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'''The Business Plot''' or '''The Plot Against FDR''' or '''The White House Putsch''' was a conspiracy of moneyed interests intended to overthrow ] ] during the early years of the ]. The allegations of the plot came to light when ] General ] testified to the existence of the plot before the ] in ]. In this testimony, Butler claimed that a group of several men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a ] ]. 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. '''The Business Plot''', '''The Plot Against FDR''', or '''The White House Putsch''', was a conspiracy to overthrow ] ] in 1933 by a retired general backed by big money interests. The allegations of the plot came to light when retired ] General ] testified that one ] told Butler that he had been selected to lead the plot. Butler testified before the ] in 1934 {{ref|committee}}. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of several men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a ]. MacGuire vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler's allegations on the existence of the plot, {{ref|committee2}} but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten.


==Background==
==Alleged Conspirators==
]


In ] thousands of ] veterans converged on ], set up tent camps, and demonstrated in demand of immediate payment of a bonus due them according to the ] of 1924. The bonus, however, wasn't due to be paid until 1945. They were called the ] and were led by Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant, and encouraged by an appearance from retired ] Major General ], who had considerable influence over the veterans, being one of the most popular military figures of the time. A few days after Butler's appearance the marchers were removed and their camps destroyed by US Army cavalry troops under the command of General ].
The allegations center on a group of wealthy business interests, led by the ] and ] industrial empires. Among the individuals cited as conspirators:
* ] — Chemical industrialist and founder of the ], the right-wing organization assigned to execute the plot.
* ] — Director of ], ] and a group of ] banks.
* ] — Former high-ranking member of the ] and a central plotter of the coup.
* ] — Former Democratic presidential candidate and a senior attorney for J. P. Morgan.
* ] — Roosevelt's bitter political foe from New York. Smith was a former ] and a codirector of the American Liberty League.
* ] — A high-ranking ] officer and a former chairman of the ].
* ] — One of ]'s richest bankers and stockbrokers.
* ] — Bond salesman for Clark, and a former commander of the Connecticut American Legion. MacGuire was to be the key recruiter of General Butler.


After the inauguration of ] in 1933, some of the Bonus Army regrouped in Washington to restate their claims to the new president. Roosevelt rejected the Bonus Army's claims. Butler, although a prominent Republican, supported his old friend Roosevelt in the election.{{ref|support}}
==The Butler Affair==


], in a 1995 '']'' article, reminded readers that the devastation of the Great Depression had caused many Americans to question the foundations of ]. "Many traditionalists, here and in Europe, toyed with the ideas of Fascism and National Socialism; many liberals dallied with Socialism and Communism." This helps explain why some American business leaders viewed fascism as a viable system to both preserve their interests and end the economic woes of the Depression.
The conspirators are alleged to have attempted to recruit ] General ] to lead the coup, promising him an army of 500,000 men for a march on ], unlimited financial backing, and generous ]. 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.


==Timeline of events==
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 ] 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.
<div style="font-size: 90%">


{|border=1 style=cellpadding="2" align=center
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 ] at the time felt that such steps were necessary to ward off ] influence while preventing drastic changes in the economic structure.
| colspan=10 align=center |'''Timeline of events'''
|-
|colspan=7 align=center style="background:#efefef;"| '''1933'''
|-
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| ''' July 1''' <br>
First Butler meeting with ] and ]
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''July 3 or 4''' <br>
Second meeting with ] and ]
|width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''Around August 1'''<br>
MacGuire visits Butler alone. Butler never sees Doyle again.
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| ''' September 24 {{ref|178}} ''' <br>
MacGuire visits Butler's hotel room in Newark.
|width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''Late-September'''<br>
Butler meets with Robert Clark.
|-
|colspan=7 align=center style="background:#efefef;" |'''January - August 1934'''
|-
|-
|width= 125px valign=top align=center| ''' First half of 1934'''<br>
MacGuire travels to Europe, sends Butler postcards
|width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''March 6'''<br>
MacGuire writes Clark and Clark's attorney letter describing the ]
|width= 125px valign=top align=center|'''August 22''' <br>
Butler meets MacGuire at a Hotel. Last time Butler meets MacGuire {{ref|153}}
|-
|colspan=7 align=center style="background:#efefef;" |''' September - December 1934'''
|-
|-
|width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''September 13''' <br>
Undercover reporter French meets McGuire in his office
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''Late September'''<br>
Butler tells Van Zandt that conspirators will meet him at upcoming Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''November 20'''<br>
] begins examining evidence.<br>Paul Comly French breaks the story in the ] and the ].{{ref|Paul}}
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| '''November 21'''<br>
New York Times writes its first article on the story.
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| ''' November 24'''<br>
The committee publicly releases its prelimary findings.
|-
|colspan=7 align=center style="background:#efefef;"| '''1935'''
|-
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| ''' January 3'''<br>
Final day of committee{{ref|189}}
| width= 250px valign=top align=center colspan=2| ''' January 29'''<br>
Spivak publishes first of two articles in Communist magazine, arguing plot is part of Jewish conspiracy to take over USA; he alleges names of big business leaders, reveals deleted portion of congressional committee.
| width= 125px valign=top align=center| ''' February 15'''<br>
] submits to Congress its final report.{{ref|plotx}}
|}
</div>


==McCormack-Dickstein Committee==
Butler testified to the existence of such a plot before the McCormack-Dickstein Committee in ]. 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.


The events testified in the the House Un-American Activities Committee-- the ] happened between July and November 1933. The Committee began examining evidence a year later 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 to the House of Represenatives its final report.{{ref|plotx}} The McCormack-Dickstein Committee was the first ] (]).
Butler's story was corroborated by Veterans of Foreign Wars commander James Van Zandt, who testified that he had been approached to lead the 500,000-man march on Washington.


