Union and Liberty: An American TL
- Thread starter wilcoxchar
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Winston Smith
Banned
Why are Spain, Italy and Germany Executive Democracies, not Legislative ones? They don't have Presidents; they all have Parliaments.
Presumably the King/Emperor and/or a head of government (Chancellor, Council President, etc.) exercises power exceeding that of the parliament.
They have parliaments, but the executive branch still holds a lot of power. In Germany it's the emperor and chancellor, in Spain the king (and somewhat the prime minister), and in Italy the president.
Nice europe update. Curious about some of the middle states and their allegiances... it doesn't look to me like the alliance system is shaping up as neatly as in OTL; there are a lot more small, independent players who would be swayed in lots of directions, rather than the comparatively tidy ally system of our world war one.
Perhaps the most interesting part is the independent Baden, which is emblimatic of the placement of similar neutral or potentially neutral territories in buffer zones. A great war in the Union and Liberty timeline would certainly look very different, both politically and militarily- tactically and strategically- than ours.
Perhaps the most interesting part is the independent Baden, which is emblimatic of the placement of similar neutral or potentially neutral territories in buffer zones. A great war in the Union and Liberty timeline would certainly look very different, both politically and militarily- tactically and strategically- than ours.
Good point. France and Germany are enjoying a friendly rivalry for the moment, and they are already stronger than in OTL. A Franco-German Entente is not seen often but in TTL it seems almost unbeatable.
In the case of war between them, if the Neatherlands and Baden stay neutral, they barely share a border, Paris and Berlin are quite farther from the border than OTL.
Due to the developments in Imperialism, German Ost Afrika, French Kongo, Free Korea, Weak China, Isolationist Russia etc. The Great War might actually be mostly fought outside Europe. This in and of itself would be rather cool and interesting.
Italy might also do much better than OTL, regardless of the side it picks. Thanks to the Adriatic league, it probably enjoys quite a good presence in the Mediterranean.
The better performance of Italy will be probably more due to a more favorable border than OTL than the possession of the Adriatic League (who make that sea an Italian lake for all pratical effect).
In a war with France it's them that must face all the mountain if they want invade Italy.
BTW with the current Magyrization the relationships with Hungary are not very warm becouse they still posses land claimed by Italy and an italian minority
Winston Smith
Banned
What's that strangely shaped country between France and Germany, just North of Switzerland?
Thanks for the comments everyone! To give you an idea of how up in the air the Great War still is, I'm still not completely sure on what side some countries are going to fall, and for some countries I'm not sure if they'll be neutral or not. 
Right now, Baden is pretty aligned with France, though Germany might try to pull them away as an expansionist sentiment within the government arises which will cause some tension between France and Germany. The Dutch are also pretty Franco-German aligned, while Belgium is in the British camp. That's really all I'm sure about at this point. Britain will definitely be looking for some stronger allies on the continent than Belgium, of which there are several to choose from if they can be convinced to go against the French and Germans.
Hey everyone. No update this week since I was moving back to DC into my new apartment the past couple days. Last year of college! I should have an update by the middle of the week. Maybe even two this week since classes don't start til the week after.
I should have an update by the middle of the week. Maybe even two this week since classes don't start til the week after.Congrats.Hey everyone. No update this week since I was moving back to DC into my new apartment the past couple days. Last year of college!
In my last semester of Uni. Know the feeling.
Part Eighty-Six: Business is Booming
Hooray, update time! And it's more minute details to flesh out the world!
Part Eighty-Six: Business is Booming
The Growth of Department Stores:
Throughout the 19th century, production of goods was shifting from the small-scale individual process of cottage industries to the large-scale continuous industrial production of factories. During that century, a similar transition also occurred in the sale of goods. As the country grew more urbanized, large retail stores grew up in the bigger cities. Technological advancements such as refrigeration, the spread of railroads, and mechanized factories themselves allowed goods to be kept for sale longer, lowered the costs of production, and provided more goods to wider markets. Additionally, advances in construction techniques allowed for larger retail spaces and the sale of a wider variety of goods within a single location. This expansion of production all led to the growth of department stores in the United States and around the world.
Many of the first successful department stores in the United States had their flagship stores in New York City. The first department store in the city was the Marble Palace on east Broadway. The Marble Palace was founded by Alexander Turney Stewart in the 1840s on east Broadway[1]. The Marble Palace featured large glass windows in the storefronts and offered a wide variety of dry goods at fixed prices. Stewart and other businessmen started numerous department store chains over the next few decades, such as Kronecke's, G. H. Hartford, Taylor and Dart's, and several others. The original stone building that house the original Kronecke's store at Houston Street and 2nd Avenue in New York City led to a number of stores opening in the area. The building also still contains one of the few Kronecke's department stores left under the original name.
