Why not, Americans and Canadians speak the same language, have a similar culture. This is at the height of nationalism. Canada is very sparcly populated. Also no way the Ottomas hold onto Iraq. Its to populus and prove to poltical infighting.
Crimson Banners Fly: The Rise of the American Left
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I doubt Canadians would be part of the United States, especially after the war and the differences and context would make it starker. Additionally, it would tear apart any pretext for why the Americans got involved in the first place.
The Ottomans could still reform and still be able to deal with it, especially with outside assistance. It would limit British influence, which is something Teddy would prefer doing. Plus, assuming a win for the Mittelmachte, Germany would rely on them for petroleum if the Ottoman secures the supplies and would likely route it through them and a bigger Bulgaria.
Lots of good speculation, here! Quite a lot will change between 1916 and 1920.
We're getting to one of my favorite periods to write about
Part 7: Chapter XXIII - Page 150
Theodore Roosevelt, 28th and 30th President of the United States - Source: Wiki Commons
Part 7: Come Rally
Chapter XXIII: Strengthened Resolve: C'mon Johnny Get Your Gun, the War Has Only Just Begun
President Theodore Roosevelt's November triumph categorically ended any leftover rumination on the subject of the United States' role in the war. American intervention was now a static fixture of the national consciousness, at least under its present governance. Roosevelt's vision for America's foreign policy, one centered on the protection of commerce, the freedom of the seas, and an active presence on the world stage, was fully legitimized as the law of the land. Once the president met and exceeded the vote threshold required for re-election, all mainstream publications ceased speculation of alternate military tactics and furthermore forbade the printing of war-skeptic editorials. These papers flatly deemed it inappropriate to comment negatively on the president's plan of attack with the election ended, thenceforth leaving Socialist newsletters like Appeal to Reason and American Socialist as the only nationally circulated publications wholly opposed to the global conflict.
The Democratic Party and former President Bryan admitted immense sorrow at the election results. Bryan typed up a short concession which briefly relayed his domestic concerns. Aside from a generic prayer for U.S. soldiers at the front, the Nebraskan keenly submitted no mention of foreign policy. Party leaders presumed that 1916 would turn on the page on a nearly two-decade march to empire and promptly usher in a new period of American politics, but alas that had not come to pass. Unlike in the aftermath of the 1900 presidential race, Democratic officeholders did not blame Bryan for the loss, frankly recognizing the fruitlessness of asserting any other candidate could have outperformed their nominee. There was no major conservative overreaction to Bryan's defeat and no signature move to reevaluate national marketing and outreach tactics. Even Southern Democrats who voraciously opposed the Great Commoner's nomination commended their colleague for a well-run campaign, offering commiserations for the loss whilst highlighting the success of Senate Democrats in regaining control of the legislature. That sentiment notwithstanding, the Democratic National Committee was now forced to reckon with a continuation of the Roosevelt presidency. Committee members quietly contemplated their next steps and, noting how Bryan represented the purest of the Old Guard, started searching out new blood to inject some adrenaline into the party.
Below the obvious "Roosevelt Re-Elected" headlines, dozens of newsprints remarked on the curious nature of the ascent of Socialist Party politicians. Polls predicted as much, but observing the vote play out was another experience entirely. Emil Seidel overtaking John Weeks in the Popular Vote was not thought as a reasonable outcome some months beforehand, yet with every vote counted that indeed turned out to be the case. Seidel's exceptional nationwide performance juxtaposed with down-ballot Socialist gains obligated impartial journalists to ponder the effectiveness of left-wing policy proposals and coordination with the IWW in driving voters to the polls. The SP, after all, owed tremendous thanks to the assistance offered by the radical labor union. Some articles also thoughtfully mentioned the historical nature of Socialist Representatives-elect Rose Schneiderman and Pauline Newman in becoming the first women to hold federal office in the United States and state office in New York, respectively. Both were active feminists, union organizers, surrogates for the Seidel Campaign, and well-known faces in their respective communities. Newman won a seat in the New York State Assembly and Schneiderman was elected to Congress from the Empire State's 14th District.
