Map of Europe as of 1923
Legacy of the Bull Moose (A What If Scenario if Theodore Roosevelt won in 1912)
- Thread starter DESPRIN
- Start date
1922 US Midterm Elections;
The 1922 United States House and Senate Elections would see the Democrat's cementing their majority (or slight minority in the House), while the ethics of the Red Scare and Palmer's actions as AG are still being debated to this date, his actions were highly popular, causing all House seats held by Progressives south of the Mason Dixon line to flip to the Democrats. With the lack of cohesion in the Progressive Caucus towards Palmer's actions leading to Labor leaders fervently backing Farmer-Labor, which would make gains against the Progressives and Republicans as well. With House Republicans unable to handle their quick fall from grace, leading to Republican House Leader Frederick Gillett to be unseated by a Democratic opponent, his successor would be Ohio Representative Nicholas Longworth. Gillett would not be the only leader to be unseated, with Whitmell Martin of Louisiana losing his re election race to a Democrat, his successor would be Kansas Representative Victor Murdock. With the last change in House Leadership coming from House Speaker Claude Kitchin, who would retire to be replaced by Finis J. Garrett.
Senate Elections would be much less eventful, with Democrats gaining a slight majority in the Senate due to Progressive and Republican losses. Republicans have fared much better in the Senate than the House, even with the Republicans being reduced to under 30 Senate seats.
Senate Elections would be much less eventful, with Democrats gaining a slight majority in the Senate due to Progressive and Republican losses. Republicans have fared much better in the Senate than the House, even with the Republicans being reduced to under 30 Senate seats.
Underwood Administration Part 2;
1923 would see the Supreme Court ruling the Child Labor clauses in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1920 as unconstitutional. In the case of Foraker v. Jameson, Clarke Jameson of Missouri would sue for the right to allow his children to work on his ferry. The Supreme Court would rule 5-4 in Jameson's favor. With McKenna, Holmes, Brandeis and Hand dissenting against this decision. Congress would quickly set it's sights on a Constitutional Amendment allowing for the regulation of child labor. Congress would easily pass the joint resolution, sending it to the states to ratify. Over the course of the next 2 years only 7 states would ratify the amendment, leading to the belief that the amendment being dead.
Foraker v. Jameson would not be the only major Supreme Court case during the Second half of the Underwood Presidency, with the United States v. Debs, which would uphold the Espionage Act and the ruling against Eugene Debs with a vote of 6-3, with Holmes, Brandeis and Hand dissenting. Many would argue this was a blank cheque for Palmer to continue his reign of terror, however Underwood would begin to tighten Palmer's leash, limiting Palmer's crackdowns on strikes and unions, the clashes between Underwood and Palmer would cause Palmer to leave the Underwood Administration, being replaced by Thomas Watt Gregory in 1924.
The Underwood Administration would be unable to do much else after all was said and done, spending most of it's focus on the Red Scare and Palmer Raids. Underwood would follow his promise to serve just 1 term, and retire in 1925.
1924 US Elections
1924 would be full of contentious elections, while the Democrats and President Underwood were popular, their opposition would be mobilized, even with the Palmer era suppression of dissent being stifled, Farmer-Labor and Leftist leaders in the United States would continue their mass protests against the Red Scare and the laws that would enable it. Progressives would slowly begin offering their support towards these actions, believing Underwood's "Progressivism" was hollow and meek, rejecting the Rooseveltian vision for a vision that was much more like that of the late Woodrow Wilson. Underwood would also face opposition from Palmerite Democrats and Republicans, with Republicans wanting a return to the party of McKinley, emphasizing a strong Navy, high tariff, and the need to further curtail immigration. While Palmer was not too different on policy than Underwood, Palmerite Democrats would stress Palmer's anti-communism and Underwood's dismissal of Palmer, making Underwood weak on the issue of anti-communism.
President Underwood would begin looking for a successor eventually setting his sights on Arkansas Senator Joseph Robinson, convincing Robinson to seek out the nomination, with former Attorney General Palmer and Secretary of State John W. Davis also seeking out the nomination. Palmer would have an immediate lead on the first ballot, with Davis not too far behind, (backed by the conservative wing of the party) Robinson would be not too far behind in third. Robinson, trying to keep the party as united as possible, would meet with Davis in an attempt to block Palmer from receiving the nomination. Both sides would reach an agreement, with Robinson endorsing Davis on the second ballot, Davis would receive the nomination on the second ballot. Davis would in turn throw his support behind Robinson for the Vice-Presidential nomination. With the support of both Davis and Underwood Robinson would easily be nominated on the first ballot. The 1924 Democratic platform would advocate for lowering of the income tax and tariffs, agricultural modernization, and fighting domestic communism.
Shortly thereafter the 1924 Republican National Convention would convene in Des Moines, Iowa. With the Republican Party in tatters former Illinois Governor Frank Lowden would receive the Presidential nomination on the first ballot, with his only real opposition coming from Herbert Hoover, who had worked inside the Roosevelt administration, Hoover would stress the need for the Republican party to go in a more moderate direction to survive, with the Democrats shifting in a more conservative tone after the nomination of Davis, Hoover would view moderation as key to future Republican successes, Hoover's ideas for a revitalized Republican Party would largely be ignored with Hoover also losing in the Vice Presidential balloting to conservative New York Senator James Wadsworth. The 1924 Republican platform would support high tariff rates, reduction in government spending, and the creation of a "budget bureau".
