Legacy of the Bull Moose (A What If Scenario if Theodore Roosevelt won in 1912)

[DESPRIN]

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 "The first? 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.

 

[DESPRIN]

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.

 

[DESPRIN]

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.

 

[DESPRIN]

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 -)

 

[DESPRIN]

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.

 

[DESPRIN]

 

[DESPRIN]

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.

 

[DESPRIN]

1929 was an eventful year for Germany, which was still in a state of anarchy due to its rioting, failures of the Marx government to crack down on said riots would lead to the Spartacus League and the KPD staging a revolution, overthrowing the Weimar Government. Karl Liebknecht would be declared as the first People's Commissar of the German Socialist Republic on April 7, 1929. The German Socialist Republic would model itself after the Soviet Union, who's advisors would help in both the revolution and the rebuilding afterwards. This revolution would have deep effects on neighboring France, who would begin cracking down on left wing parties and opposition, the French Communist Party would be banned, the SFIO would moderate and strengthen ties with the Radical Party to distance itself from the revolutionaries. The French Government would also seize the Rhineland as a protectorate, further tensing its relations with the German's.

March 4, 1929 would see President Davis inaugurated to his second term as President, while Theodore Roosevelt would ride through the streets of Washington D.C. speaking to the residents on such a momentous occasion, Davis was a more reserved man, preferring to smoke out of his pipe in the comfort of the Oval Office. While Davis had achieved what he had sought out in winning a second term he was not done, a man with the ambition to drive them to the Presidency would have plenty of ambition to spare. Davis' goal was to keep the Democrats in power as long as possible, by hollowing out its opposition, and while Davis did have broader goals than Democratic hegemony, he did know that without Democratic hegemony, his goals were pointless. Davis would begin this term attempting to moderate his political positions in an attempt to expand the Democratic coalition, while he did not want to overwrite his first term, Davis knew that the razor thin margins he won by might not stick in 1932, so he got working. President Davis would meet with Attorney General Woollens, Davis would encourage Woollens to soften the enforcement of Red Scare era laws, this would go in tandem with Davis's pardoning of the soft offenders of these laws, however the more high profile convictions would stick, including the conviction of the deceased Eugene Debs. Davis would also see a change of pace and encourage Congress to pass the Copley Act, sponsored by Ira Clifton Copley a Progressive representing Illinois 11th District in Congress. The Copley Act would further loosen restrictions on unions and striking however all unions would have to disavow communism. The Copley Act would pass through Congress with ease, with the strongest opposition coming from anti-union Democrats and Progressives who viewed the act as too limiting.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

The Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929, also known as Black Tuesday, would be the largest economic collapse of the 20th century. The Great Depression would see a massive shift in American culture, with the 20s being seen as a time of unprecedented wealth, this would quickly interrupt that, throwing many Americans out of work and into poverty. Congress, thrown into array by the economic downturn would quickly convene in early December 1929, however little would be accomplished, with each party fighting over the reaction to take towards the Depression. Davis would be unsure how to act towards the Depression, the Davis administration would initially attempt to create a balanced budget, but with revenue rapidly falling a tax hike would be necessary to balance the budget. Democrats and the Davis administration would come to support a National Sales Tax, as a way to raise new revenue, however this would quickly fail with Democrats being unable to pass this beyond the House.

Before long the 1930 midterm elections would come and go, with Democratic failures to combat the Depression mobilizing voters against them, with Progressives in Congress rallying around Progressive Senate Leader George Norris and his ambitious works programs, stating how he will combat Davis and the "do nothing Democrats" and put Americans back to work. Progressives in turn would see major gains in both Houses of Congress, taking them from the Democrats, with the help of Republicans to give them the majority.

 

[DESPRIN]

In 1929 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr would pass away, once again throwing the vacancy of the Chief Justice position to the Democrats. President Davis would nominate Minnesota railroad lawyer Pierce Butler for the position. Butler would be seated, however his appointment would face opposition, with groups such as the Ku Klux Klan opposing his nomination due to Butler's Catholicism, Progressive activists and a subset of Progressives in Congress would oppose Butler's nomination due to his time as a railroad lawyer.

Eight months later in 1930, associate Justice Edward Terry Sanford, a Roosevelt appointee, would pass away, New York Court of Appeals Chief Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo would be nominated to succeed Sanford. Cardozo would unanimously pass through the Senate, being seen as a natural pick for the position due to his tenure as an Appeals Judge.

Supreme Court as of 1930:
Pierce Butler (Davis appointment) Conservative (Chief Justice)
Oliver Wendell Holmes (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
William Van Devanter (Sherman appointment) Conservative
Louis Brandeis (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
Benjamin N. Cardozo (Davis appointment) Progressive

 

[DESPRIN]

Border skirmishes on the Ukrainian-Soviet border would spark the beginning of the Second Polish-Soviet War, the war would last 11 months from April 1931 to March 1932. The war would see a victory for the Soviet Union in overrunning the rump Ukrainian state. Western Front commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky would be further propelled to fame within the Soviet Union for his successes in the war most notably the siege of Kiev, in which his troops encircled the regiment in Kiev and forced their surrender. The war would also flare tensions in Europe, when both the British and French governments threatened intervention if the German Socialist Republic, a Soviet ally, were to intervene or seize the Polish Corridor. France would tighten its grip on the Rhineland with continued crackdowns on striking and protests.

The Second Spanish Republic would be proclaimed on April 14, 1931, after King Alfonso XIII would be deposed. Manuel Azana would be the first Prime Minister.

