Timeline 191 - Patman Addresses Joint Session of Texas Congress

A Scene from the 1976 television miniseries, Texas an American story:

Texas President Wright Patman is portrayed by Berry Hagman.
Texas Vice President James Carlson is portrayed by Earl Boen.
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Henry Grimes is portrayed by Gene Hackman.
Patman's female secretary, Susan Dalton, is portrayed by Farrah Fawcett.
House Sergeant-At-Arms, Richard Carver, is portrayed by Martin Milner.
House Page, Thomas Martin, is portrayed by Paul Reubens.
Texas Congressmen William Sinclair is portrayed by Raymond Burr.
Texas Congressmen Leonard Ward is portrayed by Adam West.
Texas Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes III is portrayed by Abe Vigoda.
Texas Congressmen Albert Gil is portrayed Cesar Romero.
Congressional Aide to Congressmen Holmes is portrayed by Ron Howard.


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Scene Setting:


Approximately 10:00 are, April 19, 1948 inside the Texas House of Representatives Chamber located in the East Wing of the Texas Capitol Building. Both Texan Vice President James Carlson, and Speaker of the House Henry Grimes, are standing behind the speaker’s raised podium as they overlook lawmakers from both houses of the Congress of Texas idly milling about the floor of the chamber. The air is filled with the murmur of at least two dozen simultaneously ongoing conversations, while the scene is full of Texas congressmen cordially greeting one another with hearty handshakes and friendly pats on the back.


The immense coffered ceiling looms a full two stories above the chamber floor, while the chamber floor itself contains enough desk sitting space to easily accommodate one hundred and seventy-five legislators. However, with nearly all of the western house districts lost to the US state of Houston, there is more than enough room for everyone attending today's special joint session to have a seat.

Ringing the walls midway between the floor and the ceiling is an open loft area known as the House Gallery, where the citizens of Texas sometimes gather to watch as their representatives hammer out a new bill. However today's joint session of the Texas Congress is a special closed door session, and currently there are no curious onlookers leaning over the railing to catch a glimpse of their elected officials.

House Speaker Henry Grimes checks the large Roman numeral clock located at the far end of the chamber, above the double doors leading to the East Corridor.



James Carlson: Looks like some of our esteemed congressmen are going to need some help finding their seats.



Henry Grimes: I reckon you're right, as he lets out a long sigh.


(Grimes picks up a ceremonial gavel and loudly hammers it four times against a wooden sounding disk located on his podium. Grimes loudly speaks into the microphone in front of him.)


Henry Grimes: The joint meeting will now come together! The joint meeting will now come to order!


(Grimes looks on as lawmakers nonchalantly take their seats over the next half minute or so.)


Henry Grimes: I will now turn this meeting over to Vice President James Carlson, who has requested that this special joint session be held.


(Grimes then steps away from the microphone so that Carlson can take his place.)


James Carlson: Thank you Mr. Speaker.......Esteemed members of Congress. As you already know...President Patman has recently returned from visiting Washington DC and Los Angeles, California.....where he met respectively with US President Thomas Dewey and California Governor, Earl Warren......President Patman will issue a few brief remarks regarding his recent trips to the US, and President Patman will also be commenting upon our future relationship with the United States of America.


(The camera pans around to take in the congressmen who are all sitting at their desks in rapt silence.)


James Carlson: After President Dewey has finished making his remarks; he will then be taking a few brief questions from members of this joint session. However, I would like to remind everyone that the matters about to be discussed here in this chamber are of the utmost national security, and that they are not to be discussed with anyone else, including members of the press. Now are there any questions on this matter?


(Someone sniffles loudly from the chamber floor.)


James Carlson: Good! And now ....Members of the Congress, it is my privilege to present to you the President of the Republic of Texas, John William Wright Patman!


(The House Sergeant-At-Arms, who is seated at his own lectern directly below the house speaker's podium immediately stands from his chair and loudly commands...)


Sergeant-At-Arms: All rise for the President of the Republic!


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The scene changes to a small anteroom located behind the speaker's podium where President Dewey and his personal secretary Susan Dalton are having a conversation. Dewey is wearing an expensive looking double breasted suit as he stands directly in front of Susan.


Wright Patman: How do I look, Darling? Do I look like I've been up all night?


Susan Dalton: Oh.....that darned cowlick on the side of your head is sticking up again!


(Susan licks her palm and then uses the moisture on her hand to slick Patman's hair back into place.)


Susan Dalton: There....now you look fine! (As she adjusts the lapel of his jacket, and then uses the tip of her finger to smooth over Patman's eyebrow.)


Wright Patman: I can't stand this suit, it's too tight, and it looks like something one of those ridiculous zoot suiters out in California would probably wear. Why did I ever let you talk me into buying it anyway? (In a friendly teasing manner.)


Susan Dalton: Well, I think that it makes you look just like a dashing Hollywood movie star, and I'm certain that everyone else will think that it makes you look handsome as well. Besides, you can't make such a historical address wearing your stetson and a bolo tie, now can you? (As she continues to fuss of the president's jacket.)


Wright Patman: No....I suppose not.


Susan Dalton: Oh, there's one other thing, I almost forgot the most important detail.


(Susan stops fumbling with the president's jacket and reaches over to a tan satchel case resting atop a nearby bookcase. She quickly undoes the claps and hands Dewey several sheets of paper.)


Susan Dalton: I retyped your speech with all of the changes you've asked for ...and this time I double spaced it so that your eyes can easily return to the correct space on the page after you've looked away. So that other copy in your suit pocket isn't any good, use this one instead!


Wright Patman: Thank you so much, Darling, but I'm going to let you hold onto both of these for me. (As he pulls the copy he'd been carrying in his inner jacket pocket, and hands both copies of his speech back to Susan.) If I don't have what I want to say right up here (as he uses his index finger to tap his own temple) then I've got no business being here. Besides, we both know that I work best when I'm under pressure, and if I read my own speech one more time I'm gonna go crazier than a dog in a hubcap factory.


(Just then a male house page sticks his head and shoulders into doorway leading into the anteroom.)


House Page: Mr. President, Sir, you've been announced on the house floor.


Wright Patman: That looks like my que, wish me luck, Darling.


(Susan leans forward and abruptly kisses Patman on his cheek as she squeezes his shoulders. The kiss leaves a smear of red lipstick on Patman's cheek.)


Susan Dalton: Don't worry, you'll have them eating out of your hand before they even know what's hit them.


Wright Patman: I sure hope you're right. (And then so low that Susan cannot hear him,) Otherwise I may have to ask Dewey to grant me political amnesty somewhere in the US.


(Patman walks past Susan and out the door leading to the House Chamber.)

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The scene changes back to the House of Representatives Chamber as Patman walks out of a standard sized door located to the left of the speaker's podium. The congressmen applaud enthusiastically at the sight of their president. Patman walks over to the rows of desks lining the floor and shakes hands with several lawmakers in the first row. After that he waves to a few others in the back rows, and then turns to ascend the stairs leading to the speaker's podium. Patman shakes hands with the speaker of the house, and the vice president, before then stepping in front of the microphone. House Speaker Grimes pounds his mallet four times to bring the applause to a halt.


Wright Patman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, distinguished members of the Texan Congress....

