Lots of gubernatorial races coming up in 1914, the SLP winning some would be a great help in the revolution
The Fire Never Dies: Labor's Star Ascendant
- Thread starter Meshakhad
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- iww socialist america
24. World War I Begins
…The explosion of World War I in Europe shocked many Americans. Wars in Europe were nothing unusual (most Americans had probably not even been aware of the Balkan Wars and the Italo-Turkish War). But World War I was different. Almost every major power in Europe was at war, and the scale of the conflict rivaled even the American Civil War…
…At the start, President Wilson was firmly against American involvement, as were the majority of the American people. Wilson even sought to organize a peace conference, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a ringing endorsement and offer of support from Representative Debs. But no one in Europe seemed interested. A crack began to appear in the peace movement, when Debs suggested that the US should boycott all the belligerent powers. There was little prospect of this actually happening – American businessmen were already making a killing selling materiel to Europe – but the failure of Wilson to even consider the proposal dampened what little prospects there were for an alliance between the Socialists and Democrats…
…Not everyone was against war. A significant minority favored intervention on the side of the Entente, particularly after reports of German atrocities in Belgium reached American newspapers. This point of view was particularly popular among some Republicans, many of whom were Anglophiles. A much smaller faction (mostly wealthy Germans) argued for joining the Central Powers and seizing Canada. While this viewpoint would never get any traction, the presence of a pro-German faction provided a kernel of truth to a grand conspiracy theory that would soon grow in the United States, and eventually count President Wilson among its adherents...
- From The Last President by Aviva Chomsky
…At the start, President Wilson was firmly against American involvement, as were the majority of the American people. Wilson even sought to organize a peace conference, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a ringing endorsement and offer of support from Representative Debs. But no one in Europe seemed interested. A crack began to appear in the peace movement, when Debs suggested that the US should boycott all the belligerent powers. There was little prospect of this actually happening – American businessmen were already making a killing selling materiel to Europe – but the failure of Wilson to even consider the proposal dampened what little prospects there were for an alliance between the Socialists and Democrats…
…Not everyone was against war. A significant minority favored intervention on the side of the Entente, particularly after reports of German atrocities in Belgium reached American newspapers. This point of view was particularly popular among some Republicans, many of whom were Anglophiles. A much smaller faction (mostly wealthy Germans) argued for joining the Central Powers and seizing Canada. While this viewpoint would never get any traction, the presence of a pro-German faction provided a kernel of truth to a grand conspiracy theory that would soon grow in the United States, and eventually count President Wilson among its adherents...
- From The Last President by Aviva Chomsky
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Are the IWW-SLP members of the second international? If so, did they have much sway with any of the European socialists to swing some otl pro-war groups to neutrality?
The SLP is a member (purely political work like the Second International is considered outside the IWW's sphere). They are actually a bit hard to classify as they include both reformists like Morris Hillquit and radicals like Bill Haywood (although SLP radicals have embraced electoral politics as a tool to advance the revolution). They were becoming influential in promoting revolutionary unionism, but given the near-universal support for the war among socialists in belligerent countries, I don't see them having much of an impact. The Second International will probably collapse as it did IOTL.
Ah well, thats a bit of a shame for the international but not wholly unexpected. Should i assume that its the russian parties (the RSDLP, and the SRP) that are learning the most from them?
