Louis McFadden

[[File:Louis T. McFadden cph.3b17014.jpg|thumb|right|165px|McFadden in 1931.]]
{{conspiracynav}}
'''Louis Thomas McFadden''' {{lived|1878|1936}} was a [[Republican]] member of the [[House of Representatives]] from [[Pennsylvania]] who served from 1915 to 1935. He was a [[right-wing|far-right]] [[populist]] who is often remembered for two things:

*Creating the McFadden Act, which limited federal branch banks to the city in which the main branch operates.

*Being a batshit crazy [[Antisemitism|anti-Semite]] who pushed every [[conspiracy theory]] he could get his hands on, especially when it had to do with the [[International Jewish Conspiracy]].

==Nuttiness==
Prior to (finally) being voted out of office, he was a staunch opponent of the [[Federal Reserve]] because he believed that [[Rothschild family|Jewish banking interests]] were controlling the Fed.<ref>Goldwag, Arthur (2012-09-04). The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right. Random House Digital, Inc. pp. 134–. ISBN 9780307742513</ref> He even said the Fed (and presumably the [[Jews]]) had ''purposely'' caused the [[Great Depression]]. Apparently, he also believed the [[FDR|Roosevelt Administration]] was controlled by Jews, and he irritated Roosevelt when McFadden didn't want Henry Morgenthau Jr., a Jew, being appointed Secretary of the Treasury.<ref>http://www.jta.org/1934/06/28/archive/rep-mcfadden-waves-red-flag-in-renewed-attacks-on-jews</ref> 

Because that's not enough, he also accused Wall Street of funding the [[Bolshevik|Russian Revolution.]]

He also did his best to befriend [[Nazis]], with McFadden repeatedly praising [[Adolf Hitler]] and, in turn, the pro-Nazi tabloid ''Der Stürmer'' praised McFadden.<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7UNBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=grcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6437,1137939&dq=louis-mcfadden+%7C+louis-t-mcfadden+hitler&hl=en</ref> McFadden also tried to buddy up with [[fascist]] [[William Dudley Pelley]],<ref>http://www.jta.org/1934/05/01/archive/anti-semitism-in-house-of-congress</ref> leader of the Silver Shirt Society. 

Republicans eventually denounced McFadden as "crazy"<ref>http://newspaperarchive.com/kingsport-times/1934-08-27/page-4/</ref> and he lost his seat in 1935 despite running as an incumbent in a heavily Republican district. He briefly tried to run for president on the platform of keeping Jews out of the Republican Party but eventually stopped due to lack of support.

==Death and conspiracy theories==
McFadden ([[Schadenfreude|finally]]) died of heart complications in 1936, but he has become something of a hero to some anti-Semites on the internet. Of course, some anti-Semites think he was poisoned, as do some [[libertarian]]s who think he was killed for speaking out against the Fed.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120502042408/http://www.examiner.com/article/the-assassination-of-louis-t-mcfadden</ref> The more libertarian types tend to [[historical revisionism|gloss]] over his anti-Semitism. McFadden's legacy lives through his helping of getting the ball rolling on the "Jews control the Fed" conspiracy theory. Interestingly, his vehement anti-Semitism and [[Third positionism|Third Positionist]] economics also makes him one of the few American politicians you could justifiably call a strong Nazi-sympathizer.

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Great Depression]]
[[Category:Racists]]

Categories: Antisemites, Christians, Fascists, Former United States Representatives, Great Depression, Racists