Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes II
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There's an old axiom that the further from D.C. you get, the stranger local politics becomes. A small sample of the crazy, from scientists who want to replace human bodies with robots, military veterans who have a strange infatuation with a battleship and some Catholic priests who forget it's the 22nd century, not the 12th.
After World War III, Rome was occupied by the Soviets, and American Catholics were growing more and more concerned about potential Soviet influence--after a controversial papal conclave in the 2030s, the American Catholics split and founded the Free Catholic Church with a Patriarch based in Mexico City
Zioneer
Banned
Continuing my Wikibox TL (which needs a name...)
The assassination of President Chamberlain and his predecessor President Hamlin shocked the nation. Never before had an assassin slain a President. Attempts had been made, to be sure, but never had there been a successful murder of the nation's executive.
The assassins David Edgar Herold and John Wilkes Booth were quickly apprehended and sentenced to death, but Southern sympathizers smuggled in pistols, which the two used to kill themselves before their executions.
The death of Chamberlain left his Vice president, Lovell Harrison Rousseau as the new president. The Kentuckian Rousseau had been somewhat wary of Chamberlain and Hamlin's Reconstruction plans, but the assassination turned Northern sentiment to a fever pitch in favor of Reconstruction. And Rousseau himself, a former member of the House of Representatives (from 1866-1869) and a Union brevet general, was eager to punish those who seemed determined to restart the Civil War.
In what historians later called The Kentucky Plan, Rousseau worked with Republicans in Congress to strengthen the lenient Chamberlain Reconstruction policies, requiring a higher percentage to swear loyalty to the Union and barring Confederate officers from holding office for twenty years. Furthermore, federal spies and scouts were sent throughout the South, investigating and arresting guerrilla commanders who refused to give up the Confederate fight. Rousseau himself commented that the South "had tempted the judgment of God and the United States Army upon it".
Additionally, Rousseau, while no friend to abolitionism and black rights himself, supported the installation of several black governors and senators throughout the South. He confiscated the large plantations of several former slaveholders who were found to have supported the Chamberlain asssassins, and gave them to a collection of poor blacks and poor whites, intending to build a powerful mixed middle class to rival the old planter families. Not wanting to overthrow the established order entirely, however, Rousseau left many plantations in place.
Under the guise of aiding poor whites whose education suffered during the Civil War, schools for a mix of poor whites and former slaves were also established across the South, with Rousseau sending the celebrated Frederick Douglass as sort of unofficial regional superintendent of education, along with a regiment of federal troops to protect Douglass from any pro-Confederate assassins. Douglass made a point of educating both blacks and whites in his schools.
The last of Rousseau's Reconstruction plans were the Enforcement Acts of 1871. The acts made it a crime to deprive former slaves of their civil rights, and ensured the legal protection of blacks serving on juries and in elected office. An Radical Republican amendment to the acts even ensured the deployment of federal troops to county seats if the Department of War felt black civil rights were being violated. However, the enforcement of the Enforcement Acts were unevenly applied, and high-profile violations of the Acts often garnered more attention than less prominent cases.
Apart from Reconstruction, the Rousseau administration also continued the Chamberlain administration's foreign policy, and in 1874, with the reluctant support of the dying Senator Charles Sumner, passed a treaty of annexation of the Dominican Republic, which became known as the Territory of Santo Domingo. Unfortunately for the administration, the annexation proved to be a bridge too far, and the pushback from the voting public forced the Republicans out of power in the Senate, precluding any attempts to make the island a state.
An economic depression in 1875 further hampered Rousseau's woes, and his continuation of Chamberlain's Indian policy did not achieve any lasting positive results, though nor did it end in massacres and violence like many Indian policies did.
While Rousseau easily defeated the Democratic nominee in 1872, with certain defeat looming, he declined to run for re-election in 1876, turning over the White House to Democratic Senator George B. McClellan[1] of New Jersey in March of 1877. He retired to his home in Kentucky and spent the rest of his life there, acting as an elder statesman in Kentucky politics. While he was hated during his life, modern historians generally consider Rousseau to be an underrated president, excellent on civil rights, but facing great opposition in many other polices.
[1] McClellan was not a general in the ATL Civil War, which is all I'll say for now.
The assassination of President Chamberlain and his predecessor President Hamlin shocked the nation. Never before had an assassin slain a President. Attempts had been made, to be sure, but never had there been a successful murder of the nation's executive.
The assassins David Edgar Herold and John Wilkes Booth were quickly apprehended and sentenced to death, but Southern sympathizers smuggled in pistols, which the two used to kill themselves before their executions.