25. The 1914 Elections
…With the death of Roosevelt, the Progressive Party’s driving force was gone. There was some discussion of continuing as a minor party, but when Govern Hiram Johnson of California, the most prominent Progressive, called for rejoining the Republican Party, that was the end of it…
…The continued ineffectiveness of the SLP in Congress strengthened the radical wing of the party, who wanted more resources put towards winning state and local offices. The SLP would of course field candidates for Congress, but their primary goal was winning governorships…
…Republicans campaigned on the recovering economy, arguing that their pro-business principles had been enacted successfully[1]. Socialists focused on the welfare of their working-class base, claiming credit for victories like the Coalfield Strike…
…The returns in November were not exactly a disaster for Wilson and the Democrats, but neither were they good. The Democrats still held a majority in the Senate, but their majority in the House was reduced to a plurality. For the first time in ages, no single party held a majority in the House of Representatives. The Republicans, aided by the Progressives returning to the fold, had narrowed the gap between the two parties considerably, and the Socialists were now the tiebreaker. Even the Prohibition Party had gotten in, electing Charles H. Randall from California[2]…
…But for some, the uncertain future of Congress was overshadowed by what had happened in some of the states. Six states had elected socialist governors: Charles Moyer of Colorado, Ed Boyce of Idaho, Vincent St. Johns of Nevada, Fred W. Holt of Oklahoma, William Trautmann of Pennsylvania, and Emil Seidel of Wisconsin. The SLP had also come close in other states, particularly Minnesota, Michigan, New York, and Oregon. They had even come in a distant second in Texas, with E.R. Meitzen winning 23% of the vote (though James E. Ferguson walked away with a 72% landslide)[3]…
…The election of Trautmann, one of the founders of the IWW, was particularly shocking. Exaggerated stories of the anarchy unleashed upon Milwaukee and Seattle led many Pennsylvania-based businesses to announce that they would be leaving the state. Others sought a more direct solution. On December 19, 1914, as Governor-Elect Trautmann met with union representatives in Altoona, a man pulled a pistol out of his jacket and pointed it at Trautmann, only to be tackled to the ground by several miners. The man turned out to be one John F. Marshall, who later testified that he tried to kill Trautmann “to stop Pennsylvania from falling under Jewish dominion”[4]. The attempt only radicalized the SLP, and when Trautmann took office in 1915, he completely overhauled the Pennsylvania National Guard…
- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin
[1] This may not make much sense, given that the Democrats had been in power, but they did so IOTL.
[2] IOTL, the Democrats held on to their majority, although it was greatly reduced. ITTL, the Democratic majority was not as big in 1912, and the Socialists won more Democrat seats than Republican.
[3] The totals are different, but IOTL Meitzen and the SPA did come in second in the Texas gubernatorial election.
[4] IOTL, John F. Marshall would go on to serve as Kilgrapp (or secretary) of the Altoona chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
…The continued ineffectiveness of the SLP in Congress strengthened the radical wing of the party, who wanted more resources put towards winning state and local offices. The SLP would of course field candidates for Congress, but their primary goal was winning governorships…
…Republicans campaigned on the recovering economy, arguing that their pro-business principles had been enacted successfully[1]. Socialists focused on the welfare of their working-class base, claiming credit for victories like the Coalfield Strike…
…The returns in November were not exactly a disaster for Wilson and the Democrats, but neither were they good. The Democrats still held a majority in the Senate, but their majority in the House was reduced to a plurality. For the first time in ages, no single party held a majority in the House of Representatives. The Republicans, aided by the Progressives returning to the fold, had narrowed the gap between the two parties considerably, and the Socialists were now the tiebreaker. Even the Prohibition Party had gotten in, electing Charles H. Randall from California[2]…
…But for some, the uncertain future of Congress was overshadowed by what had happened in some of the states. Six states had elected socialist governors: Charles Moyer of Colorado, Ed Boyce of Idaho, Vincent St. Johns of Nevada, Fred W. Holt of Oklahoma, William Trautmann of Pennsylvania, and Emil Seidel of Wisconsin. The SLP had also come close in other states, particularly Minnesota, Michigan, New York, and Oregon. They had even come in a distant second in Texas, with E.R. Meitzen winning 23% of the vote (though James E. Ferguson walked away with a 72% landslide)[3]…
…The election of Trautmann, one of the founders of the IWW, was particularly shocking. Exaggerated stories of the anarchy unleashed upon Milwaukee and Seattle led many Pennsylvania-based businesses to announce that they would be leaving the state. Others sought a more direct solution. On December 19, 1914, as Governor-Elect Trautmann met with union representatives in Altoona, a man pulled a pistol out of his jacket and pointed it at Trautmann, only to be tackled to the ground by several miners. The man turned out to be one John F. Marshall, who later testified that he tried to kill Trautmann “to stop Pennsylvania from falling under Jewish dominion”[4]. The attempt only radicalized the SLP, and when Trautmann took office in 1915, he completely overhauled the Pennsylvania National Guard…
- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin
[1] This may not make much sense, given that the Democrats had been in power, but they did so IOTL.