However, the real boom in national department stores did not begin until the latter decades of the 19th century. This is when now well known department stores sprang up and started expanding their stores throughout the country. One of the largest retail chains that began in this era is Gauguin's. The chain was begun by Frenchman Paul Gauguin after he became a successful stockbroker in Paris and New York[2]. In the 1870s, Gauguin started the first store in the chain in New York. Offering a number of both American and European goods, the store was successful and Gauguin soon opened other department stores in Philadelphia, Boston, and Buffalo under the same company. While expansion slowed to a crawl during the Silver Depression, Gauguin's survived the economic downturn unlike many of the earlier department stores. The success of Gauguin's department stores skyrocketed during the 1890s and by the beginning of the 20th century, Gauguin opened chains as far away as New Orleans and Saint Louis. Gauguin's and other department store chains would help to create a culture of consumerism in the early 20th century.
The Founding of Coca-Cola:
While the industry of the region along the Mississippi River recovered relatively quickly from the National War and had a decent manufacturing sector by the beginning of the 20th century, much of the rest of the South continued to lag behind in development and remained reliant on cash crops and an agrarian economy. The major exceptions to this sluggish economic development were along the Gulf Coast in such port cities as Mobile and Pensacola, but one inland region also managed to recover quickly from the National War. Supplied by the mineral wealth of the southern Appalachians, the region stretching from Birmingham in Alabama to Atlanta in Georgia grew into an industrial epicenter in contrast to the rest of the Inland South.
One of the major companies to be established in the Birmingham-Atlanta region in the late 19th century was the Coca-Cola soft drink company. Coca-Cola was first created and marketed by north Georgia entrepreneur Andrew Wallace and later grew as a product and company under the watch of businessman Asa Candler[3]. The name Coca-Cola derives from the original formula, which contained a mixture of coca leaf extract and the west African cola nut. Popularity of the soft drink took off in the 1890s during the growing Temperance Movement when it was marketed as an alternative to alcohol. The first bottling plant was constructed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1896, by which time Coca-Cola had become extremely popular at drug stores across the South.
[1] The Marble Palace existed and exists in OTL at 280 Broadway, and was one of the first department stores in NYC.
[2] Yes, that Gauguin. He was a stockbroker in Paris in OTL too, but after a recession became an artist.
[3] Andrew Wallace is a fictional figure, Asa Candler helped Coca-Cola's growth in OTL as well as TTL.
Part Eighty-Six: Business is Booming
The Growth of Department Stores:
Throughout the 19th century, production of goods was shifting from the small-scale individual process of cottage industries to the large-scale continuous industrial production of factories. During that century, a similar transition also occurred in the sale of goods. As the country grew more urbanized, large retail stores grew up in the bigger cities. Technological advancements such as refrigeration, the spread of railroads, and mechanized factories themselves allowed goods to be kept for sale longer, lowered the costs of production, and provided more goods to wider markets. Additionally, advances in construction techniques allowed for larger retail spaces and the sale of a wider variety of goods within a single location. This expansion of production all led to the growth of department stores in the United States and around the world.
Many of the first successful department stores in the United States had their flagship stores in New York City. The first department store in the city was the Marble Palace on east Broadway. The Marble Palace was founded by Alexander Turney Stewart in the 1840s on east Broadway[1]. The Marble Palace featured large glass windows in the storefronts and offered a wide variety of dry goods at fixed prices. Stewart and other businessmen started numerous department store chains over the next few decades, such as Kronecke's, G. H. Hartford, Taylor and Dart's, and several others. The original stone building that house the original Kronecke's store at Houston Street and 2nd Avenue in New York City led to a number of stores opening in the area. The building also still contains one of the few Kronecke's department stores left under the original name.
However, the real boom in national department stores did not begin until the latter decades of the 19th century. This is when now well known department stores sprang up and started expanding their stores throughout the country. One of the largest retail chains that began in this era is Gauguin's. The chain was begun by Frenchman Paul Gauguin after he became a successful stockbroker in Paris and New York[2]. In the 1870s, Gauguin started the first store in the chain in New York. Offering a number of both American and European goods, the store was successful and Gauguin soon opened other department stores in Philadelphia, Boston, and Buffalo under the same company. While expansion slowed to a crawl during the Silver Depression, Gauguin's survived the economic downturn unlike many of the earlier department stores. The success of Gauguin's department stores skyrocketed during the 1890s and by the beginning of the 20th century, Gauguin opened chains as far away as New Orleans and Saint Louis. Gauguin's and other department store chains would help to create a culture of consumerism in the early 20th century.
