Photos from Featherston's Confederacy/ TL-191

[Jett-Power]

Morris Sheppard Vice President of the Confederate States (1928-1934)

Before becoming Vice President of the CSA, Sheppard was the Governor of Texas on the eve of the Great War and was elected to the Senate (class two) in 1917. While the Freedom Party was rising in popularity in Texas, Sheppard was still popular in the state. As a result, he successfully kept his seat in the Senate in 1923, even as the state turned into a Freedom Party stronghold.
In 1927, after the Supreme Court allowed incumbent: Charles Burton Mitchel III to run again, Sheppard announced that he'd challenge Mitchel in the primary election. However, he lost the primary to Mitchel. Mitchel, wanting to retake Texas in the upcoming election, decided to make Sheppard his running mate. Sheppard was convinced to become Mitchel's running mate due to his hatred of the Freedom Party, and Mitchel's promise of not running in 1933.
In November of that year, however, Texas voted for the Featherston/Koenig ticket again due to the Freedom Party's campaign in Texas saying that Sheppard betrayed the people of Texas. Despite this, the Mitchel/Sheppard ticket won in a landslide.
On March 4, 1928, Sheppard became Vice President of the CSA. However, when the Great Depression hit the CSA, Sheppard received some blame in Texas, with the Freedom Party saying that Sheppard betrayed Texas even more for not trying to get Congress to impeach Mitchel. In early 1933, Sheppard declined to be the candidate and endorsed Samuel Longstreet.
After Featherston's inauguration in 1934, Sheppard "disappeared" from the CSA. Historians agree that the Freedom Party killed Sheppard, although it's not agreed if he was killed in broad daylight or if he was killed in a concentration camp.
Many historians believe that Sheppard becoming Mitchel's running mate in the 1927 election made Texas switch to the Freedom Party. Before the 1927 election, while the Freedom Party had the Governor's office, House and Senate seats, both state and federal, were a toss-up between the Freedom Party, Whigs, and Rad Libs. However, the Freedom Party took Sheppard's seat when a special election was held in Texas after Sheppard was made Vice President of the Confederacy. However, some believe that it was the Great Depression that caused Texas to entirely switch to the Freedom Party, as the 1929 midterm elections saw the Freedom Party take most of the seats in the House, state and federal, class one federal Senate seat, and the seats in the state Senate.

 

[Jett-Power]

Joseph Taylor Robinson, 1927 Radical Liberal Presidential candidate.

Allen Joseph Ellender, Robinson's running mate.

 

[Jett-Power]

Nathaniel Barksdale Dial, Ainsworth Layne's running mate in the 1921 Confederate States presidential election.

 

[Jett-Power]

James M. Cox, the 1924 Democratic Presidental candidate.

Early career
In 1912 Cox was elected the governor of Ohio and was successfully re-elected in 1914 due to his support for the Great War. In 1916, Cox was elected to the Senate. Around early 1920 Cox announced that he would run for President in the 1920 election.

Opposition to Theodore Roosevelt's 1920 campaign
However, incumbent: Theodore Roosevelt announced that he would run in the 1920 election. Cox opposed it, unlike most Democrats, and announced that he'll still run for President.

Button used by Cox supporters in the 1920 Democratic primary. Democrats for Sinclair would use similar buttons during the fall campaign.

Ultimately the primary was between Cox and Roosevelt, and Roosevelt defeated Cox. Afterward, Cox endorsed Sinclair for the 1920 election and announced that he'd run in 1924.

1924 election
Sinclair defeated Roosevelt in November of 1920. While Cox was one of the few Democrats who worked with the Sinclair administration, he disagreed with the administration's decision to cut the military's budget and forced George Custer into retirement. In the summer of 1924, Canada rebelled against the United States. The revolt was crushed, but the Canadians were let off easy. While he praised the administration for crushing the revolt , Cox criticized it for letting the Canadians off easy. Nevertheless, Cox was elected in the primary as many believed that he was right in voicing opposition against Roosevelt's 1920 campaign. Cox then chose Massachusetts Governor (and Democratic candidate in 1928 and 1932): Calvin Coolidge as his running mate.

