Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille Mary Grace, and Leander Perez
The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille Mary Grace, and Leander Perez
The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille Mary Grace, and Leander Perez
Ebook333 pages4 hours

The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille Mary Grace, and Leander Perez

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

The McCarthy era changed every aspect of American life. Charges of communism were levied against professionals in the arts, business, and every level of government. How those charges defined a dark time and came to destroy two of Louisiana’s most powerful politicians is the story of The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille May Grace, and Leander Perez.

In the fall of 1951, Louisiana was about to elect a new governor. For most voters in Louisiana, the central question was a simple one: which candidate would maintain the generous populist government ushered in by the legendary Huey Long. For others, many of whom were convinced that somehow Soviet agents were running amok in Louisiana, communism was the only issue worthy of discussion in the gubernatorial election.

Those who were fearful soon found their voice in Leander Perez, longtime boss of Plaquemines Parish and leader of the Southern States Rights movement, who warned Louisianians that a communist takeover was imminent.

Enter New Orleans Congressman Hale Boggs—a civil rights liberal and prominent Washington insider—who was seen as the front runner. Lucille May Grace, the longtime registrar of the state land office and one of the shrewdest politicians in Louisiana history, was his most powerful opponent. With the counsel of Perez, “Miss Lucille,” as she was known throughout the state, turned the 1951-52 race upside down when she accused Boggs of being a communist.

Through interviews with more than forty individuals involved in this historic election, author Garry Boulard blends oral history with long-forgotten material unearthed from more than a dozen archives. The result is an incisive survey of three Louisiana giants and how the 1951-52 elections forever changed their lives.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 30, 2001
ISBN9781455601189
The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille Mary Grace, and Leander Perez
Author

Garry Boulard

Garry Boulard is an author whose reporting has appeared in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. His essays and reviews have appeared in the Journal of Southern History, Louisiana History, the Journal of Mississippi History, and Florida Historical Quarterly. He is the author of The Expatriation of Franklin Pierce—The Story of a President and the Civil War (iUniverse 2006), and The Worst President—The Story of James Buchanan (iUniverse 2015).

Read more from Garry Boulard

Related to The Big Lie

Related ebooks

United States History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Big Lie

