Overview
In 1933, retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testified to the McCormack-Dickstein Committee that a group of wealthy industrialists and bankers were planning a military coup to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Butler claimed he was approached to lead an army of 500,000 veterans to intimidate the White House and install a "General Secretary" to handle executive functions, effectively making FDR a figurehead.
The Investigation
The Congressional committee investigated Butler's claims and, in its final report, confirmed that a plot was indeed being discussed. However, no prosecutions were ever brought against the alleged conspirators, which included figures linked to major corporations and Wall Street firms.
Significance
The Business Plot remains a chilling example of domestic anti-democratic planning by economic elites during the Great Depression. It highlights the tension between the New Deal's social reforms and the interests of the American financial establishment of the 1930s.