Standing Outside the Fire
1897-1905: William Jennings Bryan (Democratic)
(With Horace Boies) Def: William McKinley/Garret Hobart (Republican)
(With Horace Boies) Def: Joseph Foraker/Daniel Hastings (Republican)
- Wiliam Jennings Bryan manages to eke out a win over McKinley. Bryan's term sees the introduction of Free Silver with the Pettigrew Act of 1897, narrowly passing in Congress over Republican opposition. Furthermore, Bryan during his first term begins the process of ending the power of monopolies over the United States. Directed by Attorney General Walter Clark Standard Oil and US Steel were swiftly sued for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Bryan's crackdown on monopolies appeals to urban workers who while initially skeptical of Bryan come to support him at the turn of the century over Ohio Senator Joseph Foraker.
- On foreign policy Bryan is significantly better than McKinley. First of all, he refuses to annex Hawaii in 1898 much to the annoyance of imperialists. Furthermore, his apathy towards the acquisition of Cuba and the Philippines prevents war with Spain.
- Instead, Spain falls apart from the inside as the Philippines and Cuba drains Spanish resources. Furthermore, in 1899 war breaks out between Spain and Germany over disputes in the Pacific. The war goes easily in favor of Germany who successfully obliterates the Spanish fleet and lands in the Philippines and West Sahara. The ensuing conflict allows Germany to gain the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Equitorial Guinea. Raising tensions between the US and Germany as Bryan’s Secretary of State Henry Teller denounces German imperialism.
1905-1907: Jim Hogg (Democratic) ✞
(With Clarence Darrow) Def: Philander Knox/Charles Fairbanks (Republican)
- Bryan is succeeded by populist former Governor Jim Hogg of Texas. Hogg wins the 1904 DNC over New York Representative William Randolph Hearst and Senator Arthur P. Gorman with the support of President Bryan and DNC powerbroker Josephus Daniels. His term is relatively forgotten amongst most Americans. However, the creation of the Department of Interstate Commerce would expand the government's power to break up monopolies and crackdown on the abuse of workers.
1907-1913: Clarence Darrow (Democratic)
(With Oscar Underwood) Def: George Perkins/Charles Fairbanks (Republican)
- Hogg is succeeded by famed Representative and Vice President Clarence Darrow. Darrow (up until President Benton) was easily the most left-wing President in American history. Appointing Indiana Governor Eugene V. Debs to the new position of Secretary of Labor Relations to the horror of moderates. The avowed socialist Debs would organize a crusade for labor rights backed by Darrow, allowing Democrats to finally make gains in the urban North. Furthermore, Darrow was a staunch anti-imperialist. Openly supporting Cuban and Congolese independence from Germany and Belgium respectively. Invoking the Monroe Doctrine in 1908 during the Nicaraguan Crisis when Germany organized a coup led by Juan Jose Estrada against the incumbent Liberal government. After a naval skirmish the First Anti-Imperialist War that saw the United States, Nicaragua, and Cuba rid the Caribbean of German imperialism. The war was a slow burn, with the naval war being an eventual American victory that was followed up with an invasion of Cuba and Puerto Rico. By the time Cuba and Puerto Rico were liberated Germany sued for peace in 1911.
- Domestically, Darrow's defense of civil liberties (including the refusal to prosecute anti-war and pro-German activists during the First Anti-Imperialist War) causes a resurgence in nationalist Republicans. Furthermore, his condemnations of the KKK cause uproar within the white supremacist faction of the Democratic Party. Causing a split in 1912 with the Supremacy Party supporting lynching and taking away the right to vote from African Americans at a national level. His longest lasting reforms however are the 16th and 17th amendments that requires the direct election of senators and gives women the right to vote respectively.
1913-1915: Chester Congdon (Republican) ✞
(With Kenesaw Landis) Def: Oscar Underwood/Eugene Debs (Democratic) Benjamin Tillman/James Vardaman (Supremacy)
- The Reform Era would come to a symbolic end with the election of Minnesota Senator Chester Congdon. A wealthy mining magnate who became nationally prominent for his condemnation of the Bryan and Darrow Administrations. Decrying bimetalism and federal regulation of the economy. Congdon's victory was unexpected, benefiting from Underwood's conservatism and Debs's radicalism simultaneously. Furthermore, Congdon's support for tariffs at a time of resurgent nationalism in the United States also served to aid him.
