An independant Buenos Ares and a still growing Argentina? Another interesting development!
The Story of a Party 2.0
- Thread starter Utgard96
- Start date
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Well, Latin American history is one of my particular interests. And contrary to my initial expectations, there's actually quite a lot written about it on Wikipedia, although much of it is slightly deficient (the article about the Argentine Confederation glosses over the Platine War entirely, and all Rosas' article says is that Brazil "intervened" alongside Urquiza to overthrow Rosas). It's a lot worse when searching for physical texts on it. In my entire school library, all I could find on the Paraguayan War was a short history paperback that was insanely biased - according to it, the entire war was caused by the British provoking the Argentines and Brazilians to attack a country that had become a nuisance to them, after which Lopez "saw himself forced" to occupy a strip of land in Corrientes, and the Argentines retaliated. At least it's better than the Nicaraguan book I found that hails Carlos Fonseca as a saint, even calling him by first name throughout.
I thought it seemed like an interesting idea. It certainly mixes up the race for Patagonia quite a bit.
I honestly expect them to not expand further south than the Río Negro, with the actual river being Buenos Aires' ultimate southern border while Argentina might go as far south as Río Chubut (at most; I think the 42 parallel south would be a bit more likely).
I believe I've currently got the southern border at 44° south (about the lower edge of this, or halfway through Chubut Province). It's not really all that far south of the river, and what little is between the river and the border is mostly barren. You should also recall that y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut) was founded as early as 1865; it would probably not be exactly the same as OTL, but something similar will probably happen ITTL, and that would strengthen Argentina's claim to the region.
Story of a Party, Chapter XXVIII
The Somewhat Improved Years
"Let us not be deceived. Those who talk about peace in sixty days are shallow statesmen. The war will not end until the government shall more fully recognize the magnitude of the crisis; until they have discovered that this is an internecine war in which one party or the other must be reduced to hopeless feebleness and the power of further effort shall be utterly annihilated."
- Thaddeus Stevens
***
From "Asses and Pitchforks: A History of the Democratic Party" by Ira Stevens
University of Minnesota Press, 1989
"After Curtin's election, the Democratic party was in a crisis the likes of which had not been seen in the party's history. The last three electoral races had been atrocious in their results, an outcome that was hardly helped by the conventions' tendency to pick obscure and unremarkable candidates for the presidency, nor by the party's association with the Confederates and their supporters. The few Democrats who remained in the North were either Copperheads like Vallandigham or nonentities like English. Most of the party's popular support there had been eroded, and though they were formally the kingmakers in the House, tipping the balance between the Unionists and Republicans, the schism within the Republican party ensured that the government's bills would nevertheless be approved in the majority of cases.
A white supremacist poster from Pennsylvania, decrying gubernatorial candidate John W. Geary's platform as being "for the Negro".
What remained of the Democratic party was largely southern, and consisted of three main groups; the Establishers, who were mostly of the old planter aristocracy, and supported a return to the ways of the pre-war South [1]; the White League, consisting of whites from across society who were threatened by the growth of black suffrage; and the Redeemers, who believed that the South's honour had to be redeemed for it to he seen as an equal part of the union [2]. (Author's note: Although the first two groups were largely interconnected, and are often viewed as one and the same, it's important to be aware of the difference when delving into the history of this period.)
Throughout 1869, as the Army's noose around the occupied South loosened, the activity of all three of these groups, but especially the White League, escalated. Racially motivated violence grew further without the army to step in between the clashing mobs, but after a few months the dust settled in many places. The white groups who had largely taken the initiative in the violence, although still resenting the political changes that had come after the war, were disheartened by the high casualty rates in the riots, and most of them resorted to working within the system. The Establishers were quick to pick up on this wave of support, and in the 1870 elections, white Democratic governments came to power all across the South."
A public lynching in Paris, Texas, 1893.
***
From "Death and Rebirth: A History of the South during Reconstruction" by Charles Wilcox
Jefferson University Press, 1993
"By the 1870 midterms, Arkansas and North Carolina had been readmitted into the Union. Although these moves were resisted by radicals, due to the rise in Establisher sentiment in most of the South, but they were largely placated by the presence of the Readjuster coalitions in North Carolina and Virginia. Because of the readmissions of southern states, the Democrats saw an upsurge in the election, as did the Unionists. The Republicans dropped significantly, losing their near-majority in the House and falling significantly in the Senate.