The 1924 Farmer-Labor National Convention would convene within a matter of days after the Republican Convention, meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the convention would quickly set its tone, with the keynote speaker being former Democratic Senator Gilbert Hitchcock, who recently defected towards the Farmer-Labor Party due to conflicts within the Democratic Party, leading to him to not be renominated for his senate seat in 1922. Hitchcock's speech would endear him to the Populist wing of the Farmer-Labor Party, and while he was an experienced legislator, many were quick to be skeptical of nominating him to be the head of the ticket with his recent defection, that coupled with the Socialist faction firmly behind Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan would lead to Hoan receiving the nomination on the first ballot, Hitchcock however would receive the nomination for the Vice Presidency, with the party attempting to represent both wings on presidential tickets, and Hitchcock's populist roots making him an easy choice. The Farmer-Labor platform would call for reform to agriculture laws including supports for farmers and agricultural prices, repeal of the sedition and espionage acts, nationalization of rail, and legal protections for workers attempting to join unions.
With general election season just about to begin the 1924 Progressive National Convention would convene in Chicago, Illinois. Senator Robert La Follette had been gearing towards a presidential run for quite awhile, but now the time seemed right. Despite the losses of the Progressives in the Senate, La Follette was popular and pounced on this, with his main opposition coming from former Health and Wellness Secretary and current Senator from Kansas Charles Curtis. Curtis was arguably the most conservative Progressive Senator of his time, however Curtis did not have much support from within the party itself and handily lost to Senator La Follette. Vice Presidential balloting would go on for awhile, with party regulars unsure on who to nominate, eventually deciding on former Secretary of the Interior Gifford Pinchot. The Progressive platform this year would be nearly indistinguishable from the Farmer-Labor platform, leading to speculation on the future of both parties.
The campaign season of 1924 would be relatively uneventful with Farmer-Labor and Progressive politicians and activists continuing to attack the policies of the Red Scare, mobilizing union workers, socialists, and progressives against the Democrats and to a lesser extent, the Republicans. With Democrats defending their records by pointing to their increasing popularity. Voter turn out would be lower than previously, with the American Left not as mobilized as Progressive and Farmer-Labor had truly thought, and general voter apathy to coincide. Democrats would increase their popular vote percentage from Underwood and continue their gains in Congress mostly at the expense of the crumbling Republicans.
(also I will probably be starting a side timeline that I can use when I am having issues writing or working on this one in the hopes that doing another will help me make this one better as well, so watch out for that in the coming few weeks)
President Underwood would begin looking for a successor eventually setting his sights on Arkansas Senator Joseph Robinson, convincing Robinson to seek out the nomination, with former Attorney General Palmer and Secretary of State John W. Davis also seeking out the nomination. Palmer would have an immediate lead on the first ballot, with Davis not too far behind, (backed by the conservative wing of the party) Robinson would be not too far behind in third. Robinson, trying to keep the party as united as possible, would meet with Davis in an attempt to block Palmer from receiving the nomination. Both sides would reach an agreement, with Robinson endorsing Davis on the second ballot, Davis would receive the nomination on the second ballot. Davis would in turn throw his support behind Robinson for the Vice-Presidential nomination. With the support of both Davis and Underwood Robinson would easily be nominated on the first ballot. The 1924 Democratic platform would advocate for lowering of the income tax and tariffs, agricultural modernization, and fighting domestic communism.
Shortly thereafter the 1924 Republican National Convention would convene in Des Moines, Iowa. With the Republican Party in tatters former Illinois Governor Frank Lowden would receive the Presidential nomination on the first ballot, with his only real opposition coming from Herbert Hoover, who had worked inside the Roosevelt administration, Hoover would stress the need for the Republican party to go in a more moderate direction to survive, with the Democrats shifting in a more conservative tone after the nomination of Davis, Hoover would view moderation as key to future Republican successes, Hoover's ideas for a revitalized Republican Party would largely be ignored with Hoover also losing in the Vice Presidential balloting to conservative New York Senator James Wadsworth. The 1924 Republican platform would support high tariff rates, reduction in government spending, and the creation of a "budget bureau".
The 1924 Farmer-Labor National Convention would convene within a matter of days after the Republican Convention, meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the convention would quickly set its tone, with the keynote speaker being former Democratic Senator Gilbert Hitchcock, who recently defected towards the Farmer-Labor Party due to conflicts within the Democratic Party, leading to him to not be renominated for his senate seat in 1922. Hitchcock's speech would endear him to the Populist wing of the Farmer-Labor Party, and while he was an experienced legislator, many were quick to be skeptical of nominating him to be the head of the ticket with his recent defection, that coupled with the Socialist faction firmly behind Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan would lead to Hoan receiving the nomination on the first ballot, Hitchcock however would receive the nomination for the Vice Presidency, with the party attempting to represent both wings on presidential tickets, and Hitchcock's populist roots making him an easy choice. The Farmer-Labor platform would call for reform to agriculture laws including supports for farmers and agricultural prices, repeal of the sedition and espionage acts, nationalization of rail, and legal protections for workers attempting to join unions.
With general election season just about to begin the 1924 Progressive National Convention would convene in Chicago, Illinois. Senator Robert La Follette had been gearing towards a presidential run for quite awhile, but now the time seemed right. Despite the losses of the Progressives in the Senate, La Follette was popular and pounced on this, with his main opposition coming from former Health and Wellness Secretary and current Senator from Kansas Charles Curtis. Curtis was arguably the most conservative Progressive Senator of his time, however Curtis did not have much support from within the party itself and handily lost to Senator La Follette. Vice Presidential balloting would go on for awhile, with party regulars unsure on who to nominate, eventually deciding on former Secretary of the Interior Gifford Pinchot. The Progressive platform this year would be nearly indistinguishable from the Farmer-Labor platform, leading to speculation on the future of both parties.
