All the King's Men | Historical Context

All the King's Men Historical Context

Louisiana Politics and Huey P. Long

The Populist Movement, which espoused increased powers for the farmer and the working man, swept through a large part of the post-Civil War South but failed to find a foothold in Louisiana, thanks to the entrenched wealthy interests that had historically governed Louisiana: Standard Oil, the banks, the railroads, and rich landowners. Average citizens struggled along, sending their children to poorly supported schools over unpaved, pot-holed roads. Many were sharecroppers, who didn't own their own land and who barely made enough money to buy seeds for the next year's crop.

Huey P. Long, the widely acknowledged model for Willie Stark, began his life in politics by winning a position on the state railroad commission. He promptly set up that position as a bully pulpit from which he attacked Standard Oil. He accused the corporate giant of influencing the state government in its favor, making him a hero of the...
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