The increase in support for the Unionists made Curtin's administration bolder, and more legislation was signed and repealed between 1870 and 1872 than entire administrations had managed before. Most expropriated Confederates were allowed back to their land in exchange for an oath of loyalty to the Union, troops were removed from those states that had been readmitted, and excepting Virginia and Mississippi, all the seceded states were readmitted inti the Union. The decision was made to keep West and East Florida separate, controversial as the move was, as the areas were thought culturally separate [3]. The addition of several northern counties, including Arlington, Winchester and Manassas, but not the Northern Neck, to Vandalia was also confirmed. The creation of land-grant universities, sponsored by the state governments, was approved in accordance with the Morrill Act of 1858 [4], and publicly-funded primary schools popped up like mushrooms across the country. Although the government (uniquely) had almost no part in it, the United States also received its second transcontinental railroad in the Central Pacific.
An industrial school in Richmond, Virginia, run by white women from the North and serving the freed African-American women.
In short, the country blossomed for the first time since the war, but as is so often the case, there were two sides to this growth. The loosening of the leash on the South meant that the Establishers were free to enforce their views on society; many blacks were subjugated by their former owners, and though they retained their civil rights in theory, fraudulent literacy tests and residency requirements were used to keep them from exercising them. Most infamously, nearly all public facilities and institutions were segregated depending on race. White and black people used separate restaurants, separate schools, separate recreation venues, separate bathrooms, separate polling stations, and when they came around, separate streetcars and buses. Though touted as equal, the facilities for black people were often of much lower quality than those meant for whites. Most of these injustices, while completely open to view, were more often than not ignored by the federal government and by the press, partly for fear of losing southern votes and partly because of the relative peace that was created at the expense of civil rights. Though many tried to call attention to these problems, and several state governments tried to abolish the Jim Crow laws, the system ended up remaining in place for over half a century. A quiet darkness had settled upon the South, and it was there to stay."
***
From "A History of America through its Presidents"
John Bachmann & Son, Bluefields, Nicaragua, 1945
"1872 presidential election
By the time of the 1872 election, the country was fully at peace for the first time in nearly fifteen years, and only two states remained under occupation. The economy was growing again, and with the massive costs of the occupation mostly alleviated, the federal debt was finally decreasing.
However, the development came at a high cost. The South, while not the bloodbath of 1868, was still a festering sore, and while the open race riots had largely ended, the whites had come out firmly on top, and those few blacks who were adamant about exercising their suffrage could often be found hanging from a tree the next day. This deplorable situation gave the Republicans ammunition to use against the Unionists, who were still helped more by the general prosperity than they were hurt by the racial inequality created by their decisions.
The Republican convention assembled in Indianapolis on May 9. As had been the case with the party's Congressional delegation over the past four years, there was significant tension between the two wings of the party during the convention. The moderates supported Lyman Trumbull, Curtin's Attorney General and one of the dissenters at the 1869 contingent, as the candidate, hoping to lead the party away from the path that led to the Reconstruction fiasco. The radicals, on their part, supported Henry Wilson, a senator from Massachusetts with strong abolitionist credentials [5]; although there was also strong support for Charles Sumner, the other senator from Massachusetts with strong abolitionist credentials, he declined the nomination. The two had the support of roughly a third each of the delegates, with the remaining third divided between an abundance of other names, including Chief Justice Lincoln, both Davis brothers (Henry and David), Hannibal Hamlin, Roscoe Conkling, Rutherford Hayes, and Hiram Revels, the first African-American to receive a nomination in a major party's convention [6]. This gridlock continued, and by the fifteenth ballot neither side had gained an advantage.
General James McPherson in 1862.
At this point, the idea arose to elect a compromise candidate, who could satisfy both factions and still win votes. It was thought that only a war hero would be able to do this well, and the choice fell upon James McPherson, the general who led the army capturing Montgomery. He had a very appropriate history, having sponsored slave revolts in the South, and while generally Republican-leaning, was loath to side with either faction. However, due to his friendships with several prominent radicals, including Rutherford B. Hayes and James Garfield, many of the more convinced moderates, including Trumbull himself as well as David Davis and George Washington Julian, feared that a McPherson administration would implement mainly radical policies, and when the general's correspondence to the convention hinted at such a development, they announced they would not accept his candidacy. Their vote, however, was not enough to prevent McPherson's nomination, and on the eighteenth ballot he was named the party's candidate. Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, the most prominent middle candidate, was selected as his running mate.