A snap election would be held in the United Kingdom in October 1931, the Conservative Party would lose power, A Labour-Liberal coalition minority government would take power. Ramsay MacDonald would be the first Labour Prime Minister in United Kingdom history. Stanley Baldwin would resign as Conservative Party leader, being replaced by Neville Chamberlain.

With Progressives assuming leadership in the 72nd Congress they would quickly get to work, with Progressives introducing laws to counteract the Depression left and right, many including a bill known as "Muscle Shoals" which would create a dam in the Tennessee Valley, creating electricity for the government to sell. Other major bills that would not pass would be, a reintroduced version of the "Old Age Pensions Act" from when Roosevelt was President, with the law failing in the Senate. A bill known as the "Wagner Act" named after its author, Progressive New York Senator Robert F. Wagner, which would add legal protections for private unions and their rights to strike. Another notorious bill would be the "McNary Act" which would attempt to stabilize farm prices by buying excess stock of domestic farm products and then store them or sell them for a loss across the globe. In the face of his own inaction towards combating the Depression, Davis would begin working with Congressional Democrats to find laws it could pass to him that would be palatable for both him and voters, and there were not many with Davis slowly becoming in favor of austerity measures and a Congress hostile to said measures. However Democrats would find one major bill they could pass that Davis would support, The Banking Act of 1931. The Banking Act of 1931, also known by "Glass-Steagall" was a banking regulation meant to cut down on speculation by separating commercial and investment banking.

The Banking Act however would not be the only major bill passed during the 72nd Congress, with Upton Sinclair, a representative who would return to Congress after running for president in 1928, would reintroduce his "Wages and Growth Act" which would raise the federal minimum wage to 20 cents an hour. The Wages and Growth Act of 1932 would pass through Congress, and President Davis would then be presented with a dilemma, while he himself would not want to pass the Act, he believed that if he vetoed it it would harm Democratic efforts in the years elections, leading to Davis reluctantly passing the Wages and Growth Act of 1932.

While Democrats and even conservative Republicans would continue in their efforts to pass austerity bills through the 72nd Congress, all would go nowhere, giving Democrats and the president minimal legislative achievements going into election season. With 1932 being the first time a president would be elected since the start of the Great Depression, party platforms would effectively outline each parties planned solution for the economic woes.

The 1932 Democratic National Convention, held in Richmond, Virginia, would spark a different tone within the Democratic party, with the party being much more divided than it had been just 4 years previous, with moderate Democrats rallying around Al Smith in their opposition to the status quo of Davis, believing that Davis's inaction would harm the Democrats come November. Smith would be encouraged against running for the nomination however, instead throwing his support behind moderately conservative and former House Speaker, John Nance Garner. Garner would face little effective opposition, with Vice President Robinson being disinterested in seeking out the presidency, and Garner building an effective coalition from within the party. Secretary of the Interior James A. Reed would win the Vice Presidential nomination after 1 ballot, with Reed having been endorsed by President Davis. The creation of the 1932 Democratic platform would be mired with controversy, with moderate party members claiming the convention had been stacked with Pro-Davis delegates, and that the convention truly was not representative of the Democratic Party. However the Democratic Platform of 1932 would endorse many of the measures espoused by Al Smith.

The 1932 Democratic Platform would support measures to:

• Lower tariff rates to encourage trade.
• Decrease pensions for government employees
• Create a national sales tax
• Fund infrastructure programs for rural America

Held in Boise, Idaho, The 1932 Republican National Convention would see the Republican Party continuing its efforts to dominate the political centre, with former presidential nominee Herbert Hoover dominating the convention, leading to no ones surprise when Hoover would be the 1932 Republican Presidential nominee. His Vice Presidential nominee would be Former Maryland Senator Joseph I. France, who was selected on the 4th ballot, after Hoover endorsed him. Hoover throughout the whole convention would lay out his "Business Recovery Plan" consisting mainly on tariffs and fiscal stimulus.

The 1932 Republican Platform:

• Raising the general tariff rate to 55%
• Creation of government agencies such as the "Reconstruction Finance Corporation" which would provide low interest loans to businesses, banks and railroads"
• Lowering of corporate taxes to 0%
• The creation of a social pension system
• Support for public-private partnerships

The 1932 Progressive Labor National Convention, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would be a rather chaotic event, with many candidates having their eyes on the presidency, including but not limited to Oregon Senator Charles McNary, New York Governor Fiorello La Guardia, Kansas Senator Charles Curtis, Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler, Senate Majority Leader George W. Norris, Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette Jr., and Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot. Balloting would slowly fizzle down with the old guard progressively rallying behind Senate Majority Leader Norris and the younger members rallying behind New York Governor Fiorello La Guardia. Norris would eek out a victory on the 23rd ballot. La Guardia would quickly concede, his concession speech would be a rallying point for Progressives however, his speech dubbed "The Turning Point" would rally Progressives around a domestic agenda that would receive the name "Fair Deal" after La Guardia's closing remarks. La Guardia would quickly be tapped for the Vice Presidential nomination, winning on the first ballot. The Progressive Platform would mostly consist of support for initiatives Progressives had failed to pass in the 72nd Congress, New Nationalism domestic programs that never saw the light of day, and job programs that La Guardia outlined in his "Turning Point" speech, this platform would be known as the "Fair Deal"

The 1932 Progressive Labor Platform:

• Public works programs to provide work for Americans
• Protections for private labor unions
• Creation of a social welfare system for needy Americans
• Creation of a social pension system
• Nationalization of railroads
• Creation of public energy sources
• Agricultural supports

General election season for 1932 would mostly consist of Davis trying to get Garner elected and improve his own reputation, these efforts would have little effect if not negative effects, leading to a Progressive landslide, with Progressives winning all states outside of the Democratic strongholds in the Deep South. Progressives would also see sizable wins in Congress, gaining themselves a majority in both Houses.

