That seems like a real interesting law.
Anywho, I'll slink back into lurking, but I do want to say I am enjoying this timeline.
Reconstruction: The Roaring '20s
- Thread starter The Kiat
- Start date
Anywho, I'll slink back into lurking, but I do want to say I am enjoying this timeline.
Thank you for pointing that out. It's just a little bit of a typo....
An interesting historical foot note, though perhaps not the most realistic addition to my work. I think it illustrates an important point on the German-American alliance and how it would hold after the war ended, even if not in total victory for Germany.
The Velvet Divorce
In 1924, Europe faced the biggest crisis since the end of the Great War. Normally, this would be of little concern to the American people. They were seldom interested in the events and intrigues of far off lands. When the events concerned the United States’ most powerful ally as well as a former enemy, Congress paid close attention. American politicians cared more about the implications of the balance of power in Europe than the balance itself. When a rift developed between the Austrian and the Hungarian crowns, few politicians cared if the dilapidated Habsburg Monarchy was on the way out.
Neither did Berlin, which had it not been forced to prop up Vienna, then it might have waged the war to a victorious conclusion on one of its fronts, much like how the United States waged it against its former southern neighbor. Instead, Berlin was forced to accept a more-or-less status quo ante bellum for its millions dead. Some in Berlin thought that, with Austro-Hungary on the verge of breaking up that Austria should be brought into the German Empire, as a sort of compensation.
Paris and St. Petersburg disagreed with Berlin but were in no position to stop them. France was too busy trying to rebuild and Russia was in the middle of a three-way civil war involving Republicans and Communists. London was in a better position to protest. They saw any anschluss as a threat to the current balance of power. It would give Germany too much power, making them difficult to defeat in the event of another war.
In September 1924, the dual monarchy split, with the reigning emperor siting in Vienna while in Budapest politicians debated who should sit on the Hungarian throne and if there should even be a throne. After all, France and the United States functioned well without monarchy, why could not Hungary? The bulk of the Austro-Hungarian Army were non-Germans and inclined to throw in their lot with the non-German government, even if it were Magyar and not Slavic.
When Berlin made overtures to unite with Austria, London began to protest loudly. The British could not permit such a union, even if the Austrians consented which by all means they did not support unanimously. Any attempt to force Austria, with its Czech and other minorities into the German Empire would likely result in civil war within Austria, possibly with Hungarian involvement.
When the Kaiser’s ambassador in DC tried to garner American support, the Hughes Administration was reluctant to say anything. With an upcoming election that they were by no means guaranteed to carry, Hughes saw any overseas involvement as not only disastrous for his re-election bid by very dangerous for the country as a whole. The United States, save for its alliance with Germany, has kept its nose out of European affairs since its birth.
Members of Congress, even the Progressive members, began to openly question the alliance. It was excellent in defense given than the United States and Germany were once both surrounded by enemies. The US is no longer and was it really in the American interest to get drawn into a European civil war on account of it. Hughes defended the alliance, saying that if the US were to abandon it after achieving victory that its name would be so tarnished in the eyes of the world as to have no nation trust her word ever again.
And if Germany were attacked, the United States would come to its aid. The treaty was defensive in nature, allowing the two signatories to balance out the British threat on a global scale. The arms industry saw conflict in Europe, and supplying Germany as a means to increase profits and the workforce. Industrial workers, turning to the Labor Party during the down turn in the economy, were vital in the upcoming election as for the first time the Progressive Party faced serious challenges in the industrial States from Labors.
Victory of the Confederates and Reconstruction ushered in a wave of isolationism across the country. The US should gets its ducks in a row and rebuild before getting involved beyond its shores. Hughes’s own Secretary of War reminded him that the Army was in no shape to wage a war an ocean away, even if the South were fully reconstructed. In the end, all Hughes could do was assure Berlin that if Germany came under attack, the United States would come to its aid. It would not do so in the even of an aggressive war waged by Berlin against its neighbors.
By October, the crisis began to fade as Berlin was forced to shelve its plans for unification for the time being. As keen as many Germans were for obtaining pieces of land such as Moravia and Bohemia, they were not eager for the millions of Slavs that came with the land. Like the United States, the German Empire was in no real shape for another war. It was a fact of life to which London also believed. War was averted before November, though that fact did nothing to aid Hughes in the election.
The Velvet Divorce
In 1924, Europe faced the biggest crisis since the end of the Great War. Normally, this would be of little concern to the American people. They were seldom interested in the events and intrigues of far off lands. When the events concerned the United States’ most powerful ally as well as a former enemy, Congress paid close attention. American politicians cared more about the implications of the balance of power in Europe than the balance itself. When a rift developed between the Austrian and the Hungarian crowns, few politicians cared if the dilapidated Habsburg Monarchy was on the way out.
Neither did Berlin, which had it not been forced to prop up Vienna, then it might have waged the war to a victorious conclusion on one of its fronts, much like how the United States waged it against its former southern neighbor. Instead, Berlin was forced to accept a more-or-less status quo ante bellum for its millions dead. Some in Berlin thought that, with Austro-Hungary on the verge of breaking up that Austria should be brought into the German Empire, as a sort of compensation.
Paris and St. Petersburg disagreed with Berlin but were in no position to stop them. France was too busy trying to rebuild and Russia was in the middle of a three-way civil war involving Republicans and Communists. London was in a better position to protest. They saw any anschluss as a threat to the current balance of power. It would give Germany too much power, making them difficult to defeat in the event of another war.
In September 1924, the dual monarchy split, with the reigning emperor siting in Vienna while in Budapest politicians debated who should sit on the Hungarian throne and if there should even be a throne. After all, France and the United States functioned well without monarchy, why could not Hungary? The bulk of the Austro-Hungarian Army were non-Germans and inclined to throw in their lot with the non-German government, even if it were Magyar and not Slavic.
When Berlin made overtures to unite with Austria, London began to protest loudly. The British could not permit such a union, even if the Austrians consented which by all means they did not support unanimously. Any attempt to force Austria, with its Czech and other minorities into the German Empire would likely result in civil war within Austria, possibly with Hungarian involvement.
When the Kaiser’s ambassador in DC tried to garner American support, the Hughes Administration was reluctant to say anything. With an upcoming election that they were by no means guaranteed to carry, Hughes saw any overseas involvement as not only disastrous for his re-election bid by very dangerous for the country as a whole. The United States, save for its alliance with Germany, has kept its nose out of European affairs since its birth.
Members of Congress, even the Progressive members, began to openly question the alliance. It was excellent in defense given than the United States and Germany were once both surrounded by enemies. The US is no longer and was it really in the American interest to get drawn into a European civil war on account of it. Hughes defended the alliance, saying that if the US were to abandon it after achieving victory that its name would be so tarnished in the eyes of the world as to have no nation trust her word ever again.
And if Germany were attacked, the United States would come to its aid. The treaty was defensive in nature, allowing the two signatories to balance out the British threat on a global scale. The arms industry saw conflict in Europe, and supplying Germany as a means to increase profits and the workforce. Industrial workers, turning to the Labor Party during the down turn in the economy, were vital in the upcoming election as for the first time the Progressive Party faced serious challenges in the industrial States from Labors.
Victory of the Confederates and Reconstruction ushered in a wave of isolationism across the country. The US should gets its ducks in a row and rebuild before getting involved beyond its shores. Hughes’s own Secretary of War reminded him that the Army was in no shape to wage a war an ocean away, even if the South were fully reconstructed. In the end, all Hughes could do was assure Berlin that if Germany came under attack, the United States would come to its aid. It would not do so in the even of an aggressive war waged by Berlin against its neighbors.
By October, the crisis began to fade as Berlin was forced to shelve its plans for unification for the time being. As keen as many Germans were for obtaining pieces of land such as Moravia and Bohemia, they were not eager for the millions of Slavs that came with the land. Like the United States, the German Empire was in no real shape for another war. It was a fact of life to which London also believed. War was averted before November, though that fact did nothing to aid Hughes in the election.
Regime Change
Even as late as November 1, Hughes retained hopes that he could carry the election. Never before had the industrial States been lost to the Labor Party, and despite their claims of gains, he was not convinced he would lose. After all, he followed the path laid out by Roosevelt, the path in Reconstructing the once great Union. It would be great again, he assured the voters. As he would soon learn, one required more than patriotic fever to win an election. He made the same mistake made by so many politicians; forgetting that the voter often votes with their wallet.
