International Business and Early 20th Century AmericaJoseph M. ScottMay 6, 2012

October of 1929 marked a time of change with the crash of the American stock market: known as Black Thursday. Almost as a sign of things to come, the crash of 1929 began a fight between large corporations, government, and the average American. To make things worse a trade imbalance with European economies caused problems with U.S. exports: all tied to debts from WWI, which most Americans didnt want to join to begin with. In 1933 over 5,000 banks had gone out of business and unemployment stood at 25 percent. With tax increases, high unemployment, a distrust of banks and an ever growing Federal Government, Americans became fed-up.In 1932 President Hoover setup a program with some of the banks that played a role in the crash of 1929. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), set up by Hoover, gave money to some of the same banks that had profited off of Black Thursday and led, in part, to the Great Depression. Hoover, while blaming global forces for the depression, turned over about 1.2 billion dollars to some of those same global forces, International Banks, while Americans were lining up for food and sleeping in parks. Tension came to a head in front of the White House in June of 1932. Protesting congresss refusal to pay money owed to them from WWI, thousands of Veterans marched on Washington. They became known as the bonus marchers. After the marchers set up make shift shelters General Douglas MacArthur lead troops to disperse the Veterans with violence and even burned their temporary homes that contained all their belongings.In the elections of 1932 Franklin Roosevelt played off recent events and the publics emotions with statements like the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid to help him get elected. Once elected Roosevelt started drawing up plans to regulate and govern private banking practices: with bills such as the Emergency Banking Act, Federal Securities Act, and Banking Act of 1933. This lead up to possibly one of the most shocking events in American history.In 1933 a man named Major General Smedley Butler, who at the time was very well known and is still technicallythe only TRIPLE recipient of the Medal of Honor. came forward to congress with details of what was called by the New York Times the Fascist Plot. Major General Butler was an accomplished and highly respected Marine Corp Veteran. Not only was he an advisor, in the State of Oregon, to the Oregon State Police Organizational Committee he was highly decorated for his military service: The Boxer Rebellion Spanish American War The Philippines Puerto Rico The Istinmus of Panama Nicaragua in the Capture of Coyotepe Veracruz Mexico were he captured the city in 1914 In Haiti in 1915 on the USS Connecticut WWI Commanding General of the Marine Corp Barracks in Quantico, Virginia Commander of the Marine Corp Base in San Diego, California

Major General Butler, who also publically supported the bonus marchers, came forward to the press and testified in a closed hearing to the Un-American Activities Committee, that a representative for international businesses asked him to lead some 500,000 Veterans to take over the White House and the Federal Government; naming companies and international business people like Du Pont, Remington, J.P. Morgan and Co., and Colonel Grayson M.-P. Murphy. This was down-played by the press and Major General Butler was even made out to be hot headed and a trouble maker in publications like Time Magazine. Even though Time Magazine quoted committee member Congressman Dickstein as saying From present indications General Butler has the evidence media coverage still wrote about this plot with headlines like Plot without Plotters.With the buildup of tensions since 1929 causing a major distrust of government by the people and tighter banking regulations and business oversight pushed by Franklin Roosevelt. General Butlers allegations of international business interest wanting to overthrow the President seems more plausible as we look back at the events leading up to and during the first two years of Roosevelts Presidency. International banks and corporations not only made money by funding both sides of the first War (WWI) they had also played a major role leading up to Black Thursday. With President Roosevelt creating tighter restrictions on international banking and business practices it now seems more plausible that General Butler may have been, like he said, handpicked by the same interests that President Roosevelt started out regulating, in what may have been a play on public anger towards government by the true major powers of influence behind wars, international banks and corporations.

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