Jan 1, 2010

All the King's Men | Historical Context

Louisiana Politics and Huey P. Long
The Populist Movement, which espoused increased powers for the farmer and the working man, swept through a large part of the post-Civil War South but failed to find a foothold in Louisiana, thanks to the entrenched wealthy interests that had historically governed Louisiana: Standard Oil, the banks, the railroads, and rich landowners. Average citizens struggled along, sending their children to poorly supported schools over unpaved, pot-holed roads. Many were sharecroppers, who didn’t own their own land and who barely made enough money to...