(The camera pans around to show the sitting congressmen who are listening intently to Patman's words.)


Wright Patman: Jake Featherston promised us that he would give us the truth, and that he would turn the Confederate States of American into a great and powerful nation...(pause)....But rather than actually supplying any of us with the actual truth......President Jake Featherston sold us all on a false bill of goods which nearly destroyed our beloved Texas.......once and for all!


(A round of polite applause from the sitting congressmen.)


Wright Patman: What is more, the haughty East Coast aristocracy which used to rule over the Confederacy from their ivory towers in Richmond, Charleston, and Atlanta jumped on the Freedom Party bandwagon far too quickly...and those so called elite blue bloods of the Old Confederacy bear much of the responsibility for getting us into such a horribly disastrous war - a war which wasted the lives of our young men - and a war which we had no chance of ever winning..........


(Another round of applause - this time slightly more intense.)


Wright Patman: Because......without the help of the Confederate ruling class......Jake Featherston would have never been able to wreak the terrible amount of death and destruction upon the North American continent that he was able to achieve....However, today,......how many of those same pompous fools ....are now living the high life in overseas locations such as Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, or Melbourne - as the average Confederate citizen suffers for their mistakes? (Patman points to the far wall directly in front of him as if he were pointing towards Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, and Melbourne all at the same time.)


(The intensity of the applause increases slightly more.)


Wright Patman: I'm not here to tell any of you the truth...(Dramatic pause as Patman's eyes circle the sitting congressmen) but I am here to tell you about the harsh facts concerning our current situation..... and I'm also here to inform you of the steps that we must take in order to secure a place for Texas in the coming world......


(Just then the same round headed house page who had earlier summoned Patman from the anteroom quickly climbs the stairs and whispers something into Patman's ear. Patman stops speaking and then takes out a handkerchief and uses it to wipe away a shadow on his cheek. Someone in the rear seating of the chamber coughs loudly. The cough sounds a little bit like the word "floozy". Patman begins speaking without missing a beat.)


Wright Patman: To date, the Republic of Texas has only been able to obtain diplomatic recognition from a tiny handful of nations- The United States, The Republic of Canada, the Republic of Mexico, and the Republic of Quebec. (Patman counts off the names of each country that has granted diplomatic recognition to the Republic of by raising the fingers of his right hand as he says the name of each country aloud. He holds his four fingers up for a few seconds for dramatic effect.)


(There is no visible reaction from the congressmen as Patman pauses while displaying his four fingers.)


Wright Patman: Even the US's great ally, Germany, has decided to withhold diplomatic recognition....and during a recent interview with the New York Times, the German Foreign Minister stated that he fully expects that our government will be overthrown by some sort of a coup within the next eighteen months or so...and that following that.....Texas is expected to spend the rest of its existence as some sort of third-rate banana republic ruled by a constantly revolving cadre of strongmen and thugs.


(Patman pauses to let his latest remark sink in. There are a few snuffles and chair squeaks from the house floor, but no real reaction from the congressmen is forthcoming.)


Wright Patman: We must face the fact that the rest of the world simply doesn't love us very much, and that the rest of the European diplomatic community has decided to follow Germany's lead in denying us diplomatic recognition.....What is more, in the after math of certain events which occurred here in Texas, and in other parts of the Confederacy, I believe that it may take several decades, or longer, before we are finally able to wash the filthy stench of Jake Featherston off of our hands, and to convince the nations of the civilized world that we deserve to be a part of their community.....


(Another pause. A few congressmen silently nod their heads in agreement, but it appears that Patman may be broaching an unpopular topic which many do not wish to face.)


Wright Patman: Another issue we must face is the relatively small size of our country, and the fact that we will likely never be able to expand beyond our current borders...(pause to let that sink in)...Initially we had hopes of expanding our territory by persuading the United States into granting us Sonora and Chihuahua, but when the announcement was made that Sonora and Chihuahua would instead be granted to Mexico.....our dreams of becoming a bicoastal nation quietly died with that announcement (sadly). Today, we are surrounded by powerful neighbors, including a hostile Republic of Mexico on the other side of the Rio Grande, and we must face the fact that there is virtually no possibility of us ever expanding our nation's borders beyond their current size.


(Someone from the middle of the floor cries out, "Give us back Houston!" Patman's stride is broken, but he manages to quickly recover.)


Wright Patman: I'll be talking about the US state of Houston in just a bit, and yes.......there is a concrete plan in place which will allow for Houston to be rejoined to Texas.


(This time many of the congressmen stand up from their chairs as they enthusiastically clap. Patman makes a shushing motion with his right hand as he encourages the congressmen to sit back down again.)


Wright Patman: We will get back to Houston in just a bit, but first, we must finish going over some of the obstacles which are currently plaguing us as an independent nation........


(The congressmen have settled down, but they are still somewhat giddy over the mention of Houston rejoining Texas.)


Wright Patman: We must be honest with ourselves, and acknowledge the fact that Texas hasn't seen anything remotely resembling real economic prosperity since before the start of the First Great War!


(Patman slams his fist on the podium in order to emphasize his point. The congressmen stop tittle-tattling to one another over Houston rejoining Texas.)


Wright Patman: At the moment, we are only just now beginning to come out of the postwar recession which wracked our economy during the first few years of Texan independence......and it looks like our GDP for fiscal year 1947-48 will experience a 1.8% growth rate, when figures are finally tabulated this coming June.


(A round of applause arises from the congressmen. Patman makes a silencing motion with his hand, as he wears a look of mild disapproval upon his face.)


Wright Patman: Now please, a growth rate of 1.8% is absolutely paltry when compared to the 5.5% economic growth which the US is experiencing, or the 2.5% growth Mexico now enjoys.....We need to get ourselves on the same economic growth bandwagon which everyone else is ridding upon, and the sooner we do it the better.....


(The congressmen have returned to their uncomfortable stony silence.)


Wright Patman: A week-and-a-half ago, California Governor Earl Warren invited me to visit his state, and during my trip out to Los Angeles......I was surprised to learn that California has a four lane superhighway called the 101 which stretches all the way from Los Angeles.....to San Francisco! Now here in Texas....the only four lane expressways we have are the ones found within some of our busier downtown business districts......Why, if someone wants to drive their car from Austin to Dallas...Highway 2 is nothing but a meandering two lane country road all the way from point A to point B...


(Patman throw up his hands in mock exacerbation.)


Wright Patman: Furthermore, when I visited the San Fernando Valley......I learned that one in five suburban Los Angeles Country homes has a backyard swimming pool! Meanwhile, here in the Republic of Texas....roughly three in five Texan homes do not even have heated indoor plumbing!.......Now what is wrong with the picture when the average Californian can go for a swim in a heated outdoor pool, but here in Texas.....taking a hot shower is considered to be something of a luxury?


(A few congressmen squirm uncomfortably in their seats.)


Wright Patman: Gentlemen!...The uncomfortable truth is that the citizens of Texas are living at least a quarter century behind their counterparts in California, and the people of Texas deserve better than that.....


(The congressmen sit stone faced like statues.)


