Every Man a King: Tough-o-Meter

    Every Man a King: Tough-o-Meter

      (5) Tree Line

      Huey Long was a brilliant mind, and though his speeches were mostly directed toward his poor (and largely illiterate) supporters, he didn't pull any rhetorical punches. The speech is absolutely loaded with Biblical allusions, lawyerly language, allusions to ancient Greek philosophy, and references to American history. It's composed almost entirely of lengthy and dense sentences. His message is fairly straightforward, and lots of it is masterfully conveyed in short and punchy allegories. But if you really want to grasp the extent of Long's speech there's a decent amount of background info you'd need to know.