The son of Louisiana farmers, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1915. His political career began in 1918 when he successfully ran for a seat on the Louisiana Railroad Commission (later renamed the Public Service Commission). After an unsuccessful run in 1924, he was elected governor in 1928. As governor, he enacted a broad populist program of public works, building roads and bridges and expanding the state university system.
More than just an office holder, however, Long became one of the most powerful political "bosses" in the nation. Known for his flamboyant style and unabashed demagoguery, he masterfully consolidated power in state government and the local Democratic Party machine. He soon controlled every level of Louisiana state politics and ran the state as a veritable dictator. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1930, but delayed taking office until he could install a handpicked crony in the governor's mansion. An early supporter of the New Deal (which resembled his own policies as governor), Long came to oppose Roosevelt and announced his own presidential candidacy in August 1935 on his rival "Share the Wealth" platform. Just one month later, he was assassinated at the state capitol in Baton Rouge.
SOURCE: Webster's Encyclopedia of American Biography; Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography. |