Wright Patman: Now part of our economic problem stems from the fact that...all throughout the Great Depression years....the Confederate government back in Richmond saw fit to take Texas tax dollars....and to use those Texas tax dollars to build major infrastructure projects in Tennessee and Georgia....Where they didn't do anyone living in Texas the slightest bit of good! (As if explaining something to a small child.)......Let's face it......Texas was essentially nothing other than a fat cash-cow for the folks back in Richmond to plunder as they pleased, and now as a result....Texas is currently one of the most underdeveloped and backwards English speaking region in all of North America!


(The Congressmen continue to maintain their frozen looks.)


Wright Patman: In fact, the only reason that we are now starting to finally creep out of the recession, is because of the US government's decision to purchase a freight car worth of our treasury bonds. If they hadn't stepped in and done that, then we might be looking at 1920's style hyper-inflation right now!


(We've got our oil, we can rebuild our economy without anyone's help! someone shouts.)


Wright Patman: That's right!.......We've got our oil! (As Patman points a finger at the area of the floor where the shout came from.) But do you know who also has oil? Sequoyah has oil!...... Houston has oil!.... Pennsylvania has oil!.....and California has oil off its coast as well!......(In a lower voice) And to make matters even worse.....I recently read that scientists in Germany are very-very close to synthesizing a cost-effective replacement for gasoline, and when that happens........the bottom is going to drop out of oil! (Patman makes a helpless gesture with his hands.)


(A loud unhappy murmur arises from the house floor. Many of the congressmen are oilmen, and they are alarmed by Patman's remarks. Patman holds up a hand has he does his best to put a congenial look upon his face.)


Wright Patman: Now - Now look, I'm not here to rain on your parade! (As Patman makes an emphasizing gesture with his hand.) I'm just doing my best to explain the harsh realities which are facing all of us today! Now, we can either bury our heads in the sand and pretend that these problems don't exist, or we can face them head on like grown men!.....

(The murmurs from the floor begin to die down.)


Wright Patman: We've got no potential for territorial growth, we are facing an extremely hostile neighbor along our southern border, we've got limited diplomatic recognition from around the globe, and we've got a very stagnant and backwards economy to boot!


(Well, what do you propose to do about all of those problems, you're the president after all!)


Wright Patman: Many of you supported me four years ago when I decided to take Texas out of the Confederacy and to turn us into an independent nation......However, in the very near future I'm going to need your support once again....for an even bolder and more ambitious plan..........A plan which will guarantee that Texas is able to take its rightful place in the modern world, and that our grandchildren won't end up living in an underdeveloped country ruled by a petty dictatorship......


(This time a healthy round of applause from the congressmen.)


Wright Patman: As you know, approximately three weeks ago I visited President Dewey at the US White House in Washington DC.......During my visit President Dewey and I discussed the possibility of Texas once again becoming a US state...


(A small round of confused applause with intermittent false starts and stops.)


Wright Patman: I told President Dewey that I was open to the idea of Texas becoming a US state, provided that certain conditions were first met.......


(The floor of the House Chamber is extremely quiet as everyone waits for Patman to continue.)


Wright Patman: Firstly, the US state of Houston must be abolished, and its territories must be returned to Texas! This point is completely non-negotiable, and Texas will not reenter the Union without the territories she lost when the US state of Houston was created!


(The congressmen erupt in raucous applause, and it takes House Speaker more than a full minute of banging his gavel to make everyone settle down.)


Wright Patman: Secondly, the US state of Texas will maintain its own Self-Defense-Force completely separate from the US federal army, or any other state militias under federal control. The people of Texas have suffered too much under the heels of fools, despots, and dictators ruling them from back east, and as I've explained to President Dewey, the good citizens of Texas deserve to hold an insurance policy against anyone ever again trampling on their liberties.


(An enthusiastic round of applause from the floor of the house, the camera catches one or two congressmen with a glint in their eyes.)


Wright Patman: Thirdly, and lastly, I will remain on as the head of the executive branch of the government until the current term I was elected to expires in January of 1951. In other words, I will automatically transition from being our current sitting president to our first US governor in roughly eighty-seven years. (Shrugs shoulders as if no big deal.)


(A scattered round of applause from around the floor.)


Wright Patman: Now I'd like to take a few brief questions before this joint session is adjourned.


(An overweight congressman in the front row manages to get his hand up first. Patman points to him.)


Congressmen William Sinclair: Congressmen William Sinclair of the Seventh House District - representing Plano. Mr. President, if this body agrees to support the idea of US statehood, can you give us any idea of what the time frame would look like, and also what sort of roadblocks might there be on the US side?


Wright Patman: President Dewey wants the citizens of Texas and Houston to be able to vote on the issue of US statehood in a special plebiscite election tentatively scheduled for this coming November 1st............The citizens of Texas will be able to vote on whether they wish to remain an independent nation, or become a US state......However, over in the US state of Houston, the voters will only get to decide if they wish to rejoin Texas, or remain a separate US state.


Congressmen William Sinclair: But what happens if the citizens of Houston decide that they wish to remain the US state of Houston, and that they no longer wish to call themselves Texans?


Wright Patman: Texas roots run deep.....and back in 1940 the people of Houston voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Texas.......Therefore it is simply a fore drawn conclusion that they will do the same thing once again today in 1948.


Congressmen William Sinclair: But as far as a timeline, what is the soonest you foresee us becoming a US state again?


Wright Patman: If the people of Texas and Houston approve the plebiscite this coming November, then it could theoretically be in front of the US Congress by early December, and we could possibly be looking at official US statehood by January of 1949.


Congressmen William Sinclair: Can you give us any idea as to whether or not there is strong support among US lawmakers for Texas becoming a US state? As I seem to recall, several Socialist members of the US Congress made rather disparaging comments about us in the past, and I'm just wondering if that particular drum is still being beat very hard inside the US Capitol?


Wright Patman: I was able to meet with some senior members of the Democratic National Committee during my trip to Washington DC, and all of them expressed enthusiasm over the idea of Texas rejoining the Union, and currently the US Democrats hold a super-majority in both houses of the US Congress, so I do not foresee any obstacles....when and if the matter is put to a vote.


Congressmen William Sinclair: Thank you, Mr. President.


(Dewey points to another congressman in the middle right section of the chamber floor.)


Congressmen Leonard Ward: Congressmen Leonard Ward of the First Senatorial District, including Paris, Tyler, and Longview. Mr. President, you mentioned our stagnate economy, but I fail to see how becoming a US state will remedy that problem. Can you give us some specific examples of how surrendering our national sovereignty will put more food on the table for the average Texan family?


Wright Patman: To begin with, Texas will be the largest state in the Union, and that says something right there!.....Now, I know that we were also once the largest state in the Confederacy, but during its last thirty-five years of its existence, the Confederate States of America was a poorly managed institution, so therefore Texas was unable to live up to its full potential as an economic powerhouse.


Congressmen Leonard Ward: Yes, Mr. President, but what specifically would need to happen in order for the people of Texas to fully benefit from becoming US citizens?


