Quotes of American History: Huey Long Says "Every Man a King"
Quote Quota Man, December 8 2012
"Every man a king - that's my slogan." - Huey Long
Huey Long was the Governor of Louisiana between 1928-1932, and a United States Senator from 1932-1935. He was nicknamed "The Kingfish" and spent most of his political career fighting against railroads, oil companies, and the Ku Klux Klan in Louisiana. As Governor he tolerated little opposition and his political opponents were mercilessly attacked.
Long favored a radical redistribution of American wealth to the nation's poor -- both black and white. His plans included setting an absolute cap on personal wealth and on inheritances and redistributing any additional amounts via programs and benefit payments. He named this the "Share Our Wealth" program and began to give radio speeches advancing the idea during the Great Depression.
After working for the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, Long began to criticize the New Deal program as being too moderate and he may have planned to challenge Roosevelt in the 1936 election. An assassin's bullet, however, ended his life on September 10, 1935.
