"Gangsters of Capitalism," Jonathan Katz: Parallels Between Jan. 6 & Anti-FDR Coup- Plot, 1934

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Last edited Wed Mar 2, 2022, 09:42 PM - Edit history (4)

- Democracy Now! News. Award-winning journalist Jonathan Katz discusses his new book, "Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire." The book follows the life of the Marines officer Major General Smedley Butler and the trail of U.S. imperialism from Cuba and the Philippines to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Panama.

The book also describes an effort by banking and business leaders to topple President Franklin D. Roosevelt's government in 1934 in order to establish a fascist dictatorship. The plot was exposed by Butler, who famously declared, "War is a racket." The far-right conspiracy to overthrow liberal democracy has historical parallels to the recent January 6 insurrection, says Katz. (Jan. 26, 2022).
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*WATCH, Click: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Universal_Newsreel_-_Gen._Butler_bares_%22plot%22_by_fascists.ogv
- Universal Newsreel - Gen. Butler bares "Plot" by fascists.ogv. 1935 newsreel footage of Smedley Butler describing his 1934 congressional committee testimony and views towards the alleged 1933 plot. (Wikipedia, free encyclopedia).

- BUSINESS PLOT. The Business Plot (aka The Wall Street Putsch & The White House Putsch) was an alleged political conspiracy in 1933 in the US to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt & install a dictator. Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler asserted that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization with Butler as its leader & use it in a coup d'état to overthrow FDR. In 1934, Butler testified under oath before the US House of Representatives Special Committee on Un-American Activities ('McCormack–Dickstein Committee') on these revelations.

Although no one was prosecuted, the congressional committee final report said, "there is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, & might have been placed in execution when & if the financial backers deemed it expedient." Early in the committee's gathering of testimony most major news media dismissed the plot, with a New York Times editorial characterizing it as a "gigantic hoax". While historians have questioned whether or not a coup was actually close to execution, most agree that some sort of "wild scheme" was contemplated & discussed... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot
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- Rolling Stone, 'The Plot Against American Democracy That Isn’t Taught in Schools.' Jan. 1, 2022. In an excerpt from Gangsters of Capitalism, Jonathan M. Katz details how the authors of the Depression-era “Business Plot” aimed to take power away from FDR & stop his “socialist” New Deal. - Katz’s new book is an explosive deep dive into the forgotten history of American military imperialism in the early 20th c. At its center is one of the US's most fascinating yet little-known characters- Gen. Smedley Butler, a Marine who fought in nearly every U.S. overseas war in the early 20th c. In this exclusive excerpt, Katz documents how Butler played a pivotal role in an equally little-known episode, in which a cadre of powerful businessmen tried to overthrow the government of the US, in an episode that anticipated the events of Jan. 6, 2021..https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/coup-jan6-fdr-new-deal-business-plot-1276709/



- The BONUS ARMY, 1932, Great Depression. Americans were desperate & broke. Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler addresses nearly 16,000 veteran bonus marchers camped in Wash. D.C., July 20, 1932. Butler urged them to stay until the bonus has been paid. They were a group of 43,000 demonstrators, 17,000 veterans of the US in World War I. With their families & affiliated groups, they gathered to demand early cash redemption of their war service bonus certificates.

Many of the war veterans had been out of work since 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression.

The World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924 had awarded them bonuses in the form of certificates they could not redeem until 1945. The principal demand of the Bonus Army was the immediate cash payment of their certificates. On July 28, 1932, U.S. Atty. Gen. William D. Mitchell ordered the veterans removed from all govt. property. Washington police met with resistance, shot at the protestors, & 2 veterans were wounded & later died. Pres. Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry & cavalry, supported by 6 tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives & children were driven out, & their shelters & belongings burned...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army
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- Smedley Butler, c. 1898.

- Major General Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881- June 21, 1940), nicknamed "Maverick Marine", was a senior United States Marine Corps officer who fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution & World War I. During his 34-year career as a Marine, he participated in military actions in the Philippines, China, & Central America; the Caribbean during the Banana Wars; & France in World War I. Butler was, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. By the end of his career, Butler had received 16 medals, 5 for heroism. He is one of 19 men to receive the Medal of Honor twice, one of three to be awarded both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal (along with Wendell Neville & David Porter) & the Medal of Honor, & the only Marine to be awarded the Brevet Medal and 2 Medals of Honor, all for separate actions.

In 1933, he became involved in a controversy known as the Business Plot, when he told a congressional committee that a group of wealthy industrialists were planning a military coup to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with Butler selected to lead a march of veterans to become dictator, similar to fascist regimes at that time. The individuals involved all denied the existence of a plot, and the media ridiculed the allegations, but a final report by a special House of Representatives Committee confirmed some of Butler's testimony. Butler later became an outspoken critic of American wars & their consequences. In 1935, Butler wrote a book titled 'War Is a Racket,' where he describes and criticizes the workings of the US in its foreign actions & war... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

- "WAR IS A RACKET" Book by Smedley D. Butler, 1935.