Huey Long: Biography, Louisiana, Assassination and More
Who Was Huey Long?
Born in 1893 in Winnfield Louisiana, Huey Long worked as a salesman while attending Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, passing the Louisiana bar exam without graduating. In campaigning for governor against the “Old Regulars” in the Republican-controlled, post-Reconstruction government of Louisiana, Long coined the phrase “Every man a king, but no one wears a crown.”
Youngest Louisiana Governor
Winning the gubernatorial race of 1928, which made Long the youngest elected governor of Louisiana at only 35 years of age, during his whirlwind campaign, Long punched 62-year-old incumbent governor Oramel H. Simpson in the face during a chance encounter at the Roosevelt Hotel, after Simpson called Long a liar.
Huey Long Consolidates Power
Nicknamed “The Kingfish” by his critics, who saw him as little more than a fascist-style demagogue, once in office, Long consolidated power by firing hundred of his opponents in the state’s bureaucracy, filling vacancies with patronage appointments, who were expected to pay a portion of their salary to his campaign fund.
Taking office at a time when Louisiana ranked at the bottom of U.S. literacy rates—with a mere 300 miles of paved roads—Long built schools and an impressive number of highways within the state, at the same time cracking down on illegal gambling and prostitution in New Orleans through the use of National Guard raids and arrests, narrowly escaping impeachment when the Louisiana state legislature accused him of nepotism, political patronage, bribery and even murder.
After losing an early investment in oil and gas in the Standard Oil Company, Long went after the oil giant during his term as governor, before winning a seat in the U.S. Senate on September 9th, 1930, against Democratic incumbent Senator Joseph E. Ransdell.
After President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed his New Deal for America in 1933, Long called FDR’s programs insufficiently radical, proposing instead his “Share Our Wealth” program in 1934, advocating for massive federal spending through a wealth tax and wealth redistribution.
Long’s Assassination and Political Heritage
Poised for a 1936 presidential bid, Long was assassinated on September 10th, 1935 at the Louisiana State Capitol Building by Carl Weiss, who was subsequently shot some 60 times by Long’s bodyguards nicknamed the “Cossacks” or “skullcrushers.”
Following his death, Huey Long left behind a political dynasty, including his wife, Senator Rose McConnell Long, his son, Senator Russell B. Long and his brother, Governor Earl Long, making the life and governance of Huey Long, one of the last American dictators in 20th-century politics.