The Plot against FDR

An email brings a link to a radio program at the BBC on an attempted coup during the Roosevelt presidency:

The Whitehouse Coup, BBC: Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by right-wing American businessmen  The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush’s Grandfather, Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression. Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy. [Listen to this programme in full] [View a picture gallery of images related to this edition]

I'm not overly familiar with this episode, so here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Business Plot, Wikipedia: The Business Plot, The Plot Against FDR, or The White House Putsch, was an uncovered conspiracy involving several wealthy businessmen to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

Purported details of the matter came to light when retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testified before a Congressional committee that a group of men had attempted to recruit him to serve as the leader of a plot and to assume and wield power once the coup was successful. Butler testified before the McCormack-Dickstein Committee in 1934. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of several men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a military coup. One of the alleged plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler's allegations on the existence of the plot, but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten.

General Butler claimed that the American Liberty League was the primary means of funding the plot. The main backers were the Du Pont family, as well as leaders of U.S. Steel, General Motors, Standard Oil, Chase National Bank, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. A BBC documentary claims Prescott Bush, father and grandfather to the 41st and 43rd US Presidents respectively, was also involved. ...

Partial corroboration of Butler's story

Portions of Butler's story were corroborated by:

• Veterans of Foreign Wars commander James E. Van Zandt. "Less than two months" after General Butler warned him, he said "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.' "
• Captain Samuel Glazier—testifying under oath about plans of a plot to install a dictatorship in the United States.
• Reporter Paul Comly French, reporter for the Philadelphia Record and the New York Evening Post.

...Historical treatment

Several scenarios have been proposed in explaining why the affair did not become a cause celebre, among which are:

• The story was an embarrassment to people of influence, and it was best to sweep it under the rug as quickly as possible.
• In 1934, newspapers were controlled by a relatively small elite — according to then-Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes, 82% of all dailies had monopolies in their communities. Proponents of the theory thus suggest that the media downplayed Butler's testimony based on the interests of their advertisers and owners.
• Some of Roosevelt's advisors were in on the plot, and downplayed it when it was exposed to prevent their dirty laundry from being aired in public.

Those who doubt Butler's testimony claim that it simply lacked evidence.

• Historian Robert F. Burk: "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."
• Historian Hans Schmidt: "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...MacGuire repeatedly perjured himself...Butler may have blown the whistle on an incipient conspiracy..."
• Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.: "Most people agreed with Mayor La Guardia of New York in dismissing it as a "cocktail putsch... As for the House committee, headed by John McCormack of Massachusetts, it declared itself "able to verify all the pertinent statements made by General Butler" except for MacGuire's direct proposal to him, and it considered this more or less confirmed by MacGuire's European reports. 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."
• Historian James E. Sargent reviewing "The Plot to Seize the White House" by Jules Archer: "Thus, Butler (and Archer) assumed that the existence of a financially backed plot meant that fascism was imminent and that the planners represented a wide spread and coherent group, having both the intent and the capacity to execute their ideas. So when his testimony was criticized and even ridiculed in the media and ignored in Washington, Butler saw (and Archer sees) conspiracy everywhere. Instead, it is plausible to conclude that the honest and straightforward, but intellectually and politically unsophisticated, Butler perceived in simplistic terms what were in fact complex trends and events. Thus he leaped to the simplistic conclusion that the President and the Republic were in mortal danger. In essence, Archer swallowed his hero whole."

If you know more about this, I'd be interesting in learning more.

Comments

[Hello]

Love the site...

This is standard lore in Conspiracy circles. You need to visit the New Age section of a book store every now and again!

:)

[Emma Zahn]

See books by George Seldes for more information. I think these three are the most pertinent.

1000 Americans: The Real Rulers of the U.S.A.
The People Don't Know
Tell the Truth and Run

[evagrius]

It took them 70 years or so...but it looks like they've succeeded?

[TigerPaw]

I guess Grandpa Bush would be proud of what Junior has done. Though hopefully Baby Bush has so thoroughly discredited the right that maybe they'll be on the outside looking in for a while. Probably not - but I can dream.

[2slugbaits]

Was Dick Cheney's grandfather involved?

[im1dc]

It should be noted that FDR never felt threatened by the plotters according to some biographry's, he felt they were incompetent bumblers. Given that both #41 and #43 flow from Prescott Bush, one of the plotters, I think FDR was right.

[Lee A. Arnold]

Sounds like it was used for the fictional backdrop of Frank Capra's terrific 1941 film, MEET JOHN DOE, with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.

