James F Byrnes picked as FDR VP

What if James F. Byrnes was picked as FDR's VP in 1944 instead of Truman? How could this be done? Presuming FDR still wins and then dies like IOTL, Byrnes becomes President.
How would he do as President? Would he handle the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War in the same way? He was a segregationit, so him taking a different position on civil rights than Truman could have a big impact on Democrats and the civil rights movement. Maybe Republicans win the black vote and are liberal on civil rights, and now they are more liberal and get landslides among black voters while Democrats are more conservative and dominate the South. How would Byrnes do as President? How would the 1948 election go? What would be the effects? What if?
 
What if James F. Byrnes was picked as FDR's VP in 1944 instead of Truman? How could this be done? Presuming FDR still wins and then dies like IOTL, Byrnes becomes President.

Keep Truman from being an option. Maybe have him make a really bad gaffe.

How would he do as President? Would he handle the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War in the same way?

Let's see:
  • Nukes Japan (duh)
  • WWII ends similarly
  • Maybe the Berlin Airlift ends differently, I don't know enough about it
  • In reaction to the strikers, he likely signs Taft-Hartley rather than vetoing it (he was anti-labour)
    • This pisses off the unions
  • Republicans will make even bigger gains in 1946
  • "Do-Nothing Congress" emerges
  • Byrnes is passed up in 1948 as unions hate him too much
He was a segregationit, so him taking a different position on civil rights than Truman could have a big impact on Democrats and the civil rights movement. Maybe Republicans win the black vote and are liberal on civil rights, and now they are more liberal and get landslides among black voters while Democrats are more conservative and dominate the South.

That's possible, though keep in mind that black voters made a part of the New Deal Coalition, so the Democratic Party may still try to attract them. Also, remember the Republicans got conservative even with the likes of Eisenhower.

How would the 1948 election go? What would be the effects?

Dewey wins a huge landslide against anyone the Democratic Party puts up and he also retains a Republican Congress. Likely Dewey doesn't go into Korea. He'll likely be a more liberal version of Eisenhower.
 
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Keep Truman from being an option. Maybe have him make a really bad gaffe.



Let's see:
  • Nukes Japan (duh)
  • WWII ends similarly
  • Maybe the Berlin Wall ends differently, I don't know enough about it
  • In reaction to the strikers, he likely signs Taft-Hartley rather than vetoing it (he was anti-labour)
    • This pisses off the unions
  • Republicans will make even bigger gains in 1946
  • "Do-Nothing Congress" emerges
  • Byrnes is passed up in 1948 as unions hate him too much


That's possible, though keep in mind that black voters made a part of the New Deal Coalition, so the Democratic Party may still try to attract them. Also, remember the Republicans got conservative even with the likes of Eisenhower.



Dewey wins a huge landslide against anyone the Democratic Party puts up and he also retains a Republican Congress. Likely Dewey doesn't go into Korea. He'll likely be a more liberal version of Eisenhower.

I doubt even an unpopular incumbent could be passed up for renomination. Hoover was renominated in 1932 and Carter in 1980.

Dewey probably does win big in 1948. Not sure how it'd go on Korea. The Democrats may try to win back black voters but might find it much harder and Republicans do much better with the black vote. A Dewey presidency would be interesting as well. Potentially this PoD could radically alter the ideological and political alignment of the parties.

Btw Berlin Wall wasn't build till 1961 I think you mean the Berlin Blockade.
 
I doubt even an unpopular incumbent could be passed up for renomination. Hoover was renominated in 1932 and Carter in 1980.

He's also hated by unions, and unions are a core part of the Democratic Party. If he is renominated, it just makes 1948 even better for the GOP.

Dewey probably does win big in 1948. Not sure how it'd go on Korea.

The Republicans don't have the blame in regards to China, so they don't have anything to prove. One part of why Truman intervened in Korea is because China went red and he needed something to prove.

The Democrats may try to win back black voters but might find it much harder and Republicans do much better with the black vote.

OTL 1960, man. Eisenhower's presidency helped blacks a lot, but Kennedy was able to steal the black vote. This POD may lead to such a "Party of the South, Party of Lincoln" thing, but it's far from a given, as 1960 shows.

Also, the Republicans will never win 90% of black voters because blacks, the majority of which were and are less well-off than whites, will be attracted to the Democratic position on welfare, so maybe 55-60% of blacks vote Republican?

A Dewey presidency would be interesting as well. Potentially this PoD could radically alter the ideological and political alignment of the parties.

Yeah, it could.

Btw Berlin Wall wasn't build till 1961 I think you mean the Berlin Blockade.

Oh, uh, I'll fix it.
 
The Republicans don't have the blame in regards to China, so they don't have anything to prove. One part of why Truman intervened in Korea is because China went red and he needed something to prove.

But I think Dewey would also want to avoid Korea falling to communism and seek to stop it's spread. Maybe he doesn't intervene but it's easier to see him still intervening.
 
But I think Dewey would also want to avoid Korea falling to communism and seek to stop it's spread. Maybe he doesn't intervene but I thinknow it's easier to see him still intervening.

Again, he has less reason to do so.

Also, he needs to win the approval to the Old Right. The Old Right were no fan of the whole Korea thing; I believe Taft was against it. Dewey may try to assuage the Old Right through foreign policy.
 
Again, he has less reason to do so.

Also, he needs to win the approval to the Old Right. The Old Right were no fan of the whole Korea thing; I believe Taft was against it. Dewey may try to assuage the Old Right through foreign policy.

That's a possibility but IMHO as a staunch internationalist and anti-communist Dewey won't let Korea fall to the communists.

Though talking about China; might a Byrnes presidency have butterflies on the Chinese civil war and events there? Idk, maybe someone could fill us in.
 
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