 

[DESPRIN]

"I may be an old man but I still have some fight left in me."

As the newly elected President, George Norris would opt for a quieter inauguration than someone like Theodore Roosevelt, Norris being 71 on his inauguration day was much older than the spry Roosevelt or even his Vice President elect La Guardia. Norris would do the ceremonies, give a speech, and retire to the White House, for there was much work to be done.

The Norris cabinet would be a whole ordeal of itself, with Norris aiming to create a cabinet full of professionals that would help America in its recovery from the Depression. Norris would tap 3 Republicans and 1 Independent, with all 3 Republicans having served within the Roosevelt administration, with Knox having been Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later Postmaster General, Stimson having been Secretary of War, and Hoover having been a war secretary. Hoover also ran as an opponent of Norris for the Presidency so Hoover's appointment would be unusual to many at the time. However all appointments would pass through the Senate with broad support.

Norris Cabinet as of entering Office:
President - George W. Norris (1933 -)
Vice President - Fiorello La Guardia (1933 -)
Secretary of State - Henry L. Stimson (1933 -)
Secretary of Treasury - Fred M. Vinson (1933 -)
Secretary of War - George Dern (1933 -)
Attorney General - Felix Frankfurter (1933 -)
Postmaster General - Bronson M. Cutting (1933 -)
Secretary of the Navy - Frank Knox (1933 -)
Secretary of the Interior - Harold Ickes (1933 -)
Secretary of Agriculture - Henry A. Wallace (1933 -)
Secretary of Commerce - Herbert Hoover (1933 -)
Secretary of Labor - Frances Perkins (1933 -)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - William James Mayo (1933 -)


1932 would see Oliver Wendell Holmes retire from the Supreme Court at the age of 89, the oldest appointment on the court at the time, Holmes would represent the progressive side of the court for 29 years. President Davis would nominate Georgia Senator Walter F. George. George however would not be confirmed by the Senate, with Progressives and Republicans unwilling to vote for him due to his conservative belief set. Davis would then seek out a more moderate pick to nominate for the Supreme Court, nominating Alabama Senator Hugo Black, Black however would receive stauncher opposition from Progressives and Republicans for his connections to the Ku Klux Klan. The vacancy in the Supreme Court would not be filled during the rest of Davis's term. Once Norris would get into office he would be quick to nominate a replacement for Holmes, originally his sights would be set on First Circuit of Appeals Judge George Weston Anderson, however Anderson would turn down the offer due to his advanced age. Norris would eventually nominate Progressive Oregon Senator and Majority Whip Charles McNary for the position. McNary's popularity with Senate Progressives and Republicans would ensure his seating on the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court as of 1933:
Pierce Butler (Davis appointment) Conservative (Chief Justice)
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
William Van Devanter (Sherman appointment) Conservative
Louis Brandeis (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
Benjamin N. Cardozo (Davis appointment) Progressive
Charles McNary (Norris appointment) Progressive

Upon being inaugurated President Norris would quickly get to work, using his time as Senate Majority Leader, to work closely with Vice President La Guardia and Senate Majority Leader Curtis to combat the ongoing Depression. With a goal of economic recovery and reform on their minds, Congress would set out on many ventures to not only find work for struggling Americans. Norris and La Guardia would encourage Treasury Secretary Vinson to take the U.S. off of the Gold Standard. The most important bill of this Congress would be the "National Recovery Act" which would see President Norris working heavily with Secretary Hoover to get businesses on board with the Fair Deal. The National Recovery Act would create a National Recovery Commission, which would give newly appropriated funding to State and local governments, for things such as electrification, upkeep of railroad tracks and building of new ones, and would also incorporate Secretary Hoovers idea of a "Reconstruction Finance Corporation" to provide low interest loans to businesses. The National Recovery Act would also see the creation of a "Project One Commission" which would oversee funding for smaller works programs including those for artists and youth. All of these Commissions would be beholden to Congress, however Congress would work heavily with the Administration for these programs, specifically Secretary of Commerce Hoover, and Agricultural Secretary Wallace. This would be far from the only thing Congress would pass in this session however, with other major bills including the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which would be an expanded form of the McNary bill of the last Congress, The Securities Act of 1933, which would regulate the sales of securities, and the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, establishing the Tennessee Valley Authority as a government owned corporation to create electricity in the Tennessee Valley. There would be 1 major law this Congress that would not pass, that being the "Social Security Act of 1933" which was a modification and expansion of the Roosevelt era "Old Age Pensions act". The Social Security Act would differ in regards however due to the fact that it would not just provide pensions for those aged 64 and above it would also provide government run health insurance for all Americans, which would enroll every American who was enrolled for Social Security into government health insurance, the bill would fail due to mixed support among Progressives and little support outside the party.

Progressives being deeply popular would see large gains in the 1934 midterm elections. A month after said elections House Speaker Victor Berger would die of a heart attack. Robert Bacon would be his successor.

International News:

- The United States recognizes the Soviet Union.
- Japan invades Manchuria and sets up a puppet government.
- Long time Mexican President Pancho Villa is assassinated at the age of 55.