The campaign season of 1924 would be relatively uneventful with Farmer-Labor and Progressive politicians and activists continuing to attack the policies of the Red Scare, mobilizing union workers, socialists, and progressives against the Democrats and to a lesser extent, the Republicans. With Democrats defending their records by pointing to their increasing popularity. Voter turn out would be lower than previously, with the American Left not as mobilized as Progressive and Farmer-Labor had truly thought, and general voter apathy to coincide. Democrats would increase their popular vote percentage from Underwood and continue their gains in Congress mostly at the expense of the crumbling Republicans.
(also I will probably be starting a side timeline that I can use when I am having issues writing or working on this one in the hopes that doing another will help me make this one better as well, so watch out for that in the coming few weeks)
Full Underwood Cabinet
Full Underwood Cabinet:
President - Oscar Underwood (1921 - 1925)
Vice President - James Cox (1921 - 1922)
Vice President - Vacant (1922 - 1925)
Secretary of State - John W. Davis (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of Treasury - William Gibbs McAdoo (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of War - Lawrence Tyson (1921 - 1925)
Attorney General - A. Mitchell Palmer (1921- 1924)
Attorney General - Thomas Watt Gregory (1924- 1925)
Postmaster General - Edward Keating (1921 - 1922)
Postmaster General - Gordon Woodbury (1922 - 1925)
Secretary of the Navy - Claude Swanson (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of the Interior - Thomas Marshall (1921- 1925)
Secretary of Agriculture - Edwin T. Meredith (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of Commerce - Carter Glass (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of Labor - William Wilson (1921 - 1922)
Secretary of Labor - Joshua W. Alexander (1922 - 1925)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - Homer Cummings (1921 - 1925)
President - Oscar Underwood (1921 - 1925)
Vice President - James Cox (1921 - 1922)
Vice President - Vacant (1922 - 1925)
Secretary of State - John W. Davis (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of Treasury - William Gibbs McAdoo (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of War - Lawrence Tyson (1921 - 1925)
Attorney General - A. Mitchell Palmer (1921- 1924)
Attorney General - Thomas Watt Gregory (1924- 1925)
Postmaster General - Edward Keating (1921 - 1922)
Postmaster General - Gordon Woodbury (1922 - 1925)
Secretary of the Navy - Claude Swanson (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of the Interior - Thomas Marshall (1921- 1925)
Secretary of Agriculture - Edwin T. Meredith (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of Commerce - Carter Glass (1921 - 1925)
Secretary of Labor - William Wilson (1921 - 1922)
Secretary of Labor - Joshua W. Alexander (1922 - 1925)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - Homer Cummings (1921 - 1925)
Are we talking like Progressive era types or like new deal and post new deal politicians.
For the Democrats I would say that neither definition matters too much, with the Palmerite business wing of the Democrats slowly taking out the Underwood-Wilson esque types, and with the socially conservative wing that was dominate in the south receiving a victory with the nomination and Presidency of reactionary John W. Davis. Progressive reformist minded Democrats are reeling as of 1924.
Now the Republican Party is more complicated, with the party reeling from its substantial losses in the last 4 years, let alone its losses from 1912 onwards, the Republican Party is trying to slowly inch itself in a direction where it can begin to recover, with Herbert Hoover trying to shift the Republican Party towards a "Business Progressivism" and move the party from looking at its successes pre-Roosevelt, to an outlook that is post-Roosevelt. So Hoover is trying to move the Republicans to a point of less trying to revert Roosevelt era laws and more so trying to provide business friendly governance within the framework that these progressive policies exist.
Quick Update on International News; 1919-1925
The politics of the United Kingdom would begin to be dominated by the Conservatives in the post war period, with the Liberal Party falling apart, with Liberals in favor of the Conservative Government splitting off after the 1923 election into the "National Liberal Party" going into coalition with the Conservative Party and providing them a minority government. Labour would slowly ascend to being the main opposition party.
With Red Victory in the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin would begin instituting market reforms dubbed "The New Economic Policy" attempting to kick start the Soviet economy. Disputes with the Soviet Union and the Polish Republic would arise over Ukraine, with Poland viewing the Ukrainian rump state as a valuable asset and that Ukraine was better off not being under the Russian heel any further. While the Soviet Union would view the independent Ukraine as a Polish vassal state, and that it was occupying the lands of the Ukrainian Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union, tensions between both sides would flare.
After the death of President Ebert in Germany, Wilhelm Marx of the Centre Party would be elected as his successor, defeating both the pro-Imperial right wing faction and the KPD candidate.
Mexico would elect Pancho Villa to his second term as president in 1923, with Villa representing the "National Revolutionary Party" in English.
Turkey would be slowly transforming away from the Ottoman Empire under president Mustafa Kemal, dubbed Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk would set out a series of reforms to modernize the Turkish state and introduce republicanism to the Turkish people.
With Red Victory in the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin would begin instituting market reforms dubbed "The New Economic Policy" attempting to kick start the Soviet economy. Disputes with the Soviet Union and the Polish Republic would arise over Ukraine, with Poland viewing the Ukrainian rump state as a valuable asset and that Ukraine was better off not being under the Russian heel any further. While the Soviet Union would view the independent Ukraine as a Polish vassal state, and that it was occupying the lands of the Ukrainian Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union, tensions between both sides would flare.
