What about brown for the Democrats and purple for the Republicans?
1920: Progressivism Triumphant, the Fifth Party System and Beyond A Wikibox TL
- Thread starter Ohheckitsian
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That's possible, you just need to have the parties choose those colors at some point. The Red/Blue dichotomy is an accident of timing but lots of historical parties had specific colors for one reason or another.
The Italian Crisis: Europe in 1923, part two
After being repulsed from Rome in November of 1922, Mussolini immediately sought to regroup his militias and begin to prepare for a lengthy fight with the Italian government. The Sturzo government also readied itself for a drawn out conflict, but this never came to be. Fascist uprisings across the countryside immediately knocked the wind out of the Monarchists, and the Blackshirts gained the backing of much of the upper class across the peninsula. Over the following months, government forces saw their forces dwindle, facing defections, and losing battle after battle against the fascists. The Sturzo government was also crippled by strikes across the country, left paralyzed in their response to Mussolini.
After months of warfare, the Italian government held on to only a few scattered pockets of resistance, concentrated around the city of Rome. In the winter of 1923, Mussolini began a siege of the city, and within two weeks, had strained the remaining government forces. When fascists stormed governmental buildings on the 29th of December, Prime Minister Luigi Sturzo was executed, and remaining officials that had not fled the country or sworn allegiance to Mussolini were imprisoned. Mussolini had established control over Italy, and began centralizing his power.
After months of warfare, the Italian government held on to only a few scattered pockets of resistance, concentrated around the city of Rome. In the winter of 1923, Mussolini began a siege of the city, and within two weeks, had strained the remaining government forces. When fascists stormed governmental buildings on the 29th of December, Prime Minister Luigi Sturzo was executed, and remaining officials that had not fled the country or sworn allegiance to Mussolini were imprisoned. Mussolini had established control over Italy, and began centralizing his power.
A short update today, I had that wikibox sitting in my folder for a month or so and decided to turn it into a small update. I'm very sorry that I haven't been able to get a full update out recently, but I'm finally on my last college application, and should finally be able to resume regularly updates soon.
I wonder if TTL's Fascist Italy might proclaim the Italian Social Republic instead of keeping a puppet monarchy around like IOTL?
1923: Politics in the United States
The third year of the Hoover presidency marked a drastic slowdown in the reforms seen in the first two years since his inauguration. The coalition of Republicans and Democrats controlling the house was more ideologically rigid than the previous Gillet speakership, halting some more ambitious items from the Progressive agenda. The 1912 Radio Act was replaced with a new bill, creating the Federal Radio Commission, reforming the licensing process, and creating federal subsidies for public radio corporations. Hoover, who utilized radio on the campaign trail in 1920, and throughout his presidency to give addresses, wished to stop major radio stations from adopting advertisements in order to make profit. Thus, Hoover lobbied heavily for subsidies for major radio stations, despite criticism from many fiscal conservatives within the house.
Hoover's cabinet also went through a minor reorganization in 1923. Secretary of War Leonard Wood retired, citing health problems related to a brain tumor, which took his life the following year.
Wood was replaced by Attorney General Henry L. Stimson, who had served as Secretary of War in the Taft administration 10 years prior. Stimson was an uncontroversial pick for the position, and was approved by the Senate in a near-unanimous vote. Stimson's replacement for Attorney General, Leonidas C. Dyer, was not confirmed as easily. Dyer, the driving force behind the Dyer Anti-Lynching bill passed in 1921, was heavily opposed by a bloc of Southern Democrats. Despite their objections, Dyer was confirmed to the position of Attorney General. Dyer was succeeded in his house seat by Alice Curtice Moyer, a leading suffragette and chief of the State Industrial Inspection Department.
