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

Since you used JFK's picture for Brendan O'Reilly, a Senator from Massachusetts who became Ryan Norwood's (who had George Wallace's picture) Vice President, it made me wonder how the Kennedy family turned up in this timeline. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., the patriarch of the Kennedy family, was born in 1888, long before the 1896 point of divergence in this timeline, and I don't see any of the details of his youth being changed in this timeline or any reason for him to not go into business in the 1920s like he did in our timeline. His sons Joe Jr. and John were born in the 1910s so would they have been butterflied away?
 
Since you used JFK's picture for Brendan O'Reilly, a Senator from Massachusetts who became Ryan Norwood's (who had George Wallace's picture) Vice President, it made me wonder how the Kennedy family turned up in this timeline. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., the patriarch of the Kennedy family, was born in 1888, long before the 1896 point of divergence in this timeline, and I don't see any of the details of his youth being changed in this timeline or any reason for him to not go into business in the 1920s like he did in our timeline. His sons Joe Jr. and John were born in the 1910s so would they have been butterflied away?
Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was a Senator during the 20s and 30s. It does look like I forgot to actually add him into the TL 4 years ago when I was writing about those decades.

The Kennedy family is still rich, but not nearly as politically connected. The ITTL 1930s, 40s, and 50s were a lot less favorable to New England Democrats than they were OTL.
 
Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was a Senator during the 20s and 30s. It does look like I forgot to actually add him into the TL 4 years ago when I was writing about those decades.

The Kennedy family is still rich, but not nearly as politically connected. The ITTL 1930s, 40s, and 50s were a lot less favorable to New England Democrats than they were OTL.
So do Joe Jr., Jack, Bobby, and Ted exist in this timeline? If they do do they have drastically different careers in this timeline since they would be in their 30s or 40s by the 1960s? How did Brendan O'Reilly, a Democrat, get elected to the Senate in Massachusetts if New England Democrats are a lot less prominent in this timeline?
 
So do Joe Jr., Jack, Bobby, and Ted exist in this timeline? If they do do they have drastically different careers in this timeline since they would be in their 30s or 40s by the 1960s? How did Brendan O'Reilly, a Democrat, get elected to the Senate in Massachusetts if New England Democrats are a lot less prominent in this timeline?
People with those names exist, and they might appear in this TL (I haven't decided yet).

Basically, Massachusetts before 1920 was hardcore Republican, and after that it was slightly more Republican than the nation as a whole. So in a good year a Democrat could win Massachusetts (if Democrats got really lucky they could win in Rhode Island or New Hampshire). From 1928 to 1958, especially from 1936, Republicans were dominant and thus a state like Massachusetts, which has voted for the winner in every election starting in 1928, was usually voting Republican during those years. Since the Republicans haven't been doing very well since 1960, Democrats now control the state.

In the update "Alexander Savage Part I" (I had actually forgot some of this information since I wrote it in 2019) it says that Democrats made modest gains in the 1954 midterms (they won most of the Senate races that year, but Republicans still held the Senate since these were mostly seats they were defending from 1948). According to a Senate map I made at the time and may or may not have posted, Democrats won the Senate races in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in the update "The Civil Rights Acts of 1955" it mentions that New England had 10 Republican and 2 Democrat Senators, and that both Democrats voted for the bill. One of those Democrat senators was Brendan O'Reilly, though I wouldn't come up with his name until I wrote about the 1960 Presidential election.
 
This is what the Senate looks like now. Red=2 Democrats, Blue=2 Republicans, Green=1 Democrat, one Republican.

genusmap.php
 
1968 Republican Primaries
The 1968 Republican primaries were quickly becoming a competition between Joseph Niall and Glenn Gage. Rupert Kneller was determined to win as many delegates in the South and in Appalachia as he could, and then have his delegates support Gage at the convention so he could become his running mate. Though Niall and Gage were both from the Midwest, the competition was seen by many as a struggle between the Northeast and the Midwest. The Northeast was internationalist and more moderate or liberal. In contrast, Midwestern Republicans were more isolationist and conservative. These are of course generalizations, but they were true more often than not. Power in the Republican Party had been slipping away from the Eastern establishment for decades. Many in the Northeast, whose ancestors had been Republicans going back all the way to Fremont, looked down on the Midwestern isolationists, who were largely of German descent and whose grandparents likely voted for William Jennings Bryan. Likewise, Midwestern Republicans saw the Northeast as elitist. Niall was the candidate of the Northeast and Gage was the candidate of the Midwest.

