Alan Brinkley's Voices Of Protest

The Great Depression had begun in American society and a well known leader emerged to lead the country in Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Understandably one of the greatest achieving Presidents in American history. However, during the Great Depression critics emerged and national figures rose that challenged Roosevelt. In Alan Brinkley’s, Voices of Protest, he focused on two remarkable men Huey Long and Charles Coughlin that became opponents of Roosevelt's and led to a popular uprising that became more powerful than any movement since the populist movement. Brinkley credited them and said they were able to challenge the nation’s economic and political system through the use of the radio. Historians classify Long and Coughlin as leaders of irrational, anti-democratic uprisings but Brinkley argued they called for a society in which the individual remained in control of his own life and livelihood (Brinkley, xi). Through his text, he argued they gave evidence of survival in the 1930s of the long American tradition and on the other hand it gave compelling evidence

It Highlighted the most successful years of both men and spent a small amount of time on the downfalls of both men. Lastly, the argument that there was opposition to large government and power centers was evident, but the upcoming years showed the American people continued to support Roosevelt. The years between 1933 and 1936 were also years that the New Deal seemed to be losing spirit and strength and as a result Roosevelt lost followers (Brinkley, 3). As a result because the book focused on a time where the New Deal and Roosevelt were struggling, it is a weakness and a flaw because in the end, the people in the 1936 election re elect Roosevelt. Leading to the question of how successful Long and Coughlin really were in disrupting the political and economic problems at the