That’s fair, this is generally the ITL opinions of many Populists who were once Federal Republicans.
Triple Calamity: What if the Three Most Important Men in the Executive Branch Died in One Night?
- Thread starter Mr.Q
- Start date
If Lincoln somehow came to life
The poor man wouldn't even recognize his party, the country or the political scene. Though I wonder what his reaction be when he learns he considered the best president in history books and there a state named after him.
The poor man wouldn't even recognize his party, the country or the political scene. Though I wonder what his reaction be when he learns he considered the best president in history books and there a state named after him.
Johnson meanwhile I think isn't as reviled as he was IOTL due to being unable to undo what Lincoln worked for.
Johnson would probably be viewed fairly sympathetically by people. He’d be seen somewhat as a noble southerner who supported his country against his state’s slavery institution, I’d imagine
Johnson isn’t hated at all by contemporary historians and history nerds ITL, exactly that, the people view him as a sympathetic figure, a man who stayed loyal to the union only to be slayed for it.
Though it is recognized that he would’ve been a bad president had he survived.
Generally people don’t think about Johnson a whole lot. His death is just a crazy companion piece to the era.
The party has morphed into a more radical version of itself from OTL that’s for sure.
Probz inevitable someone makes up an alternate history work where Johnson lives and becomes prez.
That'll be meta. Might do a chapter about it later near the end of the TL.
OTL Johnson Presidency would be seen as ASB TTL. They'd accept that no president is truly great, but be baffled by how Johnson screwed things up 🤣🤣🤣.
What TL hasn't done thay, make OTL as it exactly happened a TL in-universe and everyone in-uiniverse is like "Man, this is crazy!"?
Our TL would probably be seen as a worse case senario by 1890 for many northerners and freedmen ITL.
Fully expecting after looking at the party platforms again for the Republican's, Liberal's and Freedmen party to merge with the Peoples and Democratic party doing so as well. They'd rather merge the push for proper electoral reform and getting rid of first-past-the-post voting.
The Democrats have already merged tickets with the Populists. Election results might scare some of the other parties into doing the same.
Oh I know they have for this election, I'm talking about a permanent merger of the parties.
The return of the two-party system isn't fun though.That may be on the way
I wouldn't worry too much, this America has gotten used to it's chaotic playing field. At this point in this alternate Gilded Age we are seeing a battle between politicians wishing for normalcy and people wishing for change. If there isn't at least one party leaning into the change there will be some unrest.
Chapter 32: Election 92' Return to Normalcy
New
"The Presidential Election of 1892 was expected to be one of the most important in American history. The country was in a very dark time. The economy was in the gutter, the memories of the Great Strike were lingering, the populist split had radicalized a portion of the nation, and monopolies were shifting money around like they were playing with pennies. The country was clearly at a turning point. Each party had different suggestions for fixing everything. I want to start with the populists, as they are generally the most out there.
James B. Weaver and the Democrat/Populist Fusion Ticket ran a campaign based on reform and change. Even the richest and least populist man in the country could agree that Congressional inaction and gridlock contributed to the economic downturn. The populists made this fact a central tenant of their campaign. They told the people that Liberal and Republican elites had become too entrenched and too uncaring. The populist platform argued to pass almost everything that was lost in the congressional dustbin (save the Booker Bill; they had a southern base to appease). This had its expected supporters and detractors.
The Republicans campaigned on normalcy. Alger argued that much of the recent chaos could be chalked up to a lack of national pride. He said that the victories seen in Haiti and on the frontier against the natives had just begun to reunite the nation under a patriotic banner. Arguing to 'Revitalize the economy with revitalized pride', Alger said that the quicker we pacified the west and kicked out the Spaniards from Cuba, the quicker our country would be reunited.
Interestingly, Alger very rarely made any mention of the Booker Bill on the campaign trail. This was despite the fact that the RNC had placed the passage of the bill on the Republican platform. This wasn't because Alger was against the bill or anything; it was mostly because he felt that by pushing the Booker Bill to the front of the priority list, he'd undermine the 'Unity message' and bring more attention to the bills namesake.
Booker T. Washington ran nothing short of a masterful campaign. Washington had become a household name since his bill made the front page of the papers. He knew that he would be unable to make any impact on the race unless damn near every black man in the country was mobilized. So, mobilize, he did. Washington went only to states with large African American populations and made passionate speeches about the importance of the bill and the importance of reminding the establishment that the black vote matters. Washington made his whole campaign that of his bill, and with the lack of any discussion of it from the other parties, he even swayed some white men to his side, polling as high as three percent in states like Massachusetts, Maine, and Ohio with white men. The Freedmen's Party had really never gained white votes in its history. Washington intended to change that.
Finally, there were the Liberals. Pattison knew that realistically, he would win the election. The Liberals were polling well in all the key states, and the vote splitting from the populists was greatly weakening the Republicans. But the Liberals wanted to avoid a deadlocked election, and the chaos of that in the past has led to lame ducks and massive failures. Pattison needed an outright victory. He campaigned extensively in the east. Hoping aboard the 'Bobby Train' he went up and down the east coast, making impassioned pleas for normalcy. He reminded the public that ever since the Liberals left power, everything went downhill.
