Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes V (Do Not Post Current Politics Here)
- Status
From Union of American Realms:
Footnotes
Footnotes
- Floridian Spanish specifically refers to the type of Spanish that has developed in the Floridas, but particularly East Florida.
- The island of Hispaniola is referred to as Haiti in TTL; after the Treaty of Valencia, the French decreed the island would no longer be referred to as Hispaniola (deemed as harkening to Spanish rule) as part of La politique de francisation d'Haïti. Instead, French authorities began referring to the island as Haïti, a name based on the native Taino word for the island. In the present day, the island is known universally as Haiti, however, it's inhabitants are known as Dominicans or dominicaines.
- The Dominican Kingdom is a present day country encompassing the entirety of the OTL island of Hispaniola .
- Franconisation is TTL's (American) English word for policies which seek to make an area decidedly more French.
- Jean-Paul Gerard Rochette is a fictional figure who was Colonial Governor of France's Saint-Domingue Colony from 1711-43.
- A general note is that both Spanish Florida and Spanish Hispaniola had more Spanish settlers in TTL's 1702 than in OTL.
- Colorado refers to the country north of Mexico that separated after the fall of the First Mexican Empire.
- As mentioned earlier, East Florida had a larger Spanish population ITTL's 1702 as opposed to in OTL - with it being considered far less valuable than Haiti, France determined East Florida would be the location where Spanish speakers in other parts of the empire (namely Haiti) would be sent to. The move bolstered the Spanish population of East Florida further, and East Florida under the French (1702-54) became largely autonomous.
- Espiritu Santo is roughly OTL Tampa, while Espiritu Santo Bay (Bahia del Espiritu Santo) is OTL Tampa Bay.
- Floridian-Dominicans are largely indistinguishable from other Spanish Floridians, but due pervasive tracking of ones descent, continue to be recognized as a separate group within East Florida.
- The OTL city of Santo Domingo is the TTL capital of the Dominican Kingdom and is universally known as Saint-Domingue; in 2020 it is home to ~1,430,203 (commune)/~4,549,392 (metro) making it the largest city in the country, the second largest city of all the Antilles and the largest metropolitan area of all the Caribbean islands. The island of Haiti is the most populous island in the Caribbean at ~25M (about 5M more people than OTL) with nearly half of the entire population of the Antilles living on the island.
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Something new from the RDNA-verse, with the DeviantArt version found here.
On the Contemporary American Federation
...Similarly to the Loyalist Dominion of Canada, the Americans bear the legacy of British law and governance, including the Magna Carta. What makes them stand out, however, is how they had taken that inheritance, transformed it, and through their Constitution, created a form of "Republican Democracy." The A.F. is largely comprised of 48 States and a number of special Territories united under one flag, as well as a network of Protectorates and allies. The oldest States could be traced back to the original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British, with many of the subsequent ones being founded by either Anglophone colonists, rugged frontiersmen or immigrant settlers. The Federal Congress in Franklinton, F.D.C. serves as the legislature (split between the Senate and House of Representatives), which is counterbalanced by the executive and judiciary. The head of state is the President, who is elected every four years through an Electoral College, whereas other political figures such as Senators and Governors are voted in through direct, popular means. The system is not without its flaws, which Revivalists and myriad lobbyists have used to exert growing influence, to say nothing of the extents made to curb any potential Collectivist threat. Nonetheless, it's proven itself resilient time and again, even in the face of the Liberty Party and more extreme New American Party breaking the previous informal dominance of the two Federalist offshoots (the "Whigs" and "Republicans"). This extends to a firm commitment in upholding the Constitution, its timeless words and assorted Amendments keeping it a living icon as relevant now as in the days of the Founding Fathers. Thus, its claims of being the prime bastion of democracy, alongside Gran Patagonia in South America, are far from hollow.
Its posturing as an industrial and economic power are nothing to scoff at, either. A combination of bountiful natural resources, rugged frontier-influenced individualism, a work ethic derived from Protestant virtues and a pervasive mindset championing technical innovation have made the A.F. among the most self-sufficient of the Free Nations. Americans by and large take pride in their industries and specialties, be the bustling coal mines of Virginia and Appalachia, the "Factory Belt" stretching from Ohio to Superior-Wisconsin, the vast farmlands throughout the Great Plains, or the media companies that call New York and Cascadia home to name a few. Then, there is America's ambitious space program, a joint production between its National Aerospace Agency and various private enterprises that has allowed it to establish an orbital presence and even traverse the Lunar surface.
