Crimson Banners Fly: The Rise of the American Left

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On another note, I put something together for folks who'd like all the election results in one place.

Electoral History of the Crimsonverse

I included some notes for people who haven't read the timeline just to give my non-reader friends an idea of what's happening in this timeline. I also used 270 to Win's map customization to illustrate all the presidential elections. Just for a baseline, I also included the historical results for 1892 and 1894. Note that I kinda fudged with the numbers for the 1894 Senate results simply because Wikipedia displays the gains, losses, and totals weird due to vacant seats being filled later. Should at least be consistent now.
This is great stuff! Thanks very much, it's a nice and helpful reminder.
 
Oh hey @PyroTheFox just a heads-up. While I was looking through all the election results I noticed an error. You have Senator Robert L. Owen down as a Senator from West Virginia in the Senate leadership list, but in the Senate election results you have him from Oklahoma like in OTL.
 
I managed to miss these results somehow, so let's remedy that!

Holy shit, in terms of raw numbers the Democrats and Socialists are tied in the House! The Senate clearly is a different matter, but even so seeing the Socialists gain a bit more of a foothold is terrific.

With regards to the newcomers, Cummings is an interesting ascension to the Senate, particularly considering some of his plans in OTL. Hanley falling to Chamberlain feels like the signal of the end of an era considering his political friends. Huzzah for Minnesota and Wisconsin, and shame on West Virginia. Certainly feels like the Byrd Machine is going to have a harder time coping with the current political climate, if it even gets set in motion. ANd holy shit the California Republicans crashing and burning so spectacularly!? Fuck. And just to confirm, that is the Al Smith as in the OTL Governor, right? Just checking to make sure because that's a pretty generic name. Either way, that's certainyl a big gain for New York.

Oh Ho! That's an interesting line right there! Well, can't wait to see where we go from here!
Yes! Smith remained as a NY Assemblyman ITTL, rising to the speakership sometime after losing the gubernatorial election to Hughes in 1918.
Hughes chose to retire instead of running for a 4th term (perhaps expecting to be vice president). Smith defeats Lt. Gov Harvey Hinman in 1920.

How would Speaker elections work in a multi-party House?
Speakership elections would require multiple ballots until a single candidate receives a majority vote from the House. 1910 was this timeline's first complex House result with an indeterminate speaker. Progressives voted for Thomas Butler, the Republican, on the first ballot. Wesley Jones gained enough momentum from the 1912 gains to be elected speaker with sufficient GOP assistance, and preserved that role after the 1914 and 1916 elections. In the 66th Congress, however, Champ Clark forged a deal with the Socialists as I touched on in this section. That deal remains in effect in the 67th Congress.

On another note, I put something together for folks who'd like all the election results in one place.

Electoral History of the Crimsonverse

I included some notes for people who haven't read the timeline just to give my non-reader friends an idea of what's happening in this timeline. I also used 270 to Win's map customization to illustrate all the presidential elections. Just for a baseline, I also included the historical results for 1892 and 1894. Note that I kinda fudged with the numbers for the 1894 Senate results simply because Wikipedia displays the gains, losses, and totals weird due to vacant seats being filled later. Should at least be consistent now.
Excellent! Great to have the results in an easily accessible Google Doc!

Minor thing, though, there were 3 faithless electors in 1920 (1 in Indiana, 2 in Nebraska) - and they didn't switch over to Blease. I've actually discovered in my research that faithless electors have not outright switched to another active candidate since 1796. I figured, frustrated with their options, the two Nebraskans cast their votes for Bryan and the lone Indianan for its senator, Thomas Marshall. Blease still overtakes Johnson in the EV, however.

Oh hey @PyroTheFox just a heads-up. While I was looking through all the election results I noticed an error. You have Senator Robert L. Owen down as a Senator from West Virginia in the Senate leadership list, but in the Senate election results you have him from Oklahoma like in OTL.
How strange! That has been fixed!
 
Minor thing, though, there were 3 faithless electors in 1920 (1 in Indiana, 2 in Nebraska) - and they didn't switch over to Blease. I've actually discovered in my research that faithless electors have not outright switched to another active candidate since 1796. I figured, frustrated with their options, the two Nebraskans cast their votes for Bryan and the lone Indianan for its senator, Thomas Marshall. Blease still overtakes Johnson in the EV, however.
Good to know! I'll go fix that right now.

