Messiah of Masses
In the book Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression, it describes and outlines the life of Huey Pierce Long. In chapter one, the author (Glen Jeansonne) begins to talk about Long's childhood days. Long was born on August 30, 1893 in Winnfield, Louisiana. Winnfield was a part of Winn Parish in the northeastern section on Louisiana. He was one of ten children born to his parents, Hugh and Caledonia (Callie) Long. Hugh Long was a man of great intelligence and charm. The family moved around a lot, and in 1907 Hugh built one of the largest homes in Winnfield, equipped with 16 rooms and all the commodities that were essential to living a successful life. Many of Huey's siblings went on to school and earned a successful job. Julius, whom was 14 years older than Huey, became the family's first attorney. This put a lot of pressure on all of the children to be successful and make something of their lives. Huey started his career at a very young age. He learned that he possessed a talent for selling things, and in 1910, he left school without a diploma and went out looking for a job. His friend from high school, Bozeman, convinced his boss to hire Long to be a traveling salesman for a seed cooking oil company. Long then realized that he could not make a living off of selling oil, so he decided to go to a different high school and earn a diploma. After graduation, Long found a job selling wholesale meats for the Houston Packing Company. Huey then began taking law classes in January 1912, and completed his first year before deciding that it was too much time and work for him. He jumped from job to job after leaving law school; he also married a woman named Rose McConnell. Then, much to his surprise, he lost his managerial job at Faultless Starch Company and his mother passed away. His life was not going the way he expected it to. His siblings Julius and Rose begged Huey to go back to law school, but he knew he didn't have enough patience