Shaken To Its Core: Father Charles Coughlin

Father Charles Coughlin 

Oh, capitalism shall never again flourish as once it did. Capitalism has been almost taxed out of existence in an effort to meet the coupons and the bonds, in an effort to meet the dole system that is absolutely unnecessary in a country of our wealth. Father Charles Coughlin 1937

 The radicalization of America during the Great Depression is best be encapsulated by the conversion of Father Charles E. Coughlin from zealous Roosevelt supporter to ardent opposers of the New Deal, Roosevelt, capitalism, and democracy. Once deemed by a top government official as “the most dangerous man in America behind John Dillinger,” Coughlin daftly used the medium of radio to spread a gospel that at times more closely resembled the dogmatic speeches of Adolph Hitler, than those of Jesus Christ crowds in the hundreds of thousands. From his early days of railing against the Klu Klux Klan, Coughlin used his charismatic speaking style to attract a loyal following that teetered on cult status.

 Born into a devoutly religious Catholic family on October 25, 1891, Coughlin grew up in a comfortable middle-class home in Toronto. He was ordained into The Order of St. Basil of Catholic priesthood in 1916. Coughlin taught for several years after his ordination. In 1923 a change in the internal life of his religious congregation led to a major shift in his future. Basilians were required by the Pope Pius XI to change the structure of the congregation from to one which required them to follow a more monastic way of life. Not accepting the changes, Coughlin left the congregation. In 1923 he immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Detroit, Michigan

Coughlin began his radio broadcasts in 1926, in response to harassment by the Ku Klux Klan on the grounds of his church, giving a weekly hour-long radio program. Within four years, program was picked up by CBS for national broadcast. Until the beginning of the Depression, Father Coughlin mainly covered religious topics in his weekly radio addresses, in contrast to the political topics which dominated his radio speeches throughout the 1930s. Like many Americans, Coughlin felt as though politics was best handled by those elected to do so. His radio addresses grew increasingly more political in January 1930, when he began a series of attacks against communism and socialism. As the series progressed and became more popular, Coughlin became to criticize the capitalists in America. It was their greed that made Communist ideology attractive to many Americans according to Coughlin.

 At the onset of the 1930’s Coughlin leapt onto the wave of support for Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Coughlin is credited for having coined Roosevelt’s early catch phrase “Roosevelt or Ruin.” Coughlin’s support for the New Deal was never more evident than when he stated over the radio that “The New Deal is Christ’s Deal.” In January 1934, Coughlin testified before Congress in support of FDR's policies, saying, "If Congress fails to back up the President in his monetary program, I predict a revolution in this country which will make the French Revolution look silly!"

He also stated, "God is directing President Roosevelt" later in the hearing. These ringing endorsements of Roosevelt were picked up by listeners across the country, leading to the perception that even God was on the side of the American President.

However, later in 1934, Coughlin’s support for Roosevelt falters dramatically when he founded the National Union for Social Justice. It is also at the time that Coughlin took up the cross of the bygone Populist Party of ‘free silver.” Leading up to the 1936 election, Coughlin, despite throttling attempt by Joseph Kennedy, began to form a quasi political party with none other than Huey Long. It was said by many at the time, that a Long/Coughlin ticket would be the only ticket able to beat Roosevelt in 1936. When Long was murdered in 1935, Coughlin shifted his support to William Lemke’s Union Party. During the 1935-36 political season, Coughlin began a digression away from politics to what at best can be called a racial diatribe against the European Jew. Blaming the Jews for everything from the Bolshevik Revolution to the Stock Market Crash of 1926, Coughlin’s listenership began to become more radicalized and experienced a dramatic shift. Gone were the housewives who listened to him preach against the evils of the Klan, replaced by the shifty eyed agitator bent on overthrowing America’s capitalistic system. His anti-Semitism became more and more rampant as people looked to him for answers about the causes of the Great Depression.

At its peak in the early 1930s, Coughlin's radio show was phenomenally popular. His office received up to 80,000 letters per week from listeners. Some estimate that Father Coughlin’s radio audience ranged up to 30 million each week. During this time, Coughlin also began to draw serious attention from the Catholic Church and Federal Government. In the mid 1930’s church officials sought but due to his immense popularity did not take serious measures to silence. In 1942, Attorney General Francis Biddle, began to the process of investigating Coughlin ship of his weekly newsletter Social Justice. On the grounds that his was interfering with the vast postal needs of a country at war, Biddle made plans to bring charges against Coughlin. Before such charges could be raise, the Catholic Church stepped in threatening a defrocking if Coughlin did not tone down his political activities.

With the threat of defrocking Charles Coughlin stopped both his radio show and newsletter. He virtually retired from the public eye over night. With this single act, the Catholic Church put an end to what was one of the most popular, and radical single figures of the Great Depression. His story, was like many others. Once a staunch supporter of the New Deal, Coughlin, like many other Americans became utterly dissatisfied with the slow progress of the reforms. Seeking an explanation, he blamed (erroneously) a group of people he thought were at the crux of the problem, and he vocalized his opinions of that group to anyone who would listen. Done nothing more than what millions of Americans did daily, Father Charles Coughlin became one of the most popular personalities of the Great Depression