The Fire Never Dies: Labor's Star Ascendant
- Thread starter Meshakhad
- Start date
-
- Tags
- iww socialist america
One does wonder how many of the trans-Mississippi exclaves are doing more than giving the barest lip service to the Wilson administration at this point. Someone proclaiming a Restored Republic of Texas is all but inevitable if it holds out for anything close to a year.
The Whites are done. No way they can come back from this. Not without massive, and I mean MASSIVE, international aid.
Massive international aid that is not coming. No one wants to get involved in a war to the knife when they JUST signed the armistice. They're all counting on the reds mysterious and sudden total collapse.
Though that does give me a very stupid idea- reds win, but pretend to have suddenly and totally collapsed and pretend that they're ethe whites
A diplomat comes to.meet "president wilson" but it's just debs wearing a hairpiece
Last edited:
Speaking of which, what would become of them (and Hollywoood more broadly) ITTL?
I haven't figured out the fates of individual actors or filmmakers, but a number would have died in the fighting in California (or even from deprivation). Pretty much all of the studio execs left with Caperton. Fortunately, the Whites abandoned California before heavy fighting actually reached Los Angeles.
The film industry will probably be one of the closest to a market system. You'd have studio cooperatives composed largely of below-the-line workers (stagehands, techs, etc.) while directors, actors, and writers are all part of their respective unions, working on each film on contract. There will be some propaganda, but not much more than the OTL US.
I'm willing to bet my Great-Great Grandparents are southern red partisans rn
Pulling a Taiwan operating out of the USVI (with a Royal Navy Squadron hanging around Road Town for unrelated reasons) is about as good a deal as can be imagined, let alone hoped for.
ISTR a lot of the up and coming film moguls were of the Sort that proper gentlemen were not pleased to associate with. Mind you I doubt they could get Caperton to operate his fleet like a Gentleman's Club, but things could be awkward....
I could not find anyone that would be foolish enough to bet otherwise if they were still breathing. I wonder if there are even 1000 black people in the U.S. willingly declaring for the Wilson administration at this point.
The British occupied the US Virgin Islands after the Battle of Miami Beach. At this point, the only territory under US control outside the continental US is the Panama Canal Zone.
They were still capitalists who feared a Red takeover, especially when their most recent experience with socialism was the Army of San Francisco, which was no less responsible for the Golden Abattoir than their foes.
Pretty much. American blacks at this point are either openly Red or keeping their heads down (but hoping the Reds win).
Correct. He's trying to convince Josephus Daniels to give him a submarine so he can get out and form a government in exile.
Oh! I should mention that at this time New York (and its immediate areas) was also a major film making hub!
Nickelodeons and Movie Palaces: New York and the Film Industry 1893-1920 - The Bowery Boys: New York City History
The historic movie studio Kaufman Astoria Studios opened 100 years ago this year in Astoria, Queens. It remains a vital part of New York City’s entertainment industry with both film and television shows still made there to this day. The Museum of the Moving Image resides next door in a former...
www.boweryboyshistory.com
The weather in Los Angeles would continue to have the comparative advantage. But yes expect All The War Epics coming out of both coasts even (perhaps especially) if there are no efforts at censorship/micromanagement from on high.Oh! I should mention that at this time New York (and its immediate areas) was also a major film making hub!
Nickelodeons and Movie Palaces: New York and the Film Industry 1893-1920 - The Bowery Boys: New York City History
The historic movie studio Kaufman Astoria Studios opened 100 years ago this year in Astoria, Queens. It remains a vital part of New York City’s entertainment industry with both film and television shows still made there to this day. The Museum of the Moving Image resides next door in a former...
Come to think of it, most of the people working on the first 'Race Films' (especially companies like Lincoln MPC) declined to bolt if they have not starved. They may be in a position to hit the ground running.
At the very least i think we can safely assume that there won't be a Hays Code to crush the incredible diversity of early American film.
So not only would we see more 'race films' but also have films where gay and queer folk aren't locked into being villians
Last edited:
Maybe you could do the fates of "big names" in film during this period IOTL in a cultural update on culture post-revolution in both Red America and amongst the diaspora?
Even if there is one, White Supremacy would be considered declassee as all get out by everyone with any pull left.
Especially as the Commissariat for War will be one of the big sponsors of film. That said, there will be other perspectives, such as Patton making a movie about the armored car battles in Oklahoma (although that movie will be less politics and more action).
Oh yes indeed.
Definitely.
90. The Surrender of Texas
…Even as the Memphis Uprising distracted the Red Army’s attention, the Lower Mississippi offensive continued. On August 4, the day after the Memphis Uprising, the Red Army took Baton Rouge. Their main obstacle was not the meager local defenses, but their own logistics train. By August 10, Red gunboats were patrolling the entire river. It was still possible for individuals to make it across if they were careful and lucky, but for all intents and purposes, Texas, Arkansas, and the Southwest were cut off…
…In Austin, Governor William P. Hobby had to face reality. There was no prospect of a reversal. He was alone. Oklahoma Red Guards were probing his defenses to the north, and much of east Texas was effectively under the control of partisans. Even if General Liggett withdrew from New Mexico and Colorado, the Reds would inevitably crush both the Army of the Plains and the Texas National Guard…
…Some in the Texan government proposed that they declare independence. This plan was seriously considered by Governor Hobby and might have been implemented if there had been any hope of international support. Ultimately, Hobby decided against it. On August 13, after a discussion via telegram with General Liggett, Hobby asked Liggett to request a ceasefire. Subsequently, he sent Congressman Sam Rayburn[1], who had left Washington after the Battle of Miami Beach, as his representative to formal surrender talks in Denver with Colorado Governor Charles Moyer, who had been named as the GDC representative…
…Texas’ prior support for the Wilson administration and enactment of racist policies put them in a poor position. However, the Army of the Plains had earned the respect of their foes and had no major atrocities to their name. It also helped that while the SLP representatives in the Texas state legislature had been arrested at the start of the war, they were still alive (aside from one, K.E. Choate[2], who had died of influenza) and had not been mistreated. The surrender terms would see E.R. Meitzen[3], who had been one of Texas’ most prominent socialists (and now served on the GDC), become Acting Governor. All members of the Ku Klux Klan would be arrested to face trial after the war, but otherwise the Army of the Plains and the Texas National Guard would simply be disarmed and disbanded…
…On August 22, Governor Hobby announced the surrender of the State of Texas. He formally ceded power to Meitzen on September 4. While Rayburn often received most of the credit for negotiating the surrender, given his later accomplishments, he never failed to mention the vital role Hobby played. Thanks to Hobby, Texas would suffer the fewest deaths proportionate to its population of any Southern state save Oklahoma…
- From Red Star Rising: A History of the Second American Revolution by Tom Clancy
[1] IOTL, Rayburn served for nearly 50 years in Congress. He was a strong advocate for education and opposed segregation. He also had a solid reputation for personal integrity.
[2] IOTL, Choate was the SLP candidate for Governor of Texas in 1914. ITTL, he was instead elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
[3] IOTL, Meitzen was the SPA candidate for Governor of Texas in 1914. ITTL, he was the SLP candidate and won a congressional seat in 1916.
…In Austin, Governor William P. Hobby had to face reality. There was no prospect of a reversal. He was alone. Oklahoma Red Guards were probing his defenses to the north, and much of east Texas was effectively under the control of partisans. Even if General Liggett withdrew from New Mexico and Colorado, the Reds would inevitably crush both the Army of the Plains and the Texas National Guard…
…Some in the Texan government proposed that they declare independence. This plan was seriously considered by Governor Hobby and might have been implemented if there had been any hope of international support. Ultimately, Hobby decided against it. On August 13, after a discussion via telegram with General Liggett, Hobby asked Liggett to request a ceasefire. Subsequently, he sent Congressman Sam Rayburn[1], who had left Washington after the Battle of Miami Beach, as his representative to formal surrender talks in Denver with Colorado Governor Charles Moyer, who had been named as the GDC representative…
…Texas’ prior support for the Wilson administration and enactment of racist policies put them in a poor position. However, the Army of the Plains had earned the respect of their foes and had no major atrocities to their name. It also helped that while the SLP representatives in the Texas state legislature had been arrested at the start of the war, they were still alive (aside from one, K.E. Choate[2], who had died of influenza) and had not been mistreated. The surrender terms would see E.R. Meitzen[3], who had been one of Texas’ most prominent socialists (and now served on the GDC), become Acting Governor. All members of the Ku Klux Klan would be arrested to face trial after the war, but otherwise the Army of the Plains and the Texas National Guard would simply be disarmed and disbanded…
…On August 22, Governor Hobby announced the surrender of the State of Texas. He formally ceded power to Meitzen on September 4. While Rayburn often received most of the credit for negotiating the surrender, given his later accomplishments, he never failed to mention the vital role Hobby played. Thanks to Hobby, Texas would suffer the fewest deaths proportionate to its population of any Southern state save Oklahoma…
- From Red Star Rising: A History of the Second American Revolution by Tom Clancy
[1] IOTL, Rayburn served for nearly 50 years in Congress. He was a strong advocate for education and opposed segregation. He also had a solid reputation for personal integrity.
[2] IOTL, Choate was the SLP candidate for Governor of Texas in 1914. ITTL, he was instead elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
[3] IOTL, Meitzen was the SPA candidate for Governor of Texas in 1914. ITTL, he was the SLP candidate and won a congressional seat in 1916.
Sometimes, there is really not a point to Fighting Some More Forever.
So does Rayburn have a future in Loyal Opposition Politics then?