise to power, causing him to be recognized as a threat to Roosevelt’s proposals.
Bibliography
Badger, Anthony J. The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933-1940. New York: Hill and Wang, 1989.
Brinkley, Alan. Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin. New York: Vintage, 1983.
“Fdr's Statements On Social Security.” Social Security Online. (accessed April 11, 2012).
Jeansonne, Glen. Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression. New York: Longman, 1997.
Lanset, Andy. “Share the Wealth”: Huey Long Talks to the Nation.” History Matters. (accessed April 11, 2012).
Long Legacy Project. “Assassination.” Huey Long. (accessed April 9, 2012).
Long, Huey P., and T. Harry Williams. Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long. New Orleans: Da Capo Press, 1996.
Vaugn, Courtney. “The Legacy of Huey Long.” Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 20, no. 1 (1979): 93-102.
Swing, Raymond Graham. Forerunners of American Fascism. Freeport: Books for Libraries Press, 1969.
Williams, T. Harry. Huey Long. 1st Vintage Books ed. New York: Vintage, 1981.
[1] Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long (New Orleans: Da Capo Press, 1996), 126.
[2] Alan Brinkley, Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, (New York: Vintage, 1983), 9.
[3] Glen Jeansonne, Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression (New York: Longman, 1997), page 111
[4] Anthony J. Badger, The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933-1940 (New York: Hill and Wang, 1989), 82.
[5] T. Harry Williams, Huey Long, 1st Vintage Books ed. (New York: Vintage, 1981), 298.
[6] Andy Lanset, “Share the Wealth”: Huey Long Talks to the Nation,” History Matters, (accessed April 11, 2012).
[7] Jeansonne, 111-117.
[8] Brinkley, 8.
[9] Jeansonne, 59-60.
[10] Courtney Vaugn, “The Legacy of Huey Long,” Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 20, no. 1 (1979): 94.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Jeansonne, 59-60.
[13] Raymond Graham Swing, Forerunners of American Fascism (Freeport: Books for Libraries Press, 1969), 32.
[14] Brinkley, 11.
[15] Badger, 146.
[16] Badger, 153.
[17] Jeansonne, 148.
[18] “Fdr's Statements On Social Security,” Social Security Online, (accessed April 11, 2012).
[19] Jeansonne, 163.
[20] Jeansonne, 164.
[21] Jeansonne, 147
[22] Jeansonne, 169.
[23] Long Legacy Project, “Assassination,” Huey Long, (accessed April 9, 2012).
[24] Lanset.
[25] Jeansonne, 1-3.
[26] Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long (New Orleans: Da Capo Press, 1996), 227.
[27] Brinkley, 28.
[28] Brinkley, 36.
[29] Badger, 16.
[30] Jeansonne, 148.
[31] Jeansonne, 163.
[32] Jeansonne, 169.
[33] Jeansonne, 183.
[34] Long Legacy Project.
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cmarelle (student)
