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Chapter 33: The Nolan Presidency (1949-1955) - Part 1 -
--- The Nolan Presidency (1949-1955) ---
LIBERALS, COMMUNALISTS BACK REP. ANDERSON AGAIN FOR FIRST SECRETARY
FRANKLIN - When President Nolan takes office later this week, he will have to deal with a House of Representatives controlled by a rival party. Although the Nationalists were able to secure the most seats in the new House with 168 members, the combined Liberal and Communalist bloc still outnumbers the President-elect’s fellow party members. After some negotiations, the CPUS Representatives announced that, despite now being the second largest party in the House with 154 seats, 22 more than the Liberals, they would continue to back Liberal Representative Colton Anderson of North Carolina as First Secretary. After the hard-fought presidential race that swept Nolan into office, having Anderson continue as First Secretary will make things in Franklin quite tense. The President-elect derided Anderson many times on the campaign trail last year, and there is open speculation about whether or not the two can manage to work together.
“Liberals, Communalists Back Rep. Anderson Again for First Secretary,” Boston Eagle, January 12, 1949.
---
NOLAN SWORN IN AS 32ND PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN - A brave crowd of several thousand braved the snow and chilly temperatures to watch James Nolan take the oath of office and become the thirty-second President of the United States. An estimated 100,000 people watched live via telecinema broadcasts and millions more listened in on the radio when, after taking the oath, newly-minted President Nolan stood at the podium bearing the presidential seal and proclaimed, “Today we are returning to Normalcy!” which elicited great applause and cheers from the crowds. The President continued, “Today we end the Federalist and Liberal policies which had drained the lifeblood of our nation, destroyed our image abroad, and allowed for unprecedented moral decay at home. I will protect this nation, its constitution, our families, and our children. We must build for them a brighter future. The past two decades have given this nation a beating, but we will preserver into the Promised Land of a better tomorrow.”
Due to the frigid temperatures in the capital, the President kept his remarks brief, giving what may have been the shortest inaugural address in history at just over twenty-four minutes long. Thanks to the tireless work of city workers, Union Boulevard was clear of all but the light dusting of freshly fallen snow as the President, his wife Eleanor, and their three children made their way south to Washington House.
“Nolan Sworn in as 32nd President,” St. Louis Courier, January 15, 1949.
--- PRESIDENT, FIRST SECRETARY AT ODDS
FRANKLIN - In what is being described as one of the coolest first meetings between a president and first secretary since President Patrick Hannah met with First Secretary Jacob Murphey in 1917 (or possibly the meeting between President James P. Roosevelt and First Secretary Murphey in 1919), the formal introduction of First Secretary Colton Anderson to President Nolan is reported to have been “short, loud, and possibly ominous.” As per modern political tradition, the president usually works with the first secretary to create a cabinet that reflects the makeup of the House of Representatives, which currently is controlled by the Liberal-Communalist Bloc. Sources from within Anderson’s office have stated that the first secretary intended to present a proposal for a “unity cabinet” that would be made up of equal numbers of Nationalists, Liberals, and Communalists. Although no formal statement has been released by Washington House or the First Secretary’s Office, it would appear that President Nolan has rejected this plan. Staff at the presidential mansion report that in the closed door meeting between the two leaders that shouts were heard and that First Secretary Anderson left not long after the meeting started and that he “left in the most rushed and abrupt manner that the staff had ever seen.”
“President, First Secretary at Odds,” Manhattan Gazette, January 20, 1949.
--- NOLAN APPOINTS ALL NATIONALIST CABINET - ANDERSON VOWS FIGHT
FRANKLIN - In a shocking move of defiance, President Nolan today announced his appointments for the Cabinet, with all nine positions being given to prominent Nationalists, breaking with long-standing tradition of having a cabinet that reflects the makeup of the House and completely rejecting First Secretary Anderson’s proposed “unity cabinet.” Immediately following the announcement, several members of House and Senate took to the floors of their respective chambers to denounce the appointments, most notably Liberal Representative Katherine Potter of Oregon, who said, “President Nolan has been in office for less than three weeks, and already he is showing callous disregard for standard political conventions, and contempt for the representatives of the American people that make up this august body here assembled.”
First Secretary Anderson’s office released a statement later in the day saying, “The First Secretary intends to work with his colleagues in the Senate to block the nominations put forth today by President Nolan, and we call on the President to meet with the First Secretary and accept the originally proposed unity cabinet.” With the Liberal-CPUS Bloc having a narrow edge of control in the Senate, it is likely that Anderson’s threat is real, and the country could be left without a fully functioning executive branch for some time if President Nolan refuses to back down.
“Nolan Appoints All Nationalist Cabinet - Anderson Vows Fight,” Brooklyn Standard, February 3, 1949.
---
In what the press at the time referred to as the “Showdown of the Century,” the political stalemate between President Nolan and First Secretary Anderson dragged on through the entire Spring of 1949. From January 14th until June 18th, the nine executive departments were left without leaders at the very top, and lurched on, mostly headed by long-serving bureaucrats who stepped in and served as acting secretaries, and refused to make any policy decisions, much to the consternation of President Nolan. People began to fear of a true constitutional crisis as the months wore on with no end in sight.
Finally, Nationalist members of Congress began to put pressure on the President to end the stalemate and try and compromise with First Secretary Anderson, after they began to receive pressure from their constituents. Most Americans, regardless of party affiliation, believed that the so-called showdown was a national disgrace, and that Nolan should follow the tradition that had been in place for decades that called for compromise between the the presidency and the legislature over the makeup of the cabinet. After what had seemed like an eternity, Washington House announced on June 10th that the president would meet with the first secretary to create a new list of cabinet appointees that would include members of the other parties.
Venters, Dr. Petra. Tug of War: History of the Struggle between the First Secretaryship and the Presidency. Franklin: UUS Press House, 1999.
--- COMPROMISE REACHED ON CABINET
FRANKLIN - After several days of meetings with First Secretary Anderson, the president announced a new list of appointees for the nine cabinet positions. Of those, two are members of the Liberal Party, and two are members of the CPUS. Not quite the “unity cabinet” first proposed by Anderson back in January, but definitely a compromise on the part of President Nolan. The full list of appointees are as follows: Senator Robert Larson (N-SC) for Secretary of State; Dr. Jacob Van Cleave (N-PA) for Secretary of the Treasury; Senator Lewis Holland (N-TE) for Secretary of War; Judge Alan Jones (N-MS) for Attorney General; Retired Admiral Kenneth Wells (L-VE) for Secretary of the Navy; Representative Paul Boren (CPUS-IN) for Postmaster General; Governor Donald Rath (N-JE) for Secretary of the Interior), Dr. Quentin Lowe (L-MH) for Secretary of Health; and Senator Alicia Pritchett (CPUS-MA) for Secretary of Education.
First Secretary Anderson told the press that he had worked long and hard with the president to make this list which he feels his party will support in Congress, and that he believes the so-called “Showdown of the Century” is now over.
“Compromise Reached on Cabinet,” Chicago Herald, June 19, 1949.
--- OTTOMAN GOVERNMENT TO PROPOSE NEW CONSTITUTION
ISTANBUL - Ottoman President Burkut Heper announced today that the his government has drafted a new constitution for the Ottoman Federation, one he says will strengthen the bond between the central government in Istanbul and the governments of the nation’s territories. In recent years, there has been increasing agitation for the dissolution of the Ottoman Federation altogether, to allow the various states that make up the Federation to go their separate ways. However, conservatives argue that the Federation helps to preserve large swaths of Islamic peoples under a single banner, which they say is the will of God.
