The Millionaires Coup of 1933 — and the real threat to American democracy

November, the month of elections and Veterans Day, is a good time to reflect on the wisdom of warriors and the challenges of protecting our democracy. While we are taught to lazily assume that democracy is most likely to be threatened by a rioting rabble comprised of the poor, the disenfranchised, or strident left wing radicals, history shows that the real threat to U.S. democracy often comes from the top.

Case in point: have you ever heard of the Millionaires Coup? I’m guessing you haven’t, because neither had I. But a few months ago I visited the Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA, where I admired the grandeur of the setting, the extraordinary beauty and sheer number of priceless artworks. When I remarked on the splendor of the place to a friendly security guard in one of the salons, he suggested that Mr. Clark hadn’t been the nicest guy and suggested that I check out the history of “The Millionaires Coup”. https://timeline.com/business-plot-overthrow-fdr-9a59a012c32a

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ policies were highly distasteful to Mr. Robert Stirling Clark and his wealthy friends. The ‘New Deal’ smelled like socialism! So Clark and his pals hired Gerald C. MacGuire, a bond salesman, to travel around Europe, looking for good ideas about how to tamp down America’s socialist leanings. Maguire came back with favorable reports about Mussolini’s fascism and Hitler’s excellent progress. One can almost picture Clark exclaiming, “Capital!” and nearly spilling his brandy with enthusiasm. Fascism was just what America needed. But how to do it? A thing like that requires finesse. Lest anyone think that Clark was a lone crazy rich guy it should be noted that his co-conspirators, or shall we say circle of friends, included people like Prescott Bush (father to George H. W. Bush), the DuPont family, S.B. Colgate, Sewell Avery (lumber and gypsum), Alfred P. Sloan, and former secretary of State Elihu Root.

And Robert Clark was a businessman, not a fighter. (Actually his father amassed the Singer Sewing Machine Company fortune. Robert was the playboy son). Clark needed someone with military experience to help pull off the coup. Enter Major General Smedley Butler, who in keeping with his Gilbert & Sullivan name, really was the ‘very model of modern major general,’ having been decorated for his service in the Mexican Revolution, the Banana Wars, Haiti, and World War One. Butler’s job would be to recruit and train the troops needed to stage the military coup. The DuPonts would provide a ready source of arms because of their gunpowder manufacturing business and connections to the Remington Arms Company.

However, in choosing Butler, Clark banked on the wrong guy (or the right guy if you value democracy). Major Butler (aka “Old Gimlet Eye”) was indeed widely respected for his integrity. In addition to his direct military service, he had recently led an initiative to clean up poor management and abuses at the Veterans Administration. Clark was hoping that Butler’s enormous influence could bring along the rest of the U.S. military leadership when it was time to bring the hammer down.

Major Butler’s integrity was real — and as he began to understand what his new friends were asking for, he decided to blow the whistle. He revealed the plot to Congress and an investigation was noisily mounted. In short order though, the Fine Gentlemen succeeded in laughing it all off. They were friendly with all the investigators, having hosted them at hunts and cocktails and swell parties. It was all chalked up to a rather comic misunderstanding. Major General Butler, though a fine fellow, must have misunderstood the whole thing. Cheerio.

But for Major Butler the episode was transformative. He knew he had been used. He became a pacifist and went on to write a stirring book titled War Is a Racket. The book criticized U.S. military actions, including those in which he had served. He became a vocal advocate exposing how American corporations and wealthy capitalists use war to profit at the expense of working-class soldiers. He traveled the lecture circuit “trying to educate the soldiers out of the sucker class.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

This is a juicy story, full of famous names and power-mongering. Clark himself was quoted as saying that he was “willing to give up half his fortune to save the other half.” I was shocked by some of the details — especially by the fact that I had never heard anything about it in all my years studying American history and political science. At the same time, though, doesn’t it all sound rather familiar? Why do we continue to be distracted by our fear of the unwashed crowd? Wouldn’t we be better off instead, casting wary eyes on those with the means (wealth), motive (maintaining the status quo) and opportunity (connections) to twist our country toward their own interests, democracy be damned. In the wise, fighting words of Howard Zinn, “Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.” Vigilance toward the rich and powerful, like that displayed by Major General Butler, is indeed the price of democracy.