After the death of President Ebert in Germany, Wilhelm Marx of the Centre Party would be elected as his successor, defeating both the pro-Imperial right wing faction and the KPD candidate.
Mexico would elect Pancho Villa to his second term as president in 1923, with Villa representing the "National Revolutionary Party" in English.
Turkey would be slowly transforming away from the Ottoman Empire under president Mustafa Kemal, dubbed Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk would set out a series of reforms to modernize the Turkish state and introduce republicanism to the Turkish people.
Thanks, this is what I was trying to figure.
This means that if the GOP survives as a centre-right party, it might attract Alfred E. Smith and like minded politicians., and the Democratic Party becomes again a right of centre party, while the Progressives occupy the centre-left and the Farmer Labor occupies the left of centre, assuming they don't merge.
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End of an era; Part 1 of the Davis Presidency
My lack of knowledge of early American history or American history in general has definitely inspired me with this timeline, hitting road blocks with the side timeline doing me wonders right now.
To many, the Davis Presidency would mark the end of an era, dubbed "Thefirst? Progressive era" spanning from 1896-1924, this near 30 year span would see a heavy shift in American politics. With the collapse of the post civil war Republican electoral dominance, this era would see 6 Presidents, with historians only ranking 4, with Taft and Knox each serving about 6 months. The Progressive era would see both major parties of the Gilded Age have an attitude shift towards governance, while there would always be the old guard and stalwarts within the major parties, governmental regulation of business would become increasingly popular for American politicians, with increasing antitrust measures being passed, as well as the revolutionary "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1920" and while part of the bill would be deemed unconstitutional, its remaining provisions would shape work places across America. A period in United States history with a president serving 15 years, a president that would easily be the most influential on that era, and some could argue the whole 20th century.
The Davis Cabinet as of entering Office:
President - John W. Davis (1925 -)
Vice President - Joseph T. Robinson (1925 -)
Secretary of State - Cordell Hull (1925 -)
Secretary of Treasury - William Gibbs McAdoo (1925 -)
Secretary of War - James W. Gerard (1925 -)
Attorney General - Thomas Watt Gregory (1925 -)
Postmaster General - Gordon Woodbury (1925 -)
Secretary of the Navy - Claude Swanson (1925 -)
Secretary of the Interior - James A. Reed (1925 -)
Secretary of Agriculture - Edwin T. Meredith (1925 -)
Secretary of Commerce - Ed Doheny (1925 -)
Secretary of Labor - Al Smith (1925 -)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - Homer Cummings (1925 -)
(Italics mark changes between the Underwood and Davis administrations.)
The main changes between the Underwood and Davis administrations would come from retirements, with Lawrence Tyson, Thomas Marshall, and Joshua Alexander all retiring. Cordell Hull would be nominated to Secretary of State to replace Davis, Davis would have reservations towards Hull, but in trying to stay on Underwood's good side as Underwood was on his way out of the White House Davis would honor Underwood's wishes. Carter Glass would run for the Senate in 1924, he would win and retain his cabinet position until he would be seated. Glass would be replaced by Ed Doheny, a California oil businessman. With Democratic majorities in Congress all Davis appointments would pass with relative ease. One such appointment would be the appointment of William Henry King as an associate Justice to the Supreme Court, replacing the outgoing Joseph McKenna, who had resigned at the start of 1925, however Underwood would not nominate a replacement, leaving that to the incoming Davis to decide. King was a former Democratic Senator from Utah, staunchly anti-communist, he was a bone to Palmerite Democrats.
Supreme Court as of 1925:
Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr (Underwood appointment) Conservative (Chief Justice)
Oliver Wendell Holmes (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
William Van Devanter (Sherman appointment) Conservative
Edward Terry Sanford (Roosevelt appointment) Moderate
Louis Brandeis (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
The first 2 years of the Davis Presidency would mostly consist of the debate around immigration reform, with the rise of a nativist movement, particularly on the west coast, with politicians from all 4 major parties endorsing the nativist cause, for varying reasons. The Nativist coalition would narrowly pass the Immigration Act of 1925, with President Davis, signing the bill into law after a meeting with Secretary of the Interior James Reed. The Immigration Act would temporarily cap the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States, particularly targeting Southern European nations and Eastern Asian nations, with the bill being up for renewal in 1935.
To many, the Davis Presidency would mark the end of an era, dubbed "The
The Davis Cabinet as of entering Office:
President - John W. Davis (1925 -)
Vice President - Joseph T. Robinson (1925 -)
Secretary of State - Cordell Hull (1925 -)
Secretary of Treasury - William Gibbs McAdoo (1925 -)
Secretary of War - James W. Gerard (1925 -)
Attorney General - Thomas Watt Gregory (1925 -)
Postmaster General - Gordon Woodbury (1925 -)
Secretary of the Navy - Claude Swanson (1925 -)
Secretary of the Interior - James A. Reed (1925 -)
Secretary of Agriculture - Edwin T. Meredith (1925 -)
Secretary of Commerce - Ed Doheny (1925 -)
Secretary of Labor - Al Smith (1925 -)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - Homer Cummings (1925 -)
(Italics mark changes between the Underwood and Davis administrations.)
The main changes between the Underwood and Davis administrations would come from retirements, with Lawrence Tyson, Thomas Marshall, and Joshua Alexander all retiring. Cordell Hull would be nominated to Secretary of State to replace Davis, Davis would have reservations towards Hull, but in trying to stay on Underwood's good side as Underwood was on his way out of the White House Davis would honor Underwood's wishes. Carter Glass would run for the Senate in 1924, he would win and retain his cabinet position until he would be seated. Glass would be replaced by Ed Doheny, a California oil businessman. With Democratic majorities in Congress all Davis appointments would pass with relative ease. One such appointment would be the appointment of William Henry King as an associate Justice to the Supreme Court, replacing the outgoing Joseph McKenna, who had resigned at the start of 1925, however Underwood would not nominate a replacement, leaving that to the incoming Davis to decide. King was a former Democratic Senator from Utah, staunchly anti-communist, he was a bone to Palmerite Democrats.
