HueyLong
Banned
The Great Depression- The Crisis Years (1929-1933)
[TTL's Depression is much the same as OTL, with a few key differences.]
The United Kingdom passed the Samuel Tariff in 1930, raising rates to levels before unseen. This was largely seen as an attempt to protect the governmental coal mines*, an area of great importance to the Conservative government. The Samuel Tariff met international opposition, with tariffs being raised on the UK in response. It is generally regarded to be one of the worst blunders of the Depression.
In Canada, the King government negotiated with the United States to lower tariff rates across the board. (The King-Davis Accords) The King government largely repudiated the Imperial Preference system proposed by UK Conservatives. King introduced old age pensions and a national housing initiative that would later be copied in the Final Triumph.
In the United States, John W. Davis supported a free trade policy with much of the world, particularly in America and Asia. However, trade with Japan was seriously hindered by a refusal to provide arms during the Axe War of 1929-1933. Domestically, he cut governmental spending and employment, sold many federal owned lands, and ended a number of subsidies to business. The Depression worsened under Davis, there were no attempts at relief and he derided state attempts to use government to help the economy recover. Men like Hiram W. Johnson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robert M. LaFollette, Huey P. Long and Chase Orson became known for their personal state's recovery attempts. Herbert Hoover remained personally silent on the matter, although the Hoover Institution did not, with a number of essays and editorials becoming the basis for the Final Triumph.
In Germany, Otto Braun's government met with deadlock in the Reichstaag. Attempt to nationalize the commanding heights of the economy failed. Braun's attempts to hold off higher tariffs, demanded by many in his own party, failed. The Braun government cut reparation payments [2] to a bare minimum, which prompted the short lived French blockade of 1931. The KPD and NSDAP grew in power during this time period, and the KPD's Rotfrontkampferbund, under Soviet funds, grew and became a relief organization alongside its paramilitary function. 5000 Germans fought alongside the Soviets from 1930-1933. The NSDAP found patronage among many businessmen and former conservatives, fearful of Braun, and the Party grew by leaps and bounds.
In Australia, Stanley Bruce's [3] government introduced a regular army in response to the high rise in unemployment of 1930 on and the Asian crises (The Axe War and the Second Sino-Japanese War, as well as the beginnings of the Indian Unrest). The Bruce government also adopted an adversarial stance with the unions and pushed through industrial deregulation on the federal level.
[1] The Coal Worker's strike was resolved differently in TTL.
[2] There was no Dawes Plan in TTL, the reparations have remained harsh and the French have become more reliant on them.
[3] He isn't ousted from his seat in TTL.
[The Depression of 1929-1933 is worse in the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is better in Australia and Canada. The KPD and NSDAP have more broad constituencies and are better seen as possible saviors from the Depression.]
[TTL's Depression is much the same as OTL, with a few key differences.]
The United Kingdom passed the Samuel Tariff in 1930, raising rates to levels before unseen. This was largely seen as an attempt to protect the governmental coal mines*, an area of great importance to the Conservative government. The Samuel Tariff met international opposition, with tariffs being raised on the UK in response. It is generally regarded to be one of the worst blunders of the Depression.
In Canada, the King government negotiated with the United States to lower tariff rates across the board. (The King-Davis Accords) The King government largely repudiated the Imperial Preference system proposed by UK Conservatives. King introduced old age pensions and a national housing initiative that would later be copied in the Final Triumph.
In the United States, John W. Davis supported a free trade policy with much of the world, particularly in America and Asia. However, trade with Japan was seriously hindered by a refusal to provide arms during the Axe War of 1929-1933. Domestically, he cut governmental spending and employment, sold many federal owned lands, and ended a number of subsidies to business. The Depression worsened under Davis, there were no attempts at relief and he derided state attempts to use government to help the economy recover. Men like Hiram W. Johnson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robert M. LaFollette, Huey P. Long and Chase Orson became known for their personal state's recovery attempts. Herbert Hoover remained personally silent on the matter, although the Hoover Institution did not, with a number of essays and editorials becoming the basis for the Final Triumph.
In Germany, Otto Braun's government met with deadlock in the Reichstaag. Attempt to nationalize the commanding heights of the economy failed. Braun's attempts to hold off higher tariffs, demanded by many in his own party, failed. The Braun government cut reparation payments [2] to a bare minimum, which prompted the short lived French blockade of 1931. The KPD and NSDAP grew in power during this time period, and the KPD's Rotfrontkampferbund, under Soviet funds, grew and became a relief organization alongside its paramilitary function. 5000 Germans fought alongside the Soviets from 1930-1933. The NSDAP found patronage among many businessmen and former conservatives, fearful of Braun, and the Party grew by leaps and bounds.
In Australia, Stanley Bruce's [3] government introduced a regular army in response to the high rise in unemployment of 1930 on and the Asian crises (The Axe War and the Second Sino-Japanese War, as well as the beginnings of the Indian Unrest). The Bruce government also adopted an adversarial stance with the unions and pushed through industrial deregulation on the federal level.
[1] The Coal Worker's strike was resolved differently in TTL.
[2] There was no Dawes Plan in TTL, the reparations have remained harsh and the French have become more reliant on them.
[3] He isn't ousted from his seat in TTL.
[The Depression of 1929-1933 is worse in the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is better in Australia and Canada. The KPD and NSDAP have more broad constituencies and are better seen as possible saviors from the Depression.]