Then, there are the over 309 Million people who call America home. Owing to history, it's undeniably a nation of immigrants and settlers similar to yet unique from its Canadian counterpart. The majority of the population is classified as White, albeit split between "Anglo" (those who could trace their lineage back to either the original Colonies or the British Isles in some form) and "Non-Anglo" Europeans (whether descended from earlier colonists or refugees after the Terror). The remainder, meanwhile, is comprised of indigenous "Native Indians/American Indians" (the equivalent of Loyalist Canada's First Nations), Blacks (whether descended from slaves or freemen) and other "Coloreds" like the Orientals in Cascadia. Resolving tensions and discrimination among such a variety of ethnic backgrounds took generations of at times sporadic reform, be it granting equal rights to Blacks or overcoming long-held hostility against the tribes. This isn't to ignore how informal stigma still persists to some degree, especially with regards to mixed-race and Non-Anglo Whites like the "Slavics" (be it over their Revivalist tendencies or reluctance to fully assimilate), as well as overt discrimination certain foreigners (with New Austrians still having derisive monikers like "Mongrel Krauts"). Americans, however, have gone far in making the melting pot ideal of "Out of many, one" closer to reality, be it through equality of opportunity and the unifying use of English in its myriad "American Standard" variations. All bound together by a sense of patriotism, religiosity (primarily of the Judaeo-Christian variety), common culture and an opposition to the spread of Collectivism.
Even with the clear and present danger posed by the Reds, it is little surprise that one of the nation's traditional Latin mottoes, Per aspera ad astra ("Through adversity, to the stars"), has taken more relevance than the Founding Fathers ever imagined.
- Snippet from "The Westinghouse Atlas of the New World." American Federation. 2023 Edition.
For added reference, many of images used for the presidents are based of various American congressmen, senators and governors from the mid-20th Century. For instance, Eugene Long, the founder of the Liberty Party is pretty much the (in)famous Huey Long. Coincidentally, the Liberty Party itself is something of an amalgamation of Theodore Roosevelt's "Bull Moose" Party and Long's "Share the Wealth" subset of the Democrats. While current American Federation President Fritzgerald is based somewhat on US Senator Everett Dirksen.
The photo used for Quentin E. Roosevelt is technically that of Kermit Roosevelt, who like Quentin was one of Theodore Roosevelt's children in real life.
The images for the "Native Indian" presidents are those of Will Rogers Jr. and Benjamin Reifel respectively, who in real life actually were of Cherokee and Lakota/Sioux descent. While that of Catherine Lee Jackson is based on a younger photograph of Maurine Neuberger.
----
On the Contemporary American Federation
...Similarly to the Loyalist Dominion of Canada, the Americans bear the legacy of British law and governance, including the Magna Carta. What makes them stand out, however, is how they had taken that inheritance, transformed it, and through their Constitution, created a form of "Republican Democracy." The A.F. is largely comprised of 48 States and a number of special Territories united under one flag, as well as a network of Protectorates and allies. The oldest States could be traced back to the original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British, with many of the subsequent ones being founded by either Anglophone colonists, rugged frontiersmen or immigrant settlers. The Federal Congress in Franklinton, F.D.C. serves as the legislature (split between the Senate and House of Representatives), which is counterbalanced by the executive and judiciary. The head of state is the President, who is elected every four years through an Electoral College, whereas other political figures such as Senators and Governors are voted in through direct, popular means. The system is not without its flaws, which Revivalists and myriad lobbyists have used to exert growing influence, to say nothing of the extents made to curb any potential Collectivist threat. Nonetheless, it's proven itself resilient time and again, even in the face of the Liberty Party and more extreme New American Party breaking the previous informal dominance of the two Federalist offshoots (the "Whigs" and "Republicans"). This extends to a firm commitment in upholding the Constitution, its timeless words and assorted Amendments keeping it a living icon as relevant now as in the days of the Founding Fathers. Thus, its claims of being the prime bastion of democracy, alongside Gran Patagonia in South America, are far from hollow.
Its posturing as an industrial and economic power are nothing to scoff at, either. A combination of bountiful natural resources, rugged frontier-influenced individualism, a work ethic derived from Protestant virtues and a pervasive mindset championing technical innovation have made the A.F. among the most self-sufficient of the Free Nations. Americans by and large take pride in their industries and specialties, be the bustling coal mines of Virginia and Appalachia, the "Factory Belt" stretching from Ohio to Superior-Wisconsin, the vast farmlands throughout the Great Plains, or the media companies that call New York and Cascadia home to name a few. Then, there is America's ambitious space program, a joint production between its National Aerospace Agency and various private enterprises that has allowed it to establish an orbital presence and even traverse the Lunar surface.