During the McCormack-Dickstein Committee hearings, Butler testified that through ] and ], who was then the department commander of the American Legion in Massachusetts, the conspirators attempted to recruit him to lead a coup, promising him an army of 500,000 men for a march on ], $30 million in financial backing, and generous ]. {{fact}} Despite Butler's support for Roosevelt in the election{{ref|support}}, 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.
==Public reaction==


Butler said he was approached for about thirty minutes by ]. MacGuire was a bond salesman for ], an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, an art collector who lived mostly in Paris, and one of ]'s richest investors. MacGuire was a former commander of the Connecticut American Legion and had been an activist for the gold currency movement that Clark sponsored.
Reaction to Butler's testimony 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 '']'', among which are:


In attempting to recruit Butler, MacGuire may have played on the general's loyalty toward his fellow veterans. Knowing of an upcoming bonus in 1945 for World War I veterans, Butler said MacGuire told him, "We want to see the soldiers' bonus paid in gold. We do not want the soldier to have rubber money or paper money." Such names as ], Roosevelt's political foe and former governor of New York, and ], a chemical industrialist, were said to be the financial and organizational backbone of the plot. Butler stated that once the conspirators were in power, they would protect Roosevelt from other plotters.{{ref|butler}}
* The story was an embarrassment to people of influence, and it was best to sweep it under the rug as quickly as possible.


Given a successful coup, Butler said he would have held near-absolute power in the newly created position of "Secretary of General Affairs," while Roosevelt would have assumed a figurehead role.
* In 1934, newspapers were controlled by a relatively small elite &mdash; according to ] ], 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.


Reaction to Butler's testimony by the media and business elite was dismissive or hostile. The majority of media outlets, including The New York Times, Philadelphia Post,{{ref|post}} and Time Magazine ridiculed or downplayed his claims, saying they lacked evidence. After the committee concluded, the New York Times and Time Magazine downplayed the conclusions of the committee.{{ref|journalism}}
* 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.


The House Un-American Activities Committee deleted extensive excerpts from the report relating to Wall Street financiers including J.P. Morgan, the Du Pont interests, Remington Arms, and others allegedly involved in the plot attempt. As of 1975, a full transcript of the hearings had yet to be traced.{{ref|Sutton}}
Those who doubt Butler's testimony claim that it simply lacked evidence. Another scenario, proposed by historian ] in a ] '']'' article, 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 accused of the plotting by Butler all denied any involvement. MacGuire was the only figure identified by Butler who testified before the committee. Others involved were actually called to appear to testify, though never were forced to testify.
Cramer also recalls that the devastation of the Great Depression had caused many Americans to question the foundations of ]. Several liberals flirted with ] and communism, while several conservatives viewed countries such as ]'s ] as examples of how fascism could return stability and prosperity to countries ravaged by the Depression. Thus, it is not inconceivable that American business leaders could have viewed fascism as a viable system to both preserve their interests and end the economic woes of the Depression.


== Partial corroboration of Butler's story ==
==Denouement==
Portions of Butler's story were corroborated by:


*Veterans of Foreign Wars commander James 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.' "{{ref|zandt}}
The uncensored report of the Congressional committee investigating the matter confirmed Butler's testimony. This report was published in the 1973 book '']'', by Jules Archer:
*Captain Samuel Glazier—testifying under oath about plans of a plot to install a dictatorship in the United States. {{ref|Sutton}}
<blockquote>
*Reporter Paul Comly French, reporter for the Philadelphia Record and the New York Evening Post.
In the last few weeks of the committee's life it received evidence showing that certain persons had attempted to establish a fascist organization in this country...


==Members of the ]==
There is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution if the financial backers deemed it expedient...
''From the files found at wikisource.''


* ], Massachusetts, Chairman. McCormack served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1961 until 1971.
MacGuire denied allegations under oath, <b>but your committee was able to verify all the pertinent statements made to 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 form of veterans' organizations of Fascist character.</b>
* ] New York, Vice Chairman. Evidence was later shown from the Soviet archives that Dickstein was a Soviet spy.
</blockquote>
* ], Michigan. Democratic Congressman from March 4, 1933-January 3, 1935.
(Excerpt from ''"The Plot to Seize the White House."'')
* ], California. Democratic Congressman from March 4, 1933-January 3, 1943.
* ], Ohio. Republican Congressman from March 4, 1925-January 3, 1959.
* ], Tennessee. Republican Congressman from March 4, 1919-November 14, 1939.
* ], Kansas. Republican Congressman from March 4, 1927-June 5, 1943.
* ], Counsel.


== John Spivak ==
==Sources==
''Excerpts, unless noted, are from "The Plot to Seize the White House" by Jules Archer, page 194-220''
*
*
*
*
*
"The Plot to Seize the White House", Jules Archer, Hawthorne Books, 1973


Reporter "John L. Spivak had been tipped off earlier by a fellow Washington correspondent that some of Butler's testimony had been deleted in the committee's November 26, 1934 report to the House of Representatives..."
]

"Other newsmen joined (Spivak) in pressing for a copy of the (] report). It was then that the defunct McCormack-Dickstein Committee...decided to publish a 125-page document containing the testimony of Butler, McGuire, and others, on February 15, 1935. It was marked "Extracts"...

"A veteran Washington correspondent told Spivak that he had heard the deletions had been made at the request of a member of the President's Cabinet..."

Spivak "had been tipped-off earlier that the House of Representatives intended to let the McCormack-Dickstein Committee expire on January 3, 1935, rather than renew it as the committee had asked in order to continue its investigations."

"About a week later, seeking to do a story on its accomplishments in exposing Nazi and anti-Semitic activities in the United States, Spivak won permission from Dickstein to examine the committee's official exhibits and make photostatic copies of those that had been made public. Dickstein wrote a letter to this effect to the committee's secretary, Frank P. Randolph, and added, "If necessary consult John about it."

