August 30, 1893

Huey Long is Born

Long is born into a poor farming family and raised in Louisiana.

1910

Long's Big Mouth Gets Him into Trouble

At age 17, Long is expelled from high school and hits the road as a traveling salesman.

July 28, 1914

Europe Starts a Small Scuffle That Will Surely Be Over in a Matter of Weeks

World War I breaks out in Europe. Sales jobs become scarce, so Long passes the Louisiana Bar despite little formal legal education.

April 6, 1917

America Enters the By-Now Not So Small Scuffle

The U.S. enters WWI; the French and Brits rejoice.

1918

Long Gets His Start

Huey Long moves to Shreveport, LA, and begins his attacks on Standard Oil and other utility conglomerates. He's elected to the Louisiana Railroad commission at age 25.

1922

Long Wins His First Election, to the Consternation of Big Oil

Long is elected as Chairman of the Public Service Commission.

February 19, 1924

The Only Election Long Would Lose

Long makes his first bid for governor and comes in a respectable third place.

April 1927

Great Mississippi Flood

The Mississippi overflows its banks after 14 inches of rain falls on New Orleans in one day. Under pressure from city residents, Governor O.H. Simpson blasts an opening in the levees, sending the floodwaters to destroy parishes downstream where mostly poor people live. This sets the stage for an anti-government populist movement and the ascendance of you-know-who.

January 17, 1928

Governor Long, to the 1%'s Dread

Long makes his second bid for governor and demolishes his competition. He begins to institute the many education, infrastructure, and policy reforms for which he was both beloved and loathed.

1929

Long Fights Corruption With Corruption

There's an attempt to impeach Long, but he's able to get out of it through some fancy political footwork. He vows from then on to treat his enemies much more harshly.

March 1930

Long Needs a Mouthpiece

Long starts publishing his own newspaper, the Louisiana Progress, to serve as his mouthpiece. He runs for Louisiana's open seat in the Senate and wins by a landslide. His lieutenant governor Paul Cyr tries to oust Long from the governorship, but Long resists with military force.

January 25, 1932

Game of Thrones

Long arrives in Washington to begin his tenure in the senate after securing his allies' victories in Louisiana elections. He insists on staying governor, too. Hmmm.

February 23, 1934

Hey America, Here's a Neat Idea: Let's Give Everyone a Decent Life

Long unveils his Share Our Wealth program for the first time in his "Every Man a King" speech.

1935

Long's Last Year

Long gets ready to run for president. He returns to Louisiana and begins to cement the state as his base of power for the upcoming election. Tensions rise and Long is forced to take drastic measures: he grants himself emergency powers and begins to suspend civil liberties in the state, using the police and the Louisiana National Guard as his personal armies.

September 10, 1935

Et Tu, Brute?

In an epically karmic tragedy, Long is assassinated in the hallway of the new capitol building he'd forced the state legislature to build.