A powerful figure, Long was integral in Franklin Roosevelt's 1932 Democratic Nomination and the election of the first woman, Hattie Caraway, to the US Senate.

During his tenure, Long was an avowed isolationist and claimed that American foreign policy in Latin America was influenced by Standard Oil and Wall Street.

At the time of Long's arrival in the Senate, America was in the throes of the Great Depression, worsened by Republican President Herbert Hoover's handling of the crisis.

He endorsed Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas, a widow and the underdog candidate in a crowded field, and conducted a whirlwind, seven-day tour of that state.

[2][note 1] During the campaign, nicknamed the "Hattie and Huey Tour", Long gave 39 speeches, traveled 2,100 miles, and spoke to over 200,000 people.

Public viewing areas were crowded with onlookers, among them a young Lyndon B. Johnson, who later claimed he was "simply entranced" by Long.

[9][10] Long sometimes spent weeks obstructing bills, launching hour-long filibusters and having the Senate registrar read superfluous documents.

[17] Regarding his unrefined behavior, historian David M. Kennedy wrote: "Long strode into the national arena in the role of the hillbilly hero and played it with gusto.

[18] Long also demanded the retention of a provision, opposed by Roosevelt, that required Senate confirmation for the NRA's senior employees.

[19] His attempts were in vain, and the act established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which Long quickly nicknamed "Nuts Running America".

[14] Long criticized Social Security, calling it inadequate and expressing his concerns that states would administer it in a way discriminatory to blacks.

[22] Long supported other New Deal legislation, such as the acts that established the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

[29] At the 1932 Democratic National Convention, Long was instrumental in keeping the delegations of several wavering southern states in the Roosevelt camp.

[30] Senator Burton Wheeler of Montana claimed that, "Roosevelt would never have won the Democratic nomination in 1932, in my opinion, but for Huey Long.

"[14] Bronx County boss Edward J. Flynn shared a similar sentiment: "There is no question in my mind... that without Long's work Roosevelt might not have been nominated.

"[30] Due to this, Long expected to be featured prominently in Roosevelt's campaign, but he was disappointed with a peripheral speaking tour limited to four Midwestern states.

The president told economic advisor Rexford Tugwell that Long, along with General Douglas MacArthur, was "one of the two most dangerous men in America".

[30][39] Roosevelt's son would later note that in this instance, his father "may have been the originator of the concept of employing the IRS as a weapon of political retribution".

[42] Long blamed the entire war on "the forces of imperialistic finance", claiming that Paraguay was the rightful owner of the Chaco.

[42] Long ended his speech by claiming the entire Chaco War was due to the machinations of Wall Street, called the American arms embargo to both sides as subservience to the "big papa" of Wall Street and stated: "Well should we begin on Memorial Day, the hour of mourning, to understand that the imperialistic principles of the Standard Oil Company have become mightier than the solemn treaties and pronouncements of the United States government".

[45] In a second speech given on June 7, 1934, in response to the Bolivian protests, Long again supported Paraguay and attacked Standard Oil as "foreign murderers" and "imperialist oppressors of the freedom of the South American people".

Long supplemented his plan with proposals for free college education, with admission based on an IQ test,[55] and vocational training for all able students, veterans' benefits, federal assistance to farmers, public works projects, greater federal regulation of economic activity, a $30 monthly pension for those over the age of 65, a month's vacation for every worker, World War I veteran's adjusted Compensation certificates due in 1945 would be issued immediately, and limiting the work week to thirty hours to boost employment.

[60] In 1934, Long held a public debate with Norman Thomas, the leader of the Socialist Party of America, on the merits of Share Our Wealth versus socialism.

[61] With the Senate unwilling to support his proposals, in February 1934 Long formed a national political organization, the Share Our Wealth Society.

A network of local clubs led by national organizer Reverend Gerald L. K. Smith, the Share Our Wealth Society was intended to operate outside of and in opposition to the Democratic Party and the Roosevelt administration.

[21] Long's radical programs were very attractive to union-members; Teamsters president Daniel J. Tobin expressed his growing concerns to Roosevelt.