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Big Lie - Garry Boulard

    rebook_preview_excerpt.html}|]ƕ_Rծ%2~HCrbfh, *D],>w^SK|ι{Ճ7=܏ħipg:w!?>~}qS}NǏPclX:s_H?ՋvW|[ w5]}s#R[>|)2GG7z琂]u~n |)D)+WR6/˿]7!uR5'Ū K6Sh.¹d䟥*S5z,v&oU!~05^|Z_O1Qj抇!N8}D6p\;OqW­Çضcy 7sy!{?9U0x)tFNO݃|Zq>_=cUC\?+{>BW/\ mvnCz}?ò_w޵"غC^SNw՗P<>b:x/4T2L?C#|O^ S^hjtR.W/]ءAztK}!p< ~Ԛޏ3v wp#O0YZj2B{填ǔno!оt:zl:B!w<Ѷ (=꛹?X?(Ʒ~=/շ"FnnD\x_Ts0s7aZ[KTuP?vXF}:`x3,}&4@D.yxTd:v@e_e 4IˣAg3$(} jl7C;*}a?RT[ǫ&&Oн3XakNR_b[$З  =;;4NUF}/XA?ֻ>} assf޷.(k=ŶI'Ouqu1"p`J;@=n7ZYv,?d1BC-FߺJ;ӘᵽTD`Oᦆ,j 9,n5n)ga#"hߓc|င'6Gf>b9/pjń{e&LvXjÄ[*w%Oi[<ڍ3G5*˻7x[}6 y q̉tÁ.=wY< `C\[ Em=Q6םܒXQLc 3`P1F M4r0rC҃Hsh}ݝg(Nβvoעw8%6N1~AO r,SC)vB>RUyPCc8:B{7 tI/yAޟEQj=Dnë~e d;Q4%.O0ho%]JR -f$Eaduoiy7;QZF=7#V_=y4v5ٺ%_0y3AuLx.B}Gu!> PNxt+lLC&kbպ 6p,=>%]P=c@zjCÎDUm(1_ȁƺ`Up(M oX̕a<Y|Qhi×vzT)[xrs 6s) u%_lYJ> !e(ӥzP]!Ґ;mpM?1Gٽ/}/2cHb @OE~o"QʘqiflPҏ3XB Js]C?W "o};Ui L .RF$kTx'ؚSGPY~%}7.SosHb|J6Ztup'Z^~oF&yL+ţR fVVga=iΙS_d >2yx2/YlQC8Fh[ d%<90eCh8?/`wOOGIu=qgCk붨SDG7ňD8< CtKp&l%Ph qwg1߰Si^d6b.'MQ:N@s?a}s~(VǑR<҂Yer ;l.͜H>꣐JZ (<& e+!4+l(1@vcZ'_ R|:eDc =YuDtzh_2C$uR%FJhu9uy- ؠ^0$dEcږ*)Ki{gڙ3vXeiHHq}`x%r V"cg?FYAs Zج2v ls?1R4[bRo'qaA#mw+^:,lΥx'+s(}) ?zCd-42 5-@:Lz+[݃a2ctސ":08J3fn30 KsVؘ//?_q}9gs{rkwμ92fA%#m:S^ie'3W:`ͽNa l@Π ^RvK?9+o#Ca{',M8H4\> <#9^ޣJ.ZғcQIe'r5Qߪ u6A6=O_h8X%Bs{fWAMPN9(>]K,8ldUDep6 LN `PEWɋ]}d%dhD2@޳Aܨ/W5Y$SĹDc  ʤs^ [̒c<6 U5X&b8%) . 7LM6(fףv$! V1 ̝%ġؐvaY!M)KI&NlFq"{/WcTtPKeAH`VoG<DْArW%~A&T&4ښr6 [m+̴?ܹL/5_魕d:7H61ExFJ̳qV[oMǀUGd})Ѿ)isi J^iMHO3TGm?~ʹ=$FKƘ4季S~{IyTP=_B-zJK4Y.i 6s6Y+9o<V R3As4?Dި\1S#,8y>O@x̞Re+`JӚ@U ՚WU'x/hT۩ R7:z"4! NQ]Ma@,b2jߤ{ƝVzط`% V mTSn->GeNL-3j!擲ctJa{XZr/(k9IJ,u ~)+F]Qc3FVL|Uox"tE3 oLp.pR[@Pqм4똫9W!oLմ1t,Gz'JmPÜhKaT2j l62A=(R JD("'PxUJna~[lAB ;Aݗ1Ɲ-[N #bS4[% -h1xR? U6MWsSڽmWU-LKf@Ԁ"b!LY,seܭN]-vt"Ǫ݅uQgeɰtbh`Xް*L!3_|xE\ DpFw"*1ΠXqDlXXFpp%Woo0!PBhRX'D)W"cYK:d`):A;4sY,EA1N, 쳏`]5twmVStKiRfI;O>7kkL\Cok\FPڴR/?KNr/$ X:N%^C$=pWUH`yD;v1L*YLyFXib23~-q҈ >̽sU"cdqJJY|z]5:3U~$DҠC&N"\\3tK5?q5lOk: N{Q f99!k zX ͱY})<,w-Q[Av3;q$!7kN䉴1 ݀7nQg]ABH Yy?al^v9YDIX"N?ÞAuE9Qd: ,Sni.Y̷nlKRJ9CFltrẙJm9ĢR=ܳ` Iڕ++^%g[aHxt͒E 줢RPS1(BW\|s9)%CQq 5Rp 3"z`%rύt% kE~$qQؐQkbRniʎg36Y!+mtoj߷F+YlFK +yr1J44,)(_2I 썻AbLK+1=ТmgJPVk+?k=^يvoβ3pZ K0vJz+MަHvk%|R{6baf.yk r-[3kCydV;nRZb35nU9s8wیMZūַ@lS#Lb9[.6>XSRR ,Ƕ|x&0BżlL~Z 2(ܶnol6k :8(2!3#0st>xbVoʣDer7$oxc-,o?*A4EPq?`KU>wg&;|_J_NtZla0AP:YtFzȡv%h'՞@ty2fIA+-Yip i>9L*Ň|B@Ҳ<"{k]ݶr>]Yr:⦯x!{l-PXjPYn lKgv`GSU%8>Ogc(%cͨLm,n@%υvs{`Mq `#稪|\} RܹvtU(qMo[7vy6g\B ٰ.mm@Cw\\!j-Ev,̛Pt`?Zx#ӸM5NmOMҼ'ܙh;|5Te 9%KwM%eU;b]+R[7; ~o\+a|CUJ+lW8y$Y Kci\[vsd4ÅQ*꺛31}>R|um Q~<[<0;4z&ϸlrqڗ 92^zYz.p|_ƯdFkytд/nSd,-٧?SҫH='dnnCybELX_zEk#@޷H߮Wl ^֒ #,29C)J\\h_O~zr_V=} ]%eMACʁK'<9'5T654DC K9`*jY~,ϪPJ]Kס`CL'65=LOcEZ@PU"];@ sG$w f3zv %q}b{P"dIXkǥ%#p#5&́E]fh|3$xKFrXbSx6~ mfIUK'lsz΀kw[O"&Xm.ec v7.wOzo81?gUP[k |8`Ukn(ZC˃(SB¦IMF.P9_bBC6N^mnjWlg8 X,L4ֱ-wHI-G(Y=us0A}ko*0yuFggyGHmu[wc>TtГw,={/{7x҄jE)kf2̈4 !c#s+[٫Z/G+VZu7(9>[R~&7sQM^yPj8#wy+({~2daj{-6b=9? <:Vs6w{oEҜwmN~y0,{~|󸇒>a⫪+^mn[4sUNS)*u sEO\m?b;Y\tkbO %AJMΧsCTji#ZbyZs&ODg`?ӓO ϫ]ɭ(r<*>c>}-CT-}փ%?p8k葫Yk~H\儞:p9%oшpTMywQIv^8DH)$i'xK̇EK-tQt.l\2 )M"=vC0zNW9׫ywr"˚ |i/hJd2ě3P`!_.ǣ?KӤ^i9ٶ )K&L4ޗO5&s&c*AOYW鸠6Cx=R>Wx qfЧ,#[J`P^m,0KeK]{s3U9Q¬:ܥb3!n{urAl{] tK]I$uR^!@|~oAD֠w}R/0wu/KzuN#96},"v֯U빘)%-nQh?Iij¾tQIuV m2}8H2>c{V~RZnP%*糆r`4,fRC>0ЦD/euiJLws<ƒK\$vϋ#)|1dGx *;}Ҏmf׿gtZ >ժlY38@(o/.'*:SW3֣/TH'wa}@i'j(LX-y9xWY
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1