America Invicta: A TL

[The Hawk]

Chapter 4: Call of Duty
As to my political faith- I have never voted. My father was a Democrat, my mother a Republican, and I am an Episcopalian. -George Marshall (OTL)

George Marshall giving his famous “America Invicta” speech from the 1948 Democratic National Convention. America Invicta would trumpet the values of American exceptionalism, vigilance abroad, the New Deal and- most controversially- civil rights.

At the beginning of his administration, Marshall saw himself only as a caretaker president. He simply wished to be a transitional figure and saw it has his duty to uphold American freedom while he did so. However, a significant number of Democrats began to clamor for him to be nominated for the 1948 election. Marshall adamantly refused and continued to do so until two events softened his reticence.

The first event was the Berlin Blockade.

On June 24th, 1948, the Soviet Union moved to cut off the supply corridor that connected the Western-Allies enclave of West Berlin with the rest of Western Europe in a move to push the Allies out of West Berlin. Marshall and the rest of the West refused to take this threat lying down, mobilizing a relief effort to be carried in by air and raising the alert levels of US troops along the Allied border with the Soviet Occupation Zone in Eastern Germany. Marshall, realizing that the dispute over Berlin could turn into World War III, felt an increasing compulsion (Brought on by his advisors to no small degree) to continue to shepard the relief effort and to preside over the crisis, not wanting to change horses in the middle of a ranging, and unpredictable stream.

The second event was a meeting he had with an old war colleague of his, General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Marshall, soon after becoming president, had often consulted with the general on matters of national security and personal advice. Eisenhoiwer saw the potential of Marshall to act beyond his self-assigned role as a caretaker of the nation. Marshall could leave a lasting impact on US politics and secure economic prosperity and social harmony in the turbulence of the post-war era. Eisenhower told Marshall that he could act as a figure to national unity to, in his words “win the peace” and secure prosperity for his fellow soldiers. Marshall’s rather apolitical nature would come to be influenced by Eisenhower's more politically apt nature as their relationship progressed. Marshall slowly began to realize the necessity of his leadership.

As such, Marshall reluctantly announced, right after the conclusion of the Democratic Presidential Primaries (Which had led to wins in favor of favorite sons, as most anticipated a brokered convention to replace Marshall) that he would be running for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1948 Presidential Election.

The 1948 DNC was filled with rancor as numerous candidates dropped out, endorsing Marshall, who won the first ballot, with moderate Southern Senator Alben Barkley nominated for Vice President. However, the Southern wing of the party was concerned over Marshalls unfavorable attitudes towards segregation. As such, they moved to instate a plank in the party platform re-affirming segregation. However, Northern Democrats, led by a rising star within the party named Hubert Humphrey, proposed a civil rights plank instead. Marshall, reacting on what was largely a conscience move, gave a strong endorsement of the civil rights plank in his acceptance speech, resulting in Marshall gaining the endorsements of many Northern Democrats such as Henry Wallace and Paul Douglas, but also a walkout of Southern Democrats, who nominated Strom Thurmond and Fielding Wright for President and Vice President respectively on the States Rights Democratic Party line.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party had a significantly less eventful convention, nominating 1944 nominee and New York Governor Thomas Dewey for President. The Vice Presidential selection ended up being the most eventful part of the convention, with Earl Warren initially being the number one choice for Deweys running mate. However, party bosses thought that he was too liberal. Dewey, after floating options such as his running mate in the Election of 1944, John Bricker, isolationist Robert Taft or even freshman Congressman Richard Nixon of California, selected Senate Minority Leader Ken Wherry of Nebraska as his running mate, in a move to appeal to Westerners and pre-New Deal conservatives in the party.

The race was on: the war hero vs the crusading governor vs the race baiting southerner.

The campaign would prove to be rather unremarkable and uneventful. Marshal focused on the risk that a changing of hands would do during the crisis, Dewey focused on a return to conservatism to stabilize the economy (While also rejecting calls for isolationism and stating that he would preserve most of the New Deal) and Thurmond argued for a hardline approach against the Soviet Union and engaged in numerous acts of race baiting to win support from Southern whites. For all the campaigning, the result was never in doubt and shocked few.

