America's Silver Era, The Story of William Jennings Bryan

Why did Oregon vote No?
Kinda want an explaination for some other states that voted yes and no as well.
There have been a fair number of ideological shifts since the Bryan coalition of 1896 to the 1930s, so I'll explain how the vote went:

As for Oregon, it's the most conservative western state in the 60s, and the West has been slowly shifting right for the last 30 years. It has become much richer recently as well. Even during the Bryan era, it was consistently his worst state in the region. Think of it as kind of like OTL Reagan-era California. Still, it only barely voted no. The other conservative western states of Utah and Kansas were very close as well. Washington, Nevada, and Colorado are still very left-wing, while the plains states have become more conservative. California is a moderate state, and the vote there matched the vote nationwide. Alaska and Idaho already had universal healthcare decades ago. Hawaii, though a hardcore Republican state, is not very conservative. Oklahoma still has a strong populist movement and relatively strong socialist movement. Texas barely voted no. Throughout the South, there was a lot of opposition to universal healthcare, but there was also significant support for it among African-American and Appalachian voters. Virginia, and Delaware are relatively conservative states (especially Virginia), while Maryland is more moderate. The Midwest, along with the west, has become more conservative, but generally voted yes, though the most conservative Midwestern state, Indiana, narrowly voted no. Ohio barely voted yes. Minnesota was the most supportive state in the region. Pennsylvania and New Jersey were close, as they are conservative states but also has a lot of working class voters. New York is much more left-wing than those states, and universal healthcare won there by a comfortable margin. The politically moderate state of Rhode Island voted yes and the slightly left of center Massachusetts did as well. New Hampshire is the most conservative state in New England, and voted no more than any other state (55%). Vermont and Maine narrowly voted no, but would have voted for yes if the Republican nominee had supported it. Connecticut, as a very wealthy state, voted no as well.
 
But neither Germay, no Russia not used nuclear weapoon in the current war... Or not YET used?
As of the time of the outbreak of war, despite rumors of superweapons being in development, there are no nuclear weapons yet. They may or may not be in development. America and Britain are both trying to figure out if Germany, Russia, or Japan are actually building "superweapons."
 
As of the time of the outbreak of war, despite rumors of superweapons being in development, there are no nuclear weapons yet. They may or may not be in development. America and Britain are both trying to figure out if Germany, Russia, or Japan are actually building "superweapons."
I just realized I've been jumblingup your timeline and @Murica1776 'S first let the eagle scream timeline. I was thinking France got nuked. I need to reread some of this.
 
What is Africa looking like at this point? Are there any countries that didn't exist IRL? Love this TL!
Thanks!

Less independent countries than OTL. France lost all it's colonies at the end of the war. Britain has committed to eventually giving independence to its colonies, but the other colonial powers have not. Germany has had to abandon some of its African possessions, like Tchad. In addition, Katanga (in the Congo) has declared independence. Germany refuses to recognize it's independence, but will not send troops into the region.

PGW Africa.png

The big country is Mali, and you can also see that the Boer Republics are still independent.
 
The End of the World Party
Shortly after the election, US troops captured Managua. The pro-Japanese government had fallen. A small number of Japanese soldiers were in the country, one had been killed by an American bomb while two had been killed by Nicaraguan rebels. They were allowed to leave unharmed. Some in Japan called for war against the US. However, the majority in the Japanese government believed that fighting the US and Russia at the same time would be impossible. The Nicaraguan rebels then formed a government with American help. One of the rebel leaders, Miguel Lopez, was elected as Nicaragua’s next president. A few days later, former US President Herbert Hoover died at the age of 90. Former President Alf Landon, who was Vice President under Hoover, gave a eulogy at his funeral. Former presidents Patton and Savage attended, as well as current President Al Valenti. Hoover was considered one of the best presidents America ever had, along with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and William Jennings Bryan.

