His radio broadcasts from his Southern Methodist church in Los Angeles, California, during the 1920s and early 1930s attracted a large audience and also drew controversy with his attacks on politicians and police officials.

Born in a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee, Shuler graduated from Emory and Henry College in 1903 and was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

[1] It was in California that Shuler gained fame as the fiery pastor of Trinity Methodist Church, located at 1201 S. Flower St. in Downtown Los Angeles, from 1920 until 1953.

[2] Shuler acquired a wide following for his sermons and broadcasts in which he "thundered weekly against civic and moral evils", including gamblers, bootleggers, grafters, and above all corrupt politicians and police officials.

[3] American Mercury wrote that Shuler had "built up the greatest political and social power ever wielded by a man of God since the days of Savonarola in Florence.

"[5] One historical account described Shuler's influence as follows: Hyperbole aside, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, 'Fighting Bob' operated the most controversial religious radio station of all time.

'Bob' Shuler, pastor of Trinity Methodist Church South, via radio, magazine, pulpit or pamphlet (25 cents per copy) you don't amount to much in Los Angeles.

Shuler and other Protestant ministers active in the reform and anti-vice movements had applied direct political pressure on both the mayor and the Chief of Police.

[7] Shuler staked out a speakeasy and caught Chief Oaks leaving the establishment in an inebriated state accompanied by two women, neither of whom were his wife.

The court denounced the character of Shuler's broadcasts and declared that if such use of the airwaves were permitted, "radio will become a scourge and the nation a theater for the display of individual passions and the collision of personal interests.

The Los Angeles Times refused to endorse any of the three candidates, calling it a "Hobson's choice" for voters, and criticizing Shuler for his "demagogic appeals to discontent.

"[24] Shuler freely admitted "I don't know what I'll do in Washington until I get there," but promised that he would be on the side of "the great mass of common people" and a fighter for "free speech, equal rights and justice for all.

[25] He carried Orange and Riverside counties, and his total vote count was only 100,000 fewer than the Republican candidate, Tubbs, who finished second to McAdoo.

[1] In 1942, Shuler returned to politics and received the joint nomination of the Prohibition and Republican parties as their choice to oppose Democratic incumbent Congressman Jerry Voorhis in California's 12th Congressional District.

[31] Bill was the captain of the Army football team in 1935 and was named an All-American at the end position,[32][33] while Robert Jr. assumed the Trinity Methodist Church pastorate after the elder Shuler's retirement.