The Founding of Coca-Cola:
While the industry of the region along the Mississippi River recovered relatively quickly from the National War and had a decent manufacturing sector by the beginning of the 20th century, much of the rest of the South continued to lag behind in development and remained reliant on cash crops and an agrarian economy. The major exceptions to this sluggish economic development were along the Gulf Coast in such port cities as Mobile and Pensacola, but one inland region also managed to recover quickly from the National War. Supplied by the mineral wealth of the southern Appalachians, the region stretching from Birmingham in Alabama to Atlanta in Georgia grew into an industrial epicenter in contrast to the rest of the Inland South.
One of the major companies to be established in the Birmingham-Atlanta region in the late 19th century was the Coca-Cola soft drink company. Coca-Cola was first created and marketed by north Georgia entrepreneur Andrew Wallace and later grew as a product and company under the watch of businessman Asa Candler[3]. The name Coca-Cola derives from the original formula, which contained a mixture of coca leaf extract and the west African cola nut. Popularity of the soft drink took off in the 1890s during the growing Temperance Movement when it was marketed as an alternative to alcohol. The first bottling plant was constructed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1896, by which time Coca-Cola had become extremely popular at drug stores across the South.
[1] The Marble Palace existed and exists in OTL at 280 Broadway, and was one of the first department stores in NYC.
[2] Yes, that Gauguin. He was a stockbroker in Paris in OTL too, but after a recession became an artist.
[3] Andrew Wallace is a fictional figure, Asa Candler helped Coca-Cola's growth in OTL as well as TTL.
An update, wonderful! About Gaugin; how did he import his European goods? Normal methods of importation, with tax and duties, would have made his goods prohibitively expensive for most people. How'd he manage to make his business affordable?
The update was great; how has the spread of railroads and refrigeration affected Chicago? OTL, this is about the time when the huge stockyards came to exist because of those two things. With the Southwest out of US control, there's not quite as much area for cattle growth, but the rich plains of Texas are still probably growing plenty of cattle to be shipped up north to Chicago.
Lastly, why did you choose to keep Coke named the same; what were your other options.
As always, loved it and keep up the great work?
The update was great; how has the spread of railroads and refrigeration affected Chicago? OTL, this is about the time when the huge stockyards came to exist because of those two things. With the Southwest out of US control, there's not quite as much area for cattle growth, but the rich plains of Texas are still probably growing plenty of cattle to be shipped up north to Chicago.
Lastly, why did you choose to keep Coke named the same; what were your other options.
As always, loved it and keep up the great work?
As always this was a neat update Wilcox. The world of Union & Liberty continues to thrive in detail and richness.
The use of Gaugin as a magnate is genious. And the name sounds quite apropiate for a department store as well. With this US being more urbanized than OTL's due to the higher population density, it might be likely that dept stores remain much more popular through time and the switch to superstores ala Wal-Mart doest quite take off (though they will likely still exist due to their practicallity).
I agree with Ganesha that an alternative name to Coca-Cola would have been interesting. Although the name is so obvious that it might be impossible. Perhaps its advertising colors would change (I vote green. You changed the dollar bills from green to red, green coke then seems like the logical path). The other change would be for the name Coca-Cola to remain the comonly used name in the US rather than aglicized Coke.
It is also a neat detail that you changed the plant's location from Atlanta to Birmingham.
The use of Gaugin as a magnate is genious. And the name sounds quite apropiate for a department store as well. With this US being more urbanized than OTL's due to the higher population density, it might be likely that dept stores remain much more popular through time and the switch to superstores ala Wal-Mart doest quite take off (though they will likely still exist due to their practicallity).
I agree with Ganesha that an alternative name to Coca-Cola would have been interesting. Although the name is so obvious that it might be impossible. Perhaps its advertising colors would change (I vote green. You changed the dollar bills from green to red, green coke then seems like the logical path). The other change would be for the name Coca-Cola to remain the comonly used name in the US rather than aglicized Coke.
It is also a neat detail that you changed the plant's location from Atlanta to Birmingham.
Perhaps something like Cola-Coca, which would encourage the use of "cola" as a name for all sugary drinks, instead of "soda" or "pop". Or maybe Candler-Cola, or Dr. Candler. Just ideas.