Leonard Wood was not the only one vacating his seat in government in 1923. A total of four Senators vacated their seats as well, with 3 deaths, and one resignation. Progressive Senator Lafa Pence of Colorado died, and in a strange turn of events, had former Missouri governor and Progressive Herbert S. Hadley appointed to his seat. Hadley moved to Colorado in 1917, and was swept into the house in 1920, winning a second term in 1923, before being appointed to the Senate by governor Edward Keating. Another Progressive Senator, Knute Nelson of Minnesota, passed as well, and Representative Sydney Anderson won the special election to succeed him. The radical wing of Minnesota's Progressives saw several candidates in the primary, and their failure to consolidate allowed for Anderson to triumph with a plurality. A Republican Senator, William P. Dillingham of Vermont, died too, with Lieutenant Governor Abram W. Foote winning the special election to succeed him in in a Republican dominated state.
A strange race occurred in Delaware. During his run for office in 1922, Senator Irenee du Pont became subject to numerous investigations due to a supposed incident of lead poisoning during his time as president of the DuPont corporation. With possible criminal charges overhanging him in 1923, Du Pont resigned, leading to a chaotic special election to succeed him. Governor John G. Townsend appointed Delaware's former Representative, Republican Caleb R. Layton, to the seat. Layton easily won the Republican nomination for the special, but faced two strong opponents. The first, Delaware's current representative, Progressive William Henry Boyce, was elected due to Layton's opposition to the Dyer Anti-Lynching bill, and had the support of the state's Prohibition Party, and many African American political activists. The second, Josiah O. Wolcott, lost to Du Pont in 1922, but sought to reclaim his old Senate Seat. In a vicious battle, Layton slowly fell out of contention, while Boyce and Wolcott jockeyed for first. The final results were incredibly close, with several recounts, and accusations of fraud, but the seat would ultimately be won by William Henry Boyce.
A handful of normal elections also occurred in the off year. Democrat Henry Whitfield succeeded the term-limited Lee Russell as governor of Mississippi, with no major opponents in the Democratic primary, and only minor resistance from Prohibition and Progressive candidates in the general election.
Maryland's gubernatorial race followed a similar dynamic, with incumbent governor Albert Ritchie cruising to a second term over a fractured opposition of Prohibitionists, Republicans, Progressives, and Socialists, with all garnering over 5% of the vote, but none even coming within 10% of Ritchie.
In Kentucky, term limited Governor Edwin P. Morrow pushed his successor, state Attorney General Charles I. Dawson, who easily triumphed in the Republican Primary. Representative Alben Barkley won both the Democratic and Prohibition primaries, and had the support of Senator J.C.W. Beckham. Progressive Senator Augustus Owsley Stanley, an ally of Morrow and opponent of Beckham, attempted to throw the state Progressive Party behind Dawson, but would lose to former Court of Appeals Judge Edward C. O'Rear. O'Rear's nomination was disproved of by many more radical Progressives, due to his support of racial segregation and prohibition, leading to many votes going towards Socialist Party candidates or Dawson. Dawson's campaign was similarly poor, with Edwin Morrow giving little support to his successor, as he was preoccupied with the early stages of a run at the Republican nomination. These divisions handed the election to Barkley, who won out with over 40%, while Dawson barely passed 30%.
Hoover's cabinet also went through a minor reorganization in 1923. Secretary of War Leonard Wood retired, citing health problems related to a brain tumor, which took his life the following year.
Wood was replaced by Attorney General Henry L. Stimson, who had served as Secretary of War in the Taft administration 10 years prior. Stimson was an uncontroversial pick for the position, and was approved by the Senate in a near-unanimous vote. Stimson's replacement for Attorney General, Leonidas C. Dyer, was not confirmed as easily. Dyer, the driving force behind the Dyer Anti-Lynching bill passed in 1921, was heavily opposed by a bloc of Southern Democrats. Despite their objections, Dyer was confirmed to the position of Attorney General. Dyer was succeeded in his house seat by Alice Curtice Moyer, a leading suffragette and chief of the State Industrial Inspection Department.
Leonard Wood was not the only one vacating his seat in government in 1923. A total of four Senators vacated their seats as well, with 3 deaths, and one resignation. Progressive Senator Lafa Pence of Colorado died, and in a strange turn of events, had former Missouri governor and Progressive Herbert S. Hadley appointed to his seat. Hadley moved to Colorado in 1917, and was swept into the house in 1920, winning a second term in 1923, before being appointed to the Senate by governor Edward Keating. Another Progressive Senator, Knute Nelson of Minnesota, passed as well, and Representative Sydney Anderson won the special election to succeed him. The radical wing of Minnesota's Progressives saw several candidates in the primary, and their failure to consolidate allowed for Anderson to triumph with a plurality. A Republican Senator, William P. Dillingham of Vermont, died too, with Lieutenant Governor Abram W. Foote winning the special election to succeed him in in a Republican dominated state.
A strange race occurred in Delaware. During his run for office in 1922, Senator Irenee du Pont became subject to numerous investigations due to a supposed incident of lead poisoning during his time as president of the DuPont corporation. With possible criminal charges overhanging him in 1923, Du Pont resigned, leading to a chaotic special election to succeed him. Governor John G. Townsend appointed Delaware's former Representative, Republican Caleb R. Layton, to the seat. Layton easily won the Republican nomination for the special, but faced two strong opponents. The first, Delaware's current representative, Progressive William Henry Boyce, was elected due to Layton's opposition to the Dyer Anti-Lynching bill, and had the support of the state's Prohibition Party, and many African American political activists. The second, Josiah O. Wolcott, lost to Du Pont in 1922, but sought to reclaim his old Senate Seat. In a vicious battle, Layton slowly fell out of contention, while Boyce and Wolcott jockeyed for first. The final results were incredibly close, with several recounts, and accusations of fraud, but the seat would ultimately be won by William Henry Boyce.
A handful of normal elections also occurred in the off year. Democrat Henry Whitfield succeeded the term-limited Lee Russell as governor of Mississippi, with no major opponents in the Democratic primary, and only minor resistance from Prohibition and Progressive candidates in the general election.
Maryland's gubernatorial race followed a similar dynamic, with incumbent governor Albert Ritchie cruising to a second term over a fractured opposition of Prohibitionists, Republicans, Progressives, and Socialists, with all garnering over 5% of the vote, but none even coming within 10% of Ritchie.
In Kentucky, term limited Governor Edwin P. Morrow pushed his successor, state Attorney General Charles I. Dawson, who easily triumphed in the Republican Primary. Representative Alben Barkley won both the Democratic and Prohibition primaries, and had the support of Senator J.C.W. Beckham. Progressive Senator Augustus Owsley Stanley, an ally of Morrow and opponent of Beckham, attempted to throw the state Progressive Party behind Dawson, but would lose to former Court of Appeals Judge Edward C. O'Rear. O'Rear's nomination was disproved of by many more radical Progressives, due to his support of racial segregation and prohibition, leading to many votes going towards Socialist Party candidates or Dawson. Dawson's campaign was similarly poor, with Edwin Morrow giving little support to his successor, as he was preoccupied with the early stages of a run at the Republican nomination. These divisions handed the election to Barkley, who won out with over 40%, while Dawson barely passed 30%.
Some of the major public stations have very few ads or none at all directly after the implementation of subsidies, but many minor or private stations didn’t receive the subsidies and have to resort to ads.
Taft: Currently enjoying political retirement. Supported Harding for most of the 1920 campaign, but withdrew his endorsement after news of Harding's illegitimate child broke, and remained silent after that. Was shortly in talks for Hoover's first few Supreme Court appointments, but agreements fell through. Taft has mainly remained out of politics after Hoover's election, as his foreign policy views are out of step with an increasingly isolationist Republican party and his economic views are far too conservative for Progressives.
Byrd Sr.: Byrd has lingered in the Virginia State Senate for some time, pushing for improvements to the state's road system. Governor Edith Wilson has supported many of these infrastructure reforms as well, giving Byrd political victories. Byrd's success in infrastructure development has made him interested in a run for governor in 1925, though his status as an ally of the governor has brought him opposition from some statewide Democrats.