Although all of the details of the new governing document, which will be debated at a convention in Istanbul later this year, have yet to be released, some early detractors are already emerging, claiming that if the new constitution is enacted it would place more power in the central government and strip the territories of most of their local control. If this is indeed the case, it is likely that the vast majority of Ottoman citizens will reject President Heper’s proposal.
“Ottoman Government to Propose New Constitution,” New Orleans Star, August 15, 1949.
--- PEACE AGREEMENT MET IN FORMER RUSSIAN EMPIRE
MOSCOW - The leaders of the various factions that have been fighting in the former Russian Empire for the past half decade have signed a formal peace treaty, four months after a ceasefire was signed that ended the fighting. The Treaty of Moscow officially recognizes that the Russian Empire is no more, and that it has been replaced by the following nations: The Kingdom of Finland, the Kingdom of Poland, the Republic of Ukraine, the Russian Republic, the Baltic Republic, the Republic of Georgia, the Kingdom of Greater Turkestan, and the Republic of Trans-Siberia. There will be a commission set up to determine final borders, and other meetings with various international organizations to determine what to do with Russian national debt and other obligations abroad.
“Peace Agreement Met in Former Russian Empire,” Franklin Observer, August 20, 1949.
--- WORLD OLYMPIC COMMITTEE SELECTS TOKYO FOR 1954 GAMES
AMSTERDAM - The World Olympic Committee has announced that the 1954 World Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, the capital of the Japanese Republic. This will mark the first time that the games have been held outside of Europe or North America. The Committee Chairman, Lewis Gardner of the United Kingdom, told the press that, “the Committee is excited to take the games to Asia. It is high time that the World Olympics truly embraces all of the world, not just Europe and North America. We hope to see the games rotate between all the continents.”
The WOC stated that it will meet again next year to set the date for the 1958 Olympics, which will likely either return to Europe or North America. Committee members have stated that the plan is that, from now on, the games will rotate from one continent to the next, and eventually go to South America and Africa as well, if suitable host cities can be found.
“World Olympic Committee Selects Tokyo for 1954 Games,” Astoria Dispatch, September 20, 1949.
--- UER ENGINEERS CREATE ELECTRONIC COMPUTING DEVICE
PARIS - It is being called the technological marvel of the age, though most are unlikely to truly understand how it actually works and most people will likely never see one: The electronic computer. Created by engineers and scientists at the European Center for Technological Advancement (ECTA), and is said to be able to calculate mathematical equations and formulas in rapid fashion. Project leader Ernst Kohlmann stated, “One day soon, these ECs will be on university campuses and research laboratories across the globe. But we had it here first.”
The device is nearly 15 feet tall and has the footprint of 10 feet by 10 feet, and requires a large amount of electricity. Team designers hope that they can shrink the device by half over the next few years. Universities across the UER are already flooding the ECTA with requests for their own such devices, along with a few institutions in the German Republic.
“UER Engineers Create Electronic Computing Device,” Franklin Observer, October 10, 1949.
--- OTTOMAN OPPOSITION LEADERS WALK OUT OF CONSTITUTION TALKS
ISTANBUL - Leaders of the Nationalist and Liberal factions in the Ottoman Parliament abruptly ended talks with President Heper’s Federationalists, saying that they will not accept the constitution that was proposed earlier this year. Bedri Saygi, leader of the Nationalists, said that, “Heper’s constitution would put all power in the government in Istanbul, and leave the more representative governments of the territories effectively powerless. We Nationalists cannot support such a brazen attempt to steal power. The people of the Federation will not support this document, and if the President continues to try and push it through Parliament, the future of the entire Federation will be called into question.”
Saygi’s statement echoes the sentiments of many Nationalists and Liberals, some of whom would rejoice at the collapse of the Federation. The current constitution gives a lot of local autonomy, enough so that the various nationalist movements throughout the vast Ottoman Federation have mostly been placated the past half century. If Heper tries to enact this new constitution and take back power from the territories, he could end up causing a civil war.
“Ottoman Opposition Leaders Walk Out of Constitution Talks,” Boston Eagle, December 15, 1949.
---
Burkut Heper, the last President of the Ottoman Federation, would not heed the advice given to him and drop his proposed constitution. Instead, he announced on January 1st that the constitution would go into effect in July, and that elections would be held for the new Parliament in June. Almost overnight, demonstrations broke out in Cairo, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Damascus. Heper ordered the army to disperse the protestors, and when some were killed, it was like fire was ignited. The protesters began to organize and demand that Heper resign and that a vote be held on the future of the Federation. Many groups began to demand for the independence of their territories and flocked to the banners of various nationalist movements. The government in Istanbul quickly lost control of most areas outside of Anatolia, and even there revolutionaries caused major problems.
By February, the country was in the throws of full-blown civil war, with the various nationalist movements beginning to band together with the clear objective of defeating the forces loyal to Heper’s government and then allowing one another to set up their own independent nations once their common foe had been defeated.
Jaeger, Dr. Chase. Arabia Rising: The Nationalist Revolts that Brought Down the Ottoman Federation. Manhattan: New Amsterdam Press, 2009.
--- POPE JAMES DIES AT AGE OF SEVENTY-NINE
ROME - Pope James, formerly the Spanish Bishop Joseph Castillo, has passed away at the age of 79. His Holiness was the first Spanish pope since 1503, and guided the Church through the crisis of the Global War, during which he had to flee Rome and then Europe entirely during the worst of the hostilities, and has since presided over the creation of Rome as an international city home to the Global Peace Council. Pope James’ funeral will be next week, after which the College of Cardinals will gather to elect his successor. Hundreds of thousand of mourners are expected to descend upon the Eternal City in the next week to pay their respects to the man who led the Catholic Church through over a quarter-century.
“Pope James Dies at Age of Seventy-Nine,” Brooklyn Standard, February 14, 1950.
--- OTTOMAN CRISIS BRINGS FEAR OF LARGER ECONOMIC WOES ABROAD
PHILADELPHIA - Ottoman state-owned petroleum company Oil Arabia supplies large quantities of petroleum and petroleum by-products to nations around the world, and with the emergence of a civil war within the Ottoman Federation, those exports have dried up. With the oil no longer flowing, neither is the money, and investors around the world are getting nervous. Already, financial analysts who watch the markets on Walnut Street in Philadelphia are worried. They say that if things do not change soon, that world markets could crash as badly as they did in 1915, or worse. Treasury Secretary Dr. Jacob Van Cleave told reporters that, “The United States government is aware of the likely growth of an oil-supply crisis due to the ongoing political instability in the Ottoman Federation. My staff and I are monitoring the situation, and will do what is necessary to protect American markets.” The Secretary went on to say that he does not believe things will drop as bad as in 1915, and that even if they do, money in banks are safe thanks to the actions taken following the Crash of 15.
“Ottoman Crisis Brings Fear of Larger Economic Woes Abroad,” Manhattan Gazette, February 20, 1950.
--- FSS AGENT ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF ESPIONAGE
FRANKLIN - Federal Security Service Director Thomas Horton has confirmed today that an unnamed senior FSS agent has been arrested on charges of espionage and treason. According to the director, the agent has been sending sensitive documents along to the Chinese for the past several years, though there is evidence that prior to that, the agent actually worked for the Prussians prior to that nation’s defeat in the Global War. The FSS has yet to release the agent’s name or area of service, though this information is expected to be released in court later this week. President Nolan told reporters shortly after the announcement that, “traitors such as this man will be held accountable and receive the strongest possible punishment.” The president went on to suggest that he would direct Director Horton to make a thorough look throughout his organization to ensure that there are not others involved in similar plots against the United States.
