War is a Racket ~Major General Smedley D Butler.

11 min readMay 18, 2024

May 18, 2024

“War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.” ~General Smedley D. Butler

Major General Smedley D. Butler was a highly decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer who served in the early 20th century. He is one of only 19 people to be awarded the Medal of Honor twice, and was also awarded the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for his actions in Haiti in 1915.

Jonathan Myerson Katz is a journalist and author who has reported on politics, conflict, human migration, and disasters around the world. His work has appeared in the New York Times and New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, New Republic, New Yorker, Washington Post, Guardian, and elsewhere.

From 2016 through 2021, Katz traveled across nine countries in Latin America and Asia and did extensive archival research to uncover the forgotten history of the rise of the U.S. global empire in the early 20th Century and its legacies today. Katz’s narrative intertwines Butler’s exploits with his own investigations into the lasting impacts of these interventions.

Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America’s Empire, was released in January 2022 to rave reviews. The book offers a critical perspective on how historical military actions have shaped U.S. foreign policy and current global dynamics. It made the American Booksellers Association list of national bestsellers, was shortlisted for the Athenaeum of Philadelphia Literary Award, and won the 2023 People’s Choice Nonfiction Award from the Library of Virginia.

Different sources have been put together for this article but Gangsters of Capitalism by Jonathan M Katz was the first and biggest influence.

Major General, USMC (Retired), (1881–1940)

— Profile

Smedley Darlington Butler was born on 30 July 1881 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Appointed from that same state in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in May 1898, he was assigned to USS New York and participated in the Spanish-American War. After briefly discharged, he returned to the Marines as a First Lieutenant in April 1899 and received orders to the Marine Battalion at Manila, Philippine Islands. In June 1900, during the China Relief Expedition, he participated in the Battle of Tientsin and was wounded. In July, Butler was promoted to Captain by Brevet Rank for his distinguished conduct in that battle. Returning to the U.S. in April 1901, he served at Marine Barracks, League Island, Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After duty with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, he reported in April 1904 on board USS Lancaster. For his next two tours, he served in the Philippines, first at the Marine Barracks, then with the First Brigade Marines. In November 1907, he had recruiting duty at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was promoted to Major in May 1908.

In December 1909, Butler commanded the Third Marine Battalion at Camp Elliott, Panama Canal. After temporary duty in Nicaragua, he returned to Camp Elliott. On 22 April 1914, he participated as a Battalion Commander in the intervention at Vera Cruz, Mexico, leading his men with skill and courage. For his “distinguished conduct in battle” on this occasion, Butler was awarded the Medal of Honor. In December 1914, he reported to the First Brigade Marines at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but departed to participate in the Haitian Campaign. On 17 November 1915, he led Marines and sailors from USS Connecticut in a concentrated attack at Fort Riviere on the Caco bandits. Leading his men through a small opening on the fort’s southern side, he organized an attack that eventually resulted in hand-to-hand combat to crush the resistance. For his “bravery and forceful leadership,” Butler was awarded his second Medal of Honor. In August 1916, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became the Commandant of the Gendarmerie d’ Haiti.

During World War I, Butler returned to the U.S and was promoted to Colonel in the Summer of 1918. He then commanded the Tenth and the Thirteenth Marine Regiments in France. In October, he was promoted to Brigadier General. In November 1919, he became Commanding General of the Marine Barracks at Quantico, Virginia. From January 1924, he was on a leave of absence, serving as Director of Public Safety for the City of Philadelphia. In February 1926, Butler returned to the U.S. Marine Corps and commanded U.S. Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California. Reporting overseas in March 1927 to China, he commanded Third Marine Brigade. In January 1929, he commanded the Marine Barracks at Quantico, Virginia. In November, Butler was promoted to Major General. After two years at Quantico, he retired in October 1931 and was placed on the retired list. Smedley D. Butler died on 21 June 1940 and is buried at Oakland Cemetery, West Chester, Pennsylvania.

