American Legends

*Includes pictures *Includes Long's own quotes about his career *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "For the present you can just call me the Kingfish." - Huey Long, 1933 The late 19th and early 20th centuries in America had no shortage of political graft and powerful politicians, but few were as influential or conspicuous as the Kingfish, Huey P. Long. A populist Democrat who hoped to elevate the lower classes in Louisiana, Long accrued massive amounts of power during his governorship, in the process revolutionizing political campaigning. As political scientist V.O. Key noted, Long relied on "patronage in all its forms, deprivation of perquisites, economic pressure, political coercion in one form or another, and now and then outright thuggery....Long commanded the intense loyalties of a substantial proportion of the population... Supporters] came to believe that here was a man with a genuine concern for their welfare, not one of the gentlemanly do-nothing governors who had ruled the state for many decades." Long survived an impeachment attempt in the Louisiana legislature on charges of abuse of office and bribery, but that didn't tarnish his popularity. Instead, he moved on to a spot in the U.S. Senate after being elected in 1932, where he made waves with his outspokenness in support of progressive policies. After he broke with the Roosevelt administration at the height of the Great Depression, the president called him "one of the two most dangerous men in America," Roosevelt even pushed or a Senate investigation of Long and his political machine back in Louisiana. A fellow Senator quipped that Long was so unpopular among his peers that he could not "get the Lord's Prayer endorsed in this body." Naturally, Long's style generated plenty of enemies, and it resulted in his infamous assassination in 1935. Shortly after announcing he would run for president against Roosevelt in 1936, Long was back in Louisiana working to remove a state judge, and while he was at the state capitol, that judge's son-in-law, Dr. Carl Weiss, walked up to Long and shot him in the abdomen point blank. Though Long's bodyguards killed Weiss on the spot by shooting him over 60 times, Long was mortally wounded and died a few days later. His last words were reportedly, "God, don't let me die. I have so much to do." As the large gathering of mourners at the funeral made clear, a countless number of Louisianans loved the Kingfish to the end, and Key later attempted to identify the reasons, writing that Long " k]ept faith with his people and they with him. He gave them something and the corporations paid for it. . . . He is not to be dismissed as a mere rabble-rouser or as the leader of a gang of boodlers....He brought it to his career a streak of genius, yet in his programs and tactics he was as indigenous to the Louisiana as pine trees and petroleum." The Kingfish's controversial legacy continued to resonate in the wake of his death, not only due to the strength of his surviving political machine but because of his brash personality and style. He was depicted countless times in books, movies, and even The Beatles' famous cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in ensuing generations, and even 80 years after his death, he is still vividly remembered. American Legends: The Life of the Kingfish, Huey Long examines the life and legacy of one of America's most notorious 20th century politicians. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Huey Long like never before, in no time at all.