When the first wave of electoral votes were cast, he knew he was in trouble. Massachusetts was no big surprise, but Pennsylvania going Labor sowed doubts in Hughes’s confidence. The rest of his cabinet, those in his electoral war room, lost all confidence when the next time zone closed its polls. Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio all went Labor. It was clear he would not receive one half of the electoral votes. As the night continued, it soon became clear that no candidate would receive the necessary votes to secure the election. By the next day, Hughes retained a plurality with 36% of the electoral votes, followed by Labor candidate Gene Debs who partly ran on a “I told you so” platform with 30%. Trailing them was Democrat Al Smith and Republican Sam McKelvin.
Before 1922, any election going to Congress likely would have seen Hughes victorious. As things stood, no party held a majority in Congress either. The first two votes in Congress again saw no clear cut winner. The candidates and Congressmen saw a potential Constitutional crisis in the making. Perhaps it would have turned out as such, if not for the abrupt dropping out of McKelvin. For the past two years, the Labor and Republican Parties worked together to push their parallel agendas. Again they worked together, with the Republican block of Congress voting in favor of Debs.
Hughes moved quickly to calm his supporters, who upon hearing the news declared that the Labors and Republicans stole the election. It was not the will of the people, more of whom voted for Hughes than Debs for the lesser man to be President. Did millions of Americans bleed and die just so the highest office in the land could be decided by backroom politicking? To prove the protestor’s point, Debs names McKelvin his Secretary of State.
Hughes did not approve of the scheming but the Constitutional process was clear and it was carried out. He conceded the election, publicly congratulating Debs. Privately, Hughes, McCray and other high ranking Progressives began to plan for abolishing the electoral college. It was an idea floating around the halls of the Progressive Party for many years. Some believed it was the perfect time to push for a new Constitutional Amendment, when the peoples’ outrage was highest. Hughes decided to wait on the issue. He did not want to appear to be a poor loser.
The Labor/Republican Alliance introduced, early in the Debs’s Administration a series of protective tarriffs designed to keep out cheaper foreign products. What good were these products to industrial wage earners currently out of work? It was better to have American products on sell, made my American laborers. The action saw Britain, Canada and Brazil issue their own protective tarriffs in response, hurting the export market.
To create more jobs, Debs pushed for a comprehensive public works agenda, one that included transcontinental highways as well as continuing the reconstruction of the South’s destroyed, and in some instanced non-existent infrastructure. His plans would put Americans back to work not in months but in weeks. His plan galvanized hundreds of thousands of unemployed laborers, especially in the South, along with opponents in the Democratic Party, as well as a few Republicans, who believed it was an over extension of Federal power.
There was further criticism of the Labor Party in that Labor governors did little in the way of public works in their respective States. True, the industrial States were well developed by early 20th Century standards so there was little the Labors could do. They could also do nothing about tarriffs at the State level. It did not stop Debs’s enemies from calling the Labor Party a pack of socialists wearing thin veils of red, white and blue. There was some legitimate fears that the Labor Party might take the same route as Socialists in France and try to replace religion and family as the center of peoples’ lives.
Most of the attacks were based on a more tangible fear of Federal power. While the States were subordinate to the Federal Government, the Democratic Platform called for those States to retain their autonomy. As the Tenth Amendment clearly says, any power not granted to Congress or denied to the State was left for the States to decide. Instead of responding directly, Debs sent Labors’s attack dogs after his opponents, reminding the voters that sort of thinking doomed the Confederate States in the long run. For Hughes, now a private citizen, he would wait and see which direction Debs and the Labors would take the nation before deciding whether or not to condemn the man.
Even as late as November 1, Hughes retained hopes that he could carry the election. Never before had the industrial States been lost to the Labor Party, and despite their claims of gains, he was not convinced he would lose. After all, he followed the path laid out by Roosevelt, the path in Reconstructing the once great Union. It would be great again, he assured the voters. As he would soon learn, one required more than patriotic fever to win an election. He made the same mistake made by so many politicians; forgetting that the voter often votes with their wallet.
When the first wave of electoral votes were cast, he knew he was in trouble. Massachusetts was no big surprise, but Pennsylvania going Labor sowed doubts in Hughes’s confidence. The rest of his cabinet, those in his electoral war room, lost all confidence when the next time zone closed its polls. Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio all went Labor. It was clear he would not receive one half of the electoral votes. As the night continued, it soon became clear that no candidate would receive the necessary votes to secure the election. By the next day, Hughes retained a plurality with 36% of the electoral votes, followed by Labor candidate Gene Debs who partly ran on a “I told you so” platform with 30%. Trailing them was Democrat Al Smith and Republican Sam McKelvin.
Before 1922, any election going to Congress likely would have seen Hughes victorious. As things stood, no party held a majority in Congress either. The first two votes in Congress again saw no clear cut winner. The candidates and Congressmen saw a potential Constitutional crisis in the making. Perhaps it would have turned out as such, if not for the abrupt dropping out of McKelvin. For the past two years, the Labor and Republican Parties worked together to push their parallel agendas. Again they worked together, with the Republican block of Congress voting in favor of Debs.
Hughes moved quickly to calm his supporters, who upon hearing the news declared that the Labors and Republicans stole the election. It was not the will of the people, more of whom voted for Hughes than Debs for the lesser man to be President. Did millions of Americans bleed and die just so the highest office in the land could be decided by backroom politicking? To prove the protestor’s point, Debs names McKelvin his Secretary of State.
Hughes did not approve of the scheming but the Constitutional process was clear and it was carried out. He conceded the election, publicly congratulating Debs. Privately, Hughes, McCray and other high ranking Progressives began to plan for abolishing the electoral college. It was an idea floating around the halls of the Progressive Party for many years. Some believed it was the perfect time to push for a new Constitutional Amendment, when the peoples’ outrage was highest. Hughes decided to wait on the issue. He did not want to appear to be a poor loser.
The Labor/Republican Alliance introduced, early in the Debs’s Administration a series of protective tarriffs designed to keep out cheaper foreign products. What good were these products to industrial wage earners currently out of work? It was better to have American products on sell, made my American laborers. The action saw Britain, Canada and Brazil issue their own protective tarriffs in response, hurting the export market.
To create more jobs, Debs pushed for a comprehensive public works agenda, one that included transcontinental highways as well as continuing the reconstruction of the South’s destroyed, and in some instanced non-existent infrastructure. His plans would put Americans back to work not in months but in weeks. His plan galvanized hundreds of thousands of unemployed laborers, especially in the South, along with opponents in the Democratic Party, as well as a few Republicans, who believed it was an over extension of Federal power.
There was further criticism of the Labor Party in that Labor governors did little in the way of public works in their respective States. True, the industrial States were well developed by early 20th Century standards so there was little the Labors could do. They could also do nothing about tarriffs at the State level. It did not stop Debs’s enemies from calling the Labor Party a pack of socialists wearing thin veils of red, white and blue. There was some legitimate fears that the Labor Party might take the same route as Socialists in France and try to replace religion and family as the center of peoples’ lives.
Most of the attacks were based on a more tangible fear of Federal power. While the States were subordinate to the Federal Government, the Democratic Platform called for those States to retain their autonomy. As the Tenth Amendment clearly says, any power not granted to Congress or denied to the State was left for the States to decide. Instead of responding directly, Debs sent Labors’s attack dogs after his opponents, reminding the voters that sort of thinking doomed the Confederate States in the long run. For Hughes, now a private citizen, he would wait and see which direction Debs and the Labors would take the nation before deciding whether or not to condemn the man.
If I remember well, when the election goes through the Congress, the House votes for the President on basis of state delegations, and the Senate for the vice president.
What is described does imply that, thanks to Republicans, Debs carried a majority of state delegations in the House, but nothing is said about the Senate, where the Progressives could be more lucky.
What is described does imply that, thanks to Republicans, Debs carried a majority of state delegations in the House, but nothing is said about the Senate, where the Progressives could be more lucky.
I thought the Senate decided on the VP. Well, details that need to be worked out better. My point is to set up a cycle that angers the voters enough to push for abolishing the EC. After all, it's easy for 1/2 + 1 when there are two The Party or even three. Four, that makes things tricky.
I mean that if they failed to carry the House, the Progressives could have the Senate. That would be interesting to have a president and a vice president from opposed and rival parties, isn't it?