EDIT: There, I changed it so Johnson has 174 and Blease 175. I'll fix the screenshot in the morning.
 
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Epilogue: Master and Apprentice
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Star Building, Washington, D.C., 1921 - Source: Wiki Commons

Epilogue: Master and Apprentice

The following excerpt is referenced from esteemed author Philip Braddock’s The Model Man, a fictionalized biography centered on the later life of a disreputable figure in U.S. history. Set in the period from 1920 to 1931, the book tackles themes of social upheaval and old age juxtaposed with political intrigue and ideological banter. Braddock's work encapsulates the human element behind the much-maligned subject and received generally unfavorable reviews as a result.

A soft hum hung low in the air. Scattered rain drizzled on the rooftops, silently leaking underneath the main doorway onto the tile. The grim room seem to darken a shade as Jackson absentmindedly dropped the telephone back onto the receiver. He was a ghastly sight, sleep-deprived and plainly malnourished. Word of Adair's concession hit him like a spear through the gullet. Abandoned in a strange world at a strange time and consumed by the responsibility to tutor some penniless creature of frivolity, he pondered whether rekindling ties with an old acquaintance would release him from this slump. But life in the capital was no different, just one blow after the next.
That was it. It would soon be law. Jackson cleared his throat and braced for the explosion. "They've ignored our appeal," the hollowed man whimpered. He stared back at the telephone expectantly. "I have friends in the judiciary, we'll fight this." Adjusting his gaze to the ground, he murmured, "Defeat I'm familiar with, but the disrespect is another matter."
"Were you of the expectation that this infernal government would coddle your request?" snapped the gentleman. "This is politics, Edward. No man in his right mind will succumb to courteousness and petition." He rose and mellowed his tone. "Do you think I made it this far by relying on kinship and loyalty? Trusting in men's sworn oaths? No, my dear friend, everyone and everything is affixed with a price." An icy breeze wafted in the sitting room, interrupting the rant and sending chills through the corridor. "Thomas!" he thundered. "Would you kindly close that damnable window?"
The blank-faced secretary scampered to his feet and duly followed his instructions. These harsh mannerisms jolted Jackson, but the secretary was evidently unfazed. He trotted to the opposite wall without a word, shivered at the brisk air and closed off the crevice. As the window shut hard into its wooden frame, the thankless gentleman went on. "The Reds, here and elsewhere, are much like Thomas: Men who follow Master's orders and do as they are told," he stated, turning once more to face his guests. "It's no secret the socialists are imbeciles, useful fools for the Russian Jews. They'll not stop until American civilization is broken down to rubble. It cannot be disputed - "
"Call it whatever you'd like," interjected the fourth man present with the slightest hint of a Texan drawl. Jackson shot him a sharp look of warning of which the young man pretended not to notice. "It doesn't matter if they've used goddamn hypnotism, the battle is lost when the workingmen are with them." This younger man, brought to the manor at the insistence of his companion, was obviously not intimidated by his host's wealth and prestige. He continued, "The war will be lost too unless we defy their wickedness and strike before the iron cools. How long until our churches are condemned and open worship outlawed like in that Bolsheviki hell?"
"On that point, the urgency, I do believe there is agreement," responded the gentleman. He looked at the younger man and smiled, "You're a sharp one, aren't you? Good. Soldiers like yourself will be the only thing capable of salvaging America's fate." He paused. "We'll survive this law, but the next may prove fatal. Once these wretched Communists seek nationalization, the brick wall we've built in the Senate will prove impossible to scale. The Reds' modus operandi, subversive warfare of intellect and economics, will be turned against them. Their false ideas will sap the moral stamina of the people and the red tide will recede."
"Yes, that was his plan as well," declared Jackson, rubbing his nose with a dirty rag.
"Alexander, God rest his soul, was not half as clever as a walnut. He left this mortal realm a coward, the same way he lived." The gentleman stalled for a moment. "I've reasoned this out. I know what we can do to end this racket." He took a step and glanced to his right. "Thomas, grab my jacket, if you will." Gesturing back to his colleagues, he remarked with a knowing expression, "Friends, right this way. I believe we're late to our engagement."
 
