2cd ACW in the 1930's

Faraday Cage

Inspired by a thread I found in the archives and by the current "Reds: A Revolutionary Timeline", I'm wondering if it would be plausible to depict a scenario where the Business Plotters use conspiratorial methods rather than a putsch and become the handlers of FDR, playing up his poor health while gradually introducing an unconstitutional presidential assistant as their public face? And in such a scenario is it to wild to have an Austin based Garner government in exile and three rebel armies (Bonus, Red, and Temperance) running around as well?
 

Faraday Cage

It'd probably alter in 1932 with Butler being injured when federal troops cleared the Bonus Marchers. They decamp but reorganize as a national movement, supporting FDR in the elections. For this reason the Business Plotters do not try to use veterans to forcibly gain control of FDR but instead through bribes and political capital insinuate themselves into FDR's life and gradually weaken him with slow poison while restructuring the cabinet around their cronies and bought men. When the Bonus Army returns to Washington demanding to see FDR in person, there is an armed conflict with federal troops. Following this incident VP Garner and those in Congress who believe that the President is dead flee the city while they can, bringing those troops loyal to them to a new provisional capital at Austin.

With both governments lifting prohibition and "communists" (both the actual Reds and the Bonus Army) "trying to take over", the temperance movement and Depression era evangelical resurgence blossoms into the Temperance Army.

The Red Army is of course an opportunistic entity, the International Brigades to the Bonus Army's Catalan Workers, just with the positions of strength reversed despite Soviet aid to the Reds.


The Bonus Army does eventually take D.C. but the Coup Government removes to NYC and the burning wreckage of the former capital is recaptured by Federal Troops (I'll use Loyalist Troops for those answering to the Garner government) using tanks soon after. The strategic leadership of the BA allows them to remove various artillery pieces from the D.C. defenses and carry them even in retreat. Having endured a massive lost of manpower they draw new recruits and begin training from a defensible area (any suggestions?).

If the thing drags on the Business junta will make an alliance with Germany while Cactus Jack will do the same with Britain, for all the good it will do either them (The Austin Government or Britain, both heavily preoccupied in separate arenas). Practicality might make the Garner Government deal with Japan rather than Russia (who is able to do more for the Western U.S.? Or in other terms, Garner would rather not have to worry about Hawaii being invaded while fighting for half the country and isn't predisposed to like the USSR when it has given at least some aid to rebels within the US).


A list of the players in this civil war, to sort things out:
United States of America (Coup Government, Federal Troops), capital NYC, NY
United States of America (Garner Government, Loyalist Troops), capital Austin, TX
Bonus Army
Red Army
Temperance Army


Maybe Britain and Russia hold out by the skin of their teeth until Germany implodes as one leader after another is assassinated, halting any further expansion attempts. This leads to the Business Coup junta being deposed but the second USA remaining a separate nation due to the threat of the Bonus Army. Without being pushed to craziness the people of the Eastern US restore a truly democratic government but a few decades later a revival movement institutes the trappings of a board of directors serving on an a outside-the-cabinet super-council.

The Red Army and Temperance Army fizzle, Garner's Western US stabilizes and the martial law ends by popular demand. The Bonus Army officially disbands though it's influence as a political movement remains in the Western US for decades and just as long in the Eastern US as a "communist" boogeyman in popular culture.

Garner country remains the United States of America while de facto and eventually officially the other one becomes the United Federal States of America (UFSA), nicknamed the FSA by non UFSA citizens.
 
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Faraday Cage

The United States of America
Capital: Austin, District of New Columbia
Form of Government: Constitutional Representative Democracy
Major Political Parties: Democratic, Republican, Popular (the descendant of the Bonus Army's political front)


The United Federal States of America
Capital: NYC, Administrative Region of NY and Long Island
Form of Government: Reformed Constitutional Representative Democracy with the Directorate, a federal-industrial board of directors that is a federal cabinet level agency.
Major Political Parties: Federal Democrats, Democratic-Republicans, New Federal (the revivalist party that formed the Directorate when in power)

Other Notes: the UFSA has the FBI and the USA has the expanded US Marshals.
 

Faraday Cage

Alternate possibilities are Garner's faction winning the war and reuniting the country (probable), the Bonus Army and Red Army joining forces to defeat the Coup Government and setting up their own separate government from Garner's, whether it will last or not. Or maybe the whole mess will go on and on until outside influence allows one faction to win the continental US. Thoughts/suggestions?
 

Faraday Cage

Another possibility is that the Coup Government outright joins the Axis and is overthrown by a combination of Garnerists, Bonusers, Reds, and anti-fascist rebels. Then the confused mess of the part of the country they used to control has to figure out whether it wants to rejoin with Garnerist America, become it's own new nation, or what.

And as a bonus you get German supported Chinese nationalists being toppled by Garner reconciled Japan (while the Soviet backed communists did most the work) and keeping a chunk of China while not ever being officially part of the Allies. A USSR without tangible American support in Europe wouldn't really be in a position to worry much about it's comrades in China at Allied conferences with the British and a representative from Garnerist America (basically there to balance how much they can donate based on how much they can hurt German support of the Coup Government and thus help them to win the war against said Coup Government).
 
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