Article: The Business Plot (also known as The White House Coup) was a political conspiracy (see Congressional Record) in 1933 in the United States. Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler claimed that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization and use it in a coup d'état to overthrow President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, with Butler as leader of that organization. In 1934, Butler testified before the United States House of Representatives Special Committee on Un-American Activities (the "McCormack-Dickstein Committee") on these claims. No one was prosecuted.
At the time of the incidents, news media dismissed the plot, with a New York Times editorial characterizing it as a "gigantic hoax". While historians have questioned whether or not a coup was actually close to execution, most agree that some sort of "wild scheme" was contemplated and discussed.
Background
Butler and the veterans
On July 17, 1932, thousands of World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., set up tent camps, and demanded immediate payment of bonuses due to them according to the World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924 (the original act made the bonuses initially due no earlier than 1925 and no later than 1945). Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant, led this "Bonus Army". The Bonus Army was encouraged by an appearance from retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler; as a popular military figure of the time, Butler had some influence over the veterans. A few days after Butler's arrival, President Herbert Hoover ordered the marchers removed, and U.S. Army cavalry troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur destroyed their camps.
Butler, although a self-described Republican, responded by supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 US presidential election.
By 1933 Butler started denouncing capitalism and bankers, saying as a Marine general he had been "a racketeer for capitalism."
Reaction to Roosevelt
Roosevelt's election was upsetting for many conservative businessmen of the time, as his "campaign promise that the government would provide jobs for all the unemployed had the perverse effect of creating a new wave of unemployment by businessmen frightened by fears of socialism and reckless government spending."
Some historians have said concerns over the gold standard were also involved; Jules Archer, in The Plot to Seize the White House, wrote that with the end of the gold standard, "conservative financiers were horrified. They viewed a currency not solidly backed by gold as inflationary, undermining both private and business fortunes and leading to national bankruptcy. Roosevelt was damned as a socialist or Communist out to destroy private enterprise by sapping the gold backing of wealth in order to subsidize the poor."
McCormack–Dickstein Committee
The Committee began examining evidence on November 20, 1934. On November 24, the committee released a statement detailing the testimony it had heard about the plot and its preliminary findings. On February 15, 1935, the committee submitted its final report to the House of Representatives.
During the McCormack–Dickstein Committee hearings, Butler testified that Gerald C. MacGuire attempted to recruit him to lead a coup, promising him an army of 500,000 men for a march on Washington, D.C., and financial backing. Butler testified that the pretext for the coup would be that the president's health was failing.
Despite Butler's support for Roosevelt in the election and his reputation as a strong critic of capitalism, Butler said the plotters felt his good reputation and popularity were vital in attracting support amongst the general public and saw him as easier to manipulate than others.
Though Butler had never spoken to them, Butler implicated several prominent businessmen and veteran leaders as backers of the plot. The committee chose not to publish these allegations because they were hearsay.
Given a successful coup, Butler said that the plan was for him to have held near-absolute power in the newly created position of "Secretary of General Affairs", while Roosevelt would have assumed a figurehead role.
Those implicated in the plot by Butler all denied any involvement. MacGuire was the only figure identified by Butler who testified before the committee. Others Butler accused were not called to appear to testify because the "committee has had no evidence before it that would in the slightest degree warrant calling before it such men... The committee will not take cognizance of names brought into testimony which constitute mere hearsay."
In response, Butler said that the committee had deliberately edited out of its published findings the leading business people whom he had named in connection with the plot. He said on February 17, 1935, on Radio WCAU, "Like most committees it has slaughtered the little and allowed the big to escape. The big shots weren't even called to testify. They were all mentioned in the testimony. Why was all mention of these names suppressed from the testimony?"
On the final day of the committee, January 29, 1935, John L. Spivak published the first of two articles in the communist magazine New Masses, revealing portions of the Congressional committee testimony that had been redacted as hearsay. Spivak argued that the plot was part of a "conspiracy of Jewish financiers working with fascist groups", referring specifically to Felix Warburg, the McCormack–Dickstein Committee, and certain members of the American Jewish Committee in collusion with J. P. Morgan. Hans Schmidt concludes that while Spivak made a cogent argument for taking the suppressed testimony seriously, he embellished his article with his "overblown" claims regarding Jewish financiers, which Schmidt dismisses as guilt by association not supported by the evidence of the Butler-MacGuire conversations themselves.
Butler's testimony in detail
1933
On July 1, 1933, Butler met with MacGuire and Doyle for the first time. Gerald C. MacGuire was a $100-a-week bond salesman for Grayson Murphy & Company and a member of the Connecticut American Legion. Bill Doyle was commander of the Massachusetts American Legion. Butler stated that he was asked to run for National Commander of the American Legion.
On July 3 or 4, Butler held a second meeting with MacGuire and Doyle. He stated that they offered to get hundreds of supporters at the American Legion convention to ask for a speech. MacGuire left a typewritten speech with Butler that they proposed he read at the convention. "It urged the American Legion convention to adopt a resolution calling for the United States to return to the gold standard, so that when veterans were paid the bonus promised to them, the money they received would not be worthless paper." The inclusion of this demand further increased Butler's suspicion.
Around August 1, MacGuire visited Butler alone. Butler stated that MacGuire told him Grayson Murphy underwrote the formation of the American Legion in New York and Butler told MacGuire that the American Legion was "nothing but a strike breaking outfit." Butler never saw Doyle again.
On September 24, MacGuire visited Butler's hotel room in Newark. In late-September Butler met with Robert Sterling Clark. Clark was an art collector and an heir to the Singer Corporation fortune. MacGuire had known Robert S. Clark when he was a second lieutenant in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Clark had been nicknamed "the millionaire lieutenant".
1934
During the first half of 1934, MacGuire traveled to Europe and mailed postcards to Butler. On March 6, MacGuire wrote Clark and Clark's attorney a letter describing the Croix-de-Feu.
On August 22, Butler met MacGuire at a hotel, the last time Butler met MacGuire. According to Butler's account, it was on this occasion that MacGuire asked Butler to run a new veterans' organization and lead a coup attempt against the President.
On September 13, Paul Comly French, a reporter who had once been Butler's personal secretary, met MacGuire in his office. In late September, Butler told Van Zandt that co-conspirators would be meeting him at an upcoming Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.
On November 20, the Committee began examining evidence. Journalist Paul Comly French broke the story in the Philadelphia Record and New York Post on November 21. On November 22, The New York Times wrote its first article on the story and described it as a "gigantic hoax".
Committee reports
The Congressional committee preliminary report said:
This committee has had no evidence before it that would in the slightest degree warrant calling before it such men as John W. Davis, Gen. Hugh Johnson, General Harbord, Thomas W. Lamont, Admiral Sims, or Hanford MacNider.
The committee will not take cognizance of names brought into the testimony which constitute mere hearsay.
This committee is not concerned with premature newspaper accounts especially when given and published prior to the taking of the testimony.
As the result of information which has been in possession of this committee for some time, it was decided to hear the story of Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler and such others as might have knowledge germane to the issue. ...
The Congressional committee final report said:
In the last few weeks of the committee's official life it received evidence showing that certain persons had made an attempt to establish a fascist organization in this country. No evidence was presented and this committee had none to show a connection between this effort and any fascist activity of any European country. There is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution when and if the financial backers deemed it expedient.
This committee received evidence from Maj. Gen Smedley D. Butler (retired), twice decorated by the Congress of the United States. He testified before the committee as to conversations with one Gerald C. MacGuire in which the latter is alleged to have suggested the formation of a fascist army under the leadership of General Butler.
MacGuire denied these allegations under oath, but your committee was able to verify all the pertinent statements made by General Butler, with the exception of the direct statement suggesting the creation of the organization. This, however, was corroborated in the correspondence of MacGuire with his principal, Robert Sterling Clark, of New York City, while MacGuire was abroad studying the various forms of veterans organizations of Fascist character.
Contemporary reaction
A New York Times editorial dismissed Butler's story as "a gigantic hoax" and a "bald and unconvincing narrative." Thomas W. Lamont of J.P. Morgan called it "perfect moonshine". General Douglas MacArthur, alleged to be the back-up leader of the putsch if Butler declined, referred to it as "the best laugh story of the year." Time magazine and other publications also scoffed at the allegations.
When the committee released its report, editorials remained skeptical. Time wrote: "Also last week the House Committee on Un-American Activities purported to report that a two-month investigation had convinced it that General Butler's story of a Fascist march on Washington was alarmingly true." The New York Times reported that the committee "alleged that definite proof had been found that the much publicized Fascist march on Washington, which was to have been led by Major. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, retired, according to testimony at a hearing, was actually contemplated."
Separately, Veterans of Foreign Wars commander James E. Van Zandt stated to the press, "Less than two months" after General Butler warned him, "he had been approached by 'agents of Wall Street' to lead a Fascist dictatorship in the United States under the guise of a 'Veterans Organization'."
In 1936, William Dodd, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in which he stated,
"A clique of U.S. industrialists is hell-bent to bring a fascist state to supplant our democratic government and is working closely with the fascist regime in Germany and Italy. I have had plenty of opportunity in my post in Berlin to witness how close some of our American ruling families are to the Nazi regime.... A prominent executive of one of the largest corporations, told me point blank that he would be ready to take definite action to bring fascism into America if President Roosevelt continued his progressive policies. Certain American industrialists had a great deal to do with bringing fascist regimes into being in both Germany and Italy. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there. Propagandists for fascist groups try to dismiss the fascist scare. We should be aware of the symptoms. When industrialists ignore laws designed for social and economic progress they will seek recourse to a fascist state when the institutions of our government compel them to comply with the provisions."
Later reactions
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. said, "Most people agreed with Mayor La Guardia of New York in dismissing it as a 'cocktail putsch'." In Schlesinger's summation of the affair, "No doubt, MacGuire did have some wild scheme in mind, though the gap between contemplation and execution was considerable, and it can hardly be supposed that the Republic was in much danger."
Robert F. Burk wrote: "At their core, the accusations probably consisted of a mixture of actual attempts at influence peddling by a small core of financiers with ties to veterans organizations and the self-serving accusations of Butler against the enemies of his pacifist and populist causes."
Hans Schmidt wrote: "Even if Butler was telling the truth, as there seems little reason to doubt, there remains the unfathomable problem of MacGuire's motives and veracity. He may have been working both ends against the middle, as Butler at one point suspected. In any case, MacGuire emerged from the HUAC hearings as an inconsequential trickster whose base dealings could not possibly be taken alone as verifying such a momentous undertaking. If he was acting as an intermediary in a genuine probe, or as agent provocateur sent to fool Butler, his employers were at least clever enough to keep their distance and see to it that he self-destructed on the witness stand."
Sources and further reading
http://www.clubhousewreckards.com/plot/plottoseizethewhitehouse.htm
The Plots Against the President: FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right Interview of the author and an excerpt are available at NPR's "When The Bankers Plotted To Overthrow FDR" here
History Channel Looks At Plot to Oust FDR http://store.aetv.com/html/search/index.jhtml?search=The+Plot+to+Overthrow+FDR&itemType=All&x=15&y=10
The Politics of Upheaval: 1935–1936, The Age of Roosevelt, Volume III (The Age of Roosevelt)
Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History
1000 Americans: The Real Rulers of the U.S.A.
pp. 294–298 . References External links
Oh, Smedley: Was there really a fascist plot to overthrow the United States government? http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051118.html
U.S. House of Representatives, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Public Statement, 73rd Congress, 2nd session, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1934)s:McCormack–Dickstein Committee#Public Statement on Preliminary findings of HUAC, November 24, 1934
U.S. House of Representatives, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Investigation of Nazi Propaganda Activities and Investigation of Certain Other Propaganda Activities, Hearings 73-D.C.-6, Part 1, 73rd Congress, 2nd session, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1935).
An American Coup d'État? Plot against Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934 http://www.claytoncramer.com/popular/amcoup.html Examines Butler's testimony from both sides
Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: Testimony that the Dickstein MacCormack Committee Suppressed; Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: Morgan Pulls the Strings http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/53/spivak-NewMasses.pdf
"The Plot Against FDR" History Channel documentary
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml |
Source: Skip to Main Content
× Main Menu U.S. Edition News U.S. News World News Business Environment Health Social Justice Crime Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism Opinion Entertainment Culture & Arts Media Celebrity TV & Film Books Life Style & Beauty Food & Drink Parenting Travel Wellness Relationships Money Home & Living Work/Life Shopping Voices Black Voices Queer Voices Latino Voices Indigenous Voices Asian Voices Women's Voices HuffPost Personal VIDEO For Our Partners The Good Life Horoscopes Newsletters
Pyramid Scheme (Word Game)
International U.S. U.K. España France Ελλάδα (Greece) Italia 日本 (Japan) 한국 (Korea) Follow Us Terms | Privacy Policy
Part of HuffPost Business. ©2024 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
What's Hot Log In Support Us The Blog Financial Crisis senate seiu
It's Going to Take Guts to Win Real Wall Street Reform
Just remember the havoc Wall Street caused to our families and our communities. They had their chance to step up and take responsibility for the economic disaster they created. Now it's our turn.