For the moderates, this defeat was seen as the last straw. Many of them, including Lyman Trumbull and Montgomery Blair, left the Republican Party soon after; others, like George Washington Julian and Cassius Clay, had walked out of the convention before the final ballot and left the party at the same time. They joined the Constitutional Union, which soon renamed itself the Unionist Party, and many moderate Republicans throughout the Union went with them.
The Unionist Convention, held in Pittsburgh two weeks after the Republican one ended. Compared with the mess that was the Republican convention, the Unionist convention was remarkably quick in selecting a candidate; Curtin was nominated on the first ballot, unopposed. The vice-presidential race was less clear; Hannibal Hamlin, the sitting Vice President, was a radical Republican elected by the Senate, and would obviously not receive the Unionist nomination. Lyman Trumbull, Alexander Stephens and Cassius Clay, three of Curtin's most senior cabinet members, were the top choices for nomination, but eventually the convention settled on Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri, a prominent anti-secessionist in that state [7].
President Curtin.
The campaign was hard-fought, and closer than most people had expected. The recent adoption of the first Jim Crow laws, as they came to be called, in the southern states, provided an excellent argument for the Republicans. According to them, this was proof that the goals of Reconstruction, being the eradication of oppression and Confederate nationalism, had been given up on by the administration. The Unionists largely steered clear of the heated question of Reconstruction, focusing instead on the great economic recoveries made during the previous years and the peace that had finally come out of Curtin's removal of troops from most of the South. Although the Unionists had stronger arguments on their side, the Republicans had more support from the press and the establishment, and many Republican speakers, including Sumner and Lincoln, were legendary. The Unionists enjoyed the support of the rump Democratic Party, which had voted for a fusion ticket of Curtin/Brown at its convention, and as such they had the entire South effectively in their pocket.
The months leading up to Election Day were filled with antagonism and rivalry, as the two parties attacked each other with accusations of wickedness and corruption; Curtin was called a turncoat by the Republicans, while the Unionists mocked McPherson as being little more than a mouth for the Republican platform (a famous cartoon shows him as an oversized marionette, with Sumner, Wilson and Hamlin pulling the threads). The connection of the Democrats to the White League, and that of the Unionists to the Democrats, was also played up; despite having been a determined unionist all his life, and having supported the war effort enthusiastically as governor of Pennsylvania, Curtin was portrayed in Harper's Weekly as a turncoat and Confederate spy, and Horace Greeley referred to him as "the enigma of Bellefonte" [8] in a Tribune editorial. This nickname, while originally derogatory, stuck, and Curtin even used it himself in later years.
The election grew more even in the last weeks, as the Republicans promised "free soil, free men, and free enterprise" in glowing oratory. Eventually, the election day came, and the day after, America had a new president-elect…"
***
[1] This is the group that were called the Redeemers IOTL; other than the name, they're largely the same people.
[2] The group called the Redeemers ITTL are the people responsible for OTL's New South Creed. This ideology supported the growth of southern industry, in hopes of creating a society that was both able to compete more fairly with the North and less dependant on northern goods.
[3] A fact which still holds true. Floridians have a saying: "The further north you go, the further south you get."
[4] This happens four years earlier than OTL, because the southern states were mostly dead-set against it, and when Morrill and Trumbull actually managed to pass their bill, Buchanan vetoed it. They tried again three years later, and because the states that opposed it had seceded, and Lincoln being president, the bill passed. With Fremont in office, the bill is approved the first time around.
[5] Fun fact: Wilson was born Jeremiah Jones Colbath, but had his name changed in 1833.
[6] Then again, someone at the 1972 Republican convention nominated (and voted for) Mao Zedong, so that isn't saying much.
[7] This will, of course, lead to jokes that the convention "chose by title", and picked the most prominent unionist instead of the most prominent Unionist. Brown was the OTL running mate of Horace Greeley, famous for dying during the election process, on the Liberal Republican ticket.
[8] Bellefonte, the county seat of Centre County, Pennsylvania, is Curtin's hometown.
The Somewhat Improved Years
"Let us not be deceived. Those who talk about peace in sixty days are shallow statesmen. The war will not end until the government shall more fully recognize the magnitude of the crisis; until they have discovered that this is an internecine war in which one party or the other must be reduced to hopeless feebleness and the power of further effort shall be utterly annihilated."
