The Fire Never Dies: Labor's Star Ascendant

13. The Mexican Revolution
…While in exile in Texas, Madero issued his “Plan de San Luis Potosí”, calling for a revolution against Díaz. Madero himself was a liberal from a wealthy family, and actively sought support from American business interests. However, his call to arms inspired many across Mexican society, from opportunists like Pascual Orozco to radicals like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata…

…The federal army proved unable to defeat the rebels, and in May Díaz sued for peace. The resulting Treaty of Ciudad Juárez saw Díaz resign and go into exile, with the lawyer Francisco León de la Barra becoming interim president until an election in October 1911 (which Madero won decisively). Madero called for revolutionaries to lay down their arms, but Zapata and Orozco refused. Zapata thought Madero had effectively become the continuation of the Díaz regime, while Orozco was slighted over being passed over for governorship of Chihuahua…

…In April 1912, Madero dispatched General Victoriano Huerta to put down Orozco’s revolt. Villa, then a colonel in the state militia, actually supported Madero at this point, leading 400 irregular troops alongside Huerta’s federals. However, in an act of petty jealousy that would lead to generations of Mexican reactionaries to curse his name, Huerta saw Villa as a competitor, not an ally, and had him arrested on trumped-up charges. He was sentenced to death, but escaped and fled across the border into Texas[1], where he soon found sanctuary among American socialists…

- From Viva la Revolucion! A History of the Mexican Revolution by Ambassador John McCain III

[1] All IOTL.
 
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14. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
…The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire shocked New York City and the nation as a whole. New York City formed a Committee on Public Safety[1] to investigate the cause of the fire. The committee, headed by eyewitness Frances Perkins, found support among Socialists and reformers in the state legislature. Initially, they also received backing from Tammany Hall, but the price proved to be that many of the recommendations were watered down, in the hopes that by portraying the Socialists as ineffective firebrands, the Democrats could win back many working-class votes[2].

…Even the Committee’s wide-ranging recommendations were not enough for many of New York’s workers. Public anger soon focused on the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. When manslaughter charges were announced, many protested at the lack of a murder charge. On December 29, after two days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty”[3]. But the workers would exact their justice. As Blanck and Harris were ushered out of the courthouse, they were shot at point blank range by Kate Alterman, a witness whose testimony had been discredited on the stand[4]. Alterman was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remanded to a mental asylum, where she remained until the Revolution…

…The failure of the justice system and the weak reforms passed by the state legislature further radicalized New York’s working class. The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union affiliated itself with the IWW[5], and in 1912 the New York branch of the IWW established their own “Committee of Public Safety”. The CPS, headed by Leon Bronstein, would collect reports of safety violations and then apply pressure to the bosses, be it a threat to go on strike or, in some cases, physical violence…

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice

[1] Yes, that was the name they chose IOTL.

[2] IOTL they supported the inquiry wholeheartedly. Of course, Socialists were not a serious force in the New York legislature at this point IOTL.

[3] Same verdict as IOTL, except the deliberations only lasted two hours.

[4] IOTL they were found guilty in a subsequent civil suit, but the damages were less than what they had received in insurance payouts.

[5] They never did so IOTL.
 
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…The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire shocked New York City and the nation as a whole. New York City formed a Committee on Public Safety[1] to investigate the cause of the fire. The committee, headed by eyewitness Frances Perkins, found support among Socialists and reformers in the state legislature. Initially, they also received backing from Tammany Hall, but the price proved to be that many of the recommendations were watered down, in the hopes that by portraying the Socialists as ineffective firebrands, the Democrats could win back many working-class votes[2].