Wright Patman: During my trip to Washington DC I was able to meet with some of President Dewey's top economic advisors......These men are some of the brightest economists found anywhere in the US, and they typically advise the US President on issues ranging from employment trends, international trade, emerging technologies, and other important economic issues....and I'd have to say that judging from the current overall robustness of the US economy, that they must be doing a very good job......At any rate...the US economists I spoke with had coined a new phrase to describe the defeated Confederacy, and the phrase they used to describe the old CSA was - the New Sun Belt Region!...... According to the US economists I spoke with, the Sun Belt Region should begin to experience an economic boom sometime during the middle of the 1950s. Also, as it was explained to me, the defense industry, the aerospace industry, agriculture, and the electronics industry are all expected to be major players in the economic development of the so called Sun Belt Region. (Looking hopeful that his vague answer will be sufficient enough to satisfy the congressmen's curiosity.)


Congressmen Leonard Ward: But are you aware of any specific economic plans which might benefit the people of Texas....post reintegration into the US?


Wright Patman: As a matter of fact.......I met with senior executives of the General Motor Corporation, and these gentlemen expressed a very strong interest in taking over the now shuttered Vauxhall auto assembly plant here in Austin.......Also I met with members of the Lockheed aircraft corporation who are interested in building their next generation of military helicopters at one of our defunct Confederate defense plants in Fort Worth.....I'm certain that there will be many similar proposals in the near future, due to the low labor costs associated with manufacturing here in Texas.


Congressmen Leonard Ward: Thank you Mr. President.


(This time Patman points to another congressmen in the front row. This time an ancient gentlemen with a drooping lip, hanging face, and unfocused eyes.)


Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes: Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes the 3rd! Representing the Fifteenth Senatorial District comprising Dallas, Lewisville, and Irving! Mr. President! I've been serving in this legislative body since before the turn of the century, and you cannot tell me for one God damned cotton picking minute that US President Dewey is fixing to allow us back into the Union without demanding a pound of flesh from us! Everyone knows that Yankees despise us to high heaven, so what sort of humiliation are we Texans going to have to suffer in order to come crawling back on our hands and knees? I demand to know sir, and do not try to hoodwink me with your mealy mouthed double talk! (A droplet of spittle falls from the congressmen's lower lip as he concludes his tirade.)


Wright Patman: Congressmen Holmes, Sir, I've made it abundantly clear to US President Dewey that if Texas is going to be admitted back into the United States of America, then the people of Texas cannot be half-citizens, and that they must allowed full participation in the US democratic process. The people of Texas will not be making any concessions, and we will not be giving up any of our freedoms and liberties in order to become a US state. (Smugly, with his chin up.) After all, we are all Americans right, why not start acting like it?


Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes: Are you going to be giving them free oil? They've been after our oil since the end of the Second Mexican War, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you're planning on paying them off with our precious Texas oil? (The congressmen head bobbles with rage as he imagines tanker cars full of free Texas oil heading towards the US.)


Wright Patman: No Congressmen (very patiently) I can assure you that we will not be giving away our wealth, or making any other concessions in order to become a US state, and I'm certain that everyone sitting here in this chamber knows that I'd never agree to such a one-sided agreement.


Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes: What about your military adventurism with the US into Sequoyah? Are you going to be sending our young men off to fight in Dewey's dirty little wars up in Canada and Alaska? Our young men need to stay here in Texas to build roads, hospitals, and schools, (making bracket like gestures with hands while imagining roads, schools, and hospitals springing into existence) they don't need to be sent off and die for the people of Canada, they need to stay right here where they belong!


Wright Patman: Congressmen Holmes, if we become US citizens......then defending the United States would indeed be a part of our civic responsibilities.......just as others living in the US might be called upon to defend the people of Texas.....Now, US President Dewey may be a hardboiled leader, but I can assure you that he is no Jake Featherston, and he isn't interested in embarking upon a war of conquest across the North American continent. In fact, if Dewey were the tyrant you suspect him of being, then why did he agree to grant the people of Canada their freedom? (Congressmen Holmes doesn't answer the rhetorical question).....President Dewey has assured me that his primary goal is the rebuilding and reintegration of the defeated Confederacy, and everything else as far as he is concerned takes a backseat to that priority.......Also, as you may recall, last year I sent two detachments of intelligence officers from our Texas Self-Defense-Force into Georgia to help US authorities unravel a Freedom Party extremist movement that was beginning to coalesce around the Savannah area. We may be called upon again to do battle with Freedom Party extremists operating in the Old Confederacy......it's just a fact of life.....


Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes: Ah-Ha! Now I've got you! You're planning on allowing Dewey to use our young lads to kill fellow Confederate civilians....just so that you can get in good with those dirty Yankees! (As he points a gnarled trembling finger at Patman.)


Wright Patman: Need I remind everyone in this chamber.....that from the point of view of the Freedom Party Extremists, we are all nothing but a bunch of traitors, each and every one of us?.......In fact, most Freedom Party hardliners think that the only reason Jake Featherston lost the war.............was because we decided amongst ourselves to take Texas out of the Confederacy!.......Does everyone remember that?......The Freedom Party is like a dangerous wounded animal, and it cannot be allowed to survive ANYWHERE! (Patman thumps the podium with his closed fist.) Because if these men ever manage to gain a tiny bit of power anywhere on the North American continent....then the very first thing they are going to do is to march each and every one of us through the gates of a death camp in whatever postage stamp of country they've managed to establish for themselves. That is why we must work with the US government to eradicate these madmen, they are simply too dangerous to have around in a free-society. Does that address your concerns, Congressman Holmes? (Gritting his teeth.)


(Congressmen Silvester Thomas Holmes III appears to have fallen asleep during Patman's rebuttal. An aide using a handkerchief to wipe the spittle from the congressmen's chin looks up the president and says.)


Congressional Aide: Thank you, Mr. President.



(Patman points to someone in the very back row.)


Congressmen Albert Gil: Congress Albert Gil, Radical Liberal, representing the Tenth House District - Representing the city of Houston and the surrounding area! (The congressman has a decidedly flamboyant mannerism about himself, while tending to speak with an exaggerated Spanish accent. A few of the other nearby congressmen titter as he speaks.) Mr. President, is there any truth to the rumor that you are planning on merging the Texas Whig Party with the US Democratic Party?


Wright Patman: That matter is scheduled to be voted on by the National Committee of the Texas Whig Party sometime within the coming weeks, and such a decision is not mine alone to make....Moreover, if you take a careful look at the party platforms of both the Texas Whig Party, and the US Democratic Party, you'll see that there is a close match in ideology, and it would only make perfect sense to merge the two parties if Texas is to become a state.


Congressmen Albert Gil: But what will ever become of the Texas Radical Liberal Party? How will we stand against you Whigs after you've merged with the US Democratic Party? We'd become a one party state, and the whole thing seems rather un-American if you ask me! (Theatrical outrage in Gil's voice. Other nearby congressmen, mostly Whigs, cannot resist the urge to laugh aloud.)


Wright Patman: Far be it from me to give the opposition party political advice, but if I were in your shoes I'd have someone within my party make contact with the US Republican Party, so that the two of you can form some sort of an alliance together.


Congressmen Albert Gil: This issue isn't over yet! (As he shakes his fist and begins marching towards the main double doors leading towards the East Corridor.


(President Patman has a look of bemusement upon his face as he watches the angry congressmen storm out of the chambers.)
 
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Cire, I'm sorry that a whole weekend has passed without any interesting reply from me - I've been dabbling in statistics, that most occult of all the Dark Arts, and been thoroughly distracted by my struggle to master that most unforgiving discipline Congressional Apportionment (for the record I've been trying to work out Census Data for the Confederacy from 1865 to 1935, based on the understanding that the First Confederate Census was to have been held within three years of the first meeting of the Confederate States Congress and that this first meeting was held in 1862).

