AHC: American Political Dynasties

Uhura's Mazda

Uhura's Mazda

Banned
In light of some premature predictions of a Jeb Bush vs Hillary Clinton race in 2016, how realistic would it be to have three members of the same family sitting in the Oval Office? PoDs don't by any means have to be 20th century, but "make George Washington an Emperor" is not allowed. ;)

For bonus points, have any of the existing two-President families (Adams, Harrison, Roosevelt, Bush) provide four - that's right, four - Presidents of the United States.

Five Presidents with the same surname gets you put on an FBI watch list. :p
 

Seleucus

PoD: George W. Bush loses 2004 election (say, CIA leaks report that bin Laden's tape was intended to assist Bush's re-election.)

Presidents:

2001-2005: George W. Bush
2005-2009: John Kerry (loses re-election due to financial crisis; Democrats gain 1-2 Congress seats in 2006 while Republicans win big in 2008, giving them a super-majority.)
2009-2013: Jeb Bush (Elected due to recession; loses re-election thanks to insufficient monetary/fiscal stimulus resulting in insufficient recovery. Democrats win big in Congress, 2010 and 2012.)
2013-???: ????
 
Uhura's Mazda

Uhura's Mazda

Banned
Seleucus said:
PoD: George W. Bush loses 2004 election (say, CIA leaks report that bin Laden's tape was intended to assist Bush's re-election.)

Presidents:

2001-2005: George W. Bush
2005-2009: John Kerry (loses re-election due to financial crisis; Democrats gain 1-2 Congress seats in 2006 while Republicans win big in 2008, giving them a super-majority.)
2009-2013: Jeb Bush (Elected due to recession; loses re-election thanks to insufficient monetary/fiscal stimulus resulting in insufficient recovery. Democrats win big in Congress, 2010 and 2012.)
2013-???: ????
Click to expand...

That all seems eminently reasonable. Slightly OT: what are the chances of George P. Bush becoming President at some point in the future?
 

Realpolitik

Banned
They weren't Presidents-they were more along the lines of dictators-but there was Daley, Father and Son, in Chicago. You could have Bill Daley as mayor rather than Rahm Emanual.
 

MatthewZD

Would candidates by marriage count? For example, MA Gov. William Weld was married to TR's great-granddaughter and LBJ's son-in-law was a senator from VA. Both had speculation of running for president. No doubt there are others.
 

Mr.Progressive

Banned
1988-1992 George H.W Bush
1992-2000 Bill Clinton
2000-2008 George W. Bush
2008-2016 Hillary Clinton
2016- Jeb Bush

Easy, get Hillary to win in 2008. Then Jeb in 2016. You have two families rule the USA for about 30 years or more.

What do you guys think?

Or something differnt. A Kennedy Wank?

1960-1968 John F. Kennedy
1968-1974 Richard Nixon
1974-1976 Gerold Ford
1976-1984 Robert Kennedy
1984-1992 George H.W Bush
1992-2000 Ted Kennedy

For this, we need 3 PODS. But by having John not be killed in Dallas, I doubt the other two will occur.
 

Realpolitik

Banned
Mr.Progressive said:
1988-1992 George H.W Bush
1992-2000 Bill Clinton
2000-2008 George W. Bush
2008-2016 Hillary Clinton
2016- Jeb Bush

Easy, get Hillary to win in 2008. Then Jeb in 2016. You have two families rule the USA for about 30 years or more.

What do you guys think?

Or something differnt. A Kennedy Wank?

1960-1968 John F. Kennedy
1968-1974 Richard Nixon
1974-1976 Gerold Ford
1976-1984 Robert Kennedy
1984-1992 George H.W Bush
1992-2000 Ted Kennedy

For this, we need 3 PODS. But by having John not be killed in Dallas, I doubt the other two will occur.
Click to expand...


We've discussed the idea of all 3 Kennedys getting into office and have agreed that it isn't too likely. Ted was not totally interested in being President and has serious electability problems.

And poor Jeb Bush just isn't going to get in because of the name factor. Besides, the electoral math doesn't look too good for the GOP in spite of the midterm.
 
Jonathan

Jonathan

5 Presidents Named Roosevelt.​

The first is Mr James John (I.) Roosevelt, a great-grandson of Johannes Roosevelt (the founder of the Oyster Bay branch of the Roosevelt family) and father of of James A. Roosevelt, Robert Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. as well as paternal grandfather of President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1832, he was selected by President Andrew Jackson to be his new Vice President, a position he held until 1837, when President Jackson stood down as President due to fullfilling his two terms, so in 1848, James I. Roosevelt stood as the Democratic Candidate against secretary of state Martin Van Buren.
As the third consecutive election victory for the Democratic Party, it ushered incumbent Vice-President James I. Roosevelt back into the White House with 170 electoral votes to 122 electoral votes for William Henry Harrison and other Whigs. The popular vote was closer; James I. Roosevelt attracted 764,000 votes to the 738,000 won by the various Whig candidates.

Next came his grandson, Theodore Roosevelt in 1901-1909.

Then came the other side of the gene pool, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1933-1945

In 1948, with the prediction looking that Truman would be defeated by Dewey, President Truman, declined to run as the Democratic Candidate. With her deceased husband's party in ruin, First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, stood as the candidate, and was able to rally the party with an emotional speech.
On November 5, 1948, the results showed that, Eleanor Roosevelt, at 64 years old, had became the first female President of the United States of America.

In 2009, Barack Obama appointed Theodore Roosevelt V, the great-great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt Jr. as Secretary of Energy. In 2016, he becomes the outside runner against Hilary Clinton, winning the Democratic Presidential nomination, beating Jed Bush :)

So far in the 240 years of the Presidency of the United States of America, 40 years have been under the name of at least one Roosevelt.

