Messiah of the Masses

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books, but Wilson wanted to impose a means test to give books only to the poor. Simpson wanted to raise taxes. Long pledged books for everyone without raising taxes. Huey didn’t promise to soak the rich in his campaign, but he did convey the impression that he favored the poor. He limited his points to no more than five a speech, so the audience would remember them, and he made bolder and more sweeping promises than his opponents. Long was proud of his ability to out promise opponents. Long could make an audience laugh and could move audiences to tears, too. Long appealed to economic self-interest by promising to provide cheap natural gas for heating in New Orleans rather than expensive synthetic gas. He pledged to pave main thoroughfares in New Orleans, one of the few large cities that still had gravel and dirt roads. Huey Long himself was a special interest politician. He directed his appeals at lower-middle-class rural Louisianans. The Long campaign in 1927 was lavishly financed. Huey paid the poll taxes of potential supporters, printed more circulars, and bought more newspaper and radio advertisements than his rivals. His campaign posters were ubiquitous. Long learned early that name recognition was a key factor in winning elections. He gained publicity by creating controversies, making outrageous charges, and clowning, partly out of cold calculation, partly because he enjoyed seeing his name in print. Long became governor without polling a majority of the primary vote. At 34, Huey Long was the second-youngest governor in Louisiana’s history. He occasionally miscalculated the attitudes of legislators, but he understood the will of the common people. He also knew his power depended upon public approval, as well as money, allies, and patronage. He focused on tangible accomplishments the public could comprehend, and then publicized them. The accomplishment that most endeared Long to poor Louisianans was free textbooks for elementary and secondary students. Long promised in 1927 to build surfaced highways to replace dirt and gravel roads. Long’s ambitious highway program included bridges. The highways, textbooks, and natural gas for New Orleans were tangible accomplishments that no quibbling over cost or quality could challenge. Long also defeated the most serious challenge to his power he would ever face. Huey learned to manipulate the press by buffoonery. He faced a serious challenge when the legislature convened in May 1930. The impeachment charges remained on the books. Huey had an ambitious program, which included a $75-billion bond issue for highways and bonds for a new state capitol. When business interests made peace overtures, he accepted. In return for Long’s shelving of occupational taxes on industry, the businessmen agreed to urge their state senators to vote to dismiss the bills of impeachment. The book would be of historic value because of it describing the life of Huey P. Long. It is basically a biography of Huey P. Long. The Messiah of the Masses is a book that revolves around the life story of Huey P. Long and teaches us important lessons about practical life by the example of Long.