Why is Al Smith a socialist in TL-191?

Jasen777

Jasen777

Donor
Because Turtledove made all the OTL Democrats into Socialists and all the OTL Republicans into Democrats (mostly).
 

New Cleo Genesis

Al Smith grew up with his family struggling financially in the Gilded Age; New York City matured and completed major infrastructure projects. The Brooklyn Bridge was being constructed nearby. "The Brooklyn Bridge and I grew up together," Smith would later recall. His four grandparents were Irish, German, Italian and Anglo-Irish but Smith identified with the Irish-American community and became its leading spokesman in the 1920s.

His father Alfred owned a small trucking firm, but died when the boy was 13. At 14 Smith had to drop out of St. James parochial school to help support the family, and worked at a fish market for seven years. Prior to dropping out of school, he served as an altar boy, and was strongly influenced by the Catholic priests he worked with. He never attended high school or college, and claimed he learned about people by studying them at the Fulton Fish Market, where he worked for $12 per week.
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I have no problem seeing this kind of a man becoming a Socialist, especially in a world with a stronger U.S. Socialist Party. I mean, butterfly away or tone down his religious experiences and it's pretty much spot on.
 
Gaius Julius Magnus

Gaius Julius Magnus

The presence of a Socialist Party as a major party in the US, along with socialism in general being a more accepted part of American culture, may mean Smith has different politics than he does in OTL.

Or the US socialist party is probably a big tent like any major party in the US would be so Smith could be from a wing of the party more in line with OTL-1930s Democrats.
 
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Japhy

Banned
Smith did turn against the New Deal yes, but that was out of personal reasons and the fact that he was both an old school progressive and a machine man and the New Deal was killing both of those. In fact his New York programs While Governor were critical inspirations for the Federal New Deal so his conservativism isn't much of a thing. That said the machine man is absolutely a horrifying fit for a Socialist President.

But this is also a Timeline where the Socialists do nothing socialistic and endorse the Stock Market in the 1920s so it's not like Smith as President is the biggest problem.
 
jpj1421

jpj1421

Japhy said:
Smith did turn against the New Deal yes, but that was out of personal reasons and the fact that he was both an old school progressive and a machine man and the New Deal was killing both of those. In fact his New York programs While Governor were critical inspirations for the Federal New Deal so his conservativism isn't much of a thing. That said the machine man is absolutely a horrifying fit for a Socialist President.

But this is also a Timeline where the Socialists do nothing socialistic and endorse the Stock Market in the 1920s so it's not like Smith as President is the biggest problem.
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Indeed, and All Smith wouldn't be the first, or last, American politician to do a complete 180 on their beliefs due to some political clash or other. John C Calhoun was a huge nationalist until his battles with Adams and Jackson pushed him into the Nullifier position, for instance.

But, yeah Turtledove probably would have been better off just elevating Norman Thomas.
 

chris N

Al Smith was a self made man. He was a close friend of my Grandfather and for a number of reasons he had a falling out with FDR. The New Deal was something that he did not embrace but the breaking point with FDR was when he ran for more than the two terms.
 
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