Glory and Chaos: An American Story

My first attempt at a timeline. Don't expect it to be that great, but we'll see. Don't have Microsoft Word either, so I did the best I could. :p

Glory and Chaos: An American Story

Part 1: "Victory!": The American Empire

1900 had come to America. A new decade. Along with it, a new sense of power. From Puerto Rico to the Philippines, the United States had the stars and stripes firmly on it's colonial possessions. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, the Philippines, and Midway all were under the American flag. It had given most Americans a new wave of pride. Gone was the divided nation of 1862. America in the year 1900 was stronger than ever. Like the empires of Europe, America had finally conquered it's own colonial lands. An American Empire.

President William McKinley was elected President during hard times. The Panic of 1893 had risen unemployment to almost 15%. Elsewhere, rising tensions with Spain over Cuba caused a new wave of Manifest Destiny to reach the minds of Americans. Now in 1900, unemployment was down to almost 5% and America had soundly defeated Spain in it's conquest of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Of course, not everything was all well when the Unted States entered 1900. Democrats and the rising number of Socialists opposed McKinley and America's new era as an empire. The ongoing Philippine-American War also served as a negative for McKinley. 1900 was an election year. The Democrats were likely to nominate either William Jennings Bryan or Admirel George Dewey. Both were popular with many Americans and many Republicans feared a McKinley defeat, despite his accomplishments.

McKinley was obviously the nominee for Republicans. The one question was who would be his Vice Presidential nominee after Vice President Garret Hobart died in 1899 due to illness. Many Republican leaders did not want a Progressive on the ticket. The party leaders had a clear strategy. The wanted to pick a safe, experienced, and pro-business Republican and use McKinley's accomplishments of a lower unemployment level and the victory against Spain as campaign issues. Despite a strong push from Progressives at the convention in Philadelphia, it came up short with no major Progressive leader[1] and the efforts of conservative Republicans to stop them. In the end, the Republicans nominated Senator Stephen Elkins of West Virginia for the Vice Presidency. He was a well known and safe choice for Republicans. Elkins served as the Secretary of War under Benjamin Harrison and stayed in the public spotlight as he was elected Senator in 1895. McKinley and Elkins served as a solid Republican ticket.

The Democratic nomination for the Presidency would prove to be more eventful. Going into 1900, the popular William Jennings Bryan was in a heated race with war hero, Admirel George Dewey. Tragedy struck when in May 1900, a staunch anti-silverite assassinated Bryan during a public speech. This left George Dewey as the favorite and the eventual nominee for the Democratic nomination. Former Vice President to Grover Cleveland, Adlai E. Stevenson, would fairly easily secure the Vice Presidential nomination. With much sympathy going to the Democrats after Bryan's assassination, the 1900 Presidential election looked to be a close one.

George Dewey, Democratic nominee
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The Presidential race proved to be a good one for awhile at least. Dewey was riding his reputation as a war hero, while McKinley used the 5% unemployment and victory over Spain as campaign issues. Ironically, Dewey fired back by saying that the colonial war in the Philippines was unnecessary and too "European". As it came down to the wire, Dewey was gaining momentum as the war in the Philippines continued to see American soldiers die. Unfortunately for Democrats, a severe blunder would cost Dewey the Presidency. In early October, Dewey was quoted as saying that the Presidency would be easy because the President only follows orders from political bosses and congressional leaders. This would end any hope the Democrats had of securing the Presidency. Though Dewey would carry some Southern states, McKinley fairley easily won with 309 electoral votes to Dewey's 148 and. McKinley had won a second term.