This may distract me a little while yet but, as partial compensation, please feel free to ask me for data that might be pertinent to your own project!:)


I look forward to seeing your article on life in the USA between 1945 and the 1980s (Timeline-191: C) and wish you well.
 
This may distract me a little while yet but, as partial compensation, please feel free to ask me for data that might be pertinent to your own project!

I hope that it is not too much trouble but........

Do you happen to have any estimates for what the population of Sequoyah would have been in 1940? In OTL the state of Oklahoma has a population of 2,336,434, so I'm guessing that Sequoyah might have a population around 1,557,622 due to less people moving into the territory during the US Westward expansion?

Also, I'm trying to figure out what US deaths as a percentage of total 1940 population would look like at the end of the Second Great War? (Including both civilian and military deaths, essentially everyone who died a war related death)

I came up with a ball park estimate for a 1940 US population of 91,732,592. Also in OTL, European countries which experienced intense invasion and occupation during WWII seemed to have experienced death rates ranging 1.05% - 2.8% of their total populations. (I discounted extreme cases such as Germany and USSR, and looked more at France, Italy, Albania, Czechoslovakia, etc.

Given the fact that the Confederate invasion was more or less limited to Ohio and Pennsylvania, I'm guessing that the percentage of US citizens killed in the Second Great War was probably something like 0.94% - 1.05% which would mean that roughly 935,112 US citizens lost their lives during the war? I break the US death rate down at roughly 425,103 military deaths, to 510,009 civilian deaths.

I've guesstimated the civilian death to be higher than military deaths due to the brutal nature of the Confederate invasion of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Also, I've estimated US military wounded at roughly 712,319.

Any feedback greatly appreciated.
 
Do you happen to have any estimates for what the population of Sequoyah would have been in 1940? In OTL the state of Oklahoma has a population of 2,336,434, so I'm guessing that Sequoyah might have a population around 1,557,622 due to less people moving into the territory during the US Westward expansion?

Well my assumption was that Sequoyah would not have experienced a "Land Rush" comparable to the one which peopled Oklahoma in Our Timeline (since the Five Civilised Tribles could likely have greater political capital based on their role as defenders of the Confederate frontier and tribes like the Kiowa their services as plausibly-deniable "border reivers"), so my estimate of the local population in 1914 is 322,370 (though that might be a little too low - I'd be prepared to crank that number up as high as three quarters of a million but no farther than that): assuming that, following a Northern Conquest of Sequoyah, a Land Rush similar to the one following 1889 ensued then one might see a population as high as 676,010 by 1920 (assuming a population increase of 109.7%) which could increase to 827,436 by 1930 (assuming an increase of 22.4%).

This represents a fairly conservative increase (between 1890 and 1900 the Land Rush saw Indian Territory's population increase by 205.6%), mostly based on my suspicion that a 20th Century population in the second quarter of that century would be more reluctant to up sticks and head into newly-conquered territory on the border with a thoroughly sullen neighbour (especially when richer prospects like California were on the horizon), especially given the steadily increasing number of Modern Conveniences available to them in more settled States.

One of the big "X" Factors is the question of how badly the Dust Bowl strikes Sequoyah between 1930 and 1940 - during this period of Our History the Sooner State lost 2.5% of its population and one expects that Sequoyah (with violence from the Native inhabitants likely exacerbated by Redemption League and Freedom Party backing) might see a similar phenomenon; in this case the population might not be very much more than 800,000 (building on the figures previously given 806,750).

As a note none of this worries over the exact percentage of the population which was descended from the Tribes Vs those descended from the first flush of Northern immigrants - for the record my estimates of casualties in the Great War are VERY preliminary (based on a total figure divided between the States based on the percentage of the population an individual state represents), but they indicate that at least 14,152 Sequoyah residents died in that conflict.

This would seem to be an underestimate; my guess is that Serbia makes the most logical model for Sequoyah casualty ratios (a small nation taking on larger ones and suffering very badly); assuming this is the case, Sequoyah probably lost 53,739 of her sons and daughters to Northern Aggression.

One last note - Alaska, being a State mostly settled in the 20th Century, might make another useful source of Inspiration for ratios of increase for Sequoyah.


For the record I also made a VERY rough population estimate for the State of Houston (assuming that Texas lost a percentage of its population equivalent to that lost to Virginia through the recognition of West Virginia) of 1,002,070 - for the record I do not intend to "tune up" this estimate because there are far, far too many counties in the Lone Star State as I learned when one made an effort to work out which of them would be lost to the State of Houston.

Note that this is Houston on its creation; it would logically grow a little over time (Oklahoma might actually make a handy model for the growth of its near-neighbour in another Timeline, in terms of rough percentages).


Concerning the US population in 1940, I actually spent a little thought working out what the US population at the time of the Pacific War might have been; based on the idea that the US population in 1914 was approximately 68,050,870* and that the United States lost over 2,000,000 in the Great War (but acquired a little less than 3,000,000 through the acquisition of Houston & Kentucky & Sequoyah bolstered by natural increase) which results in a figure of 75,604,516 in 1920 followed by 85,962,335 in 1930 - following a similar rate of increase produces 92,237,586 (not counting Sandwich Islands or Occupied Canada) - subtracting 3,000,000 to represented the repatriation of Kentucky and the State of Houston, that leaves us a total of 89,237,586 (unless I work out more specific numbers at a later date).

*My statistics give the Confederate States total population as 32,119,222 in 1914.

Applying a casualty ratio of 1.9% of the total population (about halfway between the ratios mentioned for WWII population not speaking German or Russian), that would be equal to 1,695,514 all told (which sounds credible, especially given that the Confederate States certainly lost far more); I shall not go into further detail than that, because a man can only cope with so much hair-splitting arithmetic! (one final point; it seems unlikely that the Confederate Army would be especially brutal towards inhabitants of Ohio, given the lightning success of BLACKBEARD and their need to push as many troops into COALSCUTTLE as possible, so my guess is that US civilian casualties would only start to mount when the US draws a line in the sand through Pennsylvania and starts turning every city into a strongpoint that needs to be plastered**).

**Having said that I would bet that the Confederate States took pains to plaster industrial centres like Detroit and transport hubs like Chicago, as well as launching strikes from Kentucky, Tennessee & Arkansas against US transport links in Indiana, Illinois & Missouri (in a bid to make sure that the United States Army have a very difficult time mustering a counter-attack to the west of Ohio), which would likely raise the number of civilian casualties.


I hope that this will prove somewhat useful, I trust that you will keep well and I truly hope you will keep posting!:)
 
I like your figures, but I just want to make sure I understand everything completely? You're estimating the 1940 US population at 92,237,586 with a casualty ratio of 1.9%, giving an actual casualty figure of roughly 1,695,514? Also, do these 1940 population estimates exclude Houston and Kentucky, because by the time that actual fight would have broken out, these two states would have been fighting on the side of the Confederacy.

