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Hi all. This is my first thread. I've wanted to do a political timeline for a while, and I decided to try something familiar to me.
I just want to answer a few questions:
  1. This is not a wank. I may be on the conservative side of things but all sides will get a fair shake. Liberals and Conservatives will have fun reading this, I promise :)
  2. This is not a No Southern Strategy rip off. Yes, I am a huge fan of the timeline and yes, reading it did inspire me to try a wikibox timeline, but I do not and will not try and copy Gonzo and Nofix's amazing timeline.
  3. Feel free to leave any comment you wish, just please make it respectable
  4. Also, if any one of you has an interesting idea please let me know. If I like it you may find your suggestion part of history ;)
Enjoy :)

TV Tropes page

Table of Contents:

  1. A General's Adjutant
  2. 1960 Conventions
  3. 1960 Election
  4. Nixon's First Year
  5. Cuba/Algeria
  6. A Nation Divided
  7. 1962 Midterms
  8. Civil Rights Act Pt 1
  9. Civil Rights Act Pt 2
  10. Death of a President
  11. Foreign Snapshot
  12. 1964 Convention
  13. 1964 Election
  14. 1964 Downballot
  15. A Troublesome Start
  16. How JFK Lost the Democratic Party
  17. Alabama Burning
  18. 1966 Midterms
  19. Foreign Snapshot
  20. Chaos in Asia
  21. 1968 Conventions
  22. 1968 Election
  23. 1968 Downballot
  24. 91st Congress
  25. 1960s Pop Culture
  26. Mankind Ascending
  27. Foreign Snapshot
  28. President Wallace
  29. The Counterculture
  30. Liberty Conservative Triumphant
  31. The Iron Curtain Shifts
  32. Third World Battleground
  33. Tet Offensive
  34. Swift Vengeance
  35. 1970 Midterms Pt 1
  36. 1970 Midterms Pt 2
  37. 92nd Congress
  38. Wallace v. Congress
  39. Tale of Four Governors
  40. Humanitarian Crises
  41. International Terrorism
  42. Yom Kippur War
  43. Early Primaries
  44. Endgame
  45. South Asian Snapshot
  46. The Tiger and the Samurai
  47. Healthcare Speech
  48. 1972 Primaries
  49. 1972 Election
  50. 1972 Downballot
  51. 93rd Congress
  52. SCOTUS
  53. Monday in Albion Pt. 1
  54. Monday in Albion Pt. 2
  55. Amcare
  56. 1973 Elections
  57. Ideology
  58. United States v. Fonda
  59. Crossroads of the World
  60. 1974 Midterms
  61. A Red Carnation
  62. 94th Congress
  63. 1975 White House Correspondent's Dinner
  64. The Man in the High Castle
  65. Early Primaries
  66. A Continent of Caesars
  67. 1976 Primaries
  68. 1976 Election
  69. 1976 Downballot
  70. 95th Congress
  71. Up North and Down South
  72. Focoism
  73. 1970s Pop Culture
  74. The Gipper
  75. NYC Mayoral Election, 1977
  76. Reagan Doctrine
  77. The Last King of Scotland
  78. Bewaring
  79. Interlude
  80. Star Trek
  81. 1978 Midterms
  82. 96th Congress
  83. A Red Caesar
  84. Wisconsin Recall
  85. Detente
  86. Coolidgervative
  87. People's City
  88. Sahare Sorkh
  89. Guilty
  90. Fertile Crescent
  91. Early Primaries
  92. La Fusion
  93. Ghosts of the Tawantinsuyu
  94. The Lazarus of Europe
  95. 1980 Primaries
  96. 1980 Election
  97. 1980 Downballot
  98. 97th Congress
  99. Waltzing Matilda
  100. Reagan's Second Term
  101. Freyism
  102. Onward Christian Soldier
  103. Vive la Republique
  104. Allahu Akbar
  105. Return of the Bull Moose
  106. 1982 Midterms
  107. 98th Congress
  108. Only JFK Can Go to Asia
  109. Commonwealth Blue
  110. Bull Market
  111. Photo Finish
  112. Squeaky Fromme
  113. Early Primaries
  114. 1984 White House Correspondent's Dinner
  115. 1984 Primaries
  116. Two Meetings
  117. 1984 Election
  118. 1984 Downballot
  119. 99th Congress
  120. List of Governors
  121. Article V
  122. President Rummy
  123. Bork Court (1986)
  124. Glasnost
  125. Teutone
  126. Dealing with a Hutu Headache
  127. 1986 Midterms
  128. 100th Congress
  129. Resignation
  130. Storm in the Kremlin
  131. A Growing Problem with Ethiopia
  132. Spring on the Indus
  133. Blockbuster
  134. Divided Government
  135. NATO Reacts
  136. In Rome's Shadow
  137. Election Eve
  138. Freiheitsreich
  139. A Bear Awakened
  140. Cascade Justice
  141. 1988 Primaries
 