1900 U.S Presidential election

William McKinley(Republican) - 53%
George Dewey(Democrat) - 42%
John G. Woodley(Prohibition) - 2%
Eugene Debs(Socialist) - 1%
Wharton Baker(Populist) - 1%
Others - 1%​

[1] Theodore Roosevelt died in Cuba. :D

Part 2: McKinley, Progressives, and Labor

Progressivism had been a rising political force in America since the 1890s. By 1900, it seemed poised to take force in the new decade. Slowly but surely, many Americans began to take anti-business stances as corruption and trusts began to come into the public light. By 1900, there had been a number of Progressives in the Republican Party. The growing number of Progressives in the party pushed for a Progressive in the ticket, but a pro-business conservative in Stephen Elkins received the nomination instead. Though McKinley agreed with Progressives on such things like civil rights, he and most Republican leaders were far from the Progressives in the business issue. The Republican establishment were pro-business and the Progressives were anti-business. The Republican establishment were anti-union, while Progressives supported compromise between business leaders and unions. President McKinley became even more of an anti-union leader when an Anarchist attempted to kill McKinley in September 1901. Luckily for McKinley, the would be assassin missed and was quickly tackled to the ground. The assassination attempt transformed President McKinley into a staunch anti-leftist. Though not even close to the far-leftism of Anarachist, McKinley blamed the less radical Progressives just as much as he did Anarchist and Socialist. As division between pro-business Republicans and Progressives deepened in 1902, a crisis was brewing that would rock the nation to it's core.

In early 1902, the United Mine Workers of America were threatening mine owners with a strike unless they recognized their union. Owners refused and a situation ripe for disastor sprouted up. Coal was absolutely necessary in heating cities during the winter. Without coal, many who lived in cities would freeze. Unfortunately, mine owners refused to recognize the UMWA as the representation of the workers. By June of 1902, nothing had been reached and most of the coal miners had went on strike. It is estimated that there were over 100,000 strikers. Progressives and Socialist supported the strikers in their quest for recognition. Most Republicans and many Democrats were not with the strikers. President McKinley was definitly not with them and by mid September, the Pennsylvania National Guard and the UMWA were close to conflict. By this time, President McKinley and Republican leaders feared massive Republican losses in Congress if the crisis was not fixed. Though Progressives pleaded for McKinley to negotiate a compromise between the UMWA and the coal mine owners, he would have none of it. Not only was President McKinley anti-UMWA, but Vice President Stephen Elkins was too. Though Elkins sympathized with Progressive on their discrimination, he was far from pro-UMWA. He himself was involved in the coal mining business in West Virginia. Elkins feared a radical UMWA uprising in his West Viriginian mines. Because of this and the overall massive anti-union oppinion of establishment Republicans, the Pennsylvania National Guard was told to end the strike and force the miners to work. On September 29th, the Pennsylvania National Guard opened fired on strikers. For three days battle would ensue. On October 1st, the dust had settled for the most part. In the end, 286 strikers were killed and many more injured. The "Miner War Massacre" would force most of the strikers back to work. A few of the immigrant workers were so mad, they packed their bags and left for their home country. The strike ended as a monumental defeat for all sides. The UMWA was not recognized and 286 of it's workers were killed. The Republican establishment were blamed for killing so many and supporting the mine owners. Both Democrats and Progressives lost the support of many laborers and unions for not doing anything monumental to support the strikers. Coal miner owners and the Pennsylvania National Guard were called killers. The only group that seemed to benefit from the massacre was the growing Socialist Party of America because the ineptitude of the Progressives and Democrats radicalized many unions and laborers. All in all, the "Mine War Massacre" proved to be benefitial to no party in congress. Election day came and passed, and frustration against the long dominating Republicans had finally come to fruition.

58th United States Congress(Senate)
Democratic Party: 48
Republican Party: 42

58th United States Congress(House)
Democratic Party: 195
Republican Party: 184
Populist-Progressive Party: 7

Well, on the bright side for establishment Republicans, they got rid of the Progressives as most moved to either the Democratic, Populist-Progressive, or Socialist parties. Unfortunately for the GOP, they were destroyed as expected. President McKinley now had to look foward to a Democratic congress and rising anger at Republicans.

