The Whitehouse Coup (1933) 1 of 3

The "Business Plot" (also the Plot Against FDR and the White House Putsch) was an alleged political conspiracy in 1933 wherein wealthy businessmen and corporations plotted a coup détat to overthrow United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1934, the Business Plot was publicly revealed by retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testifying to the McCormack-Dickstein Congressional Committee. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a military coup. One of the alleged plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler's allegations of the existence of the plot, but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten.

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 considerable influence over the veterans, being one of the most popular military figures 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 Roosevelt in that year's election.

In a 1995 History Today article Clayton Cramer argued 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." Cramer argues that this explains why some American business leaders viewed fascism as a viable system to both preserve their interests and end the economic woes of the Depression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

***audio is available for free using Realplayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml

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[ThisWeekInFascism]

The US Chamber Of Commerce engineered 9/11.

Just like the Liberty League engineered the overthrow of FDR in 1933.

[Cyclonus21]

Kinda funny since true Fascism is supposed to reject Capitalism. This shit is fucking big business fascism.

[ThisWeekInFascism]

...and today the right-wing (even the alleged "left" too) is rejecting capitalism AND they've all got a hard-on for all things military. Even the public does. It's both Mussolini (business) fascism AND (nationalistic/Hitler) war-fever fascism.

The American fascist's goal is, "to capture political power so that, using the power of the state [military] and the power of the market [business] simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection." -Vice President Henry A. Wallace 1944

[marcostar57]

@ThisWeekInFascism  How is today's right-wing, especially, "rejecting capitalism?" On the contrary, they believe that "free-market" capitalism is a cure-all. Actually it's predatory-capitalism that they live & breath for ..and which some corporatist Dems support.

[ThisWeekInFascism]

@marcostar57 They all - dems/repubs - hate the "free market". The free market means no government intrusion - letting the customer decide. Well, "the marketplace" no longer decides anything. The marketeers do. They manipulate a dumbed-down public into choosing between false choices. Americans no longer know what's in their own self interest. Our government has been taken over by "the marketeers". That's textbook Fascism.

[AsTimeDilates]

@ThisWeekInFascism ..."No government intrusion" and "Letting the customer decide" are absolute polar opposites...

A free market is one in which the government has strict rules which facilitate allowing the customer decide...if the government does not serve this function the corporations will force upon the public whatever they wish...

When republicans say free market what they mean is no regulations so that corporations can control people.

[ThisWeekInFascism]

@AsTimeDilates Right. That's what I mean. I'm using a far-right laissez-faire definition of "free market" from the 1980's. We've gone so far into fascism that laissez-faire now means socialism. In other words, if the government DOESN'T get involved with corporations and work on their behalf, it's spun as socialism. Any regulation of any kind is no longer common sense conservatism like it used to be considered.

[Paganiproductions]

I heard that the bush family was involved in this crime

[httm241]

@ThisWeekInFascism we need henry wallace in todays world

[MaydayCharade]

@ThisWeekInFascism Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup FTW

[chieftech714]

wow this all sounds very similar to obama's presidency and how the right behaved towards him. FDR faced a similar challenge and was charged with the same kind of rhetoric from the same people. They have found a formulae to get poor people to act in the interests of the wealthy..

[atheistbiker]

If the right loses big next year (as they are on track to) we may see another attempt made at seizing power from our elected government (although it could be stolen, or some widespread scandel could make Dems unelectable)

[whedonfreak976]

And sadly the tradition of hate fear continues today with the tea party, which is akin to the fascist. So sad

[kdj997]

since JFK was assassinated they've had control of the government. Wow

[CI9TK]

Interesting Billboard paid for the the Chamber of Commerce (They are an organization that works on behalf of corporations. The organization that makes sure that, for instance, YOU pay taxes but they get states to compete with tax breaks, relaxed environmental laws, etc - you didn't think it was INTELLIGENCE that made them money, did you? No, it's how the scale is tilted.). Anywho, I noticed @3:28 they pay for a billboard to say SCREW YOU hard worker looking for a working wage to buy food...

[mmarkmmart]

@badattitude77769

what does "gay" have to do with any of this?

[GuinnevereB]

@ThisWeekInFascism Well, yes. The ultra-rich fear the loss (or, God forbid! the SHARING) of their wealth more than anything. (What's he point of being rich if you can't have it ALL?) That is why they have spent the past 80-90 years selling socialism and communism as a Fate Worse than Death! And they've succeeded for the most part. Most people are so thoroughly conditioned, they shudder at the mention of either term the way Pavlov's dogs salivated at the sound of a bell.

[cypresspuz]

@ThisWeekInFascism Thx man. You r educating people for free.