Of Valleys and Mountains

[magicmikey]

Oh boy, look who's back.

'Sup?

What's this, another unoriginal idea?

I hope not.

You still haven't answered my question.

Oh, it's just a timeline that follows an Alternate 1960 RNC.

Interesting....

I was thinking the same thing.

Will you upload regularly?

No.

Oh...

Don't fret.

Don't mess this up.

Roger roger.​

 

[magicmikey]

Foundation Laying​

The 1960 election was poised to go down as one of the closest elections in American history. Following the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California, the Republicans assembled at their convention in Chicago. A symbolic choice to hold their convention, as the Windy City was where a century ago the Republicans nominated the man who would preserve the Union and become an idolized figure of the party.

While Vice President Richard Nixon’s nomination was guaranteed, many wondered whom would accompany the Californian on the ticket. Nixon’s list of potential candidates was long and ranged from U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. to former NATO Supreme Commander Alfred M. Gruenther. The Vice President even considered Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) who gave a speech calling on fellow conservatives to take back the party.

In the end, Nixon decided to go with Pennsylvania Senator Hugh Scott to appeal to moderate and liberal Republicans, to swing Pennsylvania to the Republican column, and to put the Democrats on the defensive in regards to domestic policy. Hugh Scott was nominated despite attempts by conservatives to get one of their own on the ticket.

With the Democrats and Republicans respective tickets in order, it was time to hit the campaign trail. Despite attempts to dissuade Nixon, the Vice President decided to campaign in the newly admitted states of Alaska and Hawaii. [1] Scott decided to spend more time campaign in swing states that were crucial to the Republican ticket, such as Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Then came the debates. For the first time ever, the two major candidates would debate one another on live television. Nixon at first protested the idea of wearing makeup, but was eventually persuaded to wear it. [2] Both Kennedy and Nixon came off as competent and calm. A common theme of post debate polls showed that those who heard the debate over the radio say that Nixon won outright. While those who watched the debate of television either said Kennedy had won. [3] The two men would debate three more times in which observers say Nixon won the second and third debates, while the fourth and final debate was considered a draw with both men performing their best.

November 8 came and both candidates watched the results come in and by midnight, the election was still too close to call. The New York Times even published a headline with the phrase "Kennedy Elected President" despite the results still not certain. In the end, the final results still shocked the nation...

​

Notes
[1] Nixon decided to do this IOTL, which ultimately cost him valuable time in swing states.

[2] Nixon refused to wear makeup IOTL. ITTL, with a little more persuation, Nixon decides to wear it.

[3] Despite not sweating with the makeup on, Nixon was still uncomfortable and looked around the room as IOTL. This leads to television viewers believing Kennedy won the debate.

 

[Aaaaasima]

this looks promising

very

promising

 

[Oppo]

Me likey.

 

[Israel]

Looks interesting

 

[magicmikey]

this looks promising

very

promising

Me likey.

Looks interesting

 

[magicmikey]

Post-Electoral Mayhem​

By the narrowest of margins, Vice President Richard Nixon had become the first sitting Vice President to win the Presidency since Martin Van Buren in 1836. The Kennedy campaign tried to persuade the Senator to seek a recount in a few close states, but the Senator gave a concession speech congratulating the President-elect and looked "forward to working with him." [1] Nixon's acceptance speech made little reference to the campaign and instead chose to focus on the future and his plans to "keep America strong at home and abroad." Despite winning the Presidency, the Republicans failed to take the House or the Senate. However, the GOP managed to make solid gains in the House and gained three seats in the Upper House. [2]

On January 20, 1961, Richard Milhous Nixon was inaugurated as 35th President of the United States. Nixon's inaugural speech was noted for themes of keeping American safe through its strength and spreading American freedoms around the world.

"I oppose the ideals of Communism. However, I oppose all forms of tyranny. Whether is be Communist or Fascist, we must stand against all forms of oppression and seek to expand freedom to all of humanity."

Nixon's cabinet mostly included holdovers from the Eisenhower administration with some remaining in the same position while others were shuffled around. Treasury Secretary Robert B. Anderson became the new Secretary of State, Secretary of State Christian Herter was now Secretary of the Treasury, and Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell was now Secretary of Defense. [3]

One issue that would come to engulf Nixon's presidency was the Civil Rights Movement. Almost a month after the narrow election, the Supreme Court in Boynton v. Virginia ruled in a 7-2 decision that racial segregation in public transportation was illegal under the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act. Despite the solid court ruling and the recent Cooper v. Aaron decision, southern states continued to keep their public transportation segregated. This soon culminated in the Freedom Riders. The Nixon Administration attempted to remain neutral on the issue by criticizing the angry mobs for attacking defenseless individuals while also calling the Freedom Riders unpatriotic for embarrassing the United States on the world stage. [4] The United States even received the criticism of the Soviet Union. It was clear that Nixon's presidency would not be an easy one, but he was prepared to take it on.

Notes

[1] IOTL, Nixon's campaign tried to persuade the Vice President to demand a recount, but he declined. Kennedy does the same in an attempt to save face for future plans.

