Editing Huey Long (section)

===Accomplishments===
[[File:Louisiana State Capitol Building.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of the Louisiana State Capitol, a tall, art-deco tower.|Long constructed a [[Louisiana State Capitol|new capitol building]], which, at {{convert|450|ft|m}}, remains the tallest capitol in the United States.]]
Long was unusual among southern populists in that he achieved tangible progress. Williams concluded "the secret of Long's power, in the final analysis, was not in his machine or his political dealings but in his record—he delivered something".<ref name="sanson273"/> Referencing Long's contributions to Louisiana, [[Robert Penn Warren]], a professor at LSU during Long's term as governor,<ref>{{cite news|last=Viator|first=Gunnar|date=October 29, 2019|title='It started here in Allen Hall': LSU boasts rich literary history, prominent literary figures|url=https://www.lsureveille.com/news/it-started-here-in-allen-hall-lsu-boasts-rich-literary-history-prominent-literary-figures/article_4bbe22ea-fa9e-11e9-84c4-1382fc303378.html|work=[[The Daily Reveille|Reveille]]|location=Baton Rouge|access-date=August 15, 2020|archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200218/https://www.lsureveille.com/news/it-started-here-in-allen-hall-lsu-boasts-rich-literary-history-prominent-literary-figures/article_4bbe22ea-fa9e-11e9-84c4-1382fc303378.html|url-status=live}}</ref> stated: "Dictators, always give something for what they get."<ref name="sanson273">[[#Sanson|Sanson (2006)]], p. 273.</ref>

Long created a public works program that was unprecedented in the South, constructing roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and state buildings. During his four years as governor, Long increased paved highways in Louisiana from {{convert|331|to|2,301|mi|km}} and constructed {{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 Louisiana'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]]. These projects provided thousands of jobs during the depression: Louisiana employed more highway workers than any other state.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 546−547.</ref> Long built a [[Louisiana State Capitol|State Capitol]], which at {{convert|450|ft|m}} tall remains the tallest capitol, state or federal, in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://house.louisiana.gov/pubinfo/VirtualTour/lacaphistory.htm|title=Louisiana Capitol History and Tour|publisher=[[Louisiana House of Representatives]]|access-date=July 18, 2020|quote=The building stands 450 feet tall (34 floors,) making it the tallest capitol in the United States.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718133142/https://house.louisiana.gov/pubinfo/VirtualTour/lacaphistory.htm|archive-date=July 18, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Long's infrastructure spending increased the state government's debt from $11&nbsp;million in 1928 to $150&nbsp;million in 1935.<ref>[[#Sanson|Sanson (2006)]], p. 270.</ref>

Long was an ardent supporter of the state's flagship public university, [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU). Having been unable to attend, Long now regarded it as "his" university.<ref name="lsu"/> He increased LSU's funding and intervened in the university's affairs, expelling seven students who criticized him in the [[The Daily Reveille|school newspaper]].<ref name="brinkley30"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Gallo|first=Andrea|date=October 23, 2013|title=Reveille Rebels: Reveille Seven's clash with Huey P. Long leaves lasting legacy|url=https://www.lsureveille.com/news/reveille-rebels-reveille-seven-s-clash-with-huey-p-long-leaves-lasting-legacy/article_b7ff10aa-3c3a-11e3-b424-001a4bcf6878.htmlGallo|work=[[The Daily Reveille|Reveille]]|location=Baton Rouge|access-date=July 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718023013/https://www.lsureveille.com/news/reveille-rebels-reveille-seven-s-clash-with-huey-p-long-leaves-lasting-legacy/article_b7ff10aa-3c3a-11e3-b424-001a4bcf6878.html|archive-date=July 18, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> He constructed new buildings, including [[Huey P. Long Field House|a fieldhouse]] that reportedly contained the longest pool in the United States.<ref name="lsu"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Schardt|first=Julian|date=January 6, 2015|title=Huey P. Long Field House to undergo renovations|url=https://www.lsureveille.com/daily/huey-p-long-field-house-to-undergo-renovations/article_1b9b7ed4-a5b0-11e4-ae1e-5b6e69689a1c.html|work=[[The Daily Reveille|Reveille]]|location=Baton Rouge|access-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703175620/https://www.lsureveille.com/daily/huey-p-long-field-house-to-undergo-renovations/article_1b9b7ed4-a5b0-11e4-ae1e-5b6e69689a1c.html|archive-date=July 3, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="brinkley30">[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 30.</ref> Long founded an [[LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans|LSU Medical School]] in New Orleans.<ref name="hospital">[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1989)]], p. 294.</ref>{{efn|group=note|Although he claimed it was to educate poor doctors, it may have been based on a personal vendetta against [[Tulane University]], which had declined to grant him an honorary degree.<ref name="hospital"/>}} To raise the stature of the [[LSU Tigers football|football program]], he converted the school's military marching band into the flashy "[[Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band|Show Band of the South]]" and hired [[Costa Rican]] composer [[Castro Carazo]] as the band director.<ref name="lsu"/> As well as nearly doubling the size of [[Tiger Stadium (LSU)|the stadium]],<ref name="lsu"/> he arranged for lowered train fares, so students could travel to away games. Long's contributions resulted in LSU gaining a class A accreditation from the [[Association of American Universities]].<ref name="lsu">{{cite news|last=Baus|first=Mary Walker|date=October 15, 2009|title=Huey P. Long's legacy, impact still linger|url=https://www.lsureveille.com/news/huey-p-longs-legacy-impact-still-linger/article_54068448-ffa6-51fe-bcbf-fe215b00cbbd.html|work=[[The Daily Reveille|Reveille]]|location=Baton Rouge|access-date=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626201020/https://www.lsureveille.com/news/huey-p-longs-legacy-impact-still-linger/article_54068448-ffa6-51fe-bcbf-fe215b00cbbd.html|archive-date=June 26, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Long's night schools taught 100,000 adults to read.<ref name="FDR"/> His provision of free textbooks<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002673823&seq=10 Huey Pierce Long, the martyr of the age ... A publication of the Louisiana state museum. New Orleans, U.S.A. Issued November 11, 1937]</ref> contributed to a 20-percent increase in school enrollment.<ref>[[#Long1|Long (1933)]], p. xvii.</ref> He modernized public health facilities and ensured adequate conditions for the mentally ill.<ref name="brinkley30"/> He established Louisiana's first rehabilitation program for penitentiary inmates.<ref>[[#Pleasant|Pleasant Jr. (1974)]], p. 357.</ref> Through tax reform, Long made the first $2,000 in property assessment free, waiving [[property taxes]] for half the state's homeowners.<ref>[[#Vaughn|Vaughn (1979)]], p. 100.</ref> Some historians have criticized other policies, like high consumer taxes on gasoline and cigarettes, a reduced [[mother's pension]], and low teacher salaries.<ref>[[#Vaughn|Vaughn (1979)]], p. 95.</ref> Several labor laws were also enacted during Long's time as governor.<ref>[https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/labor-legislation-1912-32-3905/labor-legislation-1928-493126 Labor Legislation of 1928 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 486, P.12-14]</ref><ref>[https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/labor-legislation-1912-32-3905/labor-legislation-1930-493128 Labor Legislation, 1930 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 552, P.10]</ref>