Coolidge in 1919.

Cox campaigned to admit the former Canadian provinces and territories into the Union to stop future uprisings, put a hard stance on the Confederacy, bring the military budget up, and keep up close ties with Germany. While many Americans were annoyed with the Canadians being let off easy and liked Cox's foreign policies, Sinclair won re-election due to the popular domestic reforms.

1924 election
Blue- Democrat- Cox/Coolidge
Dark Red- Socialist- Sinclair/Blackford
Other
Green-CSA
White-Occupied states

Post-1924
After the election of 1924, Cox retired from politics. He endorsed Coolidge's campaign in 1928 and 1932 but opposed Herbert Hoover's 1936 campaign. Cox opposed the Richmond Agreement and endorsed Robert Taft's 1940 campaign. During Operation Blackbeard, Cox was killed in a bombing raid on Columbus.

Cox's grave in Columbus, Ohio, 2023.

 

[Jett-Power]

Charles Gates Dawes, Calvin Coolidge's running mate in the 1928 election.

 

[Jett-Power]

Alf Landon, Robert Taft's running mate in the 1940 election.

 

[Jett-Power]

Fort Sumter after the 1941 air raid over Charleston.

 

[Jett-Power]

Charleston, South Carolina, 1944, after the atomic bombing of the city.

 

[Hexcron]

View attachment 809403
James M. Cox, the 1924 Democratic Presidental candidate.

Early career
In 1912 Cox was elected the governor of Ohio and was successfully re-elected in 1914 due to his support for the Great War. In 1916, Cox was elected to the Senate. Around early 1920 Cox announced that he would run for President in the 1920 election.

Opposition to Theodore Roosevelt's 1920 campaign
However, incumbent: Theodore Roosevelt announced that he would run in the 1920 election. Cox opposed it, unlike most Democrats, and announced that he'll still run for President.
View attachment 809406
Button used by Cox supporters in the 1920 Democratic primary. Democrats for Sinclair would use similar buttons during the fall campaign.

Ultimately the primary was between Cox and Roosevelt, and Roosevelt defeated Cox. Afterward, Cox endorsed Sinclair for the 1920 election and announced that he'd run in 1924.

1924 election
Sinclair defeated Roosevelt in November of 1920. While Cox was one of the few Democrats who worked with the Sinclair administration, he disagreed with the administration's decision to cut the military's budget and forced George Custer into retirement. In the summer of 1924, Canada rebelled against the United States. The revolt was crushed, but the Canadians were let off easy. While he praised the administration for crushing the revolt , Cox criticized it for letting the Canadians off easy. Nevertheless, Cox was elected in the primary as many believed that he was right in voicing opposition against Roosevelt's 1920 campaign. Cox then chose Massachusetts Governor (and Democratic candidate in 1928 and 1932): Calvin Coolidge as his running mate.

View attachment 809407
Coolidge in 1919.

Cox campaigned to admit the former Canadian provinces and territories into the Union to stop future uprisings, put a hard stance on the Confederacy, bring the military budget up, and keep up close ties with Germany. While many Americans were annoyed with the Canadians being let off easy and liked Cox's foreign policies, Sinclair won re-election due to the popular domestic reforms.

View attachment 809405
1924 election
Blue- Democrat- Cox/Coolidge
Dark Red- Socialist- Sinclair/Blackford
Other
Green-CSA
White-Occupied states

Post-1924
After the election of 1924, Cox retired from politics. He endorsed Coolidge's campaign in 1928 and 1932 but opposed Herbert Hoover's 1936 campaign. Cox opposed the Richmond Agreement and endorsed Robert Taft's 1940 campaign. During Operation Blackbeard, Cox was killed in a bombing raid on Columbus.

View attachment 809417
Cox's grave in Columbus, Ohio, 2023.

Socialists should at least be competitive in lower New England (Smith won MA and CT in '36) during such a landslide, and the Dems should probably win solid states such as KS and MT. MD and DE I also gave to the Dems based on the fact that they're border states and likely have a large military and naval industry. I like the idea behind "Democrats for Sinclair", but I don't think Cox himself would have led it, and I don't think the Democrats would nominate him if he had.