- Thaddeus Stevens
***
From "Asses and Pitchforks: A History of the Democratic Party" by Ira Stevens
University of Minnesota Press, 1989
"After Curtin's election, the Democratic party was in a crisis the likes of which had not been seen in the party's history. The last three electoral races had been atrocious in their results, an outcome that was hardly helped by the conventions' tendency to pick obscure and unremarkable candidates for the presidency, nor by the party's association with the Confederates and their supporters. The few Democrats who remained in the North were either Copperheads like Vallandigham or nonentities like English. Most of the party's popular support there had been eroded, and though they were formally the kingmakers in the House, tipping the balance between the Unionists and Republicans, the schism within the Republican party ensured that the government's bills would nevertheless be approved in the majority of cases.
A white supremacist poster from Pennsylvania, decrying gubernatorial candidate John W. Geary's platform as being "for the Negro".
What remained of the Democratic party was largely southern, and consisted of three main groups; the Establishers, who were mostly of the old planter aristocracy, and supported a return to the ways of the pre-war South [1]; the White League, consisting of whites from across society who were threatened by the growth of black suffrage; and the Redeemers, who believed that the South's honour had to be redeemed for it to he seen as an equal part of the union [2]. (Author's note: Although the first two groups were largely interconnected, and are often viewed as one and the same, it's important to be aware of the difference when delving into the history of this period.)
Throughout 1869, as the Army's noose around the occupied South loosened, the activity of all three of these groups, but especially the White League, escalated. Racially motivated violence grew further without the army to step in between the clashing mobs, but after a few months the dust settled in many places. The white groups who had largely taken the initiative in the violence, although still resenting the political changes that had come after the war, were disheartened by the high casualty rates in the riots, and most of them resorted to working within the system. The Establishers were quick to pick up on this wave of support, and in the 1870 elections, white Democratic governments came to power all across the South."
A public lynching in Paris, Texas, 1893.
***
From "Death and Rebirth: A History of the South during Reconstruction" by Charles Wilcox
Jefferson University Press, 1993
"By the 1870 midterms, Arkansas and North Carolina had been readmitted into the Union. Although these moves were resisted by radicals, due to the rise in Establisher sentiment in most of the South, but they were largely placated by the presence of the Readjuster coalitions in North Carolina and Virginia. Because of the readmissions of southern states, the Democrats saw an upsurge in the election, as did the Unionists. The Republicans dropped significantly, losing their near-majority in the House and falling significantly in the Senate.
The increase in support for the Unionists made Curtin's administration bolder, and more legislation was signed and repealed between 1870 and 1872 than entire administrations had managed before. Most expropriated Confederates were allowed back to their land in exchange for an oath of loyalty to the Union, troops were removed from those states that had been readmitted, and excepting Virginia and Mississippi, all the seceded states were readmitted inti the Union. The decision was made to keep West and East Florida separate, controversial as the move was, as the areas were thought culturally separate [3]. The addition of several northern counties, including Arlington, Winchester and Manassas, but not the Northern Neck, to Vandalia was also confirmed. The creation of land-grant universities, sponsored by the state governments, was approved in accordance with the Morrill Act of 1858 [4], and publicly-funded primary schools popped up like mushrooms across the country. Although the government (uniquely) had almost no part in it, the United States also received its second transcontinental railroad in the Central Pacific.
An industrial school in Richmond, Virginia, run by white women from the North and serving the freed African-American women.
In short, the country blossomed for the first time since the war, but as is so often the case, there were two sides to this growth. The loosening of the leash on the South meant that the Establishers were free to enforce their views on society; many blacks were subjugated by their former owners, and though they retained their civil rights in theory, fraudulent literacy tests and residency requirements were used to keep them from exercising them. Most infamously, nearly all public facilities and institutions were segregated depending on race. White and black people used separate restaurants, separate schools, separate recreation venues, separate bathrooms, separate polling stations, and when they came around, separate streetcars and buses. Though touted as equal, the facilities for black people were often of much lower quality than those meant for whites. Most of these injustices, while completely open to view, were more often than not ignored by the federal government and by the press, partly for fear of losing southern votes and partly because of the relative peace that was created at the expense of civil rights. Though many tried to call attention to these problems, and several state governments tried to abolish the Jim Crow laws, the system ended up remaining in place for over half a century. A quiet darkness had settled upon the South, and it was there to stay."