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New Deal Coalition Retained:

A Sixth Party System Wikibox Timeline



A General’s Adjutant
No one could deny that the months following November 1956 were good times to be a Republican. After twenty years of Democratic dominance – more or less – the first Republican President since the dark days of the Great Depression had been re-elected in a landslide. States in the south that had been dominated by the Democratic Party such as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida to name three had thrown their weight behind Dwight D. Eisenhower. Though the Senate and the House remained stubbornly Democratic (the one downer to the otherwise jubilant Republicans), margins of 49-47 and 234-201 respectively were decent. A far cry from the massive margins the New Deal Coalition had held during FDR’s time.

All in all, nothing could dampen the celebratory mood in the Grand Old Party’s circles as members hoisted their drinks to four more years of General Ike Eisenhower and Dick Nixon.

These were all known to Chief of Staff Sherman Adams, the former Governor of New Hampshire and considered the power behind the Eisenhower Administration. With the former Supreme Allied Commander’s military service never truly leaving him in his foray into civilian life, the position had taken an almost military model. Adams had basic control over White House operations, all contact with the President – apart from Nixon and senior cabinet officials – having to go through him first. A warrior for the moderate wing of the GOP, it was common knowledge among the Washington crowd of his importance.

He was the punchline of a widely circulated joke:

Two Democrats were talking and one said "Wouldn't it be terrible if Eisenhower died and Nixon became President?" The other replied "Wouldn't it be terrible if Sherman Adams died and Eisenhower became President!"

With this knowledge, the events of January 9th, 1957 were quite ignominious for someone of his influence. Driving along the darkened streets of the Capitol, blanketed with the winter snow, the weak lights of the vehicle’s headlamps had no way of detecting the slick patch of ice that had formed on the road. Losing friction with the road, the vehicle skidded straight into oncoming traffic and met a truck head on. When police arrived on scene, Sherman Adams was discovered in the driver’s seat, his body bruised and his neck broken. Dead.

Only weeks before the inauguration, the excitement of the new term was clouded with mourning. However, even the high regard the President and his advisors had for Adams didn’t end the obvious need for a Chief of Staff. It wouldn’t besmirch his memory to appoint a successor as soon as possible.

After a series of heated discussions and a closed door meeting between himself and Vice President Nixon, on January 17th, 1957 Eisenhower announced the appointment of longtime Republican donor and distinguished Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Alan Dulles as his new Chief of Staff, passing CIA to the equally competent Richard M. Bissell, Jr. Personally above reproach, Dulles quickly began working with Richard Nixon to push and protect the political goals of the second Eisenhower term. Most things remained the same, but the tension among the varying wings of the party caused by the hard edged Adams were visibly less taxing – a move that would prove a blessing for the Republican Party.

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In the Leg, Not the Gut: The 1958 Midterms

1957 was a grueling year for the Eisenhower Administration. The death of Sherman Adams early on would later be viewed as an inauspicious start, given the many crises that the President and his cabinet would have to endure. Already dealing with the fallout of the Hungarian Revolution and Suez Crisis, Eisenhower began his second term with repairing the image of US strength in the face of an increasingly bombastic Nikita Khrushchev flexing the military muscle of the Red Army. The “Special Relationship” with the United Kingdom began to repair under the new British Prime Minister Harold McMillan, and further aid and military advisors were sent to South Vietnam and other anti-Communist governments facing Eastern Block pressure.

