Did wealthy Wall Street elites try to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934?

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we dive into one of the strangest and least-taught chapters in American history: The Business Plot, an alleged fascist coup attempt against FDR during the Great Depression.

In 1934, decorated Marine Corps Major General Smedley Darlington Butler—a two-time Medal of Honor recipient and one of the most respected military figures in the country—testified before Congress that powerful businessmen approached him with a shocking proposal. They wanted him to lead 500,000 veterans in a march on Washington, intimidate President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and install a new authoritarian-style government.

Yes. In the United States. During the 1930s.

The alleged conspirators were connected to major financial and industrial interests, including Wall Street power players and members of the American Liberty League. Butler claimed the plan involved replacing democratic authority with a “Secretary of General Affairs”—a role that functioned suspiciously like a dictator. The proposed justification? That FDR was too weak and too radical to govern.

The House McCormack–Dickstein Committee investigated. They confirmed that discussions of such a plot had taken place. And yet—no one was prosecuted. Major newspapers dismissed the story as a hoax. The headlines faded. The plot slipped into obscurity.

Why isn’t this taught in most history classes?

Who benefited from burying it?

And what does this moment reveal about the tension between corporate power and democracy in America?

We explore:

The economic chaos of the Great Depression
The rise of fascist movements globally in the 1930s
Butler’s explosive testimony
The media response
And why this story still echoes today

History is messy. Sometimes it’s buried on purpose.

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The Business Plot: A Real Coup Against FDR?