The death of Chamberlain left his Vice president, Lovell Harrison Rousseau as the new president. The Kentuckian Rousseau had been somewhat wary of Chamberlain and Hamlin's Reconstruction plans, but the assassination turned Northern sentiment to a fever pitch in favor of Reconstruction. And Rousseau himself, a former member of the House of Representatives (from 1866-1869) and a Union brevet general, was eager to punish those who seemed determined to restart the Civil War.
In what historians later called The Kentucky Plan, Rousseau worked with Republicans in Congress to strengthen the lenient Chamberlain Reconstruction policies, requiring a higher percentage to swear loyalty to the Union and barring Confederate officers from holding office for twenty years. Furthermore, federal spies and scouts were sent throughout the South, investigating and arresting guerrilla commanders who refused to give up the Confederate fight. Rousseau himself commented that the South "had tempted the judgment of God and the United States Army upon it".
Additionally, Rousseau, while no friend to abolitionism and black rights himself, supported the installation of several black governors and senators throughout the South. He confiscated the large plantations of several former slaveholders who were found to have supported the Chamberlain asssassins, and gave them to a collection of poor blacks and poor whites, intending to build a powerful mixed middle class to rival the old planter families. Not wanting to overthrow the established order entirely, however, Rousseau left many plantations in place.
Under the guise of aiding poor whites whose education suffered during the Civil War, schools for a mix of poor whites and former slaves were also established across the South, with Rousseau sending the celebrated Frederick Douglass as sort of unofficial regional superintendent of education, along with a regiment of federal troops to protect Douglass from any pro-Confederate assassins. Douglass made a point of educating both blacks and whites in his schools.
The last of Rousseau's Reconstruction plans were the Enforcement Acts of 1871. The acts made it a crime to deprive former slaves of their civil rights, and ensured the legal protection of blacks serving on juries and in elected office. An Radical Republican amendment to the acts even ensured the deployment of federal troops to county seats if the Department of War felt black civil rights were being violated. However, the enforcement of the Enforcement Acts were unevenly applied, and high-profile violations of the Acts often garnered more attention than less prominent cases.
Apart from Reconstruction, the Rousseau administration also continued the Chamberlain administration's foreign policy, and in 1874, with the reluctant support of the dying Senator Charles Sumner, passed a treaty of annexation of the Dominican Republic, which became known as the Territory of Santo Domingo. Unfortunately for the administration, the annexation proved to be a bridge too far, and the pushback from the voting public forced the Republicans out of power in the Senate, precluding any attempts to make the island a state.
An economic depression in 1875 further hampered Rousseau's woes, and his continuation of Chamberlain's Indian policy did not achieve any lasting positive results, though nor did it end in massacres and violence like many Indian policies did.
While Rousseau easily defeated the Democratic nominee in 1872, with certain defeat looming, he declined to run for re-election in 1876, turning over the White House to Democratic Senator George B. McClellan[1] of New Jersey in March of 1877. He retired to his home in Kentucky and spent the rest of his life there, acting as an elder statesman in Kentucky politics. While he was hated during his life, modern historians generally consider Rousseau to be an underrated president, excellent on civil rights, but facing great opposition in many other polices.
[1] McClellan was not a general in the ATL Civil War, which is all I'll say for now.
Inspired by Thande's The Unreformed Kingdom.
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The Mayor of New York City is a position that is largely ceremonial, with the real power being the Speaker of the Common Council. Since 1851, the mayoralty and the Common Council have found themselves under the domination of the Continental Party, with leaders such as Fernando Wood, Jimmy Walker and more recently Malcolm Smith holding the position of Speaker.
The mayoralty itself is not directly elected by the people or even elected by the Common Council. Rather, the Mayor of New York City is appointed by the aptly titled Board of Appointment, which consists of the Governor and four revolving State Senators. With the State Senate being gerrymandered to favor the Continental Party, the mayoralty usually occupied by the Continentalists as well.. The position of Mayor of New York is often used by political leaders to place potential rivals.
Recently, with politician Tom Golisano without all odds winning the governorship, the position of Mayor of New York has been given to Progressive Party politician Chuck Schumer, in exchange the Continentalists having the Attorney General position.
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The Mayor of New York City is a position that is largely ceremonial, with the real power being the Speaker of the Common Council. Since 1851, the mayoralty and the Common Council have found themselves under the domination of the Continental Party, with leaders such as Fernando Wood, Jimmy Walker and more recently Malcolm Smith holding the position of Speaker.
The mayoralty itself is not directly elected by the people or even elected by the Common Council. Rather, the Mayor of New York City is appointed by the aptly titled Board of Appointment, which consists of the Governor and four revolving State Senators. With the State Senate being gerrymandered to favor the Continental Party, the mayoralty usually occupied by the Continentalists as well.. The position of Mayor of New York is often used by political leaders to place potential rivals.
