WI: Smedley Butler hijacks the Business Plot

[whall15]

From Wikipedia because I'm lazy:

The Business Plot (also called the Wall Street Putsch[1] and The White House Putsch) was a political conspiracy in 1933 in the United States to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a dictator.[2] Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler asserted that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization with Butler as its leader and use it in a coup d'état to overthrow Roosevelt. In 1934, Butler testified under oath before the United States House of Representatives Special Committee on Un-American Activities (the "McCormack–Dickstein Committee") on these revelations.[3] Although no one was prosecuted, the congressional committee final report said, "there is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution when and if the financial backers deemed it expedient."

Business Plot - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The plot supposedly involved wealthy industrialists financing 500,000 retired war veterans to try and overthrow Roosevelt.

Lets assume for one moment that the Business Plot was genuinely in motion. Smedley Butler held some well-known leftist political views and campaigned against what he saw as a nascent fascism in America, underpinned by Wall Street war profiteering, making him a rather bizarre choice to lead a fascist coup d'etat.

The question I have is what if Butler instead took advantage of the offer of financing, understook steps to overthrow Roosevelt and then backstepped his financiers in an attempt to rule as some kind of American Hugo Chavez - a left wing populist dictator with a military background?

 

[Strategos' Risk]

At the very least, it would've been interesting if Smedley had gone along further with the plot until there was solid evidence, and then turned on them and revealed what they were doing, allowing FDR to clean house among the American business-industrial elite.

 

[Corjomc]

He has an "Accident" and new mouthpiece is found for new Glorious America.

Smedley would've been better off letting them build up the plot to where He can reveal it and it's too big to deny.

Gather the evidence to nail those involved.

 

[Corjomc]

At the very least, it would've been interesting if Smedley had gone along further with the plot until there was solid evidence, and then turned on them and revealed what they were doing, allowing FDR to clean house among the American business-industrial elite.

Jinx!

 

[Techno Angel]

He has an "Accident" and new mouthpiece is found for new Glorious America.

Smedley would've been better off letting them build up the plot to where He can reveal it and it's too big to deny.

Gather the evidence to nail those involved.

Those people are never getting prosecution because they're too wealthy

 

[HelloThere]

Those people are never getting prosecution because they're too wealthy

If they just hold talks about some things, sure. If they plan to overthrow the American bourgeois democracy with a milquetoast liberal president, there will be many people who will happily help getting them arrested (because nothing kills your competitor on the market like putting him in jail).

 

[NedStark]

Those people are never getting prosecution because they're too wealthy

Unless their competitors lobby for their prosecution.

 

[Wendell]

Is there any actual evidence that the Business Plot was real?

 

[Deleted member 2186]

Those people are never getting prosecution because they're too wealthy

He did try:

 

[marktaha]

Is there any actual evidence that the Business Plot was real?

Doubt if it was anything but wild talk which Butler used for publicity. How did they intend to recruit half a million veterans?

 

[Techno Angel]

He did try:

I know, but nobody got prosecuted and he most likely was killed - that's what I was talking about

 

[Wendell]

Doubt if it was anything but wild talk which Butler used for publicity. How did they intend to recruit half a million veterans?

This is my belief as well.

 

[Sam R.]

Isn’t the traditional thing for a number of people to have heart attacks or suicides simultaneously?

how mature is American democracy that they don’t know this?

 

[overoceans]

This is my belief as well.

Does anyone know how many war veterans, roughly, would have been alive in 1933?

 

[duckie]

Does anyone know how many war veterans, roughly, would have been alive in 1933?

what about the warbond marchers and their kin. After what MacArther did to them, they didn´t like the goverment that betrayed them, This was about 10 years before the plot.

 

[overoceans]

what about the warbond marchers and their kin. After what MacArther did to them, they didn´t like the goverment that betrayed them, This was about 10 years before the plot.

Are you talking about the Bonus March? That was in 1932.

 

[Mumby]

already done it my dudes, check out the tl in my sig

 

[duckie]

Are you talking about the Bonus March? That was. in 1932.

Yes, so there was a segment of the population with issues against goverment. A fertile recruit ground for the plotters

 

[NedStark]

Yes, so there was a segment of the population with issues against goverment. A fertile recruit ground for the plotters

They had issues with the Hoover Government, not FDR. FDR and the Congressional New Deal Democrats eventually handled and settled the issues without trouble, including their bonus demand.

 

[Techno Angel]

This is my belief as well.

Because rich people would never use their wealth to subvert democracy for their own benefit, right? That's literally never happened in history!