Supreme Court as of 1925:
Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr (Underwood appointment) Conservative (Chief Justice)
Oliver Wendell Holmes (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
William Van Devanter (Sherman appointment) Conservative
Edward Terry Sanford (Roosevelt appointment) Moderate
Louis Brandeis (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
The first 2 years of the Davis Presidency would mostly consist of the debate around immigration reform, with the rise of a nativist movement, particularly on the west coast, with politicians from all 4 major parties endorsing the nativist cause, for varying reasons. The Nativist coalition would narrowly pass the Immigration Act of 1925, with President Davis, signing the bill into law after a meeting with Secretary of the Interior James Reed. The Immigration Act would temporarily cap the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States, particularly targeting Southern European nations and Eastern Asian nations, with the bill being up for renewal in 1935.
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1926 U.S. Elections; A new party?
The 1926 Midterm elections in the United States would be the first federal elections contested by the newly founded "Progressive Labor Party". Founded on February 8, 1926, the Progressive Labor Party was made in an attempt to unite populist, progressive and socialist forces against the Democratic Party and its hegemony over federal politics, with both Progressive and the Farmer-Labor Party believing that vote splitting between the two in districts was holding them back from providing an opposing force to the Democrats. Leadership of the new party would quickly become a question, with Progressive Labor Representatives in the House choosing socialist and former Farmer-Labor House leader Victor L. Berger, Progressive Labor Senators would choose the defacto Progressive Senate Leader, George W. Norris of Nebraska. Both men would quickly put pressure on members of the party towards unity, and in support of other Progressive Labor candidates, even if they did not share too much ideologically with each other. Progressive Labor would see decent gains this election, taking more left leaning districts that were held by Democrats without much effective opposition. Republicans would continue in their fall from grace, with more conservative voters turning towards the Democrats to combat the Progressive Labor rise.
International News Update 1926-1928
Premier Lenin of the Soviet Union would pass away on March 6, 1927. Lenin would not have a successor chosen before his untimely passing, leading to a leadership squabble between Military Commissar Leon Trotsky and Politburo member Nikolai Bukharin, Trotsky would attempt to persuade the Politburo in his favor but Bukharin would win out, his Politburo experience and the successes of Lenin's "New Economic Policy" which Bukharin intended to expand on would help Bukharin become the next Premier of the Soviet Union.
Italo Balbo would be appointed as Prime Minister of Italy in late 1927, Balbo would represent the "Revolutionary Nationalist Party" which would represent an ideology typically referred to as "Ultranationalism" with different nations typically having different terms for this ideology including but not exclusive to National Populism, National Socialism, People's Nationalism, Social Nationalism, and the aforementioned Revolutionary Nationalism. Ultranationalism would stress Corporatist Economics within a typically highly controlled economy, with unions occasionally existing but being highly government controlled, totalitarian suppression of media where dissent is not allowed, a strong dictator and very rigged hierarchies within bureaucracy, democracy would be disallowed in most forms, Communists and Liberals would be censored and imprisoned or killed for their dissent, and strongly enforced traditional norms being highly common in ultranationalist governments. Italy would be the first nation with an ultranationalist government.
In late 1928 France would begin to see economic slowdown and turmoil, the French Government would proceed to send the forces occupying the Rhineland into the Ruhr to seize it's profits for government revenue. The KPD and Sparticus League would begin armed revolt against the French and protests against the German Government for its failure to act on French aggression.
Italo Balbo would be appointed as Prime Minister of Italy in late 1927, Balbo would represent the "Revolutionary Nationalist Party" which would represent an ideology typically referred to as "Ultranationalism" with different nations typically having different terms for this ideology including but not exclusive to National Populism, National Socialism, People's Nationalism, Social Nationalism, and the aforementioned Revolutionary Nationalism. Ultranationalism would stress Corporatist Economics within a typically highly controlled economy, with unions occasionally existing but being highly government controlled, totalitarian suppression of media where dissent is not allowed, a strong dictator and very rigged hierarchies within bureaucracy, democracy would be disallowed in most forms, Communists and Liberals would be censored and imprisoned or killed for their dissent, and strongly enforced traditional norms being highly common in ultranationalist governments. Italy would be the first nation with an ultranationalist government.
In late 1928 France would begin to see economic slowdown and turmoil, the French Government would proceed to send the forces occupying the Rhineland into the Ruhr to seize it's profits for government revenue. The KPD and Sparticus League would begin armed revolt against the French and protests against the German Government for its failure to act on French aggression.