Dawes: While silent throughout most of the 1920 campaign, Dawes threw his support to Hoover following news of Harding's affair breaking. For this, he was named Ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he has served until 1923. Despite a seemingly unimportant position, Dawes influence has slowly increased in 1923, as Hoover looks to help stabilize Europe as crisis flares up.
Curtis: Curtis has seen a sharp decline in his influence within the Republican party. His ability to negotiate and compromise between the wings of the Republican party has become useless upon the split, and even more so upon Progressives taking the Senate. Still, Curtis ascended to the role of Republican Senate leader after Henry Cabot Lodge's retirement, and looks towards 1924 as his chance to restore his influence with an party that he is increasingly out of step with.
Garner: As an architect behind the Republican-Democratic coalition in the house, Garner is a leading House Democrat, along with the Majority leader, James F. Byrnes. His role in the deal earned him the position as Ways and Means chair, giving him massive influence in the House, which is mainly used to crush the economic policy of the Progressives.
Hughes: During his brief tenure as Secretary of State for Hoover, Hughes helped to organize the Armenian intervention. Now the most recent member appointed to the Supreme Court by Hoover, Hughes is an important figure on the moderate bloc of the court. In the recent Moore v. Dempsey case, Hughes wrote the majority opinion that mob intimidation in an Arkansas court case violated the due process of the defendants.
Sometime this week I’ll be out with another update, it’ll either be about Europe again, or American culture in 1923. Sometime after that, I’ll release the other one of those updates, and then I’ll finally get into 1924
Ok, I'll just post the West Coast analysis right now, after taking a break on these kind of things.
So the West Coast politically is very dominated by the Progressives as most of the congressional and statewides seats are held by them. Democrats have been reduced to being a practically nonexistent party relegated to a corner of CA, and Republicans, while holding on to power, are struggling to keep their once dominant stature.
But even though this region looks solid as solid can be, in reality, there is a large fissure among two groups of Progressives.
The first group is the faction that aligns with VP Borah, politically similar to inland counterparts, and are represented by people like Hiram Johnson. While these people do support labor, national parks, regulating big business, sufferage, and many other standard Progressive platforms, they are also very isolationist and very anti-immigration.
The other faction is comprised of urban, immigrant heavy, labor, and while they most likely agree with the inland faction on many economic issues, they will probably frequently break with them on issues such as immigration. This could lead them to switch votes to the Socialists or Regular Dems if enthusiasm is especially low.
Speaking of the Socialists, they are slowly but steadily building support in urban areas like LA and Seattle. Headed by people such as Upton Sinclair, they are pushing for even more reforms for the urban working class, though their urban-centric nature might make them clash with the Rural Southern faction.
The Prohibitionists have of course taken the votes of prohibition supporters (not much elsr here).
Pro business and conservative voters in the future will most likely back the Rs and Ds, though depending on the context of the region, could have wildly varying ideas and beliefs.
Given that this region will be one of the fastest growing regions in the coming years of this TL, it's going to be important how the West Coast will move politically.
I'll probably do a voter demographic post before creating a post about the mountain west.
So the West Coast politically is very dominated by the Progressives as most of the congressional and statewides seats are held by them. Democrats have been reduced to being a practically nonexistent party relegated to a corner of CA, and Republicans, while holding on to power, are struggling to keep their once dominant stature.
But even though this region looks solid as solid can be, in reality, there is a large fissure among two groups of Progressives.
The first group is the faction that aligns with VP Borah, politically similar to inland counterparts, and are represented by people like Hiram Johnson. While these people do support labor, national parks, regulating big business, sufferage, and many other standard Progressive platforms, they are also very isolationist and very anti-immigration.
The other faction is comprised of urban, immigrant heavy, labor, and while they most likely agree with the inland faction on many economic issues, they will probably frequently break with them on issues such as immigration. This could lead them to switch votes to the Socialists or Regular Dems if enthusiasm is especially low.