The Model B
Ford Motor Company had plans for a vehicle in 1912 dubbed the Model A. It was slated to go into mass production by 1914, plans shelved when Ford converted its factories for the war effort. Founded in 1903, the Ford Motor Company struggled during the recession of 1907-11. As the economy improved, demand for personal vehicles increased. Henry Ford’s grand scheme involved two points; mass production and credit. He wanted to produce not hundreds but hundreds of thousands of vehicles, enough to drive down the price and make it affordable to the masses.
He also wanted his employees to be able to purchase one. FMC developed a system that allowed for consumers to purchase their vehicles in installments. This, coupled with increased production after the war, allowed for more people to afford the vehicle. The Model A, which finally saw the light of day in 1917, was a commercial flop. It was underpowered compared to vehicles produced by Cadillac or Chrysler, difficult to hand and prone to mechanical failure.
Ford took the lessons learned from their Model A and put them into practice with the improved Model B. It was still an ugly vehicle by the standards of the day, and its sole color did not appeal to the upscale consumer. The joke went that one could have any color of Ford, provided they wanted black. For the masses, wage earners who could not afford to import a fancy vehicle from Germany or Britain after 1918, the Model B was a Godsend. It allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to get from point A to point B without extensive mechanical failure.
It proved popular in the cities of the North and South. For the first time, Southern consumers could afford what was before 1913 considered a rich man’s toy in the C.S.A.. Beyond the paved cities, it performed poor. In its place, farmers throughout rural America purchased the Model BB, a pickup truck using the Model B as a base for its design. Its larger wheels and more powerful engine gave it an advantage on dirt roads that were prone to turn to mud. Its hauling/carrying capacity of five hundred pounds might not be impressive by today’s standards but it was a boon in the 1920s.
Critics who mocked the Model B when it came out in 1922 soon ate their words. By 1930, twelve million of the vehicles (both B and BB variants) were produced and sold in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and even New Grenada. Even at its lowest selling cost of $260.00, it still made Henry Ford a very wealthy man. What he lacked in expense he more than made up in sheer bulk.
With millions of automobiles on the road, Americans regained a lost sense of mobility. Since the closing of the frontier, the American spirit felt bottled up. To a nation of pioneers, it was not natural to stay in one place for too long. The automobile allowed Americans to leave the confines of the inner city, abandoning crowded tenements in favor of small apartment complexes and even individual housing further away from the industrial center. Thus began the migration from the inner city to the suburbs.
One unfortunate side-effect of this migration was an apartness in Northern and Western cities between incomes. The poor, those who could not even afford to purchase a vehicle on installments were left behind while the more prosperous spread out. The effect is seen even today in the inner cores of cities such as Detroit, Dayton and Chicago. When the growing middle class moved outward, a vacuum was created, drawing in Freedmen seeking opportunities beyond the South.
Before the Great War, the Black population of the United States was under 3%. With the Restoration, the total percentage grew to 17%, with parts of the South retaining a White minority. Race, though conscious in the US was never as critical as in the stratified CS. While the Confederates were a separate nation, the Union began to portray itself as a land of equals unlike the hierarchal Southern nation. When Freedmen began to migrate North and compete for jobs in the industrial States, tensions rose.
The Black migration was no different in that regard than the influx of Irish or Italian immigrants in decades past. The animosity between them and “natives” of the region was fear that newcomers would take industrial jobs and take them at a lower wage. In unskilled occupations, such as janitors, waiters and bellhops, they succeeded in wresting jobs away from Whites. From the business owner’s perspective, why should he pay a dollar for a White man when a Black would work for half as much. Naturally this savings was seldom passed on to the customers.
Jobs unprotected by labor unions soon came under the watchful eye of the Labor Party. The working poor and other impoverished segments of society were their core constituents. They promised better conditions and pay for all workers. On a national level, Debs faced too many obstacles from Congress, including his Republican allies. On State levels, Labors passed such laws in Ohio, Illinois and even Pennsylvania. The Progressive Party dominating New York passed similar bills, mostly to preempt any opposition from the Labors.
Ford Motor Company had plans for a vehicle in 1912 dubbed the Model A. It was slated to go into mass production by 1914, plans shelved when Ford converted its factories for the war effort. Founded in 1903, the Ford Motor Company struggled during the recession of 1907-11. As the economy improved, demand for personal vehicles increased. Henry Ford’s grand scheme involved two points; mass production and credit. He wanted to produce not hundreds but hundreds of thousands of vehicles, enough to drive down the price and make it affordable to the masses.
He also wanted his employees to be able to purchase one. FMC developed a system that allowed for consumers to purchase their vehicles in installments. This, coupled with increased production after the war, allowed for more people to afford the vehicle. The Model A, which finally saw the light of day in 1917, was a commercial flop. It was underpowered compared to vehicles produced by Cadillac or Chrysler, difficult to hand and prone to mechanical failure.
Ford took the lessons learned from their Model A and put them into practice with the improved Model B. It was still an ugly vehicle by the standards of the day, and its sole color did not appeal to the upscale consumer. The joke went that one could have any color of Ford, provided they wanted black. For the masses, wage earners who could not afford to import a fancy vehicle from Germany or Britain after 1918, the Model B was a Godsend. It allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to get from point A to point B without extensive mechanical failure.
It proved popular in the cities of the North and South. For the first time, Southern consumers could afford what was before 1913 considered a rich man’s toy in the C.S.A.. Beyond the paved cities, it performed poor. In its place, farmers throughout rural America purchased the Model BB, a pickup truck using the Model B as a base for its design. Its larger wheels and more powerful engine gave it an advantage on dirt roads that were prone to turn to mud. Its hauling/carrying capacity of five hundred pounds might not be impressive by today’s standards but it was a boon in the 1920s.
Critics who mocked the Model B when it came out in 1922 soon ate their words. By 1930, twelve million of the vehicles (both B and BB variants) were produced and sold in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and even New Grenada. Even at its lowest selling cost of $260.00, it still made Henry Ford a very wealthy man. What he lacked in expense he more than made up in sheer bulk.
With millions of automobiles on the road, Americans regained a lost sense of mobility. Since the closing of the frontier, the American spirit felt bottled up. To a nation of pioneers, it was not natural to stay in one place for too long. The automobile allowed Americans to leave the confines of the inner city, abandoning crowded tenements in favor of small apartment complexes and even individual housing further away from the industrial center. Thus began the migration from the inner city to the suburbs.
One unfortunate side-effect of this migration was an apartness in Northern and Western cities between incomes. The poor, those who could not even afford to purchase a vehicle on installments were left behind while the more prosperous spread out. The effect is seen even today in the inner cores of cities such as Detroit, Dayton and Chicago. When the growing middle class moved outward, a vacuum was created, drawing in Freedmen seeking opportunities beyond the South.
Before the Great War, the Black population of the United States was under 3%. With the Restoration, the total percentage grew to 17%, with parts of the South retaining a White minority. Race, though conscious in the US was never as critical as in the stratified CS. While the Confederates were a separate nation, the Union began to portray itself as a land of equals unlike the hierarchal Southern nation. When Freedmen began to migrate North and compete for jobs in the industrial States, tensions rose.
The Black migration was no different in that regard than the influx of Irish or Italian immigrants in decades past. The animosity between them and “natives” of the region was fear that newcomers would take industrial jobs and take them at a lower wage. In unskilled occupations, such as janitors, waiters and bellhops, they succeeded in wresting jobs away from Whites. From the business owner’s perspective, why should he pay a dollar for a White man when a Black would work for half as much. Naturally this savings was seldom passed on to the customers.
Jobs unprotected by labor unions soon came under the watchful eye of the Labor Party. The working poor and other impoverished segments of society were their core constituents. They promised better conditions and pay for all workers. On a national level, Debs faced too many obstacles from Congress, including his Republican allies. On State levels, Labors passed such laws in Ohio, Illinois and even Pennsylvania. The Progressive Party dominating New York passed similar bills, mostly to preempt any opposition from the Labors.
It'd be counterproductive to say the least. Yes, I can see what you're saying. I'll think about fixing that. If I had Woods as VP, it could create such a headache as to push the popular vote amendment further along.
Exclusion
Reconstruction had many unforeseen byproducts. With the resources of a nation devoted to rebuilding itself and with millions of formerly foreign nationals abruptly brought into its borders, for the first time in history, the United States closed its borders to immigration. It was by no means a permanent status. Between 1918 and 1925, legal immigration ceased. Of course the other type continued as Europeans head first to Canada and then crossed the recently open border.