The March primaries began in Virginia, where Niall triumphed over Kneller. He also won two narrow victories over Gage in Indiana and Ohio. Gage won Missouri by comfortable margins. Rupert Kneller won his first victory in Tennessee, where he won 41% to Niall’s 32%. He also won a narrow victory in North Carolina. In Nebraska, 57% of Republican Primary voters backed Gage. Augustine Taylor lost his own home state of Maryland to Niall, while Niall won his home state of Michigan. The results of the primaries were satisfactory to Niall. He had won four populous Midwestern states, including states like Ohio that an isolationist like Gage would have a hard time winning without. In April, Rupert Kneller won his home state of Kentucky along with West Virginia. Gage won Idaho and Oklahoma. Niall won Rhode Island, Oregon (where Eugene Cosimo came in second place), Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. By the end of April, most political analysts were convinced that Niall would win the nomination, and Niall switched to speaking exclusively against President Norwood.

Niall’s opponents were not ready to concede yet. Niall won three out of four May contests. He won Vermont, Maine, and Texas. Hawaii voted for Gage, despite being a state full of moderate Republicans, because the anti-war movement was strong there. Meanwhile, the US launched an offensive in France with the aim of breaking into Alsace-Lorraine. The offensive was largely a failure, as faulty intelligence had caused America to underestimate German strength in the area. Casualties were high. On the other side of the world, the US Navy lost a battle off the coast of Luzon. Both were bad news for America, but good news for Niall’s chances to become President. Norwood’s approval dropped below 50% for the first time in his presidency. In the June Primaries, Niall won California, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, and Utah. Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, and Colorado voted for Gage. South Carolina narrowly voted for Kneller. Niall’s nomination was assured.
 
The War in 1968
In May 1968, America was determined to attack. America and France launched Operation Charlemagne. US and French troops would push into Alsace-Lorraine and then into Germany proper. American General Connell Branson had underestimated the German strength, partly due to faulty intelligence reports he received. Tens of thousands of American, French, and Italian troops died and little ground was gained. It was then determined that the British plan of invading Germany through Belgium would be the wisest course of action. In the East, Germany captured Vilnius, reinstating their puppet regime there. In June, Germany fought against a force of Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, and Greek troops in Minsk. Afte two weeks of fighting, the Germans retreated. That same month, Sweden declared war on Germany, despite being an ally two years earlier. Portugal declared war on Germany in July. The capture of German nuclear test facilities along with most of Germany’s nuclear scientists made nations much more comfortable declaring war on Germany.

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(General Connell Branson)

Fighting continued in Indonesia. The combined American, British, Australian, New Zealand, Philippine, and Indonesian rebel forces outnumbered those of Japan and their puppet government. The Japanese put up a brave yet ultimately futile resistance at Jakarta, which lasted from June to August. The vast majority of Indonesians wanted the Japanese out of the country, seeing them as imperialist invaders. Japanese propaganda, however, showed their enemies as the imperialists. It was said that the invaders wanted to make Indonesia into an Australian colony. Japanese propaganda also referenced the Porcherites and the Siege of Arndoldtown. One of the Canadian generals in Indonesia was Pierre Renaud, who led the siege in 1966. He was referred to by the Indonesian puppet government as the Arnoldtown Butcher. Ironically, Japan had persecuted the Porcherite movement and some of those who died in the siege had fled to Canada to escape persecution from the Japanese government.

In July the British would lead an offensive. They would fight the Germans along the coast. On the 15th they captured Dieppe. They continued to push east and north. Their numbers were bolstered by colonial and Canadian troops. Italy, France, and the United States participated as well. The Germans fought well, but as more and more soldiers from Britain’s allies poured into France, it became increasingly difficult to fight back. The British and Canadians launched amphibious invasions along the coast after German coastal defenses had been destroyed by naval and air bombardment. By October, the British reached the Belgian border. In September, Russia launched an offensive against Germany, slowly pushing them back. British and American bombers attacked German industrial cities, severely hampering the war effort and shaking the German populace’s faith in eventual victory.
 
1968 Conventions
In July, Democratic delegates met in Chicago for the 1968 National Convention. President Ryan Norwood accepted his renomination, as did Vice President Brendan O’Reilly. He sounded optimistic in his acceptance speech, and claimed that victory would come under his leadership. He was a competent, but not amazing, public speaker. His poll numbers were dropping. Republicans met for their convention in New York. There was some remaining opposition to Joseph Niall’s candidacy from within the party, but that had largely faded by this point. Even many of the anti-war Republicans were planning to vote for him in November. Niall criticized the Democrat’s handling of the war, as well as many of the new government agencies and expensive social programs they created in the earlier part of the decade. Niall was the candidate of suburban voters, a growing demographic. Actor Don Payne from California, famous for his roles in the Western genre of film, was chosen as his running mate. Norwood was sad that he’d have to face a ticket with Payne on it, as he was a huge fan of his movies.

