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The Business Plot (also the Plot Against FDR and the White House Putsch) was a supposed political conspiracy in 1933. Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler claimed that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization and use it in a coup d’état to overthrow United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with Butler as leader of that organization. In 1934 Butler testified to the McCormack-Dickstein Congressional committee on these claims. In the opinion of the committee, these allegations were credible. One of the purported plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their report, the Congressional committee stated that it was able to confirm Butler's statements other than the proposal from MacGuire which it considered more or less confirmed by MacGuire's European reports. No one was prosecuted.

While historians have questioned whether or not a coup was actually close to execution, most agree that some sort of "wild scheme" was contemplated and discussed. Contemporaneous media initially dismissed the plot, with a New York Times editorial characterizing it as a "gigantic hoax". When the committee's final report was released, the Times said the committee "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" and "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".

Background

On July 17, 1932, thousands of World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., set up tent camps, and demanded immediate payment of bonuses due them according to the Adjusted Service Certificate Law of 1924. This "Bonus Army" was led by Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant. The Army was encouraged by an appearance from retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, who had some influence over the veterans, being a popular military figure of the time. A few days after Butler's arrival, President Herbert Hoover ordered the marchers removed, and their camps were destroyed by US Army cavalry troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.

Butler, although a self-described Republican, responded by supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 US presidential election.

By 1933 Butler was denouncing capitalism and bankers, confessing that as a Marine general "I was a racketeer for capitalism."

Events

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1933

On July 1, 1933, Butler met with MacGuire and Doyle for the first time. Gerald C. MacGuire was a $100 a week bond salesman for Murphy & Company, and member of the Connecticut American Legion. Bill Doyle was commander of the Massachusetts American Legion.

Butler stated he was asked to run for National Commander of the American Legion. On July 3 or 4, Butler held a second meeting with MacGuire and Doyle. He stated they offered to get hundreds of supporters at the American Legion convention to ask for a speech. Around August 1 MacGuire visited Butler alone. Butler stated that MacGuire told him Col. Murphy underwrote the formation of the American Legion in New York, and Butler told MacGuire that the American Legion was "nothing but a strike breaking outfit." Butler never saw Doyle again.

On September 24, MacGuire visited Butler's hotel room in Newark. In late-September Butler met with Robert Sterling Clark. Clark was an art collector and an heir to the Singer Corporation fortune. MacGuire had known Robert S. Clark when he was a second lieutenant in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Clark had been nicknamed "the millionaire lieutenant.

1934

During the first half of 1934 MacGuire traveled to Europe, and mailed post cards to Butler. On March 6, MacGuire wrote Clark and Clark's attorney a letter describing the Croix-de-Feu.

On August 22, Butler met MacGuire at a hotel, the last time Butler met MacGuire. According to Butler's account, it was on this occasion that MacGuire asked Butler to run a new veterans organization and lead a coup attempt against the President.

On September 13, Paul Comly French, a reporter who had once been Butler's personal secretary, met MacGuire in his office. In late September, Butler told Van Zandt that co-conspirators would be meeting him at an upcoming Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

On November 20, the Committee began examining evidence. Journalist Paul Comly French broke the story in the Philadelphia Record and New York Post on November 21. On November 22, The New York Times wrote its first article on the story and described it as a "gigantic hoax."

McCormack-Dickstein Committee

The Committee began examining evidence 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 Representatives its final report.

During the McCormack-Dickstein Committee hearings, Butler testified that MacGuire attempted to recruit him to lead a coup, promising him an army of 500,000 men for a march on Washington, D.C., and financial backing. Butler testified that the pretext for the coup would be that the president's health was failing.

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.

Though Butler had never spoken to them, Butler implicated several prominent businessmen, including chemical industrialist Irénée du Pont, and veteran leaders as backers of the plot. The committee chose not to publish these allegations because they were hearsay.

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

Those implicated in the plot by Butler all denied any involvement. MacGuire was the only figure identified by Butler who testified before the committee. Others Butler accused were not called to appear to testify because the "committee has had no evidence before it that would in the slightest degree warrant calling before it such men... The committee will not take cognizance of names brought into testimony which constitute mere hearsay."

In response, Butler said that the committee had deliberately edited out of its published findings the leading business people whom he had named in connection with the plot. He said on February 17, 1935 on Radio WCAU, "Like most committees it has slaughtered the little and allowed the big to escape. The big shots weren't even called to testify. They were all mentioned in the testimony. Why was all mention of these names suppressed from the testimony?"

On the final day of the committee, January 29, 1935, John L. Spivak published the first of two articles in the Communist magazine New Masses, revealing portions of the Congressional committee testimony that had been redacted as hearsay. Spivak argued that the plot was part of a Fascist conspiracy of financiers to take over the USA.

