Huey Long and the Birth of the Unionist Party Pt.2 (Pt.1)
Through the first year of the President Huey P. Long's term in office, him and the Democrats in Congress worked decently well with each other. Despite being elected as an independent, Long had mostly governed like a Democrat in office (thought much more to the left than any Democrat before him). With the left-wing Populist-Progressive faction of the Democrats being dominant in the House of Delegates (first electing William Bankhead of Alabama as Speaker and then Sam Rayburn of Tennessee following Bankhead's death in 1940), negotiations between them and the president usually went along well. But in the Senate, the right-wing New Jacksonian Democrats held the power. Vice President Pat Harrison using his position as President of the Senate served as the negotiator between President Long and the conservative Senate with its leader President pro tempore Harry Byrd. However the relation between Long and the Senate would completely fall apart in 1941 following the death of VP Harrison in 1941.
Should there be a vacancy in the Vice Presidency, the Dixie Constitution states that the President appoints the replacement and if they are approved by the Senate, then they become VP for the rest of the term. Byrd, now the acting President of the Senate, made it very clear to Long that the new Vice President would not be as left-wing as Long or the Populist-Progressives would want. Instead Byrd recommended that the President appoint Georgia Senator Richard Russell, one of the most conservative Democratic senators, for VP. Long of course would not take the New Jacksonians' demands lying down. Long would instead nominate 6 different candidates to the position over time, all of which were close allies of Long and all of which were unpalatable to Byrd and the New Jacksonians. These included Long's Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, Hattie Carraway of Arkansas, the first woman elected to the Senate, and Earl Long, President Long's own brother. All of the nominees would fail to be approved of by the Senate and all by Hull would never even come up for a vote on the floor. Long who hadn't attacked the Democrats much since his election to the presidency would begin a campaign attacking the New Jacksonians and the Democratic party leadership that opposed his appointments.
On December 2, 1942, well over a year with no Vice President, Long would make his famous "Union of the People" Speech in Richmond calling for his supporters to break away from the Democratic Party to fully assert that their movement could not be stopped by the right-wing Democrats in the Senate. This speech is generally marked as the birth of the Unionist Party, though it would not get its name that day. Almost immediately after the speech was given, Long supporters would begin filing for the upcoming 1943 midterm elections not as Democrats but as a litany of different names such as Populist-Progressives, New Populists, Longist Democrats, United Populists, and several others. The name of the Party would not come until February of 1943 when Jamie Whitten of Mississippi would win a House special election under the party identification of the Unionist Party, becoming the first Unionist elected to Congress. This special election would receive much attention from the press and the Unionist Party would become the name that Long supporters would use. In the months leading up the midterms, Long would almost completely abandon his role as president, leaving much of the day-to-day up to Secretary Hull to run. Long would spend the time instead traveling around the country campaigning for the new Unionist candidates.
In the midterms, the Unionists would upend the makeup of Congress. In the House of Delegates, John Overton of Long's native Louisiana would be the first sitting Democrat to switch parties over the Unionists in February and would be the first leader of the Unionists in the House. The Unionists would gain 60 seats in the chamber, the largest gain ever made by a party in the House of Delegates. The new Unionist bloc would make a deal with Speaker Rayburn to keep him as Speaker, but after the election many Populist-Progressive Democrats would switch over to the Unionists leaving Rayburn further on the fringe of an party growing ever more conservative.
In the Senate, Democratic Delegate Estes Kefauver of Tennessee would switch to the Unionists and run for the Senate in Tennessee. Him along with 15 others would win seats to the chamber and would deny either major party the chance to hold a majority. Like in the House, after the election several Democratic senators would also make the jump over to the Unionists, bringing their numbers even higher. Kefauver and the Unionists unlike their fellow Unionists in the House would instead decide to ally with the Nationals in return for National support for the approval of a new Vice President. Henry Jackson Short of Missouri would be elected as the new president pro tempore to replace Byrd, and the Senate and Long would eventually agree to support Senator Alben Barkley of Kentucky to be the new Vice President. On November 3, 1943, Barkley would be sworn in as the new Vice President two and a half years after the death of Pat Harrison. Barkley would go on to succeed Long as president becoming the first Unionist elected to the position. Long, not one to give up power easily, would run for Vice President after his one allowed term as president was up (there are rumors that Long chose Barkley to succeed him as president because Barkley's advanced age would give Long a chance to serve as president again, but Barkley would live through his entire 6 year term and then die two years later). Long would continue to be elected to the term limitless position until his death in 1966 (he would serve as president again from 1961-1964 after the death of President Adlai Stevenson II).