The "Miner War Massacre" and the 1902 strike proved to be the worst of the Labor Wars in the decade. Other labor violence occured in San Francisco when 29 strikers died in 1903. The anger and frustration of workers led the American Federation of Labor to move towards the left. Unions and the AFL began to cooperate more with the rising Socialist Party as the Populist-Progressive Party would eventuallly fold in 1910 as workers and farmers slowly looked to Socialism. As for the government, the 58th congress proved to be uneventful. Besides a buildup in the Navy, nothing much was done except a few minor bills. All parties, meanwhile, looked to the 1904 Presidential elections.

Part 3: Parker takes the Presidency

Unlike some presidential elections, the 1904 election proved to be uneventful. Most knew the Republicans were going to lose and Democrats were going to win. The only question was who be the Democratic nominee. As for the Republicans, Vice President Stephen Elkins was nominated even though he knew he had a hell of fight in order to win. The Democrats wanted a balanced ticket of a moderate and a liberal. Scared of having a liberal take the Presidency, the Democrats nominated New Yorker Alton Parker. To gain some pro-union voters, the Democrats added William Randolph Hearst, as the Vice Presidential nominee. To no ones suprise, the Democrats easily won the election with 270 electoral votes. The Republicans won 198 electoral votes and the Populist-Progressives managed to get 8. The era of William McKinley was finally over.

President-elect Alton B. Parker
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1904 U.S Presidential election
Alton B. Parker(Democrat): 54%
Stephen Elkins(Republican): 35%
William Simon U'Ren(Populist-Progressive): 6%
Eugene Debs(Socialist): 5%
Others: 1%<

59th United States Congress(Senate)
Democraric Party: 51
Republican Party: 38
Populist-Progressive: 1

59th United States Congress(House)
Democratic Party: 204
Republican Party: 170
Populist-Progressive: 11
Socialist: 1
 
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Part 3: President Parker and a "Return to normalcy"

The disastor of McKinley's second term would change the nation forever. Though Progressives still lurked in the Populist-Progressive Party, the expected Progressive era never took power in America. Business trusts still had power and Socialism was quickly absorbing many Progressive politicians and voters. Even AFL President Samuel Gompers would radicalize quite a bit. Though Gompers was still very anti-immigrant, he began to move the AFL away from the Democratic Party and towards the Socialist Party. Many Americans were not sympathetic to the Socialist Party however. McKinley's smear campaign against radical leftism damaged Socialism to a number of Americans. Instead of looking to the Socialist Party or Populist-Progressive Party, most liberal Americans voted for moderate Alton B. Parker and liberal William Randolph Hearst of the Democratic Party. With this, the Parker-Hearst ticket easily won the Presidency.

Unlike 1902 and 1903, 1904 would see foreign affairs as the focus point of discussion. One of President Parker's first jobs was to build a canal in Central America. In March 1904, the Parker administration announced they were planning on building the Nicaragua Canal, rather than a Panama Canal. Parker and Hearst thought a Panama Canal would prove difficult with Columbia refusing to allow Americans to build it. It was decided a Nicaragua Canal would be less stressful. The canal would finally allow ships to cross the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans much easier. The most important event of 1904 however, was the suprise Japanese attack on Russia in early 1904. Suprising to many, the Japanese successfully won most naval and land battles against the Russians. The war would last until late 1905 when the Treaty of Paris(1905) was signed between Russian and Japanese officials. The treaty saw Russia give up it's claims in Manchuria to Japan and it sent a large amount of reparations to Japan as the victor. In America, anti-Japanese feelings were heating up as most Americans were wary of a strong Japan in the Pacific. Vice President William Randolph Hearst, a famous Spanish-American War warhawk, used this anti-Japanese feelings to build up the navy. By 1905, the United States had one of the largest and strongest in the world. Another froeign event that occured was the Russian Revolution of 1905. Though the revolutionaries would eventually falter, they would be more prepared than the "Miner War Massacre" strikers and inflicted substantial damage to the Russian Army. It would not be the end of public upheaval in Europe. War almost broke out between Germany and Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Spain over the territory of Morocco. Luckily for Europe and especially Germany, cooler heads prevailed and war was averted.

