So does anyone remember the map/infobox that used the map below as a way to create a much more diverse United States? I can never seem to find it.
Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes V (Do Not Post Current Politics Here)
- Status
The 1995 Chinese presidential election proved to be one of the strangest in the history of democratic China. In 1993, after the Kuomintang lost over 80 seats in the second National Congress election in part due to the slumping economy and influenced by his consistently poor approval ratings, President Zhao Ziyang announced he would not run for a third term as President in 1995. However, the conflict over who should replace him as President within the Kuomintang proved extremely contentious.
Effectively, two major candidates came forward in the run-up to the election, both of them former Mayors of Shanghai who had been praised for fairly cordial dealings with students and international press in the run-up to the Tiananmen Square Revolution: Jiang Zemin, mayor from 1985-87 and then-current Zhao Cabinet member, and Zhu Rongji, mayor from 1987 onwards (having become the first democratically elected mayor in 1990). The two had significantly different priorities in their campaigning; Jiang’s priority was stabilizing the economy, which had begun to decline due to the slowing economy of the early 1990s leading to massive unemployment and limited bailouts and subsidiaries for companies causing them to close, and advocated for ‘sensible levels of investment’ to redress this balance.
Zhu, by contrast, criticized Jiang for the ‘financial incompetence’ of the Zhao government, and used his image as a technocratic problem-solver (Shanghai’s unemployment rate was almost half those of Beijing and Guangzhou) and skilled economist to frame his policies as ‘a way to save China’s economy’. He was also seen as a reformist and reminded voters he had been one of the most conciliatory leaders in the Tiananmen Square Revolution; on top of that, his outreaching to non-Kuomintang supporters through these tactics seemed to suggest he might make a run for the Presidency of his own if he was not nominated. This led to a popular joke among observers that ‘the only thing the Kuomintang has to fear is the Kuomintang itself’.
Needless to say, the conflict between the two Kuomintang figures greatly overshadowed the Progressives’ contest for a Presidential candidate. The figure to ultimately come out on top was Shen Tong, a left-wing populist who had participated in the Tiananmen Square Revolution and had served since 1990 as editor of Reference News, which he had helped liberalize and turn into China’s newspaper of record. While this made him unpopular with the party’s left, as Reference News was a fairly moderate newspaper which was critical of all parties to some extent, Shen declared he would resign as editor if he was nominated for President, a promise he kept in April 1995.
Meanwhile in the Kuomintang, the national primaries held from January to June of 1995 were extremely close-run between Jiang and Zhu, but the overexposure of Zhu led voters to slowly start perceiving him more and more as arrogant and power-hungry. Ultimately, Jiang won out narrowly for the Kuomintang nomination, but Zhu and his supporters were not swayed from wanting him to win the Presidency. In a surprise move, the Economic Liberals threw their weight behind Zhu instead of running their own candidate, and his star started rising again.
By September 1995, the polls suggested no candidate would win an absolute majority of the vote as Zhao had in 1990, with some polls even suggesting Zhu could beat Jiang; Shen hovered around the 25-30% mark, significantly below Liu Xiaobo’s performance in 1990. As a result of the clout he had achieved, Zhu was able to demand inclusion in a three-man debate, but this was where his momentum stopped. Despite being praised by pundits for a strong performance, with many saying he had outperformed both Jiang and Shen, voters viewed his attitude as officious and distant. In a highly publicized CTV News interview with numerous members of the Chinese public, people commented that ‘China needs a President, not a boss’ and that ‘Zhu doesn’t seem to see how these cuts would hurt us’.
As a consequence, Zhu started to decline in the polls, though generally staying ahead of Shen, something that worried Progressives. As the campaign went on, however, the distance between those two shrank, and many voters made it clear their vote was more for Zhu than for the Economic Liberals.
When the final votes had been tallied, Zhu had severely underperformed expectations and Jiang had risen above them significantly. Despite this, he had become the first (and so far only) President of China elected with less than a majority of the popular vote. The enthusiasm of the Economic Liberals that they had just come second in an election was soon deflated when, in early 1996, Zhu and Jiang shook hands at a press conference and Zhu was admitted to Jiang’s first Cabinet as Premier of the State Council, effectively the most senior figure on economic affairs. This was a highly surprising move, but Zhu admitted he had had ‘contentious relationships’ with Economic Liberal figures and had accepted an invitation from Jiang, who considered him ‘the foremost economic expert in the Kuomintang’.