 

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International News Update 1935-1936:
- 1935 would mark the beginning of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. (With Italian victory in 1936)
- The 1935 Federal Elections in Canada would result in a Liberal majority government under Prime Minster William Mackenzie King.
- A referendum on restoring the Greek monarchy is held in 1935, with a 97% vote in favor of restoration.
- The Left Wing "Popular Front" in Spain would win the 1936 elections, later in the year leading to an attempted coup against the government by right wing elements within the Spanish military and leading to the Spanish Civil War, which would see the the Nationalist side backed by the French and Italians, while the Republicans would receive aid from the Soviet Union and Germany. The United Kingdom and United States would stay neutral during the affair.
- John Maynard Keynes General Theory would be published
- 1936 Elections in the United Kingdom would see the Labour-Liberal coalition make further gains against the Conservatives and Winston Churchill's National Liberals. Conservative Leader Neville Chamberlain would lose his seat in Parliament. His replacement would be Harrow MP Oswald Mosley, Mosley, while a bit on the radical side would emphasize the need for a Disraeli-esque Conservative Party in the face of the market liberalism the Conservatives have embraced, Mosley would also further anger Conservatives with his support of a Conservative-Labour coalition if Conservatives would need to. Upon his ascension to leader many Conservatives would cross the aisle and join the National Liberal Party.

The Fair Deal Continued:
Heading into the 74th Congress with a sizable majority in both Houses of Congress, Progressives would begin to see increased opposition from the Republican Party. While Republican losses in the 1934 midterms would be rather small, Republican attitudes towards the Progressive Labor Party would increasingly sour in the Senate, where conservatives like Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg would begin attempting to create an opposition bloc towards Progressive policies. Republicans in the House would be much less hostile towards the Progressives, however their attitudes were slowly drawing in the direction of their colleagues in the Senate. Progressives however would see their victories in the midterms and quickly get to work, while economic relief and recovery were just beginning due to the legislative achievements of the last Congress, Progressives believed that continued economic reforms would be required to boost said recovery. By far the largest focus of the 74th Congress would be the Social Security Act, which while it had failed in 1934, it would be reintroduced in 1935, with its government insurance provisions stripped from the 74th Congress version. With the bill retaining its negative attention from the last time it had been introduced, President Norris and Vice President La Guardia would begin a PR campaign to convince Americans of how passage of the Social Security Act would benefit them. The duo would eventually begin using airwaves to talk directly to Americans, beginning the "Presidential Fireside Chats" that would be a staple of the administrations to come after it, and would also motivate the creation of the National Public Radio, a non-profit public radio broadcaster, which would be established by act of Congress in 1936 and have its first airing of a Presidential Fireside Chat in January 1938. While the Presidential Fireside Chats would be immensely popular, drawing in an estimated 15 million listeners, many of which would have never seen or heard Norris before, leading many to see Norris as a grandfather like figure due to his old age and reassuring demeanor. These broadcasts however would see opposition, most notably from media magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst, a populist in his youth would become slowly drawn towards the right wing of the Democratic Party, Hearst would become a staunch opponent of the Fair Deal, airing his op-ed's in all his papers. The total newspaper sales for his anti-Social Security Act op-ed are debated, with the op-ed being split across the many papers Hearst had owned, sales of those papers though are speculated to be between 12 and 18 million. Hearst's anti Norris stance would be continued into the Democratic National Convention later in the year. The Social Security Act however would reach Norris's desk in 1936, effectively beginning the welfare state of the United States.

Cabinet and Supreme Court Changes:
In 1935 Associate Justice Willis Van Devanter would retire from the court at the age of 75, throwing another Supreme Court vacancy to President Norris, Norris would struggle to find a suitable candidate for the position, before setting his sights on his own Attorney General, Felix Frankfurter, a student of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Frankfurter would shortly thereafter join the court.

Supreme Court as of 1935:
Pierce Butler (Davis appointment) Conservative (Chief Justice)
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
Louis Brandeis (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
Benjamin N. Cardozo (Davis appointment) Progressive
Charles McNary (Norris appointment) Progressive
Felix Frankfurter (Norris appointment) Progressive

The appointment of Frankfurter would shift the balance of the court, with those in favor of judicial restraint having a majority on the court. The appointment of Frankfurter would also spark the need of a new Attorney General. Norris would set his sights on the moderately Progressive, former Democrat, Francis Burton Harrison. Harrison would swiftly be approved for the position. However this would not be the only change to the Norris cabinet for 1935-1936, with Secretary of War George Dern passing away in 1936. President Norris would appoint U.S. Army Reserves Colonel and Oklaholma Progressive Patrick J. Hurley to the position of Secretary of War.

Norris Cabinet as of 1936:
President - George W. Norris (1933 -)
Vice President - Fiorello La Guardia (1933 -)
Secretary of State - Henry L. Stimson (1933 -)
Secretary of Treasury - Fred M. Vinson (1933 -)
Secretary of War - Patrick J. Hurley (1936 -)
Attorney General - Francis Burton Harrison (1935 -)
Postmaster General - Bronson M. Cutting (1933 -)
Secretary of the Navy - Frank Knox (1933 -)
Secretary of the Interior - Harold Ickes (1933 -)
Secretary of Agriculture - Henry A. Wallace (1933 -)
Secretary of Commerce - Herbert Hoover (1933 -)
Secretary of Labor - Frances Perkins (1933 -)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - William James Mayo (1933 -)

U.S. 1936 Elections:

The 1936 elections would be an uphill battle for Democrats and Republicans, with President Norris becoming increasingly popular among the American public, but that would not stop William Randolph Hearst, Hearst would spend months before the convention rallying support in his favor, and it was a rather easy year to do so, most Democrats didn't see an interest in losing against Norris here. Hearst would continuously make his case ahead of the 1936 convention though. So when the 1936 Democratic National Convention convened in Atlanta, Georgia, support would quickly coalesce around Hearst, Hearst would win on the first ballot, in his victory speech he would quickly attack inefficiencies of the Fair Deal and corruption within the administration. Hearst would ask Virginia Senator Harry Byrd to be his running mate. Byrd would agree and be nominated on the first ballot. Hearst would influence the Democratic Platform heavily, crusading against government, inefficiencies and corruption.