"Randolph, flooded with work involved in closing the committee's files and records, gave Spivak stacks of documents, exhibits, and transcripts of testimony that were being sent to the Government Printing Office. To Spivak's amazement, he found among these records a full transcript of the executive session hearings in the Butler affair."

Spivak "compared it with the official extract of the hearings and found a number of startling omissions made from the testimony of both Butler and French"

Journalist John L. Spivak wrote a two part article. Historian Schmidt explains:

:"Journalist John L. Spivak, researching Nazism and anti-Semitism for New Masses magazine, got permission from Dickstein to examine HUAC's public documents and was (it seems unwittingly) given the unexpurgated testimony amid stacks of other papers. Spivak's two-part feature "Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy" appeared in early 1935, a month after the hearings closed. He cogently developed a case for taking the suppressed testimony seriously. But this relevant material was embellished with overblown aspersions against "Jewish financiers working with fascist groups" -- a mishmash of guilt-by-association that connected Morgan interests with Jewish financier Felix Warburg, HUAC, and certain members of the American Jewish Committee. Spivak was intent upon grinding his own axes, and elucidation of the plot was obscured. The suppressed Butler-MacGuire conversations could hardly support all this. Moreover New Masses possessed a limited readership; the scoop was stigmatized as "red" propaganda and generally not cited elsewhere."{{ref|Spivak}}

After being told about the deletions by Spivak, in Butler's "broadcast over WCAU on February 17, 1935, Butler revealed that some of the "most important" portions of his testimony had been suppressed in the McCormack-Dickstein report to Congress. The committee, he growled, had "stopped dead in its tracks when it got near the top." He added angrily:"

:"Like most committees, it has slaughtered the little and allowed the big to escape. The big shots weren't even called to testify. Why wasn't Colonel ], New York broker ... called? Why wasn't ], Secretary to the President of the United States, called? . . . Why wasn't Al Smith called? And why wasn't Gen. ], Chief of Staff of the United States Army, called? And why wasn't ], former American Legion commander, called? They were all mentioned in the testimony. And why was all mention of these names suppressed from the committee report?"

==Historical Treatment==

Several scenarios have been proposed in explaining why the affair did not become a '']'', 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 &mdash; according to then-] ], 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.

The puzzle is why big business leaders would consider General Butler, known for his vehement attacks on bankers. Many of the alledged financial backers were all prominent "wet" Democrats--leaders of the movement to repeal prohibition. Butler was one of the most prominent "dry" Republicans who had fought these same figures for years.{{fact}}

*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."{{ref|Burk}}

*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..."{{ref|Schmidt}}

*Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.: "Most people agreed with Mayor La Guardia of New York in dismissing it as a "]{{ref|wolfe}}... 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." {{ref|Schlesinger}}

*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."{{ref|critical}}

==Final resolution==

The Congressional committee report confirmed Butler's testimony:

<blockquote>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 government in this country.<br><br>

No evidence was presented and this committee had none to show a connection between this effort and any fascist activity of any European country.<br><br>

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.<br><br>

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.{{ref|final}} <br><br>

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.{{ref|final2}} </blockquote>

Even though the Senate committee did take the threat seriously and did verify that a fascist coup was indeed well past the planning stage, the Senate committee expired.