“FSS Agent Arrested on Charges of Espionage,” Franklin Observer, March 1, 1950.
---
When FSS Senior Agent Brandon Lark was arrested in March of 1950, the resulting Chinese Spy Scandal that rocked the American Federal bureaucracy throughout 1950 and into 1951 was, by many accounts, utterly devastating, forcing many quality employees and officials out of their positions. At the time, however, the government of James Nolan believed that what amounted to a purge of thousands was in the national interest. Within days of the announcement that Lark had been arrested, the Federal Security Service released the information that the disgraced agent had been blackmailed by the Prussians due to his “homophilic inclinations.” After the end of the Global War, some of the most senior espionage officials from the Kingdom of Prussia had fled to China and by the 1940s had begun to build up the Imperial Chinese Security Service, flipping a lot of their former assets in the US and elsewhere to spy for the Chinese.
President Nolan would use this news to foment outrage among his supporters and repeatedly linked homophilia with treason. Attorney General Alan Jones announced on April 3, 1950 that the Federal Security Service and other government agencies would be undergoing a thorough review of personal to “root out unsavory elements that could be prone to blackmail and more easily fall prey to treasonous tendencies.” An estimated 3,000 homophiles were purged from the federal bureaucracy in Franklin by the end of the summer, and Jones would keep the special “Office of Morality” open until 1954, continuing the purge at various levels of intensity for the rest of the Nolan Administration.
This purge unleashed a wave of anti-homophilic discrimination across much of the United States throughout most of the 1950s. HSA efforts to overturn anti-sodomy laws stalled or outright failed during the first half of the decade, and it wouldn’t be until after the election of Georgina Lincoln in 1960 that things would start to die down.
Clayborn, Dr. Victor. The Brandon Lark Spy Scandal. Astoria: Pacific Publishing House, 2012.
--- CARDINAL RITTER OF UER ELECTED AS NEW POPE
ROME - In a surprising turn of events, the College of Cardinals has elected Cardinal Wilhelm Ritter, of Bayern, as the next head of the Catholic Church. Ritter was one of the first leaders of the restored Catholic Church inside the UER following the 1926 coup that brought an end to Holzian Radical Communalism, which had suppressed religious expression after 1914. The new Holy Father remains a controversial choice, however, as he has been a proponent of what he and others call “Christian communalism,” a movement more popular here in the United States than in Europe. Many devout Catholics the world over now wonder if the new Bishop of Rome, who is taking the papal name James II, will turn the Church in a much more liberal, left-leaning direction than any of his predecessors.
“Cardinal Ritter of UER Elected as New Pope,” Chicago Herald, March 4, 1950.
--- PRESIDENT ORDERS PURGE OF HOMOPHILES FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES
FRANKLIN - President Nolan has directed Attorney General Alan Jones to “root out unsavory elements that could be prone to blackmail and more easily fall prey to treasonous tendencies” from the Federal Security Service and other federal agencies headquartered in Franklin. This is in light of the arrest of FSS agent Brandon Lark, who was blackmailed into spying for Prussia and later China due to his homophilic behavior. President Nolan went on to say that, “the unnatural lifestyle of these so-called homophiles, who we should correctly refer to as sodomites, have placed this nation at great risk. Now we may not be able to control what people do in their bedrooms behind closed doors, but we can sure make sure that people who choose to take part in such perversion are not in positions of power that could put this nation at risk.”
The Attorney General said that he is going to set up a special office tasked with investigating suspected homophiles in the FSS and all of the cabinet-level departments, and those individual found to be involved in such lifestyles will be terminated from federal employment, and further investigated to make sure they have not taken part in treason, like Mr. Lark had.
Prominent members of the Homophilic Society of America, headquartered in Boston, have spoken out against the President and Attorney General’s actions, calling them an “unconstitutional witch hunt.” Massachusetts State Representative Jesse Pike, who’s become a nationally outspoken advocate of homophiles, and who himself identifies as a homophile, told the press that, “President Nolan is attacking an unprotected minority in this country as an easy scapegoat. Had sodomy laws not been in place, Agent Lark would not have been in a position to be blackmailed in the first place.”
“President Orders Purge of Homophiles from Federal Agencies,” Manhattan Gazette, April 4, 1950.
---
When the Office of Morality was set up by the Justice Department, and began purging homophiles from federal service in the spring and summer of 1950, Pike was once again in the national spotlight, less than two years after being elected to the Massachusetts Legislature. He continued and increased his advocacy with the HSA, calling for an end to the purge going on in Franklin, and also calling for nationwide repeal of anti-sodomy laws that he believed had set up the FSS agent and others to be blackmailed into treason. His outspokenness made him more popular with his left-leaning constituents of Boston, and he was reelected to the legislature in November of 1950. The following month, a hardline supporter of Nolan would take shots at Pike at a restaurant in Boston, injuring the person dining him, but leaving Pike himself unscathed and more determined to keep fighting for equal rights.
It was also during this time that Pike would meet his future husband, Matthew Gallup, who came from the great Bostonian political dynasty that had produced four Boston mayors, and two different Federalist candidates for high office: Peter Gallup, who ran for the presidency in 1840, and Brandon Gallup, who was the Federalist vice presidential candidate in 1870. Gallup was on the board of the HSA and was an outspoken community organizer for the CPUS in Boston, much to the chagrin of his father, who served in the state senate.
Yandell, Avery. The Jesse Pike Story. Boston: New Love Press, 2001.
---
In the years after the Global War, the Zeppelin Company’s future seemed very much in doubt. The company had managed to stay afloat financially with the construction of heavier-than-air vehicles, primarily cargo haulers and the famous Z-12 fighter plane, but the airship side of the business was essentially dead by 1937, when the company announced an end to passenger service altogether. This announcement came one year after the death of Kurt Zeppelin, with the company now being run by Otto Kinder, who had been chairman of the board prior to Zeppelin’s death.
Kinder knew that the company could not revive the airship industry as it had existed prior to the war. Both the Texas Federation and the United States had decommissioned many of their airships, and no new requests had come in since 1936. With heavier-than-air passenger craft starting to show reliability, shorter flight times, and becoming more affordable by the mid 1940s, the old airship service could not compete. In 1943, it was announced that the Zeppelin Airship Works in Neu Frankfurt would be changing its name to the Zeppelin Aviation Works, and in 1944 Kinder announced the creation of the Zeppelin Airways passenger service, which would carry on the old tradition of the pre-war Texas Airship Service, but with passenger airplanes servicing more cities that the old TAS had been able to do.
Their remained a niche demand for smaller airships to serve both as observation platforms and also to service areas that had no infrastructure for airplanes, and ZAW would continue to make such smaller craft, modeled after the first post-war airship called the Dynamo. Dynamo-Class airships would be in production all the way into the 1970s.
Anderson, Dr. Jacob. The Zeppelin Story. Nacogdoches: TU Press, 1999.
--- BRITAIN’S FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER TAKES OFFICE
LONDON - Following last week’s parliamentary elections, Henrietta Dudley of the British People’s Party has become the United Kingdom’s newest Prime Minister, and also the first woman to hold that position. Mrs. Dudley’s election by the House of Commons and appointment by King William V means that the BPP’s two-decade hold on the office will continue another five years. There have been rumblings in Parliament about how much longer the alliance between the British People’s Party, the British Communalist Party, and the Imperial Labour Party can continue. If this alliance were to fall apart, it could mean that the premiership could fall to the Conservatives in 1955.
