Yes!!! SOCIALIST PARTY FOREVER!!! 
Will you have them play a significant role in the TL?
Will you have them play a significant role in the TL?
The Ruins of an American Party System: From 1920 Onward
- Thread starter Emperor Julian
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More significant than OTL, at least. Not as big a role as the Progressives or Republicans.Yes!!! SOCIALIST PARTY FOREVER!!!
Will you have them play a significant role in the TL?
I am going to try to get one more update done in the next couple hours, before I go on vacation and become unable to post anything for the next two weeks.
Mandate. Referendum. These words came to the mind of President Morrow following the midterm elections. The Republican Party had suffered their second-greatest loss in history, behind only the disaster of 1874. The overwhelming gains had gone to the left, calling for a larger, more active government. Morrow was a fiscal conservative; Morrow was opposed to expanding government and wasteful spending; but who was he to deny so strong a message? And Morrow himself was having doubts over his old philosophy; it was quite obvious that the economy was not righting itself, but was sliding into an even deeper Depression. The small government days of the 1920s had not prevented the collapse, and it was clear that the federal government could not be realistically shrunk any more. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was very unpopular, and the resulting tariff war had only hurt the economy more.
As he lead a suffering nation, as he celebrated Christmas with his family and prayed in the Presbyterian Church, as he breathed a sigh of relief with the rest of America that the awful year 1930 had finally passed on January 1, President Morrow knew that he had to take action. Looking over the finances of the nation, Morrow decided that a series of public works projects, similar to those advocated by former Interior Secretary Herbert Hoover, needed to be implemented. He was confident that he would be able to get a coalition of Progressives and Republicans together who would back these public spending expenditures, and they could relieve unemployment and help the economy, but without going into the radicalism of the Progressive Party. Morrow also concluded that there was no way Smoot-Hawley could remain in place, and a cooperative, international tariff-lowering had to take place.
On January 14, Edwin Morrow met with Herbert Hoover, and apologized to the former Secretary. Morrow acknowledged that Hoover's economic plan was superior, and offered him a place back on the Cabinet to help facilitate the new recovery plan. Hoover graciously accepted the apology and agreed to return to the Cabinet and help save America. When Morrow asked Hoover what position he wanted, Hoover replied, "The Treasury".
Morrow knew that Hoover would request the end to long-term Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's reign. Since 1921 the man had served as the Secretary of the Treasury, and no man was more associated with the conservative economic plans than Mellon. Hoover and Mellon had fought in 1929 when the Depression started, and at the time, Morrow chose to follow Mellon's lead. But not he was turning to Hoover, and it was clear both could not coexist in the same cabinet.
Morrow calmly went to Mellon on the 16th, and explained his new economic plan. He hoped that Mellon, realizing his plans were being rejected, would calmly resign his position. However, Mellon angrily accused Morrow of "turning to radicalism" and "betraying the fundamental principals of good government". He declared that if Morrow wanted to replace him with Hoover, he would have to straight-out, publicly fire him. Morrow angrily declared "You have no place in my administration!" and resolved to fill out the paperwork to remove the Treasury Secretary from his position the next day.
That paperwork was never filled out.
Morrow presided over one of the most stressful periods of American history. He had stayed up late into the night and adopted a rigorous travel schedule to try to communicate to everyone important who contacted him. He had tirelessly worked, only to see his work fail to resolve the problems. The angry shouting match between him and Mellon was just the latest stressful event in Morrow's life. As Morrow returned to the White House, he felt a pain in his chest. He thought nothing of it as he worked diligently for the next couple hours, until he collapsed when trying to rise to go to dinner. The President was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late and the heart attack was too severe.
President Morrow was dead.
As he lead a suffering nation, as he celebrated Christmas with his family and prayed in the Presbyterian Church, as he breathed a sigh of relief with the rest of America that the awful year 1930 had finally passed on January 1, President Morrow knew that he had to take action. Looking over the finances of the nation, Morrow decided that a series of public works projects, similar to those advocated by former Interior Secretary Herbert Hoover, needed to be implemented. He was confident that he would be able to get a coalition of Progressives and Republicans together who would back these public spending expenditures, and they could relieve unemployment and help the economy, but without going into the radicalism of the Progressive Party. Morrow also concluded that there was no way Smoot-Hawley could remain in place, and a cooperative, international tariff-lowering had to take place.
On January 14, Edwin Morrow met with Herbert Hoover, and apologized to the former Secretary. Morrow acknowledged that Hoover's economic plan was superior, and offered him a place back on the Cabinet to help facilitate the new recovery plan. Hoover graciously accepted the apology and agreed to return to the Cabinet and help save America. When Morrow asked Hoover what position he wanted, Hoover replied, "The Treasury".
Morrow knew that Hoover would request the end to long-term Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's reign. Since 1921 the man had served as the Secretary of the Treasury, and no man was more associated with the conservative economic plans than Mellon. Hoover and Mellon had fought in 1929 when the Depression started, and at the time, Morrow chose to follow Mellon's lead. But not he was turning to Hoover, and it was clear both could not coexist in the same cabinet.
Morrow calmly went to Mellon on the 16th, and explained his new economic plan. He hoped that Mellon, realizing his plans were being rejected, would calmly resign his position. However, Mellon angrily accused Morrow of "turning to radicalism" and "betraying the fundamental principals of good government". He declared that if Morrow wanted to replace him with Hoover, he would have to straight-out, publicly fire him. Morrow angrily declared "You have no place in my administration!" and resolved to fill out the paperwork to remove the Treasury Secretary from his position the next day.
That paperwork was never filled out.
Morrow presided over one of the most stressful periods of American history. He had stayed up late into the night and adopted a rigorous travel schedule to try to communicate to everyone important who contacted him. He had tirelessly worked, only to see his work fail to resolve the problems. The angry shouting match between him and Mellon was just the latest stressful event in Morrow's life. As Morrow returned to the White House, he felt a pain in his chest. He thought nothing of it as he worked diligently for the next couple hours, until he collapsed when trying to rise to go to dinner. The President was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late and the heart attack was too severe.
President Morrow was dead.
That was unexpected. Poor Morrow. So, Coolidge is president now?
Interesting. If Coolidge dies earlier too, who will be president?
IIRC, succession law at the time designated the Secretary of State as the Acting President in such an event.
Hmmm... I do not think Coolidge is going hire back Hoover or listen to his ideas. Poor Morrow did not live long enough to recover his reputation and Coolidge is not going to help the matter. Rocky shoals are still ahead for the US.
Charles G. Dawes, as part of the deal Morrow made at the 1928 Convention.
The Socialist Party initially became successful due to the collapse of the Democratic Party, taking Democratic votes. Once the Progressives established themselves as the opposition to the Republicans outside of the South, they were kept around by the Progressives intentionally not challenging certain seats. This was due in part to various deals the Progressives made with the Socialists; they allow the Socialists to win some seats, and in return the Socialists don't contest swing districts where they could split the Progressive vote and cause a Republican victory. Another reason is that it is actually useful to the Progressives to have the Specter of Socialism haunting America. The Socialists increase the appeal of the Progressives by making them seem more moderate, and allow the Progressives to scare people with "If you don't vote for necessary Progressive reforms, things will get so bad that people will allow those socialists in charge!" Many Progressives, especially among the Old Guard, actually back the Progressive reforms for that exact reason themselves.
Calvin Coolidge was only the third man to ever serve as Vice President under two different Presidents, and he was the first Vice President to ever serve non-consecutive terms. He had been a placeholder for both of the terms, not taken seriously by the political elite. While Coolidge had privately advised President Morrow to back Mellon's plans and support conservative economic policies, he publicly had taken no stance on the issues other than vague support for Morrow's agenda. But now Morrow was dead, and Coolidge was president.
Coolidge, unlike Morrow, had not received that much blame for the Depression, and did not feel that the midterm elections were a strong popular mandate against conservatism. After all, conservatives still controlled both houses of Congress. Furthermore, Coolidge had not been informed by Morrow of the latter's plans to fire Mellon and give Hoover a new job. He even thought it seemed a bit like betraying the late president's memory to attempt any reversal of his policies so soon. Therefore, while he did call a special emergency session of Congress in the summer to deal with the Depression, Coolidge actually didn't do anything. He couldn't cut spending any more, and other than some fine-tuning of the minimal financial regulations and a small reduction in tariffs which failed to end the tariff war, he didn't sign any economic legislation during the special session. His veto of Hoover's proposed Colorado Dam bill was only narrowly prevented from being overturned in the Senate. Coolidge declared the attempt to undo one of Morrow's actions an insult to the dead President's legacy.
While Coolidge's economic policies were more inaction than action, he was the first president to begin to scale back Prohibition. When the new Congress, with large Progressive gains and more desperate Republicans, repealed the Volstead Act and restricted federal Prohibition to hard liquor, Coolidge signed the bill into law. Beer, wine, and other lower-alcohol content drinks could once again be sold. This action helped the economy of many places, although nationally it only slowed the collapse. A blow had been struck against the bootleggers, but the hard liquor smuggling business still propped up their criminal empires. Coolidge even quietly expressed disdain for the Eighteenth Amendment in its entirety, saying that the federal government should have no say in the state liquor laws. When Coolidge's quiet anti-Prohibition declaration became public, numerous Republicans, previously too scared to publicly oppose Prohibition, began to announce their opposition. Attempts to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment failed to achieve a two-thirds majority in either House of Congress.
Coolidge, unlike Morrow, had not received that much blame for the Depression, and did not feel that the midterm elections were a strong popular mandate against conservatism. After all, conservatives still controlled both houses of Congress. Furthermore, Coolidge had not been informed by Morrow of the latter's plans to fire Mellon and give Hoover a new job. He even thought it seemed a bit like betraying the late president's memory to attempt any reversal of his policies so soon. Therefore, while he did call a special emergency session of Congress in the summer to deal with the Depression, Coolidge actually didn't do anything. He couldn't cut spending any more, and other than some fine-tuning of the minimal financial regulations and a small reduction in tariffs which failed to end the tariff war, he didn't sign any economic legislation during the special session. His veto of Hoover's proposed Colorado Dam bill was only narrowly prevented from being overturned in the Senate. Coolidge declared the attempt to undo one of Morrow's actions an insult to the dead President's legacy.
While Coolidge's economic policies were more inaction than action, he was the first president to begin to scale back Prohibition. When the new Congress, with large Progressive gains and more desperate Republicans, repealed the Volstead Act and restricted federal Prohibition to hard liquor, Coolidge signed the bill into law. Beer, wine, and other lower-alcohol content drinks could once again be sold. This action helped the economy of many places, although nationally it only slowed the collapse. A blow had been struck against the bootleggers, but the hard liquor smuggling business still propped up their criminal empires. Coolidge even quietly expressed disdain for the Eighteenth Amendment in its entirety, saying that the federal government should have no say in the state liquor laws. When Coolidge's quiet anti-Prohibition declaration became public, numerous Republicans, previously too scared to publicly oppose Prohibition, began to announce their opposition. Attempts to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment failed to achieve a two-thirds majority in either House of Congress.
I suspect that if there is any ever something remotely similar to AH.com TTL, "Morrow Lives" would be a common WI. I think that TTL, years later information about Morrow and the alternative could come out. This is a great TL and I look forward to the election. Will the Depression swing the election to a Progressive, or will the other parties mean a Republican victory or the election going to the House?
I think that TTL, years later information about Morrow and the alternative could come out. This is a great TL and I look forward to the election. Will the Depression swing the election to a Progressive, or will the other parties mean a Republican victory or the election going to the House?Another thing that helps the Socialists is the Norman Thomas, IIRC, was a minister, or at least supported religion, so he wasn't as anti-religion as Communists and some Socialists were. Of course, he'd be painted as being anti-Christian in that time period, but it might help some.
President Calvin Coolidge's foreign policy was much the same as President Morrow, and he kept Charles G. Dawes on as Secretary of State during after the death of Morrow. Like Morrow, Coolidge was fairly isolationist, and continued the long-held Republican opposition to Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations. However, like Morrow, Coolidge was not a total isolationist. As Morrow had gotten the United States Senate to ratify the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1929 and renounce war, Coolidge tried to get the Senate to ratify the treaty to join the World Court. Unfortunately, in the divided Senate, it was nearly impossible to get a simply majority on anything, and a two thirds majority seemed out of reach. The withdrawal of American troops from Latin America, begun under President Miller, was almost complete by the time Coolidge took office, and he did not prevent the last American troops from returning home. Secretary of State Dawes spent much of 1931 traveling around Latin America, promoting pan-American cooperation and negotiating treaties.
Private citizen Herbert Hoover also spent much of his time traveling the world, advocating for a decrease in naval size and international cooperation. Hoover was an advocate of pan-American cooperation as well, and did his best to unofficially help Dawes' programs. Hoover could not openly work with the Secretary of State, as his short stint in the Morrow Administration had served to create create enmity between Hoover and at the time Vice President Coolidge. Secretly, Dawes and Hoover were meeting, both to formulate their plans to promote international cooperation, and think of how best to ensure the defeat of the President that they both disliked, and the removal of Treasury Secretary Mellon. Hoover and Dawes agreed that the former would be the stronger candidate to primary Coolidge and save the Republican Party and the nation. Dawes was promised the position of Vice President under Hoover for his final step in a long and successful government career. With their plans being made in September of 1931, Hoover knew that there was a long time until the election, so to help the nation in the meantime, he hired some political agents to try and find some scandals on Treasury Secretary Mellon that they could dig up to remove him from office and save the American economy.
Private citizen Herbert Hoover also spent much of his time traveling the world, advocating for a decrease in naval size and international cooperation. Hoover was an advocate of pan-American cooperation as well, and did his best to unofficially help Dawes' programs. Hoover could not openly work with the Secretary of State, as his short stint in the Morrow Administration had served to create create enmity between Hoover and at the time Vice President Coolidge. Secretly, Dawes and Hoover were meeting, both to formulate their plans to promote international cooperation, and think of how best to ensure the defeat of the President that they both disliked, and the removal of Treasury Secretary Mellon. Hoover and Dawes agreed that the former would be the stronger candidate to primary Coolidge and save the Republican Party and the nation. Dawes was promised the position of Vice President under Hoover for his final step in a long and successful government career. With their plans being made in September of 1931, Hoover knew that there was a long time until the election, so to help the nation in the meantime, he hired some political agents to try and find some scandals on Treasury Secretary Mellon that they could dig up to remove him from office and save the American economy.
Ooh, Hoover's going for the dirty politics, and looking to save America from the Depression. Very nice.
I missed this until now. I dont usually read US politics threads, but this is good. Im glad I finally read it.
Keep up the good work.
Keep up the good work.
The Depression had worsened to the extent that it was now labelled the Great Depression, having exceeded the Panic of 1873. By December of 1931, unemployment had reached nearly 25%, the worst in history. The US GDP had fallen to a mere 60 billion dollars, more than 40 billion less than it was in the summer of 1929. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had plummeted to a mere 75 dollars, and kept dropping almost every single day. After the emergency session of Congress ended in late August, almost nothing had been done to help the economy. Across the world, other economies were suffering badly as well, although few as bad as the United States. Political instability was common, as seen in Britain where the Labour and Liberal Parties split apart in the Depression's stress and even worse in Germany, which was becoming polarized between various far-right fascist parties and the Communist Party. Only the Soviet Union was spared the Depression, due to its very isolated command economy. World leaders tried to put on an optimistic face, but the Great Depression showed no signs of slowing or ending any time soon.
Large communities of homeless were found across America, commonly calling their gatherings "Coolidgevilles" or "Mellonvilles" after the hapless President and his Treasury Secretary. More and more people were losing their jobs, and crime rates shot up. Even with beer and wine once again legalized, organized crime was still making a lot of money on the sale of hard liquor, as depressed men and women spent the last of their money to drink in misery. It was common for stores to be closing down, and not a single week passed by in which Americans did not hear of someone they knew losing their job. A feeling of hopelessness gripped many Americans, while for others, it was a feeling of anger.
The 1931 off-year state and local elections were a beating for the Republican Party. Across the Northeast, Midwest, and West, Progressives beat Republicans even in traditionally strong Republican areas. The Socialist Party racked up high numbers as well, and even won some scattered local and state legislature elections in areas where the Progressives had not yet organized to field a candidate. Even though they didn't actually win anything beyond a couple town council seats, the Communist Party USA, and the white supremacist cult/party known as the Christian Party led by William Dudley Pelley, both gained disturbingly high numbers of votes in many elections, showing the people's anger. In the South, the Conservative Coalition took minor hits, generally to Progressives or the remnants of the Democrats. Meanwhile in Louisiana, Huey Long's Commonwealth Party continued to consolidate its control. It was clear that any popular support that Coolidge had received when he unexpectedly was elevated to the Presidency had evaporated.
Large communities of homeless were found across America, commonly calling their gatherings "Coolidgevilles" or "Mellonvilles" after the hapless President and his Treasury Secretary. More and more people were losing their jobs, and crime rates shot up. Even with beer and wine once again legalized, organized crime was still making a lot of money on the sale of hard liquor, as depressed men and women spent the last of their money to drink in misery. It was common for stores to be closing down, and not a single week passed by in which Americans did not hear of someone they knew losing their job. A feeling of hopelessness gripped many Americans, while for others, it was a feeling of anger.
The 1931 off-year state and local elections were a beating for the Republican Party. Across the Northeast, Midwest, and West, Progressives beat Republicans even in traditionally strong Republican areas. The Socialist Party racked up high numbers as well, and even won some scattered local and state legislature elections in areas where the Progressives had not yet organized to field a candidate. Even though they didn't actually win anything beyond a couple town council seats, the Communist Party USA, and the white supremacist cult/party known as the Christian Party led by William Dudley Pelley, both gained disturbingly high numbers of votes in many elections, showing the people's anger. In the South, the Conservative Coalition took minor hits, generally to Progressives or the remnants of the Democrats. Meanwhile in Louisiana, Huey Long's Commonwealth Party continued to consolidate its control. It was clear that any popular support that Coolidge had received when he unexpectedly was elevated to the Presidency had evaporated.
Otl, we had Hoovervilles, so Coolidgeville is a direct equivalent.
However both iotl and ittl the SecTreas was Mellon, right? And a quick google of 'mellonville' only gives an avenue in Sanford FL.
So, why the change? Or am I missing something?
However both iotl and ittl the SecTreas was Mellon, right? And a quick google of 'mellonville' only gives an avenue in Sanford FL.
So, why the change? Or am I missing something?
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