In the next few years, as the Asian financial crisis hit, China would need deft economic management to help improve its situation.
Effectively, two major candidates came forward in the run-up to the election, both of them former Mayors of Shanghai who had been praised for fairly cordial dealings with students and international press in the run-up to the Tiananmen Square Revolution: Jiang Zemin, mayor from 1985-87 and then-current Zhao Cabinet member, and Zhu Rongji, mayor from 1987 onwards (having become the first democratically elected mayor in 1990). The two had significantly different priorities in their campaigning; Jiang’s priority was stabilizing the economy, which had begun to decline due to the slowing economy of the early 1990s leading to massive unemployment and limited bailouts and subsidiaries for companies causing them to close, and advocated for ‘sensible levels of investment’ to redress this balance.
Zhu, by contrast, criticized Jiang for the ‘financial incompetence’ of the Zhao government, and used his image as a technocratic problem-solver (Shanghai’s unemployment rate was almost half those of Beijing and Guangzhou) and skilled economist to frame his policies as ‘a way to save China’s economy’. He was also seen as a reformist and reminded voters he had been one of the most conciliatory leaders in the Tiananmen Square Revolution; on top of that, his outreaching to non-Kuomintang supporters through these tactics seemed to suggest he might make a run for the Presidency of his own if he was not nominated. This led to a popular joke among observers that ‘the only thing the Kuomintang has to fear is the Kuomintang itself’.
Needless to say, the conflict between the two Kuomintang figures greatly overshadowed the Progressives’ contest for a Presidential candidate. The figure to ultimately come out on top was Shen Tong, a left-wing populist who had participated in the Tiananmen Square Revolution and had served since 1990 as editor of Reference News, which he had helped liberalize and turn into China’s newspaper of record. While this made him unpopular with the party’s left, as Reference News was a fairly moderate newspaper which was critical of all parties to some extent, Shen declared he would resign as editor if he was nominated for President, a promise he kept in April 1995.
Meanwhile in the Kuomintang, the national primaries held from January to June of 1995 were extremely close-run between Jiang and Zhu, but the overexposure of Zhu led voters to slowly start perceiving him more and more as arrogant and power-hungry. Ultimately, Jiang won out narrowly for the Kuomintang nomination, but Zhu and his supporters were not swayed from wanting him to win the Presidency. In a surprise move, the Economic Liberals threw their weight behind Zhu instead of running their own candidate, and his star started rising again.
By September 1995, the polls suggested no candidate would win an absolute majority of the vote as Zhao had in 1990, with some polls even suggesting Zhu could beat Jiang; Shen hovered around the 25-30% mark, significantly below Liu Xiaobo’s performance in 1990. As a result of the clout he had achieved, Zhu was able to demand inclusion in a three-man debate, but this was where his momentum stopped. Despite being praised by pundits for a strong performance, with many saying he had outperformed both Jiang and Shen, voters viewed his attitude as officious and distant. In a highly publicized CTV News interview with numerous members of the Chinese public, people commented that ‘China needs a President, not a boss’ and that ‘Zhu doesn’t seem to see how these cuts would hurt us’.
As a consequence, Zhu started to decline in the polls, though generally staying ahead of Shen, something that worried Progressives. As the campaign went on, however, the distance between those two shrank, and many voters made it clear their vote was more for Zhu than for the Economic Liberals.
When the final votes had been tallied, Zhu had severely underperformed expectations and Jiang had risen above them significantly. Despite this, he had become the first (and so far only) President of China elected with less than a majority of the popular vote. The enthusiasm of the Economic Liberals that they had just come second in an election was soon deflated when, in early 1996, Zhu and Jiang shook hands at a press conference and Zhu was admitted to Jiang’s first Cabinet as Premier of the State Council, effectively the most senior figure on economic affairs. This was a highly surprising move, but Zhu admitted he had had ‘contentious relationships’ with Economic Liberal figures and had accepted an invitation from Jiang, who considered him ‘the foremost economic expert in the Kuomintang’.
In the next few years, as the Asian financial crisis hit, China would need deft economic management to help improve its situation.
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you know it's technocratic government when no population, no infrastructure, and no political consideration all come in behind 'the math says it's the middle part' and that's good enough
"Our decisions must be based on pure Logic(TM) unpolluted by messy things like Facts!"
I think you had it right to begin with. Ego is “I” and sum is “I am.”
Dropped everythinbg just to read this. A few things:
- I think you just blew everyone else in this thread out of the water.
- Damn the US opens up Japan in 1801? So America’s much, much stronger than OTL? I’d have expected America to be substantially weaker since potential immigrants might see Columbia as weirdos and make their way to South America.
- How does Julius Cesar fit into Albionism?
- Are there any voodoo influences to the Albionic church?
- Somewhat related, how did native Africans react to the Albionic Church? Given how the Ashanti integrated Chirstianity into their founding myth, I do hope we see more of Afro-Albionism. Was there something similar to WMiT's African Fundementalist Church?
- Are there schisimites?
- Have the US and Japan ever clashed over spheres of influence? Especially during the Warlord Era? How closely aligned are these countries as of the modern day?
- Was there a Taiping-esque movement in China? Maybe a failed attempt by a Chinese cult leader to displace Japan’s position in the Church?
- Please please tell me there’s gonna be a follow up.
Thanks!
Weirdos with a built-in idea of upward mobility in society. Not only does Albionism actively promote the American Dream, the aristocracy that exists in the United Empire is... different than what one might expect. The best I can explain it is that it's based on personal wealth, so while titles and such are technically hereditary, it's attached to the amount of money you have. So if, say, Henry Ford III makes some bad business decisions and goes bankrupt, away go the titles gained by his grandfather.
Like many Ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian figures, he's been coopted by the church and the neoclassical movement as a minor religious figure. Greco-Roman and Egyptian mythology are seen as predecessors to Albionism, a sort of "beta" version of the faith that had good ideas but it just wasn't the time for Lady Columbia to formally intervene yet. In this context, Julius Caesar is seen as a man who believed himself to be the Son of Columbia, but he wasn't, even if he was kind of a demigod-on-earth.
Not really. The Albionic Church is very much a Northern thing, with Northern ideals plastered all over it. Christianity was popular in the South until the Great Troubles (Caesar Jackson's overthrow of the government) and still remained decently followed until the Civil War and Reconstruction killed it. As such, the Albionic Church didn't really get to the regions where voodoo was popular until the faith was pretty firmly established.
I honestly haven't thought that part through yet, so I'm afraid I can't give you a straight answer. Just know that Albionism has a similar draw and mass conversion rate as Islam did in its early days.
Heh heh, are there ever. There are cults surrounding Uncle Sam, Chinese groups that incorporate Buddhism or Daoism in the same way vanilla Albionism took on Shinto, people that take the Book of Salem as gospel (people pretty similar to OTL Wicca, I'd say), and many more. Though, I wouldn't say many of them are actually schismites; outside of the Cult of the Uncle, most of these groups believe most of the same things as the next Chosen One, it's just some parts have more... flavor.
The short answer? No. The long answer? Noooooooooo. Ever since the early 19th century, Japan and the United Empire/UKA have been two peas in a pod. In the beginning, the UEC heavily outweighed Japan, but in recent times as Meiji-esque reforms took hold the two have drawn closer and closer. Today, the two empires are in a tight-knit, symbiotic relationship. The don't really fight over influence because in the end, everything gets shared.
Can't really say. China got absolutely fucked ITTL, mostly by the Franco-Columbian-Japanese axis, so they're not in the best shape.
I'm going to make this into a Maps & Graphics TL. I just need to finish the modern day map first.
So, I posted this on r/AlternateHistory, and it really blew up. I like killed the subreddit.
Dvořáková graduated from Masaryk University in 2012 with a master's in Sociology of Law. Dvořáková previously served as a member of the Brno City Council between 2010 and 2015, and as Chair of the federal Czechoslovak People's Youth League, the People's Party youth wing, from 2012 until 2016.
Following her investiture by the state assembly, Dvořáková became the youngest-ever Czechoslovak state executive at 32 as well as the third women to lead an executive in Czechoslovak history.
***
Pavol Šrobár (Slovak pronunciation: [pavɔl ʃrɔbaːr]; born 23 October 1961) is a Czechoslovak politician serving as the State President of Slovakia since 2016 and as a member of the Slovak Assembly for Košice. A member of the conservative-liberal Republican Party, Šrobar served as Slovak Councillor of Economy and Innovation in the second and third Zoch cabinets (2000-04) and as federal minister of Economic Cooperation and Development in the Hampl government. Šrobar ran and was elected as the Republican Party's candidate for Land President in the 2012 election in a contested party leadership election against Josef Šuhaj. Šrobár would become the opposition leader until forming his own government after the 2016 election together with the Social Democratic Party, the Slovak National Party and the United Hungarian Party.Šrobár is an economist by training, studying in Comenius University until he began his PhD in trade economics in the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, between 1986 and 1991. After returning to Czechoslovakia in 1993, Šrobár began teaching economics in the Milan Štefánik Technical University in Prešov. Šrobár has continued to teach economics as a guest lecturer at both Milan Štefánik Technical University and at Comenius University since 2012. Šrobár is the father of Eduard Šrobár, the current mayor of Prešov.
***
Daniel Klochurak (Ruthene and Ukrainian: Данило Клочурак, romanized: Danylo Klochurak, pronounced: [dɑnɪlʲɔ klɔt͡ʃurɑk]; born 8 June 1976) is an ethnically-Ruthenian Czechoslovak politician of the Federal Agrarian Union (FZS) currently serving as the Governor of Subcarpathian Ruthenia. Klochurak entered politics in 2002, rapidly becoming the mayor of Beregszász (Berehovo) in 2005. Klochurak's tenure as mayor launched him to the Ruthenian political forefront, as a vocal adversary of the incumbent governor, Mikhail Kichkovsky. Klochurak was elected Governor in 2014 after defeating Kichkovsky's protégé, Ivan Sydor. Klochurak's tenure has been denounced by the opposition by his authoritarian and populist style, although Klochurak was re-elected for his second and final term in 2019.Surviving Czechoslovakia
Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia
Slovakia and Ruthenia
Bohemian Land President
Duke of Berisha (Albanian: Hercog i Berishës) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Albania. It was created by King Leka I on 30 November 1998, a mere two days after the adoption of the 1998 Constitution and the restoration of the Albanian Monarchy, and bestowed upon Sali Berisha, the leader of the Democratic Party of Albania and penultimate President of Albania.
This Albanian nobility–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
2018 Tennessee General Assembly Election
In 2018, the unicameral Tennessee General Assembly (the only unicameral state legislature in Dixie) held elections for its 99 members. The incumbent National Party, while losing a handful of seats, was able to hold onto its majority in the General Assembly.
Incumbent Speaker Beth Harwell (N-Oak Hill) would leave her position in the assembly to run for governor and was able to successfully defeat incumbent National Governor Ron Ramsey in the primary and Unionist Delegate Craig Fitzhugh in the general election. After her successful election, she was replaced as Speaker by Bill Haslam (N-Knoxville).
The Unionist Party, led by Unionist Caucus Chair John Windle (U-Livingston), picked up 4 seats from the Nationals (the 34th, 53rd, 56th, and 73rd) and lost 1 to the Nationals (the 92nd).
The Social Democratic Party, led by SDP Caucus Chair Willie Harenton (SDP-Memphis), would fail to gain or lose any seats in the general election, but did gain the 96th district in a December 2017 special election after the incumbent Delegate Sara Kyle retired to successfully run for the Senate in 2018.
In 2018, the unicameral Tennessee General Assembly (the only unicameral state legislature in Dixie) held elections for its 99 members. The incumbent National Party, while losing a handful of seats, was able to hold onto its majority in the General Assembly.
Incumbent Speaker Beth Harwell (N-Oak Hill) would leave her position in the assembly to run for governor and was able to successfully defeat incumbent National Governor Ron Ramsey in the primary and Unionist Delegate Craig Fitzhugh in the general election. After her successful election, she was replaced as Speaker by Bill Haslam (N-Knoxville).
The Unionist Party, led by Unionist Caucus Chair John Windle (U-Livingston), picked up 4 seats from the Nationals (the 34th, 53rd, 56th, and 73rd) and lost 1 to the Nationals (the 92nd).
The Social Democratic Party, led by SDP Caucus Chair Willie Harenton (SDP-Memphis), would fail to gain or lose any seats in the general election, but did gain the 96th district in a December 2017 special election after the incumbent Delegate Sara Kyle retired to successfully run for the Senate in 2018.
2018 Election
2018 Assembly by Party
Assembly Districts #'ed
2018 Assembly by Party
Assembly Districts #'ed
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The 1860 United States Presidential Election was held on November 6, 1860 between four main political parties and candidates. Incumbent President James Buchanan opted to run for a second term on a pro secession platform with Mississippi governor Jefferson Davis, contention that made pro union democrats walk out in protest to form the Democratic Unionist ticket of southerner Andrew Johnson and Texas Independence leader Sam Houston. The Republican party held it's second national convention, with a tight race between moderate Abraham Lincoln and radical John Brown. Brown's supporters narrowly edged over Lincoln's, with the latter calling for unity as a party against the increasingly divided opposition candidates. A first in American political history, John Brown nominated the first African american woman as his running mate, Harriet Tubman.
News of the running mate of the radical would blossom southern support behind Buchanan and Davis, with a campaign to keep Brown's name off the ballot succeeding in all southern states, with the exceptions of Virginia and Missouri. James Buchanan opted to fully ditch his ties to the northern states, pledging "complete and utter loyalty at the noble campaign against the Yankee devils."
The Know-Nothing party formed a new convention in St. Louis, choosing to nominate former President John Tyler and Oregon Senator Joseph Lane on a staunchly anti-catholic platform. The party's plank kept silent on the issue of slavery, leaving the opinions on such topic to the local candidates that ran in house and senate seats during the coinciding senate, house and governors elections.
The Democratic Unionist party met in Trenton, New Jersey to hammer out a staunchly pro unionist political manifesto, with the bold leadership of humble tailor Andrew Johnson and famed Texan independence fighter Sam Houston.
The final results saw Brown win in a landslide victory over his divided opposition, with him declaring "Almighty God has given his blessing to free the negro." This radical attitude alienated and worried many fire-eater politicians, who hastily organized secessionist conventions, starting with south Carolina's secession in December of 1860. By early March of 1861 a new nation was declared within the southern states as the Confederacy.
John Brown
John Brown was the 16th President of the United States and served in that office from March 4th,1861 to his assassination nine months later. While his presidency is short, it is notable for commanding the country during a time of great internal strive and division, including the start of the American Civil War in April of 1861 when Brown called for " one hundred thousand Yankees to crush the insurrection and to liberate the slaves". John Brown's main attitude and aspect towards the war was mired in religious visions and abolitionist fervor that he had surrounded himself with during his time in an abolitionist society in Massachusetts.
He was known to be very quarrelsome with Union generals, enabling confederate commanders such as Robert E. Lee to thrash northern armies throughout July to August of 1861. Eventually, he himself opted to take command of military forces, commanding 40,000 soldiers that fought Lee in the running Five Days Battle in September. At a price of 7,000 Union and 2,800 Confederate dead, the first Union invasion of the South was quelled.
Immediately planning another operation in the dead of winter, Brown's Christmas Offensive would be planned by the President, though he would never see it carried out. On December 20th, 1861, John Brown opted to give a sermon at a church in New York as part of a distraction from increased health issues caused by the stress from planning. As he walked out of the religious institution, a man walked forward and fired two pistols, one hitting Brown in the kidneys and another hitting his stomach. Despite the doctors' best efforts, he was pronounced dead a few hours into the night.
Tubman
Not expecting to take office, there were some lingering questions as to the legality of a woman becoming president. Tubman would not have any of that, taking a few notes from John Tyler, who had been the first vice president to ascend to the office of president. She returned unopened mail addressed to "acting president Tubman". Her efforts turned to lessened affairs into the military, letting generals conduct the matter of the war by themselves. However, should Generals dissatisfy her, she reserved the executive right to fire officers and generals.
In the Spring of 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee marched from Tennessee in an invasion of the boarder state of Kentucky. After General Rosecrans' army was repulsed at Shiloh in his failed invasion of Tennessee, Tubman gave command to General Ulysses S. Grant. Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard met Grant in October of 1862, resulting in a decisive, if bloody, victory for the north. A Southern assault through Virginia would be commanded by General Hooker in January of 1863, with bitter winter fighting outside of Sharpsburg dislodging the Confederates from their prepared positions.
The offensive would see a morale boost in the first siege of Richmond, though Grant would be incapacitated due to a carriage accident, being replaced with the little Napoleon George McCllean. McCllean immediately requested more soldiers, with Tubman reluctantly granting it. For four months progress halted as McCllean mustered a force of 130,000 strong to begin the drive against Richmond. The rather lumbering and slow operation took over two additional months and two large scale battles to settle in for a siege of the confederate capital. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was recalled from fighting in the west to take over operations in the east.
Robert E. Lee struck hard and fast against McCllean, forcing him to hastily retreat over a series of three weeks in August of 1862 with confused fighting. Learning her lesson, McCllean was fired and replaced with this "Fighting Joe" Hooker she had heard about. Merely a stop gap until Grant recovered from his injuries, Hooker engaged Lee in a few battles, men died on both sides and were considered to be inconclusive.
Attention then turned towards a fierce naval landing in Alabama, with General William Sherman seeing massive success down south in amphibious landings. Now faced with fighting a war on two fronts, the Confederates dispatched units south to engage Sherman, resulting in bloody defeats for the rebels throughout November and December of 1862. Atlanta fell in January of 1863, with more union soldiers marching down to join. Grant recovered from his injuries and fought Lee to a standstill from March to April,with a full out assault outside of Richmond seeing the city fall.
Tubman was satisfied with the progress so far, and promoted Grant. Winning Re-election in a landslide against a bitter McCllean, Tubman sought to tighten the neck around the Confederacy. The Confederate government was on the run, forming in North Carolina as a temporary capital. On January 11th,1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General William Sherman. Confederate President Jefferson Davis would be captured one week later near South Carolina. Sporadic fighting between both sides dragged on until the last confederate military unit surrendered in Texas on June 14th, 1865.
Now on the path to reconstruct the nation, Tubman took a hardline stance against the south, aligning themselves as part of the radical republican movement initially. However, she would be appalled by the undemocratic notions and actions of military governments within the south following the Civil War. She would push for their abolition to quickly reintegrate the Southern States into the nation. This alienated and outraged the radical republicans who had a vice grip over Congress following the 1866 midterm elections. She would butt heads with her cabinet and Washington frequently. When she fired the military governor of Georgia for restricting white democrats from voting fairly, Congress seized on the opportunity for an impeachment. She attempted to rally the public around her, painting her as the victim of racism by the north. These efforts proved unsuccessful for the general public, but were barely enough to get the impeachment vote to fail by two in the Senate.
The Radical Republicans would pass the 13th, 14th (without Section 3) and 15th Amendments with her signature on them. The Southern States would still be obstinate and resistant, with a gradual incorporation only being reluctantly agreed upon by Tubman, who saw the states of Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas re-enter the union as states. Such states immediately tossed out the republican appointed government officials to replace with Democrats, setting the stage for the civil rights battle in the south which would culminate in the 1950s.
News of the running mate of the radical would blossom southern support behind Buchanan and Davis, with a campaign to keep Brown's name off the ballot succeeding in all southern states, with the exceptions of Virginia and Missouri. James Buchanan opted to fully ditch his ties to the northern states, pledging "complete and utter loyalty at the noble campaign against the Yankee devils."
