What did Huey Long advocate?
Huey Long (The Kingfish) built a powerful political base in Lousiana. As governor and as Senator he supported segregation yet also received the support of many Blacks. He used his power and influence to help the poor, build roads and hospitals, provide textbooks and lunches for the poor school children and other social benefits that were unheard of at the time. During the Depression he developed a large following with his “Share the Wealth” plan. He would tax the rich and allow no personal incomes of more than $1 million a year. The poor and unemployed during the Depression supported that idea. FDR considered Long a threat to democracy. He also considered him a threat to his reelection in 1936. But fate intervened and Huey Long was assassinated in 1935 by a young man whose family Long had injured by his reckless policies in Louisiana.