Davis Presidency; 1927-1928;
The Davis Presidency would be relatively relaxed in comparison to the Presidencies of his 2 predecessors, with political radicals suppressed, the economy booming, and Davis's own political conservatism, he would do rather little, Congress would be the same, with Democratic majorities not wanting to rock the boat and Republicans being perfectly fine with that. The Progressives (Progressive Labor members would be referred to as just Progressives in casual conversation) however would attempt to cause infighting within the Democratic Party, sponsoring bills that would never pass to weaken the Democratic Party due to their own bickering. One such bill would be the "Wages and Growth Act of 1927", introduced by California Representative Upton Sinclair, the act would double the minimum wage from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1920 from 10 cents to 20 cents. After being heavily debated the bill would be defeated in the house by the thinnest of margins. The most eventful bill that would pass in this Congress would be the "Revenue Act of 1928" which would lower the income tax from 4% on income over 3000$ to 3.6% on income over 3000$, this would be offset by raising the general tariff rate to 19% up from the 17% from the 1921 Revenue Act, and defunding the "Roosevelt Preparedness Program" which was a program that would provide "soft conscription" of able bodied young men and train them for a potential American war in Europe, the program was a part of "The American Defense Act of 1916" which also would create propaganda to drum up support for the war and enlistment rates in case of American war against the German Empire. The Revenue Act would pass relatively easily, with Republicans heavily in favor of the bill, with Progressives and Democrats supporting some measures but split over others. On signing the bill President Davis would say "Continuous growth of the American economy is the goal of my administration and should be the goal of every president" and "we need to leave the days after 1907 behind, leave the days after the war behind, prosperity is here to stay!"
While times were stable times were not too stable, Alexander Mitchell Palmer, former Attorney General and Democratic Presidential hopeful, was mounting up a campaign for the Democratic nomination for 1928, this would anger Davis, viewing Palmer as his only real competition for renomination. Five days after Palmer announced his decision to seek the Democratic nomination, on October 7, 1927 he would be assassinated in Baton Rouge, by a man of unknown politics. Three days later Palmer's assassin would be assassinated while transported, his assassin would be Earl Long, a Louisiana native and the brother of Democratic Louisiana Governor contender Huey Long. Earl Long would be quickly pardoned by President Davis, with Davis also throwing his support behind Huey Long for Louisiana Governor. Davis would turn this into a call for national unity, stating "A man who's brother is a red killer is a good man", even with Palmer's assassins political beliefs highly unknown. This would begin an unanswered conspiracy theory to this day, if Davis was involved in the assassination of Palmer, or if Davis had just reacted poorly to the situation, causing suspicion.
During 1927 and 1928 there would be 2 changes to the Davis Cabinet, with Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory retiring in 1927, to be replaced by Evans Woollen, and the death of Secretary of Agriculture Edwin T. Meredith. Meredith would be replaced by Bennett Champ Clark, son of House Speaker Champ Clark.
The Davis Cabinet as of 1928:
President - John W. Davis (1925 -)
Vice President - Joseph T. Robinson (1925 -)
Secretary of State - Cordell Hull (1925 -)
Secretary of Treasury - William Gibbs McAdoo (1925 -)
Secretary of War - James W. Gerard (1925 -)
Attorney General - Evans Woollen (1927 -)
Postmaster General - Gordon Woodbury (1925 -)
Secretary of the Navy - Claude Swanson (1925 -)
Secretary of the Interior - James A. Reed (1925 -)
Secretary of Agriculture - Bennett Champ Clark (1928 -)
Secretary of Commerce - Ed Doheny (1925 -)
Secretary of Labor - Al Smith (1925 -)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - Homer Cummings (1925 -)
1928 U.S. Elections;
The 1928 United States Presidential Elections would be mired with controversy from very early on, while the Democratic Party would quickly unite around President Davis and the Long family in the face of the Palmer assassination, however Davis' reaction to the assassination would raise suspicion from many outside the party. For weeks and even months after journalists would write op-eds about the event, speculating Davis involvement, and how far within the Democratic Party the assassination could have gone. While most private investigators hired would find minimal if any evidence of Davis' involvement, this would not dissuade the sensationalism of the event, with the papers owned by publisher William Randolph Hearst lambasting the Davis administration and the Democratic Party for such a cover-up. Hearst himself would advocate for Palmerites and anti-Davis Democrats to coalesce their support around Supreme Court Justice William King for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. This plan however would quickly fall apart when King said he would not seek out the nomination or accept it, setting Davis to have no real effective opposition heading into the Democratic convention.
The 1928 Democratic National Convention, hosted in New York City, the convention would be rather uneventful on the nomination front, with Davis and Robinson being quickly renominated. Most of the meat of the convention would come from the speeches, with Davis emphasizing both Democratic and American unity in the face of "Red Aggression". President Davis would throughout the convention and during the campaign trail ramp up his rhetoric against the Progressives, referring to them as "soft Bolsheviks" and emphasizing the need for America to repel domestic communism. The 1928 Democratic Party platform would support a continuation of the policies of the Davis administration, with a strong emphasis of fighting domestic communism.
The term "Soft Bolshevik" would effectively become a political joke of the time, with many spectators dubbing the 1928 Progressive Labor National Convention the "Soft Bolshevik Convention". The Soft Bolshevik convention would be rather open when it came to nominating a candidate for President, while the party was not infighting at the time they were not necessarily united either, with many different candidates vying for the nomination. The most notable candidates for the nomination would be former Nebraska Senator Gilbert Hitchcock, Montana Representative Burton Wheeler, Idaho Senator William Borah, California Representative Upton Sinclair, and former Secretary of the Interior and current Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot, after about 8 ballots the convention would coalesce around Borah and Sinclair, with the Old Guard tending to rally around Borah, while younger and leftier delegates would rally around Sinclair. Sinclair would narrowly eek out a victory on the 11th ballot. Sinclair would use his victory speech as a time to attack the Davis administration for its attempts to continue Palmer-esque suppression of striking and the general reactionary attitudes of President Davis. Balloting for the Vice Presidential nomination would ensue soon after, while the split between the old guard and the left wing of the party would continue, balloting would not last for long. With Utah Representative and former Secretary of Labor Parley Christensen receiving the nomination on the 3rd ballot against Kansas Senator and former Health and Wellness Secretary Charles Curtis. The Progressive Labor Platform of 1928 would support increased civil liberties protections, legal protections for private unions, and an increase to the minimum wage.
