HueyLong
Banned
1920: John J. Pershing is chosen as the Republican Presidential Candidate. He is viewed as too liberal by some, but is popular among many civilians and veterans. His politics were balanced out by the addition of Hiram W. Johnson, an Irreconcilable, as vice presidential nominee. His Democratic opponent, James M. Cox, is a dark-horse and uninteresting.
Pershing’s campaign was the most expensive campaign in the United States, costing nearly 9 million dollars. It included radio broadcasts (a campaign first), a nationwide tour and a large “mobilization” program designed to get veterans to the polls.
Pershing won the popular vote and electoral vote by a landslide. The women’s vote and veteran’s vote are viewed as key to his election.
1921: "...to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan..."- Abraham Lincoln
The Bureau of Veteran’s Affairs is founded. Its primary duty is to demilitarize the large number of army hospitals for their use by veterans and their families. It also listens to the demands of various veteran organizations and relays these to the President. It is decried as socialistic by some, but Black Jack’s anti-Red record cannot be denied.
Eugene V. Debs issues an appeal to be pardoned for wartime sedition. Pershing refused to pardon Debs and many other war protesters (primarily socialists like Debs.)
The Revenue Act of 1921 repealed a number of wartime taxes, such as the excess profits tax, which was hoped by some liberals to remain in effect. It was the first of many Republican attempts to lower taxes.
The Washington Naval Conferences end with recognition of Japanese possessions in Manchuria, Qingdao and Mongolia (primarily to oppose the Soviet presence there). Japan agreed to make no further claims and to respect the Open Door in its Chinese territories. An 8:3 ratio is accepted for Britain and America vis-à-vis the Japanese. Entente forces would be kept in Vladivostok until 1925, when a conference would be called to make a decision on the city. Pershing, however, was able to lower the amount of American troops stationed in the Russian city, much to the dislike of the British and Japanese.
Columbia’s overtures for an indemnity over the loss of Panama are rejected by President Pershing.
1922: The Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act is passed. It sets a scientific tariff, a rate designed to determine differences in production costs as part of the tariff. It also includes the American selling price, the price of a dutiable good in the American market.
Democratic representative Cordell Hall on the issue: "Our foreign markets depend both on the efficiency of our production and the tariffs of countries in which we would sell. Our own tariffs are an important factor in each. They injure the former and invite the latter."
Republican President John J. Pershing: “American markets need protection. We were drawn into the spiral of war by Europe, why should we be drawn into the spiral of panic?”
1922 also saw the suggestion of a national highway system for the United States. The Pershing Map, a map drafted originally by the Army Chief of Staff and edited by President Pershing himself, was a proposed system of civilian and military highways distributed to support the National Highway Act of 1922 (passed on September 23, 1922). The National Highway Authority, founded by the act, began hiring and contracting companies before the year was over. The military highways were given priority in construction and funding. The Authority also decided such policies as the shipping route monopolies and the inclusion of toll roads in the National Highway System. All of the roads are to be owned by the Federal Government, not by the states or private companies.
Historical Note: Republican Support for a National Highway?
Many are perturbed by the seemingly out-of-character Republican support for the National Highway Act. The Republican Party was against government interference, against government spending, and generally laissez-faire when it came to the development of the country. A variety of reasons changed this trend when it came to the National Highway.
First, there was the personal support of President Pershing, who had gained immense popular support and had, despite misgivings over his political leanings, had proved himself to be a stalwart Republican. He believed that a system of highways was essential to the growth and security of the United States.
Second, there was the support of the military in the plan. The Army needed a system for war transportation that was more efficient than the rails had been. The highway was seen as a solution. Some airplane advocates even suggested that military highways could be converted to landing strips. With many still in the war mentality of the Great War, such reasoning struck a chord.
Third, there was considerable support from industrialists, firm allies of the Republican Party. The railroads, de-nationalized after the war, had shot their rates sky-high. Manufacturers disliked relying on these unscrupulous shipping companies, and believed that a national highway would lower shipping costs considerably, and open up options beyond the primarily monopolistic railroads. Ford claimed that a national highway would make an automobile as common a sight as a cloud.
The Republicans reversed their small government trend for an industrial subsidy, for defense and for Black Jack. The National Highway Act authorized a huge government expenditure and large governmental interference with the economy, and was supported by the Party against all of that.
1923: The National Highway Authority is voted by Congress the funds it needs for the first tier of military highways.
1924: Black Jack is nominated as the Presidential candidate of the Republican Party for the 1924 Presidential election. His Vice Presidential Nominee is chosen as Charles G. Dawes.
His Democratic opponent, John W. Davis, lambasted the National Highway Act as a point of his campaign. He trumpeted states’ rights and fiscal conservatism, gaining a strong foothold in the Solid South and even in the West where the Highway Act was seen as a subsidy to the already-affluent East.
A Republican Senator by the name of Robert M. La Follette, Sr. ran on a Progressive Party ticket. His party was easily labeled as Socialist, as he used as a main campaign point the imprisonment of Socialist war protesters. He failed to win even his home state of Wisconsin, losing it to Black Jack.
Black Jack won the election, although he lost much of the South and Southwest to the Democratic Candidate.
The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed after intense lobbying on the part of supporters. It limited immigration to 3% of a specific ethnicity’s standing in the census of 1890. It primarily targeted non-whites, specifically Asians and Southern Europeans.
The Indian Citizenship Act gave citizenship to all Indians residing in the United States. It was regarded by many tribes as an attempt once again to assimilate them and destroy their identity.
In addition, the Revenue Act of 1924 finally levied taxes on Indians, and removed the need for the “Indians, not taxed” clause. The Revenue Act lowered taxes even further, and included an “earned income credit” designed to lower the taxes of the working poor.
