Francis townsend fdr biography

In September , Townsend wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper the Long Beach Press-Telegram , [ 6 ] and launched his career as an old-age activist. Within two years of his putting forward his plan, over Townsend Plan Clubs were organized all over America and began exerting pressure on Congress to pass an old-age pension. Frances Perkins , President Franklin D.

Congress can't stand the pressure of the Townsend Plan unless we have a real old-age insurance system. The movement continued beyond Townsend's death in A Congressional committee was established in February to investigate Townsend. While being questioned Townsend became angry at the questioning and stormed out. He was prosecuted for contempt of Congress and sentenced to 30 days in prison.

However, in , just as he entered jail to serve his sentence, he was granted a pardon by President Roosevelt. Media related to Francis Townsend at Wikimedia Commons. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.

Francis townsend fdr biography

In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Francis Baring. Francis Albert Sinatra. Francine, Anne — Francia, Peter L. Francia, Mirka —. Francia, Francis. Francia, Annibale Maria di, Bl. Franci, Carlo. Franci, Benvenuto. Franchthi Cave. Franchomme, Auguste -Joseph. Franchi, Anna — In the U. Department of Justice prosecuted Townsend for contempt of Congress in the House investigation.

However, Roosevelt commuted Townsend's day prison sentence. Townsend never stopped pushing his pension scheme. But the prosperity of the post- World War II years and improvements in private, state, and Federal pension benefits blunted the appeal of his message. He died in Los Angeles on Sept. There is substantial biographical information and a good narrative on the growth of Townsendism in Richard L.

For the sociopolitical background, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 9, Retrieved January 09, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.

History Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps Francis Everitt Townsend. Francis Everitt Townsend gale. Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia. More From encyclopedia. Francis Covers the Big Town. The main argument against the plan, however, was that the taxes would not be enough to pay for the high pensions, which would account for almost half the national income.

In , partly in response to the continued popular growth of the Townsend Plan, President Franklin D. During the time his movement gathered strength and power, Dr. Townsend got into politics with some old cronies. In he helped found the crypto-fascist Union Party, with Gerald L. Smith, the pitchman of assassinated U. Later, for refusing to answer a congressional committee, Dr.