Presidential Election of 1948:
Marshall/Barkley- 51.6%- 379 EV’s
Dewey/Wherry- 43.5%- 117 EV’s
Thurmond/Wright- 2.9%- 39 EV’s

Downballot:

House of Representatives:
Dem- 188+82=270
Rep- 246-82+164
American Labor-1+0=1

Senate:
Dem-45+11=56 (Plus New Jersey and Michigan from OTL)
Rep-51-11=40

State Governors
Dem- 24+7=31 (Plus Washington from OTL)
Rep-24-7=17

Marshall had won, and had gained a mandate to govern, despite alienating Southern Democrats and Jews (By alienating the Jewish bloc of voters in New York, Marshall had turned an easy victory in that state into a nail-bitingly close one). Marshall had won over Westerners and farmers with his war hero status and support for continuing agricultural subsidies, union voters with his promise to amend Taft-Hartley and ultra-liberals with his support for civil rights. The path lay clear for him to secure domestic tranquility and preserve peace abroad.

Or so it seemed...

 

[Prince Daemon Targaryen]

I have a feeling that the 1952 nominee for the GOP will be more of a partisan than Eisenhower.

 

[SuperFrog]

Interesting. I may or may not be working on a (brief) President Marshall timeline myself, though the circumstances are much different. Watched.

 

[Arthur Marston]

Marshall had won, and had gained a mandate to govern, despite alienating Southern Democrats and Jews (By alienating the Jewish bloc of voters in New York, Marshall had turned an easy victory in that state into a nail-bitingly close one). Marshall had won over Westerners and farmers with his war hero status and support for continuing agricultural subsidies, union voters with his promise to amend Taft-Hartley and ultra-liberals with his support for civil rights. The path lay clear for him to secure domestic tranquility and preserve peace abroad.

Or so it seemed...

Yeah, that totally doesn't sound ominous.

 

[The Hawk]

Just a heads up, this TL isn't dead, school and constant edits to the next chapter have eaten up most of my time. It should be released within the next few days. Thanks to all of those who have contributed and followed so far!

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 5: Crisis Mode
“The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it.”- George Marshall (OTL)

Marshall may have won the election, but he now had to tend to the crisis. He continued to issue diplomatic protests through the UN and kept his forces on high alert, and he would slowly ramp up the air supply to West Berlin. West Berlin was being able to just barely scrape by under the aid and Marshall was persuaded to continue the airlift in order to wear the Soviets down. It would end on June 26th after informal negotiations between Foreign Affairs Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and US Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

The situation in the Far East soon caught Marshall’s attention however.

The Kuomintang were on the verge of collapse by 1948. The Chinese Communists under Mao were demolishing the Kuomintang across the country and they were in danger of winning the decades-long civil war. Marshall, who had been a part of a mission in China to supply the Kuomintang, initially refused to be involved, due to his distrust of Chiang Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang leadership. However, Eisenhower again got involved (Essentially being a shadow Secretary of Defense to Marshall at this point). He told Marshall, in very frank terms, that a Kuomintang loss could lead to the expansion of Communism across the region and that the Kuomintang were the best and only alternative to Communist rule of the most populous nation on earth. Marshall, with gritted teeth, heeded his friends advice and sent an expedition of American military advisors, led by WWII generals Clair Chennault and Matthew Ridgeway, along with a contingent of surplus equipment left over from the war, including 150 Sherman tanks, and 200 Mustang aircraft, to bolster the existing 50,000 US troops in China meant to guard US business interest as a part of Operation Beleaguer under the command of General Keller E. Rockey.

The Kuomintang, despite their institutional corruption, managed to allocate the US aid surprisingly well, allocating most of it to their forces surrounding their capital of Nanjing. By spring of 1949, the Kuomintang were able to repel Communist attacks near Nanjing and the front had stabilized along the Yangtze River. The US continued to give aid, including in the form of airstrikes on the Communist forces attempting to cross the Yangtze. The war then devolved into a stalemate, with the Communists attempting to sue human wave tactics to push back the Kuomintang and the Kuomintang holding the line due to their advantage in firepower. After months of stalemate, an armistice was signed on December 3rd 1949, allowing for a prisoner exchange between the nascent People’s Republic of China in the North and the Republic of China in the south, with the Inter-Chinese border being drawn along the Yangtze River. Tibet would be left independent in the meantime, while Sinkiang would be annexed into the PRC in 1951.

Marshall would get a sizable amount of flak for allowing half of China to fall to Communism, but he was praised by most Americans for supporting their ally and not allowing all of China to fall. Marshall hated Chiang Kai-Shek, but he hated Communism war and the halt of Communist expansion in East Asia was a great relief to him. Marshall would not get as much praise, however, over his response to the 1948 Arab Israeli War.