The Know-Nothing party formed a new convention in St. Louis, choosing to nominate former President John Tyler and Oregon Senator Joseph Lane on a staunchly anti-catholic platform. The party's plank kept silent on the issue of slavery, leaving the opinions on such topic to the local candidates that ran in house and senate seats during the coinciding senate, house and governors elections.
The Democratic Unionist party met in Trenton, New Jersey to hammer out a staunchly pro unionist political manifesto, with the bold leadership of humble tailor Andrew Johnson and famed Texan independence fighter Sam Houston.
The final results saw Brown win in a landslide victory over his divided opposition, with him declaring "Almighty God has given his blessing to free the negro." This radical attitude alienated and worried many fire-eater politicians, who hastily organized secessionist conventions, starting with south Carolina's secession in December of 1860. By early March of 1861 a new nation was declared within the southern states as the Confederacy.
John Brown
John Brown was the 16th President of the United States and served in that office from March 4th,1861 to his assassination nine months later. While his presidency is short, it is notable for commanding the country during a time of great internal strive and division, including the start of the American Civil War in April of 1861 when Brown called for " one hundred thousand Yankees to crush the insurrection and to liberate the slaves". John Brown's main attitude and aspect towards the war was mired in religious visions and abolitionist fervor that he had surrounded himself with during his time in an abolitionist society in Massachusetts.
He was known to be very quarrelsome with Union generals, enabling confederate commanders such as Robert E. Lee to thrash northern armies throughout July to August of 1861. Eventually, he himself opted to take command of military forces, commanding 40,000 soldiers that fought Lee in the running Five Days Battle in September. At a price of 7,000 Union and 2,800 Confederate dead, the first Union invasion of the South was quelled.
Immediately planning another operation in the dead of winter, Brown's Christmas Offensive would be planned by the President, though he would never see it carried out. On December 20th, 1861, John Brown opted to give a sermon at a church in New York as part of a distraction from increased health issues caused by the stress from planning. As he walked out of the religious institution, a man walked forward and fired two pistols, one hitting Brown in the kidneys and another hitting his stomach. Despite the doctors' best efforts, he was pronounced dead a few hours into the night.
Tubman
Not expecting to take office, there were some lingering questions as to the legality of a woman becoming president. Tubman would not have any of that, taking a few notes from John Tyler, who had been the first vice president to ascend to the office of president. She returned unopened mail addressed to "acting president Tubman". Her efforts turned to lessened affairs into the military, letting generals conduct the matter of the war by themselves. However, should Generals dissatisfy her, she reserved the executive right to fire officers and generals.
In the Spring of 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee marched from Tennessee in an invasion of the boarder state of Kentucky. After General Rosecrans' army was repulsed at Shiloh in his failed invasion of Tennessee, Tubman gave command to General Ulysses S. Grant. Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard met Grant in October of 1862, resulting in a decisive, if bloody, victory for the north. A Southern assault through Virginia would be commanded by General Hooker in January of 1863, with bitter winter fighting outside of Sharpsburg dislodging the Confederates from their prepared positions.
The offensive would see a morale boost in the first siege of Richmond, though Grant would be incapacitated due to a carriage accident, being replaced with the little Napoleon George McCllean. McCllean immediately requested more soldiers, with Tubman reluctantly granting it. For four months progress halted as McCllean mustered a force of 130,000 strong to begin the drive against Richmond. The rather lumbering and slow operation took over two additional months and two large scale battles to settle in for a siege of the confederate capital. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was recalled from fighting in the west to take over operations in the east.
Robert E. Lee struck hard and fast against McCllean, forcing him to hastily retreat over a series of three weeks in August of 1862 with confused fighting. Learning her lesson, McCllean was fired and replaced with this "Fighting Joe" Hooker she had heard about. Merely a stop gap until Grant recovered from his injuries, Hooker engaged Lee in a few battles, men died on both sides and were considered to be inconclusive.
Attention then turned towards a fierce naval landing in Alabama, with General William Sherman seeing massive success down south in amphibious landings. Now faced with fighting a war on two fronts, the Confederates dispatched units south to engage Sherman, resulting in bloody defeats for the rebels throughout November and December of 1862. Atlanta fell in January of 1863, with more union soldiers marching down to join. Grant recovered from his injuries and fought Lee to a standstill from March to April,with a full out assault outside of Richmond seeing the city fall.
Tubman was satisfied with the progress so far, and promoted Grant. Winning Re-election in a landslide against a bitter McCllean, Tubman sought to tighten the neck around the Confederacy. The Confederate government was on the run, forming in North Carolina as a temporary capital. On January 11th,1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General William Sherman. Confederate President Jefferson Davis would be captured one week later near South Carolina. Sporadic fighting between both sides dragged on until the last confederate military unit surrendered in Texas on June 14th, 1865.
Now on the path to reconstruct the nation, Tubman took a hardline stance against the south, aligning themselves as part of the radical republican movement initially. However, she would be appalled by the undemocratic notions and actions of military governments within the south following the Civil War. She would push for their abolition to quickly reintegrate the Southern States into the nation. This alienated and outraged the radical republicans who had a vice grip over Congress following the 1866 midterm elections. She would butt heads with her cabinet and Washington frequently. When she fired the military governor of Georgia for restricting white democrats from voting fairly, Congress seized on the opportunity for an impeachment. She attempted to rally the public around her, painting her as the victim of racism by the north. These efforts proved unsuccessful for the general public, but were barely enough to get the impeachment vote to fail by two in the Senate.
The Radical Republicans would pass the 13th, 14th (without Section 3) and 15th Amendments with her signature on them. The Southern States would still be obstinate and resistant, with a gradual incorporation only being reluctantly agreed upon by Tubman, who saw the states of Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas re-enter the union as states. Such states immediately tossed out the republican appointed government officials to replace with Democrats, setting the stage for the civil rights battle in the south which would culminate in the 1950s.
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From Desire the Right. I've had this sitting around for a while but was indecisive about when to post it, but I'm starting to realize now is as good a time as any so here it is!
inspired by @Turquoise Blue's comment on Discord
The 1956 Democratic Party presidential primaries were part of the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1956 U.S. presidential election. 26 states and 3 territories held actual primary elections, while the rest of the country saw delegate selection confined to state-level conventions and caucuses, many of which were controlled by local political machines.
Early primaries and conventions saw freshman Massachusetts Senator Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. emerge as the immediate frontrunner. Popularly presented as a handsome, highly decorated veteran of the Pacific War, Joe P. Kennedy had a well-financed, well-organized campaign team (courtesy of his father, Bay State mogul Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.) and was expected to secure the nomination with ease, beating out comparatively weaker candidates like House Democratic Leader Clarence Cannon and Governor of Georgia Herman Talmadge; however, the party establishment was concerned about his chances at victory, given Kennedy's relative youth and his extreme hostility to organized labor and certain racial and ethnic minorities.
The 1954 Republican landslide discouraged mainstream Democratic candidates and local sons from undertaking a nationwide presidential campaign and challenging the young Massachusetts Senator; as such, when the 65 year old ex-Governor of Rhode Island Howard P. Lovecraft entered the primary race, major newspapers and pundits laughed him off as a "New England obscurity". Lovecraft ran a spirited campaign, and his popularity with Wilsonians and labor groups allowed him to rout Kennedy in a number of Midwestern states; he was also endorsed by the Progressive Democratic organization in California and its informal leaders such as former Congressman Edouard Izac, leading him to win the Pacific Coast states as well. However, Lovecraft's financial state paled in comparison with the well-funded Kennedy campaign, and accusations of being a mentally unfit, soft-on-eugenics, card-carrying member of the Socialist Party, attacks by nativist mobs (such as the one in Madison, organized by local politician Joseph McCarthy), and his own introverted attitude and age-exacerbated neuroses eventually caused Howard P. Lovecraft to end his presidential campaign.
As the 1956 Democratic National Convention approached and torch-wielding mobs chanted "Give 'em hell, Joe!", Lovecraft was courted by Progressive Party members to run as their presidential nominee; however, Lovecraft curtly refused, stating that he did not desire to run against President John Coolidge.
This. I love this!
- Status