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(Herbert Hoover, 1874-1964)

In December of 1964, many people were awaiting the end of the world. Those Porcherites under the leadership of Arthur Porcher, representing about 30% of all Porcherites, were convinced the world was ending with the end of the year 1964. Arthur Porcher, son of Arnold Porcher, was the only Porcherite leader to set a specific date for the end. And unlike Bruce Antonov and Rowland Dale, most scholars believe that Arthur was a true believer. He and his spent most of December 31 knocking on doors, telling people that this was their final chance at salvation. Then, as the day was coming to a close, Porcher returned home in Marienville, Pennsylvania with some of his followers. They spent the night singing hymns and eagerly awaiting the end. Meanwhile, some local bars hosted end of the world parties. When midnight came, the world went on. At one bar, someone sarcastically yelled “It’s still 1964 in California,” and people continued partying.

Porcher started talking about time zones when midnight came. So his guests stayed for a while longer. But as the sun rose the morning, they were running out of time zones. At noon, Porcher admitted that he was wrong. He told the people gathered with him that he himself had been deceived by his father and apologized for misleading them. After that, some of his followers went to Dale and Antonov, while others started independent Porcherite churches. As of 2021, it is estimated that almost 10,000 people scattered throughout North America are members of independent Porcherite churches, with around half of them being located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Each of these individual churches has a different view on when the end will come. As for Arthur Porcher, he moved to Syracuse, New York where he worked as a cashier until he died in 2011 at the age of 84. He spent his final years as a Presbyterian.

The other Porcherites reacted gleefully to the news confirming Arthur Porcher to be a false prophet. Bruce Antonov had finally completed the book of Magnus, which would be added into some Porcherite Bibles. He would be getting an influx of followers coming to him. In Ukraine, the old pro-German government persecuted Porcherites. The new government would be even worse as Porcherite men refused to serve in the army. Thus, the Ukrainian government made them do forced labor. The US refused to allow Porcherite refugees in, but the Canadian government accepted them. Canadian Prime Minister Delaney’s decision to accept them would massively backfire on him later, however. In Louisiana, Rowland Dale bought a new mansion and would become wealthy through tithes from his followers. He was already 60 and had set the date for the end of the world in 1997, when he would likely be dead. He was planning to enjoy his life.
 
Well, that was a surprisingly peaceful resolution to this subplot. I was expecting Jonestown style mass suicides, or for Arthur to get lynched when his followers realized he was wrong.
 
Well, that was a surprisingly peaceful resolution to this subplot. I was expecting Jonestown style mass suicides, or for Arthur to get lynched when his followers realized he was wrong.
I don't want to give anything away, but I'll say that there are other Porcherites who believe the apocalypse is coming at some point before 1970. Arthur Porcher was a pacifist, but these guys aren't.
 
Two-Front War
Kiev had fallen to Austro-Hungarian troops in July. On the 25th, King Otto II of Ukraine returned to his capital. In August, the Austrian offensive was halted as Russian and Ukrainian forces successfully defended the city of Pyryatyn. The Government of the Republic of Ukraine set up temporary headquarters in Melitopol. A provisional president, Tiberiy Kovalenko, was selected. Kovalenko had been a charismatic and outspoken anti-monarchist member of the Ukrainian Parliament for the last fifteen years. He was much more popular among the Ukrainian people than the Hapsburg puppet ruler. The war divided the country between East and West, but behind the front lines, Otto II’s government faced constant guerilla activity, which he would need German and Austro-Hungarian help to fight against. In October, German and Romanian soldiers captured Nikopol, solidifying the Grand Alliance’s control of everything west of the Dnieper River. For the rest of the year, most of the fighting would be in the air, as both sides tried to gain the upper hand in the skies.

German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Japanese generals had spent decades preparing for a war like this. Russia would follow a plan made by Commander Georgy Zhukov back in the 1940s. In the case of a two-front war, almost all of Russian military forces would need to be placed in the West. Only a token force would be placed in the East. Some have suggested that Zhukov was coming from a place of ignorance regarding Japan’s military capabilities, but this was not the case. He recognized that the East was not nearly as valuable to Russia as the West, and that the Japanese would not be able to advance quickly through the East. The plan was for Russia to defeat Germany and Austria-Hungary, and then transfer its troops to the East where the Japanese army would be crushed under the weight of superior Russian numbers. Zhukov himself would be the commander of Russian forces in this war.