Domestically, the addition of liberal William Randolph Hearst as Vice President proved to a plus for Alton Parker and the Democratic Party. The Parker administration put a tougher stance on business trusts. Though not appeasing a lot of pro-union and Progressive voters, the liberal Hearst did manage to improve on what William McKinley did not do. Even though Parker didn't disband all trusts, some were broken up and this improved the reputation of the Parker administration. The 59th Congress also proved to be for effectful than the previous one. Socialist Upton Sinclair's The Jungle showed readers the brutality and horrors of the meat industry. The Meat Inspection Act and Pure Foods and Drugs Act calmed many Americans and helped build the lost trust between Americans and government. By the 1906 Congressional elections, Parker had managed to bring America back to normalcy from the disastor of the "Mine War Massacre". Even Republicans gained back the trust of voters as they managed to gain back seats in Congress. The Populist-Progressive Party lost the support of the Progressive base as they moved to the Socialist Party. By 1906, the Populist-Progressive Party had become just the Populist Party once more.

60th United States Congress(Senate)
Democratic Party: 45
Republican Party: 44
Populist Party: 1

60th United States Congress(House)
Democratic Party: 196
Republican Party: 189
Socialist Party: 4
Populist Party: 2

The Socialist Party won 4 seats in the house


As the Congressional elections passed, new events around the world immediately followed. The growing distrust between the United States and Japan increased when the San Francisco school board segregated Japanese immingrant children from White American children. Another happening was the launch of the HMS Dreadnought. The Naval Race between the Great Britain, Germany, and the United States to a lesser extent would dominate world politics for the remainder of the 1900s. Vice President Hearst was an Anglophobe. The man hated the British and wanted to compete with them. The main rivalry in the world however, proven in the Moraccan Crisis, was between Germany and the British Empire. When Great Britain signed the Entente Cordiale with France, the stage was set for a global conflict. Though many crisies would engulf the world to near global war, cooler heads always prevailed in the end as Germany hoped. Germany knew they would never win a war against Britain, France, Russia, and Japan until much later.

As 1907 was ending, Alton B. Parker's presidency was a success for the moment. There were no major labor striker like the UMWA Strike of 1902 and some labor leaders were actually supportive of Parker and Hearst. This all came to an end when a mine explosion killed over 450 in Western Pennsylvania. The explosion damaged labor support for the Parker administration and many attributed blame President Parker. Once more, the UMWA and the AFL moved to the left as resentment towards both the Democratic and Republican parties grew.

Part 4: Parker declines renomination and the 1908 elections

As 1908 and the U.S Presidential elections came foward, the Democratic Party was shaken when President Parker declined the Democratic nomination. His wife, Mary Parker, was growing ill and Parker refused to run to tend to his wife. After this, the immediate favorite was Vice President and newspaper guru William Randolph Hearst. Though Hearst was a liberal and fairly pro-labor, Hearst was somewhat popular and could win a general elections. William Randolph Hearst was chosen as the Democratic nominee for President in Denver at the Democratic convention. Charismatic Congressman Champ Clark was picked as the Vice Presidential nominee. Fromer Attorney General Philander C. Knox was chosen as the Republican nominee despite efforts from Charles Evans Hughes to secure the Republican nomination. A deal was reached when Hughes was nominated as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. The Republicans secured the support of business leaders as usual, but Hearst and the Democrats were unable to secure labor and union support. This would cost the Democrats as the Jacobs Creek mine explosion hurt the Democrats in the western mine states. The Republicans also improved their reputation in the four years since McKinley. In the end, Knox received 276 electoral votes, Hearst got 203 electoral votes, and Socialist nominee Eugene Debs received 4. The Republicans were back in power.

