He attended local schools, where he was an excellent stu… "Everything I did, I've had to do with one hand because I've had to fight with the other hand," he said. After his commanding victory, Huey pursued his agenda with renewed strength and formed an uneasy alliance with the “Old Regulars” and their chief, New Olreans Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley (nicknamed “Turkey Head” Walmsley by Huey). Huey was in a hurry to get things done and passed scores of laws that enabled him to enact his programs. It was the perfect combination to foster self-confidence and compassion in a precocious boy. The funds for hospitals and other institutions came from taxing carbon black at one-half cent per pound. He served for 39 years. His campaign slogan in 1928 had been borrowed from a previous populist, William Jennings Bryan: ''Every man a king'~`. In 1930, Huey Long was elected as: Louisiana employed 22,000 men just to build the roads — ten percent of the nation's highway workers. He promised Louisiana’s needy citizens good roads, bridges, free hospital care, free education, and lower property taxes. Huey immediately pushed a number of bills through the legislature to fulfill his campaign promises, including a free textbook program for schoolchildren, night courses for adult literacy, and piping natural gas to New Orleans. Huey’s revolutionary campaign and victory toppled the corrupt political establishment that had ruled since the French. * Some of Long's programs were completed by his successor, Gov. Huey frequently resorted to standing on the top of his car to personally nail campaign posters high on telephone polls, where they could not be easily torn down by his opponents. This corporation was Huey Long's biggest enemy during his time in power: standard oil. All I care is what the boys at the fork of the creek think of me.”. Louisiana — and its politics — would never be the same. In the 1930s, Long oversaw construction of a new state capitol building, four blocks from the Heidelberg Hotel. Senator Russell Long, and the brother of another Democratic Governor and U.S. As Governor, Huey became an active promoter of Louisiana State University. In 1928, Huey Long ran again for Louisiana governor, campaigning with the slogan, “Every man a king,” a phrase adopted from populist hero William Jennings Bryan. Long won the election by the largest margin in the state’s history, and his closest opponent refused to face him in a run-off. In later campaigns, Huey used sound trucks to amplify his voice to the far reaches of the huge crowds he attracted, and he used radio speeches to reach a state-wide audience. Louisiana's Huey Long rose to Governor and U.S. Courtesy of LSU Libraries Special Collections, Baton Rouge. below). Huey stated to a reporter, "[Cyr] is no longer lieutenant governor, and he is now nothing." Senator (1932 – 1935). Courtesy of LSU Libraries Special Collections, Baton Rouge. While in … Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana, serving three nonconsecutive terms. … He emerged as a major figure in the populistmovement, defined both by the exceptional charisma of powerful leaders who don't like to share power and a deep passion for the plight of the working class. Louisiana was stirring … The trappers and fishermen of the bayous, the Cajun farmers of the south and the redneck farmers of the hill parishes, the sharecroppers and tenants everywhere, and the laborers in the towns and the small businessmen in the villages … Now suddenly a champion had appeared to them, one who promised to lead them to a better life …”. Traditional figures of Southern authority despised him, but he quickly gained a following among small independent farmers. Huey Long's family on the road for his U.S. Senate campaign. Governor Huey P. Long. Read more quotes on Huey Long's political methods. A brilliant orator, Long made hundreds of campaign speeches among rural voters, expressing a vision for a new Louisiana in which government would be responsive to the needs of its people. Long created the Share Our Wealth program in 1934, which proposed new wealth redistribution … Give me the chance to dry the eyes of those who still weep here.”. “…It is here under this oak where Evangeline waited for her lover, Gabriel, who never came. Louisiana's total government operating costs (state and local) were $41.97 per capita - third-lowest among the 24 states that kept such records. He came from a large, comfortable family in a small, close-knit community. If nothing else, Huey Long was a fascinating character and one of the most unique politicians in American history. A legal genius, Huey used the law to his advantage without breaking it. When the state’s newspapers uniformly aligned against him and his reforms, Huey blanketed the state with his own position papers to explain his programs to the people. Few employees complained about the deducts, because jobs were scarce. During Long's governorship, taxes rose 2.2% compared with a national average of 4.7%. Always the music lover, Huey wrote a catchy campaign song, “Every Man a King”, that summarized his share-the-wealth philosophy: “Every man a king, for you can be a millionaire — but there's something belonging to others — there's enough for all people to share.”. Long was revered by the masses as a champion of the common man and demonized by the powerful as a dangerous demagogue. Share Our Wealth was a movement that began in February 1934, during the Great Depression, by Huey Long, a governor and later United States Senator from Louisiana. He also established the LSU medical school to meet the state's desperate need for new doctors. With greater access to transportation, education and healthcare, the quality of life in Louisiana was on the upswing while the rest of the nation declined. The poll tax hindered the lower classes from voting, and the poor paid disproportionately high property taxes for state services they never received. Huey served as governor from 1928-1932 and was US Senator from 1930 until 1932 when he was assassinated in the state capitol building. One of Huey Long's major promises when he ran for Governor in 1928 was free: Textbooks for school children. Huey Long shakes hands with constituents on the courthouse steps. The alliance guaranteed support for Long’s programs and candidates in exchange for major structural improvements in New Orleans. Huey Pierce Long, Jr. (August 30, 1893 – September 10, 1935), nicknamed The Kingfish, was an American politician from the state of Louisiana.A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies.He served as Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a U.S. senator from 1932 to 1935. Earl served as Governor from 1939-40; 1948-52; 1956-60. Poised to run for president on his “ Share Our Wealth ” platform, Long was assassinated in 1935 at the age of 42. With each victory, he relished humiliating the "pie eating politicians" and reveled in his role as the people's champion. See the reverse for Long’s 22-point platform. Huey taxed oil operators to finance his free textbook program, provoking the wrath of Standard Oil, which launched an unsuccessful attempt to remove him from office. He entertained crowds with a warm-up band, and then lobbed barbs at his “rascal” opponents to the delight of his fans. After a failed attempt by his opponents to remove him from office, Huey consolidated his power in the state and became known as the “Kingfish.”. Life was hard in 1920s Louisiana, with little hope of advancement for a poor majority isolated by geography. His support transcended the traditional Protestant-Catholic divide of Louisiana politics and replaced it with a new division between the “pro-Long” average citizens and the “anti-Longs” from the wealthy establishment that had been ousted from power. Long, known as "Uncle Earl", connected with voters through his folksy demeanor and colorful oratory. Huey's son, Russell B. A man of boundless energy, he pursued an exhaustive speaking schedule, often making five or more campaign stops a day. Here are three things you should know about Huey Long: He served as first the governor and then a senator for Louisiana in the late 1920s and early 1930s. At the fork of the Louisiana state capitol building in the nation Long lost his same. 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