It really depends on how successful syndicalist reconstruction and the CSA in general is.
Kaiserreich: Legacy of the Weltkrieg
- Thread starter RiverDelta
- Start date
And I imagine how the wider world is. If everyone else is Syndie, there's no one else to look to for how else the world could've been
They could always remember how things used to be. Even with suppression and propaganda, the memory of the American Republic could be carried on by oral tradition.And I imagine how the wider world is. If everyone else is Syndie, there's no one else to look to for how else the world could've been
Well depending on which socialists get power in the CSA, They'll probably claim to be the continuation of the legitimate USA. Something about how the original spirit of the constitution got corrupted by the rich and greedy and that their revolution was one of liberation that returned the power to the people. If MacArthur seizes control of the state, that narrative wouldn't be too hard of a sale.
But would it be looked at kindly? In a syndicalist society capitalism would probably be viewed as undemocratic, which could especially be the case in the Kaiserreich world where, as long as totalism is averted, syndicalist nations are in fact democratic.
How would an annexed PSA be viewed in such a scenario (as in the rework, they'll only rebel in a MacArthur coup scenario)?
I see them being seen much like the Confederacy was IOTL during this period (as a heroic and noble, if doomed, cause).
I guess it depends on what political path they pick post-ceasefire.
A Farmer-Labor PSA is going to act very differently than a Democrat PSA.
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This. Democrat PSA will be seen as another faction of capitalist oppressors. Farmer-Labor will be seen as heroic fellow workers, struggling mightily against the foul forces of capitalist oppressionI guess it depends on what political path they pick post-ceasefire.
A Farmer-Labor PSA is going to act very differently than a Democrat PSA.
Republicans are probably going to be seen the same as Democrats. Progressives might be treated a little bit kinder.
The Farmer-Labor Party is still capitalistic though. They don't want to destroy capitalism at all. They want to reform it. How the CSA regards that is up to.
And no its not meant to last that long. It is meant to be a short thing. Of course I can see the story potential of it not being temporary and the cold war begining with a divided line between america at the rockies.
There's no way for the PSA to make peace with any of the other factions, right? Like if the PSA is Farmer-Labor and the CSA is Federalist or MacArthur "restores democracy" and the PSA goes reactionary Democrats or if their ceasefire is with New England (I don't see any faction of the PSA or AUS getting along with each other)...And no its not meant to last that long. It is meant to be a short thing. Of course I can see the story potential of it not being temporary and the cold war begining with a divided line between america at the rockies.
I guess it also depends on the style of government that crops up in the aftermath of the American Revolution. If it's a democratic form of socialism then maybe its not so bad, if they go full totalist and are super oppressive then romanticism for the past would be common.
Much has been said about the self-contradictory nature of the America First Party and the AUS as a whole, so at this point most attempts to seriously examine what that country is about is papered over by the sheer memetic force of the Kingfish. Not that revolutionary or counterrevolutionary regimes have a great track record of ideological self-consistency, but it's still sort of fun to think about. So my take on Huey Long's character (counter to /u/frimairist who I had a spirited debate with in the above thread) is that he's a self-aggrandizing populist foremost without any commitments to sectarianism- racial or otherwise- and that if anything he's an American Bismarck whose real-life Senate record shows good relations with progressive politicians. Not that the progressivism of the time necessarily prevented politicians from having racist or nativist views.
The reason for this is that it's sort of shitty if we were to consider Long as just a more polite Pelley, or an earlier George Wallace, and it makes the AUS an inherently irredeemable state, the Nazi Germany of North America. I think Kaiserreich aims for a more lighthearted and fun "anyone nation be a hero or villain" tone. (Exceptions exist, of course, but the AUS is a much bigger deal than Iron Guard Romania.) And sure maybe Huey Long's "anti-racism" is sort of overstated by the prevailing historical narrative, but if Huey Newton's parents thought he was a swell enough guy to name the future cofounder of the Black Panthers after the Kingfish, then why not preserve the ambiguity about whether the man would continue to help African-Americans?
Anyway, my proposal is to justify Huey's anti-Klan stance as part of a greater plan to destroy the old power structures of the South, his geographical base, in order to assume direct control of the region, and to drag it kicking and screaming into the 20th century. That many of the traditional power structures in the South were predicated upon white supremacy is just incidental. While he weakens potential rivals, some of them race-baiters, he happens to knock out forces of racism. And the shtick of American First Unionism as portrayed in the lore so far, which is not really detailed at all, seems to be a sort of general jingoistic Americanism and anti-Syndicalism, can be interpreted as "one nation, undivided", which could mean attacking sectarians like the Klan who would seek to subvert the law and order forged by the Kingfish. Fascists usually don't get along with monarchs; and Huey is more the latter than the former.