“Britain’s First Female Prime Minister Takes Office,” Boston Eagle, May 3, 1950.
--- OLYMPIC GAMES OPEN IN BENTONVILLE - TEXAS ON FULL DISPLAY
BENTONVILLE - Texan President Gloria Lopez was front and center as her nation welcomed the world to its largest city. Athletes representing total of 67 individual territories (53 independent nations and 14 colonies or dependent territories) marched into Benton Stadium, cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators, many of whom traveled to Texas for the opening of the games. It is an open question as to who will end up winning these games. Since the end of the Global War, the United States won the 1938 and 1942 games, but Britain pulled out a win in 1946 when the games were in London, but most observers believe this was in part to the “United Britain” team where the colonies joined with Great Britain to compete together, which they are not doing this year. Many sports commentators believe that the German Republic might pull ahead this year, or possibly the Empire of China.
There has definitely been tension between the U.S. and Chinese teams, a reflection of growing tension between the United States and China that’s been ongoing since espionage scandal that has dominated American newspapers since the early spring.
“Olympic Games Open in Bentonville - Texas on Full Display,” Franklin Observer, May 26, 1950.
--- HSA TAKES PRESIDENT TO COURT
BOSTON - The Executive Director of the Homophilic Society of America, Aldon Lewis, announced today that his organization had filed suit against the Nolan Administration’s alleged purge that has targeted homophiles in federal agencies. Lewis declared “the actions of President Nolan and Attorney General Jones are discriminatory and unconstitutional, and we of the HSA are calling on the courts to uphold fairness and stop these targeted attacks on the homophilic community.” Polls show the country deeply divided on the issue of homophilic acceptance, with Communalists and Liberals mostly in support, and Nationalists and Federalists overwhelmingly believing homophilia to be immoral.
The case that will be going before the courts specifically focuses on the firing of Phillip Coleman, a 20-year veteran employee of the Department of State, who was fired in May after the Justice Department’s Office of Morality uncovered evidence that Mr. Coleman had been living with his long-term partner Samuel Clinton in a suburb of Franklin for nearly ten years, violating Ohio anti-Sodomy laws.
“HSA Takes President to Court,” Astoria Dispatch, June 3, 1950.
---
On July 10, 1950, anti-government forces were able to storm the presidential compound in Istanbul and arrested President Burkut Heper and his senior officials. Later that day Bedri Saygi, leader of the Nationalist Party, declared that the Ottoman Federation was dissolved, and that each province was free to follow its own destiny. By the end of the month, the separate and sovereign republics of Turkey, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Sudan, and Tripoli had been declared. At first, the new nations tried to work in tandem to help ease the transition and end the period of civil unrest that had gripped the former Federation for nearly 7 months, but this shakey alliance did not hold long. Turkey, Egypt, Palestine and Tripoli elected secular governments promising to adopt constitutions that both valued and protected the local customs and cultures, but promised fairness and equality to all their citizens. Mesopotamia, Syria, and Sudan, however, ushered in more religious rule along the lines of traditional islamic law and custom. These countries refused to work with the West unless absolutely necessary.
Mesopotamia in particular proved to be a sore spot for western nations, as they controlled a large portion of the oil that the Ottoman Federation had been exporting for years. Overnight, the new Mesopotamian government announced that they would not sell oil to non-Muslim countries. This would spark a world-wide oil crisis and economic downturn the likes of which had not been seen since 1915.
Jaeger, Dr. Chase. Arabia Rising: The Nationalist Revolts that Brought Down the Ottoman Federation. Manhattan: New Amsterdam Press, 2009.
--- WALNUT STREET MARKETS CRASH IN LIGHT OF OIL CRISIS
PHILADELPHIA - Panic rushed through Walnut Street as massive losses were reported at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange yesterday, in light of the growing world-wide oil shortage that has followed in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Federation earlier this month. Supplies had been disrupted on and off since civil unrest broke out earlier this year, but now the government of newly independent Mesopotamia has announced it will not sell any oil to non-Muslim countries, putting a stranglehold on the former Federation’s largest oil supplies. Oil companies and related industries took a major hit when the announcement was made two days ago, and yesterday the ripple effects began to be seen as investors shed their shares in hundreds of international financial firms, which then in turned caused other industries to see a major bleed in shares. Many people are calling this a crash worse than that of 1915, with the one caveat that the average citizen’s savings should be safe thanks to the banking reforms that followed the earlier crash.
The exchange in Philadelphia did not open today, and may remain closed for the rest of the week, as Treasury Secretary Jacob Van Cleave has requested. President Nolan has remarked that, “this is just the nature of our capitalist economy. There are ups and downs, high times and low times. We will ride out this little hurricane in the markets and be right as rain before long. The panic that is out there is being driven more by the press than any actual facts.”
“Walnut Street Markets Crash in Light of Oil Crisis,” Franklin Observer, July 29, 1950.
--- PARIS WILL HOLD 1958 WORLD OLYMPICS
AMSTERDAM - The World Olympic Committee has announced that, for the first time since the founding of the games, the Olympics will be held inside the Union of European Republics, in the city of Paris. Armand Pascal, the Chancellor of the Union who took office a little less than two years ago, told reporters upon hearing the announcement that “for the first time since the foundation of our Union, our valiant workers will be able to showcase to the world our glorious communalist state, and the benefits of such a system. I look forward to welcoming the world to Paris in 1958.” This will be the sixth time that the games have been held somewhere in Europe, and the second since the end of the Global War. It shall also be interesting to see if the UER, who finished fourth in Texas this year after the German Republic, the United States, and China, will break into the top three when they host the competition in eight years time.
“Paris Will Hold 1958 World Olympics,” New Orleans Star, August 15, 1950.
--- AS DEPRESSION SETS IN, NATIONALISTS PROMISE FIX
FRANKLIN - President Nolan and his fellow Nationalists’ message that the current economic woes that have befallen the country, where nearly 1 in 8 able-bodied American is out of work, is largely the fault of the Liberals and Federalists who control Congress, is beginning to resonate with potential voters in the November Congressional Elections. At a rally for Nationalist House candidate Michael Hinkle, running for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, which represents the state’s capital of Columbus, President Nolan told cheering crowds that, “the economy would already be in recovery if it weren’t for the refusal of the Liberals and Federalists and Communalists to pass my recovery plan.” He was referring to the plan he presented to Congress in early August that would have given major federal subsidies to automotive companies and to the nation’s leading oil producers, in addition to creating with the president has called the “National Workers Corps,” and also a major expansion of the armed forces, both of which the President has said would help reduce unemployment. He went on to say, “the laws passed in 1915 to supposedly secure bank deposits have become a drain on our system, along with the Liberals’ program of endless handouts. Instead of paying people who aren’t working, we should be paying them to work. Building new roads and bridges and schools.”
In Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, this message seems to be working, and many political pundits believe that incumbent Representative Upton Price, a Liberal, will likely loose his reelection bid. Polls across the country are showing a rise in support for the president’s party, though it is still too early to tell whether or not this rise in support will be enough to put the Nationalists in charge of the House in January.
“As Depression Sets In, Nationalists Promise Fix,” St. Louis Courier, September 21, 1950.
