What happened this week in 1935?
Huey Long promoted "Share Our Wealth" on national radio.
Huey Long promoted "Share Our Wealth" on national radio.
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. was a fiery populist Louisiana Governor and United States Senator. Initially a supporter of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Long criticized the concentration of wealth among a small percentage of people and came to oppose Roosevelt's "noble experiments” for economic recovery during the Great Depression. On March 7, 1935, Huey Long delivered his first radio broadcast in Washington, D.C. on the topic of “Share Our Wealth.” The speech was entered into the Congressional Record later in the week.
Long created the Share Our Wealth Society, an enormously popular philosophy promoted through "member clubs" nationwide. Under Share Our Wealth, personal fortunes in excess of $5 million would be capped, along with the amount one person could earn or inherit in a year; every family would be provided with $5,000 with which to buy a house, car, and radio; every senior would be provided with an old-age pension; minimum annual incomes would be establised, with a shortened work week and one month vacation; veterans would receive bonuses; and young people would be provided with government-paid vocational training and free college education. Long's ideology hoped to restore America’s economy by alleviating suffering among the masses. The program caused friction with the New Deal.
In a nutshell, Long believed the economic collapse was a result of the huge wealth gap between the rich and poor in America. In order to restore the nation, the rich would have to share their wealth. Long's slogan for the Share Our Wealth Society was “Every Man a King.” Robert Penn Warren used an adaptation of this motto as the title of his novel “All the King’s Men,” a work inspired by the political life of Huey Long. Long was assassinated in Louisiana on September 8, 1935, just six months after making his D.C. speech.
Long created the Share Our Wealth Society, an enormously popular philosophy promoted through "member clubs" nationwide. Under Share Our Wealth, personal fortunes in excess of $5 million would be capped, along with the amount one person could earn or inherit in a year; every family would be provided with $5,000 with which to buy a house, car, and radio; every senior would be provided with an old-age pension; minimum annual incomes would be establised, with a shortened work week and one month vacation; veterans would receive bonuses; and young people would be provided with government-paid vocational training and free college education. Long's ideology hoped to restore America’s economy by alleviating suffering among the masses. The program caused friction with the New Deal.
In a nutshell, Long believed the economic collapse was a result of the huge wealth gap between the rich and poor in America. In order to restore the nation, the rich would have to share their wealth. Long's slogan for the Share Our Wealth Society was “Every Man a King.” Robert Penn Warren used an adaptation of this motto as the title of his novel “All the King’s Men,” a work inspired by the political life of Huey Long. Long was assassinated in Louisiana on September 8, 1935, just six months after making his D.C. speech.