HELLO FBI FILES :D
 

dilbert719

The Bush family could manage five as well, though it's trickier. The easiest way to do it would be for Nixon to run in 1960 with Prescott Bush, then somehow get assassinated, making Prescott President. Have George H. W. Bush elected in the 80s (no Nixon in 68 means no Ford, which likely clears a path for Reagan in the 70s, opening up time for HW to be the party's standard-bearer in the 80s if he wants it), then W and Jeb in the 2000s/2010s, then a Bush from the next generation down in, say, the 2020s. George P, or rather his TTL alternate (having been born past the POD) seems a good bet, but there are several who could be legit candidates.
 
Maeglin

Maeglin

Moving away from the conventional Kennedys, Bushes, Clintons, and Roosevelts:

1. William Henry Harrison (Whig): 1841
2. Benjamin Harrison (Republican): 1889-1893
3. Russell Harrison (Republican): 1923-1925*
4. William Henry Harrison (Republican): 1974-1977**

*Son of Benjamin. Selected as Harding's VP due to his experience as consul to Mexico and Portugal. As he was 70 years old in 1924, he chose not to stand for re-election.

**Son of Russell. Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives in 1972. W.H. Harrison of Wyoming becomes Speaker. After the resignation of Vice President Agnew and President Nixon, he becomes the 38th, and oldest ever, US President at 78. Like his father, he opts not to stand for re-election in 1976.
 

David T

If Charles Francis Adams had received the Liberal Republican nomination in 1872, he could have gone on to be the third Adams to become president--but only if Grant was much weaker than in OTL (e.g., have the Panic of 1873 start more than a year early; have some of the revelations of corruption that in OTL only came out in Grant's second term come out by 1872; etc.).
 
Jonathan

Jonathan

Three Alternative Dynasties In American Politics:

The Bonaparte Family
Carlo Buonaparte - Corsican who immigrated in 1768 and became a wealthy American plantation owner in Northern Carolina
His sons:
Joseph Bonaparte - 14th Governor of NC (1807-1814)
Napoleon Bonaparte - US Army Lieutenant (1785-1792) United States Minister to France (1792-1794) 4th District Representative of NC (1795-1799) 3rd Class Senator of NC (1799-1809) Secretary of War under James Madison (1809-1813) 5th President of United States of America (1813-1824.) His son, Napoleon III died at only 21 in 1832, many Americans had high hopes for him.
Lucas Bonaparte - Moved to England, due to his abrasive relationship with Napoleon, he and his desendents have held political positions in Britain.
Louis Bonaparte - Governor of Tennessee (1803-1809 and 1815-1821)
His sons: Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, he died aged 26 in 1831, like his cousin, many Americans had high hopes for him.
Charles Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, known as Napoleon III, after being elected to be 14th President of USA (1848-1864)
His son: Napoleon IV died in the American Indian War, sending shock waves across America and the world.
Jerome Bonaparte - Nicknamed Napoleons shadow after gaining two political seats after Napoleon stepped down, 4th District Representative of NC (1799-1808) 3rd Class Senator of NC (1809-1825) and was appointed the title Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate in 1814 by Napoleon, to keep the support of the Senate floor, beginning a system that carries on even after 202 years.
His son: Jerome II - Senator of NC (1838-1855 and 1873-1891)
His son: Victor - Senator of NC (1899-1920)
His son: Louis II - US Ambassador to Belgium (1940-1944) France (1944-1953) and Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein (1953-1958) Secretary of State (1959-1961) 34th President of US (1961-1969) Chief Justices of the United States (1969-1997 †)
His sons: Charles - Senator of NC
His son: Christopher - Is 28 but hoping to get into the family business of Politics.
Jerome III - President of Harvard University

† - Died in office and is the second person, after President Taft to hold both offices.

The Lee Family
Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III - 9th Governor of Virginia (1791-1794) and Virginia Representative to the United States Congress
His sons:
Henry Lee IV - Political history and author who also served as a speech writer for both John C. Calhoun and presidential candidate Andrew Jackson, also helping the latter to write his inaugural address.
Sydney S. Lee - American naval officer
His son:
Fitzhugh Lee - 40th Governor of Virginia (1886-1890) Vice President to Grover Cleverland (1893-1897)
Robert Edward Lee - Commanding General of the United States Army (1861-1869), 18th President of the United States of America (1869-1877)
His sons:
George Washington Custis Lee* - served as a general in the American Civil War and primarily as an aide-de-camp to President Abraham Lincoln and later Secretary of War (1885-1889 and again in 1893-1897)
William H. F. Lee* - Representatives for Virginia (1887-1891)

* Their Maternal grandfather was, George Washington Custis, who in turn was the step-grandson and adopted son of George Washington, so they could count onto the Washington Dynasty as well.


The Hitler Family
Alois "Al" Hitler - Marinette County Police Department (1884-1890) Sheriff of Marinette County (1890-1896)
His sons:
Arthur Hitler - WWI US General (1917-1918), Representatives for Wisconsin (1919-1923), Senator for Wisconsin (1923-1932) Vice President to Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1941) 33rd President of the United states of America (1941-1945)
His Nephew and Niece:
Heinrich Hitler - Pilot who saved the life of future 36th Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr. while fighting in World War 2*. Later marrying his sister Kathleen A. Kennedy.
Angela Maria "Geli" Reagan (Nee Raubal) - Would become an actress and in 1940 marry fellow actor Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan - Actor, 33rd Governor of California (1967-1975) and 41st President (1981-1989)

*Not the same as OTL
 
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