By 1948, the British Mandate of Palestine was in chaos. Warfare between Jews and Arabs had erupted in late 1947. The State of Israel declared its independence on May 15th 1948 and asked for Western military support and recognition to fight off its invading neighbors. Marshall denied any US sales of arms to Israel, and refused to recognize Israel, indicating tacit support for the Arabs. Israel was able to win its independence, which would be recognized by the US in 1950, but the prohibition on arms sales to Israel remained under Marshall’s tenure, while no such prohibition was issued on sales to Arab nations. Marshall’s apathy towards the conflict caused tensions with the pro-Israeli governments of France and Britain, and also further complicated US relations with Israel and Jews in general.

Marshall’s response to the war would push many Jewish-Americans into the fold of the Republican Party (Specifically its liberal, internationalist wing), which pivoted towards a pro-Israel stance compared to the Democratic Party’s neutral to pro-Arab stance towards control of the Holy Land. Many Democratic party strategist would become increasingly concerned that the loss of Jewish support could weaken the strength of Northern, urban Democrats.

On April 4th, 1949, the Democratic Alliance Treaty Organization, or DATO was born, with nations such as the US, Britain, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Canada. The signatories pledged mutual defense, as well as military and technological collaboration and the creation of a common command structure. DATO was originally designed to be an alliance for only the North Atlantic, however many European powers wished to incorporate their colonial holdings and dominions into the pact as well, with Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Dominion of India entering in 1950 (India would leave later that year, while South Africa would leave in 1955).

Marshall had seemingly, according to observers, strengthened the west and unified the formerly hodge-podge system of global anti-communist alliances. It seemed as if the west had held the decisive position in the burgeoning Cold War and that they were positioned to diplomatically corner the USSR into irrelevance.

If only that was so..

 

[Arthur Marston]

If only that was so..

Uh-oh.

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 6: Marginal Victory

“You can tell the size of a man by the size of the thing that makes him mad.”- Adlai Stevenson (OTL)

Domestic issues did not go unnoticed under Marshall. The Housing Act of 1949 was passed, providing funding for the creation of 1.1 million affordable homes in urban and suburban areas. The Free Labor Practices Act of 1949 repealed the right to work provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, while keeping most of the act intact. Funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs was increased and the Veterans Health Act of 1950 was passed, creating a program to help pay for the health insurance of poorer veterans. Most of the other parts of Marshalls far-sweeping agenda (Which initially held the nickname of the Fair Deal, inherited from his predecessor, but later became known was the Just Deal, due to its focus on veterans issues and civil rights overtures) such as universal healthcare or civil rights, were unable to go past the Conservative Coalition, forcing Marshall to circumvent Congress and desegregate the federal government and bureaucracy via executive orders. These efforts served to make Marshall seem tempestuous and stubborn, and emboldened moves by the Conservative Coalition to oppose Marshall.

Most of the Just Deal was popular, but did not enjoy the broad support of the New Deal and was significantly less influential. Marshal became increasingly frustrated at his inability to deal with Congress, and he proved to be no master of the bully pulpit like both Roosevelt's before him.

The 23rd Amendment was also passed with Marshalls support, establishing a two-term limit for the presidency.

Text of the 23rd Amendment (OTL 22nd Amendment)
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Section 2. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

The midterm elections in 1950 compounded Marshall's issues in retaining his popularity. As the impetus for his election was mostly removed, voters began to look more critically at Marshall, who seemed, in some regards, politically impotent and unsuccessful. Republicans began to take advantage of party fatigue due to the Democrats domination of Congress for almost two decades. And Democrats, especially in the South, but also in the West, were simply less enthusiastic about the future of their party, as the wounds from Thurmond's run had yet to have been healed. All in all, the election results were to be expected with a party that been governing for too long.

House of Representatives:
Dem-270-19=251
Rep- 164+19=183
American Labor:1-1=0
Independent:0+1=1

Senate:
Dem-56-6=50
Rep-40+6=46

Governors
Dem-31-7-24
Rep-17+7=24

There were few notable moments of election night, the main two being Senate Majority Leader Scott Lucas of Illinois losing his seat and Republican Prescott Bush winning the special senate election in Connecticut by 457 votes. Most of the Republican gains were in the Midwest and the West Coast. It seemed as if the Republicans were set to finally overturn Democratic rule come another election cycle.

That was, until Syngman Rhee threw the world into chaos.

 

[CountDVB]

*looks up Syngman Rhee*

Oh boy, here we go...

President Marshal brace yourself...

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 7: Wild Card

"Patriotism demands of us sustained sacrifice. "-Chiang Kai-shek (OTL)


Korea had been, up until 1951, largely neglected in international significance and importance in the Cold War. Two despotic governments, the DPRK led by Kim Il Sung and the ROK led by Syngman Rhee, had stared across each other from the 38th parallel for years now, each just waiting to use their benefactors resources to take each other out. It was just a matter of who would act first.

It turns out it would be both. In January 1950, a handful of North Korean and South Korean scouts attempted to cross to each other’s side of the border, to scout out invasion plans. They ended up attacking each other, resulting in a day-long battalion sized battle a few miles to the northwest of Kaesong.

The two leaders had different responses to the skirmish. Kim wanted to invade the South, but needed more assistance from the USSR and PRC and more time to train his forces, making his invasion plans untenable. Meanwhile Rhee had US supplies and equipment stocked up, and a moderately well trained force. Rhee decided to seize the opportunity and use the skirmish to initiate a border war that could expand the territory of the South, or force the North into revolt through a protracted war.

And so war began, in February 1951, with ROK troops attacking DPRK forces across the 38th parallel, steadily moving further up the peninsula. Pyongyang fell after a brutal urban battle late in April, which caught the eye of PRC leadership, who were now concerned that they had to protect their client state against “capitalist imperialism” and they massed their army for war. This caught the attention of the ROC, which responded in kind as a defensive measure. American units were also mobilized on Marshall’s orders. The mobilization by the South convinced Mao that he had to act against the ROC or else they would attack him with US help, so he moved a significant amount of his forces to the Yangtze, to attack at his word.

And so, on May 1st, 1951, the PLA launched attacks all across the Yangtze and began to move south into the ROC. WIth the exception of American units, the PLA demoralized the Kuomintang forces. A poor chain of command among southern forces and half-hearted modernization attempts had left their forces weak. Two events would make the shaky morale drop further. The first was the fall of Nanjing on the 16th of June. The second, much more devastating event was the death of Chiang Kai Shek after artillery stuck his command post (Chiang had assumed personal command of Nanjing’s defenses) during the fall of the capital.

Chiang Kai-Shek, Generalissimo and President of the Republic of China (October 31 1887 – May 16 1951)

The Kuomintang leadership became locked in a power struggle just as they were fighting for the fate of their nation. After a week of power struggles, Li Zongren had assumed control of China, with the help of Yan Xishan and the two began to reorganize the government to defend from the Communists and to purge any Chiang loyalists from their ranks.

The US did not stand idly by as the conflict, which soon became known as the Eastern War, began to escalate, with Marshall successfully getting Congress to allow for a US intervention to assist the Chinese. Marshall also attempted to get the UN Security Council to act, but it was futile, as the Soviets vetoed all resolutions that would allow for UN peacekeepers to be deployed. Many western nations, however, would supply troops and aid to South China and South Korea, including most DATO nations.

The South Chinese forces eventually fought the North Chinese into a stalemate by the end of the summer, with the help of US fighters flying out of Japan and a continuing stream of aid and troops. Mao, to his credit, kept the pressure on, using human wave tactics and a never ending stream of Soviet equipment to exact a heavy toll on Western forces. The stalemate would mostly continue along the Chinese front, that was, until General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Hong Kong.

 

[CountDVB]

And now General Corncob Pipe is here...

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 8: Progress and Politics
“To understand is difficult; to act is easy.” -Sun Yat-Sen (OTL)

Douglas MacArthur was a man on a mission.

Sidelined by Marshall and Truman to become General of the Army, MacArthur was itching to prove himself once more. MacArthur began to build up his forces near Hangzhou to retake Nanjing. Meanwhile, Jim Gavin’s 82nd Airborne was deployed to Ningbo to assist. Matthew Ridgeway was transferred to Korea and began to prepare his forces for an offensive to the Yalu River.

Marshall meanwhile, when he wasn’t in meetings with the National Security Council, was working with Congress and touring the nation to gather support for the Eastern War. Popular support for the war, however, had failed to reach the highs US leadership thought it would and the loss of Nanjing convinced a substantial number of Americans that South China was bound to lose, and even if the war could be won, would be unable to stand on its own. Marshall would press on nonetheless, unwilling to allow Communism to take over an ally.

MacArthur, meanwhile, had begun to assemble a grand offensive to destroy North China. He trained his troops for weeks in China and Korea and he began to equip them with winter clothing to prepare them for an offensive in February 1952 to be named Operation Divinity. It was to be a multi-pronged attack designed to destroy the remnants of North Korea, and to push the front not just back to the Inter-Chinese Border, but to cross it as well. Marshall would reluctantly approve the operation despite the objections of his advisors, who warned him of escalation of the conflict should the US invade North China. Marshall would spend most of the winter consulting with generals and shoring up congressional support.

On February 22nd, 1952, Operation Divinity began.

Troops of the 82nd Airborne Division landed near Suzhou, encountering heavy, but not insurmountable, resistance. The American 5th Army moved north to meet them, using Pershing tanks to smash their way through North Chinese defenses and encircling Shanghai. A more general offensive began all along the front line, beginning a slow, steady advance North. Sichuan province was quickly seized by South Chinese troops under the personal command of President Li Zongren, who wished to seize the province for political reasons in order to expand his power base out of Yunnan.

Meanwhile, Matthew Ridgeway had pushed up to just a few miles away from the Yalu River. In the process, he had captured retreating North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, who was promptly turned over to the South Koreans and executed by Rhee’s security forces. North Korean troops soon began to surrender in droves, forcing the North Chinese to pick up more of their former ally’s slack on the Korean front.

By May 1952, the front lines in China had returned to the pre war borders, with the exception of the ROC control over Sichuan province. Operation Divinity had been a success, knocking North Korea out of the war and liberating a large share of North Chinese territory. Mao, however, stubbornly refused to negotiate, even when pressed by Zhou Enlai and others. The Eastern War would continue to drag on.
Meanwhile, with the Eastern War settling down into a stalemate MacArthur pressed Marshall to use nuclear weapons to regain the initiative and capitulate North China. Marshall stubbornly refused. MacArthur did the unthinkable. In a press conference, MacArthur declared his intention to run for the Republican nomination for President in 1952, deriding Marshall for not fighting the war aggressively. Marshall instantly fired him. MacArthur's move would only serve to bolster Marshall’s flagging popularity, and MacArthur would gain little traction in the Republican primaries, winning only a quarter of votes at the 1952 Republican National Convention, which nominated Harold Stassen for President and John W. Bricker for Vice President. The Republican nominees ran on a platform for Marshall doing too little to force a peace treaty and for not engaging in peace talks to end the war.

Marshal meanwhile, was running again, simply for the reasoning that he had to finish the war that began in his earlier term. Many voters saw this justification as flimsy and were tired of continual Democratic Party rule. Under Marshall, America had seen limited domestic reforms, a slow economic recovery and the emergence of war. Voter enthusiasm for the Democratic Party and Marshall had stagnated heavily. It seemed as if Marshall was destined to lose.

That was, until MacArthur made one last shot at glory.

MacArthur announced in July that he would be running a third-party campaign for president under the newly-created Patriots Party, with Iowa Senator and hardline anticommunist Bourke Hickenlooper as his running mate. They ran on a platform of hardline anticommunism, repeal significant parts of the New Deal, economic liberalism and states rights. They gained further legitimacy after gaining the endorsement of famous Republican Senator from Wisconsin Joseph McCarthy who would campaign heavily for the ticket, even switching parties to the Patriots Party in August, becoming the only sitting US senator to do so.

The Election of 1952 was on.

MacArthur would travel across the American heartland after returning to the US, riling up support across the Midwest. MacArthur would serve mostly to siphon votes from Stassen, but also attracted the vote of many Southerners who wished to protest Marshall’s pro-civil rights and pro-labor stances. Marshall would focus his efforts on winning Rust Belt votes and shoring up support in the South and West. The intense campaigning by all candidates and the lack of major actions in the Eastern War left many voters unsure of which candidates would win.

Election of 1952
Democratic- Marshall/Barkley- 43.4%-277 EV’s
Republican- Stassen/Bricker-38.8%-195 EV’s
Patriot’s- MacArthur/Hickenlooper-16.8%-59 EV’s

House of Representatives:
Dem-251-8=243
Rep- 183+8=191
Independent:1+0=1

Senate:
Dem-50+4=54
Rep-46-4=42

Governors
Rep-24+1=25
Dem-24-1-23

Democratic Party dominance had been preserved, barely. Vote splitting between Republicans and the Patriot’s Party had allowed for a narrow victory on the part of Marshall and the Democrats. The Patriots Party ran a handful of candidates down ballot, but not a single one won their election, with the only incumbent Patriot’s Party senator (Hickenlooper having never left the Republican caucus or registered with the Patriot’s Party), Joseph McCarthy, losing his reelection to his Democratic challenger Tom Fairchild. McCarthy's loss would not do wonders for his mental and physical health and he would die on inauguration day of alcohol poisoning. Marshall had also lost a disturbing number of votes in the South to the Patriots Party, not enough to substantially weaken Democrtaic Party dominance over the region, but enough to concern him deeply. Stassen, meanwhile, had had the best Republican Party performance since 1932, with less criticism going to him as a candidate, but the Patriot’s Party for siphoning Republican votes.