[2] In addition to winning the same races as OTL, the Republicans also win races in these districts/states:

Senate:
Montana
North Dakota

Democratic: 62 (-3)
Republican: 38 (+3)

House:
California 22
Illinois 12
Kentucky 3
Missouri 11
New York 1
New York 12
Washington 7

Democratic: 255 (-28)
Republican: 182 (+29)
Independent: 0 (-1)

[3] Robert B. Anderson served as Navy Secretary and Deputy Defense Secretary in OTL, Christian Herter went on to serve as Trade Representative in the Kennedy Administration in OTL, and James P. Mitchell served in the War Department in the '40's. So I think that these men being move to these positions ATL is fitting.

[4] Kennedy criticized the Riders in OTL. Given Nixon's reserved position of Civil Rights and OTL remarks towards protesters, a similar response isn't far-fetched.

 

[Knightmare]

calling the Freedom Riders unpatriotic for embarrassing the United States on the world stage.

That is going to backfire.

 

[magicmikey]

Trouble in Paradise​

One of the problems that had been a holdover from the Eisenhower administration was the issue of Cuba. In 1953, the island nation had fallen into revolution by the 26th of July Movement led by revolutionary Fidel Castro. By 1959, the Movement had consolidated power over the entire island. President Eisenhower had approved plans to fund and support counter-revolutionary actions against Castro's government. When Nixon was elected in 1960, he planned to take a hard line stance on Castro and plans were immediately being drawn for an invasion of the island. In order to keep an potential American involvement secret knowing that the Soviet Union would likely respond militarily, the CIA trained Cuban exiles to send a counter-revolutionary force to retake the island from Castro's rule. Despite his hard line against Cuba, President Nixon walked back certain military aid the CIA had deemed "necessary" for the invasion to be successful and to keep the United States' involvement inconspicuous.[1]

Overall, the invasion was a failure. A lack of air support as well as incompetence among the counter-revolutionaries led to the invasion failing after only two days. U.S. foreign policy and the Nixon administration had been embarrassed and Nixon was not happy. When speaking with Vice President Hugh Scott, the Pennsylvanian responded similarly to the U-2 incident in 1960.[2] Three days after the failed invasion, Nixon held a press conference in which he made little reference to the invasion and instead reiterated his dedication to fighting tyranny across the world. After the failure of Cuba, the United States beefed up operations in Latin America to support American backed regimes.

Notes

[1] Kennedy did this IOTL. Nixon most definitely would of done this to avoid angering the Soviet Union.

[2] "We have violated the eleventh Commandment - Thou Shall Not Get Caught."

 

[Nazi Space Spy]

I was reading the Oral Histories of the Nixon administration on campus today. Nixon was focused solely on competence and administrative skills when hiring people, and he often reshuffled people to other departments and brought new people in to both keep new ideas incoming and to prevent anyone within the cabinet from building their own machine within the various departments and federal agencies. So moving Anderson and Herter would have been classic Nixon.

 

[magicmikey]

Curtain of Iron and Court Promotions​

A growing concern of Khrushchev's Kremlin was the issue of East Berlin. Since 1949, the city of Berlin had been divided between the Soviet occupied East Berlin and the Western occupied West Berlin. With the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) the city of Berlin remained divided. East Berlin had begun to experience an emigration crisis as nearly 20% of the East German population had emigrated by 1961. To combat this, Khrushchev's Kremlin began preparations to build a barrier to keep the populace where it was and stop the emigration crisis. This barrier would become the infamous "Berlin Wall" and would be a symbol of the Cold War for years to come. President Nixon immediately decried the wall as violating the free will of the people of East Berlin, but construction continued with only the occasional criticism from the Nixon White House.

As 1962 rolled around, Nixon would be able to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court. Associate Justice Charles Evans Whittaker, who joined the court in 1957 following retirement of Justice Stanley Reed, had suffered a nervous breakdown which he attributed to the extensive workload that came with being an Associate Justice. At the assistance of Chief Justice Earl Warren, Whittaker retired for the court which left a vacancy for President Nixon to fill. Nixon decided to go with D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Warren E. Burger to succeed Whittaker. Despite Democrats having a 62 seat majority, Burger was easily confirmed by the Senate. [1] As most of the justices on the Supreme Court were in their sixties with some (such as Chief Justice Earl Warren) in their seventies, it seemed inevitable that President Nixon would be appointing more justices if reelected in 1964.

Notes

[1] Despite similar majorities IOTL 91st Congress, Burger was still confirmed 74-3 with many Democrats voting in favor. With many of the same members serving in the 87th both IOTL and ITTL, Burger is confirmed in a similar fashion.

 

[magicmikey]

I was reading the Oral Histories of the Nixon administration on campus today. Nixon was focused solely on competence and administrative skills when hiring people, and he often reshuffled people to other departments and brought new people in to both keep new ideas incoming and to prevent anyone within the cabinet from building their own machine within the various departments and federal agencies. So moving Anderson and Herter would have been classic Nixon.

Just look at poor Elliot Richardson!

 

[magicmikey]

While I am sorry to say that TTL is officially dead, I do have another project in the works.