Knowra Charles Coughlin Charles Coughlin Charles Coughlin (1891–1979) was a Canadian-American Catholic priest and radio broadcaster whose political sermons attracted millions of listeners during the 1930s. His populist rhetoric increasingly included antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Franklin D. Roosevelt : The 32nd president of the United States, who led the country from 1933 to 1945. Coughlin initially supported Roosevelt’s New Deal, then became a prominent critic of his administration.
Radio broadcasting : The transmission of audio programs to receivers through radio waves. Radio carried Coughlin’s sermons directly into homes across the United States.
Royal Oak, Michigan : A city in southeastern Michigan, United States. Coughlin became nationally known through his ministry at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak.
Antisemitism : Hostility, prejudice, or discrimination directed against Jews. Coughlin’s broadcasts and publications helped spread antisemitic claims to a large audience.
Huey Long : A Louisiana politician whose Share Our Wealth movement advocated redistributing national income. Long and Coughlin drew on populist appeals to economic grievance, though they built separate movements.
Golden Age of Radio : A period when radio was a dominant medium for entertainment, news, and public affairs. Coughlin built a mass audience when radio was becoming a central household medium.
Shrine of the Little Flower : A Catholic parish in Royal Oak, Michigan, associated with Charles Coughlin’s ministry. Its radio broadcasts began as a way to reach parishioners and grew into a national platform.
Christian Front : A far-right Catholic movement active in the United States during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The movement drew on Coughlin’s rhetoric and became associated with antisemitic agitation.
Father Edward Lodge Curran : An American Catholic priest and political activist who led the Christian Front in New York. Curran’s Christian Front carried some of Coughlin’s political ideas into organized activism.
Social Justice (newspaper) : A weekly newspaper published by Charles Coughlin from 1936 to 1942. The newspaper extended his broadcasts into print and circulated antisemitic material.
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