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Voices of Protest

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Voices of Protest
Voices of Protest

Throughout the Great Depression, the U.S experienced many changes. When there was a time of change, whether it was good or bad, there were always people who wanted to oppose it. In this essay, I will discuss Huey Long’s and Father Coughlin’s reasoning and methods of protest.

Huey Long and Father Coughlin were influential politicians who opposed the new society of Big Business and high technology. They blamed certain companies and the owners of Big Business for the financial distraught of America and were very successful in their argument. However, they were not successful in achieving their goal in the destruction of the new technological society. America’s society had already turned towards this economic change.

Huey Long was a fiery young man from the beginning. When he was 20, he made the prophecy that he would run for election first to secondary state office in Louisiana, then for governer, then for United States senator, and finally for president (p.8). Throughout his life he completed all of his predictions except for becoming president. It is believed that he never accomplished presidency due to being assassinated. He was also known as Kingfish because of his near dictatorship on Louisiana. He constantly went off into filibusters during congressional meetings, whether it was to pursuade against or in favor of a new bill. He killed many bills in this way, many being essentially dangerous to the common people. He lived a very flamboyant lifestyle, constantly headlining in the newspaper. Even after all the controversy in the Louisiana political system was finally proven after his death, Louisianians still supported him. His speeches and campaigning were very appealing to his audiences, as mobs of 20,000 people clustered to hear him. Longs beliefs that Big Business was corrupting the society were the main platform throughout his political life. At times he was known to filibuster for twelve hours on the injustices that Mr. Morgan and

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