Huey P. Long FBI Files, Historical Documents, Research Reports, Books & Newspaper Coverage

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Huey Long: Rise, Reign, and Assassination

1893: Huey Pierce Long Jr. is born.

1918: Huey Long campaigns for railroad commissioner.

1928-1932: Huey P. Long serves as the 40th Governor of Louisiana. During this time, he sponsors reforms aimed at helping the rural poor and opposes corporate interests.

1929: First draft articles of impeachment are drawn up against Governor Long. He issues a statement listing the impeachment charges and his defense against them, criticizing newspapers and specific individuals/groups.

1930: Louisiana voters elect Huey Long to the United States Senate. He delays claiming his seat to maintain control of the Louisiana government through a hand-picked successor.

January 1932: Long finally claims his Senate seat.

Summer 1932: Long supports Franklin D. Roosevelt for president and his personal choice, John H. Overton, for the second Louisiana Senate seat.

September 13, 1932: In the primary election, John H. Overton defeats incumbent Senator Edwin Broussard for the Democratic nomination, largely due to Long’s influence.

September 21, 1932: Edwin Broussard requests that the Senate’s Special Committee to Investigate Campaign Expenditures (established July 1932) investigate corruption in the Louisiana election.

February 23, 1934: Long delivers his famous “Every Man a King” speech as a nationwide radio address, outlining his “Share the Wealth” plan.

1934: Long begins building a national organization, the “Share Our Wealth Society,” with the motto “Every Man a King,” in preparation for a potential presidential run in 1936.

1934-1975: FBI files are created concerning the activities of Long and his associates, documenting accusations of corruption.

March 4, 1935: Hugh Johnson attacks Long in a speech, calling him a “pied-piper” and a leader of the “lunatic fringe.”

March 7, 1935: Huey Long gives a significant radio address in response to Hugh Johnson, which is considered an apex of his career, increasing his political power and prestige.

June 12, 1935: Long begins his longest and most dramatic filibuster in the Senate, lasting 15 hours and 30 minutes (the second-longest at that time). His goal is to retain a provision requiring Senate confirmation for senior NRA employees, preventing his political enemies in Louisiana from getting lucrative jobs.

July 23, 1935: Long delivers one of his last recorded Senate speeches.

September 10, 1935: Huey P. Long is shot while visiting the Louisiana State Capitol building in Baton Rouge, where he was directing the passage of bills to strengthen his political grip in Louisiana and oppose New Deal/Roosevelt policies. His assassin, Dr. Carl A. Weiss, is immediately gunned down by Long’s security team.

September 10, 1935: Long dies from his wounds.

September 9 – December 16, 1935: The Washington D.C. Evening Star extensively covers the death of Senator Long.

1935: Huey P. Long’s book, My First Days in the White House, is published.

1937: Huey Pierce Long, the Martyr of the Age, a publication of the Louisiana State Museum, is released.

1951: Ernest Gordon Bormann’s thesis, “An Analysis of the March 7, 1935 Radio Address of Senator Huey P. Long,” is written.

1960: Richard Briley’s Death of the Kingfish (with drawings by the author) is published.

1963: Hermann Bacher Deutsch’s The Huey Long Murder Case is published.