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Welp, sounds like Stedman wins but as expected doesn’t have the senate and many, many people are not happy about that.
By the way, what’s the status of the Hippo Bill? Please tell me that there is a Hippoboys Union that endorsed Stedman with promises of improved safety conditions.
 
Welp, sounds like Stedman wins but as expected doesn’t have the senate and many, many people are not happy about that.
By the way, what’s the status of the Hippo Bill? Please tell me that there is a Hippoboys Union that endorsed Stedman with promises of improved safety conditions.
Haven't heard of the Hippo Bill before! Looks like it was introduced in 1910, though, so that ship may have sailed :coldsweat:

Aww, It ended, But it seems from the fictional story, Seymour Stedman becomes the 32nd President, Suck it, Capitalists!
There’s going to at least be a Second Act, Pyro said.
More to come, soon! I couldn't end the story just like that :)
 
Haven't heard of the Hippo Bill before! Looks like it was introduced in 1910, though, so that ship may have sailed :coldsweat:
Well it’s chief proponents were Southern Democrats, Rooselvelt (because of course he would), the Press for some reason, and anti-Beef Trust Proggressives. Would that be a viable coalition? Reading the original editorials it is astounding how nobody at any point thought this might be a bad idea.

They planned for the ranchers to fence off part of the river to keep them from wandering and since they were unsuited for trains you would have the slaughterhouses close by so “Hippo Drives” would go right up to the slaughterhouse just like in the Wild West.
It is a criminally underused and hilarious POD in my opinion.
 
Oh wow, that's an intriguing send-off! Certainly sounds as if Stedman's in with a shot...but at the same time, as if he's been hobbled out of the gate.
 
This has been such an excellent timeline from beginning to end. I'm glad it's not over altogether, but it's clear that the presumed election of Stedman is the beginning of a new epoch. Curious to see how American socialism evolves from here, and whether it can withstand the usual tendencies towards moderation which often mark this kind of electoral involvement. Something tells me that reactionary counter-pressure will keep the movement radical, as that's alluded to in the epilogue.

I also wanted to mention one of my few issues with the story, this being the international situation. While the US joining the Central Powers was a brilliant twist on the usual WW1 alt-history, some of the subsequent developments have struck me as a little too convergent. Specifically, I find it odd that the revolution in Russia would not be immediately squashed by the Whites, who presumably can count on some kind of German backing. Maybe Germany's enmity towards their former enemies keeps them from doing so, along with the significant task of rebuilding their country and securing their sphere, but the success of the Bolsheviks has still struck me as odd. This could be corrected in the second part (the Russian Civil War is not yet over, after all), and I think it would make for a more interesting story altogether. A socialist US would have it far too easy geopolitically if the USSR was there to back them up, and vice-versa. That said, this is only a minor issue to me.
 
This has been such an excellent timeline from beginning to end. I'm glad it's not over altogether, but it's clear that the presumed election of Stedman is the beginning of a new epoch. Curious to see how American socialism evolves from here, and whether it can withstand the usual tendencies towards moderation which often mark this kind of electoral involvement. Something tells me that reactionary counter-pressure will keep the movement radical, as that's alluded to in the epilogue.

I also wanted to mention one of my few issues with the story, this being the international situation. While the US joining the Central Powers was a brilliant twist on the usual WW1 alt-history, some of the subsequent developments have struck me as a little too convergent. Specifically, I find it odd that the revolution in Russia would not be immediately squashed by the Whites, who presumably can count on some kind of German backing. Maybe Germany's enmity towards their former enemies keeps them from doing so, along with the significant task of rebuilding their country and securing their sphere, but the success of the Bolsheviks has still struck me as odd. This could be corrected in the second part (the Russian Civil War is not yet over, after all), and I think it would make for a more interesting story altogether. A socialist US would have it far too easy geopolitically if the USSR was there to back them up, and vice-versa. That said, this is only a minor issue to me.
I agree. One interesting angle could see the tide slowly turn against the Bolsheviks, followed by the Stedman Administration offering them sanctuary.
 
I agree. One interesting angle could see the tide slowly turn against the Bolsheviks, followed by the Stedman Administration offering them sanctuary.
That's a good idea. There's even that bit about Trotsky visiting New York earlier in the timeline that could serve as (unintentional) foreshadowing of that. It would certainly be interesting to see the more 'vanguardist' Bolshevik exiles clash with the democratic and syndicalist American socialists.
 
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