1936 Democratic Platform:
- Abolition of Social Security
- Decreasing the income tax and the traiff
- Decrease government pensions
- Balance the federal budget

The 1936 Progressive Labor National Convention would begin as an uneventful affair, President Norris and Vice President La Guardia would quickly be renominated. The convention however would draw attention when the platform was being written, with Progressive delegates introducing an anti-lynching legislation plank. While the Progressive Labor Party had not been anti-civil rights up till this point it mostly avoided taking hard stances on the matter. However race riots that would occur in 1934 would shift delegates within the parties stance towards increasing protections for the African American population. The plank would be added, enraging some southern delegates. The rest of the 1936 Progressive Labor Party Platform would support expanding the Fair Deal further.

1936 Progressive Labor Platform:
- Stronger legal protections for African Americans
- An expansion to the Post Office
- Creation of Public Housing
- Railroad Nationalization
- Bailouts for hospitals

The 1936 Republican National Convention would mark a shift in the tone of the Republican Party, with the conservative members dominating the convention. With Frank Orren Lowden as chairman of the convention it would be dominated by conservative delegates. Those same delegates would nominate former New York Senator James W. Wadsworth Jr. on the 2nd ballot. Wadsworth would approach Michigan Senator and Republican Senate Whip Arthur Vandenberg to be his running mate, with Vandenberg not up for re-election that year he agreed. The platform of the 1936 Republican convention would stress the need of austerity, balanced budgets and raises to tariffs.

1936 Republican Platform:
- A 60% industrial tariff rate
- Scrapping of Social Security and the National Recovery Act
- A decrease in government pensions
- A balanced federal budget

The General election would result in a more dominant result from Progressive Labor than in 1932, with Norris winning a majority of the popular vote, which is the first time since Taft's election in 1908. Progressives would further strengthen their majorities in Congress, mostly at the expense of the Democrats. Progressives would also be able to crack the solid south, winning both Tennessee and Kentucky, however 5 faithless electors would vote for Hearst over Norris.

 

[DESPRIN]

Reworked American political parties as of 1938 since I felt it was a little rushed, also the number of members of each party is before the 1938 elections.

 

[DESPRIN]

World Map as of 1938:

(Note: does not show battle lines of any kind, or civil conflicts occurring.)

European Affairs and the Rhineland Crisis:

The 1929 German Revolution had many long lasting effects on Europe, and one byproduct of the Revolution was the French seizure of the Rhineland. With the French having seized the Rhineland to protect their industry, however the seizure would be highly disputed, with only French allied states recognizing the French protectorate in the Rhineland. The seizure would also chill relations between the United Kingdom and France, with the United Kingdom refusing to recognize the territory as under French control. The United Kingdom would recognize the German Socialist Republic very early on, with many fearful of both war and Soviet influence attempting to use diplomacy to outmaneuver both. This would make little difference to the German government which would be heavily influenced by Soviet advisors. Relations between the United Kingdom and the German Socialist Republic however would be cordial even with ideological differences, with the U.K. lowering and waving German owed debts in return for access to their markets for investment. While foreign investment would be minimal in this time of economic turmoil, it would help Germany, with its economic policies modeled after the New Economic Policy and Bukharin's economic ideals. The United Kingdom's softer approach to this new German government would enrage the French, which would further isolate themselves from the United Kingdom. Now cut to 1937, with both French and German claims on the Rhineland a breaking point had been reached. With the German People's Council voting to nationalize the Rhineland and fully incorporate it into the rest of the nation, with the Rhineland being viewed domestically as a rogue autonomous state. German troops would be sent into the Rhineland and would begin skirmishes with French forces. U.K. Prime Minister Clement Attlee would attempt to intervene quickly, calling both sides to the League of Nations to mediate this dispute. After 3 weeks in session both the French and German governments would agree to a ceasefire and to hold a referendum on the status of the Rhineland, with voting to begin in March 1938. Reunification with Germany would win with a 57% majority of votes cast. France would drag its feet as a result of this loss, attempting to create treaties with the German government to provide special privileges to French business within the Rhineland rather than pulling troops out of the region and directly ceding it. This would enrage Germany, viewing the French government of trying to weasel its way out of the agreements that had been arbitrated within the League of Nations. German troops would be once again sent into the Rhineland, breaking the ceasefire, and effectively starting The Franco-German War. The Franco-German War would be the largest European conflict since The Great War, with the nations of Europe fearing the start of a second Great War, many would start preparing for conflict on their borders, one such nation would be the United Kingdom, holding a snap election for July 1938. The Snap election would see the formation of a "National Coalition" made up of National Liberal, Liberal and Labour MPs, with Conservatives running in opposition to the National Coalition, with the National Coalition running on a platform of League of Nations intervention into the Franco-German conflict to ensure peace. The Conservative Party would run a platform of non-interventionism, with opposition leader Mosley further alienating former Conservative MPs who had crossed the aisle to the National Liberal Party. The 1938 UK Elections would see seat gains for the Conservative Party, however the National Coalition would still retain a majority of seats, with a government being formed under new Prime Minister and National Liberal leader Winston Churchill.