==Notes==
# {{note|committee2}} {{cite book
| author= Schlesinger Jr., Arthur M.
| title=The Politics of Upheaval : 1935-1936, The Age of Roosevelt, Volume III (The Age of Roosevelt)
| publisher=Mariner Books
| year=2003
| id=ISBN 0618340874}} p. 85 <font size="1">"As for the House committee, headed by John McCormack of Massachusetts, it declared itself "able to verify all the pertinent statments 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." </font>
# {{note|committee}} Schlesinger, p. 85 <font size="1">"In March 1934, the House of Representatives authorized an investigation into "un-American" activities by a special committee headed by John W. McCormack of Massachusetts and Samuel Dickstein of New York. In the following months the McCormack-Dickstein Committee inquired into Nazi operations in America, exposed William Dudley Pelley and the Silver Shirts, looked into Smedley Butler's allegations, and called the Communist leaders up for testimony. Its manner of investigation commanded special respect. McCormack used competent investigators and employed as committee counsel a former Georgia senator with a good record on civil liberties. Most of the examination of witnesses was carried on in executive sessions. In public sessions, witnesses were free to consult counsel. Throughout, McCormack was eager to avoid hit-and-run accusation and unsubstantiated testimony. The result was an almost uniquely scrupulous investigation in a highly sensitive area."</font>
# {{note|Paul}} {{cite book
| author=Archer, Jules
| title=
| publisher=Hawthorne Books
| year=1973
| id=ASIN: B0006COVHA}} p. 139
# {{note|plotx}} Archer p. x ''(Foreword)''<br> National Archives: '''' (73A-F30.1) <font size="1">"The (McCormack-Dickstein Committee) conducted public and executive hearings intermittently between April 26 and December 29, 1934, in Washington, DC; New York; Chicago; Los Angeles; Newark; and Asheville, NC, examining hundreds of witnesses and accumulating more than 4,300 pages of testimony."</font>
# {{note|support}} {{cite book
| author=Schmidt, Hans
| title= Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History
| publisher= University Press of Kentucky
| year= 1998
| id=ISBN 0813109574}} p. 219 <font size="1">"Declaring himself a "Hoover-for-Ex-President Republican," Smedley used the bonus issue and the army's gas attack in routing the (Bonus Expeditionary Force) B.E.F-recalling infamous gas warfare during the Great War-to disparage Hoover during the 1932 general elections. He came out for the Democrats "despite the fact that my family for generations has been Republican," and shared the platform when Republican Senator George W. Norris opened a coast-to-coast stump for FDR in Philedelphia....Butler was pleased with election results that saw Hoover crash in defeat. He had exerted himself in the campaign more "to get rid of Hoover than to put in Roosevelt," and to "square a debt." FDR, his old Haiti ally, was a "nice fellow" and might make a good president, but Smedley did not expect much influence in the new administration."</font>
# {{note|Columbus}} {{cite journal
| author=Feran, Tim
| title=History Channel Looks At Plot to Oust FDR
| journal=Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
| year=] ]
| volume=
| issue=
| pages=1H
| url= }}
# {{note|butler}} {{cite journal | author=Beam, Alex| title=A Blemish Behind Beauty at The Clark | journal=The Boston Globe | year=] ] | volume= | issue= | pages=E1 | url= }}: <font size="1">"In his congressional testimony, Butler described Clark as being "known as the "millionaire lieutenant" and was sort of batty, sort of queer, did all sorts of extravagant things. He used to go exploring around China and wrote a book on it, on explorations. He was never taken seriously by anybody. But he had a lot of money." "Clark was certainly eccentric. One of the reasons he sited his fantastic art collection away from New York or Boston was that he feared it might be destroyed by a Soviet bomber attack during the Cold War..."(Clark) was pointed out to me during a trip to Paris," says one on his grandnieces. "He was known to be pro-fascist and on the enemy side. Nobody ever spoke to him.""</font> <br>
# {{note|153}} Archer, p. 153 See also:
# {{note|178}} Archer, p. 178
# {{note|189}} Archer, p. 189
# {{note|post}} Archer, p. 173<br>Philadelphia Post, November 22, 1934
# {{note|journalism}} {{cite journal
| author= Author unknown
| title= Plot Without Plotters
| journal=Time Magazine
| year= ] ]
| volume=
| issue=
| pages=
| url= http://www.livejournal.com/users/bailey83221/47109.html}}<br> {{cite journal | author= Author unknown
| title= Gen. Butler Bares 'Fascist Plot' To Seize Government by Force; Says Bond Salesman, as Representative of Wall St. Group, Asked Him to Lead Army of 500,000 in March on Capital -- Those Named Make Angry Denials -- Dickstein Gets Charge.
| journal= ]
| year= ] ]
| volume=
| issue=
| pages= 1 | url= }}; {{cite journal
| author= Author unknown
| title= Credulity Unlimited
| journal= ]
| year= ] ]
| volume=
| issue=
| pages= 20
| url=http://www.livejournal.com/users/bailey83221/47109.html#NYT}}<br> Philadelphia Record, ] and 22, 1934;'']'', ] ]: <font size="1">"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."</font><br> '']'' ] ]. p. 1, <font size="1">"Asks Laws To Curb Foreign Agitators; Committee In Report To House Attacks Nazis As The Chief Propagandists In Nation. State Department Acts Checks Activities Of An Italian Consul -- Plan For March On Capital Is Held Proved. Asks Laws To Curb Foreign Agitators, "Plan for “March” Recalled. It also 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. The committee recalled testimony by General Butler, saying he had testified that Gerald C. MacGuire had tired to persuade him to accept the leadership of a Fascist army."</font>
# {{note|Sutton}} of {{cite book
| author=Sutton, Antony C.
| title=Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution
| publisher=Buccaneer Books
| year=June, 1993
| id=ISBN 089968324X}} Full book .
# {{note|zandt}} Schlesinger, p 85; Wolfe, Part IV: <font size="1">"But James E. Van Zandt, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and subsequently a Republican congressman , corroborated Butler's story and said that he, too, had been approached by "agents of Wall Street." "Zandt had been called immediately after the ] meeting with MacGuire by Butler and warned that...he was going to be approached by the coup plotters for his support at an upcoming VFW convention. He said that, just as Butler had warned, he had been approached "by agents of Wall Street" who tried to enlist him in their plot."</font><br> {{cite journal
| first =Unknown Author
| last =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| year =1934
| month =November 23
| title =Says Butler Described. Offer.
| journal =New York Times
| volume =
| issue =
| pages =3
| id =
| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/68822.html
}} ''Quoted material from the NYT''<br>Schmidt, p. 224 <font size="1">But James E. Van Zandt, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and subsequently a Republican congressman , corroborated Butler's story and said that he, too, had been approached by "agents of Wall Street." </font> <br>Archer, p.3, 5, 29, 32, 129, 176. For more on Van Zandt, and the Archer quotes, see {{cite web
| author =Uknown author
| year =
| url =http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/53/vanzandt.html
| title =James Edward Van Zandt
| format =
| work =
| publisher =Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)
| accessdate =March 28
| accessyear =2006
}}
# {{note|Burk}} {{cite book | author=Burk, Robert F.| title=The Corporate State and the Broker State : The Du Ponts and American National Politics, 1925-1940 | publisher=Harvard University Press | year=1990 | id=ISBN 0674172728}}
# {{note|Schmidt}} Schmidt p. 226, 228, 229, 230 Excerpts of Schmidt's book dealing with the plot are available online.
# {{note|critical}} For a very critical review of this book see, {{cite journal | author=Sargent, James E. | title=Review of: The Plot to Seize the White House, by Jules Archer | journal=The History Teacher | year=November 1974 | volume=8 | issue=1 | pages=151-152 | url=http://www.livejournal.com/users/bailey83221/47815.html}}
# {{note|Schlesinger}} Schlesinger, p. 83
# {{note|wolfe}} Wolfe, Part IV: <font size="1">"New York's Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who was known as the "Little Flower"...a (supporter) of the fascist program of Mussolini, coined the term "]" to describe the Butler story: It's a joke of some kind, he told the wire services, "someone at a party had suggested the idea to the ex-marine as a joke."</font>
# {{note|Spivak}} Schmidt, p. 229<br>See also Archer, p. 194, Found on . Archer's entire book can be downloaded .
# {{note|final}} Investigation of Nazi Propaganda Activities and Investigation of Certain Other Propaganda Activities: Public Hearings Before the Special Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, at Washington, D.C. p.8-114 D.C. 6 II <br> Schmidt, p. 245 <font size="1">"HUAC's final report to Congress: "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." The committee had verified "all the pertinent statements made by General Butler, with the exception of the direct statement suggesting the creation of the organization.""</font>
# {{note|final2}} ''ibid.'' p. 111 D.C. 6 II.