President-elect Philander Knox
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1908 U.S Presidential election
Philander C. Knox(Republican) - 46%
William Randolph Hearst(Democratic) - 41%
Eugene Debs(Socialist) - 10%
Thomas E. Watson(Populist) - 2%
Others - 1%

61st United States Congress(Senate)
Republican Party - 49
Democratic Party - 40
Socialist Party - 3

61st United States Congress(House)
Republican Party - 197
Democratic Party - 180
Socialist Party - 14
 
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Part 5: President "Philly", Spanish Civil War, and Solidarity

Philander C. Knox knew what was ahead of him when he entered the presidency. Knox was an experienced and smart politician. He served as Attorney General in the McKinley administration and was elected to the Senate in 1905. He knew he would face his share of critics and he certainly did. The Democratic Party and former Vice President Hearst attacked him as a "second McKinley" because of his strong personal friendship to the disgraced president. The upstart Socialist Party attacked him as the "representative for business" because of the Republican Party's close relationship with the business elite. Still, Knox and Vice President Hughes entered 1909 fairly popular to the general population. The main debate in America regarded a proposed Sixteenth Amendment which included a Federal Income Tax. The amendment was supported by the Socialist Party, progressives in the Democratic Party, and the weakening Populist Party. President Knox made well of his position of the issue rather bluntly. In a public speech in Richmond, Knox said he and Republicans would never allow the amendment to be passed. Socialists and progressives decried President Knox and the debate over the issue continued.

By July 1909, President Knox's presidency was still favorable to most Americans. The Sixteenth Amendment proposal and the Federal Income Tax issue continued to be the main debate in the minds of Americans and politicians alike. This all changed on July 25th. In response to the Spanish Army calling up it's reserves, anti-military protests began to sprout up in and around the city of Barcelona. Barcelona was a hotspot for radicals to meet. Because of Spain's slow and harsh decline, anarchism and communism became popular in urban Spanish cities. This was a recipe for disastor. Things came to head when the Spanish union, Worker's Solidarity, called for a general strike. By July 27th, Barcelona was in full revolt and the workers had taken over the city. Spanish politicians feared that a full blown Spanish Revolution would be inevitable unless they sent in the Spanish Army to stop the revolt in Barcelona. It was decided quickly that this would be the course of action. The news of this spread like wildfire across Spain. Soon, other Spanish cities were began to experience their own worker revolts and riots. Not only this, but the Spanish revolutionaries learned from the strikers of the "Mine War Massacre" and prepared for the event of revolution. Many leftist and radicals armed themselves just for this moment of revolution. The stage was set for civil war. On August 1st, charismatic socialist Marcelino Domingo of the Radical Socialist Republican Party, declared the formation of the Worker's Republic of Spain. The Spanish Civil War of 1909 had begun. A number of Spanish soldiers refused to shoot on their Spanish brothers and sisters, and some even defected to the Worker's Republic. In the end, the Spanish Civil War of 1909 lasted a short, but bloody six months. It is estimated that around 4,500 Spanish revolutionaries died in the war. About 950 Spanish soldiers died. The Kingdom of Spain had won, but no politician ever imagined that the use of soldiers would divide the nation in civil war. Luckily for them, the Spanish Army was far more organized and ready for battle. If not, the world could have seen it's first successful worker's revolution. After the war, the Spanish Army killed or arrested any revolutionary they could find. Unfortunately for them, most of the revolutionaries escaped and hid their political ambitions underground. Marcelino Domingo, himself, hid with a RSR Party sympathizer. Though the Spanish attempted to eradicate all socialists, communists, and anarchists, they would never be able to destroy the revolutionary fever in Spain. The Worker's Republic of Spain and the events in Spain would shake the world to it's core. America was not exempt to this.

