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| − | {{About|the Louisiana politician}}
| + | == Officer Positions == |
| − | {{Infobox officeholder
| + | {| class="wikitable" |
| − | |image=HueyPLongGesture.jpg
| + | ![[2017-2018]] |
| − | |alt=Huey Long Memorial Picture
| + | |President |
| − | |order2=40th
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| − | |office2=Governor of Louisiana
| + | ![[2016-2017]] |
| − | |term_start2=May 21, 1928
| + | |Vice President (Winter-Spring) |
| − | |term_end2=January 25, 1932
| + | |} |
| − | |lieutenant2=[[Paul N. Cyr|Paul Narcisse Cyr]]<br>Alvin Olin King
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| − | |predecessor2=[[Oramel H. Simpson]]
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| − | |successor2=[[Alvin Olin King]]
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| − | | office3=Chair of the [[Louisiana Public Service Commission]]
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| − | | term_start3=1922
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| − | | term_end3=1926
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| − | | preceded3=Shelby Taylor
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| − | | succeeded3=Francis Williams
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| − | | office4=Louisiana Railroad Commissioner/Public Service Commissioner
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| − | | term_start4=1918
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| − | | term_end4=1928
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| − | | preceded4=Burk A. Bridges
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| − | | succeeded4=[[Harvey Fields]]
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| − | |birth_name=Huey Pierce Long Jr.
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| − | |birth_date={{Birth date|1893|8|30|mf=y}}
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| − | |birth_place=[[Winnfield, Louisiana]], U.S.
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| − | |death_date={{nowrap|{{Death date and age|1935|9|10|1893|8|30|mf=y}}}}
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| − | |death_place=[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], U.S.
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| − | |death_cause = [[Assassination]]
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| − | |resting_place=[[Louisiana State Capitol]]
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| − | |spouse={{marriage|[[Rose McConnell Long]]|1913}}
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| − | |relations=[[Long family]]
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| − | |children= 3, including [[Russell B. Long]]
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| − | |alma_mater=[[Oklahoma Baptist University]]<br/>[[University of Oklahoma College of Law]]<br/>[[Tulane University Law School]]
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| − | |profession=Attorney
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| − | |party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
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| − | |order=[[United States Senator]]<br>from [[Louisiana]]
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| − | |term_start=January 25, 1932
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| − | |term_end=September 10, 1935
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| − | |predecessor=[[Joseph E. Ransdell]]
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| − | |successor=[[Rose McConnell Long|Rose Long]]
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| − | |signature=Huey Long Signature.svg
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| − | }}
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| − | '''Huey Pierce Long Jr.''' (August 30, 1893 – September 10, 1935), self-nicknamed "'''The Kingfish'''", was an [[United States|American]] [[politician]] who served as the [[List of Governors of Louisiana|40th governor of Louisiana]] from 1928 to 1932 and was a member of the [[United States Senate]] from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. As the political leader of [[Louisiana]], he commanded wide networks of supporters and was willing to take forceful action. He established the long-term political prominence of the [[Long family]].
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| − | A [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and an outspoken [[populism|populist]], Long denounced the wealthy elites and the banks. Initially a supporter of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] during his [[First 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency|first 100 days in office]], Long eventually came to believe that Roosevelt's "[[New Deal]]" policies did not do enough to alleviate the issues of the poor. In time, he developed his own solution: the "[[Share Our Wealth]]" program, which would establish a [[wealth tax|net asset tax]], the earnings of which would be [[wealth redistribution|redistributed]] so as to curb the poverty and homelessness epidemic nationwide during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]].<ref name="Jeansonne 1980 p. 333">[[#Jeansonne2|Jeansonne (1980)]], p. 333.</ref>
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| − | Long's Share Our Wealth plan was established on February 23, 1934 with the motto "[[Every Man a King]]." To stimulate the economy, Long advocated federal spending on [[public works]], [[education|schools and colleges]], and [[old age pensions]]. Long argued that his plan would enable everyone to have at least a car, a radio, and a home worth $5000.<ref name="Jeansonne 1980 p. 333"/>
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| − | Long split with Roosevelt in June 1933 to plan his own presidential bid for [[United States presidential election, 1936|1936]] in alliance with the influential [[Catholic priest]] and [[radio commentator]] [[Charles Coughlin]]. Long was assassinated in 1935, and his national movement soon faded, but his legacy continued in Louisiana through his wife, Senator [[Rose McConnell Long]], his son, Senator [[Russell B. Long]], and his brothers, [[Earl Kemp Long]] and [[George S. Long]], as well as several other more distant relatives.<ref>[[#HavardHeberleHoward|Havard, Heberle, and Howard (1963)]], pp. 82{{en dash}}83.</ref>
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| − | During Long's years in power, great strides were made in infrastructure, education and health care. Long was notable among southern politicians for avoiding race baiting, and according to T. Harry Williams, Long sought to improve the lot of poor blacks as well as poor whites.<ref>[[#W1961|Williams (1961)]], p. 76.</ref> Under Long's leadership, hospitals and educational institutions were expanded, a system of charity hospitals was set up that provided health care for the poor, massive highway construction and free bridges brought an end to rural isolation. He remains a controversial figure in Louisiana history.<ref>[[#Abadie|Abadie (1970)]], pp. 271{{en dash}}73.</ref>
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| − | ==Childhood and education==
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| − | Long was born on August 30, 1893, near [[Winnfield, Louisiana|Winnfield]], a small town in the north-central part of Louisiana and the seat of [[Winn Parish, Louisiana|Winn Parish]].<ref name=white5>[[#White|White (2006)]], p. 5.</ref> He was the son of Huey Pierce Long Sr. (1852{{en dash}}1937) and Caledonia Palestine Tison (1860{{en dash}}1913), and the seventh of the couple's nine surviving children.<ref name="earlylife">{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/childhood.php|title=Childhood|accessdate=November 19, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> At the time of his youth, Winn Parish was a deeply impoverished region whose people, mostly modest [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptists]], were known for their cantankerous stubbornness and for being outsiders in Louisiana's political system.<ref name=white5/><ref name="Kennedy, David page 235"/> During the Civil War, Winn Parish had been a stronghold of [[Confederate States of America#Unionism|Unionism]] in an otherwise solidly Confederate state, in the 1890s a bastion of the [[People's Party (United States)|Populist Party]], and in 1912 the majority in Winn Parish had voted for the [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]]'s presidential candidate, [[Eugene Debs]].<ref name="earlylife"/><ref name="Kennedy, David page 235">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 235.</ref>
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| − | The degree of poverty in Winn Parish was extreme, but in general Louisiana was a very poor state, with the 1930 census showing that one-fifth of White Louisianans were illiterate, with rates for Black Louisianans being much higher. As someone who was born and grew up in Winn Parish, Long inherited all of the resentments of its people against the elite in Baton Rouge who ruled Louisiana.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 236">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 236.</ref> While Long often told his followers that he came from the lowest possible social and economic stratum, the reality is that Long's family were well-off compared to others in the largely destitute community of Winnfield.<ref name="white5"/><ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 10.</ref>
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| − | For people of their time and socio-economic standing, Long's parents were well-educated, and stressed often to their child the importance of learning.<ref name="earlylife"/> For many years, Long was [[home-school]]ed, although when he was 11 he began attending local schools. During his time in the public system, he earned a reputation as an excellent student with a remarkable memory. After growing bored with his required schoolwork, he eventually convinced his teachers to let him skip seventh grade.<ref name="Education"/> When he was a student at Winnfield High School, he and his friends formed a secret society, which they broadcast to others by wearing a red ribbon. According to Long, his club's mission was "to run things, laying down certain rules the students would have to follow."<ref name=white8>[[#White|White (2006)]], p. 8.</ref>
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| − | The teachers at the school eventually learned of Long's antics and warned him to obey the school and its faculty's rules. Long continued to rebel, eventually writing and distributing a [[Flyer (pamphlet)|flyer]] that criticized both his teachers and the necessity of a recently mandated twelfth grade. This resulted in his expulsion in 1910. Long sought revenge by drafting up a petition calling for the principal of Winnfield High School to be removed from his post. He managed to convince enough people in his town to sign it, resulting in the principal being fired. Despite this success, Long never returned to high school (although he was awarded a diploma posthumously).<ref name=white8/><ref name="Education"/>
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| − | During his time at Winnfield High School, Long proved himself to be a capable debater, and at a statewide debating competition in [[Baton Rouge]], he won a debating scholarship to [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU).<ref name="Education"/><ref name=white122123/> Because the award did not include money for textbooks or living expenses, he was unable to attend. Long would long regret that he had been unable to pursue an education at LSU.<ref name=white122123>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 122{{en dash}}23.</ref> Instead of immediately pursuing a higher education, he spent most of the early 1910s as a [[Vendor (supply chain)|traveling salesman]], selling books, [[tin can|canned goods]] and [[patent medicine]]s, as well as working as an [[auctioneer]].<ref name="Education">{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/education.php|title=Education|accessdate=November 19, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref>
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| − | In September 1911, Long attended seminary classes at [[Oklahoma Baptist University]] in [[Shawnee, Oklahoma]] at the urging of his mother, a devout [[Baptist]]. Living with his brother, George, Long attended the school for only a semester, and barely went to any lectures. After a while, Long decided he was not suited to preaching and instead began to focus on law.<ref name="Education" /><ref name=white9>[[#White|White (2006)]], p. 9.</ref> Borrowing one hundred dollars from his brother (which he later lost playing roulette in [[Oklahoma City]]), Long briefly attended the [[University of Oklahoma College of Law]] in [[Norman, Oklahoma]] for a semester in 1912.<ref name=white9/> To earn money while in the Norman area, he worked for the Dawson Produce Company, selling produce while studying law part-time. Of the four classes that Long took, he received one incomplete and three C's. He later confessed that he "didn't learn much law there" because there was "too much excitement, all those gambling houses and everything."<ref name=white9/>
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| − | In 1913, Long married [[Rose McConnell Long|Rose McConnell]]. She was a [[stenographer]] who had won a baking contest which he promoted to sell "[[Cottolene]]," one of the most popular of the early vegetable shortenings to come on the market.<ref name=white10-11>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 10{{en dash}}11.</ref> The two began a two and a half year courtship that finally ended with their marriage on April 12, 1913 in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. The wedding took place at the Grayoso Hotel; Huey, who was broke at the time, had to borrow $10 from his fiancée to pay the officiant's services.<ref name=white11>[[#White|White (2006)]], p. 11.</ref> The Longs had a daughter, also named Rose, and two sons: [[Russell B. Long]], who subsequently became a long-term U.S. senator, and Palmer Reid Long (1921{{en dash}}2010), who became a Shreveport oilman.<ref>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 38, 272.</ref><ref>[[#Hess|Hess (2017) [1966]]], p. 4129.</ref> Long wrote in his 1933 autobiography, ''Every Man a King'' "If the loyalty of a wife and children could have elevated anyone in public life, I had that for complete success."<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. 86.</ref>
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| − | Long enrolled at [[Tulane University Law School]] in [[New Orleans]] in the fall of 1914.<ref name=white9-11>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 9{{en dash}}11.</ref> After a year of study that concentrated on the courses necessary for success on the [[bar exam]], he petitioned the [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] for permission to take the test before its scheduled June 1915 date. He was examined in May, passed, and received his license to practice.<ref name=white11-12>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 11{{en dash}}12.</ref> (He was later awarded an [[Honorary degree|honorary]] [[Doctor of Law]] degree from [[Loyola University New Orleans]].)<ref>{{cite web |title=Huey P. Long Honorary Degree Collection Finding Aid |url=http://library.loyno.edu/assets/handouts/archives/Collection_56_Long_Degree.pdf |website=Special Collections & Archives, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans |accessdate=17 July 2018}}</ref>
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| − | ==Early career and rise to power==
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| − | [[File:Bank of Winnfield and Trust Company, Winnfield, LA IMG 8340.JPG|200px|thumb|For a time, Huey Long maintained a law office in his native [[Winnfield, Louisiana|Winnfield]] on the second floor (pictured left) of the Bank of Winnfield and Trust Company.]]