USS Butler (DD-636, later DMS-29), 1942–1948, and Camp Smedley Butler Marine Corps Base at Okinawa, Japan were named in honor of Major General Butler.

Butler, Smedley D.

Smedley Darlington Butler was born on 30 July 1881 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Appointed from that same state in the…

www.history.navy.mil

Butler’s military career, which included actions in countries such as the Philippines, Haiti, and Nicaragua, highlights how U.S. military interventions often served the interests of American businesses and financial institutions, frequently at the expense of local populations

Butler, initially a fervent supporter of U.S. interventions, later became a vocal critic, famously describing his role as a “racketeer for capitalism” in his book *“War Is a Racket”*

Smedley Butler’s disillusionment with American military interventions developed gradually over the course of his career, as he witnessed the exploitation and violence inflicted upon other nations for the benefit of U.S. economic interests.

Throughout his service in the Marines, Butler observed firsthand how U.S. interventions often resulted in the oppression and exploitation of local populations. His assignments in countries such as the Philippines, Haiti, and Nicaragua involved actions that were ostensibly for promoting stability and democracy but were actually to protect American business interests and maintain economic dominance.

Butler came to understand that the military was being used as a tool to enforce economic imperialism. This realization was particularly stark during his time in Haiti and Nicaragua, where U.S. interventions helped to install puppet governments and secure favorable conditions for American businesses, often at the expense of the local populace.

The cumulative effect of his experiences led Butler to question the morality of his actions and those of his country. He saw the negative impacts of American policies on the very people they claimed to be helping. This ethical conflict deepened his disillusionment as he recognized the discrepancy between the rhetoric of liberation and the reality of subjugation.

Butler’s disenchantment culminated in his 1935 book, “War Is a Racket,” where he openly condemned the actions he had been part of. He argued that wars were largely driven by economic motives and benefited a small group of profiteers at the expense of the general populace.

In addition to his growing disillusionment with U.S. military interventions, Smedley Butler is well-known for uncovering and exposing a major political conspiracy known as the “Business Plot” in 1934.

The Business Plot, also known as the White House Coup, was a plan by a group of wealthy businessmen to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a dictatorship in the United States. The conspirators wanted Major General Butler to lead a coup using a paramilitary force of veterans to take control of the government.

In 1934, Butler testified before the McCormack-Dickstein Committee (a precursor to the House Un-American Activities Committee) about the plot. He named several powerful individuals and business interests involved in the conspiracy, including leaders from major corporations and banking institutions. Butler asserted that the conspirators approached him because of his popularity and leadership among World War I veterans.

The committee found Butler’s testimony credible, but “due to a lack of substantial evidence”, no one was prosecuted. The findings suggested that there was indeed a plot discussed, though its seriousness and the involvement of high-profile individuals remained “unclear”.

The revelations shocked the nation but were met with skepticism by some and downplayed by others. Historians and scholars have debated the extent and seriousness of the plot, with some viewing it as a genuine threat and others considering it “exaggerated” or “misunderstood”.

Smedley Butler was one of the most highly decorated Marines in U.S. history. He received a staggering 16 medals, including two Medals of Honor, making him one of only two Marines to ever receive the nation’s highest military decoration twice.

Wealthy American oligarchs started eyeing and courting Major General Smedley Butler around the period 1929–1939, when the oligarchs’ favorite casino tanked the global economy (per tradition by now, in 2024). Wall Street’s stock market crashed on 24 October 1929; worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%; International trade fell by more than 50%. The “Great Depression” began.

The largest increase in the overall suicide rate occurred during the Great Depression, surging from 18 in 1928 to 22 (an all-time high) in 1932 (the last full year in the Great Depression) — “a record increase of 23% in any four-year period in history”.