…Even the Committee’s wide-ranging recommendations were not enough for many of New York’s workers. Public anger soon focused on the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. When manslaughter charges were announced, many protested at the lack of a murder charge. On December 29, after two days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty”[3]. But the workers would exact their justice. As Blanck and Harris were ushered out of the courthouse, they were shot at point blank range by Kate Alterman, a witness whose testimony had been discredited on the stand[4]. Alterman was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remanded to a mental asylum, where she remained until the Revolution…

…The failure of the justice system and the weak reforms passed by the state legislature further radicalized New York’s working class. The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union affiliated itself with the IWW[5], and in 1912 the New York branch of the IWW established their own “Committee of Public Safety”. The CPS, headed by Leon Bronstein, would collect reports of safety violations and then apply pressure to the bosses, be it a threat to go on strike or, in some cases, physical violence…

- One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution

[1] Yes, that was the name they chose IOTL.

[2] IOTL they supported the inquiry wholeheartedly. Of course, Socialists were not a serious force in the New York legislature at this point IOTL.

[3] Same verdict as IOTL, except the deliberations only lasted two hours.

[4] IOTL they were found guilty in a subsequent civil suit, but the damages were less than what they had received in insurance payouts.

[5] They never did so IOTL.
We got a master organizer on our side this time, seems.
 
Minor retcon: Seattle was the second major American city to elect a socialist Mayor. I forgot about Emil Seidel in Milwaukee.
 
15. The 1912 Election (Part 1)
…The 1912 election was already looking to be particularly tense. Between the failure of the would-be 17th Amendment and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, there was an increasing note of anger at the current administration. The SLP still had little hope of actually winning the election, but they were now expecting to win states outright…

…Ironically, the old split between electoralism and direct action seemed to have reemerged. Those who had previously dismissed electoralism now advocated for the SLP to focus on winning state and local offices, while others believed that Congress offered the best platform for promoting socialism. Of course, these objectives often ran hand in hand, as securing state legislatures would be necessary to elect any Socialists to the Senate…

…But to their surprise (and slight annoyance), the national attention was on the Republicans. The relationship between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt, once very amicable, was now a rivalry. On March 28, he announced that if he failed to win the Republican nomination, he would run as an independent…

…The Republican convention, held in Chicago, would go down as the last great contested convention in US history. Debs put a pause on his campaign and returned to Chicago, in case an opportunity emerged. Some in the SLP (primarily Congressman Meyer London) even proposed that the SLP could work with Roosevelt if he lost the nomination. The RNC refused permission for any of the openly socialist newspapers to join the press pool, but several employees of the Chicago Coliseum were socialist sympathizers, and they dutifully reported all major events to party headquarters. When the convention re-nominated Taft, and Roosevelt declared his Progressive Party that afternoon, Debs took careful note of who had supported Roosevelt. The splintering of the Republican Party provided opportunities in many elections…

…To their regret, the SLP paid relatively little attention to the Democratic convention. The initial favorite was Speaker of the House Champ Clark, but when he received the support of Tammany Hall, that angered William Jennings Bryan, who endorsed Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey[1]. This was celebrated by the SLP as the death knell for Tammany Hall, opening the door to SLP dominance in New York. While this was certainly true, the nomination of Wilson would prove to have consequences no one could foresee…

…Meanwhile, the SLP was busy with its own affairs. Debs was nominated again without opposition. Emil Seidel, Bill Haywood, and Charles Moyer were all considered as potential running mates, but it was decided that they should focus on their own races[2]. Instead, they offered the nomination to Frances Perkins, who had headed the New York City Committee of Public Safety created after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Perkins, who was disillusioned after her recommendations were watered down, accepted. She not only had widespread name recognition in New York, but she was an educated woman of WASP ancestry, and spent much of her time speaking at universities and women’s organizations, appealing to middle class progressives. SLP candidates were favored in numerous races across the nation, while the districts and offices they had won in 1908 and 1910 seemed secure. And especially with the Republican schism, Debs was now the favorite in a few states…

- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin

[1] The Republican and Democratic races are all as IOTL.

[2] IOTL, they went with Seidel.
 
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I'm curious to see what's their presence in state and county level power.
Tracking the outcome of every single mayoral and state legislative election in the United States is a bit much for me.

Right now, the SLP holds numerous mayorships, mostly of mining or industrial towns. Two large cities, Milwaukee and Seattle, have socialist mayors (Emil Seidel and Bill Haywood, respectively). Part of the reason neither Seidel nor Haywood are on the ticket is so they can support local efforts to gain control of their respective city councils. They don't yet have majorities in any state legislatures, but they have a strong presence in a few states, such as New York, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Washington.
 
Tracking the outcome of every single mayoral and state legislative election in the United States is a bit much for me.
I'll be honest, tracking all that is a huge waste of time, not to mention boring as hell.
The dissapointment one feels when you see an update alert and it's a bunch of senate seat allocations...
 
I'll be honest, tracking all that is a huge waste of time, not to mention boring as hell.
The dissapointment one feels when you see an update alert and it's a bunch of senate seat allocations...
I'll be mentioning where the SLP makes gains, but not everything else. I do have a breakdown of the 1912 presidential election in the works, though.
 
16. The 1912 Election (Part 2)
…Roosevelt’s campaign was something completely unprecedented. Not only was it a violation of the unofficial two-term limit that dated back to George Washington, but he was trying to unseat a sitting president – and doing a good job of it. There was every indication that he would at the very least carry several states. Many Republicans decried his campaign as handing the Presidency to the Democrats on a silver platter. Others hitched their wagon to Roosevelt, leading to Republicans and Progressives running against each other, repeating the national pattern in miniature. Generally, Progressives charted a course to the left of Republicans. Reform seemed to be in the air, with some Democrats also championing progressive stances. Socialist candidates often painted their major opponents (be they Democrats, Republicans, or Progressives) as unlikely to deliver on their promises…

…Going into October, the Taft campaign was looking at a disaster. Not only were they expecting to lose to Wilson, but they were also likely to lose to Roosevelt, and maybe even Debs. It would be the greatest of humiliations if a sitting President placed third or fourth in an election[1]. Had this come to pass, it is plausible that the Progressives would have either displaced or taken over the Republican Party[2]

…On October 14, at a campaign stop in Milwaukee, Roosevelt left the Gilpatrick Hotel, off to deliver a speech at the Milwaukee Auditorium. As he stood and waved to the cheering crowd, a former saloonkeeper named Johannes Schrank shot him in the chest. The bullet penetrated into his chest, ripping through his lung and diaphragm[3]. Coughing up blood, Roosevelt was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. Less than an hour after the shooting, Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and now candidate for the Progressive Party, was dead…

- From The Great Contest: The 1912 Election by David McCollum

[1] IOTL, Taft did indeed place behind Roosevelt, the only sitting president to do so.

[2] This didn’t happen IOTL.

[3] IOTL, the bullet was slowed by Roosevelt’s glasses case and speech, becoming lodged in his chest muscle. He famously went on to give his speech before seeking medical attention. Here, the bullet strikes Roosevelt in a different place, mortally wounding him.
 
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President Roosevelt Terebox
From "Theodore Roosevelt - Terepedia[1]"

TFND Theodore Roosevelt.PNG


[1] "Tere" is the Maori word for "quick", and also becomes this timeline's version of "wiki".
 
I guess Roosevelt had his speech in a different pocket ITTL?

And a dead presidential candidate is going to shake things up.
 
I get the feeling that the socialists will get the blame for this assassination because schrank is 'foreign' , and also because the last assassination (ironically, the one that made teddy president) was by an anarchist.
 
I get the feeling that the socialists will get the blame for this assassination because schrank is 'foreign' , and also because the last assassination (ironically, the one that made teddy president) was by an anarchist.
There will be suspicion, but Schrank had written down his motivations beforehand (the ghost of William McKinley told him to do it), and plenty of other people will suspect that if anyone was behind this, it would have been the Taft campaign. The socialists were, as previously stated, more favorably inclined towards Roosevelt than Taft or Wilson, given his history of trust-busting.
 
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