By Anna Burger, Contributor Contributor Contributor
May 16, 2010, 05:12 AM EDT
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive,
send us an email.
The battle lines are drawn. Troops of bank lobbyists surround Capitol Hill. They have their marching orders from Wall Street: No retreat until financial reform is dead.
Lloyd Blankfein and the rest of the Wall Street CEOs like the world the way it is. They get rich and the rest of us foot the bill when big bank gambles go sour.
They spent thirty years building this world. And they're not going to let it go without a fight.
Senator Dodd put out a strong foundation for real Wall Street reform this week. His bill:
Includes a strong consumer protection provision to police harmful and predatory banking products;
Strengthens our ability to target systemic risk;
Protects bank workers who step forward to blow the whistle on harmful products and policies;
Asks regulators to find ways to prevent banks from using consumer deposits to place risky bets;
Subjects large, interconnected financial companies to tougher rules;
Ends the oversized influence of bank CEOs in decisions by the Federal Reserve;
Reforms rating standards that currently force states and cities to spend millions in the risky derivatives market; and
Takes steps to ensure Wall Street pays when big banks gamble recklessly with taxpayer money.
Senator Dodd deserves great credit for standing up to corporate pressure and putting such a strong marker in the ground. He rejected the failed ideas of Republican colleagues who continue to put Wall Street ahead of the American people. And his work follows an equally strong bill passed in the House last year.
But let's be clear -- the Dodd bill must be the floor and not the ceiling. And we must continue to strengthen it.
It's going to take some real guts to fight the Wall Street banks and lobbyists and win the reform the American people demand.
And when we get this job done, it's going to take a sustained and determined effort to ensure these new rules are being used and enforced. We can't wait for another crisis to find out regulators were doing Wall Street's bidding or were asleep at the switch.
Advertisement
We know what to expect from Wall Street. They'll use scare tactics to defeat the bill, they'll write huge campaign checks, they'll make promises behind closed doors -- and if that doesn't work they'll turn those promises into threats.
But let's remember the havoc Wall Street caused to our families and our communities.
Wall Street had their chance to step up and take responsibility for the economic disaster they created. But they haven't stopped foreclosing on families, they haven't expanded lending to small businesses to jumpstart job creation, they haven't helped states and cities that continue to send billions to Wall Street at the same time they cut first responders and teachers.
Big banks have done nothing to help people like Al Marshall, a city employee in Oakland, California who lost his house after the market crashed. He and the rest of the city workers in Oakland continue to take furlough days, layoffs and pay cuts to keep their city afloat.
They've done nothing to help people like Maria Guerra, a janitor from Chicago, whose brother lost the home she helped him buy after he lost his job last year.
Instead, Wall Street used trillions in taxpayer bailouts to place more risky bets and pay out more than $140 billion in pay and bonuses last year.
Advertisement
That money could have plugged nearly every budget hole in the country, extended unemployment benefits to every out of work American, or created millions of new jobs.
The American people are tired of seeing one set of rules benefit the Wall Street CEOs who crashed the economy and another set of rules that continue to punish taxpayers and families.
It's time for the Senate to stand up for the American people and fight back. It's time to send the lobbyists and the CEOs retreating back to their boardrooms.
It's time to put every lawmaker on notice -- pass strong Wall Street reform or pay the consequences on Election Day.
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your
contribution of as little as $2
will go a long way.
Can't afford to donate?
Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2
to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate?
Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPost Already contributed?
Log in to hide these messages.
Related Financial Crisis senate seiu Financial Reform wall street Go to Homepage Suggest a correction | Submit a tip
Popular in the Community
From Our Partner From Our Partner HuffPost Shopping's Best Finds Close What's Hot More In Business NEWS POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT LIFE VOICES HUFFPOST PERSONAL SHOPPING NEWSLETTERS About Us Advertise Contact Us RSS FAQ Careers User Agreement Comment Policy DMCA Policy HuffPost Press Room Accessibility Statement Privacy Policy Consent Preferences Privacy Settings
Part of HuffPost Business. ©2024 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Huffington Post |