==External links==
* U.S. House of Representatives, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Public Statement, 73rd Congress, 2nd session, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 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).

::*; ;
::* ;
::*

*{{cite journal | author=Adams, Cecil | title=Oh, Smedley: Was there really a fascist plot to overthrow the United States government? | journal=The Straight Dope | year=] ] | volume= | issue= | pages= | url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051118.html}}
*{{cite journal | author=Cramer, Clayton| title=An American Coup d'État? Plot against Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934 | journal=History Today | year= November, 1995 | volume= 45| issue= 11| pages= 42| url=http://www.claytoncramer.com/amcoup.html}} Examines Butler's testimony from both sides
*{{cite journal | author=LaMonica, Barbara| title=The Attempted Coup Against FDR | journal=Probe | year=March-April 1999 | volume= | issue= | pages= | url=http://www.webcom.com/ctka/pr399-fdr.html}}
*{{cite journal | author=Sanders, Richard (editor) | title=Facing the Corporate Roots of American Fascism| journal=Press for Conversion! | year= March 2004 | volume= | issue=53 | pages= | url=http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/53/53-index.html}}
* {{cite journal | author=] | title= Wikisource: Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: Testimony that the Dickstein MacCormack Committee Suppressed; Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: Morgan Pulls the Strings | journal=New Masses | year= ] ]; ] ] | volume= | issue= | pages= | url=http://en.wikisource.org/John_L._Spivak }} {{ref|Spivak}}
*{{cite journal | author=Wolfe, L. | title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt vs. the Banks: Morgan's Fascist Plot, and How It Was Defeated | journal=The American Almanac | year=] ] | volume= | issue= | pages= | url=http://www.members.tripod.com/american_almanac/morgan1.htm }} Third party candidate ] paper. Very caustic and one-sided but informative.


==Further reading==
* Jules Archer's The Plot to Seize the White House
*
*
* "While ''The Plot To Overthrow FDR'' will astonish those who never learned about this story in school, in the end many viewers may feel as if they are trying to handcuff a shadow."{{ref|Columbus}}
*{{cite book | author=Archer, Jules | title=The Plot to Seize the White House | publisher=Hawthorne Books | year=1973 | id=ASIN: B0006COVHA}} Excerpts from the book


'''These books have chapters devoted to the ]''' :

*{{cite book | author= Seldes, George | title= 1000 Americans: The Real Rulers of the U.S.A. | publisher= Boni & Gaer| year= 1947| id=ASIN: B000ANE968 }} p. 292-298 Excerpts of the book can be found here.
*{{cite book | author= Spivak, John L.| title=A Man in His Time | publisher= Horizon Press | year= 1967| id=ASIN: B0007DMOCW}} p. 294-298 Excerpts of the book can be found here.
*''Bankers, Lawyers and Linkage Groups'' found in {{cite book | author= Simpson, Christopher| title=The Splendid Blond Beast : Money, Law and Genocide in the Twentieth Century | publisher= Common Courage Press| year= 1995| id=ISBN 1567510620}} p. 43-58 Book Experts can be found here
*{{cite book | author=Colby, Gerard | title= Du Pont Dynasty: Behind the Nylon Curtain | publisher= L. Stuart | year= 1984| id=ISBN 0818403527}} p. 324-330 Excerpts of the book about the plot found here.

'''Related Subjects'''

*{{cite book | author= Wolfskill, George| title= The Revolt of the Conservatives: A History of the American Liberty League 1934-1940| publisher= Houghton Mifflin | year= 1962| id=ISBN 0837172519}}
*{{cite book | author= Wolfskill, George John A. Hudson| title= All but the people: Franklin D. Roosevelt and His Critics, 1933-39 | publisher= Macmillan | year= 1969| id=ASIN: B0006BYJJQ }}
*{{cite book | author= Goodman, Walter | title= The Committee: The Extraordinary Career of the House Committee on Un-American Activities | publisher= Farrar Straus & Giroux | year= 1968| id=ISBN 0374126887}}

]
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Revision as of 17:21, 3 April 2006

The Business Plot, The Plot Against FDR, or The White House Putsch, was a conspiracy to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 by a retired general backed by big money interests. The allegations of the plot came to light when retired Marine Corps General Smedley Butler testified that one Gerald MacGuire told Butler that he had been selected to lead the plot. 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. 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.

Background

Shacks, put up by the Bonus Army on the Anacostia flats, Washington, D.C., burning after the battle with the military (1932).

In 1932 thousands of World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., set up tent camps, and demonstrated in demand of immediate payment of a bonus due them according to the Adjusted Service Certificate Law of 1924. The bonus, however, wasn't due to be paid until 1945. They were called the Bonus Army and were led by Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant, and encouraged by an appearance from retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, who had considerable influence over the veterans, being one of the most popular military figures of the time. A few days after Butler's appearance the marchers were removed and their camps destroyed by US Army cavalry troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.

After the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, some of the Bonus Army regrouped in Washington to restate their claims to the new president. Roosevelt rejected the Bonus Army's claims. Butler, although a prominent Republican, supported his old friend Roosevelt in the election.