Coinciding with the Soft Bolshevik Convention would be the 1928 Republican National Convention, held in Boston Massachusetts. The convention would begin with speeches from former RNC Chairman Herbert Hoover, with Hoover declaring the need for a Republican Party to uphold the Legacy of Roosevelt, with the Progressives being too radical in his eyes to be the standard bearers for it. Hoover would emphasize the need for the Republicans to take a middle road in American politics, and to occupy the political centre. With the Republican Party still reeling from its consistent losses Hoovers vision would be refreshing, even though they rejected Hoovers vision in 1924. Hoover would receive the Republican Presidential nomination with ease. Hoover would however support a more mainline Republican conservative to be his running mate, throwing his endorsement behind Utah Senator Reed Smoot. Hoovers speech at the end of the convention would effectively lay out the 1928 Republican Platform and Hoover's vision of "business progressivism" supporting high tariffs, public-private partnerships, and slow incremental increases to things like the Federal minimum wage, with some business progressives even supporting a more token version of the Old Age Pensions Act proposed during Roosevelt's presidency.
General election season would be rather eventful, with all 3 major parties consistently mudslinging against the others. Democratic attacks against the Progressives as being 'soft bolsheviks" and statements like "electing the Progressives would be electing Lenin and Bukharin". Democratic attacks against Republicans would be rather typical, with the 2 parties having a long sustained bitter rivalry, and Republican hatred running thicker than blood in the Deep South. Republicans would label Democrats as the "old way" and emphasizing the need for progression, and would label Progressives as the "wrong way" seeing Progressives as too radical to satiate the needs of Americans. Progressive attacks against the Republicans would be rather similar, with Progressives seeing Republicans as too wimpy to do what is needed. Progressives would label Davis and the Democratic Party as "autocrats and tyrants" arguing against their suppression of the American people, with some more radical elements within the Progressive party slowly beginning to believe that there would be no way the Democrats would allow fair elections against opponents they painted as so uniquely awful.
After a close election the Democrats would squeak out a victory, while Electoral College margins were not too narrow, Democrats would win the popular vote by less than a percent. With both the states of Ohio and New York being within 5,000 votes each of going for the Progressives, and while winning these 2 states would have not won Progressives the election, it would have thrown the election to the House, potentially giving them the victory. New York, Nebraska, Ohio, and New Mexico would be the closest states in this election, won by the slimmest of margins. While Progressives would not win access to the White House they would see victories in Congress, with one of the more notable ones being Gilbert Hitchcock unseating a Democrat for a Senate seat in Nebraska, and taking back his former seat. Senate Majority Leader Peter Gerry would also be unseated, with J. Hamilton Lewis being elected to succeed him as Senate Majority Leader for the next Congress. House Speaker Garrett would retire this year as well, being replaced by Texas Representative John Nance Garner.
The 1928 Democratic National Convention, hosted in New York City, the convention would be rather uneventful on the nomination front, with Davis and Robinson being quickly renominated. Most of the meat of the convention would come from the speeches, with Davis emphasizing both Democratic and American unity in the face of "Red Aggression". President Davis would throughout the convention and during the campaign trail ramp up his rhetoric against the Progressives, referring to them as "soft Bolsheviks" and emphasizing the need for America to repel domestic communism. The 1928 Democratic Party platform would support a continuation of the policies of the Davis administration, with a strong emphasis of fighting domestic communism.
The term "Soft Bolshevik" would effectively become a political joke of the time, with many spectators dubbing the 1928 Progressive Labor National Convention the "Soft Bolshevik Convention". The Soft Bolshevik convention would be rather open when it came to nominating a candidate for President, while the party was not infighting at the time they were not necessarily united either, with many different candidates vying for the nomination. The most notable candidates for the nomination would be former Nebraska Senator Gilbert Hitchcock, Montana Representative Burton Wheeler, Idaho Senator William Borah, California Representative Upton Sinclair, and former Secretary of the Interior and current Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot, after about 8 ballots the convention would coalesce around Borah and Sinclair, with the Old Guard tending to rally around Borah, while younger and leftier delegates would rally around Sinclair. Sinclair would narrowly eek out a victory on the 11th ballot. Sinclair would use his victory speech as a time to attack the Davis administration for its attempts to continue Palmer-esque suppression of striking and the general reactionary attitudes of President Davis. Balloting for the Vice Presidential nomination would ensue soon after, while the split between the old guard and the left wing of the party would continue, balloting would not last for long. With Utah Representative and former Secretary of Labor Parley Christensen receiving the nomination on the 3rd ballot against Kansas Senator and former Health and Wellness Secretary Charles Curtis. The Progressive Labor Platform of 1928 would support increased civil liberties protections, legal protections for private unions, and an increase to the minimum wage.