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| − | In 1915, Long began a private practice in Winnfield. Later, in [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], he spent ten years representing small plaintiffs against large businesses, including [[workers' compensation]] cases.<ref name="earlycareer"/><ref name=hair89/> He often said proudly that he never took a case against a poor man, and he once famously{{em dash}}and successfully{{em dash}}defended a widow against the Winnfield Bank (the president of which was Long's uncle George).<ref name="earlycareer">{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/early-career.php|title=Early Career|accessdate=November 19, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref>
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| − | In 1918, Long invested $1,050 in an oil well that eventually struck oil. Despite this bounty, the well was unable to make any money because the powerful [[Standard Oil]] Company refused to accept any of its oil, costing Long his investment.<ref>[[#White|White (1005)]], pp. 60{{en dash}}61.</ref> This episode served as the catalyst for Long's lifelong hatred of the Standard Oil Company, which he would later go on to call an "Invisible Empire" run by "petroleumites." <ref>[[#White|White (1005)]], pp. 19, 61.</ref> In 1921, Long waged his first legal battle with Standard Oil when he represented a small oil firm that was suing the giant over a lease dispute.<ref name="earlycareer"/>
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| − | In 1918, Long entered into the race to serve on the three-seat [[Louisiana Public Service Commission|Louisiana Railroad Commission]]. According to William Ivy Hair, Long's political message which he used to campaign for a seat on the commission:
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| − | <blockquote>... would be repeated until the end of his days: he was a young warrior of and for the plain people, battling the evil giants of Wall Street and their corporations; too much of America's wealth was concentrated in too few hands, and this unfairness was perpetuated by an educational system so stacked against the poor that (according to his statistics) only fourteen out of every thousand children obtained a college education. The way to begin rectifying these wrongs was to turn out of office the corrupt local flunkies of big business ... and elect instead true men of the people, such as [himself].<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 88.</ref></blockquote>
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| − | In the Democratic primary, Long came in second behind incumbent Burk Bridges. Since no candidate managed to garner a majority of the votes, a [[Two-round system|run-off]] election was held, for which Long campaigned tirelessly across the whole north of the state. When the final counts were in, Long managed to defeat Burk by 636 votes.<ref>[[#White|White (1005)]], pp. 47{{en dash}}48.</ref> Long did extremely poorly in the urban areas of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Shreveport, and [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] but won over the country crowd in large numbers. Soon thereafter, State Senator Delos Johnson of [[Franklinton, Louisiana|Franklinton]] sent the young Long a letter of congratulations that "recognized [him] as a comer." <ref name=hair89>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 89.</ref>
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| − | Prior to Long's having been elected to it, the Louisiana Railroad Commission and its members largely yielded to the whims of the state's more powerful, but once sworn in as a member, Long refused to play by the rules that had previously governed the commission. According to Richard D. White Jr., Long "crusaded for lower utility rates, forced the railroads to extend their service to small villages and hamlets, and demanded that the Standard Oil Company end the importation of Mexican crude oil and use more oil from Louisiana wells."<ref name=white48>[[#White|White (1005)]], p. 48.</ref>
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| − | [[File:Portrait of John M. Parker.jpg|thumb|right|In the [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1920|gubernatorial election of 1920]], Huey Long campaigned for [[John M. Parker]] (''pictured''), although the two later had a falling-out.]]
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| − | In the [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1920|gubernatorial election of 1920]], he campaigned prominently for [[John M. Parker]], and today Long is often credited with helping Parker to win in the northern Louisiana parishes.<ref name=white96>[[#White|White (1005)]], p. 96.</ref><ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 135.</ref> However, after Parker was elected to the gubernatorial office, the two became bitter rivals. This break was largely the result of Long having demanded that Parker declare the state's oil pipelines to be [[public utilities]] and Parker having refused to do so.<ref name=white96/>
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| − | In particular, Long was horrified and became furious when Parker allowed the oil companies led by the legal team of Standard Oil to assist in the writing of the state's severance tax laws{{em dash}}laws that decreed how much money corporations such as Standard Oil had to pay the state for the extraction of natural resources. Because the governor was willing to go along with companies like Standard Oil, Huey began calling Parker the "[[Personal property|chattel]]" of the corporations.<ref name="entryintopolitics">{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/entry-politics.php|title=Entry into Politics|accessdate=November 21, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> After butting heads, Parker eventually tried to have Huey ousted from his position on the Louisiana Railroad Commission in 1921, although he was unable to do so.<ref name=white96/>
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| − | By 1922, the Railroad Commission had been renamed "the Public Service Commission", on which Long retained a seat. He soon dedicated his life to adding "new energy and independence into the agency", as well as increasing the commission's (and, by extension, his own) power.<ref name=white48/> In 1922, Long won a lawsuit against the Cumberland Telephone & Telegraph Company for unfair rate increases, Long successfully argued the case on appeal before the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]]{{ref|citation}} resulting in cash refunds totaling $440,000 being sent to 80,000 overcharged customers. After the case, Chief Justice [[William Howard Taft]] described Long as one of the best legal minds he had ever encountered.<ref name="entryintopolitics"/><ref>{{cite news|title=When the Kingfish Was King|newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]|date=September 5, 1965|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zf8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rycEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6021%2C1967391}}</ref>
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| − | ===1924 Louisiana gubernatorial election===
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| − | Long ran for governor of Louisiana in the [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1924|election of 1924]], attacking outgoing Governor Parker, [[Standard Oil]], and the established political hierarchy both locally and statewide. In that campaign, he became one of the first [[Southern United States|Southern]] politicians to use radio addresses and sound trucks. Long also began wearing a distinctive white linen suit. Long came in third. Although he and another candidate had privately opposed the powerful [[Ku Klux Klan]], a third candidate had openly supported the group. The Klan's prominence in Louisiana was the primary issue of the campaign. Long cited rain on election day as suppressing voter turnout among his base in rural north Louisiana, where voters were unable to reach the polls on dirt roads that had turned to mud.
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| − | Instead, Long was reelected later in the year to the Public Service Commission. His former law partner and political ally, [[Harvey Fields]], a former [[Louisiana State Senate|state senator]] for [[Union Parish, Louisiana|Union]] and [[Morehouse Parish, Louisiana|Morehouse]] parishes, succeeded Long on the PSC, with service from 1927 to 1936.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38084540|title=Harvey Goodwyn Fields, Sr.|publisher=[[Find a Grave]]|accessdate=October 24, 2014}}</ref>
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| − | ===Gubernatorial election of 1928===
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| − | [[File:Statue of Huey Long looking at state Capitol.jpg|200px|right|thumb|A statue of Huey Long looking toward the [[Louisiana State Capitol|state Capitol]] that he built in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]].]]
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| − | Long spent the intervening four years building his reputation and his political organization, including supporting [[Roman Catholic]] candidates to build support in southern Louisiana, which was heavily Catholic due to its French and Spanish heritage. In [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1928|1928 he again ran for governor]], campaigning with the slogan, "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown," a phrase adopted from [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential candidate [[William Jennings Bryan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/campaign-governor.php|title=Campaign for Governor|accessdate=November 25, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> Long's attacks on the utilities industry and corporate privileges were enormously popular, as was his depiction of the wealthy as parasites who grabbed more than their fair share of the public wealth while marginalizing the poor.
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| − | Long criss-crossed the state, campaigning in rural areas disenfranchised by the New Orleans-based political establishment, known as the "Old Regulars" or "the Ring." They controlled the state through alliances with sheriffs and other local officials. At the time, the rural poor comprised 60 percent of the state's population. The entire state had roughly three hundred miles of paved roads and only three major bridges. The [[literacy]] rate was the lowest in the nation (75 percent illiterate), as most families could not afford to purchase the textbooks required for their children to attend school. A [[Poll tax (United States)|poll tax]] kept many poor whites from voting; of the two million residents, only 300,000 could afford to register to vote. In addition, with selective application of literacy tests, blacks had been effectively and completely disenfranchised since soon after the state legislature passed the new constitution in 1898.
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| − | One of the campaign issues, Long's proposal to let contracts for "free bridges" over [[Lake Pontchartrain]], was ultimately endorsed by his two 1928 opponents, sitting Governor [[Oramel H. Simpson]] and [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] [[Riley J. Wilson]] of [[Louisiana's 5th congressional district]]. Free ferries ran while construction proceeded on the bridges. The previous toll bridge charge of $8.40 was reduced to 60 cents.<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], pp. 104{{en dash}}05.</ref>
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| − | Long won the 1928 gubernatorial election in large part by tapping into the class resentment of rural residents. He proposed government services far more expansive than anything in his state's history. His campaign manager was the Catholic [[Cajun]] [[Harvey Peltier, Sr.]], a state representative and lawyer/banker from [[Thibodaux, Louisiana|Thibodaux]] in [[Lafourche Parish, Louisiana|Lafourche Parish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079050/index.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017085118/http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079050/index.htm|archivedate=October 17, 2013|title=Pot Of Gold For A Nervy Cajun, September 19, 1966|publisher=si.com|accessdate=October 16, 2013|author=Tower, Whitney}}</ref> Long had the backing of the timber businessman [[Swords Lee]], his cousin by marriage and a former state representative for [[Grant Parish, Louisiana|Grant Parish]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/winn/obits/l/leesr229.txt|title=Col. Stephen R. Lee of Alexandria Dies at His Home Feb. 13: Industrial and Political Leader, Descendant of Famous Lees|date=February 22, 1929|newspaper=Winnfield News-American|location=[[Winnfield, Louisiana|Winnfield, LA]]|accessdate=November 25, 2017}}</ref>
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| − | On January 17, 1928, Long won the Democratic primary election but failed to secure a majority of the vote. He polled 126,842 votes (43.9 percent). His opponents split the remaining 56 percent of the ballots. Representative Riley J. Wilson earned 81,747 votes (28.3 percent), and the short-term incumbent Governor Oramel Simpson garnered 80,326 (27.8 percent). At the time, Long's margin was the largest in state history, and neither opponent chose to face him in a [[runoff election]] as was permitted in Louisiana. He was elected governor in the general election on April 17, 1928, with 92,941 votes (96.1 percent), to 3,733 for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate, [[Etienne J. Caire]].<ref>[[#calhoun|Calhoun (2008)]], p. 511.</ref> Caire's running mate, [[John E. Jackson (Louisiana politician)|John E. Jackson]], a New Orleans lawyer who later took over the state Republican chairmanship, ran unsuccessfully for [[Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana|lieutenant governor]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/jackson5.html#263.22.53|title=Jackson, John Ellett|publisher=[[The Political Graveyard]]|accessdate=July 28, 2015}}</ref> against [[Paul N. Cyr]], with whom Long later had an irreconcilable break.
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| − | The next Republican gubernatorial candidate, [[Harrison Bagwell]], a Baton Rouge attorney who supported [[Dwight Eisenhower]] for [[U.S. President]], also polled 4 percent of the vote in his 1952 contest against Democrat [[Robert F. Kennon]], a leader of the anti-Long forces.<ref>[[#Dubin|Dubin (2014)]], p. 103.</ref>
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| − | Long consolidated the Democratic factions in New Orleans and after his election drew the support of Rudolph Hecht, the president of Hibernia Bank who advocated industrial and commercial expansion, and [[List of mayors of New Orleans|Mayor]] [[T. Semmes Walmsley]], who declared
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| − | <blockquote>an obligation I owe to my people and the people of this state to join hands with Governor Long and bury our political tomahawk so that the city and state can forge ahead ... The governor worked hard to develop a program we could all unite on; he was the victor, and he showed himself more generous ... When the roads and bridges he is planning are completed, more of the city people will be going to the country, and more people will be coming to the city ... Let us therefore forget all bickerings and let the capitalists and the laboring interests ... join hands as we have joined hands.<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], pp. 228{{en dash}}30.</ref></blockquote>
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| − | A few years later, however, Long and Walmsley returned to a state of hostility, as the legislature stripped many of the municipal powers from the domain of the mayor.
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| − | Three [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU) scholars contend that before his governorship "political power in Louisiana had been nearly a monopoly of the coalition of businessmen and planters, reinforced by the oil and other industrial interests. This situation was changed when Long won the hearts and votes of the farmers and other 'small people' and created a countervailing power combination."<ref>[[#HavardHeberleHoward|Havard, Heberle, and Howard (1963)]], p. 15.</ref>
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| − | At least one statewide official bucked the Long trend. [[Percy Saint]] of [[St. Mary Parish, Louisiana|St. Mary Parish]] was reelected to a second term as [[List of Attorneys General of Louisiana|Attorney General]] independent of Long and several times ruled against Long during his gubernatorial term.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site36.php|title=Percy Saint|work=A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography|publisher=[[Louisiana Historical Association]]|accessdate=November 25, 2017|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716204559/http://www.lahistory.org/site36.php|archivedate=July 16, 2016|df=}}</ref>
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| − | ==Louisiana Governorship (1928{{en dash}}32)==
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| − | Once in office as governor on May 21, 1928, Long moved quickly to consolidate his power, firing hundreds of opponents in the state bureaucracy, at all ranks from [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]]-level heads of departments and board members to rank-and-file civil servants and state road workers. Like previous governors, he filled the vacancies with patronage appointments from his own network of political supporters. Every state employee who depended on Long for a job was expected to pay a portion of his or her salary at election time directly into Long's political war-chest, which raised $50,000 to $75,000 (equivalent to about $700,000 to $1,000,000 in 2013 dollars) each election cycle. The funds were kept in a famous locked "deduct box" to be used at Long's discretion for political and personal purposes. The American historian David Kennedy wrote that the extremely authoritarian regime Long established in Louisiana was "... the closest thing to a dictatorship that America has ever known".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 236"/>
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| − | Once his control over the state's political apparatus was strengthened, Long pushed a number of bills through the 1929 session of the [[Louisiana State Legislature]] to fulfill campaign promises. These included a free textbook program for schoolchildren, an idea advanced by [[John Sparks Patton]], the [[Claiborne Parish]] school superintendent, and the Long confidant, Representative [[Harley Bozeman]] of Winnfield. Long also supported night courses for adult [[literacy]] (which taught 100,000 adults to read by the end of his term), and a supply of cheap natural gas for the city of New Orleans.
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| − | Long began an unprecedented public works program, building roads, bridges, hospitals, and educational institutions. Huey P. Long's legislative agenda brought textbooks, a highway, natural gas heating to New Orleans, and buildings still standing at LSU.<ref>[[#Jeansonne1994|Jeansonne (1994)]], pp. 120{{en dash}}25.</ref> His bills met opposition from many legislators, wealthy citizens, and the media, but Long used aggressive tactics to ensure passage of the legislation he favored. He would show up unannounced on the floor of both the [[Louisiana House of Representatives|House]] and [[Louisiana Senate|Senate]] or in House committees, corralling reluctant representatives and state senators and bullying opponents.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 31.</ref><ref>[[#Dethloff|Dethloff (1976)]], p. 79.</ref> These tactics were unprecedented, but they resulted in the passage of most of Long's legislative agenda. By delivering on his campaign promises, Long achieved hero status among the state's rural poor population.
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| − | When Long secured passage of his free textbook program, the school board of [[Caddo Parish, Louisiana|Caddo Parish]], home of conservative [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], sued to prevent the books from being distributed, saying it would not accept "charity" from the state. Long responded by withholding authorization for locating an [[Barksdale Air Force Base|Army Air Corps base]] nearby until the parish accepted the books.<ref name="Education"/>
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| − | ===Impeachment attempt (1929)===
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| − | In 1929, Long called a special session of both houses of the legislature to enact a new five-cent per barrel "occupational license tax" on production of refined [[petroleum|oil]], to help fund his social programs. The bill met with fierce opposition from the state's oil interests. Opponents in the legislature, led by freshman lawmakers [[Cecil Morgan]] of Shreveport and [[Ralph Norman Bauer]] of [[Franklin, Louisiana|Franklin]] in [[St. Mary Parish, Louisiana|St. Mary Parish]], moved to [[impeach]] Long on charges ranging from [[blasphemy]] to [[Political corruption|abuses of power]], [[bribery]], and the misuse of state funds. Long tried to cut the session short, but after an infamous brawl that spilled across the state legislature on what was known as "Bloody Monday," the legislature voted to remain in session and proceed with the impeachment.
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| − | In his autobiography, Long indicates that he and his friends "were outraged at the persistence with which the big oil companies [which he called the Oil Trust] resisted the payment of taxes and with the political opposition they continued to give us."<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], pp. 122{{en dash}}23.</ref>
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| − | Long took his case to the people using his characteristic speaking tours. His ally [[Oscar K. Allen]] urged him to:
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| − | <blockquote>... fight fire with fire in this thing ... Get those circulars going. You'll sit here and be ruined. Get up a mass meeting! Get it up quick! In that instance, as I have many time of my life, I took the advice of O. K. Allen ... Immediately we set forth to call a mass meeting in the hostile center of Baton Rouge, calling upon people from all parts of the state to attend our first gathering to formulate plans to resist the impeachment.<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. 148.</ref></blockquote>
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| − | The ''[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]'' was leading the fight editorially against Long's proposed tax on oil. Long discovered that the petroleum companies had increased their advertising dollars in the newspaper. And he found that the attorney Arthur Hammond, a brother-in-law of ''The Times-Picayune'''s principal lawyer, was drawing $400 per month on two separate state payrolls. Quickly Hammond was removed from both positions.<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], pp. 188, 190.</ref>
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| − | Long argued that Standard Oil, the corporate interests, and the conservative political opposition were conspiring to stop him from providing roads, books, and other programs to develop the state and to assist the poor and downtrodden. The [[Louisiana House of Representatives|House]] referred many charges to the [[Louisiana Senate|Senate]]. Conviction required a two-thirds majority of the Senate, but Long produced a "[[Round-robin (document)|Round Robin]]" statement signed by fifteen senators pledging to vote "not guilty" regardless of the evidence. These senators claimed that the trial was illegal, and even if proved, the charges did not warrant impeachment. The impeachment process, now futile, was suspended. It has been alleged that both sides used bribes to buy votes, and that Long later rewarded the Round Robin signers with state jobs or other favors.<ref>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 88{{en dash}}89.</ref><ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 403{{en dash}}06.</ref>
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| − | Following the failed [[impeachment]] attempt in the Senate, Long became ruthless when dealing with his enemies. He fired their relatives from state jobs and supported candidates to defeat them in elections. After impeachment, Long appeared to have concluded that extra-legal means would be needed to defend the interests of the common people against the powerful money interests. "I used to try to get things done by saying 'please'," said Long. "Now ... I dynamite 'em out of my path."<ref>[[#Parrish|Parrish (1994)]], p. 164.</ref> Since the state's newspapers were financed by the opposition, in March 1930 Long founded his own paper, the ''[[Louisiana Progress]]'', which he used to broadcast achievements and denounce his enemies.<ref>[[#Warren|Warren (2008)]], p. 379.</ref> To receive lucrative state contracts, companies were first expected to buy advertisements in Long's newspaper. Long attempted to pass laws placing a surtax on newspapers and forbidding the publishing of "slanderous material," but these efforts were defeated. After the impeachment attempt, Long received death threats. Fearing for his personal safety, he surrounded himself with armed bodyguards at all times.<ref>[[#Hamby|Hamby (2004)]], p. 263.</ref>
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| − | ===Change of course (1930)===
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| − | {{more citations needed|section|date=September 2018}}<!--only the quote is cited-->
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| − | In the 1930 legislative session, Long proposed another major road-building initiative as well as the construction of a [[Louisiana State Capitol|new capitol building]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. The [[Louisiana State Legislature|State Legislature]] defeated the bond issue necessary to build the roads, and his other initiatives failed as well.
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| − | Long responded by suddenly announcing his intention to run for the [[U.S. Senate]] in the Democratic primary of September 9, 1930. He portrayed his campaign as a referendum on his programs: if he won he would take it as a sign that the public supported his programs over the opposition of the legislature, and if he lost he promised to resign. Long defeated incumbent Senator [[Joseph E. Ransdell]], an [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] native from [[Lake Providence, Louisiana|Lake Providence]] in [[East Carroll Parish]], by 149,640 (57.3 percent) to 111,451 (42.7 percent).
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| − | Although his Senate term began on March 4, 1931, Long completed most of his four-year term as governor, which did not end until May 1932. He declared that leaving the seat vacant for so long would not hurt Louisiana; "with Ransdell as Senator, the seat was vacant anyway." By not leaving the governor's mansion until January 25, 1932, Long prevented Lieutenant Governor [[Paul N. Cyr]], a former ally, from succeeding to the office. A [[dentist]] and [[geologist]] from [[Jeanerette, Louisiana|Jeanerette]] in [[Iberia Parish]], Cyr had subsequently broken with Long and had been threatening to roll back his reforms if he succeeded to the governorship. In his autobiography, Long recalled:
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| − | <blockquote>On another occasion the greatest publicity was given to a charge made by Lieutenant Governor Cyr that I had performed a swindle worse than that of [[Teapot Dome]] in the execution of an oil lease ... The oil lease in question had been made by Governor Parker, and no act had been taken by me, except to permit the holder to enter into a drilling contract. Our reply was practically buried by most of the [[newspaper]]s.<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. 146.</ref></blockquote>
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| − | ===Renewed strength (1930{{en dash}}32)===
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| − | Having won the overwhelming support of the Louisiana electorate, Long returned to pushing his legislative program with renewed strength. Bargaining from an advantageous position, Long entered an agreement with his longtime [[New Orleans]] rivals, the [[Regular Democratic Organization]] and their leader, [[Mayor of New Orleans|New Orleans mayor]] [[T. Semmes Walmsley]]. They would support his legislation and candidates in future elections in return for his support of the building of [[Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)|a bridge over the Mississippi River]], an airport for New Orleans, and infrastructure improvements in the city.
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| − | Support from the Old Regulars enabled Long to pass an increase in the [[gasoline tax]] to finance road construction projects, new school spending, a construction of a new [[Louisiana State Capitol]], and a $75 million bond for road construction. Including the [[Airline Highway]] between [[New Orleans]] and [[Baton Rouge]], Long's road network gave Louisiana some of the most modern roads in the country and formed the state's highway system. Long's opponents charged that he had become virtual dictator of the state.
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| − | Long retained New Orleans architect [[Leon C. Weiss]] to design the state capitol, built in [[skyscraper]] style, a new governor's mansion, the [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity Hospital]] in New Orleans, and many [[Louisiana State University]] buildings, and other college buildings throughout the state.
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| − | State Representative [[Gilbert L. Dupré]] of [[Opelousas, Louisiana|Opelousas]] once complained about a leak in the House roof just over his own desk in the chamber. When he demanded that Governor Long repair the leak at once, Long said that he would do so only if Dupré would vote for the planned new state capitol building. When Dupré refused to commit his vote, Long told him, "Die, damn you, in the faith!"<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. 239.</ref>
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| − | As governor, Long was not popular among the "old families" of Baton Rouge society or indeed in most of the state. He instead held gatherings of his leaders and friends who listened to the popular radio show ''[[Amos 'n' Andy]]''. One of Long's followers dubbed him [[Amos 'n' Andy#Early storylines and characters|"the Kingfish"]] after the master of the Mystic Knights of the Sea lodge to which the fictional Amos and Andy belonged. The character of the "Kingfish" was a stereotypical, smooth-talking African-American conman who was forever trying to trick Amos and Andy into various get-rich schemes. The nickname stuck with Long's encouragement.
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| − | As governor, Long became an ardent supporter of the state's primary public university, [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU) in [[Baton Rouge]]. He greatly increased LSU's state funding and expanded its enrollment from study programs that enabled poor students to attend LSU and he established the [[Louisiana State University School of Medicine|LSU Medical School]] in New Orleans. He also intervened in the university's affairs, choosing its president.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 492{{en dash}}525.</ref> To generate excitement for the university, he quadrupled the size of the [[Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band|LSU band]] and co-wrote some of the music that is still played during football games, including "Touchdown for LSU."<ref name = Winnebago>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20070701072028/http://www.redshtickmagazine.com/article469.html|url=http://www.redshtickmagazine.com/article469.html|archivedate=July 1, 2007|year=2007|author=Winnebago, Antonio |title=The History of LSU Football: Part One|work=Red Shtick Magazine}}</ref> Once, he had the football team run a play he created.<ref name = Winnebago/> He also chartered trains to take LSU students to out-of-state football games.
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| − | In October 1931, Lieutenant Governor Cyr, by then Long's avowed enemy, argued that the Senator-elect could no longer remain governor. Cyr declared himself the state's legitimate governor. In response, Long ordered [[Louisiana Army National Guard|state National Guard]] troops to surround the State Capitol and fended off Cyr's proposed "coup d'état."
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| − | Long then went to the [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] to have Cyr ousted as lieutenant governor. He argued that the office of lieutenant-governor was vacant because Cyr had resigned when he attempted to assume the governorship. His suit was successful. Under the [[Louisiana Constitution|state constitution]], [[Louisiana Senate|Senate]] president and Long ally [[Alvin Olin King]] became lieutenant-governor<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], pp. 221{{en dash}}22.</ref> and then, briefly from January to May 1932, governor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.la.gov/HistoricalResources/AboutLouisiana/LouisianaGovernors1877-Present/Pages/AlvinOKing.aspx|title=Alvin Olin King 1932|publisher=sos.la.gov|accessdate=November 25, 2017}}</ref>
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| − | Long chose his childhood friend, [[Oscar K. Allen]], to succeed King in the [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1932|January, 1932, election]] on a "Complete the Work" ticket. With the support of Long's voter base and the Old Regular [[Political machine|machine]], Allen won easily, permitting Long to resign as governor and take his seat in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in January 1932.
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| − | ==In the U.S. Senate (1932{{en dash}}1935)==
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| − | Long's three-year tenure in the Senate overlapped an important time in American history as [[Herbert Hoover]] and then [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|FDR]] attempted to deal with the [[Great Depression]]. Long often attempted to upstage FDR and the congressional leadership by mounting [[populism|populist]] appeals of his own, most notably his "Share Our Wealth" program.