***
From "A History of America through its Presidents"
John Bachmann & Son, Bluefields, Nicaragua, 1945
"1872 presidential election
By the time of the 1872 election, the country was fully at peace for the first time in nearly fifteen years, and only two states remained under occupation. The economy was growing again, and with the massive costs of the occupation mostly alleviated, the federal debt was finally decreasing.
However, the development came at a high cost. The South, while not the bloodbath of 1868, was still a festering sore, and while the open race riots had largely ended, the whites had come out firmly on top, and those few blacks who were adamant about exercising their suffrage could often be found hanging from a tree the next day. This deplorable situation gave the Republicans ammunition to use against the Unionists, who were still helped more by the general prosperity than they were hurt by the racial inequality created by their decisions.
The Republican convention assembled in Indianapolis on May 9. As had been the case with the party's Congressional delegation over the past four years, there was significant tension between the two wings of the party during the convention. The moderates supported Lyman Trumbull, Curtin's Attorney General and one of the dissenters at the 1869 contingent, as the candidate, hoping to lead the party away from the path that led to the Reconstruction fiasco. The radicals, on their part, supported Henry Wilson, a senator from Massachusetts with strong abolitionist credentials [5]; although there was also strong support for Charles Sumner, the other senator from Massachusetts with strong abolitionist credentials, he declined the nomination. The two had the support of roughly a third each of the delegates, with the remaining third divided between an abundance of other names, including Chief Justice Lincoln, both Davis brothers (Henry and David), Hannibal Hamlin, Roscoe Conkling, Rutherford Hayes, and Hiram Revels, the first African-American to receive a nomination in a major party's convention [6]. This gridlock continued, and by the fifteenth ballot neither side had gained an advantage.
General James McPherson in 1862.
At this point, the idea arose to elect a compromise candidate, who could satisfy both factions and still win votes. It was thought that only a war hero would be able to do this well, and the choice fell upon James McPherson, the general who led the army capturing Montgomery. He had a very appropriate history, having sponsored slave revolts in the South, and while generally Republican-leaning, was loath to side with either faction. However, due to his friendships with several prominent radicals, including Rutherford B. Hayes and James Garfield, many of the more convinced moderates, including Trumbull himself as well as David Davis and George Washington Julian, feared that a McPherson administration would implement mainly radical policies, and when the general's correspondence to the convention hinted at such a development, they announced they would not accept his candidacy. Their vote, however, was not enough to prevent McPherson's nomination, and on the eighteenth ballot he was named the party's candidate. Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, the most prominent middle candidate, was selected as his running mate.
For the moderates, this defeat was seen as the last straw. Many of them, including Lyman Trumbull and Montgomery Blair, left the Republican Party soon after; others, like George Washington Julian and Cassius Clay, had walked out of the convention before the final ballot and left the party at the same time. They joined the Constitutional Union, which soon renamed itself the Unionist Party, and many moderate Republicans throughout the Union went with them.
The Unionist Convention, held in Pittsburgh two weeks after the Republican one ended. Compared with the mess that was the Republican convention, the Unionist convention was remarkably quick in selecting a candidate; Curtin was nominated on the first ballot, unopposed. The vice-presidential race was less clear; Hannibal Hamlin, the sitting Vice President, was a radical Republican elected by the Senate, and would obviously not receive the Unionist nomination. Lyman Trumbull, Alexander Stephens and Cassius Clay, three of Curtin's most senior cabinet members, were the top choices for nomination, but eventually the convention settled on Benjamin Gratz Brown of Missouri, a prominent anti-secessionist in that state [7].
President Curtin.
The campaign was hard-fought, and closer than most people had expected. The recent adoption of the first Jim Crow laws, as they came to be called, in the southern states, provided an excellent argument for the Republicans. According to them, this was proof that the goals of Reconstruction, being the eradication of oppression and Confederate nationalism, had been given up on by the administration. The Unionists largely steered clear of the heated question of Reconstruction, focusing instead on the great economic recoveries made during the previous years and the peace that had finally come out of Curtin's removal of troops from most of the South. Although the Unionists had stronger arguments on their side, the Republicans had more support from the press and the establishment, and many Republican speakers, including Sumner and Lincoln, were legendary. The Unionists enjoyed the support of the rump Democratic Party, which had voted for a fusion ticket of Curtin/Brown at its convention, and as such they had the entire South effectively in their pocket.
The months leading up to Election Day were filled with antagonism and rivalry, as the two parties attacked each other with accusations of wickedness and corruption; Curtin was called a turncoat by the Republicans, while the Unionists mocked McPherson as being little more than a mouth for the Republican platform (a famous cartoon shows him as an oversized marionette, with Sumner, Wilson and Hamlin pulling the threads). The connection of the Democrats to the White League, and that of the Unionists to the Democrats, was also played up; despite having been a determined unionist all his life, and having supported the war effort enthusiastically as governor of Pennsylvania, Curtin was portrayed in Harper's Weekly as a turncoat and Confederate spy, and Horace Greeley referred to him as "the enigma of Bellefonte" [8] in a Tribune editorial. This nickname, while originally derogatory, stuck, and Curtin even used it himself in later years.
The election grew more even in the last weeks, as the Republicans promised "free soil, free men, and free enterprise" in glowing oratory. Eventually, the election day came, and the day after, America had a new president-elect…"
***
[1] This is the group that were called the Redeemers IOTL; other than the name, they're largely the same people.
[2] The group called the Redeemers ITTL are the people responsible for OTL's New South Creed. This ideology supported the growth of southern industry, in hopes of creating a society that was both able to compete more fairly with the North and less dependant on northern goods.
[3] A fact which still holds true. Floridians have a saying: "The further north you go, the further south you get."
[4] This happens four years earlier than OTL, because the southern states were mostly dead-set against it, and when Morrill and Trumbull actually managed to pass their bill, Buchanan vetoed it. They tried again three years later, and because the states that opposed it had seceded, and Lincoln being president, the bill passed. With Fremont in office, the bill is approved the first time around.
[5] Fun fact: Wilson was born Jeremiah Jones Colbath, but had his name changed in 1833.
[6] Then again, someone at the 1972 Republican convention nominated (and voted for) Mao Zedong, so that isn't saying much.
[7] This will, of course, lead to jokes that the convention "chose by title", and picked the most prominent unionist instead of the most prominent Unionist. Brown was the OTL running mate of Horace Greeley, famous for dying during the election process, on the Liberal Republican ticket.
[8] Bellefonte, the county seat of Centre County, Pennsylvania, is Curtin's hometown.
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Love the update! I was wondering when we'd get a chance to read more from the US side of the story.
Nice to see an update. It's a fun timeline.
While i know it's hard to predict what he could have done - I'll admit I probably err on the "greatest plausible impact" side in "Brotherhood and Baseball," coupled with Lincoln surviving - it would be nice to see Octavius Catto mentioned as having survived, even if he's only at the level of Booker T. Washington in terms of his impact on society he would still be a fun figure to cover.
While i know it's hard to predict what he could have done - I'll admit I probably err on the "greatest plausible impact" side in "Brotherhood and Baseball," coupled with Lincoln surviving - it would be nice to see Octavius Catto mentioned as having survived, even if he's only at the level of Booker T. Washington in terms of his impact on society he would still be a fun figure to cover.
Love the update! I was wondering when we'd get a chance to read more from the US side of the story.
Glad you both liked it.
Catto seems interesting. Consider him added to the "Where Are They Now?" update.
Story of a Party - Christmas Special
"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
***
"A mere twenty years ago, this nation launched itself into a deeply destructive war, the effects of which are still felt across society. It is for this reason that a conflict with Spain cannot be allowed to be pursued further…"
"… like the Huns of Attila, the German hordes will sweep across Europe…"
***
White House
Washington, D.C.
December 24, 1930
President Samuel Porter sat at his desk, watching a newsreel on the cinny. Outside it was snowing, a rarity in the humid climate of the Chesapeake Bay. December was usually mild, with occasional spells of rain, but this year it was colder than usual. Porter didn't pay the weather much mind, though. The subject of the newsreel took his entire attention.
"… the latest imagery from the Rexist rally in Trafalgar Square yesterday. In what is the largest gathering of the party so far, 65,000 people turned out to hear T.E. Chapman, the movement's leader, give his vision of the country's future.
"Hear me when I tell you that the Anglo-Saxon race will live a thousand years more! We will overcome this crisis, and with God's help and the movement at the helm, we will rule the earth yet again! Our movement will never falter, and God willing, our people will never die!"
In domestic news, the lynching of civil rights activist Antony Joplin has been traced to…"
A secretary entered the office, taking a look at the screen as he passed it. He sighed at the imagery.
"Another lynching? Well, it's always nice to see that the Christmas spirit is alive and well, isn't it, Mr President?"
"I don't know what's happened to the world, Bill," Porter said. "We've got everyone's favourite costumed madmen in Britain, the Establishers at home, and now the chauvinists in China. Seems like everything's about to hit the fan, if you ask me. What was it you wanted?"
"Well, I'd just like to say Merry Christmas, Mr President. My wife sends her regards as well."
"Well, thanks. With the world being what it is, I guess those of us with some basic human compassion left in us will all have to go at it harder, huh? Oh, and Merry Christmas to you too, Bill."
***
"A bill admitting Nicaragua into the Union was signed into law by the President today …"
"… the Communist threat to our society must be eliminated …"
"… at 03:34 this morning, British aircraft commenced the attacks on …"
***
Waikiki Beach
Oahu County, Hawaii Territory
December 24, 1963
A small group of sailors were gathered in the little bar on the waterfront, drinking, playing cards and listening to barely-audible music on the spotty radio signal coming from downtown Honolulu. Although the weather was warm, the sun was shining and the grass was green, it was still Christmas, and the boys revelled in the holiday spirit.
"All right," one of them said, preparing for a toast, "I'll say it. Merry Christmas to you all. You've all been fine company in and out of duty, and here's hoping to God the Japs won't blow us all to hell."
"I can drink to that," another said, downing his glass of bourbon in one gulp, "even though I'd rather be home than out here on this Godforsaken island fighting this damn war."
***
"… we choose to go to the Moon, and to do all the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard …"
"… for this reason, it is my firm belief that a republic, free from the excesses and abuses of royal power, is best suited to the needs of our people …"
***
Curtis High School
Boulder, Jefferson State
December 21, 2012
The last day of teaching before Christmas was a slow one, not helped by the wave of general boredom and anticipation that seemed to swell over all students the last day before vacation. The balding teacher scribbled a headline on the blackboard: "RECONSTRUCTION WEEK III: THE CONTINGENT ELECTION, 1869", to which one of the students gave a sigh that was audible across the lecture room.
"Yes, Edward," the teacher asked, "is there a problem?"
"Why do we read this boring shit?" the youth retorted, slightly annoyed. "Now that the term is over, shouldn't we just go home?"
The teacher, slightly aghast from the reply, tried (and nearly succeeded) to give his answer in a calm manner. "Well, it's important that you keep exercising your minds, even over Christmas. We have to get through the entire course in time for the exams, so I'm delegating some of the work to homework assignments. If we entirely glossed over one of the most important events in U.S. history, this wouldn't be much of a U.S. History class, now would it?"
"Why can't we do something more exciting, like, y'know, the siege of Halifax, or something?"
"Well now, my young man, those events couldn't have happened without the evolution of American politics as it went; even what happened a hundred years before that war influenced the particular outcome of the world situation. In many ways, Reconstruction was a watershed in American history; that event changed politics more than any other, and yes, that includes the Porter presidency. This is what we always have to remember when studying history; the events of the past, the actions of our forefathers, continue to shape us, both as individuals and as a people. There's an old saying: "Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it." We wouldn't want that, right? Now, if you'd kindly open your textbooks to page 176 …"
"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
***
"A mere twenty years ago, this nation launched itself into a deeply destructive war, the effects of which are still felt across society. It is for this reason that a conflict with Spain cannot be allowed to be pursued further…"
"… like the Huns of Attila, the German hordes will sweep across Europe…"
***
White House
Washington, D.C.
December 24, 1930
President Samuel Porter sat at his desk, watching a newsreel on the cinny. Outside it was snowing, a rarity in the humid climate of the Chesapeake Bay. December was usually mild, with occasional spells of rain, but this year it was colder than usual. Porter didn't pay the weather much mind, though. The subject of the newsreel took his entire attention.
"… the latest imagery from the Rexist rally in Trafalgar Square yesterday. In what is the largest gathering of the party so far, 65,000 people turned out to hear T.E. Chapman, the movement's leader, give his vision of the country's future.
"Hear me when I tell you that the Anglo-Saxon race will live a thousand years more! We will overcome this crisis, and with God's help and the movement at the helm, we will rule the earth yet again! Our movement will never falter, and God willing, our people will never die!"
