One of the inspirations for Huey Long was William Jennings Bryan, of Scopes Monkey Trial fame. A dynamic speaker, Bryan earned the nickname "the boy orator of the Platte." But as his political opponents enjoyed pointing out, the Platte River was only six inches deep and a mile wide at the mouth (source).

In 1896, WJB made a show-stopping speech at the Democratic National Convention (he also wanted to be President) that drew sharp contrasts between the rural poor and the city slicker elites. His famous "Cross of Gold" speech was about the monetary system of the U.S. and whether or not it should be strictly backed by gold or by both gold and silver, which would expand the money supply. WJB believed abandoning the gold standard could alleviate the severe economic problems of the late 19th century, especially in the wake of the Panic of 1893 (a sort of mini-Great Depression).

Check out some of the lines from Bryan's speech; We'll put Huey's words right after them.

Example 1

• the encroachments of aggregated wealth (Bryan)
• centralized wealth in the hands of the few (Long)

Example 2

• […] the miners who go 1,000 feet into the earth or climb 2,000 feet upon the cliffs and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured in the channels of trade are as much businessmen as the few financial magnates who in a backroom corner the money of the world. (Bryan)
• We have these great incomes in this country; but the farmer, who plowed from sunup to sundown, who labored here from sunup to sundown for 6 days a week, wound up at the end of the time with practically nothing. (Long)

Example 3

• The principles upon which rest Democracy are as everlasting as the hills. (Bryan)
• I am going to tell you what the wise men of all ages and times […] have all said. (Long)

Example 4

• We have simply called attention to what you know. (Bryan)
• You know what the trouble is. (Long)

Example 5

• […] upon which side shall the Democratic Party fight. Upon the side of the idle holders of idle capital, or upon the side of the struggling masses? (Bryan)
• [just about every line in Long's speech] (Long)

Just shy of 40 years later, Long's speech drew upon Bryan's ideas in the wake of the Great Depression. WJB's "bimetallism" was highly controversial in his day, but compared to Long's Share Our Wealth Plan, that controversy was small potatoes.

Two great orators, two famous speeches. Somehow, we'd rather listen to Huey Long; his down-home style beats Bryan's elevated language hands down.