--- NATIONALISTS SWEEP ELECTIONS, LIKELY TO CONTROL CONGRESS
FRANKLIN - In what can only be described as a landslide victory, President Nolan’s Nationalist Party has likely sweeped total control of Congress after yesterday’s Congressional Elections. The Nationalists in the House, who had already been the largest single party since 1948, but had at that time been unable to outnumber the combined vote of the Liberals and Communalists, added 60 seats (from 168 to 238) and are just 13 seats shy of absolute majority. Many predict that the Federalists, who now have their lowest number of seats in the history of the party at just 15, will likely support the Nationalist candidate for First Secretary in January, ending First Secretary Anderson’s tenure in that position. The Liberal-Communalist coalition that currently supports Anderson now holds just 247 seats, the Liberals having lost 38 seats, while the Communalists only suffered a net-loss of 1 seat.
In the Senate, the Nationalists will now enjoy a real majority on their own, with 41 of 80 seats (an increase of 7). The Liberals are now at 28 seats (a loss of 3), the CPUS now has 9 seats (a loss of 1), and the Federalists now only have 2 senators, having lost 3 seats. It now seems likely with control of the entire Congress, President Nolan will again attempt to push through his recovery proposals that failed to pass earlier this year.
Many are now openly wondering whether or not the Federalist Party will continue at all after this election, having performed so poorly not only in this election, but also two years ago in 1948.
“Nationalists Sweep Elections, Likely to Control Congress,” Brooklyn Standard, November 8, 1950.
--- ILLINOIS VOTES TO ADOPT COMMUNALIST CONSTITUTION
VANDALIA - The state of Illinois is now the third American territory to adopt a communalist-inspired constitution, after Indiana and the District of Manhattan. CPUS State Chairman Brian Edmondson told the press that, “the workers of Illinois have spoken, and they want a communalist state, just like our neighbors in Indiana and the workers of Manhattan. Our system may not be wanted by all Americans, but it appeals to many, and that number is growing. Our party continues to prove that democratic communalism is not only possible, but the best method to bring about a state which protects the workers and the common man instead of the elite.”
President Nolan was less happy with the results. “Communalist policies are in part to blame for the current economic plight facing our country. If it weren’t for the fact that the state of Indiana set a precedent back in 1933 for allowing this kind of thing to happen, I would probably be speaking with the Justice Department about ways to step in and stop this action.”
“Illinois Votes to Adopt Communalist Constitution,” The American Worker, November 8, 1950.
--- COREY STITT SWORN IN AS FIRST SECRETARY - CABINET SWEEP EXPECTED
FRANKLIN - In the wake of last November’s General Elections, where the Nationalist picked up sixty new seats in the House and took direct control of the Senate, it surprises no one that First Secretary Colton Anderson has been voted out, and will be replaced by Representative Corey Stitt, a Nationalist from Missouri. The fifteen Federalist representatives voted to support Stitt, making him the fourth member of his party to hold the first secretaryship, and only the second Missourian. In addition to a change in the leadership of the House, it is expected that when the new First Secretary meets with President Nolan next week, that a sweep of many of the non-Nationalists will be announced.
“Corey Stitt Sworn in as First Secretary - Cabinet Sweep Expected,” Brooklyn Standard, January 12, 1951.
--- CENSUS 1950: 164 MILLION AMERICANS - MANHATTAN TOPS 2 MILLION
FRANKLIN - The United States census bureau has announced the results of the 1950 Census: 164 million people now call America home, and all but three states (Brandt, Adams, and Cascadia). have a million or more people. New York remains the most populous state, with nearly 8 million people, but Ohio is catching up, having just pushed past 7 million people.
“Census 1950: 164 Million Americans - Manhattan Tops 2 Million,” Manhattan Gazette, February 3, 1951.
--- SUPREME COURT RULES IN PRESIDENT’S FAVOR IN HSA CASE
FRANKLIN - In the much followed case of Coleman vs. United States, where the Homophilic Society of America has sued the current administration on behalf of Phillip Coleman, a homophile who was fired from the State Department as part of the president’s purges last year, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of President Nolan’s actions, upholding that the government has the right to fire an employee they feel have gone against morality clauses that were in effect at the time of a person’s employment. Upon hearing the news, Washington House issued this statement: “The President and his administration is heartened to hear that the Supreme Court has ruled on the side of decency and morality, empowering the government and private businesses alike to ensure that their employees uphold community standards on proper living. The Justice Department’s Office of Morality will continue to root out all who take part in such improprieties as homophilia from government service, whether they are in the federal bureaucracy, the Federal Security Service, or the armed forces. As the Lark Scandal showed us all last year, homophiles are a national security liability.”
Aldon Lewis, head of the Homophilic Society of America, said that the ruling by the court was a major blow to his organization’s goal of equal treatment for homophiles across the country, but that it wasn’t the end of the line. “Our fight for equality is just beginning. President Nolan and others who oppose equality may have won this battle, but they will not win the war.”
“Supreme Court Rules in President’s Favor in HSA Case,” Chicago Herald, March 14, 1951.
---
The aftermath of Coleman vs. US was quite swift. The Justice Department stepped up it’s “Proper Morality” campaign, and hundreds of Federal employees were fired from their jobs merely for being homophiles (along with various other supposed immoral infractions). In the fall of 1951, the government’s purges made the headlines again, when a long-serving and well-liked general in the Army was purged due to his homophilia, touching off a wave of purges in the military. Questions about one’s physical and emotional attractions became commonplace by military recruiters as well. Estimates vary, but the average number of individuals purged from federal service between 1950 and 1960 sits somewhere between five and ten thousand people. Although the Office of Morality scaled back their operations once President Nolan left office in 1955, it would not be closed down until Georgina Lincoln took office in 1961.
Denton, Dr. Amelia. Revolution of Love: Homophilic Rights in the 40s and 50s. Boston: Kennedy Press, 2005.
--- EARTHQUAKE DETECTED IN CHINA
BUSAN - Chosonese officials have reported that a large earthquake was detected somewhere in the interior of China on April 10th, but the Chinese government has denied any such disaster has occured. Ra Yong-Sook, the Chosonese Ambassador to the United States, says that the quake was detected by seismometers in both the Empire of Choson and inside China as well, and seems to have been rather large, somewhere between a 6 or an 8 on the Richter scale. President Nolan has sent messages to Peking that the United States would send disaster relief if the Chinese needed it, but the imperial government continues to insist that no such earthquake occured, and that Choson seismometers must be faulty, or that their technicians are uninformed on how to read them.
“Earthquake Detected in China,” Astoria Dispatch, April 12, 1951.
--- CONGRESS SET TO DEBATE PRESIDENT’S ECONOMIC AID PLAN
FRANKLIN - After stalling in Congress since last August, President Nolan’s economic aid plan will finally be debated on the floor of the House of Representatives, First Secretary Stitt announced today. Stitt says that he personally supports the plan, and believes that it will easily pass the House and Senate within a few weeks.
The bill would give major subsidies and tax breaks to struggling automotive and petroleum companies that were hard hit after the Ottoman Oil Crisis worsened last July following the independence and islamic radicalization of Mesopotamia. A second bill will be brought before the House in a few weeks that would establish a national work program to take unemployed laborers and put them to work building road and schools and the like.
“Congress Set to Debate President’s Economic Aid Plan,” Boston Eagle, April 25, 1951.