[2] IOTL, the Democrats held on to their majority, although it was greatly reduced. ITTL, the Democratic majority was not as big in 1912, and the Socialists won more Democrat seats than Republican.
[3] The totals are different, but IOTL Meitzen and the SPA did come in second in the Texas gubernatorial election.
[4] IOTL, John F. Marshall would go on to serve as Kilgrapp (or secretary) of the Altoona chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
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The Russians are very much influenced by the Americans, thanks to Trotsky. Everyone else is paying attention, but it's heavily debated whether the American approach with the IWW is the most effective. I'll make a post soon about what the Russians are up to.
One fun detail I can share right now is that the Russian socialists really like the IWW's use of music to spread their message, given how most Russians are illiterate. In addition to composing their own songs, Russian socialists are singing translations of "There Is Power In A Union" and "Hold The Fort".
dentista campora
Banned
Can't wait for more. I imagine socialist ruled states will elect many socialist mayors, judges and sheriffs.
Finally caught up with this timeline and am quite enjoying it. I think I'm starting to see how the revolution occurs so comparatively early.
So i tried to figure out the kind of weaponry thats going to be used in the comming revolution and i quickly realized its gonna be a mess.
Officially, the army and navy are both supposed to be using .30-06 cal Springfield 1903s as their standard small arm, but both will still have .30 cal Krag-jorgensen rifles (of which there are several american modles) in stock, and the navy also has some 6mm Lee Navy rifles.
Machine gun procurement is small and all over the place. The oldest model, mostly adopted by the navy but theres a smattering in the army, is the M1985 colt Machine gun in 6mm, 30 krag, and .30-06. Then the army adopted a handful of maxims, decided that what they needed was a light machine gun and bought some M1909 Benét-Mercié's, then after ww1 was declared they decided to buy vickers guns instead.
On top of this mess, each state's national guard was in charge of equipping their own weapons so they could have any mix of the above or private purchases.
Oh, and the American public owns tons of all different sorts of guns because of the massive self defense and sporting markets, including the ability to buy machine guns by catalog
Officially, the army and navy are both supposed to be using .30-06 cal Springfield 1903s as their standard small arm, but both will still have .30 cal Krag-jorgensen rifles (of which there are several american modles) in stock, and the navy also has some 6mm Lee Navy rifles.
Machine gun procurement is small and all over the place. The oldest model, mostly adopted by the navy but theres a smattering in the army, is the M1985 colt Machine gun in 6mm, 30 krag, and .30-06. Then the army adopted a handful of maxims, decided that what they needed was a light machine gun and bought some M1909 Benét-Mercié's, then after ww1 was declared they decided to buy vickers guns instead.
On top of this mess, each state's national guard was in charge of equipping their own weapons so they could have any mix of the above or private purchases.
Oh, and the American public owns tons of all different sorts of guns because of the massive self defense and sporting markets, including the ability to buy machine guns by catalog
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If the incoming Revolution happens Post more-or-less-as-OTL WW1, then they'll also be the M1917 Enfield rifle.
And American-built Mosin-Nagants. And Winchester 1895s made for 7.62 Russian with stripper clip guides etc.
I heartily recommend the C&rsenal YouTube Channel if you want to go on a deep deep dive.
And American-built Mosin-Nagants. And Winchester 1895s made for 7.62 Russian with stripper clip guides etc.
I heartily recommend the C&rsenal YouTube Channel if you want to go on a deep deep dive.
Certainly lever guns will see a lot more use, as they are probably the most popular repeating arm for hunting. Perhaps this could make military leaders realize the value of an intermediate cartridge such as the winchester 1894 uses, leading to the post-war development of something like the M1/M2 carbine for most of a squad to use and a designated marksman still using a full sized rifle cartridge.
I hadn't given much thought to the specific guns used. It will absolutely be a mess. The Reds will be in a better position to standardize, though.
Since I'm not a military hardware gal, my instinct is that there won't be many changes to what weapon systems are deployed ITTL. However, many will have different names.
Since I'm not a military hardware gal, my instinct is that there won't be many changes to what weapon systems are deployed ITTL. However, many will have different names.
26. The Birth of a Nation and the sinking of the Lusitania
…The best way to describe The Birth of a Nation is to compare it to one of those mansions on Long Island. It is a truly impressive thing to behold, but its core is rotten and vile. The undeniable talents of the director, actors, and all those workers behind the scenes are put to work promoting a message of racial intolerance and glorifying reactionary violence. That this film has reportedly been screened in the White House is most disturbing…
- Review of “The Birth of a Nation” from The Daily Worker, February 1915
…In retrospect, the effect of the sinking of the SS Lusitania was to start the process of polarization between the pro-war and anti-war camps in the US. Those who advocated for intervention (or at least continued materiel support for the Entente) pointed to it as a clear example of German barbarism. A few in Congress openly called for the US to declare war on Germany. In response, Congressman Debs took the podium and read out the full manifest of the Lusitania, obtained from IWW dockworkers, which included a sizable quantity of arms[1]. Debs then called for the owners of the Lusitania to be prosecuted for homicide, as they had put weapons aboard a civilian liner headed into a war zone. Wilson refused either, but the sinking did begin to push him towards a pro-war stance…
…As tensions rose, many in the pro-war camp took Debs’ exposure of the Lusitania’s manifest as evidence that the IWW and SLP were in league with German intelligence. After all, some of the largest demographics in the IWW were Germans, Jews, and Irish. The former were suspected of remaining sympathetic to Germany, while the latter were believed (with some reason) to harbor resentment against Russia and Britain, respectively. The prominence of Italians in the IWW was conveniently ignored. This tied into preexisting nativist sentiments, creating something of a vicious feedback loop in reactionary circles. Ironically, the notion that American socialists might be allied with the Kaiser against Britain and France would prove strangely prescient, even though at that time, Britain and France were undoubtedly more tolerant of socialism than Germany…
- From The Last President by Aviva Chomsky
[1] The Lusitania carrying weapons is OTL.
- Review of “The Birth of a Nation” from The Daily Worker, February 1915
…In retrospect, the effect of the sinking of the SS Lusitania was to start the process of polarization between the pro-war and anti-war camps in the US. Those who advocated for intervention (or at least continued materiel support for the Entente) pointed to it as a clear example of German barbarism. A few in Congress openly called for the US to declare war on Germany. In response, Congressman Debs took the podium and read out the full manifest of the Lusitania, obtained from IWW dockworkers, which included a sizable quantity of arms[1]. Debs then called for the owners of the Lusitania to be prosecuted for homicide, as they had put weapons aboard a civilian liner headed into a war zone. Wilson refused either, but the sinking did begin to push him towards a pro-war stance…
…As tensions rose, many in the pro-war camp took Debs’ exposure of the Lusitania’s manifest as evidence that the IWW and SLP were in league with German intelligence. After all, some of the largest demographics in the IWW were Germans, Jews, and Irish. The former were suspected of remaining sympathetic to Germany, while the latter were believed (with some reason) to harbor resentment against Russia and Britain, respectively. The prominence of Italians in the IWW was conveniently ignored. This tied into preexisting nativist sentiments, creating something of a vicious feedback loop in reactionary circles. Ironically, the notion that American socialists might be allied with the Kaiser against Britain and France would prove strangely prescient, even though at that time, Britain and France were undoubtedly more tolerant of socialism than Germany…
- From The Last President by Aviva Chomsky
[1] The Lusitania carrying weapons is OTL.
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Huh, so i assume the kaiser is going to do ship off his German socialist political prisoners to America, like he sent Russian political exiles back to russia. Better for them to be in someone else's country than his
I assumed it was more that he would support the revolutionaries after they revolted because, you know, keeping the U.S. out of the war is strategically good!
27. The KKK and the Battle of Pittsburgh
…On November 25, 1915, William J. Simmons and a group of men ascended Stone Mountain in Georgia. At the top, they set a cross aflame, marking the founding of the second Ku Klux Klan[1]…
…The KKK spread quickly, thanks to the efforts of publicists Edward Clarke Young and Elizabeth Tyler[2]. Klaverns were established in towns and cities across the United States, not just in the South. Many who joined were inspired by The Birth of a Nation…
…Where the first Klan had been focused almost entirely on racial issues, the second Klan was more diverse in its bigotries. They were anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-Catholic. This inevitably led them into conflict with the IWW, dominated as it was by immigrants, Jews, and Catholics (mostly Irish and Italian). Klansmen regularly acted as strikebreakers, and their white hoods made it difficult to identify the perpetrators…
…In April 1916, workers across Pittsburgh went on strike, demanding an eight hour workday and increased wages, given the enormous profits being made by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company from the sale of war material to Europe[3]. On May 1, as they prepared to carry out a march through Pittsburgh to celebrate May Day, they were attacked by the KKK. Two workers were shot and several more injured (including one girl who was trampled by a KKK rider), until the National Guard arrived and opened fire… on the KKK. Five Klansmen were killed and the rest fled back to the Pittsburgh Klavern, which was subsequently surrounded and the Klansmen arrested…
…The Battle of Pittsburgh, while not the first clash between the KKK and socialists, triggered a series of wider clashes that continued throughout the year. For this reason, several historians have called it the first battle of the Revolution…
- From Red Star Rising: A History of the Second American Revolution by Tom Clancy
[1] OTL.
[2] IOTL, the Klan’s growth remained anemic until 1920, when Simmons handed control of day-to-day activities over to Young and Tyler (although Young was a part of the Second Klan from the beginning). ITTL, he makes use of their talents sooner.
[3] The strike happened IOTL, leading to the Braddock Massacre on May 2 at the hands of company guards.
…The KKK spread quickly, thanks to the efforts of publicists Edward Clarke Young and Elizabeth Tyler[2]. Klaverns were established in towns and cities across the United States, not just in the South. Many who joined were inspired by The Birth of a Nation…
…Where the first Klan had been focused almost entirely on racial issues, the second Klan was more diverse in its bigotries. They were anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-Catholic. This inevitably led them into conflict with the IWW, dominated as it was by immigrants, Jews, and Catholics (mostly Irish and Italian). Klansmen regularly acted as strikebreakers, and their white hoods made it difficult to identify the perpetrators…
…In April 1916, workers across Pittsburgh went on strike, demanding an eight hour workday and increased wages, given the enormous profits being made by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company from the sale of war material to Europe[3]. On May 1, as they prepared to carry out a march through Pittsburgh to celebrate May Day, they were attacked by the KKK. Two workers were shot and several more injured (including one girl who was trampled by a KKK rider), until the National Guard arrived and opened fire… on the KKK. Five Klansmen were killed and the rest fled back to the Pittsburgh Klavern, which was subsequently surrounded and the Klansmen arrested…
…The Battle of Pittsburgh, while not the first clash between the KKK and socialists, triggered a series of wider clashes that continued throughout the year. For this reason, several historians have called it the first battle of the Revolution…
- From Red Star Rising: A History of the Second American Revolution by Tom Clancy
[1] OTL.
[2] IOTL, the Klan’s growth remained anemic until 1920, when Simmons handed control of day-to-day activities over to Young and Tyler (although Young was a part of the Second Klan from the beginning). ITTL, he makes use of their talents sooner.
[3] The strike happened IOTL, leading to the Braddock Massacre on May 2 at the hands of company guards.
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