The Second Sino-Japanese War:

On July 7, 1937, Japanese Forces would invade China, skirmishing with a Chinese Army Garrison. The skirmish would end, with a Japanese Private not returning to his post on time further escalating the conflict. While the Private would return to his post it would be too late, with the Japanese and Chinese issuing reinforcements to Wanping Fortress, the location of the incident. Another skirmish would begin, quickly turning into an all out battle, with the Chinese being defeated in Wanping within a matter of days. The war would not turn in Chinese favor, with devastating losses in the battle of Shanghai and the Chinese loss of their capitol Nanjing, and the succeeding massacres that would occur in Nanjing. While the war was not in their favor, neither President Chiang Kai-shek or Premier Sun Fo would concede territorial losses to the Japanese. Premier Sun Fo would attempt to lobby the governments of the Soviet Union and the United States for aid. The Soviet Union, pre-occupied with the Rhineland Crisis would spare little aid to the Chinese, however Fo would find a sympathetic voice, United States President George W. Norris after seeing photographic evidence of the atrocities committed by the Japanese in Shanghai. Norris would begin lobbying Congress for aid to the Chinese Government in the form of a Lend Lease.

American Affairs:
With increased gains and a split opposition going into the 75th Congress, Progressives would continue pushing Fair Deal initiatives into Congress, one such initiative would be the "Postal Reorganization Act of 1937" which would abolish the Post Office Department, and creating the "United States Postal Service" a government run corporation. This action would allow for unions for Postal workers, as well as lowering the position of Postmaster General away from being a cabinet position. Another key part of the Postal Reorganization Act would be the adoption of Postal Banking, meant to allow rural communities more access to banking, as well as expanding the Post Office further and creating hiring initiatives to lower unemployment. The Postal Reorganization Act would pass through Congress with relative ease, with most Progressives united around support for it. Another act that would quickly spark debate within Congress would be a law supported by Michigan Representative John Dingell Sr, this law would establish a National Health Insurance scheme, similar to the one scrapped from the Social Security Act of 1933. Similar to the 1933 bill the Dingell Act would quickly split the party, with the more moderate wing eyeing a much softer approach to social welfare, and with the bill facing minimal support from outside the Progressive Labor Party it would die in the House. However Progressives would find another issue to split themselves over, and this one had the backing of the President, the Anti-Lynching Act of 1937, also known as the Magnuson Act, after its sponsor Washington Representative Warren Magnuson. Opposition to the Magnuson Act would alienate southern Progressives, however a few southern Progressives would fall in line, such as House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn, with pundits declaring the death of his political career due to the fact he represents a competitive district. The Magnuson Act would narrowly pass the House with modest Republican support. While in the Senate, Progressives would have an easier time, due to most Progressive Senators representing northern states, with the Anti-Lynching Act narrowly scrapping through the Senate and being signed by the President. After the passage of the Magnuson Act, Democratic and Republican Party Officials would meet in January of 1938, with the idea of creating a coalition against the Progressives, information of these talks would be leaked to the media 2 weeks after they began, with headlines titled "A Deal with the Devil". Which is how the public had begun to view it in the beginning, these 2 parties that had hated each other for a century were expected to work together? The proposal saw much pushback from the more radical elements of both parties, who viewed the proposal as a hostile takeover from the other party. However when the "National Union of Democrats and Republicans" also known as the "National Union Party" was founded on March 18, 1938, many in Congress would quickly jump ship to the new party. With the remnants of both parties making up the "New Democratic" and "Independent Republican" parties. With the platform of the National Union Party on its founding being rather vague, waiting till the 1940 Convention to draw out a fully fledged platform. However even with the creation of the National Union Party, Progressive opposition in the House got nowhere without Progressive defectors, such as with the passage of the "Alaskan Improvement Act" an act proposed by Interior Secretary Harold Ickes, to take in Jewish refugees from Europe and settle them in Alaska for purposes of defense and economic improvement. While with a more united opposition Progressives had a harder fight on their hands than with the Anti-Lynching Act, it was not enough, with the Alaskan Improvement Act reaching President Norris's desk to be signed on May 1, 1938.

President Norris goes to China:
(Not really though)

To many, the offset of the Second Sino-Japanese War would have little to no effect on American affairs at all, this would end up being wrong. After the Japanese victory in the Battle of Shanghai, a picture named "Bloody Sunday" would go be shown in newspapers all across the United States. With President Norris having seen the photo, talking about it in one of his fireside talks he would refer to Japanese actions in China as "disgraceful, ignoble, barbarous, and cruel, even beyond the power of language to describe." In doing so he would open himself up to a visit from Chinese Premier Sun Fo, who would arrive in Washington to lobby for aid for the Chinese Government, Norris would then begin attempts to convince Congress to create a Lend Lease program to support the Chinese War effort, which would provide the Chinese Government 5 Billion Dollars worth of supplies. President Norris would begin working with Congress on this act, opposition in Congress would begin putting up its fight outside of Congress, seeing their losses in the 75th Congress as a sort of "rallying cry" for voters, the National Union Party would use the Lend Lease Act as a way to campaign for the next Congress, painting themselves as the peace party while the Progressives once again wanted war. The Lend Lease Act would pass through Congress on August 21, landing on the Presidents desk to be signed.

Supreme Court as of 1938:
Pierce Butler (Davis appointment) Conservative (Chief Justice)
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
Louis Brandeis (Roosevelt appointment) Progressive
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
Charles McNary (Norris appointment) Progressive
Felix Frankfurter (Norris appointment) Progressive
Zechariah Chafee (Norris appointment) Progressive

The death of Benjamin N. Cardozo on July 9, 1938, would put Norris into a bind, with another appointment to the Supreme Court being required, he would consult Associate Justice Brandeis, who would set President Norris's eyes on lawyer Zechariah Chafee, a noted civil libertarian, Chafee would be very popular with Progressive activists, with Brandeis viewing Chafee's contributions to law as too important to exclude him from the court. Chafee would be seated on the Supreme Court with minimal fight from the National Union Party.

1938 United States Elections:

The National Union Party devoted most of its efforts since its founding to the 1938 midterms, beginning to believe that opposition to Progressive Labor in the 75th Congress was a fruitless effort, instead shifting their focus towards the 76th Congress. With a lack of vote splitting among right of centre candidates, the National Union Party saw sizable gains in the midterms, with the Independent Republicans being completely wiped out. An Independent would be elected to the Senate, former Republican Robert A. Taft of Ohio.

 

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European Affairs:
(Kinda left out the Franco-German War in 1938 so it's gonna be included in this update.)

The Franco-German War, one of the largest armed conflicts of the "Depression Era." The Franco-German War would begin on April 12, 1938, after French refusal to cede the Rhineland to Germany after a League of Nations referendum on its status. At the war's offset the Attlee Ministry in the United Kingdom would attempt to steer nations allied to the French and Germans away from intervening in the conflict, with fear of another Great War. Attlee's attempts would largely succeed, with the only intervention in the conflict coming from direct aid and expeditionary forces. The largest expeditionary force would be the Soviet one, led by Mikhail Tukhachevsky. Soviet aid in this conflict would be what is believed to have saved the German Forces from disaster, with German military and industry being rather weak from the recent revolution and the ongoing Great Depression. The first few months of the war would see consistent German losses, with outdated German equipment being unable to break French lines, however the arrival of the Soviet Expeditionary Force would see the German's fare better, with better equipment and manpower. With the arrival of Soviet Forces seeing the beginning of the "Summer Offensive" which would see German regiments attacking the Rhineland from both the north and south, with the goal of encircling the French Army in Cologne. The German's would also use this time to incite revolt within the population of the Rhineland, having resistance cells of partisans play a national broadcast from People's Commissar Karl Liebknecht, encouraging armed struggle by the German populace against their French occupiers. These broadcasts would drastically change the conflict, inciting anti-French rebellions across the Rhineland, while many were not successful, the rebellion that would take over Düsseldorf would be a large victory for the Germans. The war would end with the Battle of Cologne, starting in November 1938, with German victory being achieved on December 14, 1938. Shortly after their loss in the battle, France would declare an armistice. United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill would invite both the French and German's once again to the League of Nations to negotiate the peace treaty. France would owe the German's high reparations and cede the Rhineland. The Treaty of Saarbrücken would be signed by both parties on April 7, 1939, 10 years after the establishment of the German Socialist Republic. This victory would spark Soviet expansionism, with the French crippled from their recent loss, and the United Kingdom unable to put up an offensive against the Soviet Union alone, the Soviet Union would expand, occupying and incorporating the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, also occupying Eastern Poland and the Polish Corridor. The United Kingdom, enraged by this would quickly bury its hatchet with France, lobbying the French government for an anti-communist alliance. The United Kingdom would also attempt to involve other nations in this alliance, looking for allies against the Communist powers of Europe. The treaty to create the anti-communist alliance known as the European Entente would have 9 signatories, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. The European Entente however while it would not include nations of Central and Eastern Europe it would however attempt to protect those nations from Communist aggression.

The Second Sino Japanese War:
While the Japanese had rolled their way through coastal China with ease, they would face many issues in the countryside, mainly guerrilla warfare, with the Chinese government using many guns received from the American Lend Lease Program to arm civilians to fight off Japanese soldiers. This method of combat would heavily favor the Japanese, stopping their invasion in its tracks and creating a stalemate between the two armies.

American Affairs:
1939 would begin with the death of U.S. President George W. Norris, dying of natural causes at the age of 77. This would quickly throw both the Vice President and Congress for a loop, it was a rather sudden death, with doctors seeing President Norris as fit to serve out the remainder of his term healthily. Vice President Fiorello La Guardia would be sworn in as the 34th President of the United States on February 17, 1939. President La Guardia, while expecting to run for the presidency in 1940 was very much thrown a curve ball with President Norris' death. La Guardia would quickly head home from Nevada, where he had just opened the Norris Dam.

The La Guardia administration would start rather quickly, while majorities in Congress were becoming more narrow La Guardia would quickly begin working with Congress, expanding on Fair Deal initiatives. The most notable of which would be the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1939" which would enforce a new ban on child labor, different from the one that was deemed "unconstitutional" and it would raise the federal minimum wage from 20 to 30 cents. This act would pass pretty easily and uncontroversially, with some support from National Union members. The other major act of the 76th Congress would be the "Public Utilities Act" which would expand the Tennessee Valley Authority into a federally run corporation under the name "Union Electrical" which would compete against private energy providers and expand electrical access to rural communities that private companies had seen as "unprofitable" to do so. The Public Utilities Act would be highly controversial, with businessmen and National Union Congressmen rallying against it, with Wendell Willkie of Commonwealth & Southern Corporation being one of the lead figures opposing the bill, with Wilkie's testimony in front of Congress giving him fans within the National Union Party. Speaker Rayburn would eventually be able to rally enough House Progressives to support the bill to pass it to the Senate. Within a matter of days the Public Utilities Act would have been signed by President La Guardia.

