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| Those who doubt Butler's testimony claim that his claims simply lacked evidence. In a ] article in '']'', historian ] reminds readers that Roosevelt's first term was characterized by fierce political fighting between conservatives and ] proponents of the New Deal. FDR's advisors could have fabricated the plot in order to discredit conservatives opposed to his program. | Those who doubt Butler's testimony claim that his claims simply lacked evidence. In a ] article in '']'', historian ] reminds readers that Roosevelt's first term was characterized by fierce political fighting between conservatives and ] proponents of the New Deal. FDR's advisors could have fabricated the plot in order to discredit conservatives opposed to his program. | ||
| Proponents of the theory claim that Butler's Congressional foiled the plot. To this day, any truth in his allegations remains unclear, and the aforementioned scenarios remain speculative due to the lack of definitive evidence. | Proponents of the theory claim that Butler's ] testimony foiled the plot. To this day, any truth in his allegations remains unclear, and the aforementioned scenarios remain speculative due to the lack of definitive evidence. | ||
| ==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
Revision as of 03:12, 14 July 2005
The Business Plot or the The Plot Against FDR is a historically conjectured conspiracy of moneyed interests intended to strip President Franklin D. Roosevelt of his political power during the early years of the Great Depression. Proponents of the theory point to the year 1933 as the origin of the affair, citing the widespread dismay of U.S. business interests toward President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program, which proposed sweeping new government intervention and redistributionist policies to combat the Great Depression. In response, these men allegedly plotted to overthrow Roosevelt in a fascist military coup.
Alleged Conspirators
Those who propose the existence of the Business Plot hold a group of wealthy business interests, led by the Du Pont and J. P. Morgan industrial empires, to have been the conspirators. Among the individuuals cited:
- Irénée du Pont - Chemical industrialist and founder of the American Liberty League, the right-wing organization assigned to execute the plot.
- Grayson Murphy - Director of Goodyear, Bethlehem Steel and a group of J. P. Morgan banks.
- William Doyle - Former high-ranking member of the American Legion and a central plotter of the coup.
- John Davis - Former Democratic presidential candidate and a senior attorney for J. P. Morgan.
- Al Smith - Roosevelt's bitter political foe from New York. Smith was a former governor of New York and a codirector of the American Liberty League.
- John J. Raskob - A high-ranking DuPont officer and a former chairman of the Democratic Party.
- Robert Clark - One of Wall Street's richest bankers and stockbrokers.
- Gerald MacGuire - Bond salesman for Clark, and a former commander of the Connecticut American Legion. MacGuire was the key recruiter to General Butler.
The Butler Affair
The conspirators are alleged to have attempted to recruit tried Marine Corps General Smedley Butler to lead the coup, promising him an army of 500,000 men for a march on Washington, D.C., unlimited financial backing, and generous media spin control. Despite Butler's sworn loyalty to Roosevelt, the plotters supposedly felt his good reputation and popularity were vital in attracting support amongst the general public, and saw him as easier to manipulate than others.
In attempting to recruit Butler, MacGuire is said to have played on the general's passionate loyalty toward his fellow veterans and soldiers. Knowing of an upcoming bonus in 1945 for World War I Veterans, MacGuire allegedly told Butler, "We want to see the soldiers' bonus paid in gold. We do not want the soldier to have rubber money or paper money." The conspirators are also said to have claimed that once in power, they would protect Roosevelt from other plotters.
Given a successful coup, Butler would have supposedly held near-absolute power in the newly created position of "Secretary of General Affairs," while Roosevelt would have assumed a figurehead role. Butler would then have implemented fascist measures to combat the Depression, as some conservatives at the time felt that such steps were necessary to ward off communist influence while preventing drastic changes in the economic structure.
Butler's testified to the existence of such a plot before the McCormack-Dickstein Committee in 1933. The majority of media outlets ridiculed or downplayed his claims, saying they lacked evidence. Those accused of the plotting by Butler all professed innocence. However, MacGuire was the only figure identified by Butler who testified before the committee.
Public reaction and aftermath
Reaction to Butler's tesitimony by the public was lukewarm. Those who hold with the existence of the conspiracy propose several scenarios in explaining why the affair did not become a cause celebre, among which are:
- The story was an embarassment 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 his claims simply lacked evidence. In a 1995 article in History Today, historian Clayton Cramer reminds readers that Roosevelt's first term was characterized by fierce political fighting between conservatives and liberal proponents of the New Deal. FDR's advisors could have fabricated the plot in order to discredit conservatives opposed to his program.
Proponents of the theory claim that Butler's Congressional testimony foiled the plot. To this day, any truth in his allegations remains unclear, and the aforementioned scenarios remain speculative due to the lack of definitive evidence.