Editing Charles Coughlin (section)

=== 1936 to 1938 ===
[[File:Radio Stars magazine May 1934 Father Coughlin.jpg|thumb|Father Coughlin delivering his ''Golden Hour'' program (1934)]]
In early 1936, at Kennedy's urging, Bishop [[Francis Spellman]] and Cardinal [[Pope Pius XII|Eugenio Pacelli]] tried to mute Coughlin's vitriol.{{sfn|Maier|2009|pp=103–107}} While the American Catholic hierarchy did not approve of Coughlin, only Coughlin's superior—Bishop [[Michael Gallagher (bishop)|Michael Gallagher]] of Detroit—had the canonical authority to curb him. Gallagher was a strong supporter of Coughlin and refused to stop him.{{sfn|Boyea|1995}} The church hierarchy also feared the backlash from Coughlin's Catholic supporters if they reprimanded him.{{sfn|Boyea|1995}}

Coughlin opened a new church building at the Shrine of the Little Flower in 1936, an [[Octagon|octagonal]] structure shaped like a tent. One of its unique features was an altar positioned at the center of worship. This design did not become common in Catholic churches until the reforms of the [[Second Vatican Council]] in the 1960s.<ref name="coughlinbroadcast" />

With the start of the [[1936 United States presidential election|1936 US Presidential Election]], Coughlin was ready to support a third party candidate running against Roosevelt.  At a NUSJ rally at [[Cleveland Stadium|Cleveland Municipal Stadium]] on May 11, 1936, Coughlin predicted that NUSF would "take half of Ohio" in the upcoming [[primary election]], citing multiple congressional candidates with NUSJ backing.<ref name="AkronB19360511p 23">{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1936 |title=Coughlin Expects Victory Tuesday; Coughlin Addresses 25,000 At Cleveland |page=23 |newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |agency=Associated Press |location=Akron, Ohio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107150834/coughlin-expects-victory-tuesday/ |access-date=August 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807222010/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107150834/coughlin-expects-victory-tuesday/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After the outbreak of the [[Spanish Civil War]] in July, Coughlin accused Roosevelt of "leaning toward [[Proletarian internationalism|international socialism]]" by his failure to support the Nationalists under General [[Francisco Franco]]. Coughlin presided over the [[Townsend Plan|Townsend Convention]] held in July at [[Public Auditorium|Cleveland Public Hall]] on July 23. In his speech on July 16, Coughlin called Roosevelt a liar and a communist, referring to him as "Franklin Doublecross Roosevelt."<ref name="LakeEl19360723p32">{{Cite news |last=Collatz |first=E.C. |date=July 23, 1936 |title=Townsend Convention Account Given By Elsinore Delegate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107148741/townsend-convention-account-given-by/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807222012/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107148741/townsend-convention-account-given-by/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |newspaper=Lake Elsinore Valley Sun-Tribune |location=Lake Elsinore, California |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

At the Union party convention at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland on August 16, Coughlin endorsed the party's presidential candidate, House Representative [[William Lemke]].<ref name="AkronB19360622p 23">{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Edwin C. |date=June 22, 1936 |title='Pinks,' Brains, Politicians Make Strange Mixture |page=23 |newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |agency=International News Service |location=Akron, Ohio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107144510/pinks-brains-politicians-make/ |access-date=August 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807222018/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107144510/pinks-brains-politicians-make/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Coughlin fainted near the end of his speech.<ref name="Tribun19360830p4">{{Cite news |last1=Pearson |first1=Drew |author-link=Drew Pearson (journalist) |last2=Allen |first2=Robert S. |date=August 30, 1936 |title=The Daily Washington Merry-Go-Round |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107149360/the-daily-washington-merry-go-round/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807221939/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107149360/the-daily-washington-merry-go-round/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |newspaper=The Tribune |location=Coshocton, Ohio |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In an August 16th ''[[The Boston Post|Boston Post]]'' article, Coughlin referred to Kennedy as the "shining star among the dim 'knights' in the [Roosevelt] Administration".{{sfn|Maier|2009|p=498}}

Coughlin promised his radio audience that he would retire from broadcasting if he failed to deliver nine million votes for Lemke; he only received 850,000 votes.<ref name=":0">Maddox, Rachel (2023). ''Prequel'' (1st ed.). Crown. pp. 153-158. {{ISBN|978-0-593-44451-1}}.</ref> Roosevelt won the election on November 5 by a landslide.<ref name=":0" /> According to a 2021 study in the ''[[American Economic Review]]'', Coughlin's criticisms did reduce Roosevelt's share of votes versus the 1932 election.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Tianyi |date=2021 |title=Media, Pulpit, and Populist Persuasion: Evidence from Father Coughlin |journal=American Economic Review |language=en |volume=111 |issue=9 |pages=3064–3092 |doi=10.1257/aer.20200513 |issn=0002-8282 |doi-access=free}}</ref> After the election, both the Union Party and its parent organization, the NUSJ, disbanded; Coughlin took a two-month retirement from the ''Golden Hour''.<ref name="AkronB19370122p 15">{{Cite news |last=Doran |first=Dorothy |date=January 22, 1937 |title=John Held, Jr., To Debut In Network Radio Series At Michigan University |page=15 |newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |location=Akron, Ohio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83692033/john-held-jr-to-debut-in-network/ |access-date=August 6, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807222013/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83692033/john-held-jr-to-debut-in-network/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Bishop Gallagher died in January 1937, [[Pope Pius XI]] replaced him with Archbishop [[Edward Aloysius Mooney|Edward Mooney]]. Coughlin then left retirement to return to the Golden Hour, in honor of Gallagher's memory.  In October 1937, Mooney rebuked Coughlin for casting aspersions on Roosevelt's sanity over his nomination of U.S. Senator [[Hugo Black]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court]].<ref>''Time''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120125023744/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758287,00.html "Coughlin Silenced"]. October 18, 1937.</ref>