As the year went on, the Administration was rocked by twin punches – one international and one domestic. The case of the “Little Rock Nine” galvanized the attention of the nation, civil rights leaders throwing their support behind the Eisenhower White House for their principled stand in sending soldiers of the 101st Airborne to protect the students, while the segregationist cause rallied behind Governor Orval Faubus. Observers of the drama could reasonably expect Civil Rights issues to dominate much of the nation’s agenda for the near future.

However, the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the USSR truly shook the nation to its core. Having been assured by the actions of Eisenhower and the Pentagon in maintaining a nuclear edge over the Soviet Union, the communist advances into space called all of those efforts into question. Lead by the Special Studies Project headed by Republican Nelson A. Rockefeller (then running for Governor of New York), critics began assailing the President for allowing a so-called “Missile Gap” to be formed in favor of the Russians.

All of this would have likely seriously damaged the administration had it not been for the actions of Vice President Nixon and Chief of Staff Dulles. Coordinating a strategy with the President, Eisenhower forcibly responded to the critics, detailing (to within reason) the true nature of the military situation which showed a large nuclear superiority over the USSR. Policy-wise, increased attention was given to the two US military launch programs, the Navy’s Vanguard and the Army’s Juno. Dulles having convinced Eisenhower beforehand to invest more defense funds in the programs, Project Vanguard successfully launched America’s first satellite into orbit on December 6, 1957 with minimal complications. This was followed by Juno I one month later, both celebrated by the public.

upload_2016-6-21_19-28-39.png

Though America projected a strong front of catching up with the USSR, White House officials understood what was at stake. After signing the act which removed jurisdiction of space exploration from the military to the civilian National Aeronautics and Space Administration, on August 24th, 1958 Eisenhower took the podium of a joint session of Congress and announced America’s goal in the Space Race.

“With the lead possessed by the communists, now is not the time for half measures or incremental gains. America as a nation can accomplish anything, and America does not think small. Therefore, we will go to the moon. We will secure the moon for the cause of Liberty!”

Looking back, it was apparent that the Republicans would lose seats in 1958. A small recession at the beginning of the year had only reminded Americans of Republican association with hard economic times, and right-to-work pushes only angered union voters into high turnout. The senate seats up for election were glut with GOP gains from the 1946 and 1952 landslides, and even the most optimistic of GOPers were predicting modest losses.

In the end, the lack of any major scandals, successful launches of Vanguard and Juno, and the electrifying “Secure the Moon” speech by President Eisenhower staunched the bleeding at just the right time. Richard Nixon later recalled saying to Alan Dulles and his brother – Secretary of State John Foster Dulles – “It’s bad, but not a disaster. Like getting shot in the leg rather than the gut.”

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Even heavily Republican Northeastern and Midwestern states saw Democratic gains. Several major losses included that of noted conservative John W. Bricker (R-OH) and that of former Senate Minority Leader William F. Knowland (R-CA), who’s attempt to switch offices with Governor Goodwin Knight led to both being lost to the Democrats.

However, narrow holds in NY, MI, WY, MD, and NJ kept the party afloat. Conservative Republican J. Bracken Lee won in a landslide over Frank Moss in Utah, while Eisenhower’s popularity netted one of AK’s senate seats and stemmed the bleeding in the House.

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With Hawaii’s entrance into the union in 1959, the Senate held a 60-40 D majority and the House a 255-181 D majority. The Republican seats held on to – along with the wave of new, moderate to liberal democrats – would prove instrumental for the events of the near future.
 

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Good start: My only real issue is that the wikiboxes are a little messy. They seem to be a little bit smaller then normal, and there's some linking issues (purple text in a few areas, the Senate box having a blue Lyndon Johnson on one side and a purple Lyndon B. Johnson on the other). Otherwise things are good.
 
Good luck. Subbed. Can't wait for more.
Thank you.