- Congdon's brief term is dominated by foreign policy. Spearheaded by Secretary of State Robert McElroy the United States pursues closer relations with France and Russia in order to combat Germany. Despite Congdon's nationalism he allows Cuban and Puerto Rican independence. Congdon cements the Bryan Doctrine after the Hawaiian Revolution of 1914 that sees Stanford Dole overthrown by monarchists, refusing to intervene after Congress blocks a declaration of war.
- Despite opposition from reformist Republicans, Congdon vetoes the National Youth Act that bans child labor. Most notably, this causes a split amongst the Californian Republican Party that splits between the Reform Party led by Hiram Johnson and the Republican Party led by James Rolph. During this time the Democratic Party suffers from internal divisions between the social democratic wing led by Eugene Debs and Harry Lane and the reactionary wing led by Josephus Daniels. Exploiting this the Republicans easily win the 1914 midterms. The final act of Congdon is to issue several injunctions against striking coal miners in Colorado and Illinois before dying from a heart attack.
1915-1921: Kenesaw M. Landis (Republican)
(With John Motley Morehead II) Def: Josephus Daniels/Xenophon Wifely (Democratic) Ed Boyce/Bill Haywood (Socialist)
- Landis's term is generally viewed positively. The Second Franco-Prussian War breaks out in 1915 after pro-French riots break out in Alsace-Lorraine, causing Germany to declare martial law and massacre 23 civilians in Metz. The result is a disaster for France, Serbia. and Russia as Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary after three years defeat the so-called Paris Axis. The Central Powers benefit from the chaos in Britain after pro-socialist riots and strikes plunge the nation into a state of emergency, with Prime Minister Henry Page Croft declaring martial law after a general strike is organized. Culminating in his assassination and Horatio Bottomley seizing power. In France, the government collapses and both nationalists and socialists rise to power, with the SFIO seizing a plurality causing nationalist riots. In 1920, this spills over into a nationalist coup attempt by Charles Maurras. The failed coup attempt causes an uprising in Paris, beginning the Second French Revolution under Louis-Oscar Frossard. Frossard seized power on an agenda of anti-imperialism (vowing to destroy the German and Danube Empires), worker control of industry, and the nationalization of rail and coal mines, being successful in all but the first. Combined with the Strife in Britain this causes the Rose Crisis across Europe, with radical members of the SPD and SDAP in Germany and the Empire of the Danube being cracked down upon, especially in the aftermath of the Rhineland General Strike of 1922.
- Domestically Landis was very popular, cracking down on corruption within the United States and generally preventing any sort of widespread violence by reactionaries and socialists. Giving concessions to striking steel workers in Minnesota while isolating the Socialist Party politically. Pressuring Speaker Claude Kitchin to deny the Socialists positions on House Committees. Furthermore, Landis oversees the passage of the 18th Amendment banning child labor and the 19th amendment that allows a direct income tax. Finally, several states banned the sale of alcohol, kicking off the Prohibition age.
1921-1925: William Allen White (Republican)
(With Robert McElroy) Def: Charles Lindberg/Charles Bryan (Democratic) Jack London/Upton Sinclair (Socialist)
- With the success of President Landis, the main question the Republicans had was who would succeed him? There were plenty of options, ranging from Secretary of State Robert McElroy to New York Governor Nicholas M. Butler. Even philanthropist Herbert Hoover and Vice President John Motley Moorhead II were considered front runners. Naturally, none of the aforementioned front runners won and instead Kansas Senator William Allen White secured the nomination, running as a defender of Middle America in contrast to the primarily southern and western Democratic Party. Running on a pro-tariff, pro-gold, and pro-regulation platform in contrast to the populist Governor Charles Lindberg.
- White's term is primarily associated with the Panic of 1922, when the August Revolution broke out in Russia, overthrowing Tsar Nicholas II and installing a liberal oriented government. The sudden pullout of investors due to worries of a long and bloody revolution caused instability, worsened by the collapse of farm prices. Despite White's best efforts, he was hampered by a conservative Senate and radical House who he could not placate. Furthermore, the nationalization of American oil companies by Plutarco Elias Calles only worsened the situation. Despite calls for an intervention by his fellow Republicans, the House quickly put a stop to any declaration through a coalition of socialists, Peace Republicans, and Democrats. The ensuing political rift is not clear cut as the public is divided, leading to a hung electoral college in 1924.
