Voices of protest: historical movements and activism

Voices of Protest by Alan Brinkley

In his book, Voices of Protest, the historian Alan Brinkley paints a portrait of 1930's America that was fundamentally ideologically resistant to substantial political change, but sparked politically radical and potential dictatorial movements on both the in response to the economic upheaval of the Great Depression. In Louisiana, Governor Huey Long exercised a nearly absolute control over his state legislature. This was partly due to the Louisiana electorate's greater willingness to be subservient to the will of a strong and charismatic leader, contrary to American democratic ideals, because of the fears generated by the Great Depression. Long seemed like he knew what he was doing and he had 'the answers,' however excessive some of his actions while in power. However, unlike the European parallels of dictatorial control, Huey Long could not hold sway interminably. America's larger federal forces kept the state's sway under their thumbs and Louisianans were unwilling to secede. In fact, President Roosevelt, "considered Long vaguely engaging," and never saw Long as posing a serious thread to the leadership of the land, especially once the more sober New Deal quieted some popular fears that caused a clamor for socialism and an end to Federalism. (Brinkley109)

Father Coughlin was a notorious extremist of radio broadcasting. He was a Catholic priest who gave 'inflammatory' sermons. He was, after first supporting the New Deal, "an outspoken anti-Semite, a rabid anti-communist, a strident isolationist, and increasingly, a cautious admirer of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler." (Brinkley 109) Long and Coughlin appealed to "people enchanted by the material fruits of industrialization but troubled by the inequalities of wealth and power that accompanied" modern capitalism and its excesses. (Brinkley 262) Both advocated "a system of decentralized power, limited ownership, and small-scale capitalism" in the absence of real federal control, despite Coughlin's initial approval of the first years of the New Deal. (Brinkley 144) Yet despite their popular and populist appeal, their call for an end to the American system ultimately made the American public squeamish, and while the public may have responded emotively to the rhetoric of both figures, in practice, Roosevelt emerged triumphant.