The "Radio Priest"

     Charles Edward Coughlin was born into an Irish heritage family in Ontario, Canada in 1891.  And after a childhood of Catholic schooling he went on to get his Bachelor's degree from St. Michael's College and his divinity degree from St. Basil's seminary, both in Toronto, in 1916.

     Coughlin was assigned to be a pastor in a new church in the suburbs of Detroit in 1926.  Having trouble expanding his congregation Coughlin approached Detroit radio station WJR and asked to broadcast a weekly sermon about the news events and issues of the day.

     The moment Coughlin stepped to the microphone his broadcast became a huge success.  Within only a few months he was receiving letter and contribution towards the broadcast.  And he was anointed the title the "Radio Priest."  In 1930 Coughlin then signed a contract to broadcast nationwide on CBS radio.  It wasn't long before the Father's show stirred up some controversy as well.  Not every listener applauded his caustic blows on the nation's political leaders and economics institutions.  Al Smith, a Catholic and former governor of New York told the New York Times "When a man addresses so great a number of listeners as Father Coughlin, he assumes the responsibility of not misleading them by false statements or poisoning their judgements with baseless slanders."  After all the bad publicity CBS denied renewing the "Priest's" contract.  Coughlin, complaining that the networks were denying his freedom of speech, hired his own station and paid for everything himself.  One might ask:  How dear Watson did Coughlin get all this money to buy 60 stations panning from Maine to Colorado?  Well it must be from his early days when guppy listeners just poured millions of dollars into his radio show because they were so enamored with his "golden voice."

     As Coughlin's popularity and rhetoric grew he expanded beyond the radio waves to print by founding his own weekly tabloid magazine: Social Justice.  Coughlin has grown to be a national political force.  He became the driving force behind a third political party.  Which he has aimed to capture the White House.  Due to the fact he was born a Canadian, he himself couldn't go through with his plans but he found a Republican Congressman, William Lemke, to head the Union Liberty ticket.  Their campaigning seemed promising.  And Coughlin even said that if his party didn't win at least 9 million votes he would retire from broadcasting.  Well in the end Lemke only pulled through with about one tenth of that, and as promised the "Radio Priest" withdrew from radio.

     Although I would have loved the next part of the story to say he went back to normal life, giving sermons in his Detroit church; I am sadly mistaken.  Coughlin of course couldn't stay away from the mic.  His failure in the election meant he has to change his theme to hold on to his army of followers.  What he chose would ultimately have a devastating impact on American society.




Picture attained from Obit magazine http://obit-mag.com/articles/father-coughlin-pioneering-hate-radio
Quotes taken from Mightier Than the Sword by Rodger Streitmatter