1925-1927: Samuel Seabury (Democratic) ✞
1924: Samuel Seabury/Thomas Gore (Democratic) William Allen White/Robert McElroy (Republican) Meyer London/Parley Christensen (Socialist) James Ferguson/William McAdoo (Action) Henrik Shipstead/Lynn Frazier (Peace Republican)
- Selected in 1924 for his defense of the rights of labor, farmers, and civil liberties during his time in Congress. Defeats Speaker Claude Kitchin and former Mayor of New York City William Randolph Hearst, the former failing due to his connections to the Wilmont Insurrection of 1898 and the latter failing due to his pro-war stance. The 1924 campaign is a mess with five different candidates winning electoral votes. The hung electoral college sees Seabury elected under a Democratic-Socialist-Peace Republicans in a deal negotiated by Senator Eugene Debs.
- Foreign policy is dominated by Mexico, being complicated by the Cristero Revolution that foreign support from the Giolitti Government in Italy and Spain. In the United States, Seabury and Secretary of State Thomas Gore choose to support neither side, condemning the persecution of Catholics but refusing to support the Cristeros or Mexico, placating both Protestants and Catholics alike. Abroad Seabury aligns himself with anti-imperialist and liberal progressives in opposition to socialists. Strengthening ties with Germany through Chancellor Walther Rathenau and future Prime Minister Eugenio Chiesa of Italy. The Republicans assailed Seabury as a "Orange-Red Democrat," a reference to Chancellor Rathenau's alliance with the SPD.
- Domestically, Seabury pushes for agricultural subsidies with the Wallace-Peek Act of 1926, with it successfully passing with the support of the western Peace Republicans despite opposition from Majority Leader Warren Harding. On the issue of prohibition Seabury opposed a federal law banning the sale of alcohol, declaring it the right of the state and municipality. Despite optimism for Seabury's Administration, it would be cut short by two teenagers from Illinois. At a visit to Chicago Leopold and Loeb murdered Seabury in an effort to demonstrate the "perfect crime." Despite fleeing the scene quickly both would be arrested after a short manhunt.
1927-1929: Robert M. McElroy (Republican)
- Most known for his xenophobia towards Mexicans and staunch anti-socialism. Controversial for succeeding a Democratic President and for most of his term is a lame duck President. Clashes with Seabury's old cabinet over the military budget and his hostility towards government spending.
- Foreign policy sees the collapse of the Fourth French Republic after the split between Louis-Oscar Frossard's SFIO and Pierre Semard's Worker Rally, allowing the moderate PRRRS to take power in a coalition with the SFIO in order to prevent Worker Rally or the far-right Action France from seizing power. Despite this, Prime Minister Edouard Daladier's government found itself in the middle of a civil war after Action France once again marched on Paris, storming the National Assembly. The French Civil War was a brief but bloody affair, with the Communists and Fascists being crushed after six months thanks to the SFIO-PRRRS Alliance.
1929-1933: Thomas P. Gore (Democratic)
(With Al Smith) Def: Harry New/Learned Hand (Republican) Devere Allen/Kate Richards O'Hare (Socialist)
- Come 1928 Gore was viewed as the rightful President of the United States, the one elected by the people in 1924 instead of by the Senate. It was no surprise that Gore won in 1928, winning on a platform of isolationism and progressivism. Allying with the Catholic Al Smith to sweep the west and south while making gains in the Midwest and east. Despite a strong showing by the Socialists Gore's victory was never in doubt.
- Domestically, Gore's term is dominated by the Long Recession, beginning in 1930 with Black Thursday when the Frankfurt Stock Exchange collapsed. On Friday, the New York Stock Exchange followed suit. The crisis was primarily spurred by easy access to credit that at the time did not get paid back, causing a collapse in several banks. Despite the efforts of President Gore, he was hampered by his commitment to preventing the creation of an unaccountable government, sealing his defeat.