 

[Jett-Power]

I like the idea behind "Democrats for Sinclair", but I don't think Cox himself would have led it, and I don't think the Democrats would nominate him if he had.

Cox wasn't the leader of Democrats for Sinclair. Instead, the group used Cox's buttons in the primary. While TR was popular, I imagine many voters would think that the guy who said, "hey, maybe running for a third term is a bad idea," was right and/or wanted to look past that to win the next election.

Socialists should at least be competitive in lower New England (Smith won MA and CT in '36) during such a landslide, and the Dems should probably win solid states such as KS and MT. MD and DE I also gave to the Dems based on the fact that they're border states and likely have a large military and naval industry.

Fair point. I was under the assumption that all of New England were Democratic strongholds. The books didn't say how much the Socialists won in 1924, so I assumed that the results were the same as the 1924 election of OTL, just with the Republicans and Socialists switched and with the expectation of Kentucky, Houston (that's why Texas has 3 points on the map), and New England being under Democratic control.

 

[Hexcron]

Cox wasn't the leader of Democrats for Sinclair. Instead, the group used Cox's buttons in the primary. While TR was popular, I imagine many voters would think that the guy who said, "hey, maybe running for a third term is a bad idea," was right and/or wanted to look past that to win the next election.

Fair enough

Fair point. I was under the assumption that all of New England were Democratic strongholds. The books didn't say how much the Socialists won in 1924, so I assumed that the results were the same as the 1924 election of OTL, just with the Republicans and Socialists switched and with the expectation of Kentucky, Houston (that's why Texas has 3 points on the map), and New England being under Democratic control.

I would be extremely cautious of directly lining up either party of TL-191 with the parties of OTL. TL-191 Democrats have far more in common with OTL Republicans than OTL Democrats, and even then they are very different. Lower New England is a swing region by the '30s and '40s, so if Sinclair is winning in a landslide he should be the first Socialist to break through there (even if they are likely right of the nation, a-la Georgia in 2020).

 

[Jett-Power]

John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham, last senator of Confederate Kentucky and Vice President of the Confederate States (1916-1922).

Plutarco Elías Calles, Governor of Sonora by the Great War and Doroteo Arango's running mate in the 1915 Confederate States Presidential election.

 

[Jett-Power]

The 1939 Confederate States Presidential election was the last election of the republic, as the CSA was defeated and divided into military districts by the USA following the Second Great War. Jake Featherston, with Tennessee Senator: Don Partridge as his new running mate, captured every state in the CSA due to the Freedom Party's control over the voting polls. The Whig Party and the Radical Liberal Parties were allowed to run in the election, however ever since Featherston's takeover of the CSA, both parties had much of their membership driven underground or under arrest in concentration camps, and they almost zero visibility on the airwaves, in the press, or on the streets, all of which were dominated by the Freedom Party. The fall campaign was dominated by Featherston speaking to the public on the radio, and slanted ads put out by the Department of Communications.
Despite the odds against them, the Whigs and Radical Liberals tried putting up a fight against the Freedom Party. Later southern generations born after the Second Great War praised the Whig and Rad Lib candidates for their bravery.

Homer Martin Adkins of Arkansas, Whig candidate for President.

Theodore Gilmore Bilbo of Mississippi, Adkins' running mate.

John Holmes Overton of Louisiana, Radical Liberal candidate for President.

Abelardo Rodríguez Luján of Sonora, Overton's running mate.

After the election, the Whig and Radical Liberal parties were banned from the CSA, and Featherston requested that members of the now-former Whig and Radical Liberal parties fall in line with the CSA. Some members of the Whigs and Rad Libs did join the Freedom Party, while others fled to the United States. However, the Whig and Rad Lib Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates refused Featherston's demands, which inspired many to do the same. The candidates were then taken to political concentration camps and killed by the outbreak Second Great War.
Historians remember the 1939 Confederate States Presidential election as the opposition parties' last stand against Featherston's dictatorship.