--- CHINESE QUAKE ACTUALLY NEWLY TESTED SUPER BOMB
FRANKLIN - In a shocking revelation, the U.S. Army Intelligence Office released a report yesterday that claims that, according to their sources inside China, the supposed earthquake that was reported a few weeks ago by Choson but vehemently denied by China was in fact not a result of any natural seismic activity, but instead the testing of a new weapon, referred to in the report as a “super bomb” or a “sun bomb.” The part of the report released publicly did not go into details on the device, but did say that the evidence was overwhelming that “China, likely with the help of former Prussian scientists who fled after the end of the Global War, has developed and detonated a massive bomb capable of flattening an entire city somewhere in the remote regions of the northwestern part of their country.”
President Nolan has yet to issue any sort of formal statement on this report, but a steady stream of military officials were seen coming and going from Washington House just prior to the release of the document, and has picked up steam since, along with various other government officials and a few ambassadors, including those from Japan, Choson, and California.
“Chinese Quake Actually Newly Tested Super Bomb,” Franklin Observer, May 1, 1951.
---
May of 1951 was a time of crisis across North America and in nations allied with the nascent North American Union. With confirmation that the Chinese Empire had detonated the first ever sun bomb in western China, panic rose across Japan, the rump Chosonese nation, and in California and the United States. What possible reason could China have for creating such a weapon if not to try and use it against a rival. The end of the Global War in Asia had been closer to a draw than it had been in Europe, and China had remained a threat to North American interests ever since the peace had been negotiated.
President Nolan made several speeches in the days after the news broke about the bomb that the United States and its allies had to be able to meet China in this new arms race that he believed the Chinese had now started. His statements were supported by many across the continent. This would be the backdrop for the historic meeting of the Ninth North American Conference that would establish the North American Union. President Nolan had initially been aloof about such a move, but after the new Chinese bomb was a confirmed fact, he quickly changed his tune.
Venters, Dr. Heath. Dragons with the Power of the Sun. Franklin: UUS Press House, 2001.
--- 9TH NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE OPENS IN ST. LOUIS
St. Louis - President Nolan gathered with his counterparts from the other nations of the North American Conference system at Westward Hall, the grand and recently opened conference center in St. Louis. Borealian Prime Minister Patricia Meeker, Texan President Gloria Lopez, Californian Chancellor Frederick Thomason, and Mexican Prime Minister Felix Moya have all arrived with their advisors and other upper level officials for what could be one of the most important Conferences since the first one was held in 1927. The proposal for a more formal and permanent organization of alliance between all of the Conference nations is set to be debated and possibly voted on. In addition, the Kingdom of Hawaii has petitioned for formal membership in the Conference, and that is supposed to be debated as well. Hawaii’s King, Kamehameha IX, and his Prime Minister, David Keona, are both in attendance at the conference to advocate for their nation’s membership.
Of course, what is on everyone’s mind and on the tongues of many of those in attendance is the recent developments regarding the detonation of China’s new “super bomb.” There has been a bit of a panic across the continent, and many want to see an America united against fresh Chinese aggression.
“9th North American Conference Opens in St. Louis,” Chicago Herald, May 14, 1951.
--- CONFERENCE VOTES TO ACCEPT HAWAII AS FORMAL MEMBER
ST. LOUIS - After several days of discussion, and an impassioned address given yesterday by King Kamehameha IX to the North American Conference General Assembly, the five member nations of the Conference voted yesterday to allow accept the Kingdom of Hawaii as a full member, allowing the tropical island nation in the Pacific Ocean to officially take part in the North American Passport and Trade Zone, and join the North American Continental Defense Command structure. Joining the NACDC will allow the United States and California to increase naval and military presence in the islands which is seen by many natives as a potential boon for the economy.
“Conference Votes to Accept Hawaii as Formal Member,” Boston Eagle, May 19, 1951.
---
After nearly a quarter century of coordinated, deliberate cooperation among the nations of North America, and after an even longer period of peace and common cause that followed the end of the War Between the States, the movement of greater North American unity reached a new milestone on June 1, 1951 with the formal establishment of the North American Union via the signing of the Treaty of St. Louis by all six of the North American Conference Nations (The United States, the Kingdom of Borealia, the Republic of California, The Texas Federation, the Empire of Mexico, and the Kingdom of Hawaii). The sitting U.S. President James Nolan, who’d initially been aloof in his support of “continentalism” had come around to the idea of greater integration and cooperation after the test of the first sun bomb by the Chinese earlier that year. After the signing of the treaty, he remarked, “Today shall be remembered by Americans of all nationalities as America Day, commemorating when all our peoples came together in common cause to protect and promote our cultures and way of life.”
Of course, the structure of the Union in 1951 is a far cry from the vast organization most are familiar with today. The Treaty of St. Louis set up a small Union Council that consisted of just a single representative from each member nation. The Chairman of the Council, which headed the Union in those days, was a rotating position that changed nation every two years, and would start with Borealia. The treaty allowed each member nation to determine how their representative would be selected, and at the time all six members opted for appointment of some form or another. The Council was given oversight of the existing North American Continental Defense Command and the Pan-American Trade and Travel Zone. The members of the council could, by unanimous vote, pass regulations for those services, and could also propose new regulations and entities that would then be up for the approval of the member nations (and just like with the original conference structure, all members would have to approve of something before it could be put into action). The tradition of the triennial conferences would continue as a direct meeting of the heads of state of all Union member nations, and the conferences were given power to amend the powers granted to the Union in the Treaty of St. Louis.
Following the passage of the treaty, the delegates of the Ninth North American Conference had one final decision to make: where would the new North American Union be headquartered? Some argued to keep things in St. Louis, where the NACDC was headquartered at the time. Others argued to move the headquarters outside the United States, likely to either Neu Frankfurt or Bentonville in the Texas Federation, though some lobbied for a location in California, primarily Los Angeles or San Diego. In the end, however, U.S. Secretary of State Robert Larson proposed that the NAU be headquartered in Chicago, where the First North American Conference had met in 1927, an idea which proved popular with the delegates and quickly won approval. It was decided that the NACDC would be moved there as well, making Chicago the “unofficial capital of North America” as many newspapers at the time would say.
Coburn, Dr. Virgil. Chicago, 1927: Birth of the North American Union. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
--- CONGRESS PASSES ECONOMIC PLAN, DEBATE STARTS ON WORKER CORPS
FRANKLIN - President Nolan’s Oil and Automotive Assistance Act, first proposed back in April, has passed the Senate, after passing the House last month, and is expected to be signed by the president in a ceremony at Washington House tomorrow. The new law lowers taxes on companies that produce petroleum or petroleum byproducts and on the production and sale of autos. In addition, various subsidies and incentives for those industries are also included. Now that this hurdle has been passed, First Secretary Stitt has stated that the House will now focus on the proposed worker’s corps that the administration has also proposed. There seems to more cross-party support for this proposal, as some communalists support the plan, or a version of it, compared to the assistance act which passed on strict party lines.
If passed, the proposed National Workers Corps that would be created would hire unemployed men and women to work in various public works projects. This would include expansion and maintenance of the National Roads, construction of schools and other public facilities in less populated western states, and other various proposed ideas supported by the administration.
“Congress Passes Economic Plan, Debate Starts on Worker Corps,” New Orleans Star, June 10, 1951.
