TIL of The Business Plot of 1933, a failed attempt to overthrow FDR and install a dictator. Led by a covertly bankrolled Wall Street coalition of affluent businessmen

explorethearchive.com The Conspiratorial Business Plot of 1933

In 1933, a coalition of businessmen dissatisfied with FDR's economic policies surreptitiously planned a coup. The failed Business Plot aimed to depose FDR and install a dictator.

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Some say Prescott Bush was supposed to be the liaison between this new government and the nazis, but experts have said it was unlikely because Prescott was already directly working with the nazis and focused on Europe.

His son became CIA director than later President, then one of his sons was president, and another has come close.

Republicans have been loving far right authoritarian governments for decades. trump just did it publicly which is why the party establishment still doesn't like him. They agree with him, just think he's too blatant and that will motivate people to vote D.
This one needs to be taught in high school history classes
- A lot of things aren't taught that should be.
  
  Tulsa Massacre
  
  Pinkerton Massacre
  
  Shirt waist fire
  
  Redlining and other forms of discrimination against non whites
  
  Henry Kissingers Vietnam plot
  
  Battle of Blaire Mountain
  
  The history of US drug laws
  
  Early Squabbles between Christian sects
  
  Of course the business plot
  
  How corporate lobbying has affected how we run critical things like transportation and medicine
  
  How early gun control laws were specifically targeting the Black Panthers
  
  Shit, if we're opening the door on Kissinger, we might as well talk about his role in the Chilean coup, Argentina Junta, the bombings of Cambodia and Laos, Bangladesh independence, and more. You know the saying "only the good die young"? There's a reason he's 100 years old.
  
  Shit changes so fast we really need History and a separate Recent Events class.
  
  Trying to remember names/dates/places from the Civil War is absolutely pointless when highschool graduates can't tell you shit about the most recent 20 years.
  
  The actual story of actual good person and super badass John Brown
- Particularly the part where no one was held accountable...
- I hardly learned a damn thing in class that happened after 1910.
  
  Yep, we never made it further than WW1 before we just ran out of time in the school year. Some history teachers really tried to blitz through WW2-present in the week or so they usually had left in the school year by that point, some just gave up and put on movies like all the other teachers.
And they would have gotten away with it too if Smedley Butler hadn't blown the whistle after they approached him to lead the coup's forces.
- Going to take a moment to plug a great biography of him I read, Gangsters of Capitalism Butler was a very complicated person, much like the rest of the Quakers.
  
  I do feel like saying they would've gotten away with it is perhaps a tad overstating their chances
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
  
  He behaved honorably during this plot and outside of it.
  
  One of the first military leaders to start calling out the overreach of business elites in the US.
These events were the basis for the movie Amsterdam, which I enjoyed quite a lot although admittedly it has mixed reviews
- Wait, what?! All the marketing made it seem like a lighthearted parody of period murder mysteries-- how the heck does the Business Plot fit in?
  
  I think the movie was intentionally a bit "Forrest Gump"-esque, we're not meant to focus on the Nazis, the Nazi sympathizers, or the treasonous business owners. We're supposed to focus on the human bond, the relationship between the main characters, and how it all comes together at the last minute to resolve the plot (and the Plot).
  
  I'm of a mixed opinion regarding the marketing, on the one hand the plot they uncover is a fundamental aspect of the story and would have definitely drawn more attention, but on the other hand drawing attention to the Plot in the wrong way was exactly what they wanted to avoid, do they leave the Business Plot out of the marketing or do they give in and weaken the whole message of the movie?
  
  Not very well, honestly. Hence the mixed reviews. Amsterdam felt like two different decent movies that didn't fit together. It starts out seeming to be an earnest, whimsical love story between a group of friends and somehow ends up being an antifascist historical drama. The murder mystery is a really brief side plot red herring and what the main characters really investigate for some reason is who is behind the plot to overthrow the President.
Then they realized they could just buy the political parties instead.
Why would anyone get punished, it’s just business /s
If anyone's got the time to listen to a podcast about it, there's one that came out recently called 'Let's Start a Coup.'

Admittedly I haven't heard it myself, but one of the hosts is Justin Boland(?) who also hosts Stuff They Don't Want You to Know, and been a guest on Behind the Bastards, so I imagine it'll be quite good, and I'll be listening to it soon.

Edit: I've finished listening to it, and it is indeed very good. Really funny and informative.

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