How to realistically strengthen Huey Long as seen in kaiserreich?

So i’ve been playing Hearts of Iron for quite a while now, and i’m sure many in this community know of the Kaiserreich timeline. It’s relatively accurate, fun and engaging.

But I always thought the American continent was weird for many reasons. The Second American civil war in Kaiserreich seems awfully forced and in accurate, and it amazes me how Huey Long, an obscure Louisianan populist, gains enough support to stage a full blown revolution.

However as a personal fan of Huey Long and his policies, I wanted to know if anyone had ideas to give Huey Long the political strength needed to stage revolution or even just be a major political party, with Long able to exert influence outside of Louisiana, and how this would affect America or developments outside of the United States of America.

As always, Thank you and if something like this already exists, please send a link to me.
 
He really did have a national reputation, but you're right in thinking his Kaiserreich appearance is inaccurate. He doesn't really fit into the alt-fascist mold they're going for. (Though come to think of it I've never actually played his faction, I'm only assuming they're making the Union State be the fashy ones...am I wrong?)

But anyway he really was less obscure than you think. People knew him. He had millions of admirers. (I wouldn't call them "followers.") So given a TL where he survives and catches some breaks, he could've been a real force among the Democrats and maybe become president.

As for what it would take for a person to stage a revolution in the US...well that seems like it needs a lot of runway for it to take off. Let's just say that in any situation where things are bad enough for revolution to be on the table, Long could easily be the kind of person to lead it.
 
(Though come to think of it I've never actually played his faction, I'm only assuming they're making the Union State be the fashy ones...am I wrong?)
Well you're not fully correct. If Long is counter-couped by the radical Pelley faction, then yeah they're pretty fascist. Long himself is actually fairly accurate to his OTL beliefs and platform, though obviously authoritarian.
 
Long isn't really a fascist in kasierreich. He's an "authoritarian democrat" definitely within the setting, basically pays lip service to the notions of republicanism and pools power around himself personally to "fix" America.

Also yes the civil war is kinda forced, but USA is a boring ass country in HOI4. So, so boring.
 
Long isn't really a fascist in kasierreich. He's an "authoritarian democrat" definitely within the setting, basically pays lip service to the notions of republicanism and pools power around himself personally to "fix" America.

Also yes the civil war is kinda forced, but USA is a boring ass country in HOI4. So, so boring.

MacArthur is, I feel, the most historically accurate part. If ever there was a man aching to launch a coup...
 
Not getting assassinated by Carl Weiss would help. There's a plaque and little historical exhibit in the part of the Louisiana State House where the assassination happened.
If somebody pulls the common POD where Giuseppe Zangara manages to assassinate FDR, and then FDR's VP bungles the New Deal, then the Kingfish might have a shot at the White House in the 1930s.

This short documentary provides a quick biography of Huey Long and touches on his relatives' careers in politics after his death.
 
He really did have a national reputation, but you're right in thinking his Kaiserreich appearance is inaccurate. He doesn't really fit into the alt-fascist mold they're going for. (Though come to think of it I've never actually played his faction, I'm only assuming they're making the Union State be the fashy ones...am I wrong?)

Long is portrayed more as a "social democrat... but with less emphasis on the democrat part", truly dedicated to the common man and really wants to fix America... it's just that he's willing to do anything to achieve that, come hell or high water, and isn't above using dirty tricks or taking a sledgehammer to political norms to get what he wants. Aside from that, though, he's the most decent leader of the AUS... the other potential contenders, on the other hand, are far, far worse.

First there's the Business Plot: Ford, J.P. Morgan, the Kochs, and other big-businesses of the era - they can covertly assassinate Huey and install their own puppet dictator so they can turn America into a corporate paradise... at the expense of literally everyone else who isn't rich like them. They come closest to the economic aspects of Fascism, creating a corporate state that dispenses with democracy and maintains control with brute force.

The other potential leader is William Dudley Pelley: quite possibly one of the most insane people to ever exist in the history of the American far-right. Seriously, while other Nat-Pop leaders in the game have issues, this guy takes out whole subscriptions. Pelley can assassinate Huey and seize power through the Silver Legion, and his 'vision' for America is the closest to the sort of black comedy that TNO currently has, being a white-supremacist apartheid state where only his perverse definition of 'Christian' has any rights, and vaccines are a Syndicalist plot to steal his precious bodily fluids. Oh, and of course, he hates the Jews. Because what else do you expect from Fascists?
 
Not getting assassinated by Carl Weiss would help. There's a plaque and little historical exhibit in the part of the Louisiana State House where the assassination happened.
If somebody pulls the common POD where Giuseppe Zangara manages to assassinate FDR, and then FDR's VP bungles the New Deal, then the Kingfish might have a shot at the White House in the 1930s.

This short documentary provides a quick biography of Huey Long and touches on his relatives' careers in politics after his death.

Yeah, I was going to say - not being shot and killed is a significant step up compared to OTL.
 