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(Don Payne)

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Niall
Gage
Kneller
Wagner

Taylor

After the convention, Niall used his considerable wealth to run ads throughout the Midwest. He was relying on high Republican turnout in this region to propel him to victory. New York Governor Brandon Bird campaigned in the Empire State, especially in New York City. He wanted to convince Northeastern voters that Niall was a moderate Republican in the mold of Herbert Hoover and Alf Landon. The US experienced some military setbacks in the Summer of 1968, and that just served to help Niall. It also helped the anti-war movement. Anti-war voters had several choices in this election. The newly formed Anti-War Party nominated Republican Representative Matthew Moreno of Hawaii for president and former Democratic Representative Sean Ferguson of Nevada for Vice President. They could vote for the Socialist Labor Party, which renominated William Daniel of Florida and Ben Anderson of Oklahoma. They could also vote for Conspiracy theorist Bill Atwood, and his running mate Carl Sanford of Tennessee, another conspiracy theorist.

In addition to Republicans and Democrats, pro-war voters had another option: the segregationist American Worker’s Party. They nominated former Representative John G. Stone of Arkansas for President, who had been a Republican, a Democrat, and an Independent throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s. They nominated Christina Collingwood, a racist activist from Delaware and the state’s former Lieutenant Governor, for Vice President. They would spend a lot of time calling Ryan Norwood a traitor to the South for his reversal of his former segregationist views. They also called for the construction of internment camps for Japanese-Americans. The party was in decline, however, and the highest the Stone/Collingwood ticket ever polled was 3%. The Socialists were polling on average 4% and the Anti-War Party polled around 5%. Ryan Norwood polled around 45% and Joseph Niall polled around 40%.
 
1968
As it got closer to November, the polls were consistently showing that Norwood was leading Niall, but often by only a few percentage points. At the debates, neither of the two major candidates were particularly inspiring. Both men were mediocre campaigners as well. Republican strategists decided to play both sides of the race issue in order to sink Norwood. Republican donors funded ads in areas with high black populations that attacked Norwood as a racist. At the same time, some of them secretly gave money to white supremacist groups to get the message out that the president was pro-black and a race traitor. When it was discovered that Republican Party officials were involved in this, it hurt the Niall campaign, even though he personally had nothing to do with it.

Republican-friendly media outlets claimed that corruption was rampant within the Democrat-controlled Executive and Legislative branches of government. Some government employees were willing to testify to the corruption they had seen during the Valenti, Peterson, and Norwood administrations. There was some truth to their allegations, though most of the corruption was during Al Valenti’s first term. Many of the shady people appointed to government positions in 1961 and 1962 were fired by 1968 and by that point there was no reason to believe that the problem was much worse than it was during Republican Alexander Savage’s presidency. In addition, there were conspiracy theories. Bill Atwood suggested that Ryan Norwood had Christian Peterson killed and that two thirds of congress was on the payroll of Britain, Russia, or both. Several states banned Atwood’s radio program, the constitutionality of which would be challenged in 1969.

Norwood was convinced that the winner would be determined not by events within the country, but by events outside of it. America would embark on a renewed offensive in Alsace-Lorraine. General Connell Branson repeatedly denied allegations that the offensive was planned in order to guarantee Norwood the election, but many people believed that anyway. A similar offensive had failed earlier in the year, but now it was different. More American troops had arrived in France and the German military had moved troops to help defend their collapsing positions in Belgium. It was the perfect time to strike. In early September, American troops captured Metz. A few days later, French troops captured Colmar. American, French, Italian, and a small number of Portuguese troops fought Germany at Strasbourg from the 27th to October 2nd. The city fell and Alsace-Lorraine was almost entirely under Allied control. Joseph Niall, in one of the biggest campaign mistakes in history, criticized American strategy.

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(American tanks)

Norwood was criticized for his stance on Alsace-Lorraine. He wanted the region returned to France. Niall said that France, which America had fought against in the Second Great War. He believed that France must not be allowed to expand its territory. His comments resonated with some, particularly German-Americans. However, more Americans saw his comments as pro-German. The president was quick to remind everyone of his service in the Second Great War. At the same time, Democrat-friendly media outlets were quick to point out that Joseph Niall did not serve in the military. And in Europe, the Allies were continuing to advance. Russia began its campaign to liberate Poland. American and French forces crossed the Rhine on the 16th, and captured Offenburg. This was a huge propaganda victory for Norwood, as the American people were finally convinced that the war was coming to a close.