 

[Jett-Power]

James Bennett McCreary, the last Governor of Confederate Kentucky.
After Kentucky was re-admitted to the Union, he was overthrown by the US army and replaced by Lieutenant Governor: Davis Lee Vidals. He was taken to a jail cell in Louisville until he died in 1918. The underground Kentucky resistance would martyr McCreary, and terms such as "remember McCreary" popped up over the years during Kentucky's time as a US state and during the Second Great War when Kentucky was reabsorbed into the Union once again.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

I know I'm not supposed to do this but discussing things with you all on this and it's sister threads has in many ways generated it. I've started a new timeline called Paths not taken over in the fandom form. Since many of the ideas it will cover come from here I hope you all enjoy it.

 

[Jett-Power]

I know I'm not supposed to do this but discussing things with you all on this and it's sister threads has in many ways generated it. I've started a new timeline called Paths not taken over in the fandom form. Since many of the ideas it will cover come from here I hope you all enjoy it.

Can you provide a link to it?

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Can you provide a link to it?

All my TL are linked in my Signature the mods don't like people to advertise in other threads

 

[Allochronian]

Hispanic Confederates in TL-191, part 3

Nicholas Rodríguez (1890-1938)
Born in Confederate Chihuahua in 1890, Nicholas Rodríguez served in the First Great War in the Basin & Range campaign. During that time, he created a friendship with another Hispanic Confederate named Pascal Orozco. He participated in the Battle of Las Cruces/Mesilla Valley and Battle of Gila Forest/Hot Springs until 1917, when he and Orozco retreated and made a last stand during the Battle of El Paso (Battle of North Franklin Mountain). His regiment surrendered when the Union took over the western part of Texas. His friend, Orozco, did not survive the battle.

After the war, Rodríguez returned to Chihuahua City and became quickly involved in politics. Initially, he started his own political party called the Actionist Revolutionary Movement, where he attempted to gain the support of Chihuahuan elites, middle class and laborers. Eventually, his party was absorbed into the Confederate Freedom Party in exchange for a high-ranking position into the Freedom Stalwarts. Rodríguez gained popularity throughout the Hispanic Confederate population and became one of Featherston's closest confidants.

The relationship between Featherston and Rodríguez began to deteriorate when it was discovered that Rodríguez espoused antisemitic viewpoints. At first, Featherston was annoyed with the Hispanic stalwart's bigotry against Jews, but his toleration ended when circumstantial evidence appeared to have linked him to the December plot.

Nicholas Rodríguez, Willy Knight and other members of the Freedom Stalwarts were later executed. Saul Joseph Goldman would later comment that Rodríguez death was a birthday gift from Featherston, though he wished it was done sooner. The failed assassination attempt would later prompt Featherston to significantly reduce the power of the Freedom Stalwarts (to the point of near non-existence) and create another paramilitary group called the Freedom Guard.

Ruben Zaldívar (1901-1973)
Born in Confederate Cuba in the town of Veguita, Zaldívar was a private citizen who had a series of odd jobs until he went into politics on behalf of the Radical Liberal Party. He attempted to run for public office in Cuba for the position of Governorship but was banned when it was revealed that he had some African ancestry. Once Featherston was elected President of the Confederate States, the Radical Liberals began to lose power. However, they had more influence in Cuba, where Featherston had the least influence and support until he "won" a second term. Zaldívar went underground and established connections with anti-Featherston organizations. He was captured and sent to Camp Colombia, where he remained until the Camp was liberated by Union forces, weeks before the Fall of Habana. Several years after the end of the Second Great War, Cuba transitioned from a military governorship to civilian rule when it became a Union state. Zaldívar ran for governor but narrowly lost to another famous Cuban freedom fighter. He died of natural causes in 1973.

Arnulf Gómez (1890-1944)
Born in Confederate Sonora, Gómez would eventually fight in the First Great War in the Basin & Range campaign. He fought during the First and Second Battle of Nogales (First and Third Battle of Santa Cruz River), Battle of Tuscon (Second Battle of Santa Cruz River), the Battle of Mesa (Battle of Gila River) and the Defense of Hermosillo (1917).

