WI: Wilson loses to Hughes in 1916

Deleted member 94680

The biggest difference that Hughes would make in regards to the war is that Leonard Wood not Pershing would lead the AEF. How he would perform in that role is an interesting question. Assuming that he does not screw up there is a good chance of Wood becoming President afterwards.

How is that? Was Pershing a Wilson favourite or did Wood and Wilson fall out?

IIRC Pershing was a pretty aggressive commander, would Wood have been more cautious, how would his cooperation with the Allies have been?
 
How is that? Was Pershing a Wilson favourite or did Wood and Wilson fall out?

IIRC Pershing was a pretty aggressive commander, would Wood have been more cautious, how would his cooperation with the Allies have been?

Apparently Fred Funston, commander of the US Army's Southern District and therefore the Commander of the Punitive Expedition and the 12 NG Divisions Mobilised from June 1916 along the Mexican border, was to lead the AEF but he dies of a massive heart attack in Feb 1917 so Pershing was given the task. I doubt Hughes' election would butterfly Funston's heart attack but I'd say that as the only US commander to lead a large body of men and whip a hastily mobilised, poorly trained and equipped force into shape in a matter of months he would be best placed to lead the AEF.
 
Clearly, this reasoning would be equally valid (or invalid!) with Hughes as president as with Wilson, which is why it is hard for me to see Germany reaching a different decision.

Agreed. I mentioned it only as an outside chance.

What really gets me about it is how small a difference USW made. According to American Merchant Marine at War, (www.usmm.org), of eight US ships destroyed between the announcement of USW and the declaration of war, only three - the Vigilancia on March 16, the Healdton on March 21, and the Aztec on April 1 - were sunk by "unrestricted" means. The rest were destroyed under "cruiser rules" and without loss of life - something Wilson had accepted in the past, and Hughes might well also swallow. After that, and despite there now being a war on, no more American lives were lost until the Vacuum was sunk on April 28.

And so it continued throughout 1917. By the end of the year, 59 US ships had gone down, but 39 of these were "cruiser rules" sinkings, and only 20 led to American deaths. Even if one assumes that none of the 20 could have been sunk by cruiser rules (I suspect quite a few could, had the U-boat captains been so minded) that still seems a rather pathetic gain for provoking a war with the US. Talk about "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad"
 
Of course, much could depend on why Hughes defeats Wilson.

If, as suggested on another thread, an earlier Russian Revolution (say Oct-Nov 1916) gives a modest boost to the socialist vote, this, if at Wilson's expense, could cost him CA and NH, while also possibly making USW appear less necessary to the Germans. So both changes could be linked.
 
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