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(Georgy Zhukov)

While there was no clear winner yet in the West, Japan was winning decisively in the East. Zhukov’s plans foresaw Japan gaining ground, so the loss of Vladivostok in August was not surprising. What was surprising, however, was the Japanese invasion of Mongolia. In October, Japanese and Manchurian troops, lead by a Chinese general Zhao Kai, captured Choybalsan. Zhukov had not expected an invasion of Mongolia in the colder months of the year. Other small Mongolian towns were taken by Japanese paratroopers. Severe weather did prevent the Japanese from taking Urga [1] in 1964, however. The pro-Russian government of Mongolia begged the Russian government for reinforcements, which were refused. Meanwhile, the Japanese built an airfield outside of Choybalsan, and thus the Japanese controlled the skies. Russia had installed the current Mongolian government, but it wasn’t willing to divert any men to defend it.

1: OTL Ulaanbaatar
 
Good Afternoon, Patriotic Americans
Good afternoon, patriotic Americans, it’s Bill Atwood. I’m going to something a little unusual today. Normally I talk about current events, but today I’ll be giving you a history lesson. A lot of listeners have asked me where the Eleusinian and Sabazian societies come from, and how they became so powerful. So today I’m going to talk about it. Before I begin, I must say that this is simplified version of what happened, and I’ll be giving a more detailed explanation in my next book.

Both societies have their origin in ancient times. With the exception of the Hebrews and the Persians, the ancients worshipped many gods and goddesses. And the most famous are the Greek ones, Zeus, Athena, Poseidon. The Eleusinians and Sabazians have patron deities. The Eleusinians have Persephone and Demeter while the Sabazians have Sabazios, who is a combination of Zeus and Dionysus. The Trojan War saw the Eleusinians fight for the Greeks and the Sabazians fight for the Trojans. In Sabazian initiation rites, the initiate must swear to avenge the sack of Troy. Almost all of the Sabazian leadership was killed in the war, and they would not be a threat to the Eleusinians again for a long time. Meanwhile, the Eleusinians gradually increased their influence over Greece. They were respected as religious leaders and claimed to be able to prophesy the future during their hallucinations. Rival societies would rise up and seek to overthrow the Eleusinians, but they would all fail. A statesman named Pericles liberated Athens from the grips of the Eleusinians, and led a coalition of Greek cities to end Eleusinian control once and for all. The Athenians would have won, but among their ranks was an Eleusinian agent, Alcibiades, who sabotaged the war effort and the Athenians lost. After this point, no one in Greece was brave enough to speak against the Eleusinian Society, except Socrates, who was then forced to drink poison.

The Eleusinians were not content with power in Greece. So, they guided one of their initiates, Alexander the Great, to conquer more land for the society. And he conquered the known world. But once he had finished conquering, he planned to destroy the Eleusinian Society and rule completely in his own right. He died unexpectedly at the age of 32, he was murdered. So for a while, there were no real threats to the Eleusinians. However, the Sabazians were plotting their revenge. You see, after the fall of Troy they went to Italy and founded Rome. And Rome was getting more and more powerful. The Eleusinians sent a general named Pyrrhus to conquer Rome, but he failed. Eventually, Rome conquered Greece. The Eleusinian leadership fled to Egypt. Some Romans tried to oppose the Sabazians. Julius Caesar was one of them, and we all know what happened to him. After the death of Caesar, Eleusinian agents Cleopatra and Marc Antony were plotting to take over Rome, but they were defeated. The Sabazians had complete control over the Mediterranean and the Eleusinians went underground.