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| − | Long arrived in [[Washington, D.C.]], to take his seat in the [[United States Senate]] in January 1932, although he was absent for more than half the days in the 1932 session. With the backdrop of the [[Great Depression]], he made characteristically fiery speeches which denounced the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. He also criticized the leaders of both parties for failing to address the crisis adequately, most notably attacking conservative Senate Democratic Leader [[Joseph Taylor Robinson|Joseph Robinson]] of [[Arkansas]] for his apparent closeness with President [[Herbert Hoover]] and ties to big business. Robinson had been the vice-presidential candidate in 1928 on the Democratic ticket opposite Hoover.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 560{{en dash}}63.</ref>
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| − | Long had now earned a reputation, as Williams reports, as "a leading member of the progressive bloc in the Senate."<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 559.</ref> in the year 1935, a headline was titled "Huey Long {{en dash}} Louisiana's [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] is a Sole Lawmaker" by the [[Daily Worker|''Daily Worker''.]]<ref>[[#Haas2006|Haas (2006)]], pp. 133{{en dash}}51.</ref> In the [[United States presidential election, 1932|presidential election of 1932]], Long became a vocal supporter of the candidacy of [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]. He believed Roosevelt to be the only candidate willing and able to carry out the drastic redistribution of wealth that Long believed was necessary to end the Great Depression. At the [[Democratic National Convention]], Long was instrumental in keeping the delegations of several wavering states in the Roosevelt camp. Long expected to be featured prominently in Roosevelt's campaign, but he was disappointed with a speaking tour limited to four [[Midwestern]] states.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 602.</ref>
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| − | Long managed to find other venues for his populist message. He campaigned to elect Senator [[Hattie Caraway]] of Arkansas, the underdog candidate in a crowded field, to her first full term in the Senate by conducting a whirlwind, seven-day tour of that state. (Caraway had been appointed to the seat after her husband's death.) He raised his national prominence and defeated by a landslide the candidate backed by Senator Robinson. With Long's help, Caraway became the first woman elected to the [[U.S. Senate]]. Caraway told Long, however, that she would continue to use independent judgment and not allow him to dictate how she would vote on Senate bills. She also insisted that he stop attacking Robinson while he was in Arkansas.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 583{{en dash}}93.</ref>
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| − | In the critical [[First 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency|100 days in spring 1933]], Long was generally a strong supporter of the [[New Deal]], but differed with the president on patronage. Roosevelt wanted control of the patronage and the two men broke in late 1933.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 636{{en dash}}39.</ref> Aware that Roosevelt had no intention to radically redistribute the country's wealth, Long became one of the few national politicians to oppose Roosevelt's New Deal policies from the left. He considered them inadequate in the face of the escalating economic crisis. Long sometimes supported Roosevelt's programs in the Senate, saying that "Whenever this administration has gone to the left I have voted with it, and whenever it has gone to the right I have voted against it."<ref>Quoted by [[#Chip|Berlet & Lyons (2000)]], p. 126.</ref>
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| − | Long opposed the [[National Recovery Act]], calling it a sellout to big business. In 1933, he was a leader of a three-week Senate [[filibuster]] against the Glass banking bill for favoring the interests of national banks over state banks. He later supported the [[Glass–Steagall Act]] after provisions were made to extend government deposit insurance to state banks as well as national banks.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 623, 633{{en dash}}34.</ref>
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| − | Long was known as one of the most colorful senators of all time, leading Kennedy to write that "... Long strode into the national arena in the role of the hillbilly hero and played it with gusto. He wore white silk suits and pink silk ties, womanized openly, swilled whiskey in the finest bars, swaggered his way around Washington, and breathed defiance into the teeth of his critics. The president's mother called him 'that ''awful'' man'. His friends called him 'the Kingfish', after a character on the radio program ''[[Amos 'n' Andy]]'' ('Der Kingfish', said Long's critics, seeing parallels with another dangerous demagogue.) ''The New York Times'' called him 'a man with a front of brass and lungs of leather'."<ref name="Kennedy, David page 237">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 237.</ref> Long's flamboyant ways and populist style made him into one of the best known senators in the nation.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 237"/>
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| − | Roosevelt considered Long a radical demagogue. The president privately said of Long that along with General [[Douglas MacArthur]], "He was one of the two most dangerous men in America."<ref>[[#Brands|Brands (2008)]], p. 260.</ref> In June 1933, Long visited the White House to meet President Roosevelt, but the meeting was a disaster: Long was flagrantly disrespectful, refusing to take off his straw hat and addressing Roosevelt as "Frank", instead of the normal "Mr. President".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 236"/>
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| − | Shortly thereafter, in June 1933, in an effort to undermine Long's political dominance, Roosevelt cut Long out of consultation on the distribution of federal funds or patronage in Louisiana and placed Long's opponents in charge of federal programs in the state. Roosevelt also supported a Senate inquiry into the election of Long ally [[John H. Overton]] to the Senate in 1932. The Long machine was charged with election fraud and voter intimidation but the inquiry came up empty, and Overton was seated.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 257.</ref> To discredit Long and damage his support base, Roosevelt had Long's finances investigated by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] in 1934. Though they failed to link Long to any illegality, some of Long's lieutenants were charged with income tax evasion, but only one had been convicted by the time of Long's death.
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| − | Until 1934, Long was not known for his opinions on foreign policy. On 30 May 1934, Long took to the Senate floor to debate the abrogation of the [[Platt amendment]].<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 296.</ref> Instead of debating the Platt amendment, Long gave his views on the [[Chaco War]], coming out in support of Paraguay against Bolivia as he maintained that President Hayes had awarded the Chaco to Paraguay in 1878.<ref name="Gillette pages 293-311">[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 297.</ref> Long blamed the entire war on "the forces of imperialistic finance", claiming that Paraguay was the rightful owner of the Chaco, but that Standard Oil, whom Long called "promoter of revolutions in Central America, South America and Mexico" had "bought" the Bolivian government and started the war because Paraguay was unwilling to grant them oil concessions.<ref name="Gillette pages 293-311"/>
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| − | Long ended his speech by claiming the entire bloody Chaco War was due to the machinations of Wall Street, called the American arms embargo to both sides as subservience to the "big papa" of Wall Street and stated: "Well should we begin on Memorial Day, the hour of mourning to understand that the imperialistic principles of the Standard Oil Company have become mightier than the solemn treaties and pronouncements of the United States government".<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p 298.</ref> Long's speech made him a national hero in Paraguay while leading to protests from the Bolivian legation in Washington.<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 299.</ref>
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| − | Long's thesis that the U.S. policy towards Latin America was dictated solely by the selfish concerns of oil companies, and the U.S. was maintaining a pro-Bolivian neutrality only because that is what Standard Oil wanted, attracted much attention in Latin American newspapers. The State Department was greatly concerned about the damage Long was inflicting on the reputation of the U.S, and throughout the summer of 1934 American diplomats waged a sustained public relations campaign against Long throughout Latin America.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 300.</ref>
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| − | In a second speech given on 7 June 1934 in response to the Bolivian protests, Long again came out in support of Paraguay and attacked Standard Oil as "domestic murderers", "foreign murderers", "international conspirators" and "rapacious thieves and robbers".<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], pp. 300{{en dash}}01.</ref> Besides abusing Standard Oil, Long announced that since Bolivia was taking the Chaco dispute to the World Court, he was opposed to the United States joining the World Court, saying: "Bolivia has run over to the famous World Court and the League of Nations. So here is the Standard Oil Company of the United States sailing under the title of Bolivia, putting one of their emissaries on a boat, and skyrocketing him to Geneva to renounce the Hayes award of the United States".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In July 1934, after a capturing a Bolivian fort, the Paraguayans renamed it Fort Long.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In terms of foreign policy, Long was a firm isolationist. He argued that the United States involvement in the [[Spanish–American War]] and the [[First World War]] had been deadly mistakes conducted on behalf of [[Wall Street]]. He also opposed American entry into the [[Permanent Court of International Justice|World Court]].
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| − | Long's radical [[populism|populist]] rhetoric and his aggressive tactics did little to endear him to his fellow senators. Not one of his proposed bills, resolutions or motions was passed during his three years in the Senate despite an overwhelming Democratic majority. During one debate, another senator told Long, "I do not believe you could get the Lord's Prayer endorsed in this body."<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 269.</ref>
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| − | Despite the senators' distaste for Long's rhetoric, Long himself often praised his colleagues, whom he called "ninety-six men of varied and sundry political complexions, informed on all subjects and questions, separately and collectively, far better than I had ever expected any ninety-odd men to be. Within a few days I found in that body the uncurbed kind of versatile intelligence which will be the bulwark of support to democratic governments in the United States for trying centuries to come."<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. 287.</ref>
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| − | According to ''[[Vanity Fair (US magazine 1913–36)|Vanity Fair]]'' [[magazine]], [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[William Howard Taft]], never a member of the Senate, told U.S. Representative [[James Benjamin Aswell]] of Louisiana that Long was "the most brilliant lawyer who ever practiced before the [[United States Supreme Court]]."<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. 235.</ref>
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| − | ===Share Our Wealth===
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| − | {{main|Share Our Wealth}}
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| − | Long was a staunch opponent of the Federal Reserve System. Together with a group of House members and senators, Long claimed that the Federal Reserve's policies were the true [[Cause of the Great Depression#Monetarist|cause of the Great Depression]]. Long made speeches denouncing the large banking houses of [[J. P. Morgan|Morgan]] and [[John D. Rockefeller|Rockefeller]] centered in [[New York City]], which owned stock in the Federal Reserve. He believed that these large bankers manipulated the monetary system to their own benefit, instead of that of the general public.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair, (1996)]], p. 284.</ref>
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| − | In March 1933, Long offered a series of bills collectively known as "the Long plan" for the redistribution of wealth. The first bill proposed a new [[progressive tax]] code designed to cap personal fortunes at $100 million. Fortunes above $1 million would be taxed at 1 percent; fortunes above $2 million would be taxed at 2 percent, and so forth, up to a 100 percent tax on fortunes greater than $100 million. The second bill limited annual income to $1 million, and the third bill capped individual inheritances at $5 million.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 629.</ref>
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| − | In February 1934, Long introduced his [[Share Our Wealth]] plan over a nationwide radio broadcast.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 238">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 238.</ref> He proposed capping personal fortunes at $50 million and repeated his call to limit annual income to $1 million and inheritances to $5 million. (He also suggested reducing the cap on personal fortunes to $10 million–$15 million per individual, if necessary, and later lowered the cap to $5 million–$8 million in printed materials.) The resulting funds would be used to guarantee every family a basic household grant or "household estate" as Long called it of $5,000 and a minimum annual income of $2,000–3,000, or one-third of the average family homestead value and income. Long supplemented his plan with proposals for free college education and vocational training for all able students, old-age pensions, veterans' benefits, federal assistance to farmers, public works projects, greater federal regulation of economic activity, a month's vacation for every worker and limiting the work week to thirty hours to boost employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/programs/share-our-wealth.php|title=Share Our Wealth|accessdate=November 25, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> In his speech, Long used populist language depicting the U.S. past as a lost paradise stolen by the rich, saying:
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| − | <blockquote>God invited us all to come and eat and drink all we wanted. He smiled on our land and we grew crops of plenty to eat and wear. He showed us in the earth the iron and other things to make everything we wanted. He unfolded to us the secrets of science so that our work might be easy. God called: 'Come to my feast.' Then what happened? Rockefeller, Morgan, and their crowd stepped up and took enough for 120 million people and left only enough for 5 million for all the other 125 million to eat. And so many millions must go hungry and without these good things God gave us unless we call on them to put some of it back.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 238"/><ref name="ssa_gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.ssa.gov/history/longsen.html |title=Social Security History - Huey Long's Senate Speeches |publisher=Social Security Administration |accessdate=December 22, 2016}}</ref></blockquote>
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| − | Long's plans for the "Share Our Wealth" program attracted much criticism from economists at the time, stating that Long's plans for redistributing wealth would not result in every American family receiving a grant of $5,000 per year, but rather $400/per year and his plans for confiscatory taxation would cap the average annual income at about $3,000.<ref>[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], pp. 238{{en dash}}39.</ref>
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| − | In 1934, Long held a public debate with [[Norman Thomas]], the leader of the [[Socialist Party of America]], on the merits of Share Our Wealth versus socialism.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 272.</ref>
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| − | With the Senate unwilling to support his proposals, in February 1934 Long formed a national political organization, the Share Our Wealth Society. A network of local clubs led by national organizer Reverend [[Gerald L. K. Smith]], the Share Our Wealth Society was intended to operate outside of and in opposition to the Democratic Party and the Roosevelt administration. By 1935, the society had over 7.5 million members in 27,000 clubs across the country. Long's Senate office received an average of 60,000 letters a week. Some historians believe that pressure from Long and his organization contributed to Roosevelt's "turn to the left" in 1935. He enacted the [[New Deal#Second New Deal|Second New Deal]], including the [[Social Security Act]], the [[Works Progress Administration]], the [[National Labor Relations Board]], [[Aid to Dependent Children]], the [[National Youth Administration]], and the [[Revenue Act of 1935|Wealth Tax Act of 1935]]. In private, Roosevelt candidly admitted to trying to "steal Long's thunder."<ref>Raymond Moley [http://mises.org/books/after_seven_years_moley.pdf ''After seven years''] (1939) Accessed 23 November 2009</ref>
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| − | ==Continued control over Louisiana (1932{{en dash}}35)==
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| − | [[File:Oscar K. Allen.jpg|thumb|[[Oscar K. Allen]] succeeded Long as governor of Louisiana and continued to enact Long's policies.]]
