Document Type
Pre-Print
Publication Date
2024
Subjects
Antisemitism, American Liberty League, United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945
Abstract
Taking advantage of the economic devastation wrought by the Great Depression of the 1930s, a variety of colorful personalities advanced a host of panaceas to redress the grievances of ordinary Americans. Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Wisconsin progressive Philip La Follette, and the Communist Party were among those on the left tainted with charges of demagoguery, the controversy over the manipulation of uninformed opinion centered on aspiring mass movement leaders such as Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long, radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin, old-age pension advocate Dr. Francis E. Townsend, agrarian radical William Lemke, and right-wing populist Rev. Gerald L. K. Smith. Their assaults on privileged elites through schemes for redistribution of wealth, nationalization of the banks, and monetary reform, however, gained insufficient traction in a period dominated by Roosevelt's political skills, whatever the viability of New Deal recovery programs.
Rights
Copyright 2024 David Horowitz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42494
Citation Details
Horowitz, David, "Demagoguery and the Depression" (2024). History Faculty Publications and Presentations. 103.
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42494