Spanish workers begin the strike
12a2-protestasfereryguardia.jpg

The events in Spain, which culminated into a bloody civil war, would rock the United States. America was quickly becoming one of the more radical nations in the world. Though not nearly as radical as Spain and a few other European nations, the Socialist Party of America and the radicalized American Federation of Labor, were quickly gaining power. After the Worker's Republic of Spain was formed on August 1st, socialist and anarchists in the United States began holding marches in "solidarity" with the workers of Spain. President Philander "Philly" Knox and Vice President Charles Evans Hughes were in shock. They feared a revolution could even happen in America. The Socialist Party and the AFL was in no mood for any revolution though. The Socialist Party was a democratic party and wanted to spread socialism by the use of democracy. This didn't stop Knox and state governors from using the police and National Guards in rivaling the protests. One particular incident in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania would show how bad this decision was. A large pro-Worker's Republic crowd was forming in the city and the police and National Guard was immediately sent in to "monitor" the situation. Violence eventually broke out and 53 pro-Worker's Republic protesters died in the fight. When the Spanish Civil War of 1909 ended, the protests quickly began to end, but the "Spanish Solidarity Protests of 1909" would be remebered by both left and right alike. As for Knox, his reputation with the Socialist Party and unions got even worse. However, he was applauded by both conservatives and business leaders for stopping a violent socialist uprising.

A pro-Worker's Republic protest in late 1909
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The protests of 1909 and early 1910 would not continue for long. Similar to the events after the "Mine War Massacre" in 1902, the United States eventually went back to normalcy. Even the Socialist Party never radicalized into a revolutionary party after the "Spanish Solidarity Protests". They continued to work on the 1910 Congressional elections. In response to this, a small bloc of revolutionary radicals split and formed the Socialist Revolutionary League. This did not hinder the Socialists however, as they absorbed the progressives and populists of the Populist Party.

62nd United States Congress(Senate)
Republican Party: 44
Democratic Party: 38
Socialist Party: 10

62nd United States Congress(House)
Republican Party: 186
Democratic Party: 157
Socialist Party: 51
 
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Part 6: The Great War

Backround:
The Great War or Global War I (meh, why not ;)) was a conflict that was destined since 1871, the formation of the German Empire. Increasing tensions between the Entente (Great Britain, France, Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary) had almost put Europe to war numerous times before. Each time, Germany felt they weren't ready for a global war and peace was always negotiated. When 1911 came, Europe was still in shock over the Spanish Civil War of 1909. Communism and Anarchism was rising in popularity throughout the world and threat of the left took some steam off of the growing British-German rivalry. This was not to last of course. A number of new crisies came with increasing Italo-Ottoman tensions and near revolution in the Ottoman contolled Balkans. The Great War would not start in Europe however. It would start in Africa, in Morocco.

In April 1911, Moroccan rebels would overthrow Sultan Abdelhafid in the city of Fez. France and even Spain saw this as an immediate threat. The French wanted to put an end to the rebellion and protect European interests. The Spansh had African colonies both north and south of Morocco. Though they were only two years apart from a short civil war, Spain sent soldiers to put down the Moroccan rebellion and prevent a revolt from starting the Spanish colonies. Germany looked at the situation with interest. The use of Gunboat diplomacy had been used before and the Germans were going to do it again. On July 1st, the German ship Panther entered a Moroccan port. The Germans wanted the use this act of Gunboat diplomacy to gain for land in Africa. The French didn't look at the situation like that. Each side knew war was inevitable and each side thought they could win. In an act that suprised almost everyone, the French mobalized for war on July 3rd and declared war against Germany on July 4th. Soon the rest of Europe descended into war. The Triple Entente of Great Britain, Russia, and France against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Allying with the Triple Entente in August 1911, Italy had hoped to gain lands in Austria-Hungary and Ottoman controlled Libya. The Ottomans were forced to ally with the Central Powers. Increasing tensions with Italy over Libya and Russia over the Balkans put them into the war. With Japan entering the war on the side the Triple Entente, it expanded the European war into a global war. Deadly battles in Belgium, France, East Europe, Africa, Asia, and across the ocean would take the headlines of newspapers for years to come.