Final resolution

The Congressional committee preliminary report said:

This committee has had no evidence before it that would in the slightest degree warrant calling before it such men as John W. Davis, Gen. Hugh Johnson, General Harbord, Thomas W. Lamont, Admiral Sims, or Hanford MacNider.

The committee will not take cognizance of names brought into the testimony which constitute mere hearsay.

This committee is not concerned with premature newspaper accounts especially when given and published prior to the taking of the testimony.

As the result of information which has been in possession of this committee for some time, it was decided to hear the story of Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler and such others as might have knowledge germane to the issue. ...

The Congressional committee final report said:

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 organization 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.

Other testimony

Some parts of Gen. Butler's story were supported by the statements of others. Reporter Paul Comly French, reporter for the Philadelphia Record and the New York Evening Post, testified to the same effect.

Contemporary reaction

Prior to the committee's final report, a New York Times editorial dismissed Butler's story as "a gigantic hoax" and a "bald and unconvincing narrative." Thomas W. Lamont of J.P. Morgan called it "perfect moonshine." General Douglas MacArthur, alleged to be the back-up leader of the putsch if Butler declined, referred to it as "the best laugh story of the year." Time magazine and other publications also scoffed at the allegations.

However after the committee released its report, Time wrote "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." The New York Times reported that the committee "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".

Separately, Veterans of Foreign Wars commander James E. Van Zandt stated to the press that, "Less than two months" after General Butler warned him, "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’ ".

Later reactions

Historians

Prominent, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. said, "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".

Robert F. Burk said, "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."

Hans Schmidt said, "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."

Jules Archer spoke to McCormack, whom he characterized as a "veteran politician", an adviser to Roosevelt as well as other presidents. He said McCormack told him, "General Smedley Butler was one of the outstanding Americans in our history. I cannot emphasize too strongly the very important part he played in exposing the Fascist plot in the early 1930s backed by and planned by persons possessing tremendous wealth."

In a book about art collector Robert Sterling Clark, art historian and non-profit executive Nicholas Fox Weber said, "Butler's testimony to the House Committee , which was played down in the newspaper and magazine accounts at the time, and made to seem largely specious by influentional commentators, seems credible about the attempt to overthrow FDR, and Robert Sterling Clark's role in it. Butler's Claims, moreover, were supported by the committee's subsequent investigations and conclusions."

James E. Sargent, reviewing The Plot to Seize the White House by Jules Archer, said "Thus, Butler (and Archer) assumed that the existence of a financially-backed plot meant that fascism was imminent, and that the planners represented a widespread 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".

Other commentators

The BBC online précis for their documentary program The Whitehouse Coup, says "The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans". In that documentary, author and conspiracy theorist John Buchanan said, "The investigations mysteriously turned to vapor when it comes time to call them to testify. FDR's main interest was getting the New Deal passed, and so he struck a deal in which it was agreed that the plotters would walk free if Wall Street would back off of their opposition to the New Deal and let FDR do what he wanted". The program connected major companies to the American Liberty League, formed by Al Smith (who, the program asserted, was to be the fascist ruler).

Bibliography

• Archer, Jules (1973, pub.2007). The Plot to Seize the White House. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1-60239-036-3. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Schlesinger Jr., Arthur M. (2003). The Politics of Upheaval: 1935-1936, The Age of Roosevelt, Volume III (The Age of Roosevelt). Mariner Books. ISBN 0-618-34087-4.
• Schmidt, Hans (1998). Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0957-4. Excerpts of Schmidt's book dealing with the plot are available online.