It is not to say that the US- Canada border was anywhere near as open as today. Checkpoints existed at every crossing back then as it does now. Passports were required and trains were searched car by car. With people such as the SOC terrorizing the South, nobody put it past them to try and sneak in supplies through the North. After all, no checkpoints existed inside the States. All they had to do was slip it past the Army on the 49th Parallel and odds were their contraband would reach its destination.
The assimilationist policies were threatened by the overnight influx of millions of unrepentant Confederates. As one politician put it, the melting pot was overflowing. Until the Southerners conformed to the proper American way, Congress was reluctant to allow immigration. As any student of history knows, the Southerners have never conformed to the rest of the American nation, even after nearly a century of reunion.
Further acts of exclusion were drafted in Congress, passed and sometimes even signed into law. Though each of the parties in Congress had their different reasons for agreeing to the acts, the result was the same. In 1923, immigration from China and Japan ceased as the welcome mat was pulled out of the Pacific. Labors worried about how the influx of inexpensive Chinese labors would effect their chances of holding Congress while Progressives did not fully trust Japanese immigrants who settled in Marianas Territory. Japan had its eyes on the islands, occupying them during the Great War and only reluctantly returning them following peace.
In 1926, immigration from the Mideast, North Africa and India ceased. Again it was partly due to concerns of cheap labor. It was also done on religious grounds. Progressives and Labors were not as concerned about religion as the Democrats and Republicans, neither of which thought non-Christians should be permitted. A few went as far as to press for closing the door on Southern and Eastern Europe, barely recognizing their faiths as Christian. Apparently they had forgotten the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches had existed far long than an Protestant denomination.
By 1929, a strict immigration quota was in place, with the largest proportion of visas granted to Northern Europe, Canada and Australia. The fact that so many potential immigrants could bypass the law by first settling in Canada and then crossing over from there was conveniently overlooked. Even then the numbers were limited to tens of thousands a year as opposed to the virtually unrestricted numbers of the pre-war years.
Reconstruction had many unforeseen byproducts. With the resources of a nation devoted to rebuilding itself and with millions of formerly foreign nationals abruptly brought into its borders, for the first time in history, the United States closed its borders to immigration. It was by no means a permanent status. Between 1918 and 1925, legal immigration ceased. Of course the other type continued as Europeans head first to Canada and then crossed the recently open border.
It is not to say that the US- Canada border was anywhere near as open as today. Checkpoints existed at every crossing back then as it does now. Passports were required and trains were searched car by car. With people such as the SOC terrorizing the South, nobody put it past them to try and sneak in supplies through the North. After all, no checkpoints existed inside the States. All they had to do was slip it past the Army on the 49th Parallel and odds were their contraband would reach its destination.
The assimilationist policies were threatened by the overnight influx of millions of unrepentant Confederates. As one politician put it, the melting pot was overflowing. Until the Southerners conformed to the proper American way, Congress was reluctant to allow immigration. As any student of history knows, the Southerners have never conformed to the rest of the American nation, even after nearly a century of reunion.
Further acts of exclusion were drafted in Congress, passed and sometimes even signed into law. Though each of the parties in Congress had their different reasons for agreeing to the acts, the result was the same. In 1923, immigration from China and Japan ceased as the welcome mat was pulled out of the Pacific. Labors worried about how the influx of inexpensive Chinese labors would effect their chances of holding Congress while Progressives did not fully trust Japanese immigrants who settled in Marianas Territory. Japan had its eyes on the islands, occupying them during the Great War and only reluctantly returning them following peace.
In 1926, immigration from the Mideast, North Africa and India ceased. Again it was partly due to concerns of cheap labor. It was also done on religious grounds. Progressives and Labors were not as concerned about religion as the Democrats and Republicans, neither of which thought non-Christians should be permitted. A few went as far as to press for closing the door on Southern and Eastern Europe, barely recognizing their faiths as Christian. Apparently they had forgotten the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches had existed far long than an Protestant denomination.
By 1929, a strict immigration quota was in place, with the largest proportion of visas granted to Northern Europe, Canada and Australia. The fact that so many potential immigrants could bypass the law by first settling in Canada and then crossing over from there was conveniently overlooked. Even then the numbers were limited to tens of thousands a year as opposed to the virtually unrestricted numbers of the pre-war years.
I think it would have worked better if I planned it this way from the beginning. Oh well.
The Strange Cabinet
With the Election of 1924 going to Congress to decide, Debs’s cabinet was certainly one of the most diverse bodies in the history of American politics. Debs gained the Presidency through a Labor-Republican Alliance in the House. His running mate was not so fortunate in the Senate. There, the Progressives still had enough Senators and through the help of a few defecting Democrats, succeeded in retaining Leonard Wood as Vice President, much to Debs’s consternation. The President of the Senate would always be at odds with the President of the United States.
Debs tried to keep his Vice President out of the loop as much as was legally possible. He relied more on his Republican Secretary of State for advice than Wood. As a proponent of the newly risen popular vote movement, the former general used every opportunity to obstruct Debs and create gridlock in the Cabinet, provided that it did not adversely effect the nation. Wood wanted the Debs discredited, not millions of Americans left suffering from one poor policy or another.
Given the four party system that rose in American without the parliamentary concepts of coalition governments, it is hardly surprising the Strange Cabinet as it was called functioned as poorly as it did. In a parliamentary system, they could just call it quits and demand new elections. Not so in presidential republican system; they were stuck with each other until either somebody resigned or Debs’s term in office expired. To his credit, Debs tried to make the multi-partisan cabinet work.
In terms of domestic policy pertaining to labor and industry, Labors and Progressives often thought along similar lines though to different extremes. Both wanted a safer workplace and better conditions for wage laborers. However, the Progressives believed in legislation while the Labors wanted direct government intervention, or in some cases oversight. One such case was that of steel. In 1926, the on-the-job casualty rate was twice as high as the previous year. Most of these deaths came from the partially reconstructed south. Occupied Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia did not have the labor laws of Progressive or Labor strongholds.
Various companies, US Steel being at the top of their list, were accused by Debs of exploiting their employees and forcing them into longer hours with fewer oversights. Tired workers made mistakes and when one worked with liquid steel, mistakes were usually fatal. Labors lacked the muscle in Congress to nationalize the industry. Any suggestion of it quickly brought cracks into the Labor-Republican Alliance. Even Progressives balked at it. Wood argued that if the citizens knew the government could seize what they built if it ever grew too large, what motivation would they have to work their hardest?
Wood caused the most problem in the Senate. Often when any Labor-proposed legislation met with a tie in the Senate, Wood would vote against it. Twice Wood cast the tie-breaking vote against a Supreme Court Justice nominated by Debs. Cabinet meetings were little better. By 1928, even Debs began to see merit in the abolition of the Electoral College. At least under popular vote, he would not have to deal with dissension in his own administration. He would still have to deal with obstruction in Congress, a body with he could at least negotiate.
During his Administration, the movement to amend the Constitution in favor of popular vote began to move. In 1927, New York, Iroquois, California and Connecticut State Assemblies voted in favor of calling a convention to abolish Electoral Votes. They were joined by the Assemblies of Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Washington and New Jersey followed suit in 1928. In each case, the Progressive Party convinced enough members of other caucuses to join them in the required two-thirds vote. With the exception of Nevada, all had been solidly Progressive since 1908.
Even if Debs agreed with the movement it did not prevent the Labor Party from blasting the movement as Hughes behaving like a poor loser. Until a repeat of 1924 in 1928, the movement lacked the same enthusiasm in other parties. With a second Strange Cabinet for another four years, all of the major political parties saw a need for a change.
The Strange Cabinet
With the Election of 1924 going to Congress to decide, Debs’s cabinet was certainly one of the most diverse bodies in the history of American politics. Debs gained the Presidency through a Labor-Republican Alliance in the House. His running mate was not so fortunate in the Senate. There, the Progressives still had enough Senators and through the help of a few defecting Democrats, succeeded in retaining Leonard Wood as Vice President, much to Debs’s consternation. The President of the Senate would always be at odds with the President of the United States.
Debs tried to keep his Vice President out of the loop as much as was legally possible. He relied more on his Republican Secretary of State for advice than Wood. As a proponent of the newly risen popular vote movement, the former general used every opportunity to obstruct Debs and create gridlock in the Cabinet, provided that it did not adversely effect the nation. Wood wanted the Debs discredited, not millions of Americans left suffering from one poor policy or another.
