Currently planning a timeline that chronicles the rise of socialism as a major political force in American politics. Understandably for this to not be ASB it is necessary to strengthen the socialist movement in the US. I have a few ideas on how to do this and would like some feedback, as well as any other suggestions people might have.
The
Populist Party dissolves some time between 1900-1904 rather than 1908. Whilst this doesn't have much of an initial effect, it does mean that a lot of their supporters and activists switch over to the newly formed Socialist Party, giving them a bit of a boost in their early elections.
Bill Heywood chosen as Deb's running mate in 1908. Heywood was initially considered as the presidential candidate due to the national attention he recieved after being acquitted for the murder of Frank Steunenberg, but was rejected because it was feared he would have been to divisive, with Debs considered the only candidate able to hold the Party together. If the Party decided to take the risk of nominating him as Deb's running mate, might that give them a bit of a boost in the 1908 election?
Earlier US entry into WW1. This was a major factor in Jello's timeline Reds, where the US joins from the very beginning. I'm not that well informed about that period of history, however, so I'm looking for suggestions on how to get the US involved earlier.
Hubert Harrison lives longer. IOTL he died of appendicitis in 1927, which shouldn't be too hard to have him survive. As a result he's able to serve as a major African-American figure in the socialist movement, and is instrumental in building support for socialism within the black community.
The
CPPA agrees to form an independent political party. IOTL during the second conference in 1922 delegated from the Farmer-Labor Party called for establishing a new political party. The motion was defeated by 12 votes (52 to 64) with the Socialist Party supporting the motion. If the motion passes (albeit by a tiny margin) it would serve to lay the foundations of a broad-church left-wing party that serves as an American equivalent to the UK Labour Party.
A large section of the US film industry relocated from California to Florida. IOTL studio executive
Joseph Schneck warned that, in the face of militant unionism and the genuine prospect of Upton Sinclair being elected Governor of California the film industry would likely relocate from Hollywood to Florida. Assuming that they follow through on this threat, much of the remaining film-making infrastructure in Hollywood falls under the control cooperatives and strong unions sympathetic to socialism and other progressive politics. As a result America ends up with two major film centres, with Hollywood serving as a major source of left-wing support, as well as taking the sting out of anti-Communist blacklists by providing work to blacklisted actors.
Derailing the Second Red Scare. Due to a whole host of reasons I'm planning to have the Second Red Scare fizzle out and be much less effective than IOTL. Would this be a significant boost to US socialism in general?
What do you all think so far, and does anyone have any possible suggestions?