Every Man a King: The Bible

    Every Man a King: The Bible

      God was on Huey Long's side.

      At least, that's what he wanted his listeners to think. The U.S. in the 1930s, the South in particular, was a nation of believers. People went to church and knew their Bible. So it makes sense that Long relied on the Bible as the ultimate support for his policies. It comes through in virtually every speech he ever gave and it's on full display in "Every Man a King." It would prop up his arguments and give them an air of infallibility: the Good Book says so, so it must be true.

      Check it out:

      I quote you the Scripture, or rather refer you to the Scripture, because whatever you see there you may rely upon will never be disproved so long as you or your children or anyone may live; and you may further depend upon the fact that not one historical fact that the Bible has ever contained has ever yet been disproved by any scientific discovery or by reason of anything that has been disclosed to man through his own individual mind or through the wisdom of the Lord which the Lord has allowed him to have. (18)

      He was basically telling his skeptical listeners, "you're going to disagree with God? Tempt fate much?" And that wasn't exactly a chance that many people wanted to take, especially not his primarily Christian audience who were pretty familiar with the verses he quoted.

      It was a strategy, and whether he believed what he was saying or not, it was an incredibly effective one.