My training as a professional historian taught me to evaluate the facts in evidence. On the whole, I tend not to believe in conspiracy theories. Butler, a man of principle but also ambition, may have had conflicting motivations for offering his testimony. Historians are still divided over whether the plot was as serious and advanced as Butler believed. The committee found Butler’s testimony credible, although all of the named plotters laughed it off. No one was charged, and the open testimony may have caused the potters to abandon any future attempts. Smedley Butler refused to help the plotters and revealed the scheme during his riveting testimony before the Congressional Committee. Bush.” Did Smedley Butler Save America In 1933? “the plan was supposedly dreamed up by prominent tycoons and Wall Street big shots who controlled many of the country’s major corporations like Chase Bank, Maxwell House, General Motors, Goodyear, Standard Oil, DuPont, and Heinz, as well as other noted Americans, including Prescott Bush, grandfather of former U.S. Additionally, Butler had spoken out against the mistreatment of homeless veterans during the 1932 encampment known as the Bonus March on Washington.Īn article on the coup summarized Butler’s identification of the plotters: They believed General Butler’s enormous popularity and sterling reputation provided gravitas to their scheme. The plotters allegedly promised $59 million (in 2022 money) to back the effort. The plotters aimed to recruit men through the American Legion. The plan was to install General Butler as the new dictator of America. They planned to lay siege to the capital and force FDR to resign. However, many wealthy and influential conservative leaders feared that Roosevelt was destroying the underpinnings of American democracy.Īccording to General Butler’s sworn testimony, a group of influential, wealthy conservatives, outraged by the new deal, schemed to raise a group of 500,000 World War I veterans to march on Washington, DC. His overwhelming election in 1932, followed by three subsequent reelections, clearly demonstrated his extraordinary popularity with the average Americans. President Franklin Roosevelt’s experimental and drastic actions to combat the depression were very controversial. It is available through your library, for purchase on audiobook or paperback, and you can even read it for free online. I recommend the book “ The Plot To Seize The White House” by Jules Archer. Even Butler’s motivations can be interpreted with skepticism or admiration, depending on how one reads the facts. Shady characters move in and out of the narrative. The details of the plot are very complicated. They believed he would accept their offer to become the new leader of America and that his popularity, reputation, and well-known concern for the welfare of World War I veterans would convince the nation to support him. This reputation reportedly convinced the “Business Plot” leaders to send intermediaries to approach Gen. Butler’s troops and colleagues revered him for his courage, intelligence, and leadership. in 1918, at age 37, Smedley Butler became the youngest General in Marine Corps history. Promotions quickly followed his successful combat leadership in service in the Philippines, China, Central America, the Caribbean, and France in World War I. And so the question can be asked: Did Smedley Butler Save America In 1933? WHO WAS SMEDLEY BUTLER?īorn in 1881, Butler was the son of an influential congressman. General Butler believed there was an imminent threat to our nation. He exposed the scheme, today known as the “Wall Street Plot” or “Business Plot.” Historians still debate how seriously to take the attempted coup. General Butler testified under oath on November 24, 1934, at an extraordinary Congressional Special Committee on Un-American Activities meeting. Roosevelt, replacing him with a dictator. government! According to the testimony of the two-time Medal of Honor-winning Marine General Smedley Butler, a cabal of wealthy, influential conservatives actively plotted to overthrow President Franklin D. It’s possible that in the early 1930s, a plot was hatched by millionaires to overthrow the U.S. From a plot to kill George Washington to the January 6 Insurrection, America has come under attack from within before. Many Americans are concerned about threats to our democracy.
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