References

1. ^ Schlesinger, p. 85
2. ^ Burk, Robert F. (1990). The Corporate State and the Broker State: The Du Ponts and American National Politics, 1925-1940. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-17272-8.
3. ^ Schmidt p. 226, 228, 229, 230
4. ^ Schlesinger, p. 83
5. ^ Sargent, James E.; Archer, Jules (1974). "Review of: The Plot to Seize the White House, by Jules Archer". The History Teacher. 8 (1). The History Teacher, Vol. 8, No. 1: 151–152. doi:10.2307/491493. JSTOR 491493. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
6. ^ Weber (2007). The Clarks of Cooperstown. Knopf. ISBN 0-307-26347-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |unused_data= ignored (help)
7. ^ "Credulity Unlimited". The New York Times. November 22, 1934. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
8. ^ "Plot Without Plotters". Time magazine. 1934-12-03.
   "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". The New York Times: 1. 1934-11-21.;
   Philadelphia Record, November 21 and 22, 1934;Time magazine, February 25, 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."
   The 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 tried to persuade him to accept the leadership of a Fascist army."
9. ^ Schmidt, p. 219 "Declaring himself a "Hoover-for-Ex-President Republican," Smedley used the bonus issue and the army's use of gas 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 Philadelphia....Butler was pleased with the election results that saw Hoover defeated; although he admitted that 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."
10. Schmidt p. 2
11. Schmidt, p. 224
12. s:McCormack-Dickstein Committee#Testimony of Gerald C. Macguire
13. Archer, p. 6.
14. This contradicts MacGuire's testimony: "You are a past department commander in the American Legion?" "No, sir; never held an office in the American Legion I have just been a Legionnaire—oh, I beg your pardon. I did hold one office. I was on the distinguished guest committee of the Legion in 1933, I believe." Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, testimony of Gerald C. MacGuire
15. Archer, p. 6
16. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 1
17. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report
18. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report
19. Archer, p. 178
20. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 20
21. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report
22. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report
23. Schmidt, p. 239, 241
24. ^ Archer, p. 14
25. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 3
26. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 10
27. Archer, p. 153
28. Wiksource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 3 and pg. 20
29. Mennonite Church Historical Archives Paul French Biographical Information
30. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 5
31. Archer, p. 139
32. ^ Archer, p. x (Foreword)
33. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, Testimony of Maj. Gen. S. D. Butler (ret)
34. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee report, pg. 2
35. Archer, p. 155.
36. Schmidt, p. 231
37. ^ Public Statment on Preliminary findings of HUAC, November 24, 1934, page 1
38. Beam, Alex (2004-05-25). "A Blemish Behind Beauty at The Clark". The Boston Globe: E1.: "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
39. ^ BBC Radio 4 Document "The White House Coup - Greenham's Hidden Secret"
40. Archer, p. 189
41. 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."
42. 74th Congress House of Representatives Report, pursuant to House Resolution No. 198, 73d Congress, February 15, 1935. Quoted in: George Seldes, 1000 Americans (1947), p.290-292. See also Schmidt, p. 245
43. Wikisource: McCormack-Dickstein Committee, testimony of Paul Comly French
44. ^ Schmidt, Hans (1998). Maverick Marine (reprint, illustrated ed.). University Press of Kentucky. p. 224. ISBN 0813109574.
45. Archer, p. 173
    Philadelphia Post, November 22, 1934
46. 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". The New York Times: 3. 1934-11-23. 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.
47. 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".
48. "Controversial editor fired". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2006-01-14. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
49. http://www.archive.org/details/TheWhitehouseCoup
50. Maverick Marine: Excerpt at coat.ncf.ca

Further reading

• Archer, Jules (1973, pub.2007). The Plot to Seize the White House. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1-60239-036-3. Book Information and Chapter Summaries, Executive summary and/or extensive quotes of Jules Archer's book on the subject, mostly on Butler's testimony concerning attempts to bribe him into speaking on behalf of the gold standard {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); External link in |quote= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Feran, Tim (1999-02-12). "History Channel Looks At Plot to Oust FDR". Columbus Dispatch (Ohio): 1H. 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
• 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 {{cite book}}: External link in |quote= (help)
• Spivak, John L. (1967). A Man in His Time. Horizon Press. ASIN: B0007DMOCW. p. 294-298 Excerpts: Socioeconomic and Political Context of the Plot, General Smedley Butler.
• Colby, Gerard (1984). Du Pont Dynasty: Behind the Nylon Curtain. L. Stuart. ISBN 0-8184-0352-7. p. 324-330 Excerpts of the book about the plot found here {{cite book}}: External link in |quote= (help)

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)s:McCormack-Dickstein Committee#Public Statment on Preliminary findings of HUAC, November 24, 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).
• Adams, Cecil (2005-11-18). "Oh, Smedley: Was there really a fascist plot to overthrow the United States government?". The Straight Dope.
• Cramer, Clayton (1995). "An American Coup d'État? Plot against Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934". History Today. 45 (11): 42. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |unused_data= ignored (help) Examines Butler's testimony from both sides
• LaMonica, Barbara (April 2009). "The Attempted Coup Against FDR". Probe.
• Sanders, Richard (2004). "Facing the Corporate Roots of American Fascism". Press for Conversion! (53). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Spivak, John L. (1935-01-29; 1935-02-05). "Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: Testimony that the Dickstein MacCormack Committee Suppressed; Wall Street's Fascist Conspiracy: Morgan Pulls the Strings" (PDF). New Masses. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• "The Plot Against FDR" History Channel documentary
• Thomson, Mike (2007-07-23). "The Whitehouse Coup". BBC. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
• Nasser, Alan (2007-10-03). "FDR's Response to the Plot to Overthrow Him". counterpunch.org. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

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