You know you ticked someone off when you end up with 60 bullets in your body.
That’s how Dr. Carl Weiss, Jr. left this world, gunned down and made into Swiss cheese by the bodyguards of the former Louisiana Senator and Governor, Huey P. Long. Seconds earlier, he had assassinated Long on September 8, 1935.
Huey P. Long, nicknamed “The Kingfish,” was a left-wing populist who rose to power during the Great Depression on a mission to take from the rich and give it to the poor. This Robin Hood of the 20th century was born to a poor farmer, the seventh of nine children, in a town called Winnfield, which had a natural tendency to speak up for the poor. During the convention on secession, the delegate from there told everyone that they preferred to remain in the Union because who wants to help rich white people own slaves?
Long took on that reasonable thought process as he grew up, where he became a capable debater and orator. This earned him a full ride at Louisiana State University. However, his family was so poor they couldn’t afford to send him there to live, so he never attended. (That’s a bummer.)
This motivated Long to be an even fiercer advocate for the poor. He ran for governor in 1924, but lost. Ran again four years and won. Once in office, Long expanded social programs, leveraging the state government to create jobs through work projects, like when he built the biggest capitol building in the country. He got so powerful so quickly that he was impeached in 1929.
Fortunately, he stayed off removal and would win a Senate seat in 1932, helping President Franklin Roosevelt win the 1932 presidential nomination and ultimate election. Then, almost immediately, Long broke from FDR on policy, saying the New Deal wasn’t much of one. Long pushed for programs to redistribute wealth and created the Share Our Wealth movement, which wanted to tax the rich back to the Stone Age and ramp up federal spending so much it would make Bernie Sanders blush.
His policies and speeches gained so much support that he considered running for president in 1936. He was back in Louisiana on that fateful September day to pass a gerrymander bill to eliminate a state judge who didn’t like him. Dr. Carl Weiss was the judge’s son-in-law.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act on September 14, 1940. This would be the first peacetime conscription in US history. In 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, requiring men turning 21 to register with local draft boards. This new law said you had to do that at 18 and be ready for a lottery in the next month to be called. In 1942, we held an “Old Man Draft” for guys aged 45-64, which 1945 meant men born in 1877. The only drafts we do today are for fantasy football and beer taps.
2. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed between the Kingdom of Prussia and the United States of America on September 10, 1785. Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, and George Washington, Important Guy of the United States (he would become president three years later), signed an agreement that officially recognized our existence, one of the first after the Revolutionary War. This meant Prussia got a “Most Favored Nation” status, which I think allows you to skip the line at Disney World.
3. The first American saint was canonized on September 14, 1975. Elizabeth Ann Seton was born in New York City, two years before the American Revolution. Raised as an Episcopalian, she married and had five kids. In 1805, two years after her husband died, she converted to Catholicism and became a nun. She just went all out and began founding Catholic schools for girls, and eventually the Sisters of Charity. She is the patron saint of Maryland.
___Dum-Dum___
Television would never be the same after September 13, 1990. That’s when the police and legal drama Law & Order debuted on NBC.
Created by Dick Wolf, a guy who began his working career as a copywriter for Crest toothpaste commercials, Law & Order would become a staple on cable, where it continues to live in syndication. The show ran for twenty years and produced over 450 episodes. I’m proud to say I have watched about 448 of them. I love being a part of the team that, within the hour, catches the bad guy and then throws the book at ‘em!
I hope to be back on Friday with another presidential essay. In the meantime, have a great week!
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Okay,
Chris
The "Kingfish" monicker originated on the radio program "Amos 'N' Andy", wherein it was title sported by the head of the Mystic Knights of the Sea fraternal lodge, George Stevens. Stevens was a master manipulator and con artist, and no doubt Long was thought to be one as well.