Pattison also sent Custer out west to lock down key swing states like Ohio and Illinois. Every vote was going to count, and he unleashed the Custer machine. Thomas, George, and Boston would dawn the uniforms and viscously campaign in the midwest, cautiously avoiding the subject of the strikes. The Custers instead tried to inspire unity and a promise that no violence would ever come to the streets again under a Pattison administration.
The Liberals would also make extensive use of political machines and other unsavory campaign tactics to achieve their coveted majority. The Adams' in New England ensured that there would be no vote splitting up there. Custer raised a proto-paramilitary group made up of former veterans who would lockdown Ohio by turning laborers from the ballot boxes, and the Pattison campaign would go to great lengths to appease monopolies and gain donations."
-from The Bloody Election
By Lucretia King, published 1988
"The final results were a field day for the populists. Liberal, Republican and Freedmen vote splitting delivered the Democrats key victories all over the South. From Texas to the Virginias. The populists, though getting third in the popular vote, gained second place overall in the electoral vote and had just denied Pattison and the Liberals an easy victory.
The other major winner of the 1892 election was the Freedmen! Booker T. had secured three states for them, the biggest Freedmen win yet. A victory in Lincoln, Alabama, and Grant. Though Lincoln was a forgone conclusion, Alabama and Grant certainly weren't. Republican-Populist vote splitting along with a heavy turnout from the black settlers that defined Grant handed Washington the state narrowly. Alabama was even closer, only being won by 544 votes. Again, it was mostly vote splitting from whites and unity from blacks that gave the state to the Freedmen. Though Washington wouldn't be in the contingent election, his point was made. There is indeed popular support for the Booker bill.
Obviously, the two disappointments of the election were handed to Pattison and Alger. The Republicans were essentially locked in the midwest, and though they remained the second most popular party, the electoral votes in the midwest weren't enough to keep them in second or first place. A spot that they had held since the parties' foundation. The Liberals were also disappointed, perhaps more so. Without a majority in the electoral college, a chaotic contingent election was guaranteed. Something that they most certainly had no interest in spending political power on. Now the hope was that Congress would be an easy battleground.
Moving into December, as the Congressional elections became more clear, most people began to sigh breaths of relief. The Liberals had secured a strong majority of state delegations in the House and were only one seat short of a majority. Pattison would almost certainly be elected president and have a friendly House of Representatives during the first half of his term. What was unfortunate, however, was the deadlock in the Senate. The Liberals were now ten seats short of a majority.
The Democratic and Populist caucuses in the House and Senate combined into 'The People's Unity Caucus' in October, anticipating a deadlocked election and planning to act as a united front to hold up the voting process. After the Congressional Elections were finalized, it was clear that the Union would be unsuccessful in stopping Pattison from assuming the Presidency. However, the Senate was a different story.
Once it became clear that the Liberals would need to make a deal to get Custer in the second spot, the People's and Democratic Parties began to open up discourse with the Republicans. A plan was hatched. The opposition would hold the Vice Presidency hostage and force Pattison to make a deal once he was inaugurated to free up the Senate. The deal was simple: pass an anti-trust act and postpone action on the Booker Bill.
The Liberals were terrified of this deal, and many of the more civil rights-minded Republicans promised to turn their backs on it, but moving into January, it was unclear if the efforts to convince the Republicans off of this corrupt bargain would be successful."
-from 93'
By Jackson Hobbit, published 1993
James B. Weaver and the Democrat/Populist Fusion Ticket ran a campaign based on reform and change. Even the richest and least populist man in the country could agree that Congressional inaction and gridlock contributed to the economic downturn. The populists made this fact a central tenant of their campaign. They told the people that Liberal and Republican elites had become too entrenched and too uncaring. The populist platform argued to pass almost everything that was lost in the congressional dustbin (save the Booker Bill; they had a southern base to appease). This had its expected supporters and detractors.
The Republicans campaigned on normalcy. Alger argued that much of the recent chaos could be chalked up to a lack of national pride. He said that the victories seen in Haiti and on the frontier against the natives had just begun to reunite the nation under a patriotic banner. Arguing to 'Revitalize the economy with revitalized pride', Alger said that the quicker we pacified the west and kicked out the Spaniards from Cuba, the quicker our country would be reunited.
Interestingly, Alger very rarely made any mention of the Booker Bill on the campaign trail. This was despite the fact that the RNC had placed the passage of the bill on the Republican platform. This wasn't because Alger was against the bill or anything; it was mostly because he felt that by pushing the Booker Bill to the front of the priority list, he'd undermine the 'Unity message' and bring more attention to the bills namesake.
Booker T. Washington ran nothing short of a masterful campaign. Washington had become a household name since his bill made the front page of the papers. He knew that he would be unable to make any impact on the race unless damn near every black man in the country was mobilized. So, mobilize, he did. Washington went only to states with large African American populations and made passionate speeches about the importance of the bill and the importance of reminding the establishment that the black vote matters. Washington made his whole campaign that of his bill, and with the lack of any discussion of it from the other parties, he even swayed some white men to his side, polling as high as three percent in states like Massachusetts, Maine, and Ohio with white men. The Freedmen's Party had really never gained white votes in its history. Washington intended to change that.
Finally, there were the Liberals. Pattison knew that realistically, he would win the election. The