Given the four party system that rose in American without the parliamentary concepts of coalition governments, it is hardly surprising the Strange Cabinet as it was called functioned as poorly as it did. In a parliamentary system, they could just call it quits and demand new elections. Not so in presidential republican system; they were stuck with each other until either somebody resigned or Debs’s term in office expired. To his credit, Debs tried to make the multi-partisan cabinet work.
In terms of domestic policy pertaining to labor and industry, Labors and Progressives often thought along similar lines though to different extremes. Both wanted a safer workplace and better conditions for wage laborers. However, the Progressives believed in legislation while the Labors wanted direct government intervention, or in some cases oversight. One such case was that of steel. In 1926, the on-the-job casualty rate was twice as high as the previous year. Most of these deaths came from the partially reconstructed south. Occupied Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia did not have the labor laws of Progressive or Labor strongholds.
Various companies, US Steel being at the top of their list, were accused by Debs of exploiting their employees and forcing them into longer hours with fewer oversights. Tired workers made mistakes and when one worked with liquid steel, mistakes were usually fatal. Labors lacked the muscle in Congress to nationalize the industry. Any suggestion of it quickly brought cracks into the Labor-Republican Alliance. Even Progressives balked at it. Wood argued that if the citizens knew the government could seize what they built if it ever grew too large, what motivation would they have to work their hardest?
Wood caused the most problem in the Senate. Often when any Labor-proposed legislation met with a tie in the Senate, Wood would vote against it. Twice Wood cast the tie-breaking vote against a Supreme Court Justice nominated by Debs. Cabinet meetings were little better. By 1928, even Debs began to see merit in the abolition of the Electoral College. At least under popular vote, he would not have to deal with dissension in his own administration. He would still have to deal with obstruction in Congress, a body with he could at least negotiate.
During his Administration, the movement to amend the Constitution in favor of popular vote began to move. In 1927, New York, Iroquois, California and Connecticut State Assemblies voted in favor of calling a convention to abolish Electoral Votes. They were joined by the Assemblies of Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Washington and New Jersey followed suit in 1928. In each case, the Progressive Party convinced enough members of other caucuses to join them in the required two-thirds vote. With the exception of Nevada, all had been solidly Progressive since 1908.
Even if Debs agreed with the movement it did not prevent the Labor Party from blasting the movement as Hughes behaving like a poor loser. Until a repeat of 1924 in 1928, the movement lacked the same enthusiasm in other parties. With a second Strange Cabinet for another four years, all of the major political parties saw a need for a change.
Rise of the High Rise
By 1925, cities such as Chicago, New York and Boston have ran out of sprawling room. Already, major cities looked to the clouds for breathing space. Buildings towering as high as twenty stories could be found even by the start of the war. During the 1920s, the high rise took off, stalled, and regained its momentum towards the end of the decade. The economic dip in the mid-1920s put many construction projects on hold. Once the economy recovered, cities began to compete for the highest high rise.
New York took the lead in 1927 with the construction of the Woolworth Tower, a thirty-one story building in lower Manhattan. It held the crown of world’s tallest for about six months when Chicago took it away from them. By 1930, the race between Chicago, New York and Philadelphia grew so intense that all three cities were turning into steel and mason canyons. With each new high rise, occupants of previous buildings were greeted with glorious views of other offices and apartments.
New York’s Chrysler Center seized the crown in 1932 for the city yet again, topping out at seventy-five stories. Philadelphia planned to end the race forever with the proposed Liberty Tower, a structure standing 1,776 feet in height, nearly twice the height of the Chrysler Center. The height was a bit misleading since the top four hundred feet was initially planned to be little more than a giant radio tower. The radio tower was also not to be added to the building for many decades, leaving a small level roof just above the one hundred ten story mark. The building took three years to construct, opening in 1935. The reason for the delay in the tower was the collapse of three radio towers in 1932 and 1933. These happened on the tops of mountains in unpopulated area. The mayor of Philadelphia along with other officials had nightmares of the same happening in downtown Philadelphia.
With so many towers under construction, where did all the steel originate? A great deal of it came from Pittsburgh. Its location offset any advantage the cheaper labor in the South might offer. That is not to say steel mills in Tennessee and Alabama were dormant. A smaller high rise race occurred in the South, this between Chattanooga, Atlanta and Birmingham. Their smaller race was fueled by a thriving economy in the industrial region of the occupied States. They also gave steel workers and construction laborers a sense of pride. When the SOC said that the South would rise again, this was not what they had in mind.
With the occupational authority’s oversight, the work crews on these structures were non-segregated. It was hoped by some in DC that the mixing of races would create a sense of solidarity. Largely the scheme was that of the Labor Party, one of the Debs’s Administration’s parting gifts. Oddly enough, the driving force behind this smaller race had nothing to do with labor or Labor. They might not care about equality as much as the Labor Party but the work crew cared a great deal about beating their neighbor. Alabama wanted to beat Georgia and Georgia wanted to beat Alabama. Both wanted to beat Tennessee, whom citizens of the other two States continued to resent for losing the Great War.
Furthermore, the Southern economy was a far ways off from the national average. Unemployment remained high in the States. In some counties it reached as high as thirty percent. Those who could find a job with decent wages clang to it like a drowning man to driftwood. If former White steelworkers had to work side-by-side with former slaves in order to pay for that new house in the suburbs, they would. Given that these men were the envy of the poor in Atlanta or any of the other cities, they knew the envious would jump at a chance to take their jobs. If they conducted themselves in a way the bosses thought counterproductive, they would find themselves out of a job.
The Labor Party and Progressive Party tried to combat arbitrary firings. Both parties did not believe in terminating employees for reasons other than professional ones, such as lack of attendance or low performance. The Labor Party wanted to push it one step further and make it next to impossible to fire anyone. It was a dream of the far Left but one the LNC knew would cost them at the polls. Turning counties and States into giant labor unions might benefit the workers but how much would it benefit them if no companies opened up shop in those States. So tenuous was their hold on the industrial States, votes they required if they had any hope of retaining the restored White House, they dared not implement any program too extreme.
By 1925, cities such as Chicago, New York and Boston have ran out of sprawling room. Already, major cities looked to the clouds for breathing space. Buildings towering as high as twenty stories could be found even by the start of the war. During the 1920s, the high rise took off, stalled, and regained its momentum towards the end of the decade. The economic dip in the mid-1920s put many construction projects on hold. Once the economy recovered, cities began to compete for the highest high rise.
New York took the lead in 1927 with the construction of the Woolworth Tower, a thirty-one story building in lower Manhattan. It held the crown of world’s tallest for about six months when Chicago took it away from them. By 1930, the race between Chicago, New York and Philadelphia grew so intense that all three cities were turning into steel and mason canyons. With each new high rise, occupants of previous buildings were greeted with glorious views of other offices and apartments.
New York’s Chrysler Center seized the crown in 1932 for the city yet again, topping out at seventy-five stories. Philadelphia planned to end the race forever with the proposed Liberty Tower, a structure standing 1,776 feet in height, nearly twice the height of the Chrysler Center. The height was a bit misleading since the top four hundred feet was initially planned to be little more than a giant radio tower. The radio tower was also not to be added to the building for many decades, leaving a small level roof just above the one hundred ten story mark. The building took three years to construct, opening in 1935. The reason for the delay in the tower was the collapse of three radio towers in 1932 and 1933. These happened on the tops of mountains in unpopulated area. The mayor of Philadelphia along with other officials had nightmares of the same happening in downtown Philadelphia.
With so many towers under construction, where did all the steel originate? A great deal of it came from Pittsburgh. Its location offset any advantage the cheaper labor in the South might offer. That is not to say steel mills in Tennessee and Alabama were dormant. A smaller high rise race occurred in the South, this between Chattanooga, Atlanta and Birmingham. Their smaller race was fueled by a thriving economy in the industrial region of the occupied States. They also gave steel workers and construction laborers a sense of pride. When the SOC said that the South would rise again, this was not what they had in mind.
With the occupational authority’s oversight, the work crews on these structures were non-segregated. It was hoped by some in DC that the mixing of races would create a sense of solidarity. Largely the scheme was that of the Labor Party, one of the Debs’s Administration’s parting gifts. Oddly enough, the driving force behind this smaller race had nothing to do with labor or Labor. They might not care about equality as much as the Labor Party but the work crew cared a great deal about beating their neighbor. Alabama wanted to beat Georgia and Georgia wanted to beat Alabama. Both wanted to beat Tennessee, whom citizens of the other two States continued to resent for losing the Great War.
Furthermore, the Southern economy was a far ways off from the national average. Unemployment remained high in the States. In some counties it reached as high as thirty percent. Those who could find a job with decent wages clang to it like a drowning man to driftwood. If former White steelworkers had to work side-by-side with former slaves in order to pay for that new house in the suburbs, they would. Given that these men were the envy of the poor in Atlanta or any of the other cities, they knew the envious would jump at a chance to take their jobs. If they conducted themselves in a way the bosses thought counterproductive, they would find themselves out of a job.
The Labor Party and Progressive Party tried to combat arbitrary firings. Both parties did not believe in terminating employees for reasons other than professional ones, such as lack of attendance or low performance. The Labor Party wanted to push it one step further and make it next to impossible to fire anyone. It was a dream of the far Left but one the LNC knew would cost them at the polls. Turning counties and States into giant labor unions might benefit the workers but how much would it benefit them if no companies opened up shop in those States. So tenuous was their hold on the industrial States, votes they required if they had any hope of retaining the restored White House, they dared not implement any program too extreme.
War over the Air Waves
The first commercial radio station opened its doors in New York in 1921. At first, its success was marginal. After all, few people owned wireless sets in 1921. Manufacturers of radios looked towards the Ford system as a means to expand their market. Owners of Wireless Company of American and General Electric designed plans that would allow consumers to purchase wireless sets in installments. At first, radios were nearly as expensive as a Model B and not quite as useful for the American family. By 1928, the demand for radios had grown high enough that mass production of the machines began to drive down costs.
Radio has many uses. There is the news, brought to listeners from CBS and ABC in American and occasionally from the BBC out of Canada. It also brought entertainment to the masses in the form of radio dramas and music, such as classical, folk and jazz fresh out of New Orleans and Havana. The two varieties of jazz differed greatly, though only an expert of the genre could pick out the Cajun style of New Orleans jazz and the Carribean flavor of Havana jazz.
It was also used to further one of the most invasion inventions of mankind; advertising. It is a necessary evil for commercial radio. Stations owned by the government were not funded by advertisement revenue. Of course it also was not widely for public use to begin with, aside from emergency broadcasts, such as in 1927 when hurricane warnings were broadcast from North Carolina to Florida. Commercial radio displayed a wide variety of advertising techniques, each designed to separate a fool from his money. Some of the more notable ones actually said very little about the product, causing modern readers to wonder if the product was any good.
Like so many of humanity’s inventions, radio had its dark side. The lack of regulation in the early years resulted in a mess of overlapping radio stations, often with a larger broadcaster drowning out smaller, local stations. It all came down to the power of the transmitter. Thanks to ill gotten gains in the alcohol and opioid market, the SOC received great donations towards their cause. While some branches of the organization still used the funds to build bombs, more forward thinking groups purchased transmitters.
With these, they bombarded the airwaves with their message of how the way the world once was and how it ought to be. The occupation authority shut down any and all unauthorized transmitters they discovered, forcing the more enterprising terrorists to load their transmitters into trucks and broadcast from a new location each night. Given the size limitations on such transmitters, the SOC’s limited range forced them to stick near population centers.
An indirect method of propaganda came in the form of the historical drama Dynasty. The radio show, running from 1927 to 1929, followed the rise of a fictional Confederate family from humble roots to mighty landowners with tens of thousands of acres of land in Alabama by the 1880s. It was subtle in its message about the good old days, enough so that the occupation authority did not view it as a threat. The show even played on Northern radio stations to even larger audience in New York or Chicago than it did in Charleston or Atlanta.
The rags to riches series ended in rags when the story’s family fell victim to land redistribution and were forced to flee the country they love, settling in British Jamaica. Most Americans viewed the end as historical fact while Southerners saw between the lines, viewing the injustice of the victors. Had the Confederates won the war, they would not have stripped anyone of their land. They would demand war indemnities that would impoverish a nation but that was different.
Through direct and indirect propaganda, the SOC managed to reach more potential members and supporters than ever before. On the streets, the figures turned into solid returns as their ranks doubled from 1925 to 1929, causing a severe headache for the occupiers and delaying the re-entry of most of the States into the Union. For the Sons of the Confederacy, that was no problem. They did not wish to be part of the United States and they wasted no effort in preventing anyone else from wishing to join that prestigious club.
The first commercial radio station opened its doors in New York in 1921. At first, its success was marginal. After all, few people owned wireless sets in 1921. Manufacturers of radios looked towards the Ford system as a means to expand their market. Owners of Wireless Company of American and General Electric designed plans that would allow consumers to purchase wireless sets in installments. At first, radios were nearly as expensive as a Model B and not quite as useful for the American family. By 1928, the demand for radios had grown high enough that mass production of the machines began to drive down costs.
Radio has many uses. There is the news, brought to listeners from CBS and ABC in American and occasionally from the BBC out of Canada. It also brought entertainment to the masses in the form of radio dramas and music, such as classical, folk and jazz fresh out of New Orleans and Havana. The two varieties of jazz differed greatly, though only an expert of the genre could pick out the Cajun style of New Orleans jazz and the Carribean flavor of Havana jazz.
It was also used to further one of the most invasion inventions of mankind; advertising. It is a necessary evil for commercial radio. Stations owned by the government were not funded by advertisement revenue. Of course it also was not widely for public use to begin with, aside from emergency broadcasts, such as in 1927 when hurricane warnings were broadcast from North Carolina to Florida. Commercial radio displayed a wide variety of advertising techniques, each designed to separate a fool from his money. Some of the more notable ones actually said very little about the product, causing modern readers to wonder if the product was any good.
Like so many of humanity’s inventions, radio had its dark side. The lack of regulation in the early years resulted in a mess of overlapping radio stations, often with a larger broadcaster drowning out smaller, local stations. It all came down to the power of the transmitter. Thanks to ill gotten gains in the alcohol and opioid market, the SOC received great donations towards their cause. While some branches of the organization still used the funds to build bombs, more forward thinking groups purchased transmitters.
With these, they bombarded the airwaves with their message of how the way the world once was and how it ought to be. The occupation authority shut down any and all unauthorized transmitters they discovered, forcing the more enterprising terrorists to load their transmitters into trucks and broadcast from a new location each night. Given the size limitations on such transmitters, the SOC’s limited range forced them to stick near population centers.
An indirect method of propaganda came in the form of the historical drama Dynasty. The radio show, running from 1927 to 1929, followed the rise of a fictional Confederate family from humble roots to mighty landowners with tens of thousands of acres of land in Alabama by the 1880s. It was subtle in its message about the good old days, enough so that the occupation authority did not view it as a threat. The show even played on Northern radio stations to even larger audience in New York or Chicago than it did in Charleston or Atlanta.
The rags to riches series ended in rags when the story’s family fell victim to land redistribution and were forced to flee the country they love, settling in British Jamaica. Most Americans viewed the end as historical fact while Southerners saw between the lines, viewing the injustice of the victors. Had the Confederates won the war, they would not have stripped anyone of their land. They would demand war indemnities that would impoverish a nation but that was different.
Through direct and indirect propaganda, the SOC managed to reach more potential members and supporters than ever before. On the streets, the figures turned into solid returns as their ranks doubled from 1925 to 1929, causing a severe headache for the occupiers and delaying the re-entry of most of the States into the Union. For the Sons of the Confederacy, that was no problem. They did not wish to be part of the United States and they wasted no effort in preventing anyone else from wishing to join that prestigious club.
Reinstated
Lawlessness in Texas grew during the 1920s as alcohol, drugs and firearms cris-crossed the State in every direction. The occupational authority has less success in the Lone Star State namely because of the sheer size of it. Texas could not be sealed the way Arkansas or South Carolina could be closed. Given the rough countryside of a great deal of the State, motorized Army units had trouble traversing the terrain. Some cavalry units returned to horses in patrolling rural Texas but even the most stubborn of military governors knew the Army needed help.
For years, the unofficial, unauthorized company of the Texas Rangers took it upon them to police the countryside. They had some success, keeping small towns in Texas free of the corruption and rot that infected cities such as Brownsville and El Paso. With the rest of Texas slowly returning to American norm, the military governor requested that part of the civil government be restored ahead of the 1931 scheduled return of Texas to Congress.
Reactions in the Rangers’ unofficial company were mixed. On one hand, they were eager to return to normal with the resources the former Confederate State of Texas provided. On the other, recognition by the occupation authority made some of the Rangers feel like collaborators. It also made them targets of the SOC, Texas Home Guard and other unsavory groups. Before reinstatement, the Rangers carried out vigilante justice against organized crime, sometimes with tactics extreme enough to come out of the Wild West. For the most part, the occupation authority turned a blind eye provided the Rangers did something useful.
Now that they were the first of the State of Texas’s organs restored, they had the weight of the law on their side. They also had to reign in some of their wilder elements. No longer could they simply lynch mobsters trying to smuggle heroin to Texan markets. They still often were forced to put down the gangsters as not all were inclined to surrender upon seeing the badge. A few were simply too dangerous to apprehend. Under a civil government, killing criminals resulted in a mountain of paper work. The Army continued to call the shots in Texas and were more sympathetic to the dangers of law enforcement. Officers were not inclined to unnecessarily risk the lives of the soldiers and they did not think the Rangers should take any of those risks.
Once again an official law enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers grew in size, reopening their previous companies. From 1930 to 1932, their numbers quadrupled as police officer from cities across Texas applied for the title Ranger. They were not the only ones. Union soldiers who settled in Texas and retired from the Army were allowed to join the ranks. None were immediately welcomed by the native Texans, though they were accepted after they proved their worth on the trail.
Of course, in 1930, the Rangers were not simply ranging on horseback. While horses were still used in rugged country, automobiles were the method of choice for moving in and between cities. Tens of thousands of kilometers of highway needed policing along with the cities. Cities were left to local police while the Rangers were assigned the highways as well as back country and hinterlands. When they were not shooting it out with gangsters, Rangers found they spent a great deal of time chasing speeders.
Lawlessness in Texas grew during the 1920s as alcohol, drugs and firearms cris-crossed the State in every direction. The occupational authority has less success in the Lone Star State namely because of the sheer size of it. Texas could not be sealed the way Arkansas or South Carolina could be closed. Given the rough countryside of a great deal of the State, motorized Army units had trouble traversing the terrain. Some cavalry units returned to horses in patrolling rural Texas but even the most stubborn of military governors knew the Army needed help.
For years, the unofficial, unauthorized company of the Texas Rangers took it upon them to police the countryside. They had some success, keeping small towns in Texas free of the corruption and rot that infected cities such as Brownsville and El Paso. With the rest of Texas slowly returning to American norm, the military governor requested that part of the civil government be restored ahead of the 1931 scheduled return of Texas to Congress.
Reactions in the Rangers’ unofficial company were mixed. On one hand, they were eager to return to normal with the resources the former Confederate State of Texas provided. On the other, recognition by the occupation authority made some of the Rangers feel like collaborators. It also made them targets of the SOC, Texas Home Guard and other unsavory groups. Before reinstatement, the Rangers carried out vigilante justice against organized crime, sometimes with tactics extreme enough to come out of the Wild West. For the most part, the occupation authority turned a blind eye provided the Rangers did something useful.
Now that they were the first of the State of Texas’s organs restored, they had the weight of the law on their side. They also had to reign in some of their wilder elements. No longer could they simply lynch mobsters trying to smuggle heroin to Texan markets. They still often were forced to put down the gangsters as not all were inclined to surrender upon seeing the badge. A few were simply too dangerous to apprehend. Under a civil government, killing criminals resulted in a mountain of paper work. The Army continued to call the shots in Texas and were more sympathetic to the dangers of law enforcement. Officers were not inclined to unnecessarily risk the lives of the soldiers and they did not think the Rangers should take any of those risks.
Once again an official law enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers grew in size, reopening their previous companies. From 1930 to 1932, their numbers quadrupled as police officer from cities across Texas applied for the title Ranger. They were not the only ones. Union soldiers who settled in Texas and retired from the Army were allowed to join the ranks. None were immediately welcomed by the native Texans, though they were accepted after they proved their worth on the trail.
Of course, in 1930, the Rangers were not simply ranging on horseback. While horses were still used in rugged country, automobiles were the method of choice for moving in and between cities. Tens of thousands of kilometers of highway needed policing along with the cities. Cities were left to local police while the Rangers were assigned the highways as well as back country and hinterlands. When they were not shooting it out with gangsters, Rangers found they spent a great deal of time chasing speeders.
Sonora and Arkansas
1929 saw two more States return to their rightful place in the Union and in Congress. The readmission of Arkansas (February 15, 1929) and Sonora (August 12, 1929) not only brought the United States closer to its former glory but it also saw several Democrats arrive in both Houses of Congress, provisional until the next elections. It was to nobody’s surprise that the bulk of both States’ delegations were members of the Democratic Party. No Southern could bring themselves to vote for the Party of Lincoln, nor would many tolerate socialism, not matter what name it used to hide itself. Three of the delegates from Sonora were members of the Progressive Party while none came from Arkansas. The South was poised to take up old partisan habits from before the States’ War.
The Democratic Party, which had struggled in the four party mess of American politics, began to see the advantage of a restored Union. Their conservative ideologies struck a key with many Southern voters who remained set in the old ways. The DNC saw the pattern and began to push for Democratic members of Congress and of the Administration to take a lighter stance on the South in issues that do not threaten the security or integrity of the Union.
One such minor issue was the waving of the Confederate battle flag. The St. Andrews cross, often misleading labeled as the flag of the C.S.A., was banned under the occupation authority. While the soldiers believed in fighting for one’s right to have their own opinion, the Army was not inclined to allow rabble-rousers any sort of rallying banner. In States once again under Constitutional authority, it was another matter. They had every right to assemble peacefully and protest any laws they deemed unjust. They did not, however, have the right to riot. On that ground, the Democratic Party retained its tough-on-crime stance, supporting the right of governors to even call out the National Guard if things spiraled too far out of control.
The rural South looked to be solidly Democrat, and the party hoped through various gestures towards Southern culture, it would remain so for the next hundred years. The urban South was a different story. Cities such as Charleston or Pensacola, both wracked by crime, looked toward the Democratic Party as the party of law and order. Industrial cities, like Atlanta, were another matter. Workers in those cities tended to favor the Progressive Party. In the cities the Democrats and Progressives would wage the age old struggle between ideology and the wallet. Between safer streets and wealthier homes. Whose policy would enrich the voters the most?
1929 saw two more States return to their rightful place in the Union and in Congress. The readmission of Arkansas (February 15, 1929) and Sonora (August 12, 1929) not only brought the United States closer to its former glory but it also saw several Democrats arrive in both Houses of Congress, provisional until the next elections. It was to nobody’s surprise that the bulk of both States’ delegations were members of the Democratic Party. No Southern could bring themselves to vote for the Party of Lincoln, nor would many tolerate socialism, not matter what name it used to hide itself. Three of the delegates from Sonora were members of the Progressive Party while none came from Arkansas. The South was poised to take up old partisan habits from before the States’ War.
The Democratic Party, which had struggled in the four party mess of American politics, began to see the advantage of a restored Union. Their conservative ideologies struck a key with many Southern voters who remained set in the old ways. The DNC saw the pattern and began to push for Democratic members of Congress and of the Administration to take a lighter stance on the South in issues that do not threaten the security or integrity of the Union.
One such minor issue was the waving of the Confederate battle flag. The St. Andrews cross, often misleading labeled as the flag of the C.S.A., was banned under the occupation authority. While the soldiers believed in fighting for one’s right to have their own opinion, the Army was not inclined to allow rabble-rousers any sort of rallying banner. In States once again under Constitutional authority, it was another matter. They had every right to assemble peacefully and protest any laws they deemed unjust. They did not, however, have the right to riot. On that ground, the Democratic Party retained its tough-on-crime stance, supporting the right of governors to even call out the National Guard if things spiraled too far out of control.
The rural South looked to be solidly Democrat, and the party hoped through various gestures towards Southern culture, it would remain so for the next hundred years. The urban South was a different story. Cities such as Charleston or Pensacola, both wracked by crime, looked toward the Democratic Party as the party of law and order. Industrial cities, like Atlanta, were another matter. Workers in those cities tended to favor the Progressive Party. In the cities the Democrats and Progressives would wage the age old struggle between ideology and the wallet. Between safer streets and wealthier homes. Whose policy would enrich the voters the most?
The Agency
After thirteen years of gang warfare on the streets of the South, Congress finally pushed through legislature strengthening the Federal Government’s ability to police activities between States. The Federal Government already had its own law enforcement agencies with its own jurisdictions, such as customs, coast guard, etc. The new organization was to be built around the Federal Marshals with the mandate to enforce laws concerning interstate commerce of goods both legal and extralegal, as well as having jurisdiction across the entire country. The Interstate Law Enforcement Agency was Congress’s answer to organized crime
Thanks to the Agency’s power to pursue criminals across State lines, justice in Arkansas was no longer hampered by terrorists or gangsters fleeing into Missouri. The Agency remained a small presence in unreconstructed States as the Army relentlessly enforced checkpoints across State bounders as well as county and city boundaries for the more difficult regions. Even in occupied regions, Agents (as the media simply called them) worked with the Army, and in the case of Texas, with the Rangers. Agents and Rangers worked so well together, they were able to bring the Texarkana War to an end quickly.
The so-called war raged from 1929 to 1930, involving the Sons of the Confederacy slipping back into Arkansas after terrorizing Texas. Extremely frustrating for the Army in Texas, the civil government in Arkansas was not inclined to allow them pursuit. After fifteen years of occupation, nobody in Little Rock wanted to let the Army enter. Arkansas also denied the Rangers the right to pursue and SOC members. They had no say in the case of the Agency.
Several Sons of the Confederacy who operated in Texas, including “General” Leopold Jamison, routinely crossed the border following Arkansas’s readmission into the Union. The SOC turned Texarkana, Arkansas into a stronghold, one where money brought in from their business ventures allowed them to buy every politician in the region. Given the low proportion of Blacks or Indians in the area, most civilians were not bothered by the SOC, provided they left the townsfolk in peace.
Several attempts to bring Jamison to justice frustrated the Rangers, who reluctantly agreed to aid the Agency in a plan to end Jamison’s reign of terror. The plan was simple but effective. Agents would wait across the Arkansas border while Rangers pursued the SOC. On January 8, 1931, Jamison led a raid into Texas, as was his habit. He was a leader who preferred to be in the saddle instead of behind a desk. This bravado cost him his lift that day. Agents waited on a back country road used by the SOC, setting up machine guns to ambush one of America’s high ranking public enemies.
The Rangers pursued the Jamison to the border. Had he tried to cross on any paved road, the Army would have stopped him. In a twisted parallel to the Underground Railroad of the 18th Century, the Sons of the Confederacy spent years building their own clandestine network of roads and safe houses. Jamison’s route would have remained safe if not for the successful infiltration of the Sons of the Confederacy by Agents. As he crossed the border, machine guns opened up and peppered the small truck convoy with hundreds of rounds. When the smoke cleared, a simple message was radioed to DC: “LBJ is KIA”
After thirteen years of gang warfare on the streets of the South, Congress finally pushed through legislature strengthening the Federal Government’s ability to police activities between States. The Federal Government already had its own law enforcement agencies with its own jurisdictions, such as customs, coast guard, etc. The new organization was to be built around the Federal Marshals with the mandate to enforce laws concerning interstate commerce of goods both legal and extralegal, as well as having jurisdiction across the entire country. The Interstate Law Enforcement Agency was Congress’s answer to organized crime
Thanks to the Agency’s power to pursue criminals across State lines, justice in Arkansas was no longer hampered by terrorists or gangsters fleeing into Missouri. The Agency remained a small presence in unreconstructed States as the Army relentlessly enforced checkpoints across State bounders as well as county and city boundaries for the more difficult regions. Even in occupied regions, Agents (as the media simply called them) worked with the Army, and in the case of Texas, with the Rangers. Agents and Rangers worked so well together, they were able to bring the Texarkana War to an end quickly.
The so-called war raged from 1929 to 1930, involving the Sons of the Confederacy slipping back into Arkansas after terrorizing Texas. Extremely frustrating for the Army in Texas, the civil government in Arkansas was not inclined to allow them pursuit. After fifteen years of occupation, nobody in Little Rock wanted to let the Army enter. Arkansas also denied the Rangers the right to pursue and SOC members. They had no say in the case of the Agency.
Several Sons of the Confederacy who operated in Texas, including “General” Leopold Jamison, routinely crossed the border following Arkansas’s readmission into the Union. The SOC turned Texarkana, Arkansas into a stronghold, one where money brought in from their business ventures allowed them to buy every politician in the region. Given the low proportion of Blacks or Indians in the area, most civilians were not bothered by the SOC, provided they left the townsfolk in peace.
Several attempts to bring Jamison to justice frustrated the Rangers, who reluctantly agreed to aid the Agency in a plan to end Jamison’s reign of terror. The plan was simple but effective. Agents would wait across the Arkansas border while Rangers pursued the SOC. On January 8, 1931, Jamison led a raid into Texas, as was his habit. He was a leader who preferred to be in the saddle instead of behind a desk. This bravado cost him his lift that day. Agents waited on a back country road used by the SOC, setting up machine guns to ambush one of America’s high ranking public enemies.
The Rangers pursued the Jamison to the border. Had he tried to cross on any paved road, the Army would have stopped him. In a twisted parallel to the Underground Railroad of the 18th Century, the Sons of the Confederacy spent years building their own clandestine network of roads and safe houses. Jamison’s route would have remained safe if not for the successful infiltration of the Sons of the Confederacy by Agents. As he crossed the border, machine guns opened up and peppered the small truck convoy with hundreds of rounds. When the smoke cleared, a simple message was radioed to DC: “LBJ is KIA”
Seems the SOC, in the end, went all the Way with LBJ
Anyway, Interstate Law Enforcement Agency...this ATL's FBI?
Anyway, Interstate Law Enforcement Agency...this ATL's FBI?
It's sort of the equivalent of it. It does go after terrorists and organized crime like the FBI, but it also has more mundane tasks like trying to keep State laws from clashing. Easiest example would be to keep booze from Cuba (where it is legal to make it) from ending up in Alabama (where it is not legal to sell or transport it).
I can't say it's a carbon copy of it, since the Agency doesn't get involved in (as of the 1930s) with stuff like Civil Rights and Corruption.
Risen from the Ashes
The story of the comeback kid is an old one, retold time and again in areas ranging from the political ring to the boxing ring. The reward for greatest comeback of the 20th Century has to go to the Volunteer State. In 1916, literally half of Tennessee lay in ruins. It was Wilson’s desire to preserve the rest of the State that caused him to seek a cease-fire with Pershing. His choice caused years of turmoil in the State between those who wanted to get on with their lives and those who could not leave their past behind.
Among the violence, rebuilding preceded slowly. Some cities, such as Memphis, that suffered during the war were rebuilt. Others, like Nashville, were never the same again. Where stood houses and shops in 1914 stood farms in 1924. There was even talk of the State’s government, once restored would seek a new location to govern. The debate whether or not to keep Nashville as the capital raged for years. What preserved it was its central location and the ample real estate available for development among the ruins.
When Tennessee returned to the Union on April 5, 1930, its provisional delegation to Congress consisted of more Progressives than Democrats, a fact that surprised newpapers in New York and Chicago. They assumed Tennessee would follow the same path as other former Confederate States and embrace the Democrats. Thanks to various programs developed by the Hughes Administration, the Progressive Party made inroads into Tennessee. In easthern Tennessee, the Labor Party made its own gains among the industrial voters of the State, their first solid ground in the South.
The story of the comeback kid is an old one, retold time and again in areas ranging from the political ring to the boxing ring. The reward for greatest comeback of the 20th Century has to go to the Volunteer State. In 1916, literally half of Tennessee lay in ruins. It was Wilson’s desire to preserve the rest of the State that caused him to seek a cease-fire with Pershing. His choice caused years of turmoil in the State between those who wanted to get on with their lives and those who could not leave their past behind.
Among the violence, rebuilding preceded slowly. Some cities, such as Memphis, that suffered during the war were rebuilt. Others, like Nashville, were never the same again. Where stood houses and shops in 1914 stood farms in 1924. There was even talk of the State’s government, once restored would seek a new location to govern. The debate whether or not to keep Nashville as the capital raged for years. What preserved it was its central location and the ample real estate available for development among the ruins.
When Tennessee returned to the Union on April 5, 1930, its provisional delegation to Congress consisted of more Progressives than Democrats, a fact that surprised newpapers in New York and Chicago. They assumed Tennessee would follow the same path as other former Confederate States and embrace the Democrats. Thanks to various programs developed by the Hughes Administration, the Progressive Party made inroads into Tennessee. In easthern Tennessee, the Labor Party made its own gains among the industrial voters of the State, their first solid ground in the South.