Long, Huey P. (1893–1935)

Huey P. Long, otherwise known as “the Kingfish,” was one of the most controversial populist politicians ever to grace the American political stage. It would be hard to find a state or national politician who ever despised and worked to tax the wealthy elite of the nation more than Huey P. Long. In the process, Long put together a political machine that had never before existed in America, and the likes which have rarely been seen since. Huey P. Long not only erected a tightly controlled political apparatus, but he took steps not simply to beat down his opposition, but to erase it completely from the electoral landscape. He not only lived his campaign promises, but he forced through his entire political agenda, enhancing it in the process of moving [Page 872]from legislation to enactment. When he ran for governor of Louisiana in 1928 at the age of 34, Huey Long promised free school textbooks, financial aid to local school districts, toll-free bridges, paved roads, and better hospitals. He delivered on all of them.

Huey Long's father was a farmer, a stockman who raised cattle and hogs. Old Hu, as he was called, took as his wife a 15-year-old girl who was living with her half-sisters. Over time, the Longs had 10 children, Huey P. Long, Jr., being the seventh in the family. Huey Long, Jr., developed a photographic memory. He could recite pages of books he liked. In school he excelled in debate and declamation.

As a teenager, Huey became a typesetter and he was very good at it. From this experience, he learned the power of the press as a tool to influence mass public opinion. Long also acquired during this time a hatred for corporate wealth. He witnessed firsthand farmers being forced off the land because of debts. He learned also the necessity of acquiring power and how to use it. One had to have power to do anything. How one obtained power may not always be pretty or ideal. He also observed firsthand some of the southern politicians of the day and their oratorical styles, among the James Vardaman, Theodore Bilbo, and John Sharp Williams. He observed that a leader had to be able to speak in several different languages, and that it was important to use experiences that were common to one's audience.

Long attended Tulane law school and at age 21 was admitted to the Louisiana bar. When he was 25, he won an election to the state's railroad commission, and in 1928 he ran for governor. He was a fiery stump speaker and engaged in unusually personal invective against corporate big shots and his political enemies. He survived an impeachment effort by one vote. He lavished money on a new state capital and on Louisiana State University, where he followed the football team, even leading pep rallies and hiring and firing coaches and deans.

In 1930, he ran for the U.S. Senate, bringing his unconventional antics to that body, where he rarely showed up for committee meetings. He continued his public ranting against big business interests and had his name removed from the Washington, D.C., social register. At first he worked to elect Franklin Roosevelt. Then, in an abrupt turnaround, he opposed Roosevelt, subjecting him to such rhetorical bastings that Roosevelt cut off patronage to Louisiana in retaliation.

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