Earl Long

Earl Long, the younger brother of Huey Long, served three non-consecutive terms as governor and one incomplete term as lieutenant governor. During this time, he accomplished many things that helped to further develop Louisiana and change it for the better. His unique methods of governing and somewhat scandalous aspects of his personal life are what made him a memorable political figure.

Earl Kemp Long was born on August 26th, 1895 in Winnfield, Louisiana. He was the son of Huey Pierce Long, Sr. and Caledonia Palestine Tyson and the brother of Huey Long Jr., George Long, and Lucille Long. Long’s famous nickname that many people know him by, Uncle Earl, was given to him by his nephew US Senator Russel Long. Russel Long was the son of his older

Leche resigned. He served the rest of Leche’s term until it ended in 1940. Earl Long became the 45th governor in 1948 and served until 1952. During his second term, Long made it a point to increase the salaries of schoolteachers. He also got rid of the Louisiana civil service system, but state agencies that still worked with federal funds continued operating and taxes on gas, beer, and retail purchases increased. Earl Long served his third term from 1956 to 1960. Long was a democrat, and this was expressively noted with the changes he made during his third term as governor. During this time, he put into effect a free lunch program in schools, made salaries for black teachers the same as white teachers, and dealt with an anti-black

One of those people was John Kenneth Sr., the mayor of Alexandria. He attempted to govern in a similar way as Long, which is known as the “Long style”, but was opposed multiple times by Alexandria’s business establishment. In 1950, Earl appointed John Sparks Patton as the superintendent of Louisiana’s School for the Deaf. Patton advocated for many ideas suggested by Long’s brother, Huey. In 1951, Earl Long named Lizzie P. Thompson, the widow of C.W. Thompson, to finish her husband’s term in the Louisiana State House of Representatives after he died in office. This situation happened again in 1959 with Mary Smith Gleason after her husband, E.D. Gleason, died in office as