By 1933, almost 13 million Americans were unemployed, with the unemployment rate at a staggering 25%. Those who kept their jobs often took pay cuts of a third or more. It is estimated that total income payments in Washington state fell by 45% by 1933, similar to the national average decline. At least one-third of Washington’s labor force was unemployed in early 1933. The situation has similarities with President Joe Biden’s America, taking into account that his presentations of economic numbers don’t seem to align with the truth based on independent statistics.

Poverty Facts

17 million Americans live in deep poverty. Over 90 million Americans live near the poverty line.

www.povertyusa.org

The mess naturally fell into the president’s lap at the time. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was the 32nd President of the United States serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century. It was up to him to try to lead the United States out of the Great Depression (and, later, World War II). [Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. He assumed the presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945. …World War II officially ended on September 2, 1945]

“Socialize the losses and expenses; privatize the profits”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's solutions for getting America out of The Great Depression were not popular among some U.S. oligarchs and kleptocrats.

FDR’s ambitious legislative agenda, including taking the U.S. off the gold standard, regulating banks/businesses, and implementing social welfare programs, was seen as “socialism” and a threat to capitalism by wealthy industrialists and financiers.

There was a belief among some kleptocrats that democracy and capitalism were failing, and that a strong authoritarian leader was “needed” to fix the Depression and maintain their privileges. Economic royalists like J.P. Morgan Jr., Irénée du Pont and others with vast fortunes feared FDR’s policies would undermine their economic dominance and redistribute wealth. Some of the plotters admired the fascist regimes rising in Europe and wanted to install a fascist dictatorship in the U.S. that would be more “business-friendly”.

This perception of an existential threat to their wealth, power, and way of life under capitalism motivated the kleptocrats to approach Major General Smedley Butler and offer him the presidency. After all, he was an admired war hero who had received 18 medals.

Smedley Butler enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1898 at the age of 16, lying about his birth date to meet the minimum age requirement. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant despite his youth, beginning a distinguished military career that would span over three decades. He refused his first medal, arguing as a patriot that he had done nothing to deserve a medal.

“I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” is a well-known part of an oath that dates back to the First Congress in 1789. The current oath is a product of the 1860s, drafted by Civil War–era members of Congress intent on ensnaring traitors. This clause was added by Congress in 1861, in response to the ongoing rebellion by the Southern states during the Civil War, and in reference to Confederate sympathizers who were considered “domestic enemies” (yet Confederate flags, monuments, and symbols are still flaunted openly around the USA).

Major General Smedley D Butler believed in the oath.

The oath is a sworn statement and affirmation to safeguard the nation against all hostile elements. Both commissioned officers and enlisted personnel in all branches of the U.S. military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard) take an oath containing this clause when entering service.

When wealthy businessmen and bankers plotted to use Smedley D Butler’s skills and reputation to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt because they vehemently opposed his New Deal policies and programs aimed at combating the Great Depression, they did it in the belief that he was a hypocrite like them.

Major General Smedley D Butler was shocked. His experiences and realizations transformed him from a highly decorated military hero and face of U.S. military might, into a vocal critic of American imperialism, making him one of the most notable whistleblowers against the misuse of military power in pursuit of economic gain.

He wrote a book, testified before Congress, went on television, toured the country — everything to raise the alarm about the kleptocracy.

Marine Corps Major General Smedley D Butler famously stated:

“For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it.”
“I served in all commissioned ranks from a second Lieutenant to a Major General. And during that time, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street, and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism.”
“The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.”
“I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.”
“The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits — ah! that is another matter — twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent — the sky is the limit.”
“Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few — the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.”
“War is a racket. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”
“War is just a racket… I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else.”

His speeches and writings highlighted the plight of war veterans and the deceptive nature of military interventions, further solidifying his stance against the very system he once served.

“There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.”
“War is a racket. It always has been… A few profit — and the many pay.”
“We must permit the youth of the land who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war.”
“But there is a way to stop it. You can’t end it by disarmament conferences. You can’t eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can’t wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.”