Good start: My only real issue is that the wikiboxes are a little messy. They seem to be a little bit smaller then normal, and there's some linking issues (purple text in a few areas, the Senate box having a blue Lyndon Johnson on one side and a purple Lyndon B. Johnson on the other). Otherwise things are good.
This was my first time posting on the site. Do you know how to properly post the wikiboxes?
 
So you've gutted the 1958 midterm gains? Let's see what happens.

Also, I wonder how this saves the New Deal Coalition. For me, the way to do that is to avoid Vietnam.
 
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I'm loving it so far! Keep it coming Congressman, I'm looking forward to where you will take this
I know you'll love what comes next :)
Absolutely lovely - please, please do continue.
You are only too kind :)
Always been interested in how this could have happened - subbed.
Why thank you. The Sherman Adams scandal and the haphazard response to Sputnik really hurt Ike in the latter half of his presidency. Eliminating both should help.
So you've gutted the 1958 midterm gains? Let's see what happens.

Also, I wonder how this saves the New Deal Coalition. For me, the way to do that is to avoid Vietnam.
The Democrats still gained massively, and new members such as Eugene McCarthy will play a much larger role than in OTL.
Basically, the butterflies will become apparent in the next update. To retain the New Deal Coalition the Democrats need to be able to retain the support of the white working class ;)
 
Also, I wonder how this saves the New Deal Coalition. For me, the way to do that is to avoid Vietnam.

Vietnam alone didn't kill the coalition, it hurt it by turning northern liberals hard anti-war, but differences over the pace of movement on Civil Rights also added to the schism between northern and southern Democrats.
 
Vietnam alone didn't kill the coalition, it hurt it by turning northern liberals hard anti-war, but differences over the pace of movement on Civil Rights also added to the schism between northern and southern Democrats.

Oh yeah. I forgot about the Southern Democrats. Well, for them, I think Hubert Humphrey and his type (who split the Dems in 1948) need to see their roles sidelined.
 
Can't wait for more. Also if you want to know how to get rid of purple text, just do something like this [[t|Everett Dirksen]] and just never go to the wiki page for the letter T :p
 
The 1960 Presidential Election

“Honestly, I never expected that my correspondence with then-Vice President Nixon would lead to such sweeping legislation being passed so quickly. While the immense opposition it had created did set us back considerably to making the rights of all men the mainstream position in our great land, the law was – in my opinion – the first move of the shifting tide in favor of our cause. I will always hold a special prayer in my heart for Richard Nixon for making it come to pass so early.”

-The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, on CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, March 30th, 1967-​

Vice President Richard M. Nixon was considered by most to be a shoo in at the GOP Convention. The Californian was instrumental in the last three years, along with Alan Dulles and Herbert Brownell, in shaping the President’s agenda (nicknamed the ‘Troika’ by the Press).

Having engaged in friendly correspondence with the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, an idea based on the up and coming civil rights leader’s discussing of the lack of black voter participation in the south – due mostly to dramatic cases of voter intimidation by official policies and paramilitary threats. After deliberations with the Dulles brothers, Nixon moved forward with creating a plan to address this. And solidify African-American support for the Republican Party in what was looking to be a close election.

upload_2016-6-22_23-56-10.png

With the blessing of the Troika, President Eisenhower and the Republican leadership pushed for the Civil Rights in Voting Act of 1960, which would basically give the Department of Justice the strict authority to enforce the 15th Amendment nationwide. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson and Speaker Sam Rayburn, both personally in favor to the legislation, being southern Democrats knew that they would commit political suicide if they voted in favor. While other Civil Rights bills had been previously filibustered to death, Eisenhower had made this the lynchpin of his final two years and lobbied furiously with both congress and the country. Knowing there would be a backlash either way, Rayburn and Johnson split the difference. The bills would be put to a vote, and each would vote against in order to preserve the caucus and prevent another ‘Dixiecrat’ candidacy – considering the African-American vote was coalescing around Nixon, the Democrats couldn’t lose any remaining block of voters.

