Huey Long 1924-1935 Governor and Senator

Huey as Governor 1924 1928!!!! In the 1924 election, we found that Huey lost. Why did he lose? (Did poorly in S. Louisiana and New Orleans because of Klan issue) Well, he revised his strategy and went again for governor in 1928. Who can tell me what office Huey has held at this point from 1918? (Public Service Commissioner) Well he continued to campaign, promising the same things that he did in 1924, which were? (Free Textbooks, Highways, Hospitals and better Schools) He needed something to allow him to win more votes in either South Louisiana, or New Orleans. Which area do you think is more likely to vote for Huey? (S. Louisiana) Why? (Lots of Farmers/poor) Well his running mate for Lt. Governor was Paul Cyr, a Catholic from Jeanerette who he chose to appeal to the S. Louisianans. The campaign in 1928 was a fierce one, Huey attacked his opponent Oramel Simpson viciously and his opponents attacked him right back. He won in 1928 easily because of a high voter turnout. Who do you think voted for Huey? (The poor farmers) That’s right, with their support Huey Long was now governor of Louisiana.

Long’s Governorship What he accomplished How he accomplished it. Roads Textbooks Poll Tax Hospitals How he accomplished it. Taxes Loans Deducts Bullying Extortion In the next 4 years Huey long accomplished much of what he said he would. What did Huey promise the voters? (Textbooks, Roads, Hospitals) He built roads, lots of them. When he was elected there were only 500 miles of paved roads in Louisiana. He immediately began having roads built. He also passed laws mandating that the state pays for all textbooks given to students in Louisiana. He did away with the Poll Tax, which really helped the poor people who supported him. What did the Poll Tax do? (Had to pay a tax to vote) He also began a system of charity hospitals that still exists today. These are all good things he did for the people of Louisiana. However, lets look at how he accomplished these things. Firstly, he never raised taxes for the people. Instead he raised taxes on big businesses by a lot. What type of tax did we discuss earlier? (Severance Tax) Well he took the severance tax and boosted it so he could use the money for his programs. He also took out many loans, what are the problems with a loan? (Have to pay it back with interest) Yep, but he didn’t care, why didn't he? (He was already in office, paying back was later when we wasn’t in office anymore) So, he took out loans to pay for his programs. He also took money from government officials paychecks. He called them “deducts” and they were used for his campaign fund. He also relentlessly bullied the Louisiana congress to get what he wanted. He did not take no for an answer, if a representative didn’t support him, he sabotaged that representatives chances for getting reelected. He also extorted ( or stole )money from anyone who wanted a contract with the Louisiana government. What would they need contracts for? (Building roads, hospitals)Huey also did not put up with anyone who was against him, If you crossed Huey Long he would make sure bad things happened to you. He was implicated in all sorts of illegal activities such as voter fraud and bribery. As we can see, Huey Long got the job done, however, he wasn’t very nice when he did it.

Huey for Senate 1932 Senate Race Huey’s Assassination Who will be governor? Oscar Allen vs Paul Cyr Share our Wealth Huey’s Assassination Carl Austin Weiss Controversy Government Conspiracy Bodyguards did it Huey Long wasn’t happy with controlling only Louisiana. He wanted to move on to the national scene. Who can tell me the two houses of congress? (HoR, Senate) Well Huey Long felt that his message needed to be broadcast in the senate and in 1930 he ran for national office as a senator and won easily. But because he was governor a new governor needed to be chosen. Who was his Lt. Governor? (Paul Cyr) Yep, however, Huey with his unethical ways had made Paul Cyr mad at him so he didn’t want Cyr in control of Louisiana. So Huey engineered a plan to put his friend Oscar Allen in charge. They called Oscar Allen, OK because everything Huey said he told Huey “Ok”. In this way Huey Long could control Louisiana and be a part of the senate. Huey Long’s primary mission in the senate was to work on his “Share our Wealth” plan, which we will cover in much greater detail later. In 1935 only 4 years after becoming a senator he was shot in Baton Rouge while on a trip back to Louisiana to bully the Louisiana congress into passing some laws he wanted. Huey Long wasn’t an easy to like man, he was loud, obnoxious and very vindictive. He made many enemies during his rise to power, one of them was a judge from Opelousas. The Judge had a son in law who was especially angry with Huey Long for the way he was abusing his power as senator, this man was Carl Austin Weiss. Carl Weiss was a doctor from Baton Rouge who was married to Judge Pavy’s daughter. The controversy surrounding Huey Long’s death arises from two sources. One source was the fact that Huey Long was always convinced the Federal Government was out to kill him before he became president. The other is that his bodyguards who were not trained professionals accidentally shot him while shooting at Carl Weiss. But regardless of who actually killed him or why, at the age of 42 Huey Long was dead. We will learn about the aftermath of his death and it’s effect on Louisiana during the next unit.