Miscellaneous >1900 (Alternate) History Thread
- Thread starter RMcD94
- Start date
Good idea, but Argentina also bungled the Great Depression?
One overlooked Axis victory scenario is the US somehow joining the Axis, maybe after a fascist coup in America during the 1930s putting Joseph Kennedy or Charles Lindbergh in power. US Naval Support would make Operation Sealion not so ASB after all. A Nazi-US Axis could push further into the USSR, as well. They could develop nuclear weapons and... oh God this world is too horrible to think about.
Our only saving grace from this nightmare would be its implausibility. America would need to quickly shred alliances with the UK, France, etc. many of its citizens died for in World War I. Why, other than fascist ideology, would the US ally instead with the loser of that conflict, who, if victorious in WWII, would probably cut them off from the Mediterranean? To say nothing of an alliance with Japan who directly oppose US interests in the Pacific?
Could make for an interesting (if horrifying) timeline, but I feel it's in the territory of the Nazis or Confederates winning and writing history, and could be seen as glorifying historical villains. It could even inspire alt-right Neo Nazis who think we joined the wrong side of WWII, etc.
Our only saving grace from this nightmare would be its implausibility. America would need to quickly shred alliances with the UK, France, etc. many of its citizens died for in World War I. Why, other than fascist ideology, would the US ally instead with the loser of that conflict, who, if victorious in WWII, would probably cut them off from the Mediterranean? To say nothing of an alliance with Japan who directly oppose US interests in the Pacific?
Could make for an interesting (if horrifying) timeline, but I feel it's in the territory of the Nazis or Confederates winning and writing history, and could be seen as glorifying historical villains. It could even inspire alt-right Neo Nazis who think we joined the wrong side of WWII, etc.
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SonOfSharknado
Banned
Who's got the balls to make Dolly Parton leader of the American Communist Party?
Could anyone else have done a New Deal in the 1930s? Or was FDR truly special as the only person with the vision to succeed economically?
Huey Long? Though his version of a New Deal would probably be even more far reaching than FDR’s. But that brings me to another question: Do we know what Long’s stance on foreign policy might have been? Did he ever give any statements in this regard? He doesn’t strike me as a liberal internationalist, but I also don’t think he would’ve been an isolationist like Taft.
On another topic, I’m looking for two TLs. I don’t remember what they were called, but one had the interesting concept of an Anglo-German alliance in WW2 against a Franco-Soviet alliance, while the other had a Japanese-American war in the 1950s. Does anyone know what TLs I’m talking about? It’s been years since I’ve read them, so I suspect they are quite old.
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'US Promptly Bankrupted by Cost of Vietnam War while Attempting to Prop Up Bretton Woods System'
'US Promptly Bankrupted by Cost of Vietnam War while Attempting to Prop Up Bretton Woods System'
...Uh-huh. However, even though this needs more nations upholding that sort of monetary system, I wonder if such an arrangement might actually help discourage countries from going to war in the long run? Or at least, hold the US back from wasting money on pointless quagmires like the Iraq War?
Also, assuming that the former lives long enough to make it happen, how about ‘Franklin Roosevelt Vs. Dwight Eisenhower’ as a post-war presidential election? Because with voter fatigue probably in play and the Republicans having drafted a war hero to challenge a president running for yet another term, I think it’d be a real interesting matchup. If there’s anyone who I think stands a chance against the New Dealer in chief, it’s got to be Ike.
"What if we made more gold?"
"Sir?"
"Come up with a cheap alloy [1] that has the same density as gold, then make gold-plated ingots out of that".
"But they'd know!"
"Who would know? Do we actually ship ingots back and forth? Do they actually test all of them, other than size and weight?"
"Well, no, but..."
"And if someone did test one and figured out it's fake, are they gonna say anything, or just pass it on to the next sucker? I mean, we're the [expletive deleted] United States, they can't force us to give them a refund."
[1] 85% depleted uranium, 15% rhenium would be the same density as gold but 100x cheaper.
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Already been done by the Chinese:
Gold Industry Shaken as 83 Tons of Fake Gold Bars Used to Secure $2 Billion Loans in China – Bitcoin News
The gold industry has been shaken after it was discovered that 83 tons of fake gold bars have been used as collateral for loans worth 20 billion yuan from 14 financial institutions to a major gold jewelry manufacturer in Wuhan, China. This amount of gold "would be equivalent to 22% of China's...
Already been done by the Chinese:
Gold Industry Shaken as 83 Tons of Fake Gold Bars Used to Secure $2 Billion Loans in China – Bitcoin News
The gold industry has been shaken after it was discovered that 83 tons of fake gold bars have been used as collateral for loans worth 20 billion yuan from 14 financial institutions to a major gold jewelry manufacturer in Wuhan, China. This amount of gold "would be equivalent to 22% of China's...news.bitcoin.com
Gilded copper is the wrong density, that's just lazy and cheap. Uranium-rhenium alloy would run maybe $600/kg (vs real gold at $60 000/kg) and you wouldn't be able to tell unless you did destructive tests.
Cheaper indeed at $6.56 a kg, and easier to source. Any fake would eventually be found out.
The German economy... couldn't. It eventually caved in and this war exhaustion was one reason why Germany lost WWI.
The German economy was a bit larger (?) than the British or the French which is why it might have survived longer than a British or French economy unassisted, though.
Could the US have gotten a European-like safety net with a pod of after 1900, or was that just beyond the pale?
McPherson
Banned
Debatable as to "economic success". The question is whose economic theories could work? MOO... Nobody's at the time. FDR therefore winged it with a lot of WAGs, made a lot of mistakes and at least gave the people the necessary illusion of effectiveness. I happen to think he provided the Americans exactly what they needed and which was most important, which was confidence in themselves and their method of governance. That as much as government social and economic programs to do what actually could be done with the resources to hand, while still preserving republican government and the social contract, was FDR's great work.
Another launch vehicle question:
What would be needed to keep this rocket flying to the present day?
en.wikipedia.org
What would be needed to keep this rocket flying to the present day?