The Kingfish
June 21, 2017
HUEY PIERCE LONG, JR., the famous politician from Louisiana, challenged the powers that now control our world and was assassinated. Would American have been different if he had lived and been elected president? Well, for one, we might not have entered World War II. He was an ardent isolationist and nationalist. We might also not be living through an historic concentration of wealth at the top. Long believed in “sharing the wealth.” He opposed the Federal Reserve and the central bank racket.
Why weep or slumber, America?
Land of brave and true,
With castles, clothing, and food for all
All belongs to you.
Ev’ry man a king, ev’ry man a king,
For you can be a millionaire;
But there’s something belonging to others,
There’s enough for all people to share.
When it’s sunny June and December, too,
Or in the wintertime or spring,
There’ll be peace without end,
Ev’ry neighbor a friend,
With ev’ry man a king.
— From “Every Man a King”
The theme song of Huey P. Long’s “Share the Wealth” movement
Lyrics by Huey P. Long
A little background:
“Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893 – September 10, 1935), self-nicknamed The Kingfish, was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a member of the United States Senate from 1932 until his death by assassination in 1935. A Democrat, he was an outspoken populist who denounced the wealthy and the banks and called for a “Share Our Wealth” program. As the political leader of the state, he commanded wide networks of supporters and was willing to take forceful action. He established the long-term political prominence of the Long family.
Long’s Share Our Wealth plan was established in 1934 under the motto “Every Man a King,” also the title of his autobiography. It proposed new wealth redistribution measures in the form of a net asset tax on corporations and individuals to curb the poverty and homelessness endemic nationwide during the Great Depression. To stimulate the economy, Long advocated federal spending on public works, schools and colleges, and old age pensions. He was an ardent critic of the policies of the Federal Reserve System.
A supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election, Long split with Roosevelt in June 1933 to plan his own presidential bid for 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.[1]
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, and free textbooks were provided for schoolchildren. He remains a controversial figure in Louisiana history, with critics and supporters debating whether or not he could have potentially become a dictator or was a demagogue.[2]” Source
Share the Wealth: Huey Long vs. Wall Street offers more about his life and his assassination. Michael Collins Piper writes:
One of the greatest tragedies for the American republic (and the world) was the assassination in 1935 of Louisiana’s populist titan, Huey P. Long. His death put an end to the career of the one man in America who could have dramatically changed the course of history—and undoubtedly for the better.
There’s no doubt that Long would have played a pivotal role in some fashion in the 1936 election and perhaps even denied Franklin Delano Roosevelt a second term in theWhite House. As a consequence, America would have been spared not only the gigantic growth of federal power and a super-spending welfare state, but it is a certainty the United States would never have been forced into what became the Second World War.
Here’s Long on his “Share the Wealth” program:
