America Invicta: A TL
- Thread starter The Hawk
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- china cold war george marshall usa
Chapter 12: Proving Grounds
Chapter 12: Proving Grounds
“It is our conduct, our patriotism and belief in our American way of life, our courage that will win the final battle.” -Prescott Bush (OTL)
Prescott Sheldon Bush, 35th President of the United States, (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972)
Prescott Bush’s presidency began much like any other, with cabinet selections and pressing legislation. Bush would select Thomas Dewey as Attorney General, Nelson Rockefeller as Secretary of the Treasury and Californian Senator Richard Nixon as Secretary of State. Most of the rest of his cabinet would be filled with liberal and moderate Republicans, with the exception of Secretary of Defense Curtis LeMay and CIA Director James Angleton, but selected as nods to Vice President Knowland.
The most pressing legislative issue that came to Bush’s attention was civil rights. Protests had begun to break out in the South, protesting over the continued segregation of schools in defiance of the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown vs Board of Education and segregation in public transport. Bush saw an opportunity to take the first meaningful legislative action on civil rights since Reconstruction, to win back black voters from the Democrats and to exacerbate regional tensions in the Democratic Party all at once. With this, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was born. The act would allow African Americans to serve on federal juries, ban racial discrimination in interstate travel or commerce, and would set up a commission to investigate civil rights abuses in the American South. The act would be filibustered (Including the longest filibuster in history by Richard Russell, clocking at about 22 hours total) and obstructed every step of the way by Southern Democrats. The act would pass 295-125 in the House and 71-27 in the Senate.
The act would take a long while to be enforced and would be met with Southern obstructionism, but Bush continued to use whatever resources he could to vigorously enforce the act. Southern resistance to its passage led Bush to lobby Congress to admit Alaska and Hawaii as states so as to weaken the numbers of Southern Democrats in the Senate. They would both be admitted on December 31st, 1957
Bush would later be confronted with the issue of whether to support the burgeoning Hungarian Insurrection against the Soviet occupation force that took over the country when it tried to de-align from Moscow. Bush arranged for the smuggling of small amounts of Italian weapons through Yugoslavia to keep the insurgents fighting from their bases in the Carpathian mountains, tying down large amounts of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe until 1968 when the Hungarian Insurrection largely died down.
Secretary of State Nixon would be responsible for the Bush administration's initial focus on Latin-American relations. Funding would be increased to anti-communist regimes across Latin-America, as seen in the Cuba, where the islands nascent Communist insurgency would be crushed after the US sent in marines to crush the insurgency in a move reminiscent of the Banana Wars of the 1930’s. The move was popular at home, but was met with resentment in Cuba and the rest of Latin America, despite increased US aid to impoverished nations in the region.
South China would see a power struggle emerge in the Kuomintang between Yan Xishan and Li Zongren. Li Zongren would eventually win as Yan had no power base of his own and had declining health. Li would continue the fortification of the inter-Chinese border and would support the independence of Vietnam in January 1958 under Emperor Bao Dai, sending troops in to crush the communist Viet Minh insurgency that had plagued the nation. South China would remain authoritarian, however it would relax and liberalize somewhat (Facing resistance from Chiang loyalists in the process), allowing for more freedom of the press and of speech, while remaining a one-party state prone to intra-party factionalism and internal corruption.
Bush, upon hearing word from American spies in the Soviet Union were working on sending objects into space, created the United States Division of Aeronautics and Space Technology or DAST for short in 1957, which began to work on building a satellite to be put into space to beat the Soviets. Freedom 1 would be launched on July 4th 1959, becoming the first manmade object to enter space, while the Soviets would send Sputnik 1 (actually Sputnik 3 as two previous satellite attempts had failed, events which would remain secret until 2001) on October 24th of 1959. The Space Race had begun.
“It is our conduct, our patriotism and belief in our American way of life, our courage that will win the final battle.” -Prescott Bush (OTL)
Prescott Sheldon Bush, 35th President of the United States, (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972)
Prescott Bush’s presidency began much like any other, with cabinet selections and pressing legislation. Bush would select Thomas Dewey as Attorney General, Nelson Rockefeller as Secretary of the Treasury and Californian Senator Richard Nixon as Secretary of State. Most of the rest of his cabinet would be filled with liberal and moderate Republicans, with the exception of Secretary of Defense Curtis LeMay and CIA Director James Angleton, but selected as nods to Vice President Knowland.
The most pressing legislative issue that came to Bush’s attention was civil rights. Protests had begun to break out in the South, protesting over the continued segregation of schools in defiance of the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown vs Board of Education and segregation in public transport. Bush saw an opportunity to take the first meaningful legislative action on civil rights since Reconstruction, to win back black voters from the Democrats and to exacerbate regional tensions in the Democratic Party all at once. With this, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was born. The act would allow African Americans to serve on federal juries, ban racial discrimination in interstate travel or commerce, and would set up a commission to investigate civil rights abuses in the American South. The act would be filibustered (Including the longest filibuster in history by Richard Russell, clocking at about 22 hours total) and obstructed every step of the way by Southern Democrats. The act would pass 295-125 in the House and 71-27 in the Senate.
The act would take a long while to be enforced and would be met with Southern obstructionism, but Bush continued to use whatever resources he could to vigorously enforce the act. Southern resistance to its passage led Bush to lobby Congress to admit Alaska and Hawaii as states so as to weaken the numbers of Southern Democrats in the Senate. They would both be admitted on December 31st, 1957
Bush would later be confronted with the issue of whether to support the burgeoning Hungarian Insurrection against the Soviet occupation force that took over the country when it tried to de-align from Moscow. Bush arranged for the smuggling of small amounts of Italian weapons through Yugoslavia to keep the insurgents fighting from their bases in the Carpathian mountains, tying down large amounts of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe until 1968 when the Hungarian Insurrection largely died down.
Secretary of State Nixon would be responsible for the Bush administration's initial focus on Latin-American relations. Funding would be increased to anti-communist regimes across Latin-America, as seen in the Cuba, where the islands nascent Communist insurgency would be crushed after the US sent in marines to crush the insurgency in a move reminiscent of the Banana Wars of the 1930’s. The move was popular at home, but was met with resentment in Cuba and the rest of Latin America, despite increased US aid to impoverished nations in the region.
South China would see a power struggle emerge in the Kuomintang between Yan Xishan and Li Zongren. Li Zongren would eventually win as Yan had no power base of his own and had declining health. Li would continue the fortification of the inter-Chinese border and would support the independence of Vietnam in January 1958 under Emperor Bao Dai, sending troops in to crush the communist Viet Minh insurgency that had plagued the nation. South China would remain authoritarian, however it would relax and liberalize somewhat (Facing resistance from Chiang loyalists in the process), allowing for more freedom of the press and of speech, while remaining a one-party state prone to intra-party factionalism and internal corruption.
Bush, upon hearing word from American spies in the Soviet Union were working on sending objects into space, created the United States Division of Aeronautics and Space Technology or DAST for short in 1957, which began to work on building a satellite to be put into space to beat the Soviets. Freedom 1 would be launched on July 4th 1959, becoming the first manmade object to enter space, while the Soviets would send Sputnik 1 (actually Sputnik 3 as two previous satellite attempts had failed, events which would remain secret until 2001) on October 24th of 1959. The Space Race had begun.
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Well, well, good job Bush. I do wonder if this progress will lead to the Southern Democrats trying to form their own party and then it being a large failure. Though I do wonder how they could deal with potential neoconfderate sympathizers. Slick move on bringing in Alska and Hawaii though there Bush. I reckon he probably would've been willing to add Puerto Rico even to ensure this.
Bush wanted to admit Puerto Rico as it would probably be the most anti-segregation of all of the US territories, but lingering hesitancy by Congress after the 7/5 Attack to pass any act on Puerto Rico's status (due to Bush not wanting to cause a political controversy and jeopardize the admission of the other two states) led to Bush tabling the issue before it could be discussed. Puerto Rico's status will, however, play into the growth of the civil rights movement as it progresses.
Chapter 13: Feedback
Chapter 13: Feedback
“It matters not how long you play the game, so long as you never lose” -Prescott Bush (OTL)
Prescott Bush had spent his first two years in the presidency appearing to be reasonably popular. His brand of liberal Republicanism had kept most of emecials social market state intact, while lowering the deficit and keeping the economy stable. Bush’s social politics were popular as well, except in the South, and many Northerners and African-Americans supported his civil rights pushes, if lamenting them for not going far enough due to Southern opposition.
Just as the 1958 midterms came into play however, Bush's presidency began to destabilize. A recession, due to decreased economic growth in the housing and automobile markets caused a shape, but ultimately brief recession in the US starting in April 1958. Bush was blamed, quite unfairly for it. Bush's efforts to use federal marshals to integrate Southern schools ahd caused numerous riots and civil disturbances in the South, with his detractors blaming him for causing conflict and destruction in the pursuit of “his” order.
Also, the Democratic Party had begun to move to shed its weakness that resulted from the factional divisions of the Marshall Administration. Party infighting still occurred, however many Southern Democrats had begun to split on the matter of segregation. Liberal Southerners, led by Lyndon Johnson, Albert Gore and Mike Monroney argued for the democrats to ditch segregationist and instead double down on their economic and social populism with a handful even arguing for Southern Democrats to pivot to moderate social conservatism. Hardliners, led by Richard Russell and Herman Talmadge argued for Southern Democrats to take over the Democratic Party from the inside to wrest control from the Northern faction and to cement the Democratic Party as a segregationist, economically populist, states-rights party. After Kefauver’s defeat (Kefauver would attempt to mediate between the factions before growing in with Lyndon Johnson's liberals) the hardliners would use their control of committee chairs and the loss of many Northern Democrats to liberal Republicans in an attempt to wrest control of the Democratic Party's legislative wing. Northern Democrats and Southern Liberals would move to stop this, energizing Liberal Democrats across the South, who saw the actions of the hardliners as throwing the national viability of the party into jeopardy.
1958 Midterm Elections:
House of Representatives:
Rep- 220-22=198
Dem- 208+24=232
Senate:
Dem- 51+9=60
Rep- 49-9=40
Governors
Dem- 29+4=33
Rep- 21-4=17
Bush had bled, but not as much as many in his party thought they would. The Republicans remained strong in California and the Northeast and the new states both elected one Republican Senator apiece, bolstering the numbers of the rising anti-segregationist faction in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Democrats had begun to see a small but important shift in their political fortunes and ideology with their victory. While many of the die hard segregationists had won elections, inroads had been made in the south by more moderate and even liberal Democrats. This was no clearer seen than in the state of Alabama, where racial moderate George Wallace won in an upset in the Democratic primary for governor thanks to high union turnout in Mobile and Birmingham, going on to win the governorship in a landslide. With Wallace's victory proving that race baiting was an obstacle to be overcome in an election, many Southern liberals saw an opportunity. The Democratic Party now had a path to crawl out of the wilderness.
“It matters not how long you play the game, so long as you never lose” -Prescott Bush (OTL)
Prescott Bush had spent his first two years in the presidency appearing to be reasonably popular. His brand of liberal Republicanism had kept most of emecials social market state intact, while lowering the deficit and keeping the economy stable. Bush’s social politics were popular as well, except in the South, and many Northerners and African-Americans supported his civil rights pushes, if lamenting them for not going far enough due to Southern opposition.
Just as the 1958 midterms came into play however, Bush's presidency began to destabilize. A recession, due to decreased economic growth in the housing and automobile markets caused a shape, but ultimately brief recession in the US starting in April 1958. Bush was blamed, quite unfairly for it. Bush's efforts to use federal marshals to integrate Southern schools ahd caused numerous riots and civil disturbances in the South, with his detractors blaming him for causing conflict and destruction in the pursuit of “his” order.