Just South of Newman's Manhattan-based district, an incumbent Progressive state senator succeeded in overtaking a Socialist challenger to assume his third term. That officeholder was none other than 34 year-old Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Not entirely dissimilar to his distant relative in the White House, the younger Roosevelt believed wholeheartedly in progressive politics. He thoroughly championed the ABCs of Progressivism during his service in the New York State Senate, including instituting an active government that fought on behalf of the public and sought to serve working people above corporate interests. The state senator was strongly influenced by his political cousin, so much so that he rejected a recruitment opportunity by the New York Democratic Party in favor of remaining in the same lineage as his respected hero. That decision initially placed Franklin Roosevelt in a minority faction of the state government, but following the statewide Progressive upsurge in 1912, the Columbians nabbed a slim majority. President Roosevelt, in a show of appreciation for his cousin's promising career, made it a point to invite him to the official inaugural in March. The two Roosevelts appeared together at that event on March 5th, 1917.
The Inaugural itself was less of a spectacle than either of the president's first two wins. Theodore Roosevelt himself was indeed personally less animated by the festivities and opted to restrain the more flamboyant aspects of the commencement ceremony, thus reserving time and money better spent on the war. He celebrated with the crowd, nonetheless, yet mostly wished for the pomp and circumstance to be over and done with to proceed with governing. Looking a tad grayer and walking a bit slower than four years prior, Roosevelt took the Oath of Office and delivered to the crowd a characteristically forceful address.
An intense Americanism is the prerequisite to good citizenship in this country; and when I speak of the work of citizenship, I mean not only doing one's political and public duty, but also every form of activity which is predominately for the public good, from writing a book or painting a picture to building a railway station or founding a museum. The only way to be a really useful citizen of the world is first to be a good citizen of your own country. I care not a rap where a man was born or where his parents were born so long as he is a good American; but if he tries to be half American and half something else, he isn't an American at all. At this moment, the great majority of the Americans of Saxon stock offer the finest example of straightout Americanism whereas the citizens of this country who have been the most insidious foes of true Americanism and the most efficient allies of Great Britain are the men who have followed or have worked with and under such native Americans as Hearst or expunge citizenship altogether as is with Debs.
We are at war with the greatest militaristic and capitalistic nations on the earth. Over a year has passed since we were brought into the war and, thanks to our program of Preparedness, we were equipped with the trained soldiers and artillery and other instruments of war necessary in order to face any hostile army. Thanks to the efficiency of Preparedness, the production of these instruments are months ahead of schedule. Yet we owe our safely to the American soldier, the American sailor, and the American pilot. These men understand Americanism, and they know that if we don't insist upon thoroughgoing Americanism we won't be a nation. The next stage of Preparedness must proceed, based on universal obligatory military training, else we won't remain a nation. If we are not utterly blinded by folly the events of the last two and half years must teach us that the professional pacifists and all who follow them and pander to them are mischievous foes not only of this nation but of all liberty loving mankind. Above all they are the foes of every well-behaved nation and the allies and tools of every brutal and remorseless big colonial despotism.
Foolish or disloyal creatures tell us not to agitate at this time the question of permanent preparedness, because even the sane pacifists are now backing the war, we ought to think of nothing but winning it. I not merely agree but insist, and have always insisted, that our first object should be at all costs to win the war and that it would be infamous to accept any peace except the peace of overwhelming victory. But to introduce universal military training for our young men under twenty-one and service for all men above eighteen now and will be a most efficient step for winning the war; and if we wait until peace comes all the professional pacifists, being gentry of inconceivably short memories, will at once raise their old-time shrill clamor against Preparedness. In the end pacifists generally fight, but as they never begin to prepare until the end has come, they never fight effectively. Pacifists don't avert war. They merely avert preparedness for war - or rather preparedness against war, for while Preparedness does not make peace certain it is the one method of making it probable.
Woe to those who invite a sterile death; a death not for them only, but for the race; the death which is ensured by a life of sterile selfishness. But honor, highest honor, to those who fearlessly face death for a good cause; no life is so honorable or so fruitful as such a death. Unless men are willing to fight and die for great ideals, including love of country, ideals will vanish, and the world will become one huge sty of materialism. In America to-day all our people are summoned to service and sacrifice. Pride is the portion only of those who know bitter sorrow or the foreboding of bitter sorrow. But all of us who give service, and stand ready for sacrifice, are the torchbearers. We run with the torches until we fall, content if we can then pass them to the hands of other runners. The torches whose flame is brightest are borne by the gallant men at the front, and by the gallant women whose husbands and lovers, whose sons and brothers, are at the front. These are the torchbearers; these are they who have dared the Great Adventure.
