He served as the governor of Louisiana from 1928-1932 and in the Senate from 1932 until his assassination in 1935 which, interestingly (though not surprisingly), occurred shortly before his planned presidential bid in 1936.

With Long as its governor, Louisiana's hospitals and schools were expanded, charity hospitals were set up to provide healthcare for the poor, free textbooks were given to schools, toll-free bridges were erected, and massive highway construction was undertaken, among many other things. Despite wikipedia's biased account that "He remains a controversial figure in Louisiana history, with critics and supporters debating whether he was a dictator, demagogue or populist," it cannot be stressed enough that the common people loved him and he was (or would have been) a real, legitimate threat in the 1936 Presidential election.

Throughout his career he consistently fought against big business and banking interests, famously getting in a brawl in the State Legislature in what was called "Bloody Monday" after he tried passing a bill to increase the tax on on refined oil and attempts were made to impeach him.

He was a staunch opponent of the Federal Reserve for his entire career. He publicly blamed it for the Great Depression and specifically called out the banking houses of the Morgans and Rockefellers for manipulating monetary policy for their own benefit. In response to this, he created a program called "Share Our Wealth".

He believed that the country had enough wealth to provide every person with a healthy standard of living but that most of the wealth was concentrated in the hands of the incredibly rich. Therefore, he proposed a system that limited personal fortunes and personal inheritances, as well as increased tax rates for the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations. Also included in the plan were provisions to provide free college education and vocational training to everyone of age, greater regulations on economic activity, a month's vacation for every worker, and limiting the work week to 30 hours, among many other things.

I'll say again: it's hard to over-estimate just how popular he really was. His "Share Our Wealth Clubs" had close to 8 million members nationwide and his radio broadcasts regularly received over 20 million listeners. It should come as no surprise, then, that Long was shot and killed just a month after announcing he would run for President.

His last words were: "God, don't let me die. I have so much to do."

There is much speculation that his actual killer was one of his own bodyguards who "missed" the attempted assassin (who just happened to be the son-in-law of the judge Long was attempting to remove from the bench when he was shot in the State Capitol).

This was a true patriot and enemy of the evil that has overtaken this country. Is it any wonder then that I've never heard him mentioned anywhere, ever? Has anyone else? Anyone know more about him? I would like to read more about his life and death.