Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Freedom In Dialogue : Huey Long, Father Coughlin, And Anti-Intellectualism In The Public Sphere, Ragan Updegaff

Speech & Drama Honors Theses

Senator Huey P. Long and radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin were powerful forces in the public sphere of the United States in 1930. Often accused of being demagogues and Fascists, both men brought to the American people a message designed to relieve the suffering that had taken the country during the Depression. This message was rooted in the tradition of American Populism in which they had both grown up. The rhetoric of both men espoused faith in simple solutions and blamed Wall Street financiers, wealthy industrialists, and corrupt politicians for the hard times that had come. Just as interesting …