Then, there are the over 309 Million people who call America home. Owing to history, it's undeniably a nation of immigrants and settlers similar to yet unique from its Canadian counterpart. The majority of the population is classified as White, albeit split between "Anglo" (those who could trace their lineage back to either the original Colonies or the British Isles in some form) and "Non-Anglo" Europeans (whether descended from earlier colonists or refugees after the Terror). The remainder, meanwhile, is comprised of indigenous "Native Indians/American Indians" (the equivalent of Loyalist Canada's First Nations), Blacks (whether descended from slaves or freemen) and other "Coloreds" like the Orientals in Cascadia. Resolving tensions and discrimination among such a variety of ethnic backgrounds took generations of at times sporadic reform, be it granting equal rights to Blacks or overcoming long-held hostility against the tribes. This isn't to ignore how informal stigma still persists to some degree, especially with regards to mixed-race and Non-Anglo Whites like the "Slavics" (be it over their Revivalist tendencies or reluctance to fully assimilate), as well as overt discrimination certain foreigners (with New Austrians still having derisive monikers like "Mongrel Krauts"). Americans, however, have gone far in making the melting pot ideal of "Out of many, one" closer to reality, be it through equality of opportunity and the unifying use of English in its myriad "American Standard" variations. All bound together by a sense of patriotism, religiosity (primarily of the Judaeo-Christian variety), common culture and an opposition to the spread of Collectivism.
Even with the clear and present danger posed by the Reds, it is little surprise that one of the nation's traditional Latin mottoes, Per aspera ad astra ("Through adversity, to the stars"), has taken more relevance than the Founding Fathers ever imagined.
- Snippet from "The Westinghouse Atlas of the New World." American Federation. 2023 Edition.
----
For added reference, many of images used for the presidents are based of various American congressmen, senators and governors from the mid-20th Century. For instance, Eugene Long, the founder of the Liberty Party is pretty much the (in)famous Huey Long. Coincidentally, the Liberty Party itself is something of an amalgamation of Theodore Roosevelt's "Bull Moose" Party and Long's "Share the Wealth" subset of the Democrats. While current American Federation President Fritzgerald is based somewhat on US Senator Everett Dirksen.
The photo used for Quentin E. Roosevelt is technically that of Kermit Roosevelt, who like Quentin was one of Theodore Roosevelt's children in real life.
The images for the "Native Indian" presidents are those of Will Rogers Jr. and Benjamin Reifel respectively, who in real life actually were of Cherokee and Lakota/Sioux descent. While that of Catherine Lee Jackson is based on a younger photograph of Maurine Neuberger.
----
Thank you so much, that is awesome!@krinsbez, here you go. It's the best I could do both on short notice and without writing a whole extra couple paragraphs about it.
Would it be OK if I shared this where the idea was first presented? And possibly other places?
I presume someone typo'd somewhere whilst writing the wiki or something.
Alternately, time-travel was involved.
Go for it. Just don't forget to credit me.
Eh, it's an easy enough mistake to make.
Time traveling Nazis? Probably. But I think Black Widow herself didn't do anything of the sort, and when she was training to be a Soviet spy got some sort of anti-aging Captain America serum.
I have done so, on SB and Tumblr.Go for it. Just don't forget to credit me.
Would you like links?
This seems probable.
I do remember reading one Jim Lee-era X-Men story that featured flashbacks to this one time Wolverine and Cap teamed up to rescue a young Nat from being brainwashed by the Hand into serving their Nazi allies.
Here's a party wikibox from my China TL.
The Loyalist Party, or Zhōngchéngdǎng (忠誠黨), is a populist conservative party in China. As one might guess, its name intentionally evokes the Royalist Party, or Zōngshèdǎng, of the early Republican period, as does its use of the Azure Dragon most famously used on the Qing Dynasty flag. Unlike the Royalists, of course, the Loyalists are not in favour of restoring Chinese monarchy; rather, they are a heavily nationalist and traditionalist party, supporting heavy restrictions on immigration, low taxes on businesses to 'expand Chinese industry and influence across the world', and tariffs on foreign goods. They are also aggressively in favour of protecting the interests and culture of Han Chinese peoples at the expense of Mongols, Ughurs and other minority groups, which has made them unsurprisingly unpopular with minorities in China.
