What could have caused the United States to become a fascist, totalitarian state?

Pretty simple. What kind of POD would have caused the United States to elect a fascist or neo-fascist president, and what group would have been most likely to put forth such a fascist president? I'm thinking either a much worse Great Depression causing the Silver Legion to come to power, or 9/11 being much more damaging and possibly with nuclear suitcase bombs. I'm probably wrong with the latter, though.

If a discussion on this topic already exists, please direct me to it.
 
A pre 1900 pod

I think this is needed. A far worse civil war and some history of totalitarism. Perhaps during the Civil War we could have someone becoming a dictator to deal with the problem and he does it succesfully. This sets a precedent and when a far worse Great Depression sets in a populist fascist convinces the people that, since last time it worked, they need a dictator again. He's elected into office and some months later transform the USA into a fascist state by giving himself extraordinary powers to supposedly deal with the crisis.
 
We'd need laws allowing the government to spy on Americans without a warrant. Maybe even a law allowing indefinite detention. You'd need to undermine property rights, with the easiest way being asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction.

We'd also need the Supreme Court to play along. Just spitballing here, but it might rule that eminent domain includes the right to steal your property and give it to a private interest, or that the government can force you to buy a product, or that the Sixth Amendment allows the government to freeze assets for the purpose of preventing you from hiring an attorney.
 
ib4 'It can't happen here, this is AMERICA!!11!!!!1'

Have FDR fail to face the Great Depression, or remove him of the picture altogether. Make the following governments incompetent at rebuilding the economy and things becoming worse or just stagnating. By that time, not only you'll have millions of unemployed and an economy in shambles, but communist and fascist elements growing increasingly armed. You just need a leader to rise that promises to crush the communist insurgency and rebuild the nation, one that is deeply ambitious, one wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. Order the army to start repressing subersive elements, and things will quickly descend from there.

(see EBR The Falcon Cannot Hear to see how awful things were by that time. The disturbing part is that most of them happenend before his POD.)
 
DC Stephenson not getting caught. A Conservative Dem being elected in 28 and a Republican not dealing with the depression in 32. A Klan controlled Federal Government was a risk
 
I honestly think if we butterfly away Watergate we were almost there. Nixon was a very able administrator, so he was in some sense above the influence of interest groups and he played them off of one another. However, look at what the US government was doing at that point. Trying to influence elections, spying on political enemies, giving innocent people syphilis, firing at protestors, auditing political enemies, etcetera.

If Nixon avoids watergate, the next President after him is going to up Nixon's repressive policies, just as Nixon merely upped Lyndon Johnson and JFK. However, with the Vietnam War ever and the whole protest culture petered out, this next President might have more control over the press and eventually elections.
 
I could see it happening after a badly mishandled economic crash (in the 1930s or elsewhen) and people thinking a strongman leader is the Way To Go.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." [Which of course Lewis never actually said]
 
Pretty simple. What kind of POD would have caused the United States to elect a fascist or neo-fascist president, and what group would have been most likely to put forth such a fascist president? I'm thinking either a much worse Great Depression causing the Silver Legion to come to power, or 9/11 being much more damaging and possibly with nuclear suitcase bombs. I'm probably wrong with the latter, though.

IMO crises by themselves, no matter how severe, won't produce fascism on a lasting basis. Unless the idea of democracy is undermined, i.e. unless some competing ideology wins enough converts to govern effectively, it'll come back after the emergency is over. In theory authoritarianism is possible anywhere but it would require that confidence in democracy be worn down first, and some strong competition arise. It's not surprising fascism did not win in America due to the depression, because it wasn't the fault of democracy. I don't think you could blame democratic government for it during the age of laissez faire. Now however, economic problems, notably soaring debt, are clearly associated with democratic government. You don't win elections by cutting popular spending programs or raising taxes. You get elected by doing the opposite...For quite a number of years, certain academics have questioned the suitability or survivability of democracy in modern times. As I've written, the key solution to nearly all of our pressing problems is sacrifice (less consumption, less spending etc) yet democracy can't deliver because sacrifices, no matter how essential, are bound to be unpopular. The most likely scenario is for problems to steadily worsen until there's an ultimate breakdown, and the present system is just swept away to rectify matters. If or when that happens the poor record of democratic government will create enough of a constituency for a new authoritarianism (although it won't be called fascism, a failed system of the past with too much historical baggage).
 
FDR doesn't come to power (maybe people find out he's crippled?) and another conservative comes to power and doesn't help the economy. Basically "Gabriel in the white house" (good film though I've only seen the first half) or have Huey Long come to power and treat the Fed. Gov as he did the state of Louisiana.
 
We'd need laws allowing the government to spy on Americans without a warrant. Maybe even a law allowing indefinite detention. You'd need to undermine property rights, with the easiest way being asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction.

We'd also need the Supreme Court to play along. Just spitballing here, but it might rule that eminent domain includes the right to steal your property and give it to a private interest, or that the government can force you to buy a product, or that the Sixth Amendment allows the government to freeze assets for the purpose of preventing you from hiring an attorney.
Or a Supreme Court convinced that businesses were "people" too...
 
The crack epidemic and the resulting crime way last so long that the constitution gets amended out of existence. The fourth amendment gets repealed to allow for more car searches and more civil forfeiture, the first amendment gets repealed in the name of suppressing speech that promotes drugs or violence, Reagan is made President for life based on the idea that only he is capable of fighting the war on drugs, etc.
 
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