Results: Impeachment or Coup Part Two

The agenda behind the Business plot was that FDR would remain as the titular head of the USA but the person really in charge of the government would be someone chosen by the head of the America First Party. His position would be something like Chief of State but he would be the de facto dictator of the USA. Do think this plot could have been successful given the political climate in the 1930s?

A lawyer representing the Business Plot approached General Smedley Butler to become America's dictator. Have you ever heard of him?

Butler was an war hero and an extremely popular soldier with the public but particularly with his soldiers. The group thought he could summon a million veterans to Washington to overthrow FDR if it became necessary. Butler had no real love of FDR but he loved his country and saw this plot as treason. He pretended to be interested and lured the lawyer into several meetings until he got enough information to report the plot to the government. Do you think he did the right thing by setting up a 'sting' for them?

The plot was revealed and actually investigated by a government committee called the McCormack/Dickstein committee. The newspapers tried to claim it was hoax but the committee felt they had enough information to show that such a plot did exist. Did you know the McCormack/Dickstein committee was the forerunner of the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities?

The whole plot was hushed up because the government was afraid that it would cause even more political unrest. Plus the wealth and power of the people involved helped with the deception. The original transcripts of the committees hearings and decisions disappeared and it was basically swept under the rug. Does this surprise you?