Page 93 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

HUEY
LONG,
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Lobbying activities are protected under the First Amendment (the right to
freedom of expression and to petition one's government). Some researchers be-
lieve lobbyists pollute the political system, leading to stalemates and gridlock,
while others believe they provide a voice for the variety of interests of Ameri-
cans.
SOURCES: Erik Barnouw, ed., International Encyclopedia of Communications, 1989;
Allan J. Cigler and Burdett A. Loomis, Interest Group Politics, 1983; Jack C. Piano and
Milton Greenberg, The American Political Dictionary, 1993.
Jacqueline Nash Gifford

LONG, HUEY (1893-1935) began as a traveling salesman in the backwoods
of Louisiana. In the end he would become a footnote to twentieth-century history
as one of two U.S. senators killed while in office. In between, he would chal-
lenge the president of the United States during America's depression. Long,
"the kingfish" of Louisiana, used his ability to speak directly to the common
person with a passion that allowed one to dream that there was someone in
government looking out for him or her. Rising in politics from his first elected
office as railroad commissioner to governor and then U.S. senator, Long opposed
Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the depression. Long considered the New
Deal too slow and too tame for the country and fought New Deal programs in
Louisiana. He envisioned a society in which no person would have wealth be-
yond $3 million and no less than $5,000 salary (the equivalent of $50,000 in
today's dollars). He proposed to "make every man a king." His style was
personal campaigning from door to door or speaking to small clusters of poten-
tial voters. His theme was consistent: attack the rich and powerful.
There was no middle ground about Long. He was either loved or hated. He
was the first U.S. senator to employ full-time bodyguards. Although he never
graduated from high school or college, Long got free textbooks for all children
and built Louisiana State University into a respected institution of higher edu-
cation.
On September 8, 1935, following a special session of the Louisiana legisla-
ture, which Long had called as a U.S. senator—not governor—Long was shot
and killed by Dr. Carl A. Weiss in the Louisiana state capitol. Robert Penn
Warren's book All the King's Men, which was later made into an Academy
Award-winning movie, is generally considered biographical about Long.
SOURCES: Harold B. McSween, "Huey Long at His Centenary," Virginia Quarterly
Review, Summer 1993; David Zinman, 'The Meteoric Life and Mysterious Death of
Huey Long," American History Illustrated, July 1993.
J. Sean McCleneghan