Norwood’s popularity returned to where it was at the beginning of the year. In one month, the race went from likely Norwood to being virtually impossible for Niall to win. Not only did he get more votes than Niall, he won an outright majority. It was the third consecutive Democratic landslide. He was the first Democrat to win Hawaii (this was due to the Anti-War Party acting as a spoiler there). He even won South Carolina, mostly due to low black turnout. He was the first presidential candidate to win every Southern state since Scott Lucas in 1944. Republicans were devastated from losing three elections in a row, but could take hope in the fact that this had happened before and the GOP had come back from it. Meanwhile, the Socialist Labor and American Worker’s Parties did not perform well in the election.

genusmap.php

Ryan Norwood (D-AL)/Brendan O'Reilly (D-MA): 37,597,257 Votes (51.70%)
Joseph Niall (R-MI)/Don Payne (R-CA): 28,485,195 Votes (39.17%)
Matthew Moreno (A-HI)/Sean Ferguson (A-NV): 2,727,074 Votes (3.75%)
William Daniel (S-FL)/Ben Anderson (S-OK): 2,203,476 Votes (3.03%)
John G. Stone (W-CA)/Christina Collingwood (W-VA): 1,461,712 Votes (2.01%)
Others: 247,255 Votes (0.34%)
 
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Surrender
Germany was losing the war. This was apparent for most Germans by late 1968. Japan was losing the war too, albeit much more slowly, meaning that Germany couldn’t count on the war being won in Asia either. The crossing of the Rhine by American and French troops was a huge blow to German morale. Germany launched its own counter-offensives aiming to retake Offenburg and push their enemies back across the Rhine, but American and French soldiers held firm and repelled their attacks. Germany was under attack from Russia as well. Russian troops began to liberate Polish towns, and they were supported by Polish rebels. Warsaw remained in German hands, however. The Lufthansa was increasingly stretched thin and unable to effectively deal with Russian, British, or American bombing raids.

The desertion rate skyrocketed. The German government had lost the confidence of the German people. German media, which by this point was almost purely state propaganda, tried to combat what they saw as a defeatist attitude among the public. There were stories of the upcoming collapse of Russia, and reports that anti-war protests might force America out of the war. But few Germans were buying it. Many government officials entered into secret negotiations with the Allies, and many of them were arrested. Meanwhile, Russia surrounded Warsaw in February 1969. In March, the British captured Liège and the German presence in Belgium was over. Soon afterwards, the Netherlands and Denmark declared war on Germany. British, Dutch, and Belgian forces pushed into Northwestern Germany. Meanwhile the French took Saarbrucken while the Americans took Karlsruhe and Stuttgart.

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(German soldiers in Western Germany)

Germany’s border with Denmark was only lightly protected, and Danish troops overwhelmed the defenders. They quickly took much of Schleswig-Holstein. In the east, the garrison commander in Warsaw surrendered to Russia in April to avoid what he believed would be tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths for a hopeless cause. Pressure was mounting on Hans Zimmerman to surrender. In May, Frankfurt was under siege from American and French forces while Bremen was besieged by the British and Dutch. Danzig fell to the Russians. Hans Zimmerman addressed the nation, calling on the people of Germany to continue to support the war effort. He compared Germany’s plight to that of the Second Great war, when much of Western Germany was occupied by France. He ordered an offensive against the British in the Northwest.

The offensive never came. His generals refused to carry it out, claiming that the army was at this point incapable of a major offensive. The war was lost. Russian troops would soon be threatening Berlin. On June 20, Hans Zimmerman announced to a group of generals that he planned on continuing the fight from Bavaria. Most of the generals told him that they would not be going with him. He flew out of Berlin with a handful of diehard nationalist officers. The generals who stayed behind in Berlin declared that Zimmerman had abdicated his responsibilities as chancellor and entered into negotiations with Russia. On the 22nd, Germany agreed to a ceasefire. The almost two million German soldiers still in the field lay down their arms. They ignored Zimmerman’s calls to continue fighting. What the terms of peace would be was uncertain, but it was understood that parts or all of Germany would be under foreign occupation. Germany had lost its first war since becoming a nation nearly a century earlier.
 

JLan1485

Banned
At first I thought that Germany would be about as Revanchist as it was at the end of WWI but the lack of false promise from Woodrow Wilson, the much more obvious nature of Germany's defeat and the fact that the peace can be enforced on two fronts makes me think otherwise.

Interested to see the Post War World
 
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Wonder what territories will Germany lose. All the colonies is almost a guarantee, as is Alsace-Lorraine. To the east, the terms will likely be much more lenient than OTL WW2. I very much doubt the Oder-Neisse line will exist here. IMO the Germans are likely to keep most of the integral parts of their territory to the East, save perhaps a few areas with German minority like Posen.
 
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