Overview
Father Charles Coughlin was a Catholic priest who rose to national prominence in the 1930s through his "Golden Hour of the Little Flower" radio program. Initially a supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, Coughlin's rhetoric grew increasingly populist and isolationist, eventually veering into antisemitism and praise for figures like Hitler and Mussolini. His broadcasts reached an estimated 30 million listeners at their peak, making him one of the most influential and controversial media figures of his era. Despite his immense popularity, his increasingly radical and hateful pronouncements led to his eventual silencing by the Catholic Church in 1942.