Also, I had forgotten about the brutality of the Battle of Pittsburgh. I remember reading somewhere that the Soviets suffered more than a million causalities (both civilian and military) so if Pittsburgh is supposed to be roughly in the same ballpark as Stalingrad, then I can see a casualty ratio of 1.9% over the the 0.94% - 1.05% that I was thinking about earlier. So I'll go with your estimates instead.

In my continuation story, Confederate casualties will probably remain classified until well after the turn of the year 2000, and this is mainly due to the large numbers of Confederate civilians who will die between 1945-1949 when the occupied Confederacy is placed under the rule of the US Occupation Authority.

Basically, I'm imagining an event called the Battle of Jackson which occurs shortly after the end of In at the Death. In this incident Freedom Party diehards stage a number of uprisings in Georgia and South Carolina to draw US occupation troops to this area. Once this occurs, the main body of the Freedom Party force in Jackson, Mississippi stages a full scale rebellion against the small number of US forces still remaining in Southern Mississippi, and US troops are forced to retreat from the area surrounding the state capitol of Jackson.

The Freedom Party declares a new government, and the new "president" calls on freedom fighters from all over the Confederacy to come to Jackson to defend the new republic. Within two or three weeks the new Confederate Republic is crushed, and in the process perhaps hundreds of thousands of former Confederate civilians are killed.

The US public is outraged, the US newspapers are outraged, and President Dewey is also outraged. As a result of the Battle of Jackson, Dewey creates the United States Occupation Authority, and basically grants them a blank check to do whatever they want in the defeated Confederacy.

Basically, the USOA doesn't share its information too much with other US government agencies, and as the decades pass by, no one really wants to look to closely at the atrocities which occurred in the defeated Confederacy between 1945-1950. So, no real accurate figures on Confederate casualties. What do you think?

I plan on posting some more things in the near future, but right now I have some out of town guests, so it probably won't be until after this coming weekend until I post my next installment.
 
That's not a problem - Real Life does come first after all! (I'm also glad to hear that my arithmetic is not TOO rotten, being by no means a natural born statistician).


Also, do these 1940 population estimates exclude Houston and Kentucky, because by the time that actual fight would have broken out, these two states would have been fighting on the side of the Confederacy.

Strictly speaking only one of them would have been fighting as a State, but that's a truly pedantic quibble even by my dreadfully low standards.;)

On a more serious note, the figure of 92,237,586 represents the United States with Kentucky and the State of Houston still treated as part of the population; the figure of 89,237,586 represents the United States after the repatriation of those two ex-Confederate States (the continental United States, not counting Sandwich Islands or Occupied Canada).


The Freedom Party declares a new government, and the new "president" calls on freedom fighters from all over the Confederacy to come to Jackson to defend the new republic. Within two or three weeks the new Confederate Republic is crushed, and in the process perhaps hundreds of thousands of former Confederate civilians are killed.

I have to say that one finds this somewhat implausible - if nothing else after four years of warfare combining the technology of the Second World War with a devastation of the South quite comparable to that inflicted during the American Civil War I would imagine that most of these diehards are very dead indeed; given that even in formerly Nazi Germany there was no comparable event (most of the Die hards having done exactly that during the War, with the lingering fanatics mostly deciding to get the H--- out of Occupied Territory), it is difficult to see the Conquered South having enough left in the tank to summon up such an offensive after being comprehensively beaten in Conventional Warfare.

In fact I would imagine the really dangerous ex-Confederates would do exactly what they did after 1865 in Our History; play the system, play snake in the grass and enjoy entirely too much success turning local democracy to their own advantage rather that risk rearing up to strike and being cut down by a ferociously effective occupying force (considering the painful example of the Canadian Uprisings and the US possession of the Atomic Bomb, it seems highly likely that ex-Confederates would be more likely to practice the tactics of insurgency and political corruption rather than risk putting all their eggs in the one basket only to find a sledgehammer cracking down).

Quite frankly one expects lingering die-hards to face lethal opposition from their own People, ex-Confederates quite sick of Kamikaze gambits and scared spit-less by the prospect of exactly the sort of US Army crackdown you describe to the point where they are more than willing to take up arms against the Stalwarts (especially after seeing what happened to Charleston SC and in the knowledge that the USA is more likely to need a Good Reason NOT to push the button than otherwise).

One does wonder what result the Battle of Jackson might have if it were ex-Confederate Militias that did the lions share of the fighting against the zealots doing their best to drag them every single son & daughter of the South up to Masada with them ...
 
So then...... 89,237,586 sounds more like the figure I'm looking for, and a casualty ratio of 1.9% would bring us to around roughly 1,694,237 combined civilian and military casualties.


In fact I would imagine the really dangerous ex-Confederates would do exactly what they did after 1865 in Our History; play the system, play snake in the grass and enjoy entirely too much success turning local democracy to their own advantage rather that risk rearing up to strike and being cut down by a ferociously effective occupying force

I understand what you're saying but........

One of the things which really sticks out on my mind is a scene towards the end of In at the Death in which US and Confederate troops decided to play a friendly game of football together. As the game progresses it turns increasingly violent, and vicious, and then sometime during the second half of the game someone outside the stadium decides to lob artillery shells onto the playing field.

Also, I found the below passage in a Wikipedia article regarding In at the Death.....

"...... and the U.S. Army has to deal with "bush whacker" insurgents who use small arms and explosives in widespread raids against the "Yankee" occupiers. In retaliation, they shoot tens or hundreds of Confederate civilians for every attack against U.S. forces....."

it seems highly likely that ex-Confederates would be more likely to practice the tactics of insurgency and political corruption rather than risk putting all their eggs in the one basket

Well, the members of the Freedom Party are fanatics, and most of the time fanatics don't use very good common sense. Maybe in 1945 a large percentage of the Confederate people would like to just go on living their lives peacefully, even if it has to be under the Stars and Stripes, but an almost equal number of people think that resisting and fighting against US occupation troops might win back some degree of independence and sovereignty for the CSA.

Quite frankly one expects lingering die-hards to face lethal opposition from their own People, ex-Confederates quite sick of Kamikaze gambits and scared spit-less by the prospect of exactly the sort of US Army crackdown you describe

I picture something like that happening in Texas, where Patman declares a secret war against the Freedom Party following the assassination attempt against him, but I imagine that the Freedom Party die hards will find more support amongst the Confederate people.

In OTL, the Klu Klux Klan was founded during the Reconstruction Era following the end of the US Civil War. While it is true that the KKK attacked black residents of the South, the KKK also resisted US authority in the occupied South. Also, after WWII a group of Nazi terrorists did carry out assassinations and other acts of terrorism in occupied Germany in an attempt to make life difficult for occupation forces.

I remember reading that in OTL, US occupation troops arriving in Japan were surprised to find large caches of weapons and ammunition stockpiled across the country. Apparently some officers within the Imperial Japanese military were planning on carrying out a guerrilla war against US troops after the official surrender, but for whatever reason their plans were never carried out.

I don't think that the US Army is having an easy time of it in 1945, (the CS is much bigger than Nazi Germany) and perhaps by this time many in the US are starting to ask when the troops are going to come home. The Freedom Party extremists see this has a chance to sway public opinion in the US, and that is why they muster the last of their resources and decide to stage a full scale rebellion in Mississippi.