Marshall had won a new term, but his status was fading and Democratic dominance of the presidency and congress appeared to be reaching its end.

 

[The Hawk]

I made a few edits to the previous chapters, mainly changing some grammatical issues and adding in the passage of OTL's 22nd Amendment. I hope y'all enjoy and thanks to all those who have read America Invicta so far!

 

[CountDVB]

Your last round of glory, Marshall. Remind the voters what you can do for the common man.

 

[Arthur Marston]

Marshal meanwhile, was running again, simply for the reasoning that he had to finish the war that began in his earlier term. Many voters saw this justification as flimsy and were tired of continual Democratic Party rule. Under Marshall, America had seen limited domestic reforms, a slow economic recovery and the emergence of war. Voter enthusiasm for the Democratic Party and Marshall had stagnated heavily. It seemed as if Marshall was destined to lose.

Spoiler

Now where have we heard this one before?

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 9: Turbulence
“Your job is to point your rifle in anothers guys face and shoot him dead” -Matthew Ridgeway (OTL)

Peace is always a hard fought prize.

Marshall would find that out firsthand when attempting to send peace overtures to Mao. Mao stubbornly refused, ordering more troops to be raised and sent into the so-called “death ditches” along the Yangtze River. The war of attrition continued throughout the spring and summer of 1953, as neither side was willing to gamble their forces to force a decisive victory. Marshall felt that he had to inflict a massive defeat on the North Chinese without engaging their forces in a costly battle.

On September 10th, 1953, Operation Flintlock began, with US B-47 bombers taking off from airfields in South China, Japan, and South Korea to bomb sites in Yanan, Harbin, Beijing, Tientsin, Dalian and 10 other North Chinese cities. The bombers were armed with mostly napalm and high explosive bombs. By the end of the day, North China was aflame, its cities burning. Over 750,000 North Chinese would die in the flames and the burgeoning North Chinese industry was wrecked. North China appeared unable to continue the war on its own two feet.

Operation Flintlock also proved the perfect impetus for the events of the next day. On September 11th, 1953, PLA troops occupied the ruins of Beijing and the Forbidden City, while PLA units stormed into Mao’s headquarters just outside of Yan’an and placed him under arrest. A troika of Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and Marshal Peng Duhai quickly consolidated their control over the party and asked the US and its allies for an armistice.

Marshall’s gambit had succeeded, and on January 15th, 1953, the Treaty of Bangkok was signed, with the following stipulations:

Treaty of Bangkok

• The war between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China and its allies, as well as the war between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea and its allies is hereby ended.
• The border between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China shall be placed along the Yangtze River, to extend to the Republic of China control province of Sichuan, at which it will continue upon its northern borders. This border shall become a demilitarized zone.
• The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is to be annexed by the Republic of Korea and the border between the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China will be set at the Yalu River. This border will also become a demilitarized zone.
• Prisoner exchanges shall be performed by all belligerents.

The war was over.

The US and its allies had gotten off relatively lightly, with 105,000 casualties, with its allies suffering around 35,000. Chinese casualties on both sides in the war were around 7 million, with North China having suffered the majority. Korean casualties numbered 1.7 million.

The inter-Chinese border and the border between Korea and North China would all be heavily fortified in the coming years. The US signed defense pacts with both Korea and South China, while a pact between the USSR and North China would be discussed, but due to sharp ideological differences between the ailing Stalin and Zhou Enlai, wouldn’t come into existence as long as Stalin was alive.

The death of Stalin later in 1953 would prove to be an impetus for reconciliation between the North China and the USSR, as the more moderate Nikita Khrushchev would come to power within a few years and a reconciliation between the nations began. A formal alliance would be floated over the next few years and would remain an ever present geopolitical issue over the next few years.

Marshall had gotten a major foreign success by defending a major American ally and by curbing and rolling back the expansion of Communism, however he would still be met with vitriol by militarists who wished to see North China destroyed and politically impotent isolationists for being involved in the conflict. Overall, Americans were satisfied with the conclusion of the Eastern War, and looked to press on to other issues.

Unfortunately for Marshall, the next issues left to tackle in his presidency would not be met with much consensus and praise.

 

[Arthur Marston]

Unfortunately for Marshall, the next issues left to tackle in his presidency would not be met with much consensus and praise.

Civil rights?

 

[CountDVB]

Well, not bad Marshall.

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 10: And Justice For All…
“It is not enough to merely defend democracy. To defend it may be to lose it; to extend it is to strengthen it. Democracy is not property; it is an idea.”- Hubert Humphrey (OTL)

On September 8th, 1953, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Fred Vinson died of a heart attack. The Supreme Court had been deliberating over the case Leon vs. Board of Education, which put educational segregation at risk. Marshall came under heavy pressure from Southern conservatives not to nominate a liberal. Marshal meanwhile, was split between two choices to fill the vacancy, Thomas Dewey and Ernest McFarland. Dewey was receptive to the nomination, but was concerned that he didn't have the clout or judicial experience to get a consensus in Leon vs. Board of Education to overturn Plessy vs. Ferguson. Dewey also felt that he was more skilled at prosecution, a skill he would use to great effect under President REDACTED as Attorney General. Senate Majority Leader McFarland, was a moderate liberal, was more receptive than Dewey and had much more political clout than him, and by being a moderate figure largely unaffected by Democratic Party internal conflicts, was willing to take a stand and strike down the “separate but equal” precedent. Marshal decided to go with McFarland, as we would be an easier nominee to get through the Senate and was a skilled politician and lawyer.

McFarland was recess appointed and later confirmed easily and began to rally support to overturn Plessy vs Ferguson. McFarland was able to convince eight justices, with only one holdout, Stanley Reed. The eight justices were united in opposition to segregation, and they, despite their differing opinions on the role of government in ending segregation, all drafted a legal opinion declaring educational segregation and “separate but equal” illegal and that schools should be desegregated with due haste. Reed argued the only dissenting opinion, stating that due to African Americans being improperly and incompletely assimilated into American civil society, they should be given separate facilities to accommodate such a deficit.

The decision in Leon vs Board of Education to overturn Plessy vs Ferguson further emboldened the Civil Rights Movement, but it also further emboldened Southern opposition to “judicial activism”, and the Southern States would simply drag their feet in desegregating schools. Southern Democrats became almost near monolithically opposed to President Marshall, who they saw as an interfering Yankee who appointed McFarland to usurp the Constitution and infringe on “States Rights”. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson soon found himself in a precarious position- too close to Marshall for many Southerners, and not close enough to Marshall for many Northerners. Johnson's hold on his caucuses would largely be held together by his own charisma and political acumen rather than any form of party loyalty.

The increasing internal tensions and party fatigue would only weaken the Democratic Party coming into the 1954 Midterm Elections,in which everyone knew the Republicans would gain seats. The only question being, how many?

1954 Midterm Elections

House of Representatives:
Rep- 183+30=215
Dem- 243-30=213
Independent:1+0=1

Senate:
Dem- 54-3=51
Rep- 42+3=45

Governors
Dem- 24+3-27
Rep- 24-3=21

A deep blow had been inflicted against the Democrats, as they lost control of the house for the first time since 1930, if only by a narrow majority. Most of the Republican congressmen elected that year were of the moderate to liberal faction of the party, making gains in Democratic areas in the Northeast and Midwest. Republicans were now more confident than ever that victory was inevitable come 1956. The only question was, who would lead them to it?

 

[The Hawk]

Chapter 11: Turnover

“Oh, that lovely title, ex-president.” Dwight D. Eisenhower (OTL)

The Election of 1956 has gone down in history as a critical election in US history. Not a fundamentally realigning one, but one that finally ended Democratic domination of the Presidency that had persisted for the past 24 years. It would also mark the beginning of one of the most pervasive and successful political dynasties in American history.