Also, the Democratic Party had begun to move to shed its weakness that resulted from the factional divisions of the Marshall Administration. Party infighting still occurred, however many Southern Democrats had begun to split on the matter of segregation. Liberal Southerners, led by Lyndon Johnson, Albert Gore and Mike Monroney argued for the democrats to ditch segregationist and instead double down on their economic and social populism with a handful even arguing for Southern Democrats to pivot to moderate social conservatism. Hardliners, led by Richard Russell and Herman Talmadge argued for Southern Democrats to take over the Democratic Party from the inside to wrest control from the Northern faction and to cement the Democratic Party as a segregationist, economically populist, states-rights party. After Kefauver’s defeat (Kefauver would attempt to mediate between the factions before growing in with Lyndon Johnson's liberals) the hardliners would use their control of committee chairs and the loss of many Northern Democrats to liberal Republicans in an attempt to wrest control of the Democratic Party's legislative wing. Northern Democrats and Southern Liberals would move to stop this, energizing Liberal Democrats across the South, who saw the actions of the hardliners as throwing the national viability of the party into jeopardy.
1958 Midterm Elections:
House of Representatives:
Rep- 220-22=198
Dem- 208+24=232
Senate:
Dem- 51+9=60
Rep- 49-9=40
Governors
Dem- 29+4=33
Rep- 21-4=17
Bush had bled, but not as much as many in his party thought they would. The Republicans remained strong in California and the Northeast and the new states both elected one Republican Senator apiece, bolstering the numbers of the rising anti-segregationist faction in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Democrats had begun to see a small but important shift in their political fortunes and ideology with their victory. While many of the die hard segregationists had won elections, inroads had been made in the south by more moderate and even liberal Democrats. This was no clearer seen than in the state of Alabama, where racial moderate George Wallace won in an upset in the Democratic primary for governor thanks to high union turnout in Mobile and Birmingham, going on to win the governorship in a landslide. With Wallace's victory proving that race baiting was an obstacle to be overcome in an election, many Southern liberals saw an opportunity. The Democratic Party now had a path to crawl out of the wilderness.
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Chapter 14: Politicide
Chapter 14: Politicide
“I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them” - Adlai Stevenson (OTL)
The Election of 1960 remains one of the most controversial and negative elections in American history. It would bring many innovations in campaigning over the tv and radio and would also bring the term “October Surprise” into the political lexicon.
President Bush had come hot off his defeat in the 1958 Midterms with a plan. He saw the Democratic Party beginning to make a pivot to the left, however its leftward moves were being resisted by an increasingly hardline conservative wing. Bush saw a chance to break up a part of the New Deal Coalition and pick off two groups of traditionally Democratic voters, Jews and African-Americans by presenting the Democratic party as too concerned with its own internal conflict rather than preserving the New Deal Coalition. Bush would pivot the Republican Party towards a more pro-Israel stance, repealing the moratorium on weapons sales to Israel in 1959. Bush and Knowland would be renominated easily and the party began to adopt Bush’s strategy of appealing to African-Americans and Jews, putting them into play for the first time since 1932.
The Democratic Party meanwhile, went through a slightly less acrimonious convention in 1960 and nominated a ticket of Happy Chandler for president, in order to cement the Democratic Party’s support of civil rights while also pandering to Southerners chafing under “Yankee Domination”. Massachusetts Senator Jack Kennedy would be selected for vice president with the hopes that his youth and Catholicism would appeal to Northeasterners and liberals. Many voters, however, still saw the Democratic Party as divided, no doubt aided by the mixed messaging and equivocation Southern Democrats gave towards the presidential ticket. Southern voter turnout would be predictably low in this election. Some Southern Democrats debated splitting off and forming their own party, however this would be desired for two reasons.
One was that their legislative influence would be irreparably damaged in such a schism, as they would no longer be part of the Democratic Congressional majority and would lose their powerful committee chairs. Their ability to restrict Republican civil rights legislation would be dampened and such a split would only strengthen the anti-segregation bipartisan faction in the Senate.
The other would be, surprisingly, ideological division. A hypothetical party, despite being united in support of states rights and segregation, would inevitably be divided over issues of whether to be economically left wing or right wing. The growth of unionism in Southern cities had hamstring many Southern Democrats into pandering to their interests, while more rural representatives remained anti-union. Also, near feudal levels of infighting between Southern Democrats for control of a hypothetical party would doom it to failure.
The Chandler/Kennedy ticket seemed, on paper, as a solid ticket to beat Bush. Chandler was a moderate integrationist and moderate to conservaive Democratic popular in the South and Midwest, while Kennedy’s youth and Catholicism could attract minorities and younger, more liberal voters to the ticket. Chandler would campaign hard, blaming Bush for the Recession of 1958 and how little action he took to mitigate it, presumably due to his wealth, according to Chandler. However, Chandlers’ ties to segregationist Senator Harry Byrd and his past tirades against certain aspects of the New Deal would anger many northern liberals. He was also seen as vain and concerned with personal power. Kennedy however, would be the biggest danger to the ticket.
On October 14th, 1960, the New York times released a story stating that Kennedy had been involved in an effort to hide his Addison's Disease from the public, as well as his numerous back problems he had gained from the war. The shocking revelation that the youthful and charismatic Kennedy was lying to the American people ignited a firestorm of condemnation. Mnny in rural areas already mistreated Kennedy due to his Catholicism, with these revelations only adding fuel to the fire. Bush for his part, did not campaign on the matter of Kennedy's health, only stating that the American people deserve the truth about the wellbeing of their civic leaders. Chandler would campaign in the midwest in an attempt to stem the damage, but it was already done.
Election of 1960
Bush/Knowland-56.5%-399EV
Chandler/Kennedy-41.4%-134 EV
Strom Thurmond/Orval Faubus- 3 EV (1 Mississippi, 2 South Carolina)
Richard Russell/ Strom Thurmond-1 EV (Georgia)
House of Representatives:
Rep- 198+19 =217
Dem- 232-13=219
Senate:
Dem- 60-4=56
Rep- 40+4=44
The result was a Democratic blowout. The Democrats almost lost control of the House yet again, with liberal Democratic losses in the North only reigniting the internal conflict of the Democratic Party. John Kennedy’s political career, meanwhile, lay in shambles. He would serve out the rest of his Senate term, before retiring and becoming a semi-accomplished and well known writer of alternate history, before dying in 1987. History, however, would be much kinder to his two brothers, Bobby and Ted, whose political careers were just starting to take off, and had almost been derailed by association with John. Bush, meanwhile, had won himself a second term, just as events both at home, and abroad, threatened to upset the fragile peace that Bush had maintained.
“I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them” - Adlai Stevenson (OTL)
The Election of 1960 remains one of the most controversial and negative elections in American history. It would bring many innovations in campaigning over the tv and radio and would also bring the term “October Surprise” into the political lexicon.
President Bush had come hot off his defeat in the 1958 Midterms with a plan. He saw the Democratic Party beginning to make a pivot to the left, however its leftward moves were being resisted by an increasingly hardline conservative wing. Bush saw a chance to break up a part of the New Deal Coalition and pick off two groups of traditionally Democratic voters, Jews and African-Americans by presenting the Democratic party as too concerned with its own internal conflict rather than preserving the New Deal Coalition. Bush would pivot the Republican Party towards a more pro-Israel stance, repealing the moratorium on weapons sales to Israel in 1959. Bush and Knowland would be renominated easily and the party began to adopt Bush’s strategy of appealing to African-Americans and Jews, putting them into play for the first time since 1932.
The Democratic Party meanwhile, went through a slightly less acrimonious convention in 1960 and nominated a ticket of Happy Chandler for president, in order to cement the Democratic Party’s support of civil rights while also pandering to Southerners chafing under “Yankee Domination”. Massachusetts Senator Jack Kennedy would be selected for vice president with the hopes that his youth and Catholicism would appeal to Northeasterners and liberals. Many voters, however, still saw the Democratic Party as divided, no doubt aided by the mixed messaging and equivocation Southern Democrats gave towards the presidential ticket. Southern voter turnout would be predictably low in this election. Some Southern Democrats debated splitting off and forming their own party, however this would be desired for two reasons.
One was that their legislative influence would be irreparably damaged in such a schism, as they would no longer be part of the Democratic Congressional majority and would lose their powerful committee chairs. Their ability to restrict Republican civil rights legislation would be dampened and such a split would only strengthen the anti-segregation bipartisan faction in the Senate.
The other would be, surprisingly, ideological division. A hypothetical party, despite being united in support of states rights and segregation, would inevitably be divided over issues of whether to be economically left wing or right wing. The growth of unionism in Southern cities had hamstring many Southern Democrats into pandering to their interests, while more rural representatives remained anti-union. Also, near feudal levels of infighting between Southern Democrats for control of a hypothetical party would doom it to failure.
The Chandler/Kennedy ticket seemed, on paper, as a solid ticket to beat Bush. Chandler was a moderate integrationist and moderate to conservaive Democratic popular in the South and Midwest, while Kennedy’s youth and Catholicism could attract minorities and younger, more liberal voters to the ticket. Chandler would campaign hard, blaming Bush for the Recession of 1958 and how little action he took to mitigate it, presumably due to his wealth, according to Chandler. However, Chandlers’ ties to segregationist Senator Harry Byrd and his past tirades against certain aspects of the New Deal would anger many northern liberals. He was also seen as vain and concerned with personal power. Kennedy however, would be the biggest danger to the ticket.
On October 14th, 1960, the New York times released a story stating that Kennedy had been involved in an effort to hide his Addison's Disease from the public, as well as his numerous back problems he had gained from the war. The shocking revelation that the youthful and charismatic Kennedy was lying to the American people ignited a firestorm of condemnation. Mnny in rural areas already mistreated Kennedy due to his Catholicism, with these revelations only adding fuel to the fire. Bush for his part, did not campaign on the matter of Kennedy's health, only stating that the American people deserve the truth about the wellbeing of their civic leaders. Chandler would campaign in the midwest in an attempt to stem the damage, but it was already done.
Election of 1960
Bush/Knowland-56.5%-399EV
Chandler/Kennedy-41.4%-134 EV
Strom Thurmond/Orval Faubus- 3 EV (1 Mississippi, 2 South Carolina)
Richard Russell/ Strom Thurmond-1 EV (Georgia)
House of Representatives:
Rep- 198+19 =217
Dem- 232-13=219
Senate:
Dem- 60-4=56
Rep- 40+4=44
The result was a Democratic blowout. The Democrats almost lost control of the House yet again, with liberal Democratic losses in the North only reigniting the internal conflict of the Democratic Party. John Kennedy’s political career, meanwhile, lay in shambles. He would serve out the rest of his Senate term, before retiring and becoming a semi-accomplished and well known writer of alternate history, before dying in 1987. History, however, would be much kinder to his two brothers, Bobby and Ted, whose political careers were just starting to take off, and had almost been derailed by association with John. Bush, meanwhile, had won himself a second term, just as events both at home, and abroad, threatened to upset the fragile peace that Bush had maintained.
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Nice touch with JFK's Addison's Disease being the scandal. Normally one would think his affairs would be the thing that takes him down. This was unique
Possibly, but then again Bush does raise a point. Do the American people have a right to know that a candidate for high office, and potentially the highest office in the country, may have a debilitating illness which could render them incapable of discharging the duties of the office they seek?
Inn any case, it will be interesting to see what this much earlier President Bush does with his remaining time in office, and what effects this will have on his sons, and his grandsons.
What's the Supreme Court like ITTL? I think Bush will follow the Ike path of trying to nominate justices that moderate the impulses of the New Deal court.
I imagine Prescott Bush Jr. will have a political career, as will George.
I think historians will criticize the scare of the disease since it's a treatable illness, but they will say Kennedy should have been honest about it.
I imagine Prescott Bush Jr. will have a political career, as will George.
I expect the honesty issue will be the main sticking point. The general consensus would likely be that, whether or not Addison's is treatable, Mr. Kennedy had an obligation to fully inform the American people concerning his health before they made a choice at the ballot booth.
Prescott Jr. is one possibility, as are George H. W., Johnathon, and William "Bucky" Bush, and then their assorted children, including George W. and Jeb.
The historical consensus on the matter of Kennedy is that revealing his Addisons and by being totally transparent about its treatability and effects on his health would have hurt him and the campaign by a lot less compared to covering it up. The fact that Addisons is treatable had led to more objective examination of Kennedy, as he could be easily compared to FDR, who had a much more debilitating affliction and was still able to carry the country through WW2.
On the matter of the Supreme Court, here is its current composition as of 1961:
The McFarland Court
Chief Justice Ernest McFarland (Liberal)
Hugo Black (Moderate)
John Marshall Harlan (Conservative)
Felix Frankfurter (Moderate)
William O. Douglas (Liberal)
Frank Minis Johnson (Moderate)
Tom C. Clark (Moderate)
Leverett Saltonstall (Moderate)
The McFarland Court is slightly more moderate than the Warren Court of OTL, but it still is dominated by the liberal faction of the court, although Bush has appointed justices who are moderate on size of government issues, but who are relatively liberal on civil rights issues.
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Nice Supreme Court list. Frankfurter was a liberal, but by this time Hugo Black was a moderate in certain circumstances while Frank Johnson was most definitely a moderate.
I take it that Saltonstall, Johnson, and Harlan were Bush's picks? Those sound perfect for a guy like him. One as a very pro civil rights figure (though Elbert Tuttle may have been better, cause Johnson was in his early forties at time of appointment; had this been 1970, he'd be perfect), Harlan is a concession to conservatives, while Saltonstall is a pick for the eastern establishment that Bush belongs too without risking a backlash like William Brennen
Chapter 15: The Dark Continent
Chapter 15: The Dark Continent
“Zaire is the country that has been the most heavily exploited in the world. That is why farms, ranches, plantations, concessions, commerce, and real estate agencies will be turned over to sons of the country.” -Mobutu Sese Seko (OTL)
Belgian Congo has always been a hotbed of violence and human rights abuses. After the hasty transition to independence in 1960, Congo-Leopoldville had fallen apart into tribal and sectarian warfare. A Soviet-backed insurgency led by deposed Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba had secured control of the eastern section of the country while a military government led by Joseph-Desire Mobutu held the west all while a secessionist government in Katanga led by Moise Tshombe fought them both. The Congo War had dragged in UN peacekeepers, Belgian mercenaries, Soviet advisors and American guns. President Bush, not wanting Soviet influence to expand into the cobalt, diamond, copper and rubber rich Congo sent a force of 1,000 US military advisors to train Mobutu’s forces.
The Soviets, seeing US support to Mobutu increase, increased their support to Lumumba in response. Lumumba, despite being a social democrat rather than a communist, was a nationalist first and accepted Soviet guns and supplies run through Sudan. Violence escalated throughout 1961 as all three sides found themselves at a deadlock. After an offensive late in 1961, Lumumba feld his hand had been reinforced and agreed to sit down to peace talks to be mediated by UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in Kampala, Uganda. Hammarskjold never arrived, his plane having been shot down over the Central African Republic by rogue members of Lumumba's Congolese Liberation Army on January 10th. 1962. All hell broke loose soon after, with Lumumba being blamed for the shoot-down. Bush, feeling pressure from conservatives and hawks at home, ordered 30,000 US troops to be deployed to the Congo and appealed to DATO for assistance in crushing Lumumba's insurgency. DATO would send 45,000 troops to assist, mainly French and British troops, but also Belgians and Canadians.
Bush’s intervention had initially bolstered his rising popularity domestically. He had just passed the Civil Rights Act of 1961 with a 74-26 margin as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1962 with a 72-28 margin and had ratified the 24th and 25th Amendments. the intervention went smoothly through 1962, as US and DATO troops smashed Lumumba's and Tshombe troops in the open while failing to dislodge them in the jungle, even after repeated use of B-52 bombers and napalm. The Congo War would evolve following American intervention, but it would not die down.
Text of the 24th Amendment:
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall be entitled to no more representatives than that of the least populous state. The representative constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall be elected by the people thereof.
Section 3. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Text of the 25th Amendment: (OTL 24th Amendment)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Bush’s military adventure would be scorned by a handful of liberals and the few isolationists left, however it was largely supported by most of the American public, who saw it as a necessary action to prevent the Soviet Union from seizing the natural resources of Africa. This would be the main issue of the 1962 Midterm elections, as a mostly unified and increasingly liberal Democratic Party stood against a popular wartime president and his party. The forcing of Lumumba's forces into guerilla warfare showed that he was on the end of his rope to the American public and all signs pointed to a swift victory. John Glenn's journey to the space also helped Bush as he was seen to have won America the accomplishment of having the first man in space.
1962 Midterm Elections
House of Representatives:
Rep- 217+6=223
Dem- 219-5=214
(One US house seat was added due to the 24th Amendment to represent Washington DC, it voted in a Democrat)
Senate:
Dem- 56-+0=56
Rep- 44-+0=44
Bush had gained back the House and was making African Americans an increasingly competitive voting block nationwide. Bush was now itching for a quick intervention to crush Lumumba, secure Africa, hammer down civil rights and reap the rewards. Were it so easy.
“Zaire is the country that has been the most heavily exploited in the world. That is why farms, ranches, plantations, concessions, commerce, and real estate agencies will be turned over to sons of the country.” -Mobutu Sese Seko (OTL)
Belgian Congo has always been a hotbed of violence and human rights abuses. After the hasty transition to independence in 1960, Congo-Leopoldville had fallen apart into tribal and sectarian warfare. A Soviet-backed insurgency led by deposed Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba had secured control of the eastern section of the country while a military government led by Joseph-Desire Mobutu held the west all while a secessionist government in Katanga led by Moise Tshombe fought them both. The Congo War had dragged in UN peacekeepers, Belgian mercenaries, Soviet advisors and American guns. President Bush, not wanting Soviet influence to expand into the cobalt, diamond, copper and rubber rich Congo sent a force of 1,000 US military advisors to train Mobutu’s forces.
The Soviets, seeing US support to Mobutu increase, increased their support to Lumumba in response. Lumumba, despite being a social democrat rather than a communist, was a nationalist first and accepted Soviet guns and supplies run through Sudan. Violence escalated throughout 1961 as all three sides found themselves at a deadlock. After an offensive late in 1961, Lumumba feld his hand had been reinforced and agreed to sit down to peace talks to be mediated by UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in Kampala, Uganda. Hammarskjold never arrived, his plane having been shot down over the Central African Republic by rogue members of Lumumba's Congolese Liberation Army on January 10th. 1962. All hell broke loose soon after, with Lumumba being blamed for the shoot-down. Bush, feeling pressure from conservatives and hawks at home, ordered 30,000 US troops to be deployed to the Congo and appealed to DATO for assistance in crushing Lumumba's insurgency. DATO would send 45,000 troops to assist, mainly French and British troops, but also Belgians and Canadians.
Bush’s intervention had initially bolstered his rising popularity domestically. He had just passed the Civil Rights Act of 1961 with a 74-26 margin as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1962 with a 72-28 margin and had ratified the 24th and 25th Amendments. the intervention went smoothly through 1962, as US and DATO troops smashed Lumumba's and Tshombe troops in the open while failing to dislodge them in the jungle, even after repeated use of B-52 bombers and napalm. The Congo War would evolve following American intervention, but it would not die down.
Text of the 24th Amendment:
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall be entitled to no more representatives than that of the least populous state. The representative constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall be elected by the people thereof.
Section 3. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Text of the 25th Amendment: (OTL 24th Amendment)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Bush’s military adventure would be scorned by a handful of liberals and the few isolationists left, however it was largely supported by most of the American public, who saw it as a necessary action to prevent the Soviet Union from seizing the natural resources of Africa. This would be the main issue of the 1962 Midterm elections, as a mostly unified and increasingly liberal Democratic Party stood against a popular wartime president and his party. The forcing of Lumumba's forces into guerilla warfare showed that he was on the end of his rope to the American public and all signs pointed to a swift victory. John Glenn's journey to the space also helped Bush as he was seen to have won America the accomplishment of having the first man in space.
1962 Midterm Elections
House of Representatives:
Rep- 217+6=223
Dem- 219-5=214
(One US house seat was added due to the 24th Amendment to represent Washington DC, it voted in a Democrat)
Senate:
Dem- 56-+0=56
Rep- 44-+0=44
Bush had gained back the House and was making African Americans an increasingly competitive voting block nationwide. Bush was now itching for a quick intervention to crush Lumumba, secure Africa, hammer down civil rights and reap the rewards. Were it so easy.
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Now this has gotten very interesting indeed. No change in the Senate, but the Republicans once more control the House, and at this point in American history no serving President has been unseated by his opponents in wartime. U.S. and DATO operations are going well, which is always good for publicity, and it is America, not the Soviets, winning the contest into orbit and the outer reaches of space.
Excellently done, President Bush.
Excellently done, President Bush.