The Confederacy's defeat in the First Great War and the loss of Sonoran territory made Gómez bitter. Instead of the Radical Liberal Party, he became actively involved with the Confederate Freedom Party. Similar to Calles, he was able to climb up the ranks within the Confederate military after his recommendation to Featherston. He developed a friendship with Obregón and Calles and looked forward to the day they would be involved in a war with the Union; something they believed was inevitable. Instead of going to the front lines, however, he was assigned to be a commandant at Camp La Pasta, similar to what Jefferson Pinkard was at Camp Determination. After the end of the Second Great War, Gómez was captured, and the extent of his atrocities committed toward his prisoners was noted. Though not a death camp, the prisoners at Camp La Pasta testified that Gómez would sadistically torture them by shooting them from his tower with a sniper rifle, regardless of whether or not the wounds were fatal. One former prisoner noted that he was shot through his knees but when he received help, they too would be shot. The former prisoner had his legs amputated and was forced to scrub floors around Gómez's personal quarters.

Gómez would be executed via firing squad a few months after the end of Featherston's Confederacy.

 

[Allochronian]

Rare Photograph of El Paso when it was a border town for three nations, ca. 1880. To the upper left, Imperial Mexico. To the upper right, USA. At the bottom, CSA.

 

[Jett-Power]

Well, considering Harry didn't mention Ike figured to do it myself.

Picture of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1942.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas, Confederate States of America. Eisenhower, while wanting to fight to defend his home state of Texas from the damn Yannkes, served initially in logistics and then the infantry at various camps in eastern Texas and Georgia. When the state of Houston was declared, and the war ended in 1917, Eisenhower blamed Gabriel Semmes' government for the war's loss. However, Eisenhower didn't join the Freedom Party, seeing them as delusional, although when Featherston took power in 1934, Eisenhower, not wanting to get purged, joined the Party.

Eisenhower and other Confederate generals in 1940, among them was George Patton.

When the state of Houston rejoined Texas in January of 1941, Featherston, seeing potential in him, assigned Eisenhower to now western Texas to defend it from any future Yannke invasions.
In 1942 the Yannkes invaded Texas once again. Due to fighting out east, Eisenhower was barely able to defend west Texas from any attacks. Requests for more troops in areas outside of Lubbock and Camp Determination went nowhere. In the years after the war, Eisenhower claimed that he had no knowledge of Camp Determination and was confused why Featherston ordered him to defend what Eisenhower believed to be a POW camp. However, Terry DeFrancis did claim that Eisenhower was shocked and horrified at what he saw at Camp Determination. "If I had known what he [Featherston] was doing, I would declare myself a Yannke,"-Eisenhower to DeFrancis.
In 1944, Eisenhower saw the writing on the wall for the Confederacy, and when Texas declared itself independent from the CSA, Eisenhower surrendered his army to the US 11th army.

Eisenhower meeting with DeFrancis at Wichita Falls to surrender his army, summer of 1944.

Eisenhower on the campaign trail, 1950.

After the war, Eisenhower became involved in the politics of Texas and was elected President in 1950. His tenure as President was marked by working with the United States in the Third Mexican War. The war started due to a border skirmish between Mexico and occupied Sonora and similar skirmishes at the Mexican and Texan border. Francisco José II, wanting to reclaim popularity in Mexico, announced that "rightful" Mexican land will be retaken. With Texas' economy in a recession due to the war, Eisenhower met with newly elected President Irving Morrell, in early 1953 to discuss Texas rejoining the USA. The Austin Agreement stated that Texas will have a referendum on December 29, 1953, while the status of Houston will be dealt with depending on if Texas rejoined the Union or not.
On July 27, 1953, the Third Mexican War ended with the US annexing Mexico. On December 29, 1953, Texas overwhelmingly voted to rejoin the USA. After a brief transition period, on July 7, 1954, the 10th anniversary of the death of Jake Featherston, Texas, was re-admitted into the Union. In November of that year, Eisenhower decided not to run for Governor. A referendum was held in Houston if it wished to rejoin Texas, to which it overwhelmingly voted to rejoin. After the 1954 Texas Governor election, Eisenhower retired from politics.

Eisenhower in 1959.