This last part is a fairly recent development for the party, and one instigated under its controversial current leader, former newspaper magnate Hu Xijin. Early in its lifespan it was certainly right-wing, but was steadfastly multiracial despite its limited non-Han support; Article 23 of its original constitution called for 'the unity of the peoples of China against totalitarianism and in protecting our status as the most populous and productive people in the world'. (Incidentally, all of the constitutions of the new parties post-Tienanmen Square Revolution, plus one added to that of the Kuomintang, refer to opposing totalitarianism in some way.) It generally maintained a small support base among staunchly conservative Han Chinese and in its lifespan has ranged from the third- to the fifth-biggest party in the National Congress; its peak was in the 2005 National Congress election, where it took 29 of the 900 seats and was the third-largest party.
After the 2013 election, however, its most striking political reforms since founding occurred when Hu won the leadership election. The Loyalists had lost seats compared to 2009, as the Kuomintang surged back to holding a majority of National Congress seats in their biggest-ever landslide, but they had paradoxically become bigger than the Communists or Economic Liberals. Seeking to gather more populist appeal due to the world's political tide turning nationalistic, Hu revised Article 23 to refer to 'protecting the Han Chinese way of life, opposing totalitarianism and protecting our status as the most populous and productive people in the world'.
This change, seen as racialist by many, was heavily condemned by both President Wang and by the leaders of every other major party in the National Congress. While Hu pointed to his participation in the Tienanmen Square Revolution to suggest he was not in fact opposed to Chinese democracy or the freedoms offered in the post-Tienanmen era, many were still skeptical of whether his positions 25 years prior were still ones he held now.
As a result of this, the Loyalists started to slide in the polls, and ironically the Progressives managed to improve their popularity by seizing on the nationalistic tide in a far cleverer way, by making their message economic instead of racial. When the 2017 election came around, the Loyalist caucus was cut by more than half, from 19 to 9, mostly losing these seats to the Progressives. With Hu resisting efforts to remove him from the leadership, the party has struggled to make any real resurgence, and some have suggested it is becoming little more than a cult of personality for Hu. The Beijing City Council branch of the party has even chosen to distance itself from Hu by renaming itself the Reactionary Party. However, the Progressives and Kuomintang have been forced somewhat rightwards by the focus the Loyalists put on populism, and it has carved out a (more far-right and smaller) niche for its remaining Congress members than it previously held.
The Loyalist Party, or Zhōngchéngdǎng (忠誠黨), is a populist conservative party in China. As one might guess, its name intentionally evokes the Royalist Party, or Zōngshèdǎng, of the early Republican period, as does its use of the Azure Dragon most famously used on the Qing Dynasty flag. Unlike the Royalists, of course, the Loyalists are not in favour of restoring Chinese monarchy; rather, they are a heavily nationalist and traditionalist party, supporting heavy restrictions on immigration, low taxes on businesses to 'expand Chinese industry and influence across the world', and tariffs on foreign goods. They are also aggressively in favour of protecting the interests and culture of Han Chinese peoples at the expense of Mongols, Ughurs and other minority groups, which has made them unsurprisingly unpopular with minorities in China.
This last part is a fairly recent development for the party, and one instigated under its controversial current leader, former newspaper magnate Hu Xijin. Early in its lifespan it was certainly right-wing, but was steadfastly multiracial despite its limited non-Han support; Article 23 of its original constitution called for 'the unity of the peoples of China against totalitarianism and in protecting our status as the most populous and productive people in the world'. (Incidentally, all of the constitutions of the new parties post-Tienanmen Square Revolution, plus one added to that of the Kuomintang, refer to opposing totalitarianism in some way.) It generally maintained a small support base among staunchly conservative Han Chinese and in its lifespan has ranged from the third- to the fifth-biggest party in the National Congress; its peak was in the 2005 National Congress election, where it took 29 of the 900 seats and was the third-largest party.
After the 2013 election, however, its most striking political reforms since founding occurred when Hu won the leadership election. The Loyalists had lost seats compared to 2009, as the Kuomintang surged back to holding a majority of National Congress seats in their biggest-ever landslide, but they had paradoxically become bigger than the Communists or Economic Liberals. Seeking to gather more populist appeal due to the world's political tide turning nationalistic, Hu revised Article 23 to refer to 'protecting the Han Chinese way of life, opposing totalitarianism and protecting our status as the most populous and productive people in the world'.
This change, seen as racialist by many, was heavily condemned by both President Wang and by the leaders of every other major party in the National Congress. While Hu pointed to his participation in the Tienanmen Square Revolution to suggest he was not in fact opposed to Chinese democracy or the freedoms offered in the post-Tienanmen era, many were still skeptical of whether his positions 25 years prior were still ones he held now.