Theodore Roosevelt, Inaugural Address Excerpt, March 5th, 1917
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Dear God, I do believe that bullet may have taken his mind along with its ounce of flesh.
I've seen the proto-fascism coming for awhile now, but I didn't think it be so brazen and articulated.
And here comes the subsumption of the public sphere.
This is a Presidential first, right? I have never heard a mention so explicitly with regard to the political opposition of a president during an inauguration. Not in this time period anyway.
I've seen the proto-fascism coming for awhile now, but I didn't think it be so brazen and articulated.
Will someone say that if Socialists and Democrats didn’t split anti-war vote now Teddy would play with tin soliderà and not real ones?
That's the thing, the Democrats made a point of not taking an explicitly anti-war position once the campaign was in full swing. That Bryan didn't stake the ground on the issue more forcefully was why the Socialists picked up as many crossover voters from the Progressives as they did.
The war-skeptic went to the Democrats.
The war-opposed went to the Socialists.
That was my read of things, anyway.
Though oddly enough, I actually don't think Bryan would have did better if he took the strong anti-war position, but that's just me.
Oh this reminds me, German language won't be supressed in America ITTL.
That's actually something he did OTL during the war, especially toward Wilson, Hearst, and La Follette.
Yeah, he already is rocking the boat with his blatant diregard for tradition, mudslinging his rivals might be ill advised.
He's gonna need to pass some domestic stuff to be able to counteract this
But what? Remember, he's in the middle of a war, and having staked his horse to it, well, the kind of stuff they'd want passed might not be too feasible.
Wartime does provide a good opportunity for infrastructure development if done right. The engines of the economy need to be kept humming and the war could be used to justify it, such as a universal healthcare system and so on.
Part 7: Chapter XXIII - Page 151
The Roosevelt Administration, its hands tied by the larger-than-life world war, spared little time and effort on reforming the presidential Cabinet. Roosevelt himself was pleased with the present makeup of the Executive Branch and in his third term hardly cared to switch out any of the department heads with new faces. The most essential pieces to the administrative puzzle, namely the Departments of State, War, and the Navy, were, in the president's eyes, orchestrated by top-notch conductors. Of these three, the Commander-in-Chief outright forbade retirements. Secretaries Garfield, Crowell, and Meyer represented the organization of the United States military domestically in the same manner Pershing and Knight did at the front. Apart from Leonard Wood commanding operations from within the U.S. Army and ousted Senator Henry Cabot Lodge accepting the position of Assistant State Secretary, the third Roosevelt Cabinet mirrored the second.
The Roosevelt Cabinet III
President - Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Vice President - Hiram W. Johnson
Sec. of State - James R. Garfield
Sec. of Treasury - George B. Cortelyou
Sec. of War -Benedict Crowell
Attorney General - Joseph McKenna
Postmaster General - James J. Britt
Sec. of the Navy - George von Lengerke Meyer
Sec. of Interior - Henry W. Temple
Sec. of Agriculture - Henry C. Wallace
Sec. of Commerce - Nelson B. Clark
Sec. of Labor - Raymond Robins
Sec. of Social Welfare - William B. Wilson
President - Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Vice President - Hiram W. Johnson
Sec. of State - James R. Garfield
Sec. of Treasury - George B. Cortelyou
Sec. of War -Benedict Crowell
Attorney General - Joseph McKenna
Postmaster General - James J. Britt
Sec. of the Navy - George von Lengerke Meyer
Sec. of Interior - Henry W. Temple
Sec. of Agriculture - Henry C. Wallace
Sec. of Commerce - Nelson B. Clark
Sec. of Labor - Raymond Robins
Sec. of Social Welfare - William B. Wilson
Vice President Johnson, a significant part of the administration's amiable association with Congress, was tasked with securing the president's legislative agenda. That process was thus far relatively simple due to the Progressive House plurality and a soothingly receptive Republican leadership in the Senate. However, Democratic gains in the congressional elections amounted to a trickier challenge for the new 65th Congress. Democrats led by Caucus Chairman Robert Owen snagged the mantle of power from the GOP in the upper chamber, and that contingent swore to fight more aggressively on reigning in the Executive Branch and tackling "limitless federal expenditures." Owen's alluring demand for fiscal responsibility and an 'elastic currency' made him a much tougher nut to crack than Fairbanks, but the de facto Senate leader was far from Johnson's only hurdle.
