Ken Burns - Huey
Long
Director:
Ken Burns
Year: 1985
Rating: 6.5
He was a populist, a demagogue, a conman, corrupt both personally and corrupted
those around him, he made big promises, would abide no dissent, divided people
into columns of love and hate, had contempt for the Constitution, had huge
ambitions and inched constantly towards having dictatorial powers. That might
sound familiar today. But unlike a certain man now in Washington, Huey Long
was the real deal - truly believed in helping the poor and downtrodden -
railed against income inequality and the power of the large corporations
- and as Governor of Louisiana did something about it. He also never used
race for political advantage. So he taxed the wealthy and the corporations
and passed legislation that built enormous amounts of infrastructure - roads,
bridges, schools and buildings - pumped up the standards of living - but
also elicited large amounts of graft from these projects that he then used
for patronage. He formed his own army with machine guns, kidnapped critics,
intimidated other politicians, said he was the Constitution - and as a Senator
he planned to run for the Democratic nomination against President Roosevelt
- and might have won. His message of income equality - his motto was Every
man a King, but no one with a crown - gained a large following in the dark
years of the Depression. History might have been dramatically different but
for one man stepping up to him and putting one bullet into him in 1935. Huey
Long died a few hours later.
