Most people will be shocked to learn that in 1933 a cabal of wealthy industrialists€"in league with groups like the K.K.K. and the American Liberty League€"planned to overthrow the U.S. government in a fascist coup. Their plan was to turn discontented veterans into American €œbrown shirts,€ depose F.D.R., and stop the New Deal. They clandestinely asked Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler to become the first American Caesar. He, though, was a true patriot and revealed the plot to journalists and to Congress. In a time when a sitting President has invoked national security to circumvent constitutional checks and balances, this episode puts the spotlight on attacks upon our democracy and the individual courage needed to repel them.