Ultimately their plan fails miserably, and after the Battle of Jackson, they lose the broad based support amongst the Confederate people which they had enjoyed for so long. I really don't think that I'm going that far out on a limb with this one.:)
 
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please feel free to ask me for data that might be pertinent to your own project!:)

Hello Tiro, I know that this may be slightly off topic, but is there any chance you can give me a run down on the dialog which occurred between Irving Morrell and Don Partridge at the time of surrender?

If memory serves me correctly, Morrell was sitting in his command car a few miles outside of some small town, and he was becoming upset that Partridge was taking so long to arrive to their meeting. When Partridge finally arrived I believe that Morrell was somewhat abrupt and possibly disrespectful towards Partridge, but I can't recall exactly what the two men may have said to one another? Any ideas? I remember that Partridge wanted to use his radio to order his troops to surrender, but I don't think that Morrell allowed him to do so?
 
I'm not actually certain; I vaguely remember that General Morrell was more than happy to disillusion CS President Partridge when the latter expressed the foolish assumption that, having surrendered to the United States he could now get on with the business of governing the South (an assumption apparently based on the idea that the Confederacy's condition in 1944 was comparable to its situation at the end of the Great War).

I remember "Dead Last" Don as quite upset to learn that he would be the very last President of the Confederate States of America, rather than the next Gabriel Semmes.
 
By the way, I hope that you aren't going to subject poor old Partridge to YET ANOTHER humiliation - the poor fellow has already been a Comic Relief character at the complete mercy of Dixie Hitler and then Yankee Rommel, so this poor old bird doesn't really deserve to have his feather's plucked still more! (don't let the name fool you, he's definitely more Dan Quayle than Donald Trump and probably merits our pity more than our contempt).
 
... having said that if I ever do commission an illustration of Don Partridge he's definitely getting a truly tragic orange combover because appropriate satire is the spice of Alternate History and we have to do SOMETHING with the coincidence of two fundamentally absurd Chief Executives bearing the same first name (even if only one of them is fictional).
 
By the way, I roughed out population figures for Kentucky and the State of Houston between the Great Wars:


State of Houston

1920: 1,002,070.

1930: 1,183,445.

1940: 1,153,589.


Commonwealth of Kentucky

1920: 2,312,642.

1930: 2,452,557.

1940: 2,661,024.
 
By the way, I hope that you aren't going to subject poor old Partridge to YET ANOTHER humiliation - the poor fellow has already been a Comic Relief character at the complete mercy of Dixie Hitler and then Yankee Rommel, so this poor old bird doesn't really deserve to have his feather's plucked still more! (don't let the name fool you, he's definitely more Dan Quayle than Donald Trump and probably merits our pity more than our contempt).

Actually, I was toying with the idea of somewhat redeeming Donald Partridge and that maybe - just maybe at some point during the mid-1950s he starts to be seen as a sympathetic character, even though this perception is not based in reality, and has been manufactured by US authorities for the purposes of promoting their reintegration agenda.

Also, have you ever watched a movie about World War II made during the 1950s - 60s, and then said to yourself, "Man that is the hokiest Hollywood garbage ever, and there is no way that real life people would have behaved this way during the middle of a war"? For me, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is a perfect example of Hollywood's misplaced romanticism regarding World War II, and this got me thinking about movies that might be made in the 191 universe.

I was imagining that the 191 version of Hollywood would probably want to cherry pick a few Confederate government officials and to portray them as sympathetic human beings, even though this image wouldn't necessarily be 100% true or accurate. I was imagining a major Hollywood Technicolor movie made around 1954 or so titled "Command Choice" centering upon the Donald Partridges life during the last two years of the war. However, this Hollywood version of Donald Trump is a virtuous figure who secretly works to help blacks to escape the Confederacy, participates in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Featherston, and supplies US with CS battle plans. Of course none of this is true, it is just a myth that has been created by Hollywood to spruce up the image of Donald Partridge as he sings whatever tune Dewey tells him to sing.

Below is the scene in which Partridge surrenders to Morrell, as seen through the eyes of 1950s Hollywood.


(Color film footage from the 1954 Hollywood movie "Command Choice".

Donald Partridge is portrayed by himself.
Irving Morrell is portrayed by Charlton Heston.
Partdridge's chauffeur, Sergeant Frank Herbert is portrayed by Marlon Brando.

Partridge is waiting along the side of a two lane blacktop road in an open top limousine. A small stone monument located a few feet from the car announces Pineville, North Carolina, Birthplace of US President James K. Polk.

Sergeant Herbert: They're late! (As he irritatedly slaps his steering wheel.)


Donald Partridge: Keep your shirt on , Franklin. Those Yankees want the war to be over just as badly as we do, they'll be along shortly. (Folds his hands across his stomach and tries to relax in the shade from a nearby tree.

Sergeant Herbert: Yes, Mr. President.


Donald Partridge: You don't have to call me Mr. President, there's nothing left to be president of anymore. Featherston has seen to that. By the way, did you remember to disarm? The agreement was that neither of us should be carrying weapons, or we're liable to be shot.

(Herbert removes his sidearm from its holster and ejects the clip tossing it into some near by bushes.)


Donald Partridge: That it?

Sergeant Herbert: That's it.

Donald Partridge: Are you sure?

Sergeant Herbert: Absolutely. (distinct tightness in voice)

Donald Partridge: Good, because at this point a .45 handgun isn't going to do us much good. Well....looks like our friends are just about to arrive....

(Off in the distance a trio of olive drab vehicles make their way along a road intersecting with the one that Partridge is waiting on. The first vehicle is a stubby open car with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in its rear. The second vehicle is a one-ton Ford half-track staff car with it's convertible top pulled back. Behind the staff car is a covered troop transport truck. The convoy of vehicles make a right at the crossroads and begins heading towards Partridge's limousine. Within a matter of seconds the squat four wheel drive vehicle circles around and parks directly behind the Confederate limousine as the half-track staff car parks nose to nose with the limo. General Morrell stands up in the back of his idling staff car. General Morrell has the chiseled face of a Roman Senator, and he looks absolutely resplendent in his dress uniform.)

General Morrell: President Partridge I presume! (As Morrell vigorously jumps from his staff car and begins to swagger over to the Confederate President's limo.)

Donald Partridge: I'm Donald Partridge, but I'm afraid that I'm not the president of very much these days.

General Morrell: I was given to understand that you'd have the authority to sign the official surrender documents I'm carrying? (A surprised doubtful look upon his face.)

Donald Partridge: I have that authority, and I'm willing to sign them now.

(General Morrell opens a small satchel case he is holding and hands the papers to Partridge. However, just as the papers arrive in Partridge's hand - Sergeant Herbert shouts "Freedom" and fires a small snub-nose handgun at Morrell. The shot misses Morrell, but Morrell is unarmed, and he is stunned into motionless. President Partridge pulls his own handgun from a shoulder holster hidden beneath the jacket of his tailored business suit. The shot hits Sergeant Herbert squarely in the middle of his forehead. The now dead sergeant collapses back into his driver's seat with his chest resting on the horn button on the steering wheel. The air is filled with the sound of the continuously honking horn. Four US soldiers who had been ridding in the back of the truck come rushing up, one of them points his rifle squarely at the chest of Partridge.

General Morrell: No you fools! He saved my life! It was the chauffeur who fired the shot!