The Progressives too had to fend with a reinvigorated Champ Clark in the House. Risen like a phoenix, the newly re-ascended Democratic leader immediately rescinded policies promoted and upheld by former Minority Leader Oscar Underwood - Including the scheduling of regular meetings with leaders of the other four House delegations. Clark expressed dissatisfaction with the coalition-style system normalized in Congress, and as such supported internal reforms to the leadership system and derided 'bandages' like Underwood's leader conferences. It is no wonder he despised the status quo, considering it led to Speaker Wesley Jones' retention of the speakership. Jones accumulated enough Republican votes and peeled away a handful of Democrats, further angering Clark, yet the speaker's workable coalition was clearly built on an unsound foundation.
Hiram Johnson often communicated with members of the legislature to unearth common ground in the early days of the first session. He forged a cooperative committee with James Mann (R-IL) in the House, completely sidestepping the need to temper Clark's antagonism, and in doing so laid down some support beams for Jones' majority. Conference Chairman Robert La Follette worked to engineer a similar measure to slightly calm Owen's anti-administration antipathy. Albeit modestly successful in their joint task, Johnson and La Follette nonetheless struggled in the Senate against the stonewall-like Warren Harding: A figure that attracted fierce, enthusiastic loyalty from the Republican Party. Harding voted with Senate Progressives on matters of foreign policy, specifically the war resolution and subsequent funding initiatives, but he sharply disapproved of the president's domestic reforms. Therefore, all 25 sitting Republican senators from thence on followed the example of their leader. They fortuitously blocked an anemic attempt to reintroduce a suffrage amendment to the floor but voted in unison to approve an extension of the 1915 War Appropriations Act and its signature income tax hike.
Dozens of various war-related bills passed through the April session of the 65th Congress, among them a dramatic rebalancing of the 1915 Liberty Bond Act, the anti-immigration Passport Act, and the Appropriations Act extension. Although, beneath this tidy list, one monumental point of debate captivated national attention. Upon their prompt passage of the Nelson Service Reform Act, a measure that placed the Secret Service under the maintenance of the U.S. Army, the new class of congressmen discussed the contentious matter of conscription. President Roosevelt frequently demanded of Congress the implementation of the draft, citing reduced enlistment figures as reason enough to pass it, but the onset of the election kept staunch Democratic opposition and some moderate Republican skepticism unmoving. Now, with Harding assuring absolute allegiance to the "resolve to safeguard America," the president was guaranteed every last Republican vote plus the 16 so-called 'War Progressives' (opponents of the La Follette wing). Pressure mounted on the Democrats and Peace Progressives to supply the final seven votes needed, as each day of prolonged debate maddened Roosevelt voters. The Selective Service bill had already passed narrowly through the House, so all that stood between the president and his law was a small sect of circumspect senators. "Abide the Results of the Election," read a Washington Post editorial headline. "Cowards and foes of democracy must surrender to the will of the people. Enough debate! Vote!"
Southern Democrats wary of the war voiced plans to vote down the measure, as did Senator La Follette. During these proceedings, Ashley Grant Miller of Nevada, the lone Socialist senator, gave an impassioned speech objecting to conscription. He forecasted, "If we plunge the young men and boys of America to the trenches, half will perish and half will return revolutionists. The working class will not tolerate an expansion of the bloodiest conflict the world has ever known. Mr. Roosevelt must withdraw, not escalate." Echoing the president, Senator Philo Hall (P-SD) answered Miller with the standard counter argument. "These disloyal creatures, your foes of patriotism, do not represent the interests of American workers. [...] We exist in a state of war. If we do not allocate the manpower, we may be overrun." This type of back-and-forth debate lasted to April 10th. On that day, the floor opened at last for a final vote.
The Selective Service Act passed 58 to 36, with two not present. Over a dozen Democrats cast their votes in favor of conscription, including all seven of the freshmen class. This act authorized the federal government to enact a system of mandated registration for all men aged 18 to 45 for potential military service selection. No substitutes were allowed, and no exceptions were made for dependent spouses or children. Likewise, War Secretary Crowell announced that the draft would not exclude Black Americans, a facet of conscription detested by Southern segregationists like Ben Tillman and Coleman Blease. The only men exempt from the pool were present or former officeholders, licensed pilots, members of the clergy, the medically or physically handicapped, non-citizens, and felons. Everyone else was fair game starting in May 1917. This, the passage of the Selective Service Act, unleashed an alarming phase in the Great War. The death toll was on the precipice of skyrocketing to unforeseen heights.
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