1933-1937: Nathaniel L. Miller (Republican)
(With William Hale Thompson) Def: Floyd Olson/Arthur Townley (Socialist) Thomas Gore/Al Smith (Democratic) Usher Burdick/Philip LaFollette (Farmers)
- Miller's election came at quite possibly the worst possible time. An arch economic conservative, Miller had come to prominence as a staunch critic of the Seabury Administration and opponent of racism. Desegregating all government offices and being akin to neighboring Massachusetts's George F. Hoar. Miller in 1932 ran against Gore who he viewed as representing the party of the demagogue, the lyncher, and the socialist. In the 20s or 10s Miller would've been a perfect president but during a time of economic strife he was an abject well-meaning failure. His refusal to engage in public works and effort to balance the budget angered a desperate work force. Combined with his Vice President being forced to resign due to allegations of bribery meant he was all but guaranteed a disastrous loss in 1936. On the bright side, he was a constant advocate for the rights of African Americans and got the ball rolling in the fight for equality. Desegregating the military and being the first President to call for a ban on lynching.
1937-1941: Thomas P. Gore (Democratic)
1936: Floyd Olson/Jay Lovestone (Socialist) Thomas Gore/Robert Moses (Democratic) Nathaniel Miller/Walter Kohler (Republican)
- Gore's comeback still baffles historians. However, it primarily lies in the failures of the Miller Administration and Gore's populist rhetoric that prevented an outright socialist victory. Gore was especially critical of Olson's proposed universal healthcare program and his proposal to allow Congress to overrule the Supreme Court. Describing him as a "Midwest Jacobin" after Olson called the Supreme Court "the greatest repudiator of the constitution." Furthermore, Gore effectively blamed the Republicans for the Long Recession, blaming the "do-nothing Congress" that shot down his proposed banking reforms. Combined with an endorsement from former House Opposition Leader Arthur Townley Gore managed to be elected by Congress after another hung electoral college.
- His term is a mess. On the one hand, Gore kills radical reforms such as the creation of a public bank and rural electrification and on the other he passed banking reform. However, his botched responses to the San Francisco General Strike and subsequent "Spoils of the Dole" speech where he attacked public works and defended his attempts to balance the budget lost the American people and ignited a fire that spread across the prairie and urban cities.
1941-1949: Thomas Hart Benton (Non-Partisan Alliance)
(With Oscar Amerigner) Def: Owen Young/Frederick Hale (Independent-Republican-Democratic) William Hearst/Charles Lindberg (Nationalist)
(With Gladys Pyle) Def: Eugene Talmadge/Hamilton Fish III (American) William Lemke/William Hale Thompson (Nationalist)
- Benton is often ranked by historians as one of the greatest presidents. Originally a painter, Benton was one of the many inspired by President Bryan and after the failures of Gore's first Administration he decided to go into politics, running for Governor of Kansas in 1930 as an independent endorsed by left-wing Democrats and socialists. He lost that year to Alf Landon but in 1934 he came back and won. During his tenure he created the Bank of Kansas to lend low interest loans to farmers and instituted a public works program to deal with the Long Recession, taking on debt but lifting tens of thousands out of poverty. Come 1940 Benton was the logical choice for a unity candidate. He was a rural populist and not an avowed socialist but one who appealed to them and could work with them for the greater good. Allying with fellow populists such as Huey Long of Louisiana and Smedley Butler of Pennsylvania he managed to unite left-liberals, socialists, and rural populists to confront the forces of private capital and reaction in 1940. Defeating the moderate Owen D. Young and the nationalist William Randolph Hearst in a landslide.
- Benton's election would be the culmination of the Orange-Red Alliance within the United States. Bringing together socialists such as Floyd B. Olson, left liberals such as Paul Douglas, and agrarian radicals such as Usher L. Burdick. Domestically, Benton created the Bank of the United States which like the Bank of Kansas handed out low interest loans for those in need. Furthermore, Benton nationalized the railroads and healthcare while creating the National Recovery Program (NRP) that gave millions of Americans jobs working on internal improvement.
