Date of Award

8-1966

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

William D. Miller

Abstract

Even today, the name of Father Charles E. Coughlin strikes a responsive chord in the hearts of many of the people in America. Some remember him lovingly, some remember him with disillusionment, and some even remember him hatefully, but all do remember him. He was the Radio Priest of Royal Oak, Michigan who made the air waves of the 1930's vibrate with his social justice principles.

Father Coughlin's one great aim in life seemed to be to provide the answer for the "why" of the disasterous depression of 1929 to that group of people hardest hit by it, middle-class America. And so, from the inauspicious beginnings of a country priest, Coughlin catapulted himself into the limelight by pointing the finger of accusation at the international banker as the source of the economic woes in America. Of course, it was not just any international banker that was at fault, it was the Jewish international banking houses that had begun the downward spiral to the resultant economic chaos of the period. In turn, it was because of his feelings about the Jewish bankers, and his open statements against them that caused Father Coughlin to be accused of anti-Semitism.

Comments

An Essay Presented to the Faculty of the Department of History Marquette University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Download

Share

COinS