Off the Beaten Path: A Collaborative Timeline

This is a collaborative timeline based off some ideas for Points of Divergence that I had that are a bit unconventional but interesting nevertheless. I'd like to take it bit by bit, decade by decade, and have some fun. I want to keep it fairly realistic but keep with the spirit of having POD's of the more unexpected sort.

Here are the first dates to kick this off:

December 21st 1908: After been rejected from art school twice, enduring the passing of his mother one year earlier, and now having learned of his unrequited love Stephanie Isak's engagement to another man, a young Adolf Hitler sits in his apartment and shakes his fist at the ceiling, wondering how this could happen to him. At that moment he hears a knock at the door. When he opens it he discovers a pair of missionaries, who identify themselves as Mormons. After a moment of hesitation, he invites them in.

April 3rd 1909: Adolf Hitler is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by Johann Huber.

November 18th 1909: Adolf Hitler becomes Branch President of the newly established Vienna branch of the LDS Church.

August 4th 1917: Army draftee Henry Darger departs Camp Logan, TX for England as part of the American Expeditionary Forces.

September 20th, 1917: While attending mass, Henry Darger makes the acquaintance of a certain John Tolkien. The two discover a mutual interest in poetry and fiction, and begin a friendship that will continue in written letters following Darger's return to the United States.

December 3rd 1919: Shortly after publishing his first work, Spirits in Bondage, CS Lewis receives a letter from American author Howard Phillips Lovecraft expressing his admiration for the piece and its themes which helped him deal with the institutionalization of his mother. Grateful to have found someone interested in his work, Lewis begins a lasting correspondence with Lovecraft.
 
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November 5th, 1912: Oscar Underwood is Elected president of the United States, Republicans win no electoral votes

November 3rd, 1914: Progressive party takes 75% of GOP Seats, making the Progressives the main rival to the Democrats. Many Conservative Republicans unwilling to flock to the Democrats or Progressives form the Coalition Party

July 27th, 1915: President Underwood dies after drinking un-sanitized water, VP Eugene Foss becomes president

January 23rd, 1916: President Foss says, that "in no circumstances" shall he run in 1916

June 16th, 1916: Democrats nominate Champ Clark for President

November 7th, 1916: Election Day:

Robert M. La Follette/John Parker (Progressive), 267 Electoral votes, 43.15% of the Popular vote
Champ Clark/Simeon Baldwin (Democratic), 260 Electoral votes, 36.55% of the Popular vote
Charles W. Fairbanks/Warren G. Harding (Coalition), 4 Electoral votes, 20.30% of the Popular vote
 
Information of the 3 main parties:

Progressive Party: Centre Left, Liberalism, Social and Fiscal Liberalism
Democratic Party: Centre to Right wing, Social Conservatism, Fiscal Liberalism
Coalition Party: Centre to Centre Right, Social Liberalism, Fiscal Conservatism
 
November 5th, 1912: Oscar Underwood is Elected president of the United States, Republicans win no electoral votes

November 3rd, 1914: Progressive party takes 75% of GOP Seats, making the Progressives the main rival to the Democrats. Many Conservative Republicans unwilling to flock to the Democrats or Progressives form the Coalition Party

July 27th, 1915: President Underwood dies after drinking un-sanitized water, VP Eugene Foss becomes president

January 23rd, 1916: President Foss says, that "in no circumstances" shall he run in 1916

June 16th, 1916: Democrats nominate Champ Clark for President

November 7th, 1916: Election Day:

Robert M. La Follette/John Parker (Progressive), 267 Electoral votes, 43.15% of the Popular vote
Champ Clark/Simeon Baldwin (Democratic), 260 Electoral votes, 36.55% of the Popular vote
Charles W. Fairbanks/Warren G. Harding (Coalition), 4 Electoral votes, 20.30% of the Popular vote

This is pretty good stuff, I like it. That being said, my original idea was that WWI proceeded much like OTL (hence the American Expeditionary Forces being deployed). I'm flexible on the idea, but how would you propose La Follette gets the US involved? He was pretty against the war from the beginning.
 
This is pretty good stuff, I like it. That being said, my original idea was that WWI proceeded much like OTL (hence the American Expeditionary Forces being deployed). I'm flexible on the idea, but how would you propose La Follette gets the US involved? He was pretty against the war from the beginning.

Probably the same way Wilson did. Wilson in 1916 ran on a anti-war campaign, but soon just had to declare war. Same with La Follette, with the Zimmerman Telegram and U-Boats sinking ships, La Follette will just have no choice, and if he still is anti-war, well, then his presidency will be a literal hell.
 
Probably the same way Wilson did. Wilson in 1916 ran on a anti-war campaign, but soon just had to declare war. Same with La Follette, with the Zimmerman Telegram and U-Boats sinking ships, La Follette will just have no choice, and if he still is anti-war, well, then his presidency will be a literal hell.

Okay, that sounds good. Would you mind writing those parts out? You would probably do it more justice than I can. I'll post a few more PODs to keep the ball rolling.

February 21st 1917: Tsar Nicholas II, along with his wife and children, departs an increasingly chaotic Russia to seek asylum in Denmark with his mother's family. His mother and sister will soon join him in exile.

March 18th 1917: Disillusioned with Lenin's revolution, recently released revolutionary Fanny Kaplan packs her bags and heads west towards Germany.

April 15th 1917: Russian officers Grigory Semyonov and Roman von Ungern-Sternberg are captured by Ottoman forces in Iran following the annihilation of their unit near Urmia.
 
La Follette voted against the war OTL, so I think a land invasion may be the breaking point

January 11th, 1917: The Zimmermann Telegram is sent

January 13th, 1917: Mexico sends a telegram back, accepting the offer

January 29th, 1917: Mexico declares war on the US

March 4th, 1917: Robert M. La Follete is inaugurated as the 30th president of the United States. In his speech, he calls for a "united front" to defeat the "snake that comes from our southern borders.
 
January 30th 1917: Mexican troops catch General Pershing and the Mexican Punitive Expedition by surprise. The American forces manage to pull away with few losses, but Pershing dies after being struck by a stray bullet. Still shocked by the declaration of war, President Foss contacts President Carranza, who curtly tells him that Mexico has finally had enough of the meddling and imperialism of their northern neighbor.

February 1st 1917: With the approval of congress, the United States officially declares war on Mexico. Germany issues a formal declaration of their intent to supply the Mexicans in the war against the United States. Mexican naval infantry seize American ships in Veracruz, while army forces launch a raid on El Paso.

February 2nd 1917: President Foss charges General Frederick Funston with repulsing the Mexican invasion force. Declaring a state of emergency, Foss and Congress authorize the draft into effect. Following an artillery barrage, Mexican troops cross the border.

February 8th 1917: After months of pressure following Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare, the decision is made by Congress to declare war on Germany in light of its instigation and support of Mexican aggression.

February 10th 1917: The chief spearhead of the Mexican invasion force is defeated in Texas by Funston and the US army forces. Nearly 10,000 Mexican soldiers are captured.

February 11th 1917: Funston informs Foss that he does not expect the war with Mexico to last longer than three months, and Foss and his cabinet decide that the United States will focus the bulk of its effort towards the war in Europe.
 
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