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Essay / The Life of Huey Long and His Assassination
One of the most skilled orators and most successful politicians of his time, Huey Long was a political leader. Long was elected governor of Louisiana and then U.S. senator. Had he not been assassinated, he might have had a chance to take Franklin D. Roosevelt's place in the White House. From a young age, it was clear that Long was something special. A bright and intellectual child who excelled at school. There was no doubt that Long would become a very special person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayHuey Pierce Long was born in August. 30 1893, near Winnfield, Louisiana. Born into a middle-class family, Long was the seventh of nine survivors born to Caledonia Tison Long and Huey Pierce Long Sr. The Longs were well-off, although they lived in one of the poorest states. Most families lived in poverty, living off what they grew, with few educational opportunities, neighbors relied on each other. He learned to walk at eight months and was soon discovered playing with livestock, his parents and siblings always chasing him. His father built a cover for their water well thinking Huey would jump in, “just to see what it looked like.” Small for his age, Huey was not like the other boys in his community, who took part in outdoor activities like hunting and fishing. He disliked farm work and enjoyed reading books, which was rare in his community. He was curious and determined to understand how things worked. When a train arrived at Winnfield, little Huey would crawl under it to get a closer look, delaying his departure until someone got him out. When it came to work, he preferred anything other than agricultural work. His jobs included delivering baked goods and writing newspapers, but sales work was his favorite. In 1928, Huey Long ran for governor using the slogan "Every man is a king", a phrase used by William Jennings Bryan. Huey's campaign beat the political tower. Louisiana was widely known as the most backward state in the country. Public education was non-existent and one in four adults could not read. Most families could not afford the textbooks needed for their children to attend these schools. Dirt roads and water obstacles made travel and trade difficult. Taxes kept the lower classes from voting, and the poor paid high property taxes for public services they never received. Long gave hundreds of speeches to voters, showing the people what he thought about Louisiana's government. He promised Louisiana citizens good roads, bridges, free hospital care, free education, and reduced property taxes. In 1932, Huey continued to express his control over state government and traveled to Baton Rouge to pass his bills in the Legislature. Huey Long surrounded by guards in the Louisiana State Capitol. After receiving death threats, Huey increased his security by surrounding himself with bodyguards. Huey also worried about his family's safety and feared his children would be kidnapped. The threats only incited him to redouble his efforts to crush his adversaries. His enemies formed an organization called the Square Deal Association. In January 1935, 200 Square Dealers went to the East Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse, asking the.