The Democratic Party was divided as ever over issues of civil rights. Vice President Alben Barkley had died on April 30th, 1956 and Marshall was compelled to nominate a new Vice President under the 22nd Amendment. Marshall floated over picks such as Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, UN Ambassador William Averell Harriman, Oklahoma Senator Mike Monroney or Kentucky Governor Happy Chandler, but Chandler and Monroney were unwilling to take on a lame duck appointment Stevenson was unwilling to give up his governorship. Harriman would accept, stating he wished to simply allow for easier continuity of government and national unity in the face of foreign threats, but in reality he simply wanted the title of Vice President for future political clout. Harriman’s nomination would be confirmed by Congress, but there would be a sizable amount of grappling over his nomination due to Southern Democrats opposing his pro-civil rights stances. Harriman’s confirmation would further embolden Southern Democrats efforts to wrest control of the party from its Northern faction.

The Democratic National Convention was a mess. Favorite sons, Northern liberals and Dixiecrats used the convention as an opportunity to take over the party for themselves. Eventually, a unity ticket with Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver and Ohio Governor Frank Lausche was nominated, walking back the civil rights pledges that Marshall had made and instead focusing on welfare, labor issues and anti-Communism, none of which was particularly new or inspiring.

The Republican National Convention, in many ways, should've ended up similar to the Democratic one. The Republican Party was divided on whether to double down on its conservatism, or throw in with Northeastern liberalism. The party was divided on this issue for months leading up to the convention, as many liberal Republicans had run already and lost, meanwhile the more Conservative candidates had little appeal outside of the party. Liberal candidates included California Governor Earl Warren, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, Wayne Morse of Oregon and first-term Representative Ronald Reagan of California while conservative candidates included Representative Barry Goldwater of Arizona, Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois and Senator William Knowland of California. The convention seemed to be at a deadlock, until one man stepped forward.

That man was Prescott Bush.

Prescott Bush, Republican Senator from Connecticut.

Prescott Bush, from the outside, appeared to be an uncharismatic and generic liberal Republican from the Northeast. Bush, however, had many friends within the conservative faction of the Republican Party, and had a significant amount of business connections from his days as a banker. Due to his warm relations with all factions of the party and support from Republican donors, he was nominated as a compromise candidate on the fifth ballot, with the ultra-hawkish William Knowland as his running mate.

The race was on.

Kefauver was instantly hammered by Bush for his more tepid support of civil rights, solidifying Republican support in the North and writing off the South. Bush announced his support for social security and public option healthcare, as opposed to Kefauver's universal healthcare plan. Bush’s support for many New Deal programs served to blunt Democratic attacks painting him as a rich, big business conservative. Bush hammered away at Kefauver’s anti-corruption campaign, stating that much of it was due to the corruption of Democratic political machines and dominance over the South that resulted from their 24 years in power. By the time election time came, Kefauver made a few last minute surges in the polls, tarring Bush with anti-union policies and of having ties to the German-American Bund during World War II. Bush immediately dismissed these claims as baseless, and furthermore, denounced the group and its ideology, but he was wounded nonetheless. When election day came, an energized Republican Party would meet a lethargic and tired Democratic Party.

Election of 1956:
Republican- Bush/Knowland- 54.3%-352 EV’s
Democratic- Kefauver/Lausche-44.5%-178 EV’s

House of Representatives:
Rep- 215+5=220
Dem- 213-5=208
Independent:1-1=0

Senate:
Dem- 51-2=49
Rep- 45+2=47

Governors
Dem- 27+1=28
Rep- 21-1=20

Bush had done what five different men had tried and failed to do for the past 24 years, and had claimed the presidency for the Republican Party. Bush had rallied support from Jews and African Americans in the North with his support for civil rights and Israel, and he had won back the conservative Midwest thanks to his hawkish running mate Knowland and his hawkish stances on nuclear deterrent against Malenkov’s Soviet Union. Kefauver meanwhile, underperformed with union voters and Democratic support receded into the South. Division would continue in the party over what stance to take on civil rights.

President George Marshall has been viewed by academics and everyday Americans alike as an above average to great President. His efforts to stabilize the economy, continue the New Deal, his brave, conscience-driven fight for civil rights and to win America's first war against communism are widely praised aspects of his presidency. His empowerment of labor unions is credited with helping the CIO’s Operation Dixie to become a marginal success, unionizing urban and coastal workers throughout the Deep South. Marshall’s efforts to win the Eastern War are also seen favorably by historians, although Marshall's near 10 years in office and Operation Flintlock have drawn renewed controversy. Marshall would also be criticised for his lack of legislative prowess, lack of use of the bully pulpit and for partisan infighting in his final term. Overall, history would smile kindly on Marshall, with the erection of the Marshall Monument in 2005 solidifying his place in the pantheon of American Presidents.

Time would tell what place Prescott Bush would hold in said pantheon.