[Bruce Wilder]

It is interesting to me how the full flavor of politics is lost to memory.

Why any of them would approach Smedley Butler, who had made his anti-war and anti-plutocracy views extremely well-known, is the only implausible element, but the fact of meetings between Butler and MacGuire were never disputed.

Other elements of historical context, however, ought to be present. The Army Chief of Staff, Douglas MacArthur, an outspoken reactionary, would have been the logical candidate to lead a coup, but MacArthur, having attacked the Bonus Marchers with saber-wielding cavalry and fixed bayonets, was none too popular with veterans, and Butler, if not part of the conspiracy, would have been in a position to put it down. So, maybe approaching him was not all that crazy.

Democrats in our day are completely ineffective, mealy-mouthed fools, easily intimidated, which is why the same merry band that brought us the policy triumph of Iran-Contra have been able to follow through so successfully in Iraq.

FDR was a tougher nut. Andrew Mellon, the Treasury Secretary "under" three successive Republican Presidents, and the primary advocate in the plutocracy of "liquidating the rot", was dragged through a civil tax trial. That's how America got the National Gallery of Art -- it was the price of acquittal. (Contrast that with Clinton's forebearance toward grandnephew, Richard Mellon Scaife).

I guess my point is that 1933 marked a revolutionary moment; a wealthy and powerful elite had been turned out of power, and they were not happy about it.

[jurisnaturalist]

Kerry's wife's family was also involved (audible yawn)

The list of names is interesting as they all were hurt in one way or another by Roosevelt policies (FDR or Teddy). Foremost among damaging policies was antitrust prosecution. If someone used the long arm of the law to take half your earnings you'd get upset, too. Unless you were used to it.

[ilsm]

"Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty." George Washington, 1796.

[Bruce Wilder]

That would be Kerry's wife's first husband's family -- Heinz.

says...

Smedley Butler was a known pacifist (post-retirement) and anti-capitalist who gave frequent speeches to the Communist Party and various antifascist groups. The idea that a bunch of plutocratic Mussolini fans would pick him to lead a putsch suggests that either they were massively incompetent, or Butler was imagining things.

[op]

this has poor cranky sanguine
demi loon butler ---a hero of mine---
believing another loons megalo-confabulations

guys :

in '33 fdr had few big wig enemies ....yet

story has a happy ending

corporate america
put the new deal in congressional
cross aisle irons
after the 36 landslide

then came recession and eurowar ...

it all proved easy

just wait out
the new deal remnants

[op]

"1933 marked a revolutionary moment; a wealthy and powerful elite had been turned out of power, and they were not happy about it "

piffle
would that it were so

here's a working definition of revolution
i stumbled over recently

by a fairly successful practioner:

"revolution is a change
which breaks the old order
to its very foundations,
and not one that cautiously,
slowly and gradually remodels it,
taking care to break
as little as possible "

[Catron]

Several scenarios have been proposed in explaining why the affair did not become a cause celebre.

The most plausible explanation is this: everyone knew Butler had snakes in his head.

[mp]

Hello- "This is standard lore in Conspiracy circles. You need to visit the New Age section of a book store every now and again!"

You don't need to go to a New Age book store to read third-hand accounts of political conspiracies. I suggest spending a few weeks at the Hoover Institution. Get your information first-hand from the archives of the participants.

[Brenda Rosser]

Well, the coup attempt appears to fall in line with most US history:

1960 – [the hundred largest ] TNCs concentrated in five countries. US based corporations owned 82% of foreign subsidiaries.
1962 - Marilyn Monroe murdered (by member of Sam Giancana family, a group linked to President Kennedy).
1962 – 1998 – largest transnationals and their foreign penetration
1963 – Assassination of President Kennedy. VP Johnson implicated (See Oliver Stone's movie entitled 'JFK')
1964 – $9 billion Eurodollar market
1964 – Peak in oil discoveries
1965 – US supported coup in Indonesia by General Suharto
1966 – 1975 – Vietnam War
1968 – Assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and Black Civil Rights leader.
1968 – Economic Hit Man visits Ecuador. Oil. Texaco
1969 - assassination? of Jimi Hendrix, Morrison from 'The Doors' and Janis Joplin.

Some interesting links:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FpwgUXWrEY
http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/Other_Assassinations_and_Plots
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52493
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52493

"Is it just a coincidence that three of the biggest names in rock - Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin - should all die within a year? Director / writer Larry Buchanan doesn't think so. He believes Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin were murdered and Jim Morrison faked his own death. Mr. Buchanan wrote and directed the film "Beyond The Doors" which explores the mysterious deaths of the three superstars. And, when it comes to movie-making, Larry Buchanan is no slouch. He's been in the business for 30 years now. Most of his work was done for American International Pictures. He gave Morgan Fairchild her first job in a picture - with Fabian. He also gave Steve McQueen his first job in a film, on a short subject, called "The Cowboy"..."

