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Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893 – September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination in 1935.
Sep 6, 2024 · Huey Long, flamboyant and demagogic governor of Louisiana and U.S. senator whose social reforms and radical welfare proposals were ultimately overshadowed by the unprecedented executive dictatorship that he perpetrated to ensure control of his home state.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Two days later his victim, Senator Huey Pierce Long of Louisiana, died, and his death caused countless Americans, from President Roosevelt downwards, to breathe a sigh of relief, while the poor farmers of Louisiana lamented the passing of their hero.
- Early Life
- "The Kingfish" Becomes Governor
- U.S. Senate
- "Every Man A King"
- Assassination
- Legacy
- Sources
Huey Pierce Long was born August 30, 1893 in Winnfield, Louisiana. His family owned a small farm, on which he worked as a child. Long was precocious and read as much as he could. As a young man, he found work as a typesetter and as a traveling salesman, and for a time he attended the University of Oklahoma. Next, Long studied law at Tulane Universi...
Huey Long exhibited keen political instincts and proved capable at navigating the often-corrupt political system of Louisiana. In 1928, he was elected governor at the age of 34. The political machine he had developed throughout the 1920s now took power in the state and began to ruthlessly suppress any opposition. A peculiar blend of advocating for ...
In 1930, Long decided to run for the United States Senate. He entered the primary, beat the incumbent, and won the general election. In an odd twist, Long refused to take his seat in the U.S. Capitol for nearly two years; for a time, he was both governor of Louisiana andthe state's senator-elect. Long finally took the oath as a U.S. Senator in 1932...
Frustrated by his relative obscurity in the Senate, Long began to use his unique political gifts to appeal directly to voters. He announced a major income redistribution plan called "Share Our Wealth." The plan proposed heavy taxations on the wealthy and guaranteed government stipends for the poor. Long launched the plan with a speech in which he r...
In the final year of his life, Huey Long faced a number of challenges to his control of Louisiana. He also claimed to be receiving of death threats, and he surrounded himself with bodyguards. On September 8, 1935, Long was in the Louisianacapitol building, overseeing efforts to remove a political enemy—Judge Benjamin Pavy—from office. After a bill ...
Long's assassination, which was rooted in political feuds in Louisiana, marked the conclusion of a fascinating chapter in American politics. Some of the changes Huey Long sought for Louisiana, including an improved state university system, endured after his death. However, his national political program and the "Share Our Wealth" platform could not...
JEANSONNE, GLEN. "Long, Huey P." Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, edited by Robert S. McElvaine, vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2004, pp. 588-591."Huey Pierce Long." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 9, Gale, 2004, pp. 496-497."Huey Long Offers Cure For Our Ills." New York Times, 26 March 1933, p. 7."Doctor Shoots Huey Long In Louisiana State Capitol; Bodyguards Kill Assailant." New York Times, 9 September 1935, p. 1.Huey Long was known as "the Kingfish", a take-charge problem solver who delivered immediate relief to the suffering and powerless. As Governor, he used strong-arm tactics to break political gridlock and cut red tape. He took Washington by storm as the most outspoken U.S. Senator. >
Sep 8, 2015 · L ouisianans either loved or hated Huey P. Long; there was no middle ground with “the Kingfish.” In the relatively short span between his election as Louisiana governor in 1928 and his death...
Nov 14, 2023 · The Kingfish’s disdain for his party’s establishment and his willingness to espouse radical ideas on a national stage has certainly influenced Bernie Sanders, a left-wing populist not unlike Huey Long.