As a result of this, the Loyalists started to slide in the polls, and ironically the Progressives managed to improve their popularity by seizing on the nationalistic tide in a far cleverer way, by making their message economic instead of racial. When the 2017 election came around, the Loyalist caucus was cut by more than half, from 19 to 9, mostly losing these seats to the Progressives. With Hu resisting efforts to remove him from the leadership, the party has struggled to make any real resurgence, and some have suggested it is becoming little more than a cult of personality for Hu. The Beijing City Council branch of the party has even chosen to distance itself from Hu by renaming itself the Reactionary Party. However, the Progressives and Kuomintang have been forced somewhat rightwards by the focus the Loyalists put on populism, and it has carved out a (more far-right and smaller) niche for its remaining Congress members than it previously held.
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When will we see a follow up with a 1872 Election?No more Millard Fillmore, promised.
I'm afraid that in 2020, for my exam period is beginning. You can follow the TL here in the meanwhile.
Huey Long and the Birth of the Unionist Party Pt.1
Following the results of the 1937 midterm elections, the inability of the 2 factions of the Democratic Party (the Populist-Progressives on the left and the New Jacksonians on the right) to work with each other or the National or Socialist parties threatened to bring down the entire government of Dixie. The Dixie House of Delegates ground to a halt and prevented hardly any action from being levied against the ongoing economic crisis that had been raging in the country since 1936. Displeasure with the current government was reaching a fever pitch in Dixie. Incumbent New Jacksonian Democratic President Carl Vinson who was first elected in 1934 had authorized the use of force to put down what he called "dissidents" taking part in protests, demonstrations and strikes.
In the upcoming 1940 Presidential Election, as President Vinson was ineligible for a second term, Vice President Ellison Smith of South Carolina was the favorite candidate of the New Jacksonian Democrats. The Populist-Progressives however began to coalesce around former Governor and Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana for the Democratic nomination. 6 years earlier Smith had defeated Long for the Vice Presidential Democratic nomination. The battle for the presidential nomination at the 1940 Democratic Convention in St. Louis would be incredibly fierce. Supporters of both candidates would spend the entire convention viciously attacking each other and backroom deals that tried to settle the disputes quietly all eventually failed. In the end, the Convention would narrowly choose Smith to be the Democratic nominee for president. The Convention would also nominate Senator Pat Harrison of West Florida, an ally of the Populist-Progressives, to try to alleviate the anger from the left-wing faction, but this did little to help. Long after losing the nomination would call the Democratic bosses "corrupt to their bones" and announced that he would run for president as an independent with support from many Populist-Progressives. The Nationals were hoping to capitalize on the disunity among the Democrats and would nominate Delegate B. Carroll Reece of Tennessee for president. The Socialists who had received a huge swell in support since the election of Vinson and the economic crisis would make their biggest play for the presidency nominating Socialist House Leader Delegate James P. Cannon of Missouri for president.
Long would start the campaign as a large underdog. Many thought that Long would have no chance to make the second round and might even serve as a spoiler for Smith leading to a Reece-Cannon second round, the worst case scenario for the Democrats. Long however proved to be a very effective campaigner and would soon begin to foster a considerable amount of support, largely made up of poor white Democrats that were sympathetic to the Populist-Progressives and traditionally National voters in the upper Appalachians that the Socialists had hoped they could win but found Long very appealing. Long would mix the campaign styles of several parties, the Populist agrarian rhetoric that the Democrats had adopted after the fall of the Populist Party, an isolationist view with the ongoing chaos raging in Europe of the Nationals, and the class based attacks against the rich that the Socialists used. In the first round, Long would end up narrowly beating Reece for second place and would move on to the second round against Smith. This would be the first time that the Nationals would fail to make the second round in a presidential election.
Long and Smith would enter the second round scrambling to gain the Reece and Cannon voters that were now left without a candidate. Long would target the National state of Virginia the most of any in the second round. It was the most populous state in the country and Long hoped that a strong performance in the socialist friendly western part of the state as well as its cities would be enough to carry Long over 50% to a victory overall. Smith would hope that the conservative Nationals would not be able to stand Long enough to vote for him and would instead choose the more conservative of the two candidates to give Smith the presidency. Long would end up defeating Smith by a little over 200,000 votes becoming the first and only Independent president and the first non National or Democratic president since William Jennings Bryan in 1910.
In Congress, the Democrats would keep their majority in the Senate and would regain their majority in the House of Delegates bring somewhat of an end to the disaster that was the 1937 House of Delegates. With the retirement of Hatton Sumners as Speaker, the Democrats would choose Populist-Progressive William Bankhead of Alabama to be Speaker giving the faction a major win in Congress. In the Senate however, the New Jacksonians still ruled with Harry Byrd of Virginia serving as President pro tempore.
Another victory for the Populist-Progressives would take place in the Vice Presidential election where Pat Harrison would win against the National candidate Joseph Shaffer of Virginia. Once inaugurated, Harrison and Long would work surprisingly well together, and Harrison became the mediator between President Long and the sometimes hostile Congress. Harrison would act as a moderating force to Long bringing much of Long's more controversial ideas into line with that of Congress. For many, it seemed that Long's independent presidency was just a novelty and was just a signal that the Populist-Progressives would be the new dominant force in the Democratic Party. However, these thoughts would not last for very long. In June of 1941, Vice President Harrison would unexpectedly die, and the battle to name his replacement would end up tearing apart the Democratic Party forever.
Following the results of the 1937 midterm elections, the inability of the 2 factions of the Democratic Party (the Populist-Progressives on the left and the New Jacksonians on the right) to work with each other or the National or Socialist parties threatened to bring down the entire government of Dixie. The Dixie House of Delegates ground to a halt and prevented hardly any action from being levied against the ongoing economic crisis that had been raging in the country since 1936. Displeasure with the current government was reaching a fever pitch in Dixie. Incumbent New Jacksonian Democratic President Carl Vinson who was first elected in 1934 had authorized the use of force to put down what he called "dissidents" taking part in protests, demonstrations and strikes.
In the upcoming 1940 Presidential Election, as President Vinson was ineligible for a second term, Vice President Ellison Smith of South Carolina was the favorite candidate of the New Jacksonian Democrats. The Populist-Progressives however began to coalesce around former Governor and Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana for the Democratic nomination. 6 years earlier Smith had defeated Long for the Vice Presidential Democratic nomination. The battle for the presidential nomination at the 1940 Democratic Convention in St. Louis would be incredibly fierce. Supporters of both candidates would spend the entire convention viciously attacking each other and backroom deals that tried to settle the disputes quietly all eventually failed. In the end, the Convention would narrowly choose Smith to be the Democratic nominee for president. The Convention would also nominate Senator Pat Harrison of West Florida, an ally of the Populist-Progressives, to try to alleviate the anger from the left-wing faction, but this did little to help. Long after losing the nomination would call the Democratic bosses "corrupt to their bones" and announced that he would run for president as an independent with support from many Populist-Progressives. The Nationals were hoping to capitalize on the disunity among the Democrats and would nominate Delegate B. Carroll Reece of Tennessee for president. The Socialists who had received a huge swell in support since the election of Vinson and the economic crisis would make their biggest play for the presidency nominating Socialist House Leader Delegate James P. Cannon of Missouri for president.
Long would start the campaign as a large underdog. Many thought that Long would have no chance to make the second round and might even serve as a spoiler for Smith leading to a Reece-Cannon second round, the worst case scenario for the Democrats. Long however proved to be a very effective campaigner and would soon begin to foster a considerable amount of support, largely made up of poor white Democrats that were sympathetic to the Populist-Progressives and traditionally National voters in the upper Appalachians that the Socialists had hoped they could win but found Long very appealing. Long would mix the campaign styles of several parties, the Populist agrarian rhetoric that the Democrats had adopted after the fall of the Populist Party, an isolationist view with the ongoing chaos raging in Europe of the Nationals, and the class based attacks against the rich that the Socialists used. In the first round, Long would end up narrowly beating Reece for second place and would move on to the second round against Smith. This would be the first time that the Nationals would fail to make the second round in a presidential election.
Long and Smith would enter the second round scrambling to gain the Reece and Cannon voters that were now left without a candidate. Long would target the National state of Virginia the most of any in the second round. It was the most populous state in the country and Long hoped that a strong performance in the socialist friendly western part of the state as well as its cities would be enough to carry Long over 50% to a victory overall. Smith would hope that the conservative Nationals would not be able to stand Long enough to vote for him and would instead choose the more conservative of the two candidates to give Smith the presidency. Long would end up defeating Smith by a little over 200,000 votes becoming the first and only Independent president and the first non National or Democratic president since William Jennings Bryan in 1910.
In Congress, the Democrats would keep their majority in the Senate and would regain their majority in the House of Delegates bring somewhat of an end to the disaster that was the 1937 House of Delegates. With the retirement of Hatton Sumners as Speaker, the Democrats would choose Populist-Progressive William Bankhead of Alabama to be Speaker giving the faction a major win in Congress. In the Senate however, the New Jacksonians still ruled with Harry Byrd of Virginia serving as President pro tempore.
