Huey Long

Huey Pierce Long (August 30, 1893 – September 10, 1935), known as "The Kingfish," was an American politician of the Democratic Party; he was governor of Louisiana (1928–1932), Senator (1932–1935) and a presidential hopeful before his assassination. He was a populist whose controversial governing style brought allegations of dictatorial tendencies quite unprecedented in modern American politics.

Early life

Long was born in Winnfield, Louisiana, the seventh of nine children. He attended several local schools before leaving in 1910 and becoming a salesman. He then attended the University of Oklahoma and Tulane University Law School, passing the bar exam in 1915. He practiced law in Shreveport and specialised in compensation suits. He was elected chairman of the Louisiana Railroad Commission in 1918. That body was renamed the Public Service Commission in 1921. In the 1920s he was one of the early adopters of radio for political campaigning and also took to always wearing a white linen suit in public. He ran for governor of Louisiana in 1924 but failed, although he was re-elected to the Public Service Commission. However, in 1928 he ran again for Louisiana governor, campaigning under the slogan of "every man a king, but no one wears a crown." Long's attacks on the utilities industries and the privileges of corporations were popular and he won the election by the largest margin in the state's history (92,941 votes to 3,733). Long took the nickname "Kingfish" after a character on the popular Amos & Andy radio program.

Related Topics:
Winnfield - Louisiana - 1910 - University of Oklahoma - Tulane University Law School - 1915 - Shreveport - 1918 - Public Service Commission - 1921 - 1920s - Radio - Linen - 1924 - 1928 - Louisiana governor - Slogan - Nickname - Amos & Andy - Radio program

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As a politician, Long was highly unusual in the respect that he made frequent disparaging remarks about the rich as a class; though some say he lived as if he were among them. Huey Long constantly depicted the wealthy as parasites that grabbed more than their fair share of the public wealth while marginalizing the poor. In public and in private, these remarks annoyed the rich and their defenders greatly and, some say, may have contributed to his subsequent assassination. Without doubt, Long's caustic remarks about the wealthy endeared him to Louisiana's poor, many of whom felt greatly oppressed by their rich landlords, moneylenders, and employers.

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