…1. All legislative powers established by this Constitution shall be vested in a Workers’ Congress of the American Socialist Union, which shall consist of a House of People’s Representatives and a Chamber of Labor Delegates…
…2. The House of People’s Representatives shall be composed of members elected every second year for two-year terms by the people of the Commonwealths. People’s Representatives shall be elected by popular vote of their respective districts, which shall be apportioned by population…
…3. The Chamber of Labor Delegates shall be composed of members elected every year for three-year terms by the members of the Labor Unions. Labor Delegates shall be elected by popular vote of their unions, which shall be apportioned by membership…
- From Article I of the ASU Constitution
…The Second Constitutional Convention was a messy affair, starting with the elections for delegates. Debs and the GDC wanted to move quickly on getting a new constitution in place, but they also wanted to rely on the (loose) structure provided by Article V of the old constitution. This required that two-thirds of state legislatures (thirty-two in total) call for a constitutional convention. It was also vital that every state be able to elect delegates to that convention. The problem was that most of the states had spent much of the war partially or entirely under White control…
…There was no clean solution to the problem. They would simply have to do what they could. In some states – those with socialist-aligned legislatures that had remained largely in control of their states – they began passing legislation calling for a convention as soon as possible. Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin all passed their legislation in May 1917. Illinois and New York followed in June once Springfield and Albany were recaptured and their legislatures reconstituted. But that only brought the number to twelve. Another twenty states would be needed…
…In states that had not been under Red control from the beginning, the standard practice was to transition to an appointed civilian government once the state was largely under Red control. This government (usually headed by a local SLP politician) would oversee special elections to restore the legislature, which could then pass legislation calling for a convention. The first to do so was New Jersey in August of 1917, with Michigan and Wyoming following later that month. September saw the Dakotas, Ohio, and New Mexico pass legislation, bringing the total to nineteen. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont all passed their legislation in November. Arizona, Maine, and Oregon followed in December. Nebraska and Iowa joined the call in January. After that, the total remained static for months. Kansas finally got organized in April, while Missouri came in May…
…The clincher was, of all places, California. After the Shasta Agreement in March 1918, enough SLP delegates returned to Sacremento to provide Governor Johnson with a quorum. However, the Republicans remained dominant and many were opposed to a convention on principle. Johnson, on the other hand, was more concerned by the possibility of being excluded from that convention. After considerable wrangling, on June 17, 1918, the State of California became the thirty-second state to call for a constitutional convention. Some of the push may have been humiliation, given that while they had been wrangling, the territories of Alaska and Puerto Rico had also called for a convention…
…The language of the bills passed was generally similar. All agreed that the convention should only occur once all hostilities had ceased and it became possible for every state to elect delegates. The task of organizing the convention would be left to the GDC. The major difference was the purported agenda. Many states were explicitly calling for a new constitution, but some states – mostly those that had had relatively little socialist presence in local politics before the war – simply called for “major revisions”. California was the most conservative, agreeing only that there was “an obvious requirement for amendments”. Governor Johnson quickly emerged as head of the “Constitutionalist” faction which wanted to preserve the basic structure of the US government…
…Even with a convention now a certainty, that still required electing delegates. Some were adamant that an election for constitutional delegates could only occur under the auspices of a duly elected state government, but many states were still under appointed civilian rule. Organizing a civilian government was proving particularly difficult in war-torn states like Kentucky, Maryland, and Utah. But the GDC’s patience was not unlimited. On April 8, 1919, they announced that all appointed governors would immediately organize elections for convention delegates no later than May 1. The resulting elections were somewhat controversial, but ultimately proved to be fair. Most states elected SLP-dominated slates. Only three states were dominated by Constitutionalists, but as those three were California, Delaware, and Texas, it was clear that the non-socialists would have a significant voice…
…The convention would also not be limited to the states. Alaska and Puerto Rico were very adamant that they be included. Hawaii also voted to send delegates, although it was clear that they were still considering secession. To the surprise of some, the Navajo Nation (which had not participated in the elections in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or Utah) opted to participate. The Navajo were the only Native American tribe to attend under their own banner, although several other states had elected some Native delegates. Finally, the District of Columbia was allowed to send a delegation…
…That left the matter of where to hold the convention. Many in the GDC wanted Chicago or New York, but the two factions were split. Washington itself was out on the grounds that while the Capitol itself was sufficiently intact to hold a convention, the city as a whole was in ruins. Rather unexpectedly, after James H. Maurer[1] made an appeal in favor of Philadelphia, citing its role in the 1787 constitutional convention, most of the New York faction switched their support to Philadelphia…
…On July 4, 1919, the delegates flowed into the Exposition Auditorium[2] in Philadelphia. After they were all seated, Eugene Debs struck his gavel on the podium, officially bringing the 1919 Constitutional Convention to order…
- From A New Union: A Political History of the American Socialist Union by Hillary Rodham
[1] A prominent Pennsylvanian socialist both IOTL and ITTL.
[2] The site of the 1900 Republican National Convention. It was located south of the University of Pennsylvania.