The Republican Party still had a majority in Congress and the Senate, although NHA opposition was rising in the Democratic ranks.
Pershing’s campaign was the most expensive campaign in the United States, costing nearly 9 million dollars. It included radio broadcasts (a campaign first), a nationwide tour and a large “mobilization” program designed to get veterans to the polls.
Pershing won the popular vote and electoral vote by a landslide. The women’s vote and veteran’s vote are viewed as key to his election.
1921: "...to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan..."- Abraham Lincoln
The Bureau of Veteran’s Affairs is founded. Its primary duty is to demilitarize the large number of army hospitals for their use by veterans and their families. It also listens to the demands of various veteran organizations and relays these to the President. It is decried as socialistic by some, but Black Jack’s anti-Red record cannot be denied.
Eugene V. Debs issues an appeal to be pardoned for wartime sedition. Pershing refused to pardon Debs and many other war protesters (primarily socialists like Debs.)
The Revenue Act of 1921 repealed a number of wartime taxes, such as the excess profits tax, which was hoped by some liberals to remain in effect. It was the first of many Republican attempts to lower taxes.
The Washington Naval Conferences end with recognition of Japanese possessions in Manchuria, Qingdao and Mongolia (primarily to oppose the Soviet presence there). Japan agreed to make no further claims and to respect the Open Door in its Chinese territories. An 8:3 ratio is accepted for Britain and America vis-à-vis the Japanese. Entente forces would be kept in Vladivostok until 1925, when a conference would be called to make a decision on the city. Pershing, however, was able to lower the amount of American troops stationed in the Russian city, much to the dislike of the British and Japanese.
Columbia’s overtures for an indemnity over the loss of Panama are rejected by President Pershing.
1922: The Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act is passed. It sets a scientific tariff, a rate designed to determine differences in production costs as part of the tariff. It also includes the American selling price, the price of a dutiable good in the American market.
Democratic representative Cordell Hall on the issue: "Our foreign markets depend both on the efficiency of our production and the tariffs of countries in which we would sell. Our own tariffs are an important factor in each. They injure the former and invite the latter."
Republican President John J. Pershing: “American markets need protection. We were drawn into the spiral of war by Europe, why should we be drawn into the spiral of panic?”
1922 also saw the suggestion of a national highway system for the United States. The Pershing Map, a map drafted originally by the Army Chief of Staff and edited by President Pershing himself, was a proposed system of civilian and military highways distributed to support the National Highway Act of 1922 (passed on September 23, 1922). The National Highway Authority, founded by the act, began hiring and contracting companies before the year was over. The military highways were given priority in construction and funding. The Authority also decided such policies as the shipping route monopolies and the inclusion of toll roads in the National Highway System. All of the roads are to be owned by the Federal Government, not by the states or private companies.
Historical Note: Republican Support for a National Highway?
Many are perturbed by the seemingly out-of-character Republican support for the National Highway Act. The Republican Party was against government interference, against government spending, and generally laissez-faire when it came to the development of the country. A variety of reasons changed this trend when it came to the National Highway.
First, there was the personal support of President Pershing, who had gained immense popular support and had, despite misgivings over his political leanings, had proved himself to be a stalwart Republican. He believed that a system of highways was essential to the growth and security of the United States.
Second, there was the support of the military in the plan. The Army needed a system for war transportation that was more efficient than the rails had been. The highway was seen as a solution. Some airplane advocates even suggested that military highways could be converted to landing strips. With many still in the war mentality of the Great War, such reasoning struck a chord.
Third, there was considerable support from industrialists, firm allies of the Republican Party. The railroads, de-nationalized after the war, had shot their rates sky-high. Manufacturers disliked relying on these unscrupulous shipping companies, and believed that a national highway would lower shipping costs considerably, and open up options beyond the primarily monopolistic railroads. Ford claimed that a national highway would make an automobile as common a sight as a cloud.
The Republicans reversed their small government trend for an industrial subsidy, for defense and for Black Jack. The National Highway Act authorized a huge government expenditure and large governmental interference with the economy, and was supported by the Party against all of that.
1923: The National Highway Authority is voted by Congress the funds it needs for the first tier of military highways.
1924: Black Jack is nominated as the Presidential candidate of the Republican Party for the 1924 Presidential election. His Vice Presidential Nominee is chosen as Charles G. Dawes.
His Democratic opponent, John W. Davis, lambasted the National Highway Act as a point of his campaign. He trumpeted states’ rights and fiscal conservatism, gaining a strong foothold in the Solid South and even in the West where the Highway Act was seen as a subsidy to the already-affluent East.
A Republican Senator by the name of Robert M. La Follette, Sr. ran on a Progressive Party ticket. His party was easily labeled as Socialist, as he used as a main campaign point the imprisonment of Socialist war protesters. He failed to win even his home state of Wisconsin, losing it to Black Jack.
Black Jack won the election, although he lost much of the South and Southwest to the Democratic Candidate.
The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed after intense lobbying on the part of supporters. It limited immigration to 3% of a specific ethnicity’s standing in the census of 1890. It primarily targeted non-whites, specifically Asians and Southern Europeans.
The Indian Citizenship Act gave citizenship to all Indians residing in the United States. It was regarded by many tribes as an attempt once again to assimilate them and destroy their identity.
In addition, the Revenue Act of 1924 finally levied taxes on Indians, and removed the need for the “Indians, not taxed” clause. The Revenue Act lowered taxes even further, and included an “earned income credit” designed to lower the taxes of the working poor.
The Republican Party still had a majority in Congress and the Senate, although NHA opposition was rising in the Democratic ranks.
Last edited:
