Uh
Elizabeth II was killed in a car crash in 1959 and Charles has been king since
Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes VI (Do Not Post Current Politics or Political Figures Here)
- Status
I just wanted to do some party tickets, that's my excuse.
The 1840 United States presidential election saw the election of both major political party tickets to the offices of President and Vice President, respectively. The threshold for election was "one third of all electors plus three". This meant that 123 +3 electors would be needed in order to win the four executive seats. Think of it as a "Top Two Ticket" system. The main aim of the smaller political parties was to prevent the threshold from being met.
Incumbent Presidential duo John G. Whitter and Elisha R. Potter were constitutionally barred from seeking a second consecutive term in office. The Federal Christian Alliance and Honey party tickets were elected as "First President" and "Second President" respectively. Campaigning on the stability of the economy, both the Honey and FCA rarely threw punches at each other's campaign, instead concentrating their efforts in the large states that might alter and prevent the four men from crossing the One-Third threshold.
The David T. Disney, for his part, blanketed Old York with as many supporters as possible. They were met with large protests by FCA backers of Smith and King. Although peaceful at first, both sides dissolved from polite debates organized throughout the city to rowdy assasination attempts on organizers and large scale mob violence that marred the city. It is said that as many as nine hundred people lost their lives in the violence, though a definitive number may never be known. His efforts did bear fruit, although at a cost of carrying Old York by the closest margin in the election of six hundred votes out of Ninety-one thousand cast.
The David's of the election emerged with dissatisfaction of the growing Masonic movement and efforts to better cultivate it's success. On one side of the issue, the Liberty-Federalists went after modestly poor whites in Mississippi and Virginia, a choice exemplified with the selection of Former Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. They also emphasized their political experience, especially in contrast to the "holy man" Smith. On the other side, former Tennessee gubernatorial candidate and Grand Master Robert Looney Caruthers exercised a full-throated defense of free masonry and campaigned exclusively in the Western States. Thanks in part to the state of Israels' congressional apportionment of it's electors, smart campaigning and a few well placed visits to Moab enabled the Pro-Masonic ticket to remain competitive in the great basin region.
The selection of controversial Military General William S. Harney also brought more attention to the ticket. In contrast to most of the other campaigns, Harney traveled all throughout the country, giving speeches mostly in the southern states, trying to woo them away from their Liberty and FCA allegiances. While these efforts were a mixed bag, they did manage to convince a few thousand more Mississippians to look closer at their possible choices.
However, in the end, both major party nominees and their tickets were elected to the offices of President and Vice President. The davids of American politics failed, once more in their quest at deadlocking the election. Both major political parties ended up with their four men in the White Homes of Old York. As of 2020, this is the 10th such Presidential election where the two major party nominees cleared the 1/3rd hurtle in the electoral college.
The 1840 United States presidential election saw the election of both major political party tickets to the offices of President and Vice President, respectively. The threshold for election was "one third of all electors plus three". This meant that 123 +3 electors would be needed in order to win the four executive seats. Think of it as a "Top Two Ticket" system. The main aim of the smaller political parties was to prevent the threshold from being met.
Incumbent Presidential duo John G. Whitter and Elisha R. Potter were constitutionally barred from seeking a second consecutive term in office. The Federal Christian Alliance and Honey party tickets were elected as "First President" and "Second President" respectively. Campaigning on the stability of the economy, both the Honey and FCA rarely threw punches at each other's campaign, instead concentrating their efforts in the large states that might alter and prevent the four men from crossing the One-Third threshold.
The David T. Disney, for his part, blanketed Old York with as many supporters as possible. They were met with large protests by FCA backers of Smith and King. Although peaceful at first, both sides dissolved from polite debates organized throughout the city to rowdy assasination attempts on organizers and large scale mob violence that marred the city. It is said that as many as nine hundred people lost their lives in the violence, though a definitive number may never be known. His efforts did bear fruit, although at a cost of carrying Old York by the closest margin in the election of six hundred votes out of Ninety-one thousand cast.
The David's of the election emerged with dissatisfaction of the growing Masonic movement and efforts to better cultivate it's success. On one side of the issue, the Liberty-Federalists went after modestly poor whites in Mississippi and Virginia, a choice exemplified with the selection of Former Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. They also emphasized their political experience, especially in contrast to the "holy man" Smith. On the other side, former Tennessee gubernatorial candidate and Grand Master Robert Looney Caruthers exercised a full-throated defense of free masonry and campaigned exclusively in the Western States. Thanks in part to the state of Israels' congressional apportionment of it's electors, smart campaigning and a few well placed visits to Moab enabled the Pro-Masonic ticket to remain competitive in the great basin region.
The selection of controversial Military General William S. Harney also brought more attention to the ticket. In contrast to most of the other campaigns, Harney traveled all throughout the country, giving speeches mostly in the southern states, trying to woo them away from their Liberty and FCA allegiances. While these efforts were a mixed bag, they did manage to convince a few thousand more Mississippians to look closer at their possible choices.
However, in the end, both major party nominees and their tickets were elected to the offices of President and Vice President. The davids of American politics failed, once more in their quest at deadlocking the election. Both major political parties ended up with their four men in the White Homes of Old York. As of 2020, this is the 10th such Presidential election where the two major party nominees cleared the 1/3rd hurtle in the electoral college.
Wordle is a Touch Generations puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS, released on September 9, 2006 in North America, September 27, 2006 in Europe, and January 11, 2007 in Australia. It was developed and published by Hudson Soft.
The game features 750 unique puzzles, with the ability to download and store up to 1500 additional puzzles, as well as create an additional 750 puzzles and share them with friends over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
Players have, depending on the difficulty selected, either 5, 7, or 9 attempts to guess a five-letter word, with each guess either resulting in a letter being given a grey tile (indicating the letter is not in the word), a yellow tile (indicating the letter is in the word, but not that space), or a green tile (indicating that it is in the correct space).
Wordle was received well both critically and commercially. Critics praised the quick but simple gameplay, noting that its pick up and play mentality lead itself well to breaks at work or at school. Other critics found it repetitive, the art design and graphics to be bland, and the exclusive usage of American spelling to be a detriment to non-US gamers. Wordle sold over a million units, and the title received several sequels including Wordle Double on the DS, Wordle World on the Wii, and Wordle 3D on the Nintendo 3DS. A port to the Sony PlayStation Vita was planned, but cancelled in development.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (SNES)
Chrono Break (PS2)
Metroid 64 (N64)
Metroid Dread (DS)
Gorochu (Pokemon Red and Green, GB)
Super Smash Bros. Tussle (DS)
Kangaschan (Pokemon 2: Gold and Silver, GB)
Super Kid Icarus (SNES)
Chrono Break (PS2)
Metroid 64 (N64)
Metroid Dread (DS)
Gorochu (Pokemon Red and Green, GB)
Super Smash Bros. Tussle (DS)
Kangaschan (Pokemon 2: Gold and Silver, GB)
Super Kid Icarus (SNES)
The partition of Germany was the division of the former Germany (the popular English name for the large unified German state that existed from 1870 to 1945) into five separate countries, based on a plan conceived by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt that is popularly known by historians as the Roosevelt Plan. The process was pursued by the Allies after World War II saw the defeat of the Axis Powers, led by the Nazi regime in Germany.
Partition was effectively a response to the historic idea of ‘greater Germany’, embodied by the Nazi conquest of Europe known as Lebensraum, intended to decentralize German power to prevent the state being able to pursue aggressive warfare and to dilute ethnic nationalism without destroying the industries of the regions. The new countries were administered under Allied Occupation Zones as part of a transition towards a new form of government.
The major geographical changes were as follows:
- In the British Zone of Occupation in the northwest of the country, the states of Hannover, Oldenburg (excluding its exclave), Braunschweig, Schaumberg-Lippe, Schleiswig-Holstein and Westphalia along with the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the City Municipality of Bremen (in the American Zone of Occupation but geographically part of Hannover) merged into the new Republic of Hannover.
- In the French Zone of Occupation to the southwest of the country, Hesse and Nassau-Hesse, the Palatinate and the southern Rhine Province merged into the new Republic of Hesse.
- In the American Zone of Occupation, Bavaria became the Kingdom of Bavaria, with the former Free State merging with Baden, Hohenzollern and Wurttemberg. Unlike the other states, Bavaria was established as a constitutional monarchy through a referendum (there was more public and Allied sympathy to such a decision due to the region’s conservatism and the Wittelsbachs’ vocal opposition to the Nazis), with Rupprecht, then-head of the House of Wittelsbach, becoming its first king.
- In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, Thuringia and Saxony merged into the new Republic of Saxony, while Anhalt, Brandenburg, Halle-Merseburg, Lower Silesia, Magdeburg, Mecklenburg, Pomerania and Upper Silesia along with the former German capital of Berlin formed the Republic of Prussia. East Prussia was annexed and divided between the USSR and Poland.
- Two international zones were formed, one from the northern Rhine Province and the other from the Saarland. The former would unite with Hannover after the new republic’s constitution was approved in 1948, while Saarland became a protectorate of France until it voted to unite with Hesse in 1956.
Today, the five German nations have somewhat diverged culturally and politically, but enjoy close relations and open borders, as well as all being members of the European Union and NATO (though Saxony did not join until these until 2004 and 1999, and Prussia did not until 1994) and being inaugural members of the Eurozone (excluding Saxony).
(Not sure how feasible this is- maybe as a PoD FDR survives long enough for his plan to be implemented or something?- but I felt like it’d be interesting anyway.)
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1916 and 1920
1932
1936 election and civil/voting rights act
“I’ll be Mussolini and Hitler rolled into one. Mussolini gave them castor oil; I’ll give them poison, and then they’ll fucking taste what happens when you go against the Kingfish! They go after me like this, after all I've done for those goddamn [expletive deleted], who the fuck do they think they are?”
-President Huey Long, after civil rights activists publicly protested his administration
"After the 1936 election, Leonidas Dyer and his Fair Deal coalition of Republicans, Longist Democrats, and some other third party politicians held massive majorities in Congress. These majorities, along with Huey Long's carrots and sticks, were able to pass a landmark bill to enforce civil rights and voting rights for nonwhite Americans, as well as to pass significant expansions of the Fair Deal. With these successes, the Republicans and their Fair Deal alliance looked poised to dominate the political scene, at least for the short to medium term future, as the Mainline Democratic Party continued to flounder in unpopularity and ineptness
But soon after the 1936 election, many in the Republican Party began to fear for the future. It was, after all, unlikely that the President would run for a third term - doing so would go against a long tradition. But who would come after him? Fiorello La Guardia was seen as a favorite among the party establishment, but there was concern that Huey Long would manage to attain the nomination instead, with his more current association with the Dyer administration and his more populist rhetoric. This caused significant concern - Long had shown himself to have a demagogic streak, as well as a willingness to get his hands dirty, and hints of a desire for power that could go beyond mere ambition and into something worse. Even as the party establishment was grateful for Long's assistance with passing the civil and voting rights law and progressive Fair Deal legislation, many among the establishment quietly began to organize in hopes of preventing a 1940 Long nomination and Presidency
One of the hopes for the Republican establishment was that President Dyer would simply run for a third term. After all, while he'd taken some backlash in the south since his landslide 1936 victory, he overall held sky high approval, and the escalating international situation certainly might make it easier to justify spurning the two-terms-only tradition. But it was not to be. In late 1937, Dyer was found dead in his bed. With Dyer's death, Long ascended to the Presidency, and suddenly was the heavy favorite for the 1940 election
Though the Republican establishment attempted to keep relations positive with President Long, the President had no illusions as to their true feelings for him. In the lead-up to the 1938 midterms, he and his political machine made a concerted effort to push for the nomination of staunchly pro-Long politicians, as well as to use carrots and sticks (including J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, as well as a growing alliance with big business elements that gave the progressive Republican establishment even more concern) to try and push existing Congresspeople to align with Long. With a platform of very populist economic policy, combined with staunchly traditionalist moral values, Long and his allies swept the midterms, easily taking control of the house, and making major gains in the Senate as well
Immediately after the midterm elections, Long began to demand a dramatic reduction in the power of Congress, arguing that the national crisis necessitated a stronger executive. Pundits expressed major doubt at the ability for Long's legislation to pass (the House was one thing, but only a third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, so even though Long's men swept the 1938 midterms, they appeared to have rather less than a majority in the Senate), as well as in regards to the potential constitutionality of the bill. But then the bill passed the House, and in the Senate, the Mainline Democratic remnant along with some bribed or blackmailed Republicans voted with Long's faction, first to abolish the filibuster, and then to pass Long's legislation with a bare majority. When the Supreme Court unanimously struck the bill down, Long's faction in Congress simply created 10 more Supreme Court seats, and passed the bill again, with it surviving the SCOTUS on a 10-9 vote
Long had argued that the reforms were a necessary measure and one that would also be temporary, and that his administration would continue to respect the freedoms of Americans even with the increased power the reforms gave the administration. But the Long administration would quickly descend into authoritarianism, with the creation of pro-Long militias and the jailing of critics of the regime. Furthermore, while Long had previously publicly demanded a large package of populist economic aid, by this time Long had largely pressed the brakes on further assistance, and began turning in a rather more pro-business direction, in part as a reward to the folks who had aided his attempts to pressure members of Congress to fall in line behind his policies
With this new turn, the economy began to take a turn for the worse. More protests emerged, even some from blocs that had previously been loyal to Long, and these protests intensified when documents leaked to the public suggesting that former president Dyer didn't die of natural causes as was previously believed, with Long's associates apparently having killed him instead. The Long regime responded by further cracking down on dissidents, alleging that the Canadian and Mexican governments had fabricated the documents in order to weaken the USA, while also blaming the economic downturn in part on treachery by "liberated" women and minorities, and lashing out against those demographics. The economy continued to decline, but with parts of the population being whipped into a frenzy by the fanatically traditionalist rhetoric and organizations of the Long regime, and with the short term economic benefits from the pillaging after the invasion of Mexico and Canada, the Long regime retained enough support to remain in power, albeit with ever more reliance on the support from big business, which found itself with increasing concessions in its favor
At the end of the 1930s, war broke out in Europe and Asia, with Fascists in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Japan, and elsewhere expanding against their democratic and communist neighbors. It was unclear how the war would end up, but it appeared the Fascists had an upper hand, with the potential for an ascendant Fascist new world order - though the Fascists, confident in their victory, began to cast uneasy looks at each other, with some concern for the potential for future conflicts to emerge amongst each other..."
-Part of a summary of Sinclair Lewis' book "It Can't Happen Here"
"What do you get when you cross a radical communist with a libertarian who abandons the idea of society and treats it like trash? Well, my fellow Americans, if my opposition's current polling is to believed, we'll have no problem giving you what you deserve!"
-the future President, on the campaign trail in 1960
Soon after the 1936 election, many in the Republican Party began to fear for the future. It was, after all, unlikely that the President would run for a third term - doing so would go against a long tradition. But who would come after him? Fiorello La Guardia was seen as a favorite among the party establishment, but there was concern that Huey Long would manage to attain the nomination instead, with his more current association with the Dyer administration and his more populist rhetoric. This caused significant concern - Long had shown himself to have a demagogic streak, as well as a willingness to get his hands dirty, and hints of a desire for power that could go beyond mere ambition and into something worse. Even as the party establishment was grateful for Long's assistance with passing the civil and voting rights law and progressive Fair Deal legislation, many among the establishment quietly began to organize in hopes of preventing a 1940 Long nomination and Presidency
One of the hopes for the Republican establishment was that President Dyer would simply run for a third term. After all, while he'd taken some backlash in the south since his landslide 1936 victory, he overall held sky high approval, and the escalating international situation certainly might make it easier to justify spurning the two-terms-only tradition. Dyer was initially quite reluctant with the idea, but was eventually convinced. He'd keep his decision private until 1940, he told his political allies, but he gave them his guarantees that he'd run again, so long as he was able. Still, though, many in the Republican leadership remained concerned. After all, Dyer was getting up in years and would be 69 in 1940 - not extremely old, but with the additional matter of his disability due to his 1920s shooting, there were concerns as to whether he'd even live to 1940. And if he died before the election, Long would become President...
Meanwhile, Vice President Huey Long found himself increasingly bored and uneasy. He'd had a major role in campaigning in 1936, as well as with wrangling with Congress in order to pass the 1937 voting and civil rights act, but after that, the additional legislation the Dyer administration pursued didn't really require anything from Long, since the Congressional majorities were so large and the economic reforms didn't have the sort of controversy the voting and civil rights act did. Long had ambitions, he'd had a desire to seek the Presidency itself in 1940. Long also had some years before 1940, in a position that he increasingly found didn't really involve doing that much at all. Long also increasingly found alcohol as a manner to deal with his boredom, and one day an aide found Long dead in bed, having choked to death on his own vomit after a night of very heavy drinking
Thus also died the fears of a Huey Long Presidency. For a time after the 1936 elections, fears of a Huey Long Presidency had even entered the public discourse and pop culture, with writings like Sinclair Lewis's "It Can't Happen Here" (which presented a scenario where Huey Long went on to assassinate Leonidas Dyer, ascend to the Presidency, and institute a fascistic authoritarian dictatorship)being published and getting some readership. But with Long's death, those fears dissipated, and now that pop culture phenomenon is largely seen as quaint, (though the concept has more recently been used as the concept for a dystopian young adult series on Netflix)
Even with Long's death, in 1940 Dyer still decided to run again (this time with La Guardia back on the ticket). The nation was quite open to this. The mainline Democrats were not able to present a strong opposition, and despite making some gains in the south compared to their dismal 1936 performance, still were handily beaten by Dyer and La Guardia. Concerns about Dyer's health would continue for the rest of his Presidency, but again, and again, and again, and again, Dyer proved the fears wrong. Dyer's Fair Deal alliance maintained a huge degree of popularity due to the successes in economic recovery and then the successes in fighting global fascism in the Second World War, and by the latter 1940s the mainline Democratic Party was largely irrelevant, having lost most support outside of the demographic of southern white people (and even among southern whites, a sizable and growing chunk now leaned towards the Republicans and their coalition, due to the successes in economic recovery and successes at Fair Dealers building up coalitions between black people and poorer white people), allowing Dyer to easily continue to hold the Presidency and for his allies in Congress to maintain majorities too
Dyer was able to carry out the duties of the office of the Presidency even into the 50s (at which point he was in his 80s), but increasingly found himself tired and considering retirement. Shortly after the 1956 elections, Dyer announced he would not run for reelection in 1960. This meant that for the first time in over two decades, there was actually some doubt as to who would win the next election
In the lead-up to the 1960 election, two frontrunners for the Republican and Fair Deal Coalition nomination emerged - former Secretary of State Margaret Chase Smith, and Vice President Edward Brooke, both of whom would be historic choices. Smith focused her campaign a bit more on themes of experience (she'd been in politics for about a decade longer than Brooke, and had more experience when it came to executive-level government), and on foreign policy (advocating for continuing the progressive and anti-colonial foreign policy of Dyer, expanding ties and aid to the Republics of India and Indochina as well as placing more focus on Africa as an opportunity for the American bloc to shift aside the Western European bloc before the Soviet bloc managed to gain a foothold in the area). Brooke, on the other hand, focused more on themes of domestic change and youth interests (he'd be the youngest President, having only been picked for VP in the 1956 cycle after Dyer's previous VP died of old age shortly before the election), with a platform that went further than Smith's domestically in regards to investments in fighting urban poverty and improving k-12 education, as well as greater support for college and expanding the national healthcare program to cover vision, dental, and hearing. But ultimately the two frontrunners' platforms weren't immensely different in terms of policy, with the big differences being more along the lines of aesthetics and rhetoric of the campaign
The nomination battle was a very close and hotly contested one, with Brooke and Smith generally polling within a point or two of each other for most of the campaign. Brooke managed to very narrowly pull through with a victory, and in order to mend fences inside the coalition, simply chose Smith (who reluctantly agreed) as his VP pick
Edward Brooke was thus almost certainly assured to win the general election, but it turns out he wasn't actually the only person running for the Presidency
For the previous few cycles, the mainline Democratic Party had largely ceased to exist, and its more moderate elements had simply been folded into the newer United Opposition party, which also had a sizable faction of moderate to conservative former Republicans and some other middle of the road politicians. The United Opposition sought to avoid the problems the mainline Democrats ran into, instead running on a platform that was generally for most of the Fair Deal agenda that had already been enacted, and merely called for some minor cuts, as well as being more cautious regarding expansions, as well as making allegations of corruption that the United Opposition leaders said they could root out. The United Opposition was generally expected to further increase its vote share in 1960, due to fatigue with the length of time that the Fair Deal Coalition had held power, as well as some hit to the Coalition due to Dyer's stepping down, and potential issues and hurt feelings from the Coalition nomination struggle. The United Opposition even held some hope that they could drive the Coalition below 60% of the vote for the first time since the creation of the United Opposition
But by this time, the opposition had also begun to fall into infighting and conflict with itself. The United Opposition leadership had taken a very cautious and steady approach, something that some had criticized, given that the party had somewhat underperformed expectations in the past couple election cycles. The leadership had gotten criticism for publicly barring political figures who didn't fit within the narrow moderate spectrum it targeted for the sake of electability. Some had begun to argue that an opposition that accepted more internal mass democracy, along the lines of the Republican and Fair Deal Coalition nominations or even going further, would allow for the opposition to appeal to a larger ideological spectrum and expand support by getting more people involved in the process, as compared to the current strategy of picking nominees and formulating platforms in smoky backrooms by party elites
So the United Opposition experienced a split, and the Coalition for Opposition Unity emerged. Initially, some hoped that even if the opposition vote split, the new opposition coalition could at least peel away more people from the Fair Dealers and bring more nonvoters to the fold, potentially still allowing for some sort of minor morale victory at the very least. And the democratic measures the Coalition for Opposition Unity enacted did certainly bring a lot of people out to take part in. But the coalition was very ideologically fragmented, with a larger than expected amount of ideological radicals than initially expected while no particular ideology held the balance. At the Coalition for Opposition Unity convention, the delegates ended with dozens of votes with no majority, before finally choosing libertarian John Hospers for President and trotskyist James P. Cannon for Vice President. The ticket was widely derided as an incoherent mix of ideology, Cannon eventually stepped down from the ticket - being replaced by progressive labor activist Walter Reuther (who openly only took the spot for the increased public profile it allowed him, openly criticizing the top of the ticket). Before the convention, polls suggested the Coalition for Opposition Unity could overtake the United Opposition, but with the chaos of the nomination, it went on the decline, with the United Opposition retaking the lead among the opposition, albeit with the Coalition for Opposition Unity retaining a decent chunk of support nonetheless due to its broader base. But either way, Brooke and Smith had little fear that they'd not only win but win yet another overwhelming victory for the Fair Dealers - near everyone suspected that the opposition would eventually get its shit together and that Fair Dealer dominance wouldn't last forever, but that "eventually" didn't come in 1960
The results, as predicted, were a landslide for the Fair Dealers. And while the two main opposition parties had combined done better in the popular vote than the United Opposition alone had done in 1956, their splitting of the opposition vote led to something of a humiliation - they'd both failed to even take second place in the electoral college, with the Klansman from the (peculiarly named) Moderate Party managing to win more electoral votes than either of them despite still only winning a single state and winning less than one sixth of their combined popular vote totals. But their combined electoral vote total had beaten the Moderates, by three votes, at least?
Still, the Brooke-Smith ticket had gotten a smaller vote percentage than Dyer had in the past couple elections, and as they took office, they began to negotiate with Congress with a certain urgency that Dyer had lacked in his final years, with intent to make for themselves as much of a legacy for themselves as they could with the opportunities given, before the opposition managed to actually win an election, which was bound to happen eventually, probably
Leonidas Dyer would go on to die in 1977 at the old age of 106, having left a massive legacy of progress on American politics and society. By the time of his death, America as a whole had transitioned back to something of a genuine two party system (or two-coalition system, at least), but the Republican Party and its Fair Deal allies remained a powerful force, with the Party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Dyer still having something of an edge
1932
1936 election and civil/voting rights act
“I’ll be Mussolini and Hitler rolled into one. Mussolini gave them castor oil; I’ll give them poison, and then they’ll fucking taste what happens when you go against the Kingfish! They go after me like this, after all I've done for those goddamn [expletive deleted], who the fuck do they think they are?”
-President Huey Long, after civil rights activists publicly protested his administration
"After the 1936 election, Leonidas Dyer and his Fair Deal coalition of Republicans, Longist Democrats, and some other third party politicians held massive majorities in Congress. These majorities, along with Huey Long's carrots and sticks, were able to pass a landmark bill to enforce civil rights and voting rights for nonwhite Americans, as well as to pass significant expansions of the Fair Deal. With these successes, the Republicans and their Fair Deal alliance looked poised to dominate the political scene, at least for the short to medium term future, as the Mainline Democratic Party continued to flounder in unpopularity and ineptness
But soon after the 1936 election, many in the Republican Party began to fear for the future. It was, after all, unlikely that the President would run for a third term - doing so would go against a long tradition. But who would come after him? Fiorello La Guardia was seen as a favorite among the party establishment, but there was concern that Huey Long would manage to attain the nomination instead, with his more current association with the Dyer administration and his more populist rhetoric. This caused significant concern - Long had shown himself to have a demagogic streak, as well as a willingness to get his hands dirty, and hints of a desire for power that could go beyond mere ambition and into something worse. Even as the party establishment was grateful for Long's assistance with passing the civil and voting rights law and progressive Fair Deal legislation, many among the establishment quietly began to organize in hopes of preventing a 1940 Long nomination and Presidency
One of the hopes for the Republican establishment was that President Dyer would simply run for a third term. After all, while he'd taken some backlash in the south since his landslide 1936 victory, he overall held sky high approval, and the escalating international situation certainly might make it easier to justify spurning the two-terms-only tradition. But it was not to be. In late 1937, Dyer was found dead in his bed. With Dyer's death, Long ascended to the Presidency, and suddenly was the heavy favorite for the 1940 election
Though the Republican establishment attempted to keep relations positive with President Long, the President had no illusions as to their true feelings for him. In the lead-up to the 1938 midterms, he and his political machine made a concerted effort to push for the nomination of staunchly pro-Long politicians, as well as to use carrots and sticks (including J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, as well as a growing alliance with big business elements that gave the progressive Republican establishment even more concern) to try and push existing Congresspeople to align with Long. With a platform of very populist economic policy, combined with staunchly traditionalist moral values, Long and his allies swept the midterms, easily taking control of the house, and making major gains in the Senate as well
Immediately after the midterm elections, Long began to demand a dramatic reduction in the power of Congress, arguing that the national crisis necessitated a stronger executive. Pundits expressed major doubt at the ability for Long's legislation to pass (the House was one thing, but only a third of the Senate is up for election in any given year, so even though Long's men swept the 1938 midterms, they appeared to have rather less than a majority in the Senate), as well as in regards to the potential constitutionality of the bill. But then the bill passed the House, and in the Senate, the Mainline Democratic remnant along with some bribed or blackmailed Republicans voted with Long's faction, first to abolish the filibuster, and then to pass Long's legislation with a bare majority. When the Supreme Court unanimously struck the bill down, Long's faction in Congress simply created 10 more Supreme Court seats, and passed the bill again, with it surviving the SCOTUS on a 10-9 vote
Long had argued that the reforms were a necessary measure and one that would also be temporary, and that his administration would continue to respect the freedoms of Americans even with the increased power the reforms gave the administration. But the Long administration would quickly descend into authoritarianism, with the creation of pro-Long militias and the jailing of critics of the regime. Furthermore, while Long had previously publicly demanded a large package of populist economic aid, by this time Long had largely pressed the brakes on further assistance, and began turning in a rather more pro-business direction, in part as a reward to the folks who had aided his attempts to pressure members of Congress to fall in line behind his policies
With this new turn, the economy began to take a turn for the worse. More protests emerged, even some from blocs that had previously been loyal to Long, and these protests intensified when documents leaked to the public suggesting that former president Dyer didn't die of natural causes as was previously believed, with Long's associates apparently having killed him instead. The Long regime responded by further cracking down on dissidents, alleging that the Canadian and Mexican governments had fabricated the documents in order to weaken the USA, while also blaming the economic downturn in part on treachery by "liberated" women and minorities, and lashing out against those demographics. The economy continued to decline, but with parts of the population being whipped into a frenzy by the fanatically traditionalist rhetoric and organizations of the Long regime, and with the short term economic benefits from the pillaging after the invasion of Mexico and Canada, the Long regime retained enough support to remain in power, albeit with ever more reliance on the support from big business, which found itself with increasing concessions in its favor
At the end of the 1930s, war broke out in Europe and Asia, with Fascists in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Japan, and elsewhere expanding against their democratic and communist neighbors. It was unclear how the war would end up, but it appeared the Fascists had an upper hand, with the potential for an ascendant Fascist new world order - though the Fascists, confident in their victory, began to cast uneasy looks at each other, with some concern for the potential for future conflicts to emerge amongst each other..."
-Part of a summary of Sinclair Lewis' book "It Can't Happen Here"
"What do you get when you cross a radical communist with a libertarian who abandons the idea of society and treats it like trash? Well, my fellow Americans, if my opposition's current polling is to believed, we'll have no problem giving you what you deserve!"
-the future President, on the campaign trail in 1960
Soon after the 1936 election, many in the Republican Party began to fear for the future. It was, after all, unlikely that the President would run for a third term - doing so would go against a long tradition. But who would come after him? Fiorello La Guardia was seen as a favorite among the party establishment, but there was concern that Huey Long would manage to attain the nomination instead, with his more current association with the Dyer administration and his more populist rhetoric. This caused significant concern - Long had shown himself to have a demagogic streak, as well as a willingness to get his hands dirty, and hints of a desire for power that could go beyond mere ambition and into something worse. Even as the party establishment was grateful for Long's assistance with passing the civil and voting rights law and progressive Fair Deal legislation, many among the establishment quietly began to organize in hopes of preventing a 1940 Long nomination and Presidency
One of the hopes for the Republican establishment was that President Dyer would simply run for a third term. After all, while he'd taken some backlash in the south since his landslide 1936 victory, he overall held sky high approval, and the escalating international situation certainly might make it easier to justify spurning the two-terms-only tradition. Dyer was initially quite reluctant with the idea, but was eventually convinced. He'd keep his decision private until 1940, he told his political allies, but he gave them his guarantees that he'd run again, so long as he was able. Still, though, many in the Republican leadership remained concerned. After all, Dyer was getting up in years and would be 69 in 1940 - not extremely old, but with the additional matter of his disability due to his 1920s shooting, there were concerns as to whether he'd even live to 1940. And if he died before the election, Long would become President...
Meanwhile, Vice President Huey Long found himself increasingly bored and uneasy. He'd had a major role in campaigning in 1936, as well as with wrangling with Congress in order to pass the 1937 voting and civil rights act, but after that, the additional legislation the Dyer administration pursued didn't really require anything from Long, since the Congressional majorities were so large and the economic reforms didn't have the sort of controversy the voting and civil rights act did. Long had ambitions, he'd had a desire to seek the Presidency itself in 1940. Long also had some years before 1940, in a position that he increasingly found didn't really involve doing that much at all. Long also increasingly found alcohol as a manner to deal with his boredom, and one day an aide found Long dead in bed, having choked to death on his own vomit after a night of very heavy drinking
Thus also died the fears of a Huey Long Presidency. For a time after the 1936 elections, fears of a Huey Long Presidency had even entered the public discourse and pop culture, with writings like Sinclair Lewis's "It Can't Happen Here" (which presented a scenario where Huey Long went on to assassinate Leonidas Dyer, ascend to the Presidency, and institute a fascistic authoritarian dictatorship)being published and getting some readership. But with Long's death, those fears dissipated, and now that pop culture phenomenon is largely seen as quaint, (though the concept has more recently been used as the concept for a dystopian young adult series on Netflix)
Even with Long's death, in 1940 Dyer still decided to run again (this time with La Guardia back on the ticket). The nation was quite open to this. The mainline Democrats were not able to present a strong opposition, and despite making some gains in the south compared to their dismal 1936 performance, still were handily beaten by Dyer and La Guardia. Concerns about Dyer's health would continue for the rest of his Presidency, but again, and again, and again, and again, Dyer proved the fears wrong. Dyer's Fair Deal alliance maintained a huge degree of popularity due to the successes in economic recovery and then the successes in fighting global fascism in the Second World War, and by the latter 1940s the mainline Democratic Party was largely irrelevant, having lost most support outside of the demographic of southern white people (and even among southern whites, a sizable and growing chunk now leaned towards the Republicans and their coalition, due to the successes in economic recovery and successes at Fair Dealers building up coalitions between black people and poorer white people), allowing Dyer to easily continue to hold the Presidency and for his allies in Congress to maintain majorities too
Dyer was able to carry out the duties of the office of the Presidency even into the 50s (at which point he was in his 80s), but increasingly found himself tired and considering retirement. Shortly after the 1956 elections, Dyer announced he would not run for reelection in 1960. This meant that for the first time in over two decades, there was actually some doubt as to who would win the next election
In the lead-up to the 1960 election, two frontrunners for the Republican and Fair Deal Coalition nomination emerged - former Secretary of State Margaret Chase Smith, and Vice President Edward Brooke, both of whom would be historic choices. Smith focused her campaign a bit more on themes of experience (she'd been in politics for about a decade longer than Brooke, and had more experience when it came to executive-level government), and on foreign policy (advocating for continuing the progressive and anti-colonial foreign policy of Dyer, expanding ties and aid to the Republics of India and Indochina as well as placing more focus on Africa as an opportunity for the American bloc to shift aside the Western European bloc before the Soviet bloc managed to gain a foothold in the area). Brooke, on the other hand, focused more on themes of domestic change and youth interests (he'd be the youngest President, having only been picked for VP in the 1956 cycle after Dyer's previous VP died of old age shortly before the election), with a platform that went further than Smith's domestically in regards to investments in fighting urban poverty and improving k-12 education, as well as greater support for college and expanding the national healthcare program to cover vision, dental, and hearing. But ultimately the two frontrunners' platforms weren't immensely different in terms of policy, with the big differences being more along the lines of aesthetics and rhetoric of the campaign
The nomination battle was a very close and hotly contested one, with Brooke and Smith generally polling within a point or two of each other for most of the campaign. Brooke managed to very narrowly pull through with a victory, and in order to mend fences inside the coalition, simply chose Smith (who reluctantly agreed) as his VP pick
Edward Brooke was thus almost certainly assured to win the general election, but it turns out he wasn't actually the only person running for the Presidency
For the previous few cycles, the mainline Democratic Party had largely ceased to exist, and its more moderate elements had simply been folded into the newer United Opposition party, which also had a sizable faction of moderate to conservative former Republicans and some other middle of the road politicians. The United Opposition sought to avoid the problems the mainline Democrats ran into, instead running on a platform that was generally for most of the Fair Deal agenda that had already been enacted, and merely called for some minor cuts, as well as being more cautious regarding expansions, as well as making allegations of corruption that the United Opposition leaders said they could root out. The United Opposition was generally expected to further increase its vote share in 1960, due to fatigue with the length of time that the Fair Deal Coalition had held power, as well as some hit to the Coalition due to Dyer's stepping down, and potential issues and hurt feelings from the Coalition nomination struggle. The United Opposition even held some hope that they could drive the Coalition below 60% of the vote for the first time since the creation of the United Opposition
But by this time, the opposition had also begun to fall into infighting and conflict with itself. The United Opposition leadership had taken a very cautious and steady approach, something that some had criticized, given that the party had somewhat underperformed expectations in the past couple election cycles. The leadership had gotten criticism for publicly barring political figures who didn't fit within the narrow moderate spectrum it targeted for the sake of electability. Some had begun to argue that an opposition that accepted more internal mass democracy, along the lines of the Republican and Fair Deal Coalition nominations or even going further, would allow for the opposition to appeal to a larger ideological spectrum and expand support by getting more people involved in the process, as compared to the current strategy of picking nominees and formulating platforms in smoky backrooms by party elites
So the United Opposition experienced a split, and the Coalition for Opposition Unity emerged. Initially, some hoped that even if the opposition vote split, the new opposition coalition could at least peel away more people from the Fair Dealers and bring more nonvoters to the fold, potentially still allowing for some sort of minor morale victory at the very least. And the democratic measures the Coalition for Opposition Unity enacted did certainly bring a lot of people out to take part in. But the coalition was very ideologically fragmented, with a larger than expected amount of ideological radicals than initially expected while no particular ideology held the balance. At the Coalition for Opposition Unity convention, the delegates ended with dozens of votes with no majority, before finally choosing libertarian John Hospers for President and trotskyist James P. Cannon for Vice President. The ticket was widely derided as an incoherent mix of ideology, Cannon eventually stepped down from the ticket - being replaced by progressive labor activist Walter Reuther (who openly only took the spot for the increased public profile it allowed him, openly criticizing the top of the ticket). Before the convention, polls suggested the Coalition for Opposition Unity could overtake the United Opposition, but with the chaos of the nomination, it went on the decline, with the United Opposition retaking the lead among the opposition, albeit with the Coalition for Opposition Unity retaining a decent chunk of support nonetheless due to its broader base. But either way, Brooke and Smith had little fear that they'd not only win but win yet another overwhelming victory for the Fair Dealers - near everyone suspected that the opposition would eventually get its shit together and that Fair Dealer dominance wouldn't last forever, but that "eventually" didn't come in 1960
The results, as predicted, were a landslide for the Fair Dealers. And while the two main opposition parties had combined done better in the popular vote than the United Opposition alone had done in 1956, their splitting of the opposition vote led to something of a humiliation - they'd both failed to even take second place in the electoral college, with the Klansman from the (peculiarly named) Moderate Party managing to win more electoral votes than either of them despite still only winning a single state and winning less than one sixth of their combined popular vote totals. But their combined electoral vote total had beaten the Moderates, by three votes, at least?
Still, the Brooke-Smith ticket had gotten a smaller vote percentage than Dyer had in the past couple elections, and as they took office, they began to negotiate with Congress with a certain urgency that Dyer had lacked in his final years, with intent to make for themselves as much of a legacy for themselves as they could with the opportunities given, before the opposition managed to actually win an election, which was bound to happen eventually, probably
Leonidas Dyer would go on to die in 1977 at the old age of 106, having left a massive legacy of progress on American politics and society. By the time of his death, America as a whole had transitioned back to something of a genuine two party system (or two-coalition system, at least), but the Republican Party and its Fair Deal allies remained a powerful force, with the Party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Dyer still having something of an edge
Deleted member 139407
Holy cow, what an update! This really is quite the thought provoking series and quite an enjoyable one, at that! A few questions:
- How are the parties in the Fair Deal Coalition outside of the Republican and Democratic parties - meaning the Progressive, Farmer-Labor, Non-partisan League, Populist, American Labor, and the Liberal parties - able to maintain a presence in American politics instead of being folded into the Republicans?
- You mention that the United States transitions into "something of a genuine two party system (or two coalition system, at least)." My desire to know more has grown immeasurably, especially considering the Republican Party covers so much ground. Do you plan on making an info box for the Current Politics Wikibox thread which brings us to the modern day in this radically shifted United States?
Wow. If FDR's legacy as one of the greatest presidents was solidified with four terms, then Dyer's six terms- which include ending segregation in the South, rebuilding the country after the Great Depression, fighting fascism- must make him a positively deified figure in American history, perhaps even close to Lincoln.
Thanks, glad you found it enjoyable!
1. So, there's a few things
The general idea here is that the parties ended up switched compared to the liberal/progressive Democrats vs conservative Republicans, but it's not exactly a perfect switch vs OTL. FDR's southern conservative wing was still (at first at least, though it later shifted away) open to core New Deal democratic economic programs, whereas here, even with the parties having shifted in the other direction, by the economic downturn, there's still a conservative leaning (and pro tariff) minority within the Republican Party that is a bit more relevant to opposing the sort of popular proposals for economic aid that later get molded into the Fair Deal. The 1930 midterms thus see major gains for Republicans in general as well as the progressive wing within the party, but there's some more cases of conservative incumbent Republicans surviving the primaries and simply getting beaten in the general election by some of those third party left leaning parties instead. After Dyer wins in 1932, he's got sizable majorities but there's a bit more reliance on some of those third party sorts to give some Fair Deal legislation the necessary votes to pass
So from the start, Dyer just sort of got used to having his own party being a bit more difficult for him than the Democrats initially were for FDR, and got used to working a bit more with third party legislators to assist in his legislating. And with their role in passing the Fair Deal legislation, the third parties get a bit more acknowledgement and recognition, which helps them a bit
The 1934 midterms give Republicans and progressive Republicans in particular a further boost, and if things had gone differently, perhaps the third parties would have eventually just been fully folded into the GOP. The experiences in 1936 however, with using the Longist breakaway Democrats to break the mainline Democratic stranglehold on the south, make Dyer way more open to working with other parties as a broader tactic rather than temporary measure of convenience, due to the major payoff it brought
Of course there's less need for that sort of thing outside the south. But it still has its uses, with the other parties potentially having some uses in appeals more targeted to certain groups or areas, like Labor specifically at the issues of urban laborers, populists at rural areas, farmer-labor at both, liberal at somewhat more educated and affluent urban and suburban intellectuals, and so on. So Dyer comes to find it useful to sometimes give his endorsement to one of the third party candidates rather than a Republican, in some states and districts. Plus if there's a more conservative Republican that causes some issues for Dyer, the potential for supporting a third party candidate rather than getting involved in the primaries also exists and is potentially sometimes used. Also, while the third parties are far from just copies of each other, having different demographics of prime support and nuanced differences in ideology, they tend to be broadly left-leaning, amenable to the broad strokes of the Fair Deal, so sizable chunks of their membership end up being open to becoming closer to Dyer in return for some additional relevance. Plus while the third parties are generally not immensely ideologically disaligned with the Fair Deal Republicans, there's still potentially some use in the Republicans presenting their ticket as not just one party or even one party with a fraction of one other party but rather a broad alliance of several different parties, when it comes to appealing to voters, and also, in states with electoral fusion laws, perhaps there's some benefit to having the nominee being listed 8 times rather than just once or twice
Or maybe very little of that actually mattered, and the progressive Republican strategists just made some connections to how it worked with the breakaway Democrats and assumed the third parties would be a similar help on some level, even though actually outside of the South, the Republicans would have absolutely dominated without any alliances with third parties due to the mainline Democrats solidifying as an anti Fair Deal party rather than something along the lines of the "me too" Republicans of OTL
But either way, on one hand the existence of and working with the third parties has become something of a tradition in the Fair Deal coalition by the 50s and 60s, and on the other hand, in a certain sense they de facto kind of are folded into the Republican Party, or at least the broader Fair Deal coalition, appearing more and more along the lines of the ideological factions and caucuses within America's OTL parties of present day rather than their own truly separate things. Maybe also some comparisons, at least vaguely, can be made between that whole alliance, and the German CDU-CSU alliance, as well as the Australian Lib-Nats, though far from an exact analogy
2. Basically, the GOP and allies are utterly dominant after 1936, but nothing lasts forever. Even in this much more progressive America, there's gonna be those who lean to the right (relative to the ITL GOP, even if they'd also be rather to the left of OTL conservatives), and it does remain a capitalist (albeit regulated and far more social democratic) system, with business interests having some influence still. And as time goes on, the memory of the mainline Democrats and their unpopularity declines, with a more conservative leaning or at least more moderate alternative to the Fair Dealers managing to come together and eventually become competitive at the federal level
I mean, theoretically I could have had the Fair Dealers have electoral successes and dominance on the level of the Japanese LibDems, but idk, that feels a bit unrealistic, especially for a left leaning party in a capitalist system - in my opinion at least
1960 is something of a missed opportunity for the opposition to make gains, but they still manage to pick themselves up and keep going. And with the more progressive Fair Dealers as opposed to the Democrats of OTL that were usually blocked by the conservative coalition of southern Democrats, Dyer and then the Brooke-Smith administration is able to go on and do more progressive reforms that on one hand probably won't be reversed but on the other hand can make (relatively) moderate swing voters more willing to at least consider some sort of alternative if it isn't a staunchly conservative alternative that just wants to reverse all the gains made under the Fair Dealers
As for continuing this to the present day, it sounds like a cool idea but I don't plan on doing that. The America of this scenario, as I envision it, would be much more progressive leaning and advanced socially vs OTL, to the point where trying to do a current day extension would feel almost like doing a sort of future history thing, in a sense, and not just a "very near future" sort of thing. And that's a rather more difficult thing for me to do, just not something I have the interest or energy to do, at this point at least
Yup, plus doing universal healthcare, regulating against sex based and other discrimination too, and pursuing and a foreign policy orientation that was more idealistic and critical of European colonialism (all hinted at in this or the previous post), as well as accepting many Jewish refugees and refusing to do anything like Japanese internment (stuff that wasn't mentioned). So after his 7 terms (btw, not 6, he won in 1932, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, and 56), he's held in extremely high regard by many, especially those leaning to the left (where he's not tarred with Japanese internment, refusal of Jewish refugees, and turning a blind eye to segregation like FDR, or the Vietnam war like LBJ). Probably would often be ranked pretty highly, potentially close to Lincoln (I mean, just looking at presidential rankings lists, FDR himself is often placed very close to Lincoln from what it looks like) , and seen by some as a spiritual heir of sorts of Lincoln
Honestly I feel like Dyer here objectively has to be ranked higher than Lincoln. He's just accomplished so much more. If I were in ttl he'd just be far and away the greatest President.
From a Byzantine-wank(ish) Discord RP I'm doing
Much credit to @DracoLazarus for a lot of the ideas behind the total scenario
Basil III (23 April 1848 - [TBD]) was Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans from January 2nd 1891 to [TBD]. The eldest and purple-born son of Andronikos IX and his wife Euphrosyne Doukaites, he seized the throne from his brother Isaac Komnenos Palaiologos upon the death of their father and was proclaimed emperor by the army and Senate in 1891. He came to power amidst a period of national upheaval—his early reign was marked by civil war and republican insurrection, while towards the middle and end of his reign he presided over war with the Russo-Polish Empire (1901-1902) as well as conflicts with Persia in the Middle East (1894-1897). Nevertheless he was able to overcome these conflicts and preserve the Roman state's territorial integrity, but died from complications of a [TBD] at the age of [TBD].
His era of rule is generally regarded as a transition between the conservative and tumultuous reign of Andronikos IX and the following liberal reign of Demetrios V. Modern historians regard him as a conservative absolutist owing to Basil's dictatorial tendencies at a time when Europe's sovereigns were conceding or had conceded much of their powers to their national legislatures. In contrast to such figures as the Saxon Elector, the kings of Denmark-Norway, or even the Holy Roman Emperor, Basil ruled as an absolute monarch and kept in abeyance the short-lived constitution and legislature that his father Andronikos had suspended. He is also criticized for his solitary and excessive focus on military affairs; while he did personally direct and oversee crucial modernization efforts in the Roman military, his aloof attitude regarding domestic governance prolonged the corruption of his father's reign and allowed men such as Pavlos Papadopoulos and Stavros Leventis (the Roman Grand Logothete and Grand Duke, respectively) to accrue massive amounts of domestic power so long as they did not interfere with Basil's chosen area of supremacy, the military. He also kept the empire diplomatically isolated from Europe during his [REDACTED]-year reign; historians debate to this day the effectiveness of that policy, for although the Roman state avoided European diplomatic entanglements during his reign, it found itself with virtually no allies among the Great Powers of Europe, which certain historians blame as the reason for the harshness of the Great Powers at the Hanover Conference and the subsequent Treaty of Hanover (1902).
Despite these historical reassessments, during his reign and lifetime Basil was a popular monarch who reinvigorated the Roman institution of monarchy through his own personal military achievement and leadership during a time of great upheaval, earning him the moniker Basil the Bold. A cavalryman by trade and experienced campaigner, he defended Roman influence in the Middle East and personally led the Roman army on the battlefield during wartime. He also ended the financial insolvency that his grandfather and great-uncle had placed upon the empire. Most importantly, however, the end of his reign also saw the rise of Theodora Komnena Palaiologina, a distant relation of the imperial family who would later go onto become the widely-perceived architect of the Demetrian Reforms promulgated by her husband and Basil's son and successor Demetrios V.
Much credit to @DracoLazarus for a lot of the ideas behind the total scenario
Basil III (23 April 1848 - [TBD]) was Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans from January 2nd 1891 to [TBD]. The eldest and purple-born son of Andronikos IX and his wife Euphrosyne Doukaites, he seized the throne from his brother Isaac Komnenos Palaiologos upon the death of their father and was proclaimed emperor by the army and Senate in 1891. He came to power amidst a period of national upheaval—his early reign was marked by civil war and republican insurrection, while towards the middle and end of his reign he presided over war with the Russo-Polish Empire (1901-1902) as well as conflicts with Persia in the Middle East (1894-1897). Nevertheless he was able to overcome these conflicts and preserve the Roman state's territorial integrity, but died from complications of a [TBD] at the age of [TBD].
His era of rule is generally regarded as a transition between the conservative and tumultuous reign of Andronikos IX and the following liberal reign of Demetrios V. Modern historians regard him as a conservative absolutist owing to Basil's dictatorial tendencies at a time when Europe's sovereigns were conceding or had conceded much of their powers to their national legislatures. In contrast to such figures as the Saxon Elector, the kings of Denmark-Norway, or even the Holy Roman Emperor, Basil ruled as an absolute monarch and kept in abeyance the short-lived constitution and legislature that his father Andronikos had suspended. He is also criticized for his solitary and excessive focus on military affairs; while he did personally direct and oversee crucial modernization efforts in the Roman military, his aloof attitude regarding domestic governance prolonged the corruption of his father's reign and allowed men such as Pavlos Papadopoulos and Stavros Leventis (the Roman Grand Logothete and Grand Duke, respectively) to accrue massive amounts of domestic power so long as they did not interfere with Basil's chosen area of supremacy, the military. He also kept the empire diplomatically isolated from Europe during his [REDACTED]-year reign; historians debate to this day the effectiveness of that policy, for although the Roman state avoided European diplomatic entanglements during his reign, it found itself with virtually no allies among the Great Powers of Europe, which certain historians blame as the reason for the harshness of the Great Powers at the Hanover Conference and the subsequent Treaty of Hanover (1902).
Despite these historical reassessments, during his reign and lifetime Basil was a popular monarch who reinvigorated the Roman institution of monarchy through his own personal military achievement and leadership during a time of great upheaval, earning him the moniker Basil the Bold. A cavalryman by trade and experienced campaigner, he defended Roman influence in the Middle East and personally led the Roman army on the battlefield during wartime. He also ended the financial insolvency that his grandfather and great-uncle had placed upon the empire. Most importantly, however, the end of his reign also saw the rise of Theodora Komnena Palaiologina, a distant relation of the imperial family who would later go onto become the widely-perceived architect of the Demetrian Reforms promulgated by her husband and Basil's son and successor Demetrios V.
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So this is another little idea I had. How feasible it is or whether I’ll continue it, I’m not sure, but it was fun to think about.
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The 1945 Spanish general election was held on the 12th August 1945 to elect 473 seats to the Spanish Cortes Generales, the country’s unicameral legislature. It was the first election held in Spain since the end of the Civil Wars and the Second World War.
From 1936 to 1939, the country had been embroiled in a civil war between supporters of the left-wing republican government led by President Manuel Azaña and the far-right nationalists led by Lieutenant General José Sanjurjo. The nationalist side won, and Sanjurjo quickly started to make ties with the Axis Powers. Spain joined the Pact of Steel in May 1939 and entered the war after Britain and France declared war on Germany that September.
The civil war proved crucial to undermining Spain’s position in the war. Its war effort was lacklustre due to the devastation of the civil war, from the beginning there was a large underground resistance movement of republicans who had not fled the country after the nationalist victory, and resources from Germany and Italy were diverted to it to try to alleviate these issues. By 1941, the Nazis gave up this support for Sanjurjo to devote more efforts to Operation Barbarossa, leaving Sanjurjo with only Italian aid, and by mid-1943 his regime was crumbling. His overthrow by his generals and support for the resistance rising both internationally and among the public prompted what is known as the Second Spanish Civil War, which the republican side won thanks to Allied aid, the dictatorship's deteriorated support and popular unrest.
The nationalist side surrendered unconditionally three days after the German forces, on the 10th May 1945, and the government-in-exile was invited back to prepare for new elections. The incumbent President- and Prime Minister-in-exile, Diego Martínez-Barrio of the Republican Union (UR) and José Giral of the Republican Left (IR), carried over their roles until a new election could be held. This transitionary government also oversaw the trials and in some cases executions of many of the nationalist and fascist leaders, including Sanjurjo, Francisco Franco and Gonzalo Queipo de Llano.
The election saw significant upheaval to the parties. On the left, the IR and UR eclipsed the traditionally more prevalent socialist party, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), due to the association of the latter’s leading figures like Indalecio Prieto and Juan Negrín with the failures of the 1936-39 Popular Front compared to the former two being mostly associated with the Resistance and Second Civil War. Giral, seeking re-election as Prime Minister, focused on rebuilding the devastated Spanish economy and completing its transition out of fascism, while largely downplaying the contentious issues of secularization and regionalism.
On the right, the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) was banned for collaboration with the nationalist forces and fascists, and in its absence the reconstituted Radical Republican Party (PRR) surged in support thanks to tactical voting from the right. It was led by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, who had been President from 1931 to 1936, had opposed the CEDA, had fled the country after the First Civil War broke out, and remained away from it until the end of the war, speaking out against the Sanjurjo regime. This made him acceptable to the left, and Martínez-Barrio and Giral’s decision not to censure him for fear of triggering another conflict placated the right. With their options limited, most right-wing voters supported the PRR.
As expected, the IR won a huge plurality and Giral continued as Prime Minister with the support from several leftist parties, including the UR and PSOE. To keep his government stable, he also made it clear he would be willing to cooperate with the centrist parties on certain matters.
(Btw in case you were wondering why Giral becomes PM earlier in TTL, the outbreak of the Second Civil War in late 1943 prompts the government in exile to replace Negrín due to fears for the confidence and morale of the republican side.)
*
The 1945 Spanish general election was held on the 12th August 1945 to elect 473 seats to the Spanish Cortes Generales, the country’s unicameral legislature. It was the first election held in Spain since the end of the Civil Wars and the Second World War.
From 1936 to 1939, the country had been embroiled in a civil war between supporters of the left-wing republican government led by President Manuel Azaña and the far-right nationalists led by Lieutenant General José Sanjurjo. The nationalist side won, and Sanjurjo quickly started to make ties with the Axis Powers. Spain joined the Pact of Steel in May 1939 and entered the war after Britain and France declared war on Germany that September.
The civil war proved crucial to undermining Spain’s position in the war. Its war effort was lacklustre due to the devastation of the civil war, from the beginning there was a large underground resistance movement of republicans who had not fled the country after the nationalist victory, and resources from Germany and Italy were diverted to it to try to alleviate these issues. By 1941, the Nazis gave up this support for Sanjurjo to devote more efforts to Operation Barbarossa, leaving Sanjurjo with only Italian aid, and by mid-1943 his regime was crumbling. His overthrow by his generals and support for the resistance rising both internationally and among the public prompted what is known as the Second Spanish Civil War, which the republican side won thanks to Allied aid, the dictatorship's deteriorated support and popular unrest.
The nationalist side surrendered unconditionally three days after the German forces, on the 10th May 1945, and the government-in-exile was invited back to prepare for new elections. The incumbent President- and Prime Minister-in-exile, Diego Martínez-Barrio of the Republican Union (UR) and José Giral of the Republican Left (IR), carried over their roles until a new election could be held. This transitionary government also oversaw the trials and in some cases executions of many of the nationalist and fascist leaders, including Sanjurjo, Francisco Franco and Gonzalo Queipo de Llano.
The election saw significant upheaval to the parties. On the left, the IR and UR eclipsed the traditionally more prevalent socialist party, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), due to the association of the latter’s leading figures like Indalecio Prieto and Juan Negrín with the failures of the 1936-39 Popular Front compared to the former two being mostly associated with the Resistance and Second Civil War. Giral, seeking re-election as Prime Minister, focused on rebuilding the devastated Spanish economy and completing its transition out of fascism, while largely downplaying the contentious issues of secularization and regionalism.
On the right, the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) was banned for collaboration with the nationalist forces and fascists, and in its absence the reconstituted Radical Republican Party (PRR) surged in support thanks to tactical voting from the right. It was led by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, who had been President from 1931 to 1936, had opposed the CEDA, had fled the country after the First Civil War broke out, and remained away from it until the end of the war, speaking out against the Sanjurjo regime. This made him acceptable to the left, and Martínez-Barrio and Giral’s decision not to censure him for fear of triggering another conflict placated the right. With their options limited, most right-wing voters supported the PRR.
As expected, the IR won a huge plurality and Giral continued as Prime Minister with the support from several leftist parties, including the UR and PSOE. To keep his government stable, he also made it clear he would be willing to cooperate with the centrist parties on certain matters.
(Btw in case you were wondering why Giral becomes PM earlier in TTL, the outbreak of the Second Civil War in late 1943 prompts the government in exile to replace Negrín due to fears for the confidence and morale of the republican side.)
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Crossposting from my timeline, the 1848, 1852, and 1856 Presidential Elections:
Just an idea I had...
The Shadow President and Vice President serve as heads of state in the shadow government of the United States of America. Both are members of the legislative branch of government. The President being a member ex-offico of the House of Presidential Candidates. The Shadow President, however, is entitled to a seat on the U.S Supreme Court for life, regardless of whether or not a new Shadow President takes office. Conversely, the Shadow Vice President is entitled to a (largely honorific) permanent seat on the United States District Court of Abraham Lincoln, which hears all cases pertaining to civil war disputes between re-enactors and local property owners.
The Position was established following months of government haggling and the 1956 Constitutional Crisis thanks in part to a slate of Mississippi faithless electors that would not vote for President Walt Disney. As the election was close between Admiral John Crommellin and Disney, it came down to Mississippi picking a side. The electors remained unfaithful to either slate, in spite of the governor ordering a new slate of Pro-Crommellin electors in place of the unpledged slate. The Federal Government sued Mississippi for this action, alleging it violated the "wills of the people." The Supreme Court ruled against the Federal Government and mandated a solution to satisfy bitter losers. The result was the formation of the Shadow Presidency. President Crommelin decided to visit Illinois, but would be assasinated by radical members of the NAACP. (This splinter group was known as John Brown Underground).
Following Barry Goldwater's smashing defeat everywhere in 1960 but the deep south against President McCormack, riotous Dixiecrats threatened to secede from the Union unless concessions were made. As the President's coat-tails weren't as large as expecting to overcome a southern filibuster on civil rights legislation, The Compromise of 1962 was reached with both sides. In the next election, whoever lost the Presidency would be appointed as Shadow President. Former Presidential candidates that had lost their elections were reached out in order to reach a quota with the House of Former Presidential Nominees. (When there wasn't enough, former presidential candidates from major and minor parties were included to increase the size, with a quick renaming from Nominees to the more inclusive Candidates.)
One of the most controversial bones President McCormack threw his opponents was the inclusion of a Supreme Court Seat for the former Shadow President. He initially proposed it as a way to promote the Supreme Court and hit back against "monarchial" remarks that the "outdated" Court had a place in the mid 20th century. However, this has proved to wield significant power to the opposition within this country, including when Brown v. Board of Education was struck down in Stennis v. Ford (1973) thanks to the addition of failed 1968 Presidential Candidate turned Associate Justice Orville L. Hubbard to the bench, which provided the conservative majority needed to do so.
The Shadow President and Vice President serve as heads of state in the shadow government of the United States of America. Both are members of the legislative branch of government. The President being a member ex-offico of the House of Presidential Candidates. The Shadow President, however, is entitled to a seat on the U.S Supreme Court for life, regardless of whether or not a new Shadow President takes office. Conversely, the Shadow Vice President is entitled to a (largely honorific) permanent seat on the United States District Court of Abraham Lincoln, which hears all cases pertaining to civil war disputes between re-enactors and local property owners.
The Position was established following months of government haggling and the 1956 Constitutional Crisis thanks in part to a slate of Mississippi faithless electors that would not vote for President Walt Disney. As the election was close between Admiral John Crommellin and Disney, it came down to Mississippi picking a side. The electors remained unfaithful to either slate, in spite of the governor ordering a new slate of Pro-Crommellin electors in place of the unpledged slate. The Federal Government sued Mississippi for this action, alleging it violated the "wills of the people." The Supreme Court ruled against the Federal Government and mandated a solution to satisfy bitter losers. The result was the formation of the Shadow Presidency. President Crommelin decided to visit Illinois, but would be assasinated by radical members of the NAACP. (This splinter group was known as John Brown Underground).
Following Barry Goldwater's smashing defeat everywhere in 1960 but the deep south against President McCormack, riotous Dixiecrats threatened to secede from the Union unless concessions were made. As the President's coat-tails weren't as large as expecting to overcome a southern filibuster on civil rights legislation, The Compromise of 1962 was reached with both sides. In the next election, whoever lost the Presidency would be appointed as Shadow President. Former Presidential candidates that had lost their elections were reached out in order to reach a quota with the House of Former Presidential Nominees. (When there wasn't enough, former presidential candidates from major and minor parties were included to increase the size, with a quick renaming from Nominees to the more inclusive Candidates.)
One of the most controversial bones President McCormack threw his opponents was the inclusion of a Supreme Court Seat for the former Shadow President. He initially proposed it as a way to promote the Supreme Court and hit back against "monarchial" remarks that the "outdated" Court had a place in the mid 20th century. However, this has proved to wield significant power to the opposition within this country, including when Brown v. Board of Education was struck down in Stennis v. Ford (1973) thanks to the addition of failed 1968 Presidential Candidate turned Associate Justice Orville L. Hubbard to the bench, which provided the conservative majority needed to do so.
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