La Guardia Cabinet:
President - Fiorello La Guardia (1939 -)
Vice President - Vacant (1939 -)
Secretary of State - Henry L. Stimson (1933 -)
Secretary of Treasury - Fred M. Vinson (1933 -)
Secretary of War - Patrick J. Hurley (1936 -)
Attorney General - Earl Warren (1939 -)
Secretary of the Navy - Frank Knox (1933 -)
Secretary of the Interior - Harold Ickes (1933 -)
Secretary of Agriculture - Henry A. Wallace (1933 -)
Secretary of Commerce - Herbert Hoover (1933 -)
Secretary of Labor - Frances Perkins (1933 -)
Secretary of Health and Wellness - John D. Dingell Sr. (1939 -)

1939 would also see the death of Health and Wellness Secretary James Mayo, he would be replaced by Michigan Representative John Dingell Sr, a staunch proponent of national health insurance. Earl Warren would also join the Cabinet as Attorney General, replacing Francis Burton Harrison, who would be nominated to the Supreme Court to replace Louis Brandeis after his retirement.

Supreme Court as of 1940:
Learned Hand (Underwood appointment) Progressive (Chief Justice)
Charles Evans Hughes (Sherman appointment) Moderate
James Clark McReynolds (Underwood appointment) Conservative
William Henry King (Davis appointment) Conservative
Charles McNary (Norris appointment) Progressive
Felix Frankfurter (Norris appointment) Progressive
Zechariah Chafee (Norris appointment) Progressive
Francis Burton Harrison (Norris appointment) Moderate
Burton K. Wheeler (La Guardia appointment) Progressive

At the start of 1939 Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis would declare his intention to retire from the court. President Norris would appoint Attorney General Francis Burton Harrison to the position, Harrison would be seated just days before the death of President Norris. Six months after would see the death of Chief Justice Pierce Butler, President La Guardia would elevate Justice Learned Hand to the position of Chief Justice, replacing him as associate Justice with Montana Senator Burton Wheeler, many would view this as La Guardia's way of getting Wheeler out of the Senate and out of his way, due to Justice Wheeler's opposition to American support in China.

1940 United States Presidential Election:

The 1940 United States Presidential Election was in the eyes of many commentators a competitive election. This would quickly put President La Guardia on his toes, spending much of 1940 campaigning, most notably by using his predecessors "Fireside Chats" to communicate with voters and campaign from within the White House. President La Guardia knew not every action that him or President Norris did was popular, but he was not gonna do what was popular he was gonna do what he viewed as right. La Guardia though would start the campaign with some advantages, no real opposition from within his party, a semi-popular President. The 1940 Progressive Labor National Convention would quickly nominate La Guardia for President, rallying behind him and his support for new Fair Deal initiatives to combat poverty and create jobs. President La Guardia would ask Wisconsin Governor Philip La Follette to be his running mate. La Follette would receive the nomination on the first ballot.

The 1940 Progressive Labor Platform:
- Continued Chinese Aid
- Railroad Nationalization
- National Health Insurance
- Increased support for rural communities

Shortly thereafter would see the 1940 National Union Convention, with the divides between Democrats and Republicans still ever apparent in the party, the convention would be in many's eyes "Wide open." With candidates such as "Liberal Unionist" Manhattan District Attorney Thomas Dewey, Senate Minority Leader Arthur Vandenberg, and Southern Senator Richard Russell Jr. being the most notable candidates. One of the dark horse candidates however would successfully be able to paint themselves as a compromise pick and that would be Commonwealth & Southern Corporation Executive Wendell Willkie of Indiana. Willkie would recieve the nomination on the 12 ballot after successfully getting Richard Russell Jr. and Thomas Dewey delegates to shift towards him. Willkie would outline his platform of "Good Business" supporting public private partnerships, lower taxes, budget balances, privatization of Union Electrical, and Continued aid to China. Willkie's running mate would be Maryland Senator Millard Tydings.

The 1940 National Union Platform:
- Continued Chinese Aid
- Decreased taxes
- A balanced budget
- Privatization of Union Electrical

The 1940 United States Elections would show rather mixed results, with President La Guardia narrowly winning re election, however Progressives would see losses in both the House and Senate, with Progressives losing Speakership in the House to National Union Representative Joseph Martin.

 

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Added a poll on whether or not I should start a new thread if I am gonna be pushing this timeline forward to the modern day. Everything in this thread till this point will be left as is regardless.

 

[DESPRIN]

Ok, so I have decided that within the next week or two I am going to soft reboot this timeline. I really liked this iteration of it, and I think that I have drastically improved as a timeline maker in the process of doing this, however I feel that this attempt was practically my first timeline, with the first attempt being an absolute failure. However in writing this timeline I feel I have made many mistakes especially in the start, and I have just continuously had to just roll with those punches and at times it just makes it harder to write. So I will be rebooting with a modern day structure and some modest changes to the timeline. I also want to thank everyone who read this timeline and asked me questions, the questions I got genuinely helped me flesh out the world better and I appreciate that. You all are great, keep doing you!