- Benton's term marks the beginning of what's now defined as the "Quiet Revolution." Includes the implementation of the 35-hour work week, the passage of constitutional amendments that codify judicial review but allow a two-thirds majority of the Senate to override the Supreme Court, a constitutional ban on the poll tax, the implementation of unicameral legislatures in western states and Midwest states, and rural electrification. Furthermore, Benton in 1944 made history by choosing Senator Gladys Pyle as his running mate, marking the first time a woman was nominated on a major party ticket. Following up Pyle's nomination he passed anti-lynching legislation with the support of Speaker Leonidas C. Dyer of Missouri. The final amendments in Benton's Quiet Revolution were the implantation of a single six-year term for the presidency, a ban on prison slavery, and a requirement for a referendum for the United States to go to war.
- Foreign policy wise Benton is more internationalist than Bryan or Gore. Assailing British atrocities during the Indian War of Independence and decrying German imperialism in Africa. Allying with the Russian Prime Minister Danylo Terpylo of the Green Confederation and Bulgarian President Aleksandar Stamboliyski. Benton also opened relations with Japan, signing a trade agreement in 1946 and supporting Japan despite their imperialism in Korea and Formosa. Furthermore, Benton aligns with Greece and Italy in opposing the German-Danube Alliance. Working with Prime Minister Francesco Nitti in granting autonomy to Libya and Somalia, beginning the long path towards decolonization.
1949-1955: Gladys Pyle (Non-Partisan Alliance)
(With John Lewis) Def: Henry Channon/Sumter de Leon Lowery (American)
- Pyle's nomination in 1948 came primarily because of a series of lucky events. First of all, her competition was minimal. Senator Huey Long had been placated with an appointment to the Supreme Court, Robert LaFollette Jr was content as Senate Majority Leader, and Secretary of Labor Relations John Lewis failed to secure the backing of the powerful liberal and agrarian factions, the former viewing him as an autocrat and the latter viewing him as unconcerned with the plight of farmers. Instead, the latter backed Gladys Pyle who during her time as Senator for South Dakota was a staunch advocate for farmers and urban workers alike. While the liberals backed Bernard Baruch who supported welfare, community involvement, and greater international cooperation.
- Pyle's term continues the Quiet Revolution, with Pyle overseeing the creation of the Department of the Budget to cut down on government waste. Furthermore, Pyle successfully oversees the construction of the National Highway System, the loosening of immigration laws, and the abolition of prison labor. However, her attempts at banning segregation ran into white supremacist violence and filibuster efforts from members of the NPA and American Party alike. Riots by the "New Redeemers" becomes prevalent.
- Foreign policy sees the Treaty of Ceylon between Prime Minister William O'Brien and M.N Roy, ending the Indian War of Independence and beginning the end of the British Empire. By this point several global alliance blocs emerge. The Quadruple Powers of Germany, the Empire of the Danube, Spain, and Poland-Lithuania who represent a general reaction against the anti-German Rome Axis comprised of Russia, Greece, Italy, the United States, France, Bulgaria, Japan, and Serbia. And finally, the Commonwealth comprised of Britain, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.
1955: Sam Ervin/Nile Kinnick (American) vs Hubert Humphrey/Reinhold Niebuhr (Non-Partisan Alliance)
- Ervin is selected by the American Party as a "respectable" bigot. One who coats his bigotry in legalist language to justify his support of continued segregation. Defeating the firebrand L. Mendel Rivers of South Carolina and the pro-civil rights Eugene Siler of Kentucky at the 1955 ANC. On the NPA side, the NPA primaries were primarily a battle between South Dakota Senator and Pyle protege Hubert Humphrey, Seqouyan Senator and socialist Freda Ameringer, and the pro-segregation J. Lister Hill of Alabama. Due to Humphrey's ability to unite western agrarians, social liberals, and labor unions he was able to win crucial victories in California, Iowa, and Kentucky, winning the nomination. The 1955 election would be the most dramatic in American history. At the first Presidential debate the broadcast would be interrupted by President Pyle. Kaiser Wilhelm III was assassinated by a socialist in Moscow and Kaiser Wilhelm IV and Chancellor Franz von Papen gave Russia an ultimatum to allow Germany to investigate without Russian supervision. Russia refused and only thirty minutes ago German soldiers crossed into Russia. The world was at war and both Humphrey and Ervin rushed to support the war as one for liberation. The polls are dead even, with the war sparking a last-minute surge for the NPA. And with fears of a British intervention being spread by the NPA it looks like the