Coinciding with the Soft Bolshevik Convention would be the 1928 Republican National Convention, held in Boston Massachusetts. The convention would begin with speeches from former RNC Chairman Herbert Hoover, with Hoover declaring the need for a Republican Party to uphold the Legacy of Roosevelt, with the Progressives being too radical in his eyes to be the standard bearers for it. Hoover would emphasize the need for the Republicans to take a middle road in American politics, and to occupy the political centre. With the Republican Party still reeling from its consistent losses Hoovers vision would be refreshing, even though they rejected Hoovers vision in 1924. Hoover would receive the Republican Presidential nomination with ease. Hoover would however support a more mainline Republican conservative to be his running mate, throwing his endorsement behind Utah Senator Reed Smoot. Hoovers speech at the end of the convention would effectively lay out the 1928 Republican Platform and Hoover's vision of "business progressivism" supporting high tariffs, public-private partnerships, and slow incremental increases to things like the Federal minimum wage, with some business progressives even supporting a more token version of the Old Age Pensions Act proposed during Roosevelt's presidency.
General election season would be rather eventful, with all 3 major parties consistently mudslinging against the others. Democratic attacks against the Progressives as being 'soft bolsheviks" and statements like "electing the Progressives would be electing Lenin and Bukharin". Democratic attacks against Republicans would be rather typical, with the 2 parties having a long sustained bitter rivalry, and Republican hatred running thicker than blood in the Deep South. Republicans would label Democrats as the "old way" and emphasizing the need for progression, and would label Progressives as the "wrong way" seeing Progressives as too radical to satiate the needs of Americans. Progressive attacks against the Republicans would be rather similar, with Progressives seeing Republicans as too wimpy to do what is needed. Progressives would label Davis and the Democratic Party as "autocrats and tyrants" arguing against their suppression of the American people, with some more radical elements within the Progressive party slowly beginning to believe that there would be no way the Democrats would allow fair elections against opponents they painted as so uniquely awful.
After a close election the Democrats would squeak out a victory, while Electoral College margins were not too narrow, Democrats would win the popular vote by less than a percent. With both the states of Ohio and New York being within 5,000 votes each of going for the Progressives, and while winning these 2 states would have not won Progressives the election, it would have thrown the election to the House, potentially giving them the victory. New York, Nebraska, Ohio, and New Mexico would be the closest states in this election, won by the slimmest of margins. While Progressives would not win access to the White House they would see victories in Congress, with one of the more notable ones being Gilbert Hitchcock unseating a Democrat for a Senate seat in Nebraska, and taking back his former seat. Senate Majority Leader Peter Gerry would also be unseated, with J. Hamilton Lewis being elected to succeed him as Senate Majority Leader for the next Congress. House Speaker Garrett would retire this year as well, being replaced by Texas Representative John Nance Garner.
Several things can be inferred from this update:
The Progressive Labor are very moderate since Charles Curtis is a member.
The Republicans are thinking long term and compete for the center.
Davis policies keep slowy pushing King Democrats to the Progressive Labor and Hull/Smith Democrats to the Republicans.
The Progressive Labor are very moderate since Charles Curtis is a member.
The Republicans are thinking long term and compete for the center.
Davis policies keep slowy pushing King Democrats to the Progressive Labor and Hull/Smith Democrats to the Republicans.
Curtis is kind of an outlier, with him leaving the Republicans after the Progressive Republican split in 1920, if anything Curtis would probably find a better home in the Republican Party at this point in time, with Curtis's time within the Roosevelt administration making him sympathetic to Roosevelt's Progressive Party, while this would not necessarily make Curtis ideologically Progressive it would shift him a tad to the left. However Curtis is by far an outlier I would say, with his politics tending to be to the right of every prominent member of the party. Curtis would contemplate rejoining the Republicans both after the foundation of the Progressive Labor Party and after the 1928 convention but would decide against it, with his reasoning behind the latter being that he didn't perceive himself as a "sore loser". Progressive Labor at least at this point in time would be a centre-left to left wing party with the "old guard" wing representing former Republicans like Curtis, Borah and Beveridge who with the latter 2 would slowly shift rightwards with age.
The Democrats who would rally behind King would be weird ones, while some were the increasingly shrinking left wing of the Democratic Party, a sizable chunk would come from more conspiracy prone Palmerites, like William Randolph Hearst, these Democrats if anything would be radicalized further towards the right.
A little followup that I dont wanna edit in;
The President's list box wasn't too hard to make considering most of what I had when I started this tl was a presidents list I wanted to go off of, however since I started the TL back up I haven't touched it till now so I kinda just wanna say a few things I changed in writing this tl.
I never planned on Cox being Underwood's VP let alone be assassinated, originally his VP was Lawrence Tyson, but I felt Tyson was better as Sec of War and Cox would've made a better VP.
Palmer was meant to win in 1924 with Davis as his VP. I ended up scrapping the Palmer presidency because I felt a feud with Palmer and Underwood and the Democratic establishment was more interesting, and I also felt I kinda had done all I wanted to do with Palmer. Palmer's assassination was always planned for 1927 though.
Davis's VP was originally John Nance Garner not Joseph Robinson.
The Progressive Labor Party was not originally going to exist, while it was an idea I had I was contemplating never creating the Farmer-Labor Party, and having the People's Party effectively dissolve back into the Democratic Party in 1920.
I never planned on Cox being Underwood's VP let alone be assassinated, originally his VP was Lawrence Tyson, but I felt Tyson was better as Sec of War and Cox would've made a better VP.
Palmer was meant to win in 1924 with Davis as his VP. I ended up scrapping the Palmer presidency because I felt a feud with Palmer and Underwood and the Democratic establishment was more interesting, and I also felt I kinda had done all I wanted to do with Palmer. Palmer's assassination was always planned for 1927 though.
Davis's VP was originally John Nance Garner not Joseph Robinson.
The Progressive Labor Party was not originally going to exist, while it was an idea I had I was contemplating never creating the Farmer-Labor Party, and having the People's Party effectively dissolve back into the Democratic Party in 1920.