[prostratedragon]

Lee A. Arnold —just what I was thinking. Meet John Doe (dvd is available) is a movie that more people should see, if only to be convinced that current concerns are not new, and have long been felt across the political spectrum. It's unusually biting Capra (and maybe also a forerunner of Network).

[baileyman]

Bruce Wilder said:

"Democrats in our day are completely ineffective, mealy-mouthed fools, easily intimidated, which is why the same merry band that brought us the policy triumph of Iran-Contra have been able to follow through so successfully in Iraq."

Could it be that since they expect to tai-chi walk into the Presidency that ineffectiveness may be their strategy to seize the reins of the now super-sized executive? How cool the idea may be to top party people? All that expanded power, all theirs!

[Magna_Carta_1215]

The congressional committee's life was allowed to end, and its records were "edited" before they were released and placed on file -- with names deleted in a wholesale fashion. There has been considerable speculation over the years as to why this happened. My personal theory is that FDR, who was obsessive about keeping his hand in anything that related to his administration, was involved, and that a deal was cut. Prosecutions and the public revulsion that would result could push the nation toward the other dictatorial option available at the time -- state socialism of the USSR variety. Even if the public reaction did not go that far (and it could have, given the tenor of the times) the distraction from what FDR saw as necessary for economic recovery would be damaging. So nobody would hang. But in return, the culprits would stop their efforts to undermine FDR at every turn; their subsequent silence would be seen as consent to FDR's actions. Grudging consent, but consent nonetheless. FDR and his administration would be secure; there would be no more fascist plots; and the conspirators could stew in the juices of their own frustration and anger. And that's pretty much how it happened. Assuming that my theory is correct, it also proves that FDR was capable of making a major political mistake. The exposure of the plot in public trials, a few exemplary executions, and a lot of publicity about the dangers of fascism could have resulted in a faster entry of the USA into WWII -- with fewer war deaths in the end -- and incidentally would have short-circuited any political ambitions of the son and grandson of Prescott Bush, one of the plotters.

[Paul]

Pardon me if someone already said this and I missed it, but I read somewhere that FDR was looking for support for his New Deal, and it wasn't forthcoming from the rich. When the Business Plot was exposed, FDR had a choice: Go after the rich who supported it, and still risk going nowhere with the New Deal, or strike a deal with the rich who were implicated in exchange for supporting the New Deal, and let those implicated rich stay out of prison (and end the investigation without trials) as long as the implicated rich gave their support to FDR for the New Deal.

I'm sorry, but I don't remember where I read this, but it makes the best sense for me out of the fact that the investigation stopped, and FDR got his New Deal.

[JL Wallace]

"One if by Land and the Lantern is Lit..."

Our Constitutional Republic has been destroyed. The foundation of American Liberty has been either distorted, erased or forgotten. Our entire planet is ruled by an oligarchy of established bankers, oilmen and global corporations. We the People find ourselves enslaved and intoxicated by an economic system that by design, destroys the prosperity, development and education of the World's Citizenry.

The Federal Reserve and its fiat monetary policy need to be abolished. The unconstitutional (and enslaving) 16th Amendment needs to be repealed. Congress needs to listen to the people and convene an Article V Convention so we may work towards restoring the Constitutional Republic that our "elected" officials have stolen from us and sold to the highest bidder within the corporatocracy.

Our government is allowing the corporate elite to successfully merge Canada, Mexico and the United States into a single supra-national entity, the North American Union - complete with its new currency the "Amero", which will be ushered in just after the fabricated collapse of our economy. The fascist Tories within our government are working towards another false-flag attack similar to 9/11 to "justify" an attack on Iran and the further erosion of our civil liberties in America.

A Halliburton subsidiary, KBR has already been awarded a $385 million contract to construct "detention centers" in the United States. Any puppet President of the United States now has the power to enact martial law and fully transform America into a police state. The conditioned-complacent public in this country and all the World's Citizenry need to act now to save what few liberties we have left. Rediscover Patriotism. Resurrect Dissent. The time has come to ascend upon Washington and RESTORE THE REPUBLIC!

[geo]

there is a lot more information about this at clicktoimpeachbush.org including more coverage of this event as well as other attempts to subvert the governments interest by so called american leaders.