Recently, with politician Tom Golisano without all odds winning the governorship, the position of Mayor of New York has been given to Progressive Party politician Chuck Schumer, in exchange the Continentalists having the Attorney General position.
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I know a lot of people seem to disagree, but I tend to think John Kerry lost an election that "Anybody But Bush" should have won. So here's a brief set of infoboxes based on this idea:
Some notes I sketched out:
-Thompson wins the 2008 primary over McCain, and chooses Graham to try and unite the party.
-Dean's loss, while mostly due to the recession, moves the Democrats in a more centrist direction, as there's a feeling (not entirely valid, but it's a perception) that Dean was too much to the left.
-Thompson dies in office, leading Graham to ascend to the presidency and win in 2016 (which, before Thompson's death, was expected to be far closer than it ended up being).
-Again, the loss of the progressive Governor of Connecticut, Susan Bysiewicz, leads the Democrats in a more centrist direction, and in 2020 they pick former Governor of New York Harold Ford Jr. as their nominee (Ford stays in the House until 2008, win he attempts to run for the Senate in Tennessee but is defeated. He moves to New York, as he did IOTL, and runs for Governor in 2010. IOTL, he briefly considered challenging Kirsten Gillibrand in the primary, but she stays in the House as Clinton stays in the Senate).
-The United States comes embroiled in conflict in the Middle East over the course of the Thompson and Graham administrations, leading Graham to have become fairly unpopular by 2020, where he declines to run for re-election. The Republicans nominate Charlie Baker, in a clear attempt to distance themselves from Graham, who chooses anti-war Texas Senator Robert Paul as his running mate.
Some notes I sketched out:
-Thompson wins the 2008 primary over McCain, and chooses Graham to try and unite the party.
-Dean's loss, while mostly due to the recession, moves the Democrats in a more centrist direction, as there's a feeling (not entirely valid, but it's a perception) that Dean was too much to the left.
-Thompson dies in office, leading Graham to ascend to the presidency and win in 2016 (which, before Thompson's death, was expected to be far closer than it ended up being).
-Again, the loss of the progressive Governor of Connecticut, Susan Bysiewicz, leads the Democrats in a more centrist direction, and in 2020 they pick former Governor of New York Harold Ford Jr. as their nominee (Ford stays in the House until 2008, win he attempts to run for the Senate in Tennessee but is defeated. He moves to New York, as he did IOTL, and runs for Governor in 2010. IOTL, he briefly considered challenging Kirsten Gillibrand in the primary, but she stays in the House as Clinton stays in the Senate).
-The United States comes embroiled in conflict in the Middle East over the course of the Thompson and Graham administrations, leading Graham to have become fairly unpopular by 2020, where he declines to run for re-election. The Republicans nominate Charlie Baker, in a clear attempt to distance themselves from Graham, who chooses anti-war Texas Senator Robert Paul as his running mate.
In which OTL nobodies win their first major races, and history unfolds differently.
It's a 2004 map. Greene ran in 2010.
Edit: And there's another typo I missed in the box.
...screw it.
The back of the 22nd Amendment has a secret clause in invisible ink on the back that requires DC to vote Democratic.
Love it, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents
-I have a hard time seeing Fred Thompson as the Republican nominee and even a harder time seeing Lindsay Graham as Vice President. Yes Clinton picked Gore, but my gut tells me that if the GOP did go with a southerner, the VP would be from the Northeast, so someone like Romney.
-I agree completely with the centrist direction rationale. That said I think Harold Ford Jr. is totally overrated. Plus my impression that he was somewhat of a conservative democrat, and up against someone like the socially liberal Baker I'm not sure how I see him winning. Backlash against the sitting President is fine, but even Gerald Ford came close to winning after Nixon. But hey I'm a major, major Baker fan, so I'm totally biased in this regard.
Keep up the fantastic work.
I want to believe that this actually means something and won't get gutted by the courts like similar laws did in OTL
;_;
Pisces
Banned
There's an old axiom that the further from D.C. you get, the stranger local politics becomes. A small sample of the crazy, from scientists who want to replace human bodies with robots, military veterans who have a strange infatuation with a battleship and some Catholic priests who forget it's the 22nd century, not the 12th.
The Haze Grey Party has a paramilitary wing?
The Haze Grey Party has a paramilitary wing?
They're a political party centered around a battleship's AI personality, they'd be incomplete without one.
How come they don't have a Youth Wing?
BTW, the older write-up says they're obsessed with both the Missouri and the Iowa; how come their newsletter is only named after the former?
Side note, it's weird to me that the ship's AI is named Big Mo; that's a dude's name, and ships are female.
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