Huey Long rose to national stature in the early 1930s for his avid criticism of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal.
Long proposed his own radical Share Our Wealth program, which called for massive federal spending, a wealth tax, and wealth redistribution.
Failing to pass legislation in the Senate, Long formed a national political organization, the Share Our Wealth Society.
A network of local clubs led by national organizer Reverend Gerald L. K. Smith, the Share Our Wealth Society was intended to operate outside of and in opposition to the Democratic Party and the Roosevelt administration.
By 1935, the society had over 7.5 million members in 27,000 clubs across the country.
Long's Senate office received an average of 60,000 letters a week, resulting in Long hiring 48 stenographers to type responses.
Long's newspaper American Progress averaged a circulation of 300,000, with some issues reaching 1.5 million.
Long's proposals drew international attention: writer H. G. Wells traveled across the Atlantic just to interview Long.
Wells noted that Long was "like a Winston Churchill who has never been at Harrow.
He abounds in promises."

Long had previously acknowledged the possibility of his own death.
Some even claimed that he had a morbid fascination with it.
In a 1935 speech, he claimed that his political enemies had a plot to kill him with "one man, one gun, one bullet."
Long had even sensationally claimed that Chicago gangsters were after him.
His own right-hand-man Gerald L. K. Smith declared in 1935 that "the only way they will keep Huey Long from the White House is to kill him."
In spring 1935, one of the last Long opponents in Louisiana warned "I am not gifted with second sight. ...
But I can see blood on the polished floor of this Capitol.
For if you ride this thing through, you will travel with the white horse of death."
Huey Long rose to national stature in the early 1930s for his avid criticism of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. Long proposed his own radical Share Our Wealth program, which called for massive federal spending, a wealth tax, and wealth redistribution. Failing to pass legislation in the Senate, Long formed a national political organization, the Share Our Wealth Society. A network of local clubs led by national organizer Reverend Gerald L. K. Smith, the Share Our Wealth Society was intended to operate outside of and in opposition to the Democratic Party and the Roosevelt administration. By 1935, the society had over 7.5 million members in 27,000 clubs across the country. Long's Senate office received an average of 60,000 letters a week, resulting in Long hiring 48 stenographers to type responses. Long's newspaper American Progress averaged a circulation of 300,000, with some issues reaching 1.5 million. Long's proposals drew international attention: writer H. G. Wells traveled across the Atlantic just to interview Long. Wells noted that Long was "like a Winston Churchill who has never been at Harrow. He abounds in promises."
Long had previously acknowledged the possibility of his own death. Some even claimed that he had a morbid fascination with it. In a 1935 speech, he claimed that his political enemies had a plot to kill him with "one man, one gun, one bullet." Long had even sensationally claimed that Chicago gangsters were after him. His own right-hand-man Gerald L. K. Smith declared in 1935 that "the only way they will keep Huey Long from the White House is to kill him." In spring 1935, one of the last Long opponents in Louisiana warned "I am not gifted with second sight. ... But I can see blood on the polished floor of this Capitol. For if you ride this thing through, you will travel with the white horse of death."
Assassination of Huey Long