And another idea- to continue the meme folk hero nature of Huey Long, one could imagine him as an unconventional mastermind who seeks to maintain his power through any means available. One of which may be to use black empowerment as a means to both 1) sap the solidarity selling point of the Syndicalists and 2) weaken his aforementioned enemies, the traditional Southern white supremacist power structures, as well as 3) create a loyal column out of a marginalized population who would ally with him out of protection. By this I don't mean anything as good as what the CSA is promising, of course; but certainly something that would be better than what most contemporary white Southern leaders offered at the time. Perhaps Huey could quietly make the Unionist "federal" (unitary?) government into a colorblind civil service, and actively promote black military units under the excuse of national survival? (He would of course make empty promises to southern racists that those units would be strictly used as cannon fodder, and then issue no such directives to Patton and the generals). In time such black Unionist veterans would receive the same benefits as other vets, and some will feel loyalty to Long, if not out of gratefulness, but out of fear for their fates if his enemies prevail. Thus, the role of the Colored Reserve Army of Atlanta in crushing the Pelley Putsch was assured...
Sidenote: the idea of a '40s American dictator using federal service and military bases to sidestep Jim Crow and protect racial minorities comes from the dystopian Panay War alternate history. It's quite a read.
The reason for this is that it's sort of shitty if we were to consider Long as just a more polite Pelley, or an earlier George Wallace, and it makes the AUS an inherently irredeemable state, the Nazi Germany of North America. I think Kaiserreich aims for a more lighthearted and fun "anyone nation be a hero or villain" tone. (Exceptions exist, of course, but the AUS is a much bigger deal than Iron Guard Romania.) And sure maybe Huey Long's "anti-racism" is sort of overstated by the prevailing historical narrative, but if Huey Newton's parents thought he was a swell enough guy to name the future cofounder of the Black Panthers after the Kingfish, then why not preserve the ambiguity about whether the man would continue to help African-Americans?
Anyway, my proposal is to justify Huey's anti-Klan stance as part of a greater plan to destroy the old power structures of the South, his geographical base, in order to assume direct control of the region, and to drag it kicking and screaming into the 20th century. That many of the traditional power structures in the South were predicated upon white supremacy is just incidental. While he weakens potential rivals, some of them race-baiters, he happens to knock out forces of racism. And the shtick of American First Unionism as portrayed in the lore so far, which is not really detailed at all, seems to be a sort of general jingoistic Americanism and anti-Syndicalism, can be interpreted as "one nation, undivided", which could mean attacking sectarians like the Klan who would seek to subvert the law and order forged by the Kingfish. Fascists usually don't get along with monarchs; and Huey is more the latter than the former.
And another idea- to continue the meme folk hero nature of Huey Long, one could imagine him as an unconventional mastermind who seeks to maintain his power through any means available. One of which may be to use black empowerment as a means to both 1) sap the solidarity selling point of the Syndicalists and 2) weaken his aforementioned enemies, the traditional Southern white supremacist power structures, as well as 3) create a loyal column out of a marginalized population who would ally with him out of protection. By this I don't mean anything as good as what the CSA is promising, of course; but certainly something that would be better than what most contemporary white Southern leaders offered at the time. Perhaps Huey could quietly make the Unionist "federal" (unitary?) government into a colorblind civil service, and actively promote black military units under the excuse of national survival? (He would of course make empty promises to southern racists that those units would be strictly used as cannon fodder, and then issue no such directives to Patton and the generals). In time such black Unionist veterans would receive the same benefits as other vets, and some will feel loyalty to Long, if not out of gratefulness, but out of fear for their fates if his enemies prevail. Thus, the role of the Colored Reserve Army of Atlanta in crushing the Pelley Putsch was assured...
Sidenote: the idea of a '40s American dictator using federal service and military bases to sidestep Jim Crow and protect racial minorities comes from the dystopian Panay War alternate history. It's quite a read.
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Is there a place where all the completed focus trees are stored? like an Imgur album or something?
So, if National Populism was divided into Legionarism and Integralism, where would Boris Savinkov be put in? He has the racial ideology of the Integralists but his political system is closer to Legionarism.