As the power of Rome declined, so did the power of the Sabazians. Rome was eventually split in two, and the Eleusinians took power in the East. Around this time the societies, the two societies decided to publicly embrace Christianity, though they secretly continued to follow their cultic religions in private. And sometimes the mask fell off. For instance, in the 10th century one of the popes invoked pagan deities while gambling. Throughout the middle ages, both societies sought to restore the Roman Empire. The Eleusinians had the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople, while the Sabazians had both the Pope in Rome and the so-called “Holy Roman Empire,” which was founded by Sabazian agent Charlemagne. There were parts of Europe outside of their control, but still under their influence. For instance, the Eleusinians used the Vikings to terrorize parts of Western Europe. Many of these Vikings later went on to found the Varangian Guard, which few people know still exists today. In 1054, the conflict between the two societies led to a religious schism, splitting Christianity between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. By the 11th century, all of Europe was controlled by one of the societies, except for the British Isles. The Anglo-Saxons and the Celts fiercely maintained their independence. But the Eleusinians and Sabazians were plotting to regain the former Roman province of Britain.

In 1066, there was a three-way war for the English crown. King Harold sought to keep England out of the clutches of either society. Another Harold, the King or Norway, sought to conquer England for the Eleusinians. And finally, Duke William sought to conquer England for the Sabazians. Harold was able to defeat the Norwegian Harold, but lost to William. He was killed in battle. For William’s conquest of England for the Sabazian Society, he became known as William “the Conqueror.” England was under new management and proceeded to subdue the Welsh, Scottish, and Irish, who continued to resist. Then, the crusades were called in order to expand Sabazian influence into the Middle East. During the Fourth Crusade, they attacked Christians, sacking the Eleusinian city of Constantinople. The Albigensians in France were also massacred for daring to oppose the Sabazians. The inquisition and witch trials were used to destroy any opposition. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for trying to liberate France. In addition, the fall of Constantinople in 1453 meant that the Eleusinians posed a very small threat to the Sabazians. In 1492, the discovery of America meant that the Sabazians could spread their influence to a whole new Continent.

The Sabazians hit some roadblocks, however. The Reformation weakened their grip over Western Europe and allowed the Eleusinians to gain a foothold in places like Germany. In addition, Oliver Cromwell briefly liberated Britain, though the Sabazians soon were back. Then, there was the American Revolution. America liberated itself from the Sabazians, however, their agents were still at work within America. Jefferson and Jackson successfully fought their influence. Back in Europe, the Eleusinians found a new champion, Napoleon. Napoleon fought a series of wars against the Sabazian powers of Europe until he was eventually defeated. The Sabazians financed the Confederacy during the Civil War in order to weaken America. This was their last attempt to destroy America from the outside, ever since 1865 they seek to subvert from within. John Wilkes Booth, in order to advance through the ranks, was ordered to kill Lincoln. After that, he faked his death and would later go on to lead the society. Meanwhile, both societies funded revolutions and radical political movements in order to destabilize countries under the control of the opposing society. The rise of imperialism meant that both societies were present on every continent and they displaced or absorbed local secret societies in Africa and Asia.

By 1900, the Eleusinians had moved their headquarters to Berlin. They controlled the German government, as well as the governments of Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Spain. The Sabazians controlled Britain, France, and Russia. In 1916, war broke out. The Sabazians had infiltrated much of the American government and media, but they failed to convince Americans to go to war with Germany. The Germans won, and thus the Eleusinians won. The Sabazians sought to destroy Germany as revenge for their defeat in the Great War. They worked with the new French Prime Minister Adolphe Cartier. Cartier was given strategic advice by the Sabazians and when war broke out, Cartier was winning. Now, I know what you’re about to say “but Bill, didn’t the British government fight the French?” Well, it’s more complicated than that. At the beginning of the war, there was the Robin Hood Brigade, which was comprised of Englishmen who fought for France. Of course, the British government claims it never approved of the brigade. As the tide of war turned against France, the Sabazian Society realized that Cartier had outlived his usefulness. Britain then declared war to prevent the Germans from taking too much French land and also to gobble up some French colonies like Algeria for themselves.

