"Business Plot"/Quasi-Fascist America (1930s)?

I'm sure many of you have heard of the so-called "Business Plot" - a claimed coup attempt against the United States Government in 1934-ish. While there's a lot of discussion as to how much truth there was behind the allegations, let's assume, for the sake of this discussion/scenario, the following claims are true;
- That there was a group of ultra-wealthy businessmen with overtly fascist, or at least anti-US, interests at heart
- That these individuals had, for some years, been funding 'Veterans Associations', buying political/media loyalty, and purchasing military arms
- That there existed a plan to have Smedley Butler, Hugh S. Johnson, or Douglas MacArthur, lead a Mussolini-style "march on the capital", to seize power from the United States Government
- That at least one of the aforementioned men would willingly support such a move.

What would be the effect of this - a very American coup? I can see a fascist/coup government modelling itself on certain Roman doctrines (with veterans being granted many social benefits), and possibly very brutally purging the remnants of the US Government. This is assuming it (at least initially) succeeds.
 
Uprising, civil war to restore the constitution, and a deep, lingering distrust of the military as well as business elites.

I don't see any such regime lasting very long in the US.
 
It lasts fifteen minutes, or however long it takes the REST of the military to move in and restore the legal government.
 
While I've been planning a TL based on this, I doubt fascism would last long in the USA. Civil war is likely, though.

No way would Butler have aided and abetted. Johnson might've, and MacArthur could've, but I've always felt his AH dictatorial reputation to be undeserved.
 
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TinyTartar

Banned
While I've been planning a TO based on this, I doubt fascism would last long in the USA. Civil war is likely, though.

No way would Butler have aided and abetted. Johnson might've, and MacArthur could've, but I've always felt his AH dictatorial reputation to be undeserved.

MacArthur might have held some rather extreme views, but the notion that he would be treasonous is one that comes from a deep lack of understanding of his values, which were very much old school and respectful of the chain of command. In the 30s, he had not achieved the level of fame that might have gone to his head, either. While he was distinguished in WW1 for his conduct, he hadn't become the (in my view, undeserving) icon he later did.

Johnson I don't think had the pull or the desire for this either, nor would have Butler.
 
I think it's more feasible to have American fascism come about from Father Coughlin being bigger, and Roosevelt less astute in stopping him, than from an outright coup.
 
The effects of this would be very interesting, as after this sad attempt at a revolt is put down, business leaders and the military will be heavily distrusted by most in the USA.
 

TinyTartar

Banned
Of course, I don't see how you could even call this a fascist coup at that. It'd be more than anything a form of Caudilloism on a grander stage.

The thing is that what might (and I say might, because honestly, I think this plot was BS with no more credibility regarding its existence than the Popish Plot) have actually been proposed was more like what had ACTUALLY happened several times in Latin America OTL, and inevitably coalesced around a military strongman with the support of the elites, or an elite family with the support of the military.

That isn't fascist, which is inherently revolutionary rather than reactionary in doctrine and in practice.
 
It lasts fifteen minutes, or however long it takes the REST of the military to move in and restore the legal government.
Pretty much. Most of the military (including most officers) had no interest in a dictatorship. The people wouldn't like it, especially since a large majority voted for FDR in both 1932 and 1936 so clearly they were fans of him and the New Deal. Finally state governors and the various military and police groups under their control won't like it (the majority of governors were Democrats, and most Republicans will be against such a blatantly unconstitutional move). The only people who would support the plotters are a small number of military men, extremists such as the Silver Shirts and the Black Legion, and maybe some mercenaries.
 
You'll need someone more radical than Roosevelt in power, like Huey Long or Floyd Olson or maybe even a Socialist.

As for which general would be more than willing to carry this out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Van_Horn_Moseley
George Van Horn Moseley on the New Deal said:
We do not have to vote for a dictatorship to have one in America....We have merely to vote increased government responsibility for our individual lives, increased government authority over our daily habits, and the resultant Federal paternalism will inevitably become dictatorship.
George Van Horn Moseley said:
The finest type of Americanism can breed under [Nazism and Fascism's] protection as they neutralize the efforts of the Communists.
 

TinyTartar

Banned
You'll need someone more radical than Roosevelt in power, like Huey Long or Floyd Olson or maybe even a Socialist.

As for which general would be more than willing to carry this out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Van_Horn_Moseley

What is ironic about this is that the Nazis were actually quite favorable towards the New Deal. Goebbels in particular, in 1933-34, exalted the "American Fuhrer" for embracing ideas similar to those the Nazis were implementing regarding public works and the embrace of labour as crucial to the national recovery in several party pamphlets.

This went away after the US protested against anti Semitic measures, and Roosevelt was demonized as a mongrelizer of races, but the New Deal wasn't attacked very often.
 
Star, Cross, Eagle, Bear, Hammer and Sickle: Stories of the Second American Civil War

Um, forgive me for this, but I've begun a TL based on this idea. It's the second thing in my sig. Sorry for hijacking the thread. You can also find it [post=11775512]here[/post].
 
The effects of this would be very interesting, as after this sad attempt at a revolt is put down, business leaders and the military will be heavily distrusted by most in the USA.

Possibly could pave the way for a bigger, earlier Red-Scare/Communist Sympathy among Working Class Americans, if the US has felt the effects of an attempted coup, and the working man regards business magnates with suspicion.
 
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