--- MASSIVE ABERNATHY MARCHES PROTEST NOLAN PURGES
BOSTON - In the wake of the Coleman vs. United States ruling earlier this year, which upheld the administration’s policy of purging homophiles from government positions, the largest Abernathy Marches yet seen took place yesterday across the nation, the largest of which were held in Boston, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Chicago, and in Franklin, with the biggest by far being that of Boston, where nearly twenty-five thousand people crammed the march route and the Boston Commons, many waving the so-called homophilic unity flag, a white banner with purple rings interlocked that has become the symbol for the homophilic rights movement. Member of the Massachusetts State House Jesse Pike, who is recognized as one of the leaders of the homophilia movement and who’s outing in 1944 thrust him into the national spotlight, spoke at the rally in Boston, seeming to channel the anger felt by many in his community over the actions taken by President Nolan over the past two years. “We will not be silenced! We will not be sent back into hiding in shame and despair! The Nolan Administration thinks that they can purge us from public life, from public service, but they are wrong! We pose no threat to our nation. We seek only to live out our lives in peace, loving who we want to love, without others sticking their noses into our affairs. I served this country with honor overseas, and I continue to do so now in the State House. And I will continue to serve my country as long as my lungs draw breath!” Mr. Pike’s remarks were met with wilde and enthusiastic cheers.
In Franklin, HSA leader Aldon Lewis led nearly 15,000 protestors on a march down Union Avenue from the Congress Hall all the way to President’s Square. In addition to the homophilic unity flag, marchers in the nation’s capital also carried several large banners that read “Nolan is a Fear-monger,” and “We are Loyal Citizens!” When the crowds arrived in front of Washington House, Lewis addressed the animated protestors. “We have come to the President’s home to remind him that we will not go away. We are here to remind him that his purges cannot get rid of us. We will not be purged from public life in this country.” Several times during the rally, the marchers began boisterous chants, saying things like, “We are loyal!” and “We want equality!”
President Nolan reportedly attempted to block the full march and rally in Franklin, but was prevented from doing so by the city council.
“Massive Abernathy Marches Protest Nolan Purges,” Chicago Herald, October 28, 1951.
---
Although the traditional Episcopalian and Methodist churches remain the dominant Christian denominations in the United States, the time during and after the Global War saw the rise of newer congregations that moved away from the more mainstream groups. Although there are many different groups that fit into this new category, each with varying different tenants of faith, a common theme among all of them was that the Episcopal and Methodist movements, to say nothing of the newer Christian Communalist movement, had become corrupt and moved away from foundational Christian teaching, and that the church in America needed to be purified. This was the birth of Purist Movement, and the related Foundationalist Movement.
In 1935, a then-Methodist minister by the name of Matthew Carney of Jefferson founded the Purified Church of Prosperity. His church and the “purist” movement it inspired across the southern and western states kept many traditions from existing churches, but focused on what Carney called “true biblicalism,” adhering to a strict, conservative interpretation of scripture that had largely fell out of favor in the Episcopal and Methodist churches in the United States. By 1950, there were purist congregations in 12 states, and that year the Christian Purist Federation of America was established at a gathering in Prosperity, Jefferson.
Similarly, in 1937, Father Dennis Morton of Missouri broke with the United Episcopal Church and established Christ’s Foundational Assembly in a suburb of St. Louis. Morton’s new congregation also followed the teachings of “true biblicalism,” with very strict and often literal interpretation of scripture. Unlike Carney’s church, however, the Foundational Assembly stripped away most common “high church” liturgical traditions, wanting instead to go back to a “simple, foundational Christianity that would be recognizable to First Century Christians.” It was simple, and egalitarian, and attracted many followers. This movement would organize as the Assembly of Foundational Christians in 1949, with its headquarters in St. Louis.
Both the CPF and the AFC were considered socially conservative churches, and began to vocally push back against the rising homophilic rights movement that began in the mid-to-late 1940s, and were major supporters of President Nolan’s presidential campaign in 1948. Many purists and foundationalists spoke out in support of Nolan’s purges in the 1950s, and were often seen counter-protesting at Abernathy Marches.
Hunter, Dr. Edward. America’s Religious Fabric: Faith in the Republic. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1995.
--- PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS CALLS FOR INCREASED RESEARCH
FRANKLIN - In his annual address to Congress, President Nolan gave great focus to increased research into science, particularly in areas related to sun-bomb development, and also space exploration, a first for a presidential address. “The revelation that China has developed the world’s most powerful and most devastating weapon has shaken us all to our core. But we cannot stay in that shocked place. We must strike out a path forward, and regain our dominance in science.” The president said that he would call for increased funding for existing projects, and also to expand scientific research into new areas that would benefit the whole. This would also include increased funding for the Department of Education to make sure that science programs in public schools and universities would be better equipped to produce future researchers.
The call for space exploration is new for this or any president, but Nolan explained simply that, “while the creation of a new and deadly weapon may spur us on to new scientific discovery, all our focus cannot be on new weapons ourselves. Space has long been the dream of many scientists and engineers, and it is truly the last great frontier. I hope to make a coordinated effort between ourselves and our other neighbors to go to space within the next decade.” This proposal has caused quite a stir and a bit of excitement across the country. Opposition leaders believe that this was added to distract from the focus on weapons, and the other parts of the president’s speech that bragged on his recent successes in the courts that upheld his purge of homophiles from the federal civil service.
“Presidential Address Calls for Increased Research,” Franklin Observer, January 22, 1952.
---
Within a month of U.S. President James Nolan’s proposal of going to space within a decade during his 1952 State of the Union Address, the U.S. delegate to the North American Union, Anthony Urban, addressed the Union Council in Chicago to put forth the idea that the Union create a multi-national space exploration organization. The idea was generally well received by the Council, and on America Day 1952 the Council Chairman, Borealian Alexander Wray, announced the preliminary establishment of the North American Space Administration. Final approval from the member nations would come later in the summer, but this was largely perfunctory. Americans of all nationalities supported space exploration. Within a year, NASA had selected a launch location in the U.S. State of Florida, seen as an ideal location with good infrastructure and closer to the Equator than much of the rest of the Union’s territory (though in the 1970s a second base would open up in the Empire of Mexico). By the end of Nolan’s presidency, the first launches of test rockets were underway, with serious talk of the launch the first man-made satellite to occur before 1956.
Cargill, Dr. Sherri. Reaching for the Stars: Birth of the North American Space Administration. Chicago: Continental Press, 2009.
---
To say that the test detonation of the first ever sun-bomb by the Empire of China in 1951 rattled the people of North America would be a major understatement. People were scared. Would a second sun blossom over San Francisco or Astoria or even farther inland? Most veterans of the Global War were now in mid-adulthood, and many had moved into positions of power. They knew that China had not truly been defeated when the war ended in 1938 and that many in China resented not getting more out of the negotiations in Honolulu that formally ended the fighting. The rumor was that the Chinese crown prince was itching for a rematch and was putting pressure on the army to make this a reality. This being the case, it is not surprising that the United States, California, and Texas all independently began official programs into sun-bomb development. Some theoretical work was already underway at the University of Neu Frankfurt and at the University of Philadelphia, but after the Spring of 1951, these programs became grafted into the official government plans to match the Chinese. Then, in late 1951, several officials at the offices of the North American Union began to discuss with generals and staffers of the NACDC about the possibility of a combined program to create a bomb. By 1952, it was clear that it would be a better use of resources if the nations of the NAU would put their efforts together into a single project to make a sun-bomb funded by the whole continent and pulling from the best and brightest from all six members. Thus Project Alpha was born in March of 1952, and then renamed Project Navajo in the fall when the operation set up permanent shop in the Californian province of the same name later that fall.
Trent, Dr. Jacob. American Atoms: The North American Quest to Build a Sun Bomb. Bentonville: Gulf Coast Press, 2000.