Clayton Cramer, in a 1995 History Today article, reminded readers that the devastation of the Great Depression had caused many Americans to question the foundations of liberal democracy. "Many traditionalists, here and in Europe, toyed with the ideas of Fascism and National Socialism; many liberals dallied with Socialism and Communism." This helps explain why some American business leaders viewed fascism as a viable system to both preserve their interests and end the economic woes of the Depression.

Timeline of events

Timeline of events
1933
July 1

First Butler meeting with MacGuire and Doyle

July 3 or 4

Second meeting with MacGuire and Doyle

Around August 1

MacGuire visits Butler alone. Butler never sees Doyle again.

September 24

MacGuire visits Butler's hotel room in Newark.

Late-September

Butler meets with Robert Clark.

January - August 1934
First half of 1934

MacGuire travels to Europe, sends Butler postcards

March 6

MacGuire writes Clark and Clark's attorney letter describing the Croix de Feu

August 22

Butler meets MacGuire at a Hotel. Last time Butler meets MacGuire

September - December 1934
September 13

Undercover reporter French meets McGuire in his office

Late September

Butler tells Van Zandt that conspirators will meet him at upcoming Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

November 20

Comittee begins examining evidence.
Paul Comly French breaks the story in the Philadelphia Record and the New York Post.

November 21

New York Times writes its first article on the story.

November 24

The committee publicly releases its prelimary findings.

1935
January 3

Final day of committee

January 29

Spivak publishes first of two articles in Communist magazine, arguing plot is part of Jewish conspiracy to take over USA; he alleges names of big business leaders, reveals deleted portion of congressional committee.

February 15

Comittee submits to Congress its final report.

McCormack-Dickstein Committee

The events testified in the the House Un-American Activities Committee-- the McCormack-Dickstein Committee happened between July and November 1933. The Committee began examining evidence a year later 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 to the House of Represenatives its final report. The McCormack-Dickstein Committee was the first House Committee On Un-American Activities (HUAC).

During the McCormack-Dickstein Committee hearings, Butler testified that through Gerald MacGuire and Bill Doyle, who was then the department commander of the American Legion in Massachusetts, the conspirators attempted to recruit him to lead a coup, promising him an army of 500,000 men for a march on Washington, D.C., $30 million in financial backing, and generous media spin control. 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.

Butler said he was approached for about thirty minutes by Gerald MacGuire. MacGuire was a bond salesman for Robert Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, an art collector who lived mostly in Paris, and one of Wall Street's richest investors. MacGuire was a former commander of the Connecticut American Legion and had been an activist for the gold currency movement that Clark sponsored.

In attempting to recruit Butler, MacGuire may have played on the general's loyalty toward his fellow veterans. Knowing of an upcoming bonus in 1945 for World War I veterans, Butler said MacGuire told him, "We want to see the soldiers' bonus paid in gold. We do not want the soldier to have rubber money or paper money." Such names as Al Smith, Roosevelt's political foe and former governor of New York, and Irene DuPont, a chemical industrialist, were said to be the financial and organizational backbone of the plot. Butler stated that once the conspirators were in power, they would protect Roosevelt from other plotters.

Given a successful coup, Butler said he would have held near-absolute power in the newly created position of "Secretary of General Affairs," while Roosevelt would have assumed a figurehead role.

Reaction to Butler's testimony by the media and business elite was dismissive or hostile. The majority of media outlets, including The New York Times, Philadelphia Post, and Time Magazine ridiculed or downplayed his claims, saying they lacked evidence. After the committee concluded, the New York Times and Time Magazine downplayed the conclusions of the committee.

The House Un-American Activities Committee deleted extensive excerpts from the report relating to Wall Street financiers including J.P. Morgan, the Du Pont interests, Remington Arms, and others allegedly involved in the plot attempt. As of 1975, a full transcript of the hearings had yet to be traced.

Those accused of the plotting by Butler all denied any involvement. MacGuire was the only figure identified by Butler who testified before the committee. Others involved were actually called to appear to testify, though never were forced to testify.

Partial corroboration of Butler's story

Portions of Butler's story were corroborated by:

  • Veterans of Foreign Wars commander James 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.

Members of the McCormack-Dickstein Committee

From the McCormack-Dickstein Committee files found at wikisource.

  • John W. McCormack, Massachusetts, Chairman. McCormack served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1961 until 1971.
  • Samuel Dickstein New York, Vice Chairman. Evidence was later shown from the Soviet archives that Dickstein was a Soviet spy.
  • Carl May Weideman, Michigan. Democratic Congressman from March 4, 1933-January 3, 1935.
  • Charles Kramer, California. Democratic Congressman from March 4, 1933-January 3, 1943.
  • Thomas A Jenkins, Ohio. Republican Congressman from March 4, 1925-January 3, 1959.
  • James Willis Taylor, Tennessee. Republican Congressman from March 4, 1919-November 14, 1939.
  • Ulysses Samuel Guyer, Kansas. Republican Congressman from March 4, 1927-June 5, 1943.
  • Thomas W. Hardwick, Counsel.

John Spivak

Excerpts, unless noted, are from "The Plot to Seize the White House" by Jules Archer, page 194-220

Reporter "John L. Spivak had been tipped off earlier by a fellow Washington correspondent that some of Butler's testimony had been deleted in the committee's November 26, 1934 report to the House of Representatives..."

"Other newsmen joined (Spivak) in pressing for a copy of the (McCormack-Dickstein Committee report). It was then that the defunct McCormack-Dickstein Committee...decided to publish a 125-page document containing the testimony of Butler, McGuire, and others, on February 15, 1935. It was marked "Extracts"...

"A veteran Washington correspondent told Spivak that he had heard the deletions had been made at the request of a member of the President's Cabinet..."

Spivak "had been tipped-off earlier that the House of Representatives intended to let the McCormack-Dickstein Committee expire on January 3, 1935, rather than renew it as the committee had asked in order to continue its investigations."

