Question: What did BBC Radio 4 air on Monday, July 23, 2007

[No Elephants]

Answer

The Whitehouse Coup

Monday 23 July 2007

Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by right-wing American businessmen


The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush’s Grandfather, Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression.

Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml

My question for BBC: Was the purposeof the coup really to beat the Great Depression, or was it to halt FDR's New Deal?

[Enthusiast]

1. Their zeal to prevent social security?

Far right is far right(Nazis). It doesn't matter if it's here or Germany.

Subvert all the nation's resources in the quest for empire? Ignore the will of the people and adopt a strictly corporate centered government?

[rpannier]

2. I'm sure their concern was genuine

I mean it was 1933, and Roosevelt had been in office over 12 days and had yet to fix the disaster caused by their allies from the previous 12 years.
I mean, merciful heavens what had that man been doing during those 288+ hours any how?

[Enthusiast]

3. He was slackin on the job.

Right. Roosevelt might have actually saved the upper crust from some sort of populist uprising, or Fascist takeover.

[No Elephants]

6. the wiki on the plot shows a different timeline.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

Roosevelt was first inaugurated March 4, 1933. He did so much in his first 100 days that the custom of evaluating a President's first 100 days in office began with him. Besides, while running, he had promised to provide jobs for all the unemployed.

Wiki is suggesting that the business were chagrined from the campaign promise about employment, but also focuses on the gold standard bit. It indicates that discussions of toppling Roosevelt did not begin until August.

The bit about the gold standard: Congress did enact what Roosevelt wanted. The SCOTUS struck it down, but not until 1935. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_v._United_States

This came to my attention recently because wiki cites the case in its analysis of the 14th Amendment section on the validity of public debt, which I looked at in connection with the debt ceiling, which Boehner is again threatening not to raise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

It's possible that the Bonus Army, which marched on Washington the year before, while Hoover was still in office, brought about the idea for how a coup could be accomplished. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_army

Eisenhower and MacArthur dealt harshly with the WWI vets. Supposedly, that was of their own accord. Supposedly, Hoover had only asked them to keep order or something. I heard that on PBS. Sounded like RW bullshit to me.

Eisenhower and Prescott Bush




Eisenhower and George Herbert Walker Bush

[formercia]

4. The plotters also wanted to forge a Neutrality Pact with Hitler

so Daddy Warbucks could keep selling Armaments to the Nazi War Machine and also stay out of the fight.

The people who installed Hitler and fomented the Coup against Roosevelt belonged to the same organization: The Knights of Malta.

[Enthusiast]

5. And that ain't no theory.

It was a conspiracy. One that is entirely ignored in modern day discussions in the mainstream media. I wonder why. :)

[No Elephants]

7. Thanks, formercia!

Bohemian Grove

Knights of Malta

Skull & Bones

Carlyle Group

Bilderburg Group

It's always some group or another!

I don't know how Prescott Bush would tie in with the Knights of Malta, though. Aren't they a Catholic group?

[Pab Sungenis]

8. I have a recording of the show.

Let me know if you want a copy.