--- ANTI-CHINESE SENTIMENT SKYROCKETS ON WEST COAST
SAN FRANCISCO - The Pan-American Council of Asian Americans has reported a noticeable uptick in violence against the Asian community in North America, as anti-Chinese sentiment has continued to be on the rise. Ever since news broke last year about the Chinese sun-bomb, the PACAA says that non-Asians have grown increasingly hostile, with more racially-based slures being used in public, especially from more conservative politicians in both Oregon and the California Republic. More physical violence has been reported too, from vandalism to actual attacks on people. And although China is the source of people’s ire, all persons of Asian ancestry, whether Chinese, Japanese, or Chosonese, have been dealing with these racially motivated attacks. Sampson Hirota, president of the PACAA, told reporters recently that, “while there has always been a low level of anti-Asian bias on the West Coast, especially in the California Republic, ever since the sun-bomb revelation last year, things have skyrocketed, and it’s expanded outside of the West Coast. Thankfully, we have not seen any racially motivated murders so far, but I worry that something like that could occur. What’s making it worse is that there are a number of politicians who are using anti-Asian/anti-Chinese rhetoric in their stump speeches and this helps legitimize these attitudes.”
“Anti-Chinese Sentiment Skyrockets on West Coast,” Chicago Herald, June 4, 1952.
--- SO-CALLED “COUNTER CULTURE” MOVEMENT GROWING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE
BOSTON - This week on the Boston Commons, tens of thousands of so-called “rebs” (from the phrase “rebels without a cause,” a moniker first used last year in the Franklin Observer) will descend to have their first ever Reb Fest, which is being billed as part music festival, part political rally. “Rebs” are generally members of the generation that came of age during or since the Global War, and as a group there tends to be a general disregard for pre-war values and sensibilities. In essence, they are rebelling against society. So-called “Green Communalism,” that is living in communal groups and living off the land and off the grid, also appeals to a great number of the Rebs, though not all. Politically, most Rebs identify with the Communalist Party, if they identify with any party at all (there is a small but noticeable number of Rebs who are entirely anarchist, rejecting all forms of government as corrupt). One common factor is that nearly every Reb is anti-War. Many of their songs, which are often done to acoustic guitar or other such “folksy” instruments in a rejection of the fast drums and electric guitars and horns common in most popular music, often have an anti-War message. In their rejection of social norms, many Rebs are refusing to get married, opting instead for “communal love,” as they call it.
“So-Called ‘Counter-Culture’ Movement Growing Among Young People, Brooklyn Standard, July 20, 1952.
--- MAYOR PHILLIPS CONTINUES FIGHT AGAINST NOLAN PURGES
BOSTON - Mayor Neal Phillips announced today that any homophile who was fired from federal service will essentially be guaranteed a position with the city of Boston as long as he is mayor. This comes days after officials from the Justice Department’s Office of Morality purged hundreds of homophilic employees who worked at Boston-area federal offices, which has sparked off sporadic protests from the city’s vocal homophilic community. “Intolerance and ignorance have no place in Boston. These people have served their country well, and will be welcome to continue doing good work here in the city of Boston. They need only apply.”
“Mayor Phillips Continues Fight Against Nolan Purges,” Boston Eagle, September 1, 1952.
--- HSA FIGHTING SODOMY LAWS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND
BOSTON - Next month, the five states in New England that still have anti-sodomy laws on the books (Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine) will vote on whether or not to appeal those laws. The Homophilic Society of America has been in full gear, vowing to get these laws removed in all five states. “It’s been a rough couple of years with the courts working against us and supporting Nolan’s abominable purges, but we feel confident that these laws will be repealed,” said HSA President Aldon Lewis at a campaign event two days ago in Montpelier. Popular Massachusetts lawmaker and homophilic rights advocate Jesse Pike has also been out on the campaign trail fighting for the repeal. His adopted home state of Massachusetts repealed its anti-sodomy law six years ago, and has generally led the way in legal equality for homophiles, though anyone in the HSA will tell you that even Massachusetts has a long way to go. “Workplace protections, anti-discrimination measures, marriage,” lists Peter McGallon, one of the HSA’s deputy presidents, “these are all things we would like to see done not only in Massachusetts, but nationwide. Right now, Massachusetts, especially Boston, is acting as a sanctuary for homophiles across the country. But someday, we hope that whether one lives in Boston or Roosevelt City or Prosperity, homophiles will be treated with equality and dignity.”
“HSA Fighting Sodomy Laws Across New England,” Manhattan Gazette, October 15, 1952.
--- NATIONALISTS MAINTAIN CONTROL OF HOUSE
FRANKLIN - In the second congressional election since President Nolan took office, the Nationalist Party dropped nine seats in the House, though most party members feel confident that they will be able to keep First Secretary Stitt in office. The Federalists gained 7 seats this year, bringing them to a total of 22, the Liberals dropped two seats, going to 93, and the CPUS gained three seats, bringing them to 156, still the second largest party after the Nationalist’s 229 seats. If the Federalists support Stitt again like they did after the 1950 election, they will secure the exact number of seats needed for a majority.
In the Senate, the Nationalists dropped one seat, and are now at 40 (still half, but if there is a tie vote the Vice President will have to act as tie breaker. President Nolan feels confident that his party will still be able to properly execute the Nationalist agenda without too many obstacles. “The Federalists have proven to be good partners the past two years, and I see no reason why that would change now. The mandate for power has not really changed, the people still want our party to rule.”
“Nationalists Maintain Control of House,” Franklin Observer, November 5, 1952.
---
Supporters of the Homophilic Rights Movement had every reason to come out of the 1952 General Election feeling let down. Many had hoped that the Nationalists would loose enough seats to allow the Liberals and Communalists to unseat First Secretary Stitt and turn Congress into a better check on President Nolan’s anti-equality agenda. But even without that, there was a very clear silver lining after election day: anti-sodomy laws were repealed in every state where they were on the ballot. All of New England legalized basic homophilic existence that night, following in the footsteps of Massachusetts, which had achieved this milestone six years earlier in 1946. Future President Jesse Pike, who was then serving in the Massachusetts State House but had campaigned across New England for the repeal of the laws, declared before a crowd of supporters in Boston, “Tonight, love wins. Tonight, equality wins. We may have many more fights before us, but this was a move in the right direction.”
Denton, Dr. Amelia. Revolution of Love: Homophilic Rights in the 40s and 50s. Boston: Kennedy Press, 2005.
---
KING WILLIAM, PM DUDLEY PROPOSE EMPIRE-WIDE CONFERENCE
LONDON - King William V of Great Britain, and his Prime Minister Henrietta Dudley, have proposed an empire-wide conference in a joint statement issued yesterday at Whitehall Palace. The gathering would consist of delegates from every territory of the British Empire, with the goal of restructuring imperial administration and connections to work better in the modern era. “The administration of our empire has changed hardly at all since the time Victoria the Great took the throne all the way back in the 1841. Times have changed and so should our Empire if we have any hope of it surviving into the twenty-first century and beyond,” said the King after the initial proposal was put forth. The prime minister echoed these sentiments, saying, “The British Empire has blessed the world with great stability over the past century. But we must look to the future and the future requires that we adjust things to meet current and future realities.”
Dudley and other members of the British People’s Party want to see the colonies given greater or full independence, and see all of their empire have greater representation in administration. There have even been proposals for an empire-wide parliament, which is also being discussed. Some BPP officials have said that they are looking for ideas from the structure of the North American Union as well.
“King William, PM Dudley Propose Empire-Wide Conference,” New Orleans Star, November 20, 1952.