Another victory for the Populist-Progressives would take place in the Vice Presidential election where Pat Harrison would win against the National candidate Joseph Shaffer of Virginia. Once inaugurated, Harrison and Long would work surprisingly well together, and Harrison became the mediator between President Long and the sometimes hostile Congress. Harrison would act as a moderating force to Long bringing much of Long's more controversial ideas into line with that of Congress. For many, it seemed that Long's independent presidency was just a novelty and was just a signal that the Populist-Progressives would be the new dominant force in the Democratic Party. However, these thoughts would not last for very long. In June of 1941, Vice President Harrison would unexpectedly die, and the battle to name his replacement would end up tearing apart the Democratic Party forever.
Here's another China TL infobox.
The Progressive Party of China, or Zhōngguójìnbùdǎng (中国进步党), is a left-wing populist party in China, and since its foundation it has been the second-largest party in the country in every election, behind only the dominant Kuomintang. It was the first party to be founded after the Tiananmen Square Revolution, in no small part because it was formed by student protestors in Beijing in association with demonstrators in the rest of the country. To this day, the majority of its support comes from young and/or educated Chinese voters, and many of its most prominent members over the years have been figures associated with the Tiananmen protests, including its first leader in the National Congress Chai Ling, its first Presidential nominee Liu Xiaobo, and its current leader Jiang Jielian.
It contrasts from the Kuomintang in two main ways: the first is its support for progressive measures such as higher taxes on the rich and lower ones on the poor, investment in public services in contrast with the classical liberalism generally espoused by the Kuomintang, and the second is its greater social liberalism, consistently seeking to protect the rights of ethnic minorities in China, opposing capital punishment and supporting abortion, and in a few cases being supportive of LGBTQ rights (for example, the Progressive city council governments of Beijing and Chongqing have instigated measures to define homophobia and transphobia as hate crimes).
Despite maintaining consistent strength greater than most of China's parties, especially in northern and western China and in the largest cities, and always holding at least 176 seats in the National Congress, the Progressives have never managed to win enough seats to form a government at the national level, and in fourteen of China's thirty-two provinces and province-level cities, the Progressives have never managed to control their provincial legislatures either. Many have argued the main reason for this is that the Kuomintang has managed to be more of a big-tent party, as its Congress leaders and Presidents often implement more moderate versions of policies the Progressives tout to one-up them. Even in the 2009 election, when the Kuomintang lost its majority in the National Congress for the first time ever, the Progressives were unable to form a grand coalition against them, both because of how limited its majority would have been and because the Economic Liberal Party and Loyalists quickly refused to support a Progressive government.
After recieving a drubbing in the 2013 election and winning their fewest seats ever, the party made plans to revise its policy agenda significantly, and in February 2015, the party's new leader in the National Congress Jiang Jielan hosted a major event in Beijing revealing a relaunch of the party. A revised version of the Progressive logo, based on the 'five races under one union' flag from the pre-Kuomintang period, debuted at this event, and Jiang gave a speech that became known as the 'China must do better' speech, aggressively criticizing President Wang Tang for his government's implementation of austerity measures after the Great Recession to 'show the world the facade of an economically strong China, instead of a fair China'.
Analysts have generally described this as the point at which the Progressives embraced left-wing populism, and the move has generally been positively received by both the party's rank and file and by Chinese voters. The Progressives gained over 100 seats in the National Congress in the 2017 election and its membership almost doubled between 2015 and 2019. While this did not translate into much success in the 2015 presidential contest, which incumbent Kuomintang President Wang won by a landslide, many have suggested that with Wang's approval ratings falling compared to Jiang's in the wake of his feuding with the protectionism of the Rubio administration, Jiang may have a chance of capturing the Presidency from the Kuomintang for the first time ever in 2020.
The Progressive Party of China, or Zhōngguójìnbùdǎng (中国进步党), is a left-wing populist party in China, and since its foundation it has been the second-largest party in the country in every election, behind only the dominant Kuomintang. It was the first party to be founded after the Tiananmen Square Revolution, in no small part because it was formed by student protestors in Beijing in association with demonstrators in the rest of the country. To this day, the majority of its support comes from young and/or educated Chinese voters, and many of its most prominent members over the years have been figures associated with the Tiananmen protests, including its first leader in the National Congress Chai Ling, its first Presidential nominee Liu Xiaobo, and its current leader Jiang Jielian.
