Business Plot

Business Plot
Official USMC photograph USMC Archives from Quantico, USA · CC BY 2.0 · source
Name	Business Plot
Date	1933
Location	United States
Type	Alleged political conspiracy
Outcome	Congressional testimony; no prosecutions

Business Plot The Business Plot was an alleged 1933 conspiracy in the United States involving prominent financiers, industrialists, veterans' organizations, and political figures to orchestrate a coup d'état aimed at installing a military-style government. The episode became public primarily through testimony before a congressional committee and generated debate among historians about the credibility of witnesses, the motives of alleged conspirators, and the political climate of the Great Depression. The episode touches on interactions among corporations, banking interests, veterans' groups, and political leaders during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Background

In the early 1930s the United States faced the Great Depression, with impacts on Wall Street firms, the New York Stock Exchange, and industrial centers such as Detroit and Pittsburgh. Political responses included New Deal initiatives promoted by Franklin D. Roosevelt and advisers from institutions like the Federal Reserve System and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Opposition to New Deal policies arose among figures associated with Chrysler Corporation, General Motors, and banking houses on Wall Street, as well as veterans' groups such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. International developments, including actions by Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany, provided contemporary models of authoritarian corporatism discussed in business and policy circles.

Allegations and Accusations

The central allegation came from Major General Smedley Butler, a retired Marine Corps officer and two-time Medal of Honor recipient, who claimed that representatives of Wall Street and industrial interests sought his leadership for a proposed veterans' force to seize power. Butler testified that emissaries linked to individuals with ties to banking firms on Wall Street and industrial conglomerates from Philadelphia and New York City offered financial backing and a large paramilitary force. Newspapers including the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune reported Butler's statements, which prompted public debate involving politicians such as Senator Gerald P. Nye and commentators at outlets like The Nation and Time.

Congressional Investigation

In 1934, the United States House of Representatives established the Special Committee on Un-American Activities, chaired by Representative Samuel Dickstein, to investigate seditious activities, including Butler's allegations. The committee conducted hearings in Washington, D.C., subpoenaed witnesses, and collected testimony from Butler, associates such as William E. Dodd (former Ambassador to Germany), and representatives of veterans' groups. The committee's final report summarized Butler's account but did not recommend prosecutions; it made references to businessmen and intermediaries connected to firms on Wall Street and in Philadelphia, while debates continued in Congressional offices and among legal scholars at institutions like Columbia University and Harvard University.

Key Figures and Organizations

Major actors named in reporting and testimony included Smedley Butler; intermediaries such as Gerald C. MacGuire of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and corporate figures with ties to investment banks on Wall Street. Firms and institutions often linked in contemporary accounts include J.P. Morgan & Co., Morgan Stanley, and manufacturing concerns in Pittsburgh and Detroit. Prominent businessmen discussed in press coverage included executives associated with DuPont, Remington Arms, and other industrial boards. Veterans' organizations implicated or mentioned in the controversy ranged from the American Legion to smaller regional groups in New Jersey and Massachusetts. Political figures drawn into the story included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and legislators such as Senator William E. Borah who commented on national security implications.

Evidence and Debates

Primary evidence consisted of Butler's sworn testimony, handwritten notes from intermediaries, and press accounts from outlets including the New York Herald Tribune and the Baltimore Sun. Critics questioned Butler's reliability, citing his prior political activism and connections to left-wing publications and advocates at organizations such as The Veterans of Future Wars and Socialist Party of America circles. Supporters pointed to corroborating statements from figures in Boston and documents linking intermediaries to banking houses on Wall Street. Historians at universities including Yale University and Princeton University have debated archival materials in collections like the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration. Legal scholars compared the investigation's scope to later inquiries such as the House Un-American Activities Committee and examined intersections with antitrust concerns under statutes like the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Aftermath and Historical Assessment

No indictments or criminal prosecutions followed the congressional report, and many alleged conspirators publicly denied wrongdoing through firms' public relations offices and statements in newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times. Butler published his account in books and articles, influencing leftist and progressive critiques published in journals like The New Republic. Over subsequent decades, historians and biographers of figures such as Smedley Butler and executives from DuPont and J.P. Morgan & Co. reassessed the available documents; scholars at institutions like Brown University and University of Chicago produced divergent interpretations. The episode remains a point of reference in studies of 1930s American politics, corporate power, and veterans' movements, invoked in works on American conservatism and analyses of military influence in politics.

Category:1933 in the United States Category:Political scandals in the United States