Speaking of the Socialists, they are slowly but steadily building support in urban areas like LA and Seattle. Headed by people such as Upton Sinclair, they are pushing for even more reforms for the urban working class, though their urban-centric nature might make them clash with the Rural Southern faction.
The Prohibitionists have of course taken the votes of prohibition supporters (not much elsr here).
Pro business and conservative voters in the future will most likely back the Rs and Ds, though depending on the context of the region, could have wildly varying ideas and beliefs.
Given that this region will be one of the fastest growing regions in the coming years of this TL, it's going to be important how the West Coast will move politically.
I'll probably do a voter demographic post before creating a post about the mountain west.
Sports and Radio in 1923
After the success of the first American Wrestling League season, and American Football on a modest decline, the AWL sought a small expansion headed into the 1923 season. Two new franchises were added: The Charleston Chargers based out of West Virginia, coached by former NFL Coach and West Virginia University alumni Elgie Tobin, and Kentucky's Louisville Leopards, coached by Charles Clapper, a 1904 Olympic bronze medalist. The only Franchise that failed to return for the second season was the Madison Moose, facing financial difficulties due to an 0-18 season the previous year, and coach Fred Beell wishing to re-enter retirement. The Enid Eagles and Lincoln Lions returned to dominate the league, with Edward Gallagher's Eagles going undefeated, winning all 20 regular season matches and the championship match against the Lions. While the AWL was still concentrated largely in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, the broadcast of matches over the radio allowed it to be followed well beyond this region.
In the MLB, The Yankees came to dominate the American League, outpacing the other 7 teams. The National League saw fierce contention between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. Though the Reds season had a rocky start, they quickly caught up to the Giants, and ended up on top by just two games, going to face the Yankees in the World Series. This contest was a complete blowout, with the Yankees easily winning in the first four games of the series.
Within the entertainment world, the fledgling film and radio industries continued to develop. Radio still largely consisted of news, with the Radio bill passed allowing for the construction of many new radio towers. These new radio towers, along with subsidies given to major broadcasting stations, allowed for new experimental programs to be explored. One of these, Weird Tales, came quickly after the success of the magazine of the same name. Though J.C. Henneberger's fiction magazine faltered at first with its launch in 1922, sales picked up considerably in early 1923. This led Henneberger to pitch a radio anthology series based on the magazine to many radio stations. Many refused to accept the program, but WJZ in New York bought it from Henneberger, with his condition that he be allowed to narrate the program. Due to his move to New York City, Henneberger put editor Edwin Baird in charge of the magazine in Chicago. The radio station launched to respectable success, and its continued growth led to many other radio stations looking into experimental programs.
In the MLB, The Yankees came to dominate the American League, outpacing the other 7 teams. The National League saw fierce contention between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. Though the Reds season had a rocky start, they quickly caught up to the Giants, and ended up on top by just two games, going to face the Yankees in the World Series. This contest was a complete blowout, with the Yankees easily winning in the first four games of the series.
Within the entertainment world, the fledgling film and radio industries continued to develop. Radio still largely consisted of news, with the Radio bill passed allowing for the construction of many new radio towers. These new radio towers, along with subsidies given to major broadcasting stations, allowed for new experimental programs to be explored. One of these, Weird Tales, came quickly after the success of the magazine of the same name. Though J.C. Henneberger's fiction magazine faltered at first with its launch in 1922, sales picked up considerably in early 1923. This led Henneberger to pitch a radio anthology series based on the magazine to many radio stations. Many refused to accept the program, but WJZ in New York bought it from Henneberger, with his condition that he be allowed to narrate the program. Due to his move to New York City, Henneberger put editor Edwin Baird in charge of the magazine in Chicago. The radio station launched to respectable success, and its continued growth led to many other radio stations looking into experimental programs.
Yeah, I’ll probably change some of the locations soon. I didn’t really put too much thought in when I made the first post about the AWL