Through the first year of the President Huey P. Long's term in office, him and the Democrats in Congress worked decently well with each other. Despite being elected as an independent, Long had mostly governed like a Democrat in office (thought much more to the left than any Democrat before him). With the left-wing Populist-Progressive faction of the Democrats being dominant in the House of Delegates (first electing William Bankhead of Alabama as Speaker and then Sam Rayburn of Tennessee following Bankhead's death in 1940), negotiations between them and the president usually went along well. But in the Senate, the right-wing New Jacksonian Democrats held the power. Vice President Pat Harrison using his position as President of the Senate served as the negotiator between President Long and the conservative Senate with its leader President pro tempore Harry Byrd. However the relation between Long and the Senate would completely fall apart in 1941 following the death of VP Harrison in 1941.
Should there be a vacancy in the Vice Presidency, the Dixie Constitution states that the President appoints the replacement and if they are approved by the Senate, then they become VP for the rest of the term. Byrd, now the acting President of the Senate, made it very clear to Long that the new Vice President would not be as left-wing as Long or the Populist-Progressives would want. Instead Byrd recommended that the President appoint Georgia Senator Richard Russell, one of the most conservative Democratic senators, for VP. Long of course would not take the New Jacksonians' demands lying down. Long would instead nominate 6 different candidates to the position over time, all of which were close allies of Long and all of which were unpalatable to Byrd and the New Jacksonians. These included Long's Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, Hattie Carraway of Arkansas, the first woman elected to the Senate, and Earl Long, President Long's own brother. All of the nominees would fail to be approved of by the Senate and all by Hull would never even come up for a vote on the floor. Long who hadn't attacked the Democrats much since his election to the presidency would begin a campaign attacking the New Jacksonians and the Democratic party leadership that opposed his appointments.
On December 2, 1942, well over a year with no Vice President, Long would make his famous "Union of the People" Speech in Richmond calling for his supporters to break away from the Democratic Party to fully assert that their movement could not be stopped by the right-wing Democrats in the Senate. This speech is generally marked as the birth of the Unionist Party, though it would not get its name that day. Almost immediately after the speech was given, Long supporters would begin filing for the upcoming 1943 midterm elections not as Democrats but as a litany of different names such as Populist-Progressives, New Populists, Longist Democrats, United Populists, and several others. The name of the Party would not come until February of 1943 when Jamie Whitten of Mississippi would win a House special election under the party identification of the Unionist Party, becoming the first Unionist elected to Congress. This special election would receive much attention from the press and the Unionist Party would become the name that Long supporters would use. In the months leading up the midterms, Long would almost completely abandon his role as president, leaving much of the day-to-day up to Secretary Hull to run. Long would spend the time instead traveling around the country campaigning for the new Unionist candidates.
In the midterms, the Unionists would upend the makeup of Congress. In the House of Delegates, John Overton of Long's native Louisiana would be the first sitting Democrat to switch parties over the Unionists in February and would be the first leader of the Unionists in the House. The Unionists would gain 60 seats in the chamber, the largest gain ever made by a party in the House of Delegates. The new Unionist bloc would make a deal with Speaker Rayburn to keep him as Speaker, but after the election many Populist-Progressive Democrats would switch over to the Unionists leaving Rayburn further on the fringe of an party growing ever more conservative.
In the Senate, Democratic Delegate Estes Kefauver of Tennessee would switch to the Unionists and run for the Senate in Tennessee. Him along with 15 others would win seats to the chamber and would deny either major party the chance to hold a majority. Like in the House, after the election several Democratic senators would also make the jump over to the Unionists, bringing their numbers even higher. Kefauver and the Unionists unlike their fellow Unionists in the House would instead decide to ally with the Nationals in return for National support for the approval of a new Vice President. Henry Jackson Short of Missouri would be elected as the new president pro tempore to replace Byrd, and the Senate and Long would eventually agree to support Senator Alben Barkley of Kentucky to be the new Vice President. On November 3, 1943, Barkley would be sworn in as the new Vice President two and a half years after the death of Pat Harrison. Barkley would go on to succeed Long as president becoming the first Unionist elected to the position. Long, not one to give up power easily, would run for Vice President after his one allowed term as president was up (there are rumors that Long chose Barkley to succeed him as president because Barkley's advanced age would give Long a chance to serve as president again, but Barkley would live through his entire 6 year term and then die two years later). Long would continue to be elected to the term limitless position until his death in 1966 (he would serve as president again from 1961-1964 after the death of President Adlai Stevenson II).