I’ve watched footage of Cartier’s trial. The guy sounds like he thinks he’s going to get away with what he did. He claims that he’s going to get rescued. According to Chinese general Jiang Jieshi, who captured him, Cartier said that “The devil has promised me I won’t hang.” “The devil” may be referring to the code name of the leader of the Sabazians. He ended up being guillotined instead. As he was brought to the guillotine, there are reports that he made a Sabazian hand gesture to the gathered crowd, hoping that any Sabazians in the audience would rescue him. The much less famous Prime Minister Renard Tailler was supposedly killed by a Russian soldier in 1940. Well, the truth is that Tailler lives in Moscow under a different name. Russia is firmly under Sabazian control. And that’s why they’re at war with Germany right now. One of two things is happening right now. One possibility is that Britain is using Russia just like it used France. Another possibility is that the Sabazians are transferring their headquarters from London to Moscow. After all, Britain no longer controls India, and Egypt and Sudan are set to become fully independent later this year.

The Sabazians made sure that their puppet, President Al Valenti, won reelection. The Democratic Party is owned by them. The Republicans aren’t much better, but it seems like there’s more resistance to the Sabazian agenda in that party. On the other hand, there are Eleusinian agents at work within the GOP. But I think Americans in general are starting to come around to the truth, we’ll see what happens.
-Bill Atwood, January 10, 1965
 
The Kaiser's Speech
In March of 1965, German, Austro-Hungarian, Romanian, Belgian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin troops launched an offensive in Ukraine. They defeated the Russians at the Second Battle of Pyryatyn on the 14th. On the 29th they took Lubny. In April, their advance was stopped as a Russian counter-offensive captured Chernobyl. Kiev was once again under threat. German planes stationed in Lithuania and Finland, officially neutral but pro-German countries, bombed St. Petersburg and Moscow. Russia responded by invading Lithuania in May. Finland mobilized its troops, in preparation for a Russian invasion. Lithuania was doomed. People compared their situation to that of Portugal in 1938. But in reality, Luthuania was even more hopeless. Portugal held out against France and Spain for more than a month (and then fought on from Africa and her other colonies. Lithuania lasted two weeks. On May 25, Lithuania was fully occupied by Russia. On the 27th, Kaiser Josef gave a televised speech to the German people and the world.

The government of Russia has proven for the world its intentions. It is plain for all to see that Russia wishes to dominate both Europe and Asia. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Japan, Romania, Belgium, Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro are fighting a necessary war to prevent this present wish from becoming the future reality. Russia invaded Mongolia in 1963. Russia supported revolutionaries in overthrowing the rightful government of Ukraine. Germany did the same thing in 1964 as in 1936 when Cartier supported revolutionaries in Belgium. Germany and Austria-Hungary declared war in order to keep Europe free from Russian aggression. Now Russia has invaded and occupied Lithuania. The Lithuanians put up a heroic resistance, reminiscent of the Portuguese defense against France and Spain. American statesman Al Smith called the brave Portuguese fighters “The Defenders of Liberty,” and I think we can say the same of the courageous Lithuanian soldiers.

Despite Russia’s claims to the contrary, Germany and Austria-Hungary are not the aggressors. We are simply responding to Russian aggression, just as we responded to French aggression in 1936. And now we call on the nations of Europe and Asia to join us in our struggle to keep both continents free. We call upon the people of America and Australia, who we know to be lovers of peace, to oppose the attempts by warmongers in their governments to drag their nations into war with Germany or Japan. Germany and her allies will continue to be the guarantors of peace, and we will be victorious in this war.

The speech was popular with audiences. It was even played with subtitles on some American TV stations that were favorable to Germany. Germany’s remaining allies, except for Poland, declared war on Russia. The Grand Alliance now included Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Spain. Poland remained neutral so as to not enlarge the front between the Grand Alliance and Russia. The Polish government was dealing with unrest, which it suspected that provocateurs paid by Russia were responsible for. On June 15, there was good news for Germany as Russian forces were repelled at the battle of Zhytomyr. Russia had launched another offensive, this one into Prussia. They crossed the Nieman River in the early part of June. On the 21st, Russian troops attacked Konigsberg. They were soundly defeated by the German defenders. They retreated into newly-conquered Lithuania. Russia would cease all offensives except for in Ukraine. The war was going in the Grand Alliance’s favor, at least for now.

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(Russian troops in Lithuania)
 
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