Cast of Characters

• Huey Pierce Long Jr. (“The Kingfish”) (1893-1935): American politician, a radical populist member of the Democratic Party. He served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana (1928-1932) and then as a U.S. Senator (1932-1935). Known for his “Share the Wealth” plan, his opposition to corporate interests, and his charismatic, controversial style. He was assassinated in September 1935.
• Dr. Carl A. Weiss: The assassin of Huey P. Long. He was the son-in-law of Judge B.H. Pavy, a leader of an anti-Long faction. Weiss was quickly killed by Long’s security team after shooting Long.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt: President of the United States. Initially supported by Long in 1932, he later became one of Long’s “most strident political enemies” as Long criticized the New Deal for not going far or fast enough.
• Edwin Broussard: Incumbent U.S. Senator from Louisiana who was defeated by John H. Overton (Long’s preferred candidate) in the 1932 Democratic primary. After his defeat, he requested a Senate investigation into alleged corruption in the Louisiana election.
• John H. Overton: U.S. Representative chosen by Huey Long to run for the second Louisiana Senate seat in 1932. He easily defeated Edwin Broussard in the primary due to Long’s influence.
• Judge B.H. Pavy: Of Opelousas, Louisiana. He was the leader of an anti-Long political faction and the father-in-law of Huey Long’s assassin, Dr. Carl A. Weiss.
• Hugh Johnson: A General who, on March 4, 1935, publicly attacked Huey Long, calling him a “pied-piper” and a leader of the “lunatic fringe.”
• J.Y. Sanders, Jr.: Mentioned in Long’s 1929 statement regarding his impeachment charges, indicating he was an opponent or target of Long’s criticism.
• John P. Sullivan: Mentioned in Long’s 1929 statement regarding his impeachment charges, indicating he was an opponent or target of Long’s criticism.
• Watson-Williams Bridge Schemers: A group referenced in Long’s 1929 statement regarding his impeachment charges, indicating they were a target of his criticism and likely involved in perceived corruption or opposition to his policies.

Huey P. Long FBI Files, Historical Documents, Research Reports, Books & Newspaper Coverage

3,179 pages of material.

Huey Pierce Long Jr. (1893 – 1935), often called “The Kingfish”, was an American politician, a radical populist member of the Democratic Party. Described as “the most colorful, as well as the most dangerous, man to engage in American politics,” he was elected the 40th governor of Louisiana, and served  from 1928 to 1932 and then served as a member of the United States Senate from 1932 until his assassination in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Dr. Carl A. Weiss in September 1935.

As Governor, he sponsored many reforms that endeared him to the rural poor. An ardent enemy of corporate interests, he championed the “little man” against the rich and privileged. A farm boy from the piney woods of North Louisiana, he was colorful, charismatic, controversial, and always just skating on the edge. He gave himself the nickname “Kingfish” because, he said, “I’m a small fish here in Washington. But I’m the Kingfish to the folks down in Louisiana.”

When the Louisiana voters in 1930 elected Huey Long to the United States Senate, he was unwilling to relinquish the reins of power to an unfriendly lieutenant governor, Long delayed claiming his Senate seat until January 1932. In Congress, he criticized Hoover’s conservative policies and advocated redistribution of wealth as the only solution to the Great Depression’s economic crisis

That summer Long supported both presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt and his personal choice for the second Louisiana Senate seat, U. S.  representative John H. Overton. Due to Long’s strength in Louisiana, in the September 13, 1932, primary, Overton easily defeated incumbent Senator Edwin Broussard for the Democratic nomination.

On September 21, 1932, soon a􀁺er his defeat in the primary, Edwin Broussard wrote to the chairman of a Special Committee to Investigate Campaign Expenditures in the 1932 election, which had been established in July 1932, requesting that the Senate investigate instances of corruption in the Louisiana election.

Less than a year into Roosevelt’s first term, Long had become one of the President’s most strident political enemies, arguing that the New Deal didn’t go far or fast enough. Long proposed a “Share the Wealth” plan with the motto “Every Man a King.” In 1934, the Senator began to build a national organization (the Share Our Wealth Society with “Every Man a King” as its motto) to help him run for the presidency in 1936.

Long proposed that wealth was to be shared by increases in inheritance taxes which would “guarantee a family wealth of around $5,000; enough for a home and automobile, a radio, and the ordinary conveniences.” Long proposed capping personal fortunes at $50 million each through a restructured, progressive federal tax code and sharing the resulting revenue with the public through government benefits and public works.

He outlined this plan in his famous speech “Every Man a King,” given as a nationwide radio address on February 23, 1934.

