Senator

The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the neck down.

The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the neck down.

Oct 1930 Construction begins on Lake Pontchartrain seawall, providing flood protection and recreation

Nov 4, 1930 Huey Long elected to U.S. Senate

Nov 1930 La. legislature passes Long's massive building program for Lousiana State University

Dec 1930 Construction begins on Long's new State Capitol building in Baton Rouge

Sep 1931 Japan invades Manchuria, beginning imperial expansion

Sep 1931 Britain abandons gold standard, marking shift in global finance

1932 By 1932, Long administration has built over 5,000 miles of new paved and gravel roads and begun construction of 111 bridges

Jan 9-13, 1932 Long campaigns for Hattie Caraway, helping to elect the first female U.S. Senator

Jan 25, 1932 Huey Long resigns La. governorship and takes U.S. Senate seat

May 1932 New State Capitol dedicated; at 450 ft. with 34 stories, it remains the tallest state capitol building in U.S.

Jul 1932 Bonus Army of WWI veterans forcibly dispersed in Washington, D.C.

Nov 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected U.S. president

Dec 1932 Construction begins on Huey Long bridge, the first bridge built over the Mississippi River in La.

Jan 1933 Adolf Hilter appointed Chancellor of Germany

Mar 1933 U.S. unemployment reaches 24.9%, the worst year of the Great Depression

Mar 1933 FDR inaugurated and launches First New Deal

Mar 1933 FDR closes all banks to prevent financial collapse;
Emergency Banking Act reopens solvent banks

Mar 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established

May 1933 Tennessee Valley Authority created to build dams and power plants

Jun 1933 National Recovery Administration and Public Works Administration created

Jun 1933 Glass-Steagal Act creates Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to guarantee deposits

Nov 1933 Creation of Civil Works Administration, precursor to Works Progress Administration

Feb 23, 1934 Long unveils his Share Our Wealth plan in national radio broadcast

May 1934 Dust Bowl crisis develops across Plains states

Oct 1934 "Long March" begins in China as Mao's Red Army retreats

Oct 1934 Long arranges for six trains to transport 5,000 LSU fans to the Vanderbilt football game, giving loans to students for the trip

1934 By end of 1934, Long's Share Our Wealth movement has three million members

Jun 12, 1935 Long filibusters New Deal provisions, speaking for over 15 hours

~ Courtesy of LSU Libraries Special Collections.

In the Louisiana legislative session following the impeachment debacle, opponents blocked Huey’s proposals for a major road-building initiative and the construction of a modern capitol building in Baton Rouge to house all departments of government. Huey countered by announcing he would run for the U.S. Senate in the fall of 1930 as a referendum on his programs. He promised to resign the governorship if he lost the Senate race;

but a win would signal to the legislature where their constituents stood.

Lt. Governor Paul Cyr, a Long opponent, claimed that Huey vacated his governorship upon his election to the U.S. Senate. In the fall of 1931, Cyr staged a “coup d’etat” and had himself sworn in as governor, claiming a Baton Rouge hotel as the new seat of government.

Huey responded that he was still governor because he had not taken the oath of office as Senator. He called out the National Guard to secure the capital city and declared that Cyr had vacated his office by taking the oath for the governorship.

The courts agreed, and under state rules the president of the state senate, Alvin O. King, became Lt. Governor. With his friend set to succeed him, Long resigned as governor and left for Washington.

Long soundly defeated incumbent Senator Joseph

E. Ransdell, but he left the Senate seat vacant for nine months for fear that Lt. Governor Paul Cyr…