It contrasts from the Kuomintang in two main ways: the first is its support for progressive measures such as higher taxes on the rich and lower ones on the poor, investment in public services in contrast with the classical liberalism generally espoused by the Kuomintang, and the second is its greater social liberalism, consistently seeking to protect the rights of ethnic minorities in China, opposing capital punishment and supporting abortion, and in a few cases being supportive of LGBTQ rights (for example, the Progressive city council governments of Beijing and Chongqing have instigated measures to define homophobia and transphobia as hate crimes).
Despite maintaining consistent strength greater than most of China's parties, especially in northern and western China and in the largest cities, and always holding at least 176 seats in the National Congress, the Progressives have never managed to win enough seats to form a government at the national level, and in fourteen of China's thirty-two provinces and province-level cities, the Progressives have never managed to control their provincial legislatures either. Many have argued the main reason for this is that the Kuomintang has managed to be more of a big-tent party, as its Congress leaders and Presidents often implement more moderate versions of policies the Progressives tout to one-up them. Even in the 2009 election, when the Kuomintang lost its majority in the National Congress for the first time ever, the Progressives were unable to form a grand coalition against them, both because of how limited its majority would have been and because the Economic Liberal Party and Loyalists quickly refused to support a Progressive government.
After recieving a drubbing in the 2013 election and winning their fewest seats ever, the party made plans to revise its policy agenda significantly, and in February 2015, the party's new leader in the National Congress Jiang Jielan hosted a major event in Beijing revealing a relaunch of the party. A revised version of the Progressive logo, based on the 'five races under one union' flag from the pre-Kuomintang period, debuted at this event, and Jiang gave a speech that became known as the 'China must do better' speech, aggressively criticizing President Wang Tang for his government's implementation of austerity measures after the Great Recession to 'show the world the facade of an economically strong China, instead of a fair China'.
Analysts have generally described this as the point at which the Progressives embraced left-wing populism, and the move has generally been positively received by both the party's rank and file and by Chinese voters. The Progressives gained over 100 seats in the National Congress in the 2017 election and its membership almost doubled between 2015 and 2019. While this did not translate into much success in the 2015 presidential contest, which incumbent Kuomintang President Wang won by a landslide, many have suggested that with Wang's approval ratings falling compared to Jiang's in the wake of his feuding with the protectionism of the Rubio administration, Jiang may have a chance of capturing the Presidency from the Kuomintang for the first time ever in 2020.
The Austro-American Empire is a unique political anomaly among it's neighboring democracies in Europe and North America, being comprised of two states linked together via the Treaty of Sarajevo after calls to allow a large deal of autonomy while still containing a vast European colony for the United States were heeded during the Taft Administration.
The Position of Minister-President of the Austria-America has been a title almost exclusively held by austro-Americans, save for brief moments during which Coolidge and Allen respectively took power until their death or defeat in the general election respectively.
Initially, the main political party at the inception of the Dual Monarchy was the Federal Party, a party of moderate conservatives that wouldn't seek to alienate those with die hard right wing passions of nationalism. Instead, the Moderate Conservatives sought to carve a path with the teaching of Austrian in american schools and vice versa for Austrian schools.
The Three Dominant Parties of the Austro-American Empire are the Federal, Bear and Labor. The Federal Party was the first, born out of the need for steady governance and the controversial banning of the Democratic and Republican parties, which would lead to not only a bloody partisan insurgency throughout the begining years, but also lead to the metamorphosing of the Federal Party as the center of the road moderate Conservatives.
Those in the right wing of the Federal party felt disappointed at the level of rapid social change, such as women's right to vote and minorities within the Austro-American Empire (save for african americans). In response to this, they would break away from the Federal Party to formulate the first opposition party in Austro-American History, the Bears.
Now, the Bears were unsatisfied with many aspects of the Federal party's platform, and rallied the large number of southern poor whites, rich northern industrialists and those within the status quo and former nobility within the Austrian areas of the Empire to form a formidable voting bloc. In the First Fifty years of the founding of the Dual-Union, 4 of the first 7 Minister-Presidents were from the Bear Party. (Save for the non consecutive second term of Herbert Hapsburg Hoover)
The Country would keep a steady Two Party System until the mid 1950's, when former President and then Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter opted to run again as the left wing Labor Party.
The Political system then became a Mostly Two Party System with the occasional third Party thrown in there for good measure and extra political chaos.
The only thing that mostly kept not only the "Empire" part of the Austro-American Empire and glued the diverse plains of Kansas with those rocky alps of Austria was their allegiance to the same Crown, which sat both in Atlanta and Trieste as both capitals.
This is far and away the most creative lengths I've ever seen someone go to to achieve an Arnold Schwarzenegger presidency.
The rest of it's interesting, too.
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