He really did have a national reputation, but you're right in thinking his Kaiserreich appearance is inaccurate. He doesn't really fit into the alt-fascist mold they're going for. (Though come to think of it I've never actually played his faction, I'm only assuming they're making the Union State be the fashy ones...am I wrong?)
Huey in KR is basically American Putin. He's a nationalist, populist,anti-socialist figure who becomes a fairly egotistical but not monstrous dictator; in fact, he even refuses to spread Jim Crow! It's William Dudley Pelley who's the fascist lunatic.
 
Huey in KR is basically American Putin. He's a nationalist, populist,anti-socialist figure who becomes a fairly egotistical but not monstrous dictator; in fact, he even refuses to spread Jim Crow! It's William Dudley Pelley who's the fascist lunatic.

And the starts a civil war and the alt hist community that enjoys Kaiserriech is torn!

 
Huey in KR is basically American Putin. He's a nationalist, populist, anti-socialist figure who becomes a fairly egotistical but not monstrous dictator; in fact, he even refuses to spread Jim Crow! It's William Dudley Pelley who's the fascist lunatic.

I would hardly call Huey the 'American Putin': Huey actually cares about the little guy. Since when did Putin give a fuck about anyone other than himself?
 
The other potential leader is William Dudley Pelley: quite possibly one of the most insane people to ever exist in the history of the American far-right. Seriously, while other Nat-Pop leaders in the game have issues, this guy takes out whole subscriptions. Pelley can assassinate Huey and seize power through the Silver Legion, and his 'vision' for America is the closest to the sort of black comedy that TNO currently has, being a white-supremacist apartheid state where only his perverse definition of 'Christian' has any rights, and vaccines are a Syndicalist plot to steal his precious bodily fluids. Oh, and of course, he hates the Jews. Because what else do you expect from Fascists?

He also believed in Space Aliens after he got out of prison.
 
(VARY brief kiseriech USA backround, worse great depression/fdr died early and never became president) (tell me what you think of this senario) If a joint Huey Long/Henerly Wallace ticket wins the presidency and he expands presidential security (he may have been paranoid as he kept his own body guards) and tries to implement his share our wealth plan (wiki it and look at its major provisions), it would scare the $#!+ out of the rich. If this led to a partially successful business plot that got a corporate controlled general in the White House (in the spirit of Kiser riech let's say McArthur) but narrowly fails to kill Huey Long because of his expanded security and he goes into hiding (at first to his ally father coglin and uses one of his radio addresses) and informs the public of the coup and the attempt on his life by treasonous corporate forces and disloyal elements of the us military, he ends his address by declaring a national emergency (which gives him emergency powers). This sets the stage for the civil war which opens with confusion between the military still loyal to Huey long and those loyal to McArthur, who address the nation with their own version of the story saying that they removed Huey because of him being unstable and a threat to the republic (might even try to label his policy as turning the country toward communism). Over the course of the war huey long and father coglin relocates to loyalist taritorys and mends together support from his own circles as well as others like father coglin and possibly even the socialists because of his share our wealth program. Huey/coglin(and Wallace?) continue radio broadcasts until the end of the war opening before with the song every man a king and ending with the national anthum.

If huey long were to win this cival war he would be validated in his expansion of presidential security and may get to expand share our wealth program. I think it's unlikely he ever declares himself a dictator but I could see him maintain the national emergency (which maintains his emergency powers, as I think there is no established elimination on them until the 70,s where it had to be renewed every 6 months) and at this time there is no term limits so as long as he stays popular and he keeps running in theory you can get a USA that looks like a dictatorship in the sense that he could be president for life and have emergency powers which fits the bill for authoritarian democracy.
 
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Two months ago I made a clip of "Goodbye Huey Long", if you are interested :p

Well, a thing about Long is that if you like him or not, you cannot deny that he was highly corrupt. He used vote fraud to a point that they had to remake a regional election due the massive difference between the political affiliations and the final results and the usa os not like south and Latin America where this kind of instance is allowed, and thus by 1935 there was a clock ticking above his head with the massive scandals becaming more and more apparent and if he had run in '36, he most likely would have everything thrown at him at the same time and he would lose, and probably get arrested. Sadly this is inherent of himself, so unless the USA became a open to corruption, he cannot be elected, and to put in a balance, I do not believe that it would be worthy it.
 
Two months ago I made a clip of "Goodbye Huey Long", if you are interested :p

Well, a thing about Long is that if you like him or not, you cannot deny that he was highly corrupt. He used vote fraud to a point that they had to remake a regional election due the massive difference between the political affiliations and the final results and the usa os not like south and Latin America where this kind of instance is allowed, and thus by 1935 there was a clock ticking above his head with the massive scandals becaming more and more apparent and if he had run in '36, he most likely would have everything thrown at him at the same time and he would lose, and probably get arrested. Sadly this is inherent of himself, so unless the USA became a open to corruption, he cannot be elected, and to put in a balance, I do not believe that it would be worthy it.
Huey Long's economic populism and authoritarian tendencies make him seem like an American Hugo Chavez-type figure.
 
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