The act passed both houses despite narrow majorities of Democrats opposed and a seventeen hour filibuster by Florida Senator George Smathers. Reactions varied from a jubilant crowd headlined by the Rev. Martin Luther King outside the Capitol to violent riots in the Deep South egged on by Orval Faubus, Ross Barnett, and a new face, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace. Civil Rights advocates descended upon the South to begin registering African American voters, most to the benefit of the Republican Party.

After only a smattering of favorite son votes against him in the primaries, Richard Nixon’s nomination was virtually considered fait accompli. All that remained was who would be chosen as his Vice President. While Nixon was said to have favored former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr due to his considering of foreign policy as the likely sword for which to defeat the Democrats, a day’s deliberations between Murray Choitner, Robert Finch, Alan Dulles, and even President Eisenhower decided that to concede domestic issues was to concede too much to the Democrats – especially considering the massive battle over Civil Rights that was brewing within the Democratic ranks.

Remembering his role as the bridge between the conservative and moderate wings in 1952, Nixon knew he had to unite the two factions of the GOP. One choice would accomplish that beyond a shadow of a doubt: New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

new-york-governor-nelson-rockefeller-and-former-vice-president-richard-d18gye.jpg

Thusly, Finch, Dulles, Senator Kenneth Keating, and John Dulles were asked to approach the popular Rockefeller. After hours of cajoling and reasoned pleas, the formerly reluctant governor accepted Nixon’s offer. Drafting a platform continuing the Eisenhower program, a firm stance against the Soviet Union, and a strong backing of Civil Rights, the convention virtuously unanimously nominated Richard Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller for the Presidency.

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Meanwhile, the Democratic nomination didn’t go quite as smoothly. While looked upon as the youthful outsider by the press, the organizational frontrunner was the charming Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Owning the support of much of the northeastern establishment and the Labor Unions, his at least making the second place in the convention ballot was guaranteed.

The main opposition of southern and western delegates pushed Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson to run, the Senator being more than willing but undecided of the timing. Many advisors and the Senator’s own judgement suggested waiting for Kennedy to be bled in the primaries and to push at the convention, but Jim Rowe – his friend and later campaign manager – managed to convince him of the need to run in the primaries and not let Kennedy’s organization build a significant lead.

Coming in second to Kennedy in Wisconsin – edging out Hubert Humphrey and forcing him out – Johnson’s campaign easily built momentum with a narrow win in Illinois after the endorsement of former nominee Adlai Stevenson – who decided not to run – and a strong win in West Virginia. The remaining primaries were split, making the race jump ball at the convention in Los Angeles.

The first ballot showed strength for Kennedy, the Senator sweeping the Northeast and most of the Midwestern delegates. He was denied a majority however, Lyndon Johnson netting most of the remainder but with several favorite son candidates such as Smathers and Oregon Senator Wayne Morse getting decent blocks. Surrogates immediately descended on the small candidate blocks to get the narrow win on the second or third ballots.

After seven ballots the lines barely budged, but when they did they inched slowly to the Massachusetts Senator. What eventually doomed the Kennedy campaign were two factors. Firstly, the Southern delegations decided en mass that Johnson was the more amenable choice than the Catholic, pro-civil rights Kennedy. Secondly, the position of Kennedy’s younger brother Robert as the former’s campaign manager angered influential Teamster’s Union President James “Jimmy” Hoffa. Bobby Kennedy having helped the Senate investigate Hoffa several years before, seeing his chance the bombastic leader of the Teamsters threw himself into pushing delegates for Johnson, cashing favors left and right – along with other, less glamorous methods. The ninth ballot showed both within fifty votes of the other.

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The endorsements of Eleanor Roosevelt and Wayne Morse finally cleared the hurdle for Johnson on the tenth ballot, netting him the nomination. Afterwards, Kennedy gave a glowing speech for party unity while Johnson selected Morse as his running mate to undercut Republicans in the West. Flexing their strength, southern Democrats pushed through a softening of the pro-Civil Rights plank introduced by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina.

lyndon-johnson-accepting-the-democratic-nomination-for-president-at-picture-id525583464

Polls immediately showed a dead heat, 48-48. A long and arduous campaign lied ahead.
 
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