On June 12, 1935, the fiery Louisiana senator began what would become his longest and most dramatic filibuster. His goal was to force the Senate’s Democratic leadership to retain a provision, opposed by President Franklin Roosevelt, requiring Senate confirmation for the National Recovery Administration’s senior employees. His motive was to prevent his political enemies in Louisiana from obtaining lucrative NRA jobs.

Long spoke for 15 hours and 30 minutes, the second-longest Senate filibuster at that time. As day turned to night, he read and analyzed each section of the Constitution, a document he claimed the president’s New Deal programs had transformed to “ancient and forgotten lore.”

On September 10, 1935 Long died from wounds caused by an assassin’s bullet. Long was shot while visiting the Louisiana State Capitol building in Baton Rouge.  Long was at the state legislature to direct the passage of bills aimed at strengthening his grip upon the politics in Louisiana and to fight the New Deal and Roosevelt policies. His assassin, Dr. Carl A. Weiss, was quickly gun downed by Long’s security team. Weiss was the son-in-law of Judge B.H. Pavy of Opelousas, the leader of an anti-Long faction.

Collection Contents:

FBI Files

1,645 pages of files copied from FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., covering Huey P. Long. Contains approximately 1,200 discernable pages of files, dating from 1934 to 1975. These files contain information concerning the activities of Long and his associates.

Files document accusations against Long and his associates of various acts of corruption. After election to the U.S. Senate in 1930, he continued to control the Louisiana government from Washington through his hand-picked successor as governor.

Historical Documents

90 pages of various historical documents related to Huey Long dating from 1918 to 1936.

Highlights include: A campaign card for Huey Long’s 1918 campaign for railroad commissioner; A first draft articles of impeachment for Governor Long; A 1929 statement by Huey Long listing the impeachment charges levied against him, and adding his defense against each. He lambasts the newspapers, J.Y. Sanders, Jr., John P. Sullivan, and the “Watson-Williams Bridge Schemers”; Pro and anti-Long for U.S. Senate campaign material and more.

Congressional Speech Transcripts

112 pages of transcripts of 20 speeches given by Huey Long given on the floor of the United States Senate, produced by the Congressional Record, dating from April 4, 1932 to July 23, 1935. Speech titles include:

The Doom of America’s Dream

Louisiana’s Defense

St. Lawrence Waterway Treaty and injustice to the Mississippi Valley

Limitation of Fortunes – Spreading Wealth Among the Masses

Redistribution of Wealth

Louisiana’s Rights

The Need of Truth and Sincerity in Mr. Roosevelt’s Promises

Newspaper Coverage

96 pages of the Washington D.C. Evening Star coverage of the death of Senator Long dating from September 9 to December 16, 1935.

Research Reports

Expulsion Case of Huey P. Long and John H. Overton of Louisiana (1934) – Senate reporting on Senate investigations of campaign irregularities in Louisiana.

United States Senate Historical Office – Huey Long Filibusters

An Analysis of the March 7, 1935 Radio Address of Senator Huey P. Long  –  A 1951, 255-page thesis by Ernest Gordon Bormann

Abstract: On the evening of March 7, 1935, Huey Long talked to probably the largest radio audience of his career. He very nearly made good his boast that given forty-five minutes over a coast to coast hookup, he would “…cover Johnson’s case from hell to breakfast.”

He was referring to Hugh Johnson’s speech of March 4, 1935, in which the General had attacked Long as a “pied-piper” and a leader of the “lunatic fringe.”

This speech of Long’s was one of the most Important of his life; its success increased his political power and prestige until it might be said that this was the apex of his career.

Books

The Kingfish, a biography of Huey P. Long, by Webster Smith (1933)

My First Days in the White House, by Huey Pierce Long (1935)

Huey Pierce Long, the Martyr of the Age. A publication of the Louisiana State Museum (1937)

Death of the Kingfish. Drawings by Author Richard Briley (1960)

The Huey Long Murder Case by Hermann Bacher Deutsch (1963)