Sides of Global War I:
Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
Central Power allies: Sweden

Entente: British Empire, Russia, France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Balkan rebels
Pro-Entente allies: Spain, America

Part 7: America and the war

Americans expected to wake up to joyous Independance Day celebrations on July 4th 1911. Instead, newspaper headlines across the nation read, "WAR IN EUROPE: FRENCH DECLARE WAR ON GERMANY". This was hardly what they expected. The politics of America soon took a swing to foreign affairs. Most Americans took a stance of neutrality, at least for the time being. Though the majority of Americans sympathized with the Entente, most did not want to see American soldiers die for a European war. The fact that Japan was also an ally of the Entente didn't help. This didn't mean warhawks were no where to be seen. Some of the public were stanch supporters of American entry into the war. Even the Knox Administration were largely pro-British and wanted to prepare for American entry. The Socialist Party and the Socialist Revolutionary League said American entry into the war would only increase profit of war materials in the expense of dead American soldiers. This rhetoric was popular in the midwest where neutrality at all costs was favored.

The use of poison gas beginning divided Americans even more. Most around the world thought the war would end in a matter of months. It was now clear that it would be a long and bloody stalemate. Only the colonial wars in Asia and Africa saw quick and sometimes bloodless battles. Germany was far outnumbered in both areas and their colonial possesions were soon conquered. Soldiers fighting in the Western Front were not as lucky. Battles could kill thousands of soldiers in a matter of hours. To make it worse, the front continued to be a stalemate for both sides. Sweden's inclusion into the Central Powers and their declaration of war on Russia in 1912 did not help the divisions between Americans regarding the war. A large portion of Americans were ancestors of German and Scandanavian immigrants. Even though they were far from pro-German, they became the driving force of America's neutrality movement.

Global War I(possible mistakes)
WWI-1.png

Eugene Debs the Socialist Party used neutrality at all costs as a campaign issue, along with the usual pro-union and socialist domestic laws they wanted. President Knox was the clear frontrunner however. The Spanish Solidarity Protests were long behind in the minds of the American public at this point. Even though workers and socialists were still angry at the events of 1909, the war in Europe was the main campaign issue for Americans. Knox used America's continued neutrality as his main campaign issue. This would propel Knox in 1912. The Democrats were not as enthusiastic as the other two parties. Well known U.S Representative Champ Clark of Missouri was nominated as the Democratic nominee. Senator Alexander Mitchell Palmer of Pennsylvania was nominated for Vice President. The Democrats had no shot in 1912 unfortunately for them. Knox was reelected with 234 electoral votes. For the first time in decades, a non-Republican and non-Democratic nominee finished second for President. Eugene Debs and the Socialists received 150 electoral votes, with the Socialist Party dominating the midwest and western states. Champ Clark and the Democrats only secured 147 electoral votes. Knox was reelected as Europe continued it's ongoing hell.

1912 U.S Presidential election
Philander C. Knox(Republican) - 44%
Eugene Debs(Socialist) - 30%
Champ Clark(Democratic) - 24%
Others - 2%

63rd United States Congress(Senate)
Republican Party - 45
Socialist Party - 29
Democratic Party - 29

63rd United States Congress(House)
Republican Party - 201
Democratic Party - 159
Socialist Party - 75
 
Hiiuma should be colored blue.

Also, why did Britain and Belgium join the war?

From what I understand the British public wouldn't be too ecstatic to join another "Continental" war around this time.

The Belgians especially have far too much to lose and far too little to gain by joining the war on the side of the French.

EDIT: Also Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro and Greece. They have no reason to join the war either at this point.
 
I gotta agree on this one.

If France is the "agressor" in this war, Britain would be inclined to stay put and Belgium isn't gonna take sides short of being invaded.

Still this is an interesting TL and I hope you keep it up.
 
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