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The Business Plot: The 1934 Testimony About a Coup Against FDR

What retired Marine General Smedley Butler told Congress, and what the committee concluded.

Quick answer

What was the Business Plot?

The Business Plot was an alleged 1933 to 1934 scheme in which wealthy businessmen sought to recruit retired Marine Major General Smedley Butler to lead a veterans' movement against President Franklin Roosevelt. Butler testified about it to a special House committee in November 1934. The committee reported that it had verified parts of his account, but no one was prosecuted, and the men named denied it.

Timeline

  1. 1933Bond salesman Gerald MacGuire approaches Butler, a two-time Medal of Honor recipient, with a proposal involving veterans' organizations.
  2. November 20, 1934Butler testifies in executive session to the House Special Committee on Un-American Activities, known as the McCormack-Dickstein Committee.
  3. November 1934Newspapers report the allegations. Many treat them with skepticism or ridicule.
  4. February 1935The committee's report states that evidence verified some of Butler's statements about plans for a fascist march on Washington.
  5. 1935Butler publishes War Is a Racket. No prosecutions follow.

What is documented, and what is not

On the record

  • Butler testified under oath before a House committee in 1934.
  • The committee's final report said it found evidence supporting parts of his testimony.
  • Several prominent people named in the testimony were never called to testify.

Disputed or unproven

  • How far the plot actually went, and whether it was a serious plan or loose talk, is debated by historians.
  • The men named denied any involvement.

Common questions

Was the Business Plot real?

A House committee found evidence supporting parts of Smedley Butler's testimony, but no one was charged. Historians still disagree about how serious or organized it was.

Who was Smedley Butler?

A retired US Marine Corps major general and two-time Medal of Honor recipient, later known for his book War Is a Racket.

Where can I read the testimony?

Transcripts of the McCormack-Dickstein Committee hearings are available through the Internet Archive and research libraries.

Read the record yourself

Links go to official archives, museums, agencies and published research. Search links open the archive's own search for this topic.

THE FICTION BUILT ON THIS RECORD · FILE 049 · VOLUME VIIIWall Street Asked a Marine General to Overthrow the PresidentA coup only fails if somebody says no. Ask how many times nobody did.Read the first pages free →

Last reviewed 2026-10-13. This page covers the public record only. Archive files are dramatized and always marked as files.

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