In domestic news, the lynching of civil rights activist Antony Joplin has been traced to…"
A secretary entered the office, taking a look at the screen as he passed it. He sighed at the imagery.
"Another lynching? Well, it's always nice to see that the Christmas spirit is alive and well, isn't it, Mr President?"
"I don't know what's happened to the world, Bill," Porter said. "We've got everyone's favourite costumed madmen in Britain, the Establishers at home, and now the chauvinists in China. Seems like everything's about to hit the fan, if you ask me. What was it you wanted?"
"Well, I'd just like to say Merry Christmas, Mr President. My wife sends her regards as well."
"Well, thanks. With the world being what it is, I guess those of us with some basic human compassion left in us will all have to go at it harder, huh? Oh, and Merry Christmas to you too, Bill."
***
"A bill admitting Nicaragua into the Union was signed into law by the President today …"
"… the Communist threat to our society must be eliminated …"
"… at 03:34 this morning, British aircraft commenced the attacks on …"
***
Waikiki Beach
Oahu County, Hawaii Territory
December 24, 1963
A small group of sailors were gathered in the little bar on the waterfront, drinking, playing cards and listening to barely-audible music on the spotty radio signal coming from downtown Honolulu. Although the weather was warm, the sun was shining and the grass was green, it was still Christmas, and the boys revelled in the holiday spirit.
"All right," one of them said, preparing for a toast, "I'll say it. Merry Christmas to you all. You've all been fine company in and out of duty, and here's hoping to God the Japs won't blow us all to hell."
"I can drink to that," another said, downing his glass of bourbon in one gulp, "even though I'd rather be home than out here on this Godforsaken island fighting this damn war."
***
"… we choose to go to the Moon, and to do all the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard …"
"… for this reason, it is my firm belief that a republic, free from the excesses and abuses of royal power, is best suited to the needs of our people …"
***
Curtis High School
Boulder, Jefferson State
December 21, 2012
The last day of teaching before Christmas was a slow one, not helped by the wave of general boredom and anticipation that seemed to swell over all students the last day before vacation. The balding teacher scribbled a headline on the blackboard: "RECONSTRUCTION WEEK III: THE CONTINGENT ELECTION, 1869", to which one of the students gave a sigh that was audible across the lecture room.
"Yes, Edward," the teacher asked, "is there a problem?"
"Why do we read this boring shit?" the youth retorted, slightly annoyed. "Now that the term is over, shouldn't we just go home?"
The teacher, slightly aghast from the reply, tried (and nearly succeeded) to give his answer in a calm manner. "Well, it's important that you keep exercising your minds, even over Christmas. We have to get through the entire course in time for the exams, so I'm delegating some of the work to homework assignments. If we entirely glossed over one of the most important events in U.S. history, this wouldn't be much of a U.S. History class, now would it?"
"Why can't we do something more exciting, like, y'know, the siege of Halifax, or something?"
"Well now, my young man, those events couldn't have happened without the evolution of American politics as it went; even what happened a hundred years before that war influenced the particular outcome of the world situation. In many ways, Reconstruction was a watershed in American history; that event changed politics more than any other, and yes, that includes the Porter presidency. This is what we always have to remember when studying history; the events of the past, the actions of our forefathers, continue to shape us, both as individuals and as a people. There's an old saying: "Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it." We wouldn't want that, right? Now, if you'd kindly open your textbooks to page 176 …"
A Fascist-like movement(with a Hitler-like persona in command) in Britain which may overthrow the monarchy, ....now that seems interesting.
Great update, and hints at what to come - a British Republic? A cold war with Japan? An earlier Civil Rights movement? Can't wait to see this!
We celebrate it on the 24th.
To the others, I won't confirm or deny anything you've speculated about; this is as many hints as I'm going to give you. I'll just say that I'm surprised no one's picking up on the hints about Porter.
EDIT: Also, who said the republic was British? Could be any former monarchy.
Who cares, free update. Was really good to, hinting at a lot of possibilities in this TL. What I really like is the British fascist group, the reference to Nicaragua joining the Union. Also wondering about who the communists are going to be, maybe the Russians, maybe the Japanese.
Glad you liked it.
Neither. That's all I can say.
It's funny how everyone just assumes that the person speaking of a "Communist threat" is American...
because you said Trafalgar Square......
That's a different section. The *fascist movement in Britain =/= the republic established in some former monarchy at some point.
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