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| − | Long continued to maintain effective control of Louisiana while he was a senator, blurring the boundary between federal and state politics. Though he had no constitutional authority to do so, Long continued to draft and press bills through the [[Louisiana State Legislature]], which remained in the hands of his allies. He made frequent trips to [[Baton Rouge]] to pressure the legislature into enacting his legislation. The program included new consumer taxes, elimination of the [[Poll tax (United States)|poll tax]], a homestead tax exemption, and increases in the number of state employees. While physically in Louisiana, Long customarily stayed at the [[The Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans|Roosevelt Hotel]] in New Orleans, where he was fond of the Sazerac Bar (see [[Peychaud's Bitters]]). According to Thomas M. Mahne in the ''[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]'', Long had a personal interest in seeing to the quick construction of [[Airline Highway]] (US 61) between Baton Rouge and New Orleans as the new road cut 40 miles from the trip.<ref>Theodore P. Mahne, [http://www.nola.com/news/?/base/news-2/1246426230237080.xml&coll=1 "The Legend of Huey P. Long"], ''Times-Picayune'', July 1, 2009, Saint Tammany Edition, pp. A1, A8.</ref>
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| − | Long's loyal lieutenant, Governor [[Oscar K. Allen]], dutifully enacted Long's policies. Long berated the governor in public and took over the governor's office in the State Capitol when visiting Baton Rouge.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 566.</ref> On occasion, he even entered the legislative chambers, going so far as to sit on representatives' and senators' desks and sternly lecture them on his positions.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 568.</ref> He also retaliated against those who voted against him and used patronage and state funding (especially highways) to maneuver Louisiana toward what opponents called a Long "dictatorship".<ref>For example, [[#Harris1938|Harris (1938)]].</ref><ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 714.</ref> Having broken a second time after earlier reconciliation with the Old Regulars and Mayor Walmsley in the fall of 1933, Long inserted himself into the New Orleans mayoral election of 1934. A second rift hence developed with the city government that lasted even until after Long's assassination.<ref>[[#White|White (2006)]], p. 118.</ref>
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| − | In 1934, Long and [[James A. Noe]], an independent oilman and member of the [[Louisiana Senate]] from [[Ouachita Parish, Louisiana|Ouachita Parish]], formed the controversial Win or Lose Oil Company. The firm was established to obtain leases on state-owned lands so that its directors might collect bonuses and sublease the mineral rights to the major oil companies. Although ruled legal, these activities were done in secret, and the stockholders were unknown to the public. Long made a profit on the bonuses and the resale of those state leases and used the funds primarily for political purposes.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 826.</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | By 1934, Long began a reorganization of the state government that reduced the authority of local governments in anti-Long strongholds [[New Orleans]], [[Baton Rouge]], and [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. It further gave the governor the power to appoint all state employees. Long passed what he called "a tax on lying" and a 2 percent tax on newspaper advertising revenue. He created the Bureau of Criminal Identification, a special force of plainclothes police answerable only to the governor. He also had the legislature enact the same tax on refined oil that in 1929 had nearly led to his impeachment, which he used as a bargaining chip to promote oil drilling in Louisiana. After [[Standard Oil]] agreed that 80 percent of the oil sent to its refineries would be drilled in Louisiana, Long's government refunded most of these tax revenues.
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| − | ==1935: Long's final year==
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| − | By the summer of 1935, Long's Share Our Wealth clubs had 7.5 million members nationwide, he regularly garnered 25 million radio listeners, and he was receiving 60,000 letters a week from supporters (more than the president).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/senator.php|title=Senator|accessdate=November 25, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> In his final year, Long was preoccupied with his presidential ambitions and attempted to limit the influence of his Louisiana opponents. After his assassination, his political machine broke up into factions, although it has remained a strong force in the state's politics into the 21st century.
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| − | | + | |
| − | ===Presidential ambitions===
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| − | [[File:Time Magazine - Huey Long.jpg|thumb|Huey Long on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, 1935.]]
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| − | Even during his days as a traveling salesman, Long had confided to his wife that his planned career trajectory would begin with election to a minor state office, then governor, then senator, and ultimately [[President of the United States]]. In his final months, Long followed up his earlier autobiography, ''[[Every Man a King]]'', with a second book titled ''[[My First Days in the White House]]'', laying out his plans for the presidency after the [[United States presidential election, 1936|election of 1936]]. The book was published posthumously.
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| − | | + | |
| − | Long biographers [[T. Harry Williams]] and William Ivy Hair speculated that Long planned to challenge Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination in 1936, knowing he would lose the nomination but gain valuable publicity in the process. Then he would break from the Democrats and form a [[Third party (United States)|third party]] using the [[Share Our Wealth]] plan as its basis. He also hoped to have the public support of Father [[Charles Coughlin]], a [[Catholic]] priest and populist talk radio personality from [[Royal Oak, Michigan]]; [[Iowa]] agrarian radical [[Milo Reno]]; and other dissidents like [[Francis Townsend]] and the remnants of the [[End Poverty In California]] movement.<ref>[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], pp. 239{{en dash}}40.</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | Long said of Father Coughlin that: "Father Coughlin has a damned good platform and I'm 100% percent for him ... What he thinks is right down my alley".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 239">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 239.</ref> In Wisconsin, the ''Progressive'' newspaper in an editorial stated that the editors did not agree "with every conclusion reached by Father Coughlin and Senator Long, but when they contend ... that the tremendous wealth of this country should be more equitably shared for a more abundant life for the masses of the people, we agree heartily with them".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 239"/>
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| − | Some historians, including Long biographer [[T. Harry Williams]], contend that Long had never, in fact, intended to run for the presidency in 1936. Instead, he had been plotting with Father [[Charles Coughlin]], a Catholic priest and [[populism|populist]] [[talk radio]] personality, to run someone else on the soon-to-be-formed "Share Our Wealth" Party ticket. According to Williams, the idea was that this candidate would split the [[left-wing politics|left-wing]] vote with Roosevelt, thereby electing a Republican president and proving the electoral appeal of Share Our Wealth. Long would then wait four years and run for president as a Democrat in 1940.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
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| − | In the spring of 1935, Long undertook a national speaking tour and regular radio appearances, attracting large crowds and increasing his stature.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 284.</ref> At a rally of the Farmers Holiday Association in Des Moines, Long was introduced by Reno and asked the crowd: "Do you believe in the redistribution of wealth?", receiving a huge "Yes!" as a response.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 240">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 240.</ref> After the rally, Long was heard to say that: "I could take this state like a whirlwind".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 240"/> At a well attended Long rally in Philadelphia, a former mayor told the press "There are 250,000 Long votes" in this city.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 240"/>
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| − | The Roosevelt administration was worried by Long's growing popularity and on 4 March 1935, General [[Hugh S. Johnson]] in a radio speech denounced Long and Coughlin as this "great Louisiana demagogue and this political padre", going on to accuse the duo of speaking "with nothing of learning, knowledge nor experience to lead us through a labyrinth that has perplexed the minds of men since the beginning of time ... These two men are raging up and down this land preaching not construction, but destruction-not reform, but revolution!".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 240"/> The Democratic National Committee chairman [[James Farley]] commissioned a secret poll in early 1935 "to find out if Huey's sales talks for his 'share the wealth' program were attracting many customers ... We kept a careful eye on what Huey and his political allies ... were attempting to do".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 239"/>
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| − | Farley's poll revealed that if Long ran on a third party ticket, he would win about 4 million votes (about 10% of the electorate).<ref name="Kennedy, David page 241">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 241.</ref> In a memo to Roosevelt, Farley wrote: "It was easy to conceive of a situation whereby Long by polling more than 3,000,000 votes, might have the balance of power in the 1936 election. For example, the poll indicated that he would command upwards of 100,000 votes in New York State, a pivotal state in any national election and a vote of that size could easily mean the difference between victory and defeat ... That number of votes would mostly come from our side and the result might spell disaster".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 241"/>
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| − | In response, Roosevelt in a letter to his friend, [[William Dodd (ambassador)|William E. Dodd]] who was serving as American ambassador in Berlin wrote: "Long plans to be a candidate of the Hitler type for the presidency in 1936. He thinks he will have a hundred votes at the Democratic convention. Then he will set up as an independent with Southern and mid-western Progressives ... Thus he hopes to defeat the Democratic Party and put in a reactionary Republican. That would bring the country to such a state by 1940 that Long thinks he would be made dictator. There are in fact some Southerners looking that way, and some Progressives drifting that way ... Thus it is an ominous situation".<ref name="Kennedy, David page 241"/>
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| − | ===Increased tensions in Louisiana===
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| − | By 1935, Long's most recent consolidation of personal power led to talk of armed opposition from his enemies. Opponents increasingly invoked the memory of the [[Battle of Liberty Place]] of 1874, in which the [[White League]] staged an uprising against Louisiana's Reconstruction-era government. In January 1935, an anti-Long paramilitary organization called the Square Deal Association was formed. Its members included former governors [[John M. Parker]] and [[Ruffin Pleasant|Ruffin G. Pleasant]] and New Orleans Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley.<ref name="Hair 1996 pp. 298">[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], pp. 298{{en dash}}300.</ref>
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| − | On January 25, 200 armed Square Dealers took over the courthouse of [[East Baton Rouge Parish]]. Long had Governor Allen call out the [[Louisiana Army National Guard|National Guard]], declare martial law, ban public gatherings of two or more persons, and forbid the publication of criticism of state officials. The Square Dealers left the courthouse, but there was a brief armed skirmish at the Baton Rouge Airport. Tear gas and live ammunition were fired; one person was wounded but there were no fatalities.<ref name="Hair 1996 pp. 298"/>
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| − | In the summer of 1935, Long called for two more special sessions of the legislature; bills were passed in rapid-fire succession without being read or discussed. The new laws further centralized Long's control over the state by creating several new Long-appointed state agencies: a state bond and tax board holding sole authority to approve all loans to parish and municipal governments, a new state printing board which could withhold "official printer" status from uncooperative newspapers, a new board of election supervisors which would appoint all poll watchers, and a State Board of Censors. They also stripped away the remaining lucrative powers of the [[mayor of New Orleans]] to cripple the entrenched opposition. Long boasted that he had "taken over every board and commission in New Orleans except the [[Community Chest (organization)|Community Chest]] and the Red Cross."<ref>[[#Bergal|Bergal (2007)]], p. 102.</ref>
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| − | Long quarreled with former State Senator [[Henry E. Hardtner]] of [[La Salle Parish, Louisiana|La Salle Parish]]. While proceeding to Baton Rouge in August 1935 to confront the state government over a tax matter relating to his Urania Lumber Company, based in [[Urania, Louisiana|Urania]], Hardtner, known as "the father of forestry in the South," was killed in a car-train accident.<ref>[[#Burns1978|Burns (1978)]], p. 85.</ref>
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| − | ==Assassination and aftermath==
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| − | [[File:Huey Long 1935 LOC hec 39385.jpg|thumb|300px|Huey Long about two weeks before his death.]] [[File:Hueylonggun.jpg|thumb|The gun which Carl Weiss used to shoot Huey Long, on display at the Old State Capitol, Baton Rouge.]]
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| − | On September 8, 1935, Long was at the State Capitol attempting to oust a long-time opponent, Judge [[Benjamin Pavy|Benjamin Henry Pavy]]. At 9:20 p.m., just after passage of the bill effectively removing Pavy, Pavy's son-in-law [[Carl Weiss]], a physician from Baton Rouge, approached Long, and, according to the generally accepted version of events, shot him in the torso with a handgun from four feet (1.2 m) away. Long's bodyguards responded by firing at Weiss with their own pistols, killing him; an autopsy found that Weiss had been shot more than sixty times by Long's bodyguards. Long died on September 10 at 4:10 a.m.
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| − | <ref name=assassination>{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/life-times/assassination.php|title=Assassination|accessdate=November 25, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> According to different sources, his last words were either, "I wonder what will happen to my poor university boys," or "I have so much to do."<ref>[[#Lowe|Lowe (2008)]], p. 239.</ref>
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| − | There has been controversy about whether Long might have survived with better surgical care.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site25.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225173835/http://lahistory.org/site25.php|dead-url=yes|archive-date=February 25, 2010|title=Hull, Edgar|publisher=[[Louisiana Historical Association]], ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''|accessdate=February 1, 2011}}</ref>
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| − | Long's body, dressed in a tuxedo, lay an open double [[casket]] (of bronze with a glass lid) in the State Capitol rotunda. Some 200,000 people entered Baton Rouge for his funeral.<ref name=assassination/> Tens of thousands saw the funeral in front of the Capitol on September 12;<ref>[http://www.rabenhorst.com/ Rabenhorst Funeral Homes] homepage</ref> presiding was [[Gerald L. K. Smith]], co-founder of [[Share Our Wealth]] and subsequently of the [[America First Party (1944)|America First Party]].<ref name=funeral>[[#Reed|Reed (1986)]].</ref><ref>[[#White|White (2006)]], p. 268.</ref> Long was buried on the grounds of the new [[Louisiana State Capitol|State Capitol]], and a statue at his grave depicts his achievements. Within the Capitol, a plaque marks the site of the assassination. A [[Huey Long (Keck)|statue of Long]] is in [[National Statuary Hall|Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol]].
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| − | ==Social and political positions==
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| − | ===Communism===
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| − | During his lifetime, Long's political philosophy, and especially his Share Our Wealth program, was heavily criticized by more conservative politicians, who argued that such a scheme was decidedly communist. The former Louisiana governor [[Ruffin Pleasant|Ruffin G. Pleasant]], for instance, decried Long as "the 'ultra Socialist' whose views outreached '[[Karl Marx|Marx]], [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]], and [[Leon Trotsky|Trotsky]].'"<ref>[[#Haas|Haas (1991)]], p. 29.</ref> Similarly, in 1935, the ''[[New York American]]'' accused Long's Share the Wealth program of being "molded in the criminal brains of the leader of the [[Paris Commune]] and sanctified in the brains of an oriental fanatic, Nicolai Lenin."<ref>[[#Haas|Haas (1991)]], pp. 29{{en dash}}30.</ref>
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| − | Long's program, however, diverged significantly from Marxist communism. In particular, the Share Our Wealth program preserved the concept of [[private property]] and also sought to explicitly side-step the need for a violent revolution.<ref name=haas30>[[#Haas|Haas (1991)]], p. 30.</ref> In fact, when asked whether his plan was communist, Long replied: "[[Communism]]? Hell no! ... This plan is the only defense this country's got against communism."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/nov2006/allk-n08.shtml|title=All the King's Men and Man of the Year: Simply Unserious|author=Walsh, David|accessdate=November 22, 2017|date=November 8, 2006|work=[[World Socialist Web Site]]}}</ref> In a radio address on February 23, 1934, Long later stated that his ideological inspiration for the Share Our Wealth plan came from the [[Bible]] and the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/programs/share-our-wealth-speech.php|title=Huey Long's Share Our Wealth Speech|accessdate=November 22, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref>
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| − | However, while conservative politicians often labelled Long a communist, bona fide [[Communist Party of the USA|American communists]] sought to distance themselves from his project because they felt that the Share Our Wealth project both preserved the capitalist enterprise and also was diverting interest away from their own party. Some of Long's fiercest critics, in fact, were prominent American communists, such as [[Sender Garlin]] and [[Alexander Bittelman]].<ref name=haas30/> For one thing, these thinkers argued that Long's populist rhetoric and antics belied a decidedly anti-labor philosophy; Garlin, for instance, noted that while Long created thousands of miles of roads and numerous bridges, Long paid his workers only 30 cents an hour{{em dash}}10 cents less than what the National Recovery Administration called for.<ref>[[#Haas|Haas (1991)]], p. 33.</ref> American communists were also highly critical of Long's views on race, the corruption of his political machine, and his rampant abuse of power.<ref>[[#Haas|Haas (1991)]], p. 34.</ref>
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| − | ===Religion===
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| − | When giving a speech, Long would often hold a Bible in one hand and quote liberally from the scriptures.<ref>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 3{{en dash}}4.</ref> When asked about his main influence, he always cited the Bible first and foremost, and once said that he did not "know how many times [he had] read it through."<ref name=mastered/> However, Long's brother, Julius, later said that all the biblical material Huey mastered was that which his mother had read to him.<ref name=mastered>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 31{{en dash}}32.</ref>
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| − | ===Racism===
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| − | For much of the 20th century, Long was viewed by a number of historians as an egalitarian in terms of race; the renowned Huey Long historian T. Harry Williams, for instance, once wrote that Long was "the first Southern mass leader to leave aside race baiting and appeals to the Southern tradition and the Southern past and address himself to the social and economic problems of the present."<ref name=j265>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1992)]], p. 265.</ref> Other historians argued that Long's building projects and social reforms helped all of the poor populations in Louisiana{{em dash}}both black and white alike.<ref name=j265/> However, the historian Glen Jeansonne argues that Long was "more racist, less unbiased, less principled, and less different from other Louisiana politicians of his time than the [historical] literature implies."<ref name=j266>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1992)]], p. 266.</ref>
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| − | For one thing, Jeansonne notes that Long never faced a serious election that hinged on questions of race or racism, largely because after the Louisiana Constitution of 1898 was ratified, "race was an irrelevant political issue" and black Louisianans "were segregated, ghettoized, ignored."<ref name=j266/><ref name=j271>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1992)]], p. 271.</ref> This means that Long never had to actively discuss the subject of race.<ref name=j266/> For another thing, Jeansonne argues that it is fallacious to ascribe to Long views of racial egalitarianism simply because he was not as racist as some of his peers.<ref name=j271/> Finally, as Jeansonne points out, if part of the point of Long's program was to help black Louisianans, it seems likely that Long would have actively attempted to reach out to and enfranchise more black voters so as to secure their political support. This, however, was not the case; in fact, during Long's tenure as governor, the number of registered black voters actually decreased.<ref name=j271/>
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| − | But regardless of Long's opinions on race, it would be erroneous to argue that his programs did not help the black community in any way, shape, or form. In fact, the programs that Long instituted during his time as governor and senator allowed a number of black Louisianans to receive an education, file for tax exemptions, and also vote without having to worry about poll taxes.<ref name="race">{{cite web|url=http://www.hueylong.com/perspectives/politics-racism.php|title=The Politics of Racism|accessdate=November 24, 2017|work=The Official Huey Long Website|publisher=Long Legacy Project}}</ref> There were also a number of black ministers who organized Share Our Wealth club chapters (although these were few and far between).<ref name="race"/><ref>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1992)]], p. 275.</ref> Trying to strike a balance between the differing interpretations in regard to Long's racism, the historian Roy Wilkins wrote, "My guess is that Huey ... wouldn't hesitate to throw Negroes to the wolves if it became necessary; neither would he hesitate to carry them along if the good they did him was greater than the harm."<ref>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1992)]], p. 281.</ref>
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| − | ==Legacy==
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| − | {{more citations needed|section|date=September 2018}}<!--three subsections ("Politics", "Memory", "Biographies") have no citations-->
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| − | Long pioneered important innovations in campaign technique that were adopted nationally, including sound trucks and radio commercials. But his most enduring contributions were to the state of Louisiana rather than to the nation.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (2011) [1983]]], p. 19.</ref>
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| − | In search for the basis of Long's very strong support, [[V.O. Key, Jr.]] concluded that Long:
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| − | {{quote|Kept faith with his people and they with him. He gave them something and the corporations paid for it ... He is not to be dismissed as a mere rabble-rouser or as the leader of a gang of boodlers ... He brought to his career a streak of genius, yet in his programs and tactics he was as indigenous to Louisiana as pine trees and petroleum.<ref>[[#Key|Key & Heard (1949)]], p. 157.</ref>}}
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| − | Key adds that the Long organization used:
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| − | {{quote|Patronage, in all its forms, deprivation of perquisites, economic pressure, political coercion in one form or another, and now and then outright thuggery ... Long commanded the intense loyalties of a substantial proportion of the population ... [Supporters] came to believe that here was a man with a genuine concern for their welfare, not one of the gentlemanly do-nothing governors who had ruled the state for many decades.<ref>[[#Key|Key & Heard (1949)]], p. 162.</ref>}}
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| − | ===Infrastructure===
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| − | Long created a public works program for Louisiana that was unprecedented in the South, with a plethora of roads, bridges, hospitals, schools and state buildings that have endured into the 21st century. During his four years as governor, Long increased paved highways in Louisiana from {{convert|331|to|2,301|mi|km}}, plus an additional {{convert|2816|mi|km|0}} of gravel roads. By 1936, the infrastructure program begun by Long had completed some {{convert|9700|mi|km|-2}} of new roads, doubling the size of the state's road system. He built 111 bridges and started construction on the first bridge over the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] entirely in Louisiana, the [[Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)|Huey P. Long Bridge]] in [[Jefferson Parish]], near New Orleans. He built a new [[Old Louisiana Governor's Mansion|Governor's Mansion]] and the new [[Louisiana State Capitol]], at the time the tallest building in the South. All of these projects provided thousands of much-needed jobs during the [[Great Depression]], including 22,000—or 10 percent—of the nation's highway workers.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 546.</ref>
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| − | ===Education===
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| − | Long's free textbooks, school-building program, and school busing improved and expanded the public education system. His night schools taught 100,000 adults to read. He expanded funding for LSU, tripled enrollment, lowered tuition, and established scholarships for low-income students. He sometimes befriended persons in need. In 1932 a young [[Pap Dean]], later political cartoonist with the ''[[The Times (Shreveport)|Shreveport Times]]'', wrote to Long after hearing him speak in Dean's native [[Colfax, Louisiana|Colfax]] to explain that Dean's college funds had been lost in a bank closing. Long helped Dean procure financial aid to attend LSU, from which he graduated in 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.thepineywoods.com/PapDean.htm|title=Jack M. Willis, "Pap Dean marks lifetime or art and politics: Art career started with sketching from comic characters in first grade at Colfax Art career started school"|publisher=thepineywoods.com, June 26, 2009|accessdate=August 31, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | ===Health care===
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| − | Long founded the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He also doubled funding for the public Charity Hospital System, built a new Charity Hospital building for New Orleans, and reformed and increased funding for the state's mental institutions. Long's statewide public health programs dramatically reduced the death rate in Louisiana and provided free immunizations to nearly 70 percent of the population. He also reformed the prison system by providing medical and dental care for inmates. His administration funded the piping of [[natural gas]] to New Orleans and other cities. It built the {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=in|adj=on}} [[Lake Pontchartrain]] [[seawall]] and New Orleans airport.
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| − | ===Consumer Protection===
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| − | Long slashed personal property taxes and reduced utility rates. His repeal of the poll tax in 1935 increased voter registration by 76 percent in one year. Long's popular [[homestead exemption]] eliminated personal property taxes for the majority of citizens by exempting properties valued at less than $2,000. His "Debt Moratorium Act" prevented foreclosures by giving people extra time to pay creditors and reclaim property without being forced to pay back-taxes. His personal intervention and strict regulation of the Louisiana banking system prevented bank closures and kept the system solvent—while 4,800 banks nationwide collapsed, only seven failed in Louisiana. {{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
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| − | ===Politics===
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| − | Within the dominant Louisiana Democratic party, Long set in motion two durable factions—"pro-Long" and "anti-Long"—which diverged meaningfully in terms of policies and voter support. A family dynasty emerged: his brother [[Earl Long]] was elected lieutenant-governor in 1936, governor in 1948 and 1956. Typically anti-Longite candidates would promise to continue popular social services delivered in Long's administration and criticized Longite corruption without directly attacking Long himself. Long's son, [[Russell B. Long]], was a U.S. senator from 1948 to 1987. As chairman of the [[Senate Finance Committee]], Russell Long shaped the nation's tax laws. He was an advocate of low business taxes, but also passed the [[Earned Income Credit]] and other tax legislation beneficial to the poor and working people.
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| − | | + | |
| − | The [[political machine]] Long established was weakened by his death, but it remained a powerful force in state politics until the [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1959-60|election of 1960]]. Pockets of it persisted into the 21st century. The Long platform of social programs and populist rhetoric created the state's main political division. In every state election until 1960, the main factions were organized along pro-Long and anti-Long lines. For several decades after his death, Long's personal political style inspired imitation among Louisiana politicians who borrowed his colorful speaking style, vicious verbal attacks on opponents, and promises of social programs. His brother [[Earl Kemp Long]] later inherited Long's political machine. Using his platform and rhetorical style, Earl Long became governor in 1939 following the resignation of [[Richard Leche]] and was elected to subsequent terms in 1948 and 1956.
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| − | | + | |
| − | After Earl Long's death, [[John McKeithen]] and [[Edwin Edwards]] appeared as heirs to the Long tradition. Most recently, [[Claude "Buddy" Leach]] ran a populist campaign in the [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2003|Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2003]] that some observers compared to Huey Long's. [[Louisiana Public Service Commission]]er [[Foster Campbell]] tried the same approach without success in the 2007 [[jungle primary]], although [[Louisiana House of Representatives|State Rep.]] [[John Bel Edwards]] was elected governor in 2015 espousing many of the same populist positions as Long, McKeithen and Edwin Edwards.
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| − | | + | |
| − | Long's death did not end the political strength of the Long family. His widow, [[Rose McConnell Long]], was appointed to replace him in the Senate, and his son [[Russell B. Long]] was elected to the Senate in 1948, and served until his retirement in 1987. In addition to Long's brother [[Earl K. Long]] becoming governor, brother Julius Long was a Winn Parish District Attorney and brother [[George S. Long]] was elected to Congress in 1952. Long's younger sister, Lucille Long Hunt (1898–1985) of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], was the mother of future Public Service Commissioner [[John S. Hunt II|John S. Hunt, II]] (1928–2001), of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].
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| − | | + | |
| − | Other more distant relatives, including [[Gillis William Long]] and [[Speedy O. Long]] represented Louisiana in the U.S. Congress, while [[Jimmy D. Long]] of [[Natchitoches Parish]] served for 32 years in the Louisiana House. {{As of|2010}}, Jimmy Long's younger brother [[Gerald Long]] holds the distinction of being the only current Long in public office and the first [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] among the Long Democratic dynasty. Twelve members of the Long family have held elected office.
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| − | | + | |
| − | ===Memory===
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| − | | + | |
| − | Two bridges crossing the [[Mississippi River]] have been named "Huey P. Long Bridge": [[Huey P. Long Bridge (Baton Rouge)|one in Baton Rouge]] and [[Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)|one in Jefferson Parish]]. There are also two bridges named in honor of both Long and his successor and supporter, O.K. Allen: the [[Long–Allen Bridge (Morgan City)|Long-Allen Bridge]] over the Atchafalaya River between Morgan City and Berwick, and the Long-Allen Bridge/Texas Street Bridge over the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] between Downtown Shreveport and Bossier City. There is also a Huey P. Long Hospital in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]] across the Red River from [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]].
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| − | | + | |
| − | Long's first autobiography, ''Every Man a King,'' was published in 1933 and priced to be affordable by poor Americans. Long laid out his plan to redistribute the nation's wealth. His second book, ''[[My First Days in the White House]],'' was published posthumously. In it he describes his presidential ambitions for 1936.
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| − | | + | |
| − | Long's birthday, August 30, was a paid holiday in Louisiana from 1936 through 1971. This practice was ended by Governor [[Edwin Edwards]] when he took office in 1972.
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| − | | + | |
| − | In 1993, Long, along with his brother Earl, was inducted [[Posthumous recognition|posthumously]] into the [[Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame]] in Winnfield. In the same ceremony, his son Russell, then still living, was also among the 13 original inductees.
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| − | | + | |
| − | ===Biographies===
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| − | Long's life has held continuing fascination. In 1970, the biography ''Huey Long'' by [[T. Harry Williams]] won both the [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography|Pulitzer Prize]] and the [[National Book Award]] [[List of winners of the National Book Award#History and Biography|in category History and Biography]]. [[Alan Brinkley]] won the latter award in 1983 for ''Voices of Protest: Huey Long, [[Father Coughlin]] and the Great Depression'', which describes Long's brief but vast popularity early in the 1930s.
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| − | | + | |
| − | ===Popular culture===
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| − | | + | |
| − | ====American literature====
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| − | | + | |
| − | Leading novelists have explored the regime Long created.<ref>[[#Perry2004|Perry (2004)]].</ref> [[Garry Boulard]] believed him to be the inspiration for Buzz Windrip in [[Sinclair Lewis]]'s ''[[It Can't Happen Here]]'', calling the work "the most chilling and uncanny treatment of Huey by a writer".<ref>[[#Boulard|Boulard (1998)]], p. 115.</ref> Lewis, a liberal who in 1930 had won the Nobel Prize in literature, portrayed a genuine American dictator on the Hitler model.<ref>[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301001h.html See the full text at].</ref> The lead character of ''It Can't Happen Here'' is a populist, big business-bashing senator Buzz Windrip who wins the 1936 election by promising every American family $5,000 per year. Starting in 1936 the [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]], a New Deal agency, performed the theater version across the country. [[File:Sinclair Lewis It Can't Happen Here 1936 theater poster.jpg|thumb|right|Poster for the WPA stage adaptation of ''It Can't Happen Here'', October 27, 1936]] Written with the goal of hurting Long's chances in the 1936 election,<ref>[[#Perry2004|Perry (2004)]], p. 62.</ref> Lewis's novel outfits President Berzelius Windrip with a private militia, concentration camps, and a chief of staff who sounds like Nazi propagandist [[Joseph Goebbels]]. Lewis also outfits Windrip with a racist ideology completely alien to Long and a [[Main Street (novel)|''Main Street'']] conservatism he also never embraced. Ultimately, Windrip is a venal and cynical showman who plays to the conformist resentments Lewis diagnosed in ''Main Street'' and [[Babbitt (novel)|''Babbitt'']]. Perry (2004) argues that the key weakness of the novel is not that he decks out American politicians with sinister European touches, but that he finally conceives of fascism and totalitarianism in terms of traditional American political models rather than seeing them as introducing a new kind of society and a new kind of regime. Windrip is less a Nazi than a con-man and manipulator who knows how to appeal to people's desperation, but neither he nor his followers are in the grip of the kind of world-transforming ideology like Hitler's [[National Socialism]].<ref>[[#Lingeman|Lingeman (2005) [2002]]], pp. 400{{en dash}}08.</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | [[Hamilton Basso]] wrote two novels looking at Long, ''Cinnamon Seed'' (1934) and ''Sun in Capricorn'' (1942). Perry (2004) says Basso was a slashingly witty critic of the moonlight and magnolia romanticism of the Old South that dominated the Southern mind before 1920. Like many proponents of a New South, he wanted modernizers to take over. ''Cinnamon Seed''{{'}}s Harry Brand incorporates more details from the historical Long than any other fictional portrayal does, and much of the novel is so lightly fictionalized that only a single letter separates the names of characters and places from their real-life counterparts.<ref>For example Basso uses "Tillson" instead of "Wilson", "Janders" rather than "Sanders", "Gwinn Parish" for "Winn Parish".</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | Brand is a representative of the grasping and vulgar kind of new leadership which has rightly understood that the values of the Old South are played out but has replaced them with nothing but ambition and cunning. He is a greedy climber, not a demonic leader of the masses, and in fact he is ultimately not much more than an obnoxious and sticky-fingered lout, the kind who spits tobacco juice on the marble floors of his predecessors and pockets the ashtrays. In portraying his Long figure this way, Basso finds himself between the stools, critical of the spent aristocrats who cannot imagine a modern South, but disgusted also by the figures who represent the wrong kind of newness, the kind of modern South that comes to be if its development is left to default.<ref>[[#Perry2004|Perry (2004)]], pp. 3{{en dash}}9, 82{{en dash}}118.</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | [[John Dos Passos]]'s ''Number One'' (1943) looks not at the politics of mass brutality whipped up by manipulative demagogues, but at the gradual ebbing away of Long's idealist convictions under the pressure of a thousand expedient compromises and betrayals in the name of institutional necessity.<ref>[[#Perry2004|Perry (2004)]], pp. 118{{en dash}}35.</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | [[Robert Penn Warren]]'s Pulitzer prize-winning novel ''[[All the King's Men]]'' (1946) is the centerpiece of American [[political fiction]]. Warren charted the corruption of an idealistic politician [[Willie Stark (character)|Willie Stark]], almost as much philosopher as politician. Warren did not encourage association of his character with Long and told Charles Bohner in a 1964 interview, "Willie Stark was not Huey Long. Willie was only himself, whatever that self turned out to be."<ref>[[#Warren1988|Warren (1988)]], p. 228.</ref> Nevertheless, popular and critical opinion has held the parallels between Stark and Long to be very strong (particularly the general arc of the career: a failed bid for governor in the mid-1920s, successful election to the governorship, and subsequent assassination); Warren's spellbinding Willie Stark has been for almost six decades Long's well-known fictional embodiment, based on the novel and well-received [[All the King's Men (1949 film)|1949 movie]], earning Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress from the Academy Awards.<ref>[[#Perry2004|Perry (2004)]], p. 221.</ref><ref>[[#Bloom|Bloom (1987)]].</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | Long inspired numerous other novelists. [[Adria Locke Langley]]'s 1945 novel ''A Lion Is in the Streets,'' and its [[A Lion Is in the Streets|1953 film adaption]] starring [[James Cagney]] as the charismatic and ambitious but also unscrupulous Huey Long-like populist politician Hank Martin has often been compared to ''All the King's Men''. [[Bruce Sterling]]'s ''Distraction'' features a colorful and dictatorial Louisiana governor named "Green Huey". [[Harry Turtledove]]'s ''[[American Empire (Harry Turtledove)|American Empire]]'' trilogy drew parallels between [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] President [[Jake Featherston]]'s populist, dictatorial style of rule and Long's governorship of Louisiana. In this trilogy, Long was assassinated on orders from Featherston when he refused to side with the Confederate ruling party (though several years later than in reality). In [[Barry N. Malzberg]]'s short story "Kingfish", published in the ''[[Alternate Presidents]]'' anthology, Long survives his assassination, to be elected president in 1936 with the help of [[John Nance Garner]], and both men conspire to assassinate Hitler prior to the start of World War II. In Donald Jeffries' 2007 novel ''[[The Unreals]]'', there is a scene featuring an imaginary meeting where FDR and other important Depression era figures are plotting the assassination of Senator Long.
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| − | Long is also referenced by [[Stanley Kowalski]] in the [[Tennessee Williams]] play, ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]''. In the extract, Stanley refers to every man as being "a king", acknowledging Senator Long while he makes his monologue in the flat.
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| − | | + | |
| − | In general, the novelists have portrayed Long's rise to power as a justifiable popular reaction against the selfish policies pursued by the dominant economic interests prior to 1928. They speculate the degree to which his extremism reflected an overreaction to his enemies, or sprang inevitably from class conflict in the state. They all try to explain why Long enjoyed majority support in Louisiana, both during and after his lifetime.<ref>[[#Perry2004|Perry (2004)]], pp. 22{{en dash}}23.</ref>
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| − | | + | |
| − | ====Films====
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| − | Warren's novel was the basis of two motion pictures - ''[[All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men]]'' (1949) and a more recent [[All the King's Men (2006 film)|2006 film]] - and the 1981 opera ''[[Willie Stark]]'' by American composer [[Carlisle Floyd]]. The 1949 film won three [[Academy Awards|Oscars]], including Best Picture and Best Actor for [[Broderick Crawford]], playing the Long role.
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| − | | + | |
| − | The [[James Cagney]]-starring film ''[[A Lion Is in the Streets]]'' (1953) is more loosely based on Long's career.
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| − | | + | |
| − | There is a particularly prominent mention of Long in [[Tennessee Williams]]' play ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]''<ref name="Williams2004">[[#TWilliams|Williams (2004) [1947]]], p. 131.</ref> and other film versions.
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| − | | + | |
| − | ====Television====
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| − | | + | |
| − | In 1985, [[Ken Burns]] made a [[Huey Long (documentary)|documentary]] about Long.
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| − | | + | |
| − | Two [[Television movie|made-for-TV]] [[docudrama]]s about Long have also been produced: ''The Life and Assassination of the Kingfish'' (1977), starring [[Ed Asner]], and the fictionalized ''[[Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long]]'' (1995, [[Turner Network Television|TNT]]), starring [[John Goodman]].
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| − | | + | |
| − | ====Music====
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| − | | + | |
| − | In popular music, singer-songwriter [[Randy Newman]] featured Long in two songs on the 1974 album ''[[Good Old Boys (Randy Newman album)|Good Old Boys]]'' (Reprise). "[[Every Man a King]]", originally written and recorded by Long and Castro Carazo, is followed by "Kingfish". Sung from the point of view of Long, "Kingfish" discusses his popularity in his prime, the building of the [[Airline Highway]], and refers to "The Kingfish" as "friend of the working man"{{mdashb}}an allusion to Long's unwavering popularity amongst the [[working class]]es. It attributes the reason for this to his [[populism|populist]] ideologies:
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| − | | + | |
| − | {{poemquote|
| + | |
| − | Who took on the Standard Oil men
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| − | And whipped their ass,
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| − | Just like he promised he'd do?
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| − | Ain't no Standard Oil men gonna run this state,
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| − | Gonna be run by little folks like me and you.}}
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| − | ==See also==
| + | |
| − | {{Portalbar|Biography|Louisiana|Law|Politics|Liberalism|Baptist}}
| + | |
| − | *''[[Huey Long (documentary)|Huey Long]]'' (1985 [[Ken Burns]] documentary)
| + | |
| − | *[[Cat Doucet]]
| + | |
| − | *[[James Monroe Smith]]
| + | |
| − | *[[Long family]]
| + | |
| − | *[[List of assassinated American politicians]]
| + | |
| − | * [[List of United States Senators expelled or censured]]
| + | |
| − | * [[List of United States Congress members killed or wounded in office]]
| + | |
| − | * [[List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)]]
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| − | | + | |
| − | ==References==
| + | |
| − | {{Reflist|30em}}
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==Bibliography==
| + | |
| − | {{Refbegin|30em}}
| + | |
| − | * {{Cite journal|last=Abadie|first=Dale|date=Summer 1970|title=A Song of Huey Long|journal=The Journal of Louisiana Historical|volume=11|pages=271{{en dash}}73|ref=Abadie|jstor=4231135}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Bergal, Jenni|title=City Adrift: New Orleans Before and After Katrina|year=2007|location=[[Baton Rouge, LA]]|publisher=[[Louisiana State University Press]]|isbn=9780807133866|ref=Bergal}}
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| − | * {{cite book|last1=Berlet|first1=Chip|first2=Matthew N.|last2=Lyons|title=Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort|publisher=[[Guilford Press]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|year=2000|isbn=9781462528387|ref=Chip}}
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| − | * {{cite book|editor=Bloom, Harold|title=Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men|year=1987|url=https://www.questia.com/read/98795137|publisher=[[Chelsea House Publishers]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|ref=Bloom}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Boulard, Garry|title=Huey Long Invades New Orleans: the Siege of a City, 1934{{en dash}}36|location=[[New Orleans, LA]]|publisher=[[Pelican Publishing]]|year=1998|isbn=9781455606092|ref=Boulard}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Brands, H.W.|year=2008|title=Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|isbn=9780385519588|ref=Brands}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Brinkley, Alan|title=Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great Depression|location=[[New York City, NY]]|publisher=[[Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group]]|year=2011|orig-year=1982|isbn=9780307803221|ref=Brinkley}}
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| − | * {{cite journal|author=Burns, Anna C.|year=1978|title=Henry E. Hardtner: Louisiana's First Conservationist|journal=Journal of Forest History|volume=22|issue=2|pages=78{{en dash}}85|via=[[JSTOR]]|ref=Burns1978|jstor=3983330}} {{subscription required}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Calhoun, Milburn|title=Louisiana Almanac 2008{{en dash}}2009|publisher=[[Pelican Publishing]]|location=[[New Orleans, LA]]|isbn=9781455607709|year=2008|ref=calhoun}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Dethloff, Henry C.|title=Huey P. Long: Southern Demagogue or American Democrat?|date=1976|location=[[Lafayette, LA]]|publisher=[[University of Louisiana at Lafayette|University of Southwestern Louisiana]]|ref= Dethloff}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Dubin, Michael J.|title=United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1932{{en dash}}1952: The Official Results by State and County|location=[[Jefferson, NC]]|publisher=[[McFarland and Company]]|isbn=9780786470341|year=2014|ref=Dubin}}
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| − | * {{cite journal|author=Gillette, Michael|title=Huey Long and the Chaco War|pages=293{{en dash}}311|journal=Louisiana History: the Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association|volume=11|issue=4|year=1970|ref=Gillette|via=[[JSTOR]]|jstor=4231146}} {{subscription required}}
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| − | * {{cite journal|author=Haas, Edward F.|title=Huey Long and the Communists|journal=Louisiana History: the Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association|volume=32|issue=1|year=1991|pages=29{{en dash}}46|jstor=4232863}} {{subscription needed}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite journal|author=Haas, Edward|year=2006|title=Huey Long and The Dictators|journal=The Journal of Louisiana Historical|volume=47|pages=133{{en dash}}51|ref=Haas2006|jstor=4234177}} {{subscription needed}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Hamby, Alonzo L.|year=2004|title=For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|isbn=9780684843407|ref=Hamby}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Hair, William Ivy|title=The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long|publisher=[[Louisiana State University Press]]|year=1996|location=[[Baton Rouge, LA]]|isbn=9780807141069|ref=Hair}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Harris, Thomas O.|title=The Kingfish: Huey P. Long, Dictator|location=[[New York City, NY]]|publisher=[[Pelican Publishing]]|year=1938|ref=Harris1938}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|last1=Havard|first1=William C.|last2=Herberle|first2=Rudolf|last3=Howard|first3=Perry H.|title=The Louisiana Election of 1960|ref=HavardHeberleHoward|location=[[Baton Rouge, LA]]|publisher=[[Louisiana State University]]|year=1963}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Hess, Stephen|title=America's Political Dynasties|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon-on-Thames, UK]]|orig-year=1966|year=2017|isbn=9781351532150|ref=Hess}}
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| − | * {{Cite journal|last=Jeansonne|first=Glen|title=Challenge to the New Deal: Huey P. Long and the Redistribution of National Wealth|journal=The Journal of Louisiana Historical Association|volume=21|pages=331{{en dash}}39|year=1980|ref=Jeansonne2|jstor=4232034}}
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| − | * {{cite journal|author=Jeansonne, Glen|title=Huey Long and Racism|journal=Louisiana History: the Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association|volume=22|issue=3|date=1992|pages=265{{en dash}}82|jstor=423295}} {{subscription required}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite journal|author=Jeansonne, Glen|date=1994|title=Huey Long and The Historians|journal=The History Teacher|volume=27|pages=120{{en dash}}25|ref=Jeansonne1994|jstor=494713}} {{subscription required}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Kane, Thomas Harnett|title=Huey Long's Louisiana Hayride: the American Rehearsal for Dictatorship, 1928{{en dash}}1940|publisher=William Morrow|location=[[New York City, NY]]|year=1941|ref=Kane}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Kennedy, David|title=Freedom From Fear The American People In Depression and War, 1929{{en dash}}1945|location=[[Oxford, UK]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780195144031|year=2005|orig-year=1999|ref=Kennedy}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author1=Key, V. O.|author2=Heard, Alexander|title=Southern Politics in State and Nation|year=1949|location=[[Knoxville, TN]]|publisher=[[University of Tennessee Press]]|ref=key}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Lingeman, Richard|title=Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street|year=2005|publisher=[[Minnesota Historical Society]]|location=[[Saint Paul, MN]]|isbn=9780873515412|ref=Lingeman|orig-year=2002}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Long, Huey|title=Every Man a King: The Autobiography of Huey P. Long|location=[[New Orleans]]|publisher=National Book Club, Inc.|year=1933|ref=Long1}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=scx65UQZoL4C&pg=PA239&dq=huey+long+last+words#v=onepage&q=huey%20long%20last%20words&f=false|title=Louisiana Culture from the Colonial Era to Katrina|publisher=[[Louisiana State University Press]]|isbn=9780807133378|date=2008|editor=Lowe, John|ref=Lowe}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Parrish, Michael E.|year=1994|title=Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920{{en dash}}1941|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|isbn=9780393311341|ref=Parrish}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Perry, Keith|title=The Kingfish in Fiction: Huey P. Long and the Modern American Novel|year=2004|location=[[Baton Rouge, LA]]|publisher=[[Louisiana State University Press]]|isbn=9780807129425|ref=Perry2004}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Reed, Ed|title=Requiem for a Kingfish|location=[[Baton Rouge, LA]]|publisher=Award Publications|year=1986|ref=Reed}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Warren, Kenneth F.|year=2008|title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior: A-M|volume=1|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|location=[[Thousand Oaks, CA]]|isbn=9781412954891|ref= Warren}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Warren, Robert Penn|title=A Robert Penn Warren Reader|year=1988|location=[[New York City, NY]]|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|isbn=9780394756295|ref=Warren1988}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=White, Richard D.|title=Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long|location=[[New York City, NY]]|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=9780812973839|year=2006|ref=White}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Williams, T. Harry|chapter=The Politics of the Longs|title=Romance and Realism in Southern Politics|location=[[Baton Rouge, LA]]|publisher=[[Louisiana State University Press]]|year=1961|ref=W1961}}
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| − | * {{cite book|author=Williams, T. Harry|title=Huey Long|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|isbn=9780394747903|year=1981|orig-year=1969|ref=Williams}}
| + | |
| − | * {{cite book|author=Williams, Tennessee|year=2004|orig-year=1947|title=A Streetcar Named Desire|publisher=[[New Directions Publishing]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|isbn=9780811220767|ref=TWilliams}}
| + | |
| − | {{refend}}
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==Further reading==
| + | |
| − | <!-- The Library of Congress lists more than eighty publications with Huey Long as a subject. Most of the biographies and historical works in this list inevitably rework the same information and add little if anything in the way of new conclusions. The following titles are either highly regarded, standard, critical and synthetic scholarly works, or are important contemporary partisan writings of particular interest to students of politics, or are the only titles available that cover less commonly addressed aspects of Long's career. -->
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| − | * Burt, John. "Thirteen Ways of Kooking at a Kingfish." ''The Mississippi Quarterly'' 58#3–4 (2005) pp 795+. [https://archive.is/20130104121240/http://www.questia.com/read/5019470837 online edition]
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| − | * Cortner, Richard C. ''The Kingfish and the Constitution: Huey Long, the First Amendment, and the Emergence of Modern Press Freedom in America.'' Greenwood, 1996. 196 pp. [https://www.questia.com/read/27209334 online edition]
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| − | * [[Bill Dodd|Dodd, William J. "Bill"]]. "Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics." Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing Co., 1991.
| + | |
| − | * [[Garry Boulard|Boulard, Garry]]. ''Huey Long: His Life in Photos, Drawings, and Cartoons.'' Gretna, La.: Pelican, 2003. 127 pp.
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| − | * Gunn, Joshua. "Hystericizing Huey: Emotional Appeals, Desire, and the Psychodynamics of Demagoguery." ''Western Journal of Communication'' 21#1 (2007) pp. 1+. [https://www.questia.com/read/5020919367 online edition]
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| − | * Haas, Edward F., ed. ''The Age of the Longs: Louisiana, 1928–1960.'' (Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Series, vol. 8.) Lafayette: Center for Louisiana Studies, 2001. 527 pp.
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| − | * Heppen, John. "The Electoral Geography of Class, Race, and Religion in Huey Long's Louisiana," ''Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South,'' Spring/Summer2010, Vol. 17 Issue 1, pp 1–23
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| − | * [[Perry H. Howard|Howard, Perry H.]] ''Political Tendencies in Louisiana'' (1971), by political scientist [https://www.questia.com/read/101976098 online edition]
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| − | * Jeansonne, Glen. Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression. (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 1997).
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| − | * Jeansonne, Glen (ed.). ''Huey at 100: Centennial Essays on Huey P. Long.'' Ruston, LA: McGinty Publications (for Dept. of History, Louisiana Tech University), 1995.
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| − | * Pavy, Donald A. ''Accident and Deception: the Huey Long Shooting.'' New Iberia: Cajun Publications, 1999.
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| − | * Potter, David M. "Long, Huey Pierce, (Aug. 30, 1893 – Sept. 10, 1935),' ''Dictionary of American Biography'' Supp 1 (1964)
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| − | * Sanson, Jerry P., "'What he did and what he promised to do': Huey Long and the Horizons of Louisiana Politics," ''Louisiana History,'' 47 (Summer 2006), 261–76.
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| − | * [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.|Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr.]], ''The Age of Roosevelt'', vol 3: ''The Politics of Upheaval'' (1960), chapter on Long.
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | {{Commons category|Huey P. Long}}
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| − | {{Wikiquote}}
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| − | {{CongBio|L000418}}
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| − | *[http://www.hueylong.com/ Huey Long official Web site—Learn about his life and times, with photos, stories, and campaign memorabilia]
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| − | *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100128015443/http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/397/Default.aspx State of Louisiana — Biography]
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| − | *{{IMDb name|id=0518992}}
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| − | * {{PM20|FID=pe/018971}}
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| − | {{S-start}}
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| − | {{S-off}}
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| − | {{Succession box|title=[[List of Governors of Louisiana|Governor of Louisiana]]| before=[[Oramel H. Simpson]]| after=[[Alvin Olin King]] | years=May 21, 1928–January 25, 1932}}
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| − | {{S-par|us-sen}}
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| − | {{U.S. Senator box | state=Louisiana | class=2 | before=[[Joseph E. Ransdell]]| after=[[Rose McConnell Long]] | years=January 25, September 10, 1932–1935 | alongside=[[Edwin S. Broussard]], [[John H. Overton]]}}
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| − | {{S-end}}
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| − | {{Governors of Louisiana}}
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| − | {{United States Senators from Louisiana}}
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| − | {{New Deal}}
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| − | {{Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame}}
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| − | {{Authority control}}
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| − | {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Huey}}
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| − | [[Category:Huey Long| ]]
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| − | [[Category:1893 births]]
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| − | [[Category:1935 deaths]]
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| − | [[Category:People from Winnfield, Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:Baptists from Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:Burials in Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:United States Senators from Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:Governors of Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:American political bosses from Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:Long family|Huey]]
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| − | [[Category:Impeached United States officials]]
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| − | [[Category:Members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission]]
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| − | [[Category:Assassinated American politicians]]
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| − | [[Category:People murdered in Louisiana]]
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| − | [[Category:Oklahoma Baptist University alumni]]
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| − | [[Category:Left-wing populism in the United States]]
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| − | [[Category:Populist leaders]]
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| − | [[Category:Anti-poverty advocates]]
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