Features of a Democratic-ruled 1920s USA?

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
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For the PoD I will go with the tried and true 1916 one, "Mr. Hughes goes to the White House. Mr. Hughes goes to war. Mr. Hughes and his party pol pals get sent packing 1918-1920"

So, we have Democrats ruling White House and the Congress from the 1920 election on for awhile.

What will be similar to OTL and what will be different, besides the names of the parties in power.

I think we can safely say a succession of Democratic Administrations in the 1920s would be more deferential to the south and its racial views and that the south would have more federal patronage.

Other than on race, where the Democrats would be the more reactionary party, how would Democratic policies compare with the Harding, Coolidge and Hoover Administrations.

I think David Tenner said once that the advantage in the Democratic Party in 1920 would lie with its more liberal progressive factions than conservative ones.

How would liberal/progressive led Democrats govern in the 1920s.

They have no Great Depression to play off of, but what reforms might they pursue or not pursue with regard to organized labor, regulatory and budgetary matters?

How would they differ from or continue "Hughesian internationalism" in foreign, colonial and defense policy?

Various foreign policy issues include intervention in Caribbean affairs, the Washington Naval Treaty and associated treaties on China, German reparations and Allied war debts, preparations/timelines for Philippines independence, the Irish question, especially early in the 1920s and whether to recognize the USSR or not.

What about Prohibition and immigration regulations?

Do economic cycles mainly go as in OTL, or do the 20s "roar" less for America?

If economic cycles largely track with OTL, what's the range of responses to the Great Depression that would be tolerable to the Republican politicians of the alternate early 1930s?
 

CaliGuy

Banned
Immigration restrictions might be somewhat less severe in this TL. Indeed, if I recall correctly, Senator Dillingham (the original sponsor of the 1921 immigration act) wanted the quota for immigrants by country to be 5% rather than 3% (later reduced to 2% in 1924 in our TL). In this TL, perhaps the 5% quota will remain.

Prohibition probably still gets repealed in the 1930s once it becomes clear that it is a failure.

Also, since Democrats were in favor of lower tariffs during this time, it is possible that the 1929 crash will result in a recession rather than in an economic depression. In turn, this means no Nazi Germany--which in itself has extremely massive consequences for both the U.S. and Europe.
 
Also, since Democrats were in favor of lower tariffs during this time, it is possible that the 1929 crash will result in a recession rather than in an economic depression. In turn, this means no Nazi Germany--which in itself has extremely massive consequences for both the U.S. and Europe.

The Tariff increases of OTL were symptoms of the Depression, not the cause. The interwar economy was built on a house of cards, so something very nasty is coming at some point regardless of what anyone does.

I could see this scenario as ultimately leading to a Third Party surge, with the Democratic Establishment blamed for creating the Depression, and the Republican Establishment blamed for making it worse.
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
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Could ruling liberal parties' policies in other English-speaking countries, like the Liberals in Canada, or the Lib-Lab coalitions in Britain, offer any guide to what American policies might be?
 
Could ruling liberal parties' policies in other English-speaking countries, like the Liberals in Canada, or the Lib-Lab coalitions in Britain, offer any guide to what American policies might be?

Maybe not. I'm given to understand they at least made some concessions to their labor movements, but America preferred brute force rather than compromise. There's a reason our Labor Day is inexplicably in September.
 
One thought: The 1922 election in this ATL is likely to see Republican gains, for the same reason the one in OTL saw Democratic ones: the postwar economic problems would not be over. Republicans would blame them on the Democrats' "anti-business" policies (just as in 1914 they blamed Democrats and the Underwood Tariff for the short-lived recession--with some success). This might lead the Democrats after 1922 to seek a more moderate, more business-friendly image.
 
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