"About a week later, seeking to do a story on its accomplishments in exposing Nazi and anti-Semitic activities in the United States, Spivak won permission from Dickstein to examine the committee's official exhibits and make photostatic copies of those that had been made public. Dickstein wrote a letter to this effect to the committee's secretary, Frank P. Randolph, and added, "If necessary consult John about it."

"Randolph, flooded with work involved in closing the committee's files and records, gave Spivak stacks of documents, exhibits, and transcripts of testimony that were being sent to the Government Printing Office. To Spivak's amazement, he found among these records a full transcript of the executive session hearings in the Butler affair."

Spivak "compared it with the official extract of the hearings and found a number of startling omissions made from the testimony of both Butler and French"

Journalist John L. Spivak wrote a two part article. Historian Schmidt explains:

"Journalist John L. Spivak, researching Nazism and anti-Semitism for New Masses magazine, got permission from Dickstein to examine HUAC's public documents and was (it seems unwittingly) given the unexpurgated testimony amid stacks of other papers. Spivak's two-part feature "Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy" appeared in early 1935, a month after the hearings closed. He cogently developed a case for taking the suppressed testimony seriously. But this relevant material was embellished with overblown aspersions against "Jewish financiers working with fascist groups" -- a mishmash of guilt-by-association that connected Morgan interests with Jewish financier Felix Warburg, HUAC, and certain members of the American Jewish Committee. Spivak was intent upon grinding his own axes, and elucidation of the plot was obscured. The suppressed Butler-MacGuire conversations could hardly support all this. Moreover New Masses possessed a limited readership; the scoop was stigmatized as "red" propaganda and generally not cited elsewhere."

After being told about the deletions by Spivak, in Butler's "broadcast over WCAU on February 17, 1935, Butler revealed that some of the "most important" portions of his testimony had been suppressed in the McCormack-Dickstein report to Congress. The committee, he growled, had "stopped dead in its tracks when it got near the top." He added angrily:"

"Like most committees, it has slaughtered the little and allowed the big to escape. The big shots weren't even called to testify. Why wasn't Colonel Grayson M.-P. Murphy, New York broker ... called? Why wasn't Louis Howe, Secretary to the President of the United States, called? . . . Why wasn't Al Smith called? And why wasn't Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, called? And why wasn't Hanford MacNider, former American Legion commander, called? They were all mentioned in the testimony. And why was all mention of these names suppressed from the committee report?"

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.

The puzzle is why big business leaders would consider General Butler, known for his vehement attacks on bankers. Many of the alledged financial backers were all prominent "wet" Democrats--leaders of the movement to repeal prohibition. Butler was one of the most prominent "dry" Republicans who had fought these same figures for years.

  • 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."

Final resolution

The Congressional committee report confirmed Butler's testimony:

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 government 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.

Even though the Senate committee did take the threat seriously and did verify that a fascist coup was indeed well past the planning stage, the Senate committee expired.

Notes

  1. Schlesinger Jr., Arthur M. (2003). The Politics of Upheaval : 1935-1936, The Age of Roosevelt, Volume III (The Age of Roosevelt). Mariner Books. ISBN 0618340874. p. 85 "As for the House committee, headed by John McCormack of Massachusetts, it declared itself "able to verify all the pertinent statments 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."
  2. Schlesinger, p. 85 "In March 1934, the House of Representatives authorized an investigation into "un-American" activities by a special committee headed by John W. McCormack of Massachusetts and Samuel Dickstein of New York. In the following months the McCormack-Dickstein Committee inquired into Nazi operations in America, exposed William Dudley Pelley and the Silver Shirts, looked into Smedley Butler's allegations, and called the Communist leaders up for testimony. Its manner of investigation commanded special respect. McCormack used competent investigators and employed as committee counsel a former Georgia senator with a good record on civil liberties. Most of the examination of witnesses was carried on in executive sessions. In public sessions, witnesses were free to consult counsel. Throughout, McCormack was eager to avoid hit-and-run accusation and unsubstantiated testimony. The result was an almost uniquely scrupulous investigation in a highly sensitive area."
  3. Archer, Jules (1973). The Plot to Seize the White House. Hawthorne Books. ASIN: B0006COVHA. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help) p. 139
  4. Archer p. x (Foreword)
    National Archives: The Special Committee on Un-American Activities Authorized To Investigate Nazi Propaganda and Certain Other Propaganda Activities (73A-F30.1) "The (McCormack-Dickstein Committee) conducted public and executive hearings intermittently between April 26 and December 29, 1934, in Washington, DC; New York; Chicago; Los Angeles; Newark; and Asheville, NC, examining hundreds of witnesses and accumulating more than 4,300 pages of testimony."
  5. Schmidt, Hans (1998). Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813109574. p. 219 "Declaring himself a "Hoover-for-Ex-President Republican," Smedley used the bonus issue and the army's gas attack in routing the (Bonus Expeditionary Force) B.E.F-recalling infamous gas warfare during the Great War-to disparage Hoover during the 1932 general elections. He came out for the Democrats "despite the fact that my family for generations has been Republican," and shared the platform when Republican Senator George W. Norris opened a coast-to-coast stump for FDR in Philedelphia....Butler was pleased with election results that saw Hoover crash in defeat. He had exerted himself in the campaign more "to get rid of Hoover than to put in Roosevelt," and to "square a debt." FDR, his old Haiti ally, was a "nice fellow" and might make a good president, but Smedley did not expect much influence in the new administration."
  6. Feran, Tim (February 12 1999). "History Channel Looks At Plot to Oust FDR". Columbus Dispatch (Ohio): 1H. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  7. Beam, Alex (May 25 2004). "A Blemish Behind Beauty at The Clark". The Boston Globe: E1. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link): "In his congressional testimony, Butler described Clark as being "known as the "millionaire lieutenant" and was sort of batty, sort of queer, did all sorts of extravagant things. He used to go exploring around China and wrote a book on it, on explorations. He was never taken seriously by anybody. But he had a lot of money." "Clark was certainly eccentric. One of the reasons he sited his fantastic art collection away from New York or Boston was that he feared it might be destroyed by a Soviet bomber attack during the Cold War..."(Clark) was pointed out to me during a trip to Paris," says one on his grandnieces. "He was known to be pro-fascist and on the enemy side. Nobody ever spoke to him.""
    Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee
  8. Archer, p. 153 See also:
  9. Archer, p. 178
  10. Archer, p. 189
  11. Archer, p. 173
    Philadelphia Post, November 22, 1934
  12. Author unknown (December 3 1934). "Plot Without Plotters". Time Magazine. {{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
    Author unknown (November 21 1934). "Gen. Butler Bares 'Fascist Plot' To Seize Government by Force; Says Bond Salesman, as Representative of Wall St. Group, Asked Him to Lead Army of 500,000 in March on Capital -- Those Named Make Angry Denials -- Dickstein Gets Charge". New York Times: 1. {{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link); Author unknown (November 22 1934). "Credulity Unlimited". New York Times: 20. {{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
    Philadelphia Record, November 21 and 22, 1934;Time Magazine, 25 February 1935: "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."
    New York Times February 16 1935. p. 1, "Asks Laws To Curb Foreign Agitators; Committee In Report To House Attacks Nazis As The Chief Propagandists In Nation. State Department Acts Checks Activities Of An Italian Consul -- Plan For March On Capital Is Held Proved. Asks Laws To Curb Foreign Agitators, "Plan for “March” Recalled. It also 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. The committee recalled testimony by General Butler, saying he had testified that Gerald C. MacGuire had tired to persuade him to accept the leadership of a Fascist army."
  13. Chapter 10, FDR; Man on the White Horse of Sutton, Antony C. (June, 1993). Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution. Buccaneer Books. ISBN 089968324X. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link) Full book online.
  14. Schlesinger, p 85; Wolfe, Part IV: "But James E. Van Zandt, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and subsequently a Republican congressman , corroborated Butler's story and said that he, too, had been approached by "agents of Wall Street." "Zandt had been called immediately after the August 22 meeting with MacGuire by Butler and warned that...he was going to be approached by the coup plotters for his support at an upcoming VFW convention. He said that, just as Butler had warned, he had been approached "by agents of Wall Street" who tried to enlist him in their plot."
    "Says Butler Described. Offer". New York Times: 3. 1934. {{cite journal}}: |first= has generic name (help); |first= missing |last= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) Quoted material from the NYT
    Schmidt, p. 224 But James E. Van Zandt, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and subsequently a Republican congressman , corroborated Butler's story and said that he, too, had been approached by "agents of Wall Street."
    Archer, p.3, 5, 29, 32, 129, 176. For more on Van Zandt, and the Archer quotes, see Uknown author. "James Edward Van Zandt". Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT). Retrieved March 28. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. Burk, Robert F. (1990). The Corporate State and the Broker State : The Du Ponts and American National Politics, 1925-1940. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674172728.
  16. Schmidt p. 226, 228, 229, 230 Excerpts of Schmidt's book dealing with the plot are available online.
  17. For a very critical review of this book see, Sargent, James E. (November 1974). "Review of: The Plot to Seize the White House, by Jules Archer". The History Teacher. 8 (1): 151–152.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  18. Schlesinger, p. 83
  19. Wolfe, Part IV: "New York's Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who was known as the "Little Flower"...a (supporter) of the fascist program of Mussolini, coined the term "cocktail putsch" to describe the Butler story: It's a joke of some kind, he told the wire services, "someone at a party had suggested the idea to the ex-marine as a joke."
  20. Schmidt, p. 229
    See also Archer, p. 194, Found on wikisource. Archer's entire book can be downloaded here.
  21. Investigation of Nazi Propaganda Activities and Investigation of Certain Other Propaganda Activities: Public Hearings Before the Special Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, at Washington, D.C. p.8-114 D.C. 6 II
    Schmidt, p. 245 "HUAC's final report to Congress: "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." The committee had verified "all the pertinent statements made by General Butler, with the exception of the direct statement suggesting the creation of the organization.""
  22. ibid. p. 111 D.C. 6 II.

External links

  • U.S. House of Representatives, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Public Statement, 73rd Congress, 2nd session, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 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).


Further reading


These books have chapters devoted to the Business Plot :

  • Seldes, George (1947). 1000 Americans: The Real Rulers of the U.S.A. Boni & Gaer. ASIN: B000ANE968. p. 292-298 Excerpts of the book can be found here.
  • Spivak, John L. (1967). A Man in His Time. Horizon Press. ASIN: B0007DMOCW. p. 294-298 Excerpts of the book can be found here.
  • Bankers, Lawyers and Linkage Groups found in Simpson, Christopher (1995). The Splendid Blond Beast : Money, Law and Genocide in the Twentieth Century. Common Courage Press. ISBN 1567510620. p. 43-58 Book Experts can be found here
  • Colby, Gerard (1984). Du Pont Dynasty: Behind the Nylon Curtain. L. Stuart. ISBN 0818403527. p. 324-330 Excerpts of the book about the plot found here.

Related Subjects

  • Wolfskill, George (1962). The Revolt of the Conservatives: A History of the American Liberty League 1934-1940. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0837172519.
  • Wolfskill, George John A. Hudson (1969). All but the people: Franklin D. Roosevelt and His Critics, 1933-39. Macmillan. ASIN: B0006BYJJQ.
  • Goodman, Walter (1968). The Committee: The Extraordinary Career of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Farrar Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0374126887.
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