(The soldier lowers his weapon away from Partridge, Partridge lowers his hands. Another US soldier opens the door of the Confederate limousine and the bloody mess of Sergeant Herbert comes tumbling out onto the roadway. The horn stops blowing.)

Donald Partridge: Now to conclude this most unpleasant matter.

(Partridge turns where he is standing and places the surrender documents on the hood of his limousine and produces an expensive looking precision gold pen from the inner lining of his jacket which he then uses to sign the documents.)

Donald Partridge: You now have my surrender, Sir. (As he hands the signed documents back to Morrell.)

General Morrell: President Partridge, please allow me to shake the hand of a gentleman. (The two historic figures shake hands.)

Donald Partridge: General Morrell, Sir, would you please do me the favor of allowing me to use your wireless set to relay the news of the surrender to CS troops still fighting in this area.

General Morrell: If it will help save American lives, then I'm honored to assist.

(The two men walk back towards General Morrell's half-track staff car.........)

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Okay, before you judge this too harshly, remember, this is supposed to be a corny 1950s war movie from the 191 universe.
 
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Even if it's suppose to be corny, it was Morrell who was waiting for Partridge, and Morrell was in a barrel and not a staff car when they met.
 
Even if it's suppose to be corny, it was Morrell who was waiting for Partridge, and Morrell was in a barrel and not a staff car when they met.

Well, I'm pretty sure that the real POWs who were forced to build the railroad bridge across the Kwai river in the jungles of Burma didn't whistle a happy tune as they marched to work each morning. When did Hollywood ever worry about being historically accurate....?
 
Well, I'm pretty sure that the real POWs who were forced to build the railroad bridge across the Kwai river in the jungles of Burma didn't whistle a happy tune as they marched to work each morning. When did Hollywood ever worry about being historically accurate....?

You might be surprised Cire - if there's one thing I've learned through a long study of History it's that the Truth is often stranger than fiction (consider the flight of Rudolph Hess to Great Britain in 1941 for instance; Hitler's deputy attempting to negotiate an Armistice with the British Empire single-handed, completely unsupported by ANYONE). Quite frankly a group of POWs attempting to keep their spirits up by whistling under dire circumstances is fairly plausible (not least because I've always interpreted it as unspoken defiance rather than Good Cheer - "you've beaten but haven't broken us you ********").


Okay, before you judge this too harshly, remember, this is supposed to be a corny 1950s war movie from the 191 universe.

It's actually quite entertaining, though for some odd reason Marlon Brando strikes me as more like my mental image of Irving Morrell than Charlton Heston - probably because Mr Heston has long been my idea of Gordon McSweeney, though he has some competition from Mr Michael Shannon in that respect - and I can definitely see Hollywood propaganda improving on Partridge for the sake of encouraging reconciliation or at least rapprochement between North & South.

Having said that I personally see Donald Partridge as more a figure of pity than of sympathy - he's fairly stupid but a Rational Actor in a way The Snake really isn't ("I hate and fundamentally distrust Negroes" "Me too!" "We've got a war with the Yankees coming up so we need to make ---- sure the Negroes don't stab us in the back again" "So we're gonna lock 'em down and make them work like one big G----- chain gang?" "Don't be stupid, we're gonna kill every d--- black at the self same time we're gonna be working' to kill every damn-Yankee" "What?" "I said we're gonna work to kill one third of our own population at the same time we're working to beat the biggest meanest neighbour we got, you hear me boy?" "Yes Mr President" "Yes, WHAT?" "Yes SIR Mr President!") and therefore thinks like a marginally-comptetant politician rather than a monomaniac Demagogue.

So in the fashion of a true Shakespearean Fool his banalities will tend to strike the audience as more in touch with common sense than Featherston's more impressive* rhetoric.

*Impressive in the same way brass knuckles leave an impression on your cheekbones, that is.
 
It's actually quite entertaining, though for some odd reason Marlon Brando strikes me as more like my mental image of Irving Morrell

I have another segment I've been working on in which Morrell is giving an interview, maybe fifteen years after the war, and I was working on it I kept picturing William Shatner as he appeared during some of the earlier Star Trek films in the early 80s. Also, I think that I'm going to abandon my little side story about Donald Partridge as it just isn't relevant to the rest of the picture I'm trying to paint.

Would you happen to have a ball park estimate for the number of POWs still being held by the US at the end of the war?
 
Not at the moment, but one suspects it must have been quite significant, especially given that elements in the Confederacy are still willing to risk hijacking US artillery to shell a goodwill football match so soon after the Atom Bombing of Charleston (which one imagines must have been the case, since one finds it hard to imagine even the most cunning Southerner being able to move a field gun without being spotted by the USA, even assuming they were able to conceal one).

Having done a little research my guess is that there cannot have been less than a million captured Confederates in US custody after Partridge's surrender; it is highly likely that they would have been referred to as "Disarmed Enemy Forces" for much the same reason that Axis personnel received that destination after their surrender in 1945 - because it would have been nearly impossible to treat so many according to the Geneva Convention.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disarmed_Enemy_Forces

^^This article should prove very helpful in assessing the likely treatment of CSA soldiers following the surrender and will likely help form a "ball park" estimate of their numbers.^^


I've just finished typing up some CSA population numbers for 1944 and my estimate is that the White Population would have been approximately 27,196198 (from a total population of 36,280,285); assuming that the Confederate Army would have mustered in roughly 19% of its population (as France did for the First World War from a roughly equivalent population), that would equal approximately 5,276,062 soldiers not including Mexicans (who might have brought those numbers up to about 6,000,000 or nearly).

Assuming the Confederates lost a million or more of their soldiers (almost certainly more) that still means roughly four millions of survivors to be dealt with on the other end of the Second Great War.
 
I've just finished typing up some CSA population numbers for 1944 and my estimate is that the White Population would have been approximately 27,196198 (from a total population of 36,280,285); assuming that the Confederate Army would have mustered in roughly 19% of its population (as France did for the First World War from a roughly equivalent population), that would equal approximately 5,276,062 soldiers not including Mexicans (who might have brought those numbers up to about 6,000,000 or nearly).
Assuming the Confederates lost a million or more of their soldiers (almost certainly more) that still means roughly four millions of survivors to be dealt with on the other end of the Second Great War.

I can't recall if "In at the Death" dealt with the fate of the soldiers still serving in the Confederate Army at the time of surrender? I was imagining that the US was holding something like roughly 240,000 Confederate POWs at the end of the war, and that these prisoners would be used as forced labor to help repair war damage in Ohio and Pennsylvania. However, now that you mention it, when perhaps the US might actually be holding something like 3.5 million, due to the possibility of Disarmed Enemy Forces taken into custody upon the surrender signed by partridge. - I say 3.5 million instead of 4 million because I think that maybe 500,000 Confederate soldiers might slip out of uniform and try to blend in with the civilian population? - Looks like I'd better read that Wikipedia article you gave me a link to. I remember reading years ago that soldier of the Wehrmacht were used as forced labor to repair war damage in France, Holland, and Belgium, but looks like I better take a look at Wikipedia first.

Also, relatives are finally out of my hair, so I'll get back to work on next posting dealing with life in the postwar US. (Working title: Freedom Becomes a Dirty Word)
 
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