Editing Huey Long (section)

==U.S. Senate (1932–1935)==
{{Main|United States Senate career of Huey Long}}

===Senator===
[[File:Huey Long speaking (higher quality).png|thumb|upright|left|alt=A photograph showing Long raise his fist as he speaks into a microphone|Long delivering a speech]]
When Long arrived in the Senate, America was in the throes of the [[Great Depression]].<ref>[[#White|White (2006)]], pp. 143–44.</ref> With this backdrop, Long made characteristically fiery speeches that denounced [[Economic inequality|wealth inequality]]. He criticized the leaders of both parties for failing to address the crisis adequately, notably attacking Senate Democratic Leader [[Joseph Taylor Robinson|Joseph Robinson]] of [[Arkansas]] for his apparent closeness with President [[Herbert Hoover]] and big business.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 560–63.</ref>

In the [[1932 United States presidential election|1932 presidential election]], Long was a vocal supporter of New York Governor [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 242.</ref> At [[1932 Democratic National Convention|that year's Democratic National Convention]], Long kept the delegations of several wavering Southern states in the Roosevelt camp.<ref name="heritage"/><ref name="FDR"/> Due to this, Long expected to be featured prominently in Roosevelt's campaign but was disappointed with a peripheral speaking tour limited to four [[Midwestern]] states.<ref name="Williams 1981 p. 602">[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 600–03.</ref><ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 46–47.</ref>

Not discouraged after being snubbed, Long found other venues for his populist message. He endorsed Senator [[Hattie Caraway]] of Arkansas, a widow and the underdog candidate in a crowded field and conducted a whirlwind, seven-day tour of that state.<ref name="Williams 1981 pp. 583">[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 583–93.</ref><ref name="brinkley4849">[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 48–49.</ref>{{efn|group=note|According to Brinkley, "Long's reasons for this decision were not entirely clear." Long noted that he felt a chivalric impulse to help this "brave little woman" and that Caraway was one of the few senators to vote for his wealth-limiting proposals. Long appreciated that she often voted against her senior colleague from Arkansas, Robinson. Many observers speculate that Long's true intent was to further establish a national reputation for himself. ''The New York Times'' contemporarily suggested that he was plotting to "yield him control of the [Senate] minority—or perhaps the majority". Brinkley claims that it was Long's first effort to propel himself to national leadership, which required him to appeal directly to the people rather than through political channels in Washington.<ref name="brinkley4849"/>}} During the campaign, Long gave 39 speeches, traveled {{convert|2100|mi}}, and spoke to over 200,000 people.<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], pp. 128–29.</ref> In an upset win, Caraway became the first woman elected to a full term in the Senate.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 52.</ref>

Returning to Washington, Long gave theatrical speeches which drew wide attention. Public viewing areas were crowded with onlookers, among them a young [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], who later said he was "simply entranced" by Long.<ref name="sleazy"/><ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 42.</ref> Long obstructed bills for weeks, launching hour-long [[filibusters]] and having the clerk read superfluous documents. Long's antics, one editorial claimed, had made the Senate "impotent".<ref name="Brinkley 2011 p. 55">[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 55.</ref> In May 1932, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called for his resignation.<ref name="sleazy"/> Long's behavior and radical rhetoric did little to endear him to his fellow senators. None of his proposed bills, resolutions, or motions were passed during his three years in the Senate.<ref name="heritage"/><ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 269.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chester|first1=Lewis|last2=Hodgson|first2=Godfrey|last3=Page|first3=Bruce|title=An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968|date=1969|publisher=Viking Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-670-11991-2|page=264}}</ref>

===Roosevelt and the New Deal===
{{Further|New Deal}}
During the [[First 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency|first 100 days of Roosevelt's presidency]] in spring 1933, Long's attitude toward Roosevelt and the [[New Deal]] was tepid.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 59–60.</ref> Aware that Roosevelt had no intention of radically redistributing the country's wealth, Long became one of the few national politicians to oppose Roosevelt's New Deal policies from the left.{{efn|group=note|The other most notable critic was Catholic preacher and radio-host [[Father Coughlin]].<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. viiii.</ref>}} He considered them inadequate in the face of the escalating economic crisis but still supported some of Roosevelt's programs in the Senate, explaining: "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>[[#Chip|Berlet & Lyons (2000)]], p. 126.</ref>

Long opposed the [[National Recovery Act]], claiming it favored industrialists.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Berlet|first1=Chip|date=November 1, 2000|title=Right-wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|publisher=[[The Guilford Press]]|location=New York |access-date=June 11, 2020|pages=126–27|isbn=978-1-57230-562-5 |archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200204/https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|url-status=live}}</ref> In an attempt to prevent its passage, Long held a lone filibuster, speaking for 15 hours and 30 minutes, the [[Filibuster in the United States Senate#Longest solo filibusters|second longest filibuster at the time]].<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 76.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Huey_Long_Filibusters.htm|title=Huey Long Filibusters|website=[[United States Senate]]|access-date=June 16, 2020|quote=Huey Long spoke for 15 hours and 30 minutes, the second-longest Senate filibuster to that time.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224231453/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Huey_Long_Filibusters.htm|archive-date=December 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> He also criticized [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]], calling it inadequate and expressing his concerns that states would administer it in a way discriminatory to African Americans.<ref name="The Guilford Press">{{cite book|last1=Berlet|first1=Chip|date=November 1, 2000|title=Right-wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|publisher=[[The Guilford Press]]|location=New York|access-date=June 11, 2020|page=127|isbn=978-1-57230-562-5 |archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200217/https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1933, he was a leader of a three-week Senate [[filibuster]] against the Glass banking bill, which he later supported as the [[Glass–Steagall Act]] after provisions extended government deposit insurance to state banks as well as national banks.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 623, 633–34.</ref><ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 55–56.</ref>

Roosevelt considered Long a radical [[demagogue]] and stated that Long, along with General [[Douglas MacArthur]], "was one of the two most dangerous men in America".<ref name="FDR"/><ref>[[#Brands|Brands (2008)]], p. 260.</ref><ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 117.</ref> In June 1933, in an effort to undermine Long's political dominance, Roosevelt cut him out of consultations on the distribution of federal funds and patronage in Louisiana and placed Long's opponents in charge of federal programs in the state. Roosevelt supported a Senate inquiry into the election of Long ally [[John H. Overton]] to the Senate in 1932. The Long machine was accused of 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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Aubin|first=Dena|date=May 16, 2013|title=Factbox: IRS's rich history of scandals, political abuse|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-irs-scandals/factbox-irss-rich-history-of-scandals-political-abuse-idUSBRE94F16V20130516|work=[[Reuters]]|location=London|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615000535/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-irs-scandals/factbox-irss-rich-history-of-scandals-political-abuse-idUSBRE94F16V20130516|archive-date=June 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|group=note|The investigation into Long's finances was initiated in 1932 by Hoover but had been temporarily halted by the incoming Roosevelt to amend relations with Long.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 64–65.</ref>}} Although they failed to link Long to any illegality, some of his lieutenants were charged with income tax evasion.<ref name="FDR"/><ref>{{cite book|date=1996|title=75 Years of IRS Criminal Investigation History, 1919–1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwqSAAAAMAAJ&q=huey+long+irs&pg=PA32|publisher=[[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]], [[Internal Revenue Service]]|page=32|access-date=November 12, 2020|archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200205/https://books.google.com/books?id=qwqSAAAAMAAJ&q=huey+long+irs&pg=PA32|url-status=live}}</ref> Roosevelt's son, [[Elliott Roosevelt (general)|Elliott]], would later note that in this instance, his father "may have been the originator of the concept of employing the [[List of allegations of misuse of the Internal Revenue Service|IRS as a weapon of political retribution]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Murphy|first=Tim|date=May 14, 2013|title=Shocking IRS Witch Hunt? Actually, It's a Time-Honored Tradition|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/irs-witch-hunts-tea-party-history-mother-jones/|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615000538/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/irs-witch-hunts-tea-party-history-mother-jones/|archive-date=June 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Chaco War and foreign policy===
{{See also|Latin America–United States relations}}
On May 30, 1934, Long took to the Senate floor to debate the abrogation of the [[Platt Amendment]].<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 296.</ref> But instead of debating the amendment, Long declared his support for Paraguay against Bolivia in the [[Chaco War]]. He maintained that U.S. President [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] had awarded the oil-rich [[Gran Chaco|Chaco region]] to Paraguay in 1878.<ref name="Gillette pages 293-311">[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 297.</ref> He attested Standard Oil had corrupted the Bolivian government and organized the war and that [[Wall Street]] orchestrated American foreign policy in Latin America.<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], pp. 297–98.</ref> For his speech, Long received praise in Paraguay: after capturing a Bolivian fort in July 1934, they renamed it Fort Long.<ref>[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], pp. 299–300.</ref> Long's allegations were widely publicized in Latin American newspapers. This drew the concern of the [[United States Department of State|State Department]], who believed that Long was damaging the reputation of the United States. Throughout the summer of 1934, they waged a sustained public relations campaign against Long throughout Latin America.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[#Gillette|Gillette (1970)]], p. 300.</ref> This speech and others established Long as one of the most ardent [[United States non-interventionism|isolationists]] in the Senate. He further argued that American involvement in the [[Spanish–American War]] and the [[First World War]] had been deadly mistakes conducted on behalf of Wall Street.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 150–52.</ref><ref>[[#Sanson|Sanson (2006)]], p. 275.</ref> Consequently, Long demanded the immediate independence of the Philippines, which the [[History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|United States had occupied]] since 1898.<ref name="Brinkley 2011 p. 55"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/APA/Historical-Essays/Exclusion-and-Empire/The-Philippines/|title=The Philippines, 1898–1946|website=History, Arts, & Archives|publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]]|access-date=July 22, 2020|archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200247/https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/APA/Historical-Essays/Exclusion-and-Empire/The-Philippines/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also opposed American entry into the [[Permanent Court of International Justice|World Court]].<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 152.</ref>

===Share Our Wealth===
{{main|Share Our Wealth}}
[[File:Huey Long at desk.jpg|thumb|alt=A photograph of Long gesturing with his hands from behind his desk|Long speaking from behind his desk at the Capitol, 1935]]
In March 1933, Long revealed a series of bills collectively known as "the Long plan" to redistribute wealth. Together, they would cap fortunes at $100&nbsp;million, limit annual income to $1&nbsp;million, and cap individual inheritances at $5&nbsp;million.<ref name="Williams p">[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 628–29.</ref><ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 120.</ref>
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In a nationwide February 1934 radio broadcast, Long introduced his [[Share Our Wealth]] plan.<ref name="Kennedy, David page 238">[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], p. 238.</ref><ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 119.</ref> The legislation would use the wealth from the Long plan to guarantee every family a basic household grant of $5,000 and a minimum annual income of one-third of the average family homestead value and income. Long supplemented his plan with proposals for free college and vocational training, veterans' benefits, federal assistance to farmers, public works projects, greater federal economic regulation, a $30 monthly elderly pension, a month's vacation for every worker, a thirty-hour [[Workweek and weekend|workweek]], a $10&nbsp;billion land reclamation project to end the [[Dust Bowl]], and free medical service and a "war on disease" led by the [[Mayo brothers]].<ref name="Jeansonne 333">{{cite journal |last=Jeansonne|first=Glen|date=Autumn 1980|title=Challenge to the New Deal: Huey P. Long and the Redistribution of National Wealth|journal=Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association|volume=21|issue=4|pages= 333|jstor=4232034}}</ref><ref>[[#Amenta|Amenta (1994)]], pp. 679–80.</ref> These reforms, Long claimed, would end the Great Depression.<ref>[[#Amenta|Amenta (1994)]], p. 680.</ref> The plans were widely criticized and labeled impossible by economists.<ref>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1989)]], p. 383.</ref><ref>[[#Kennedy|Kennedy (2005) [1999]]], pp. 238–39.</ref>

With the Senate unwilling to support his proposals, in February 1934 Long formed the Share Our Wealth Society, a national network of local clubs that operated in opposition to the Democratic Party and Roosevelt. By 1935, the society had over 7.5&nbsp;million members in 27,000 clubs.<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 123.</ref> Long's Senate office received an average of 60,000 letters a week, resulting in Long's hiring 48 stenographers to type responses.<ref name="heritage"/> Of the two trucks that delivered mail to the Senate, one was devoted solely to mail for Long.<ref name="Jeansonne 1992 p. 381">[[#Jeansonne1992|Jeansonne (1992)]], p. 381.</ref> Long's newspaper, now renamed ''American Progress'', averaged a circulation of 300,000, some issues reaching over 1.5&nbsp;million.<ref name="The Guilford Press"/> Long drew international attention: English writer [[H. G. Wells]] interviewed Long, noting he was "like a [[Winston Churchill]] who has never been at [[Harrow School|Harrow]]. He abounds in promises."<ref name="FDR"/>

Some historians believe that pressure from Share Our Wealth contributed to Roosevelt's "turn to the left" in the [[Second New Deal]] (1935), which consisted of the [[Social Security Act]], the [[Works Progress Administration]], the [[National Labor Relations Board]], [[Aid to Dependent Children]], and the [[Revenue Act of 1935|Wealth Tax Act of 1935]].<ref name="FDR"/><ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], pp. 141–42.</ref> Roosevelt reportedly admitted in private to trying to "steal Long's thunder".<ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 141.</ref>

===Continued control over Louisiana===
Long continued to maintain effective control of Louisiana while he was a senator, blurring the boundary between federal and state politics.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 68–69.</ref> Long chose his childhood friend, Oscar K. Allen, to succeed King in the [[1932 Louisiana gubernatorial election|January 1932 election]]. With the support of Long's voter base, Allen won easily, permitting Long to resign as governor and take his seat in the U.S. Senate in January 1932.<ref>[[#Jeansonne|Jeansonne (1989)]], p. 381.</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=January 29, 1936|title=Gov. O.K. Allen, Heir of Huey Long, Dies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/29/archives/gov-ok-allen-heir-of-huey-long-dies-louisianas-senatortobe-is.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 30, 2020|archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200219/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/29/archives/gov-ok-allen-heir-of-huey-long-dies-louisianas-senatortobe-is.html|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Allen, widely viewed as a puppet, dutifully enacted Long's policies.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], p. 566.</ref> When Long visited Louisiana, Allen would relinquish his office for the Senator, working instead at his receptionist's desk.<ref name="Jeansonne 1992 p. 381"/> Though he had no constitutional authority, Long continued to draft and press bills through the [[Louisiana State Legislature]].<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 69.</ref> One of the laws passed was what Long called "a tax on lying"—a 2 percent tax on newspaper advertising revenue.<ref>{{cite news |last=Winkler|first=Adam|date=February 28, 2018|title=How 'the Kingfish' Turned Corporations into People|url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/02/28/how-the-kingfish-turned-corporations-into-people/|work=[[The New York Review of Books]]|access-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611185904/https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/02/28/how-the-kingfish-turned-corporations-into-people/|archive-date=June 11, 2020|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1934, Long and [[James A. Noe]], an independent oilman and member of the [[Louisiana State 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]]], pp. 825–26.</ref>