Who was Huey Long?
Huey Long was born in 1893 and trained as a lawyer in Winnfield, Louisiana. He first won notice on the state railroad commission, then took the governorship in 1928 with a slogan about every man being a king while none wears a crown. His years as governor brought new roads, schools and public works, and he got through an impeachment fight in 1929. Voters sent him to the Senate in 1930. He backed Franklin Roosevelt at first, turned on him in 1933, and criticized the New Deal as too timid. A gunman shot him in the Louisiana State Capitol in September 1935, when many expected him to run for president. He died two days later.
Political views
- Through Share Our Wealth he wanted a cap on personal fortunes, with the money paid out as a minimum for households, old-age pensions and schooling.Source: voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu
- He wanted every person over 60 to get $30 a month, along with shorter working hours.Source: 64parishes.org
- He parted ways with Roosevelt in 1933. In his eyes the New Deal helped the poor too little and left the spread of wealth unchanged.Source: en.wikipedia.org
- Paved highways in Louisiana grew from 331 miles to 2,301 while he governed, and children received free schoolbooks. School enrollment climbed 20 percent over the same years.Source: 64parishes.org
- He went after oil firms, Standard Oil above all, with new taxes. He also ended the poll tax and gave homeowners a tax exemption.Source: voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu
- He opposed American membership of the World Court, and he blamed Standard Oil and Wall Street for shaping U.S. policy in Latin America.Source: en.wikipedia.org
Legacy
Admirers recall what he gave one of the poorest states: bridges, highways, classrooms, free books and reading classes for adults. Many think the pull of his wealth-sharing clubs, which said they had 7.5 million members, helped push Roosevelt to create Social Security and the Works Progress Administration. Critics, Roosevelt included, saw a dangerous demagogue. Long stocked state agencies with loyalists, turned the courts and legislature on his enemies, and is said to have called himself the Constitution in Louisiana. Some at the time likened him to Hitler and Mussolini. The state also ran up debt, from $11 million when he took office to $150 million in 1935.
In their own words
“Every man a king, so there would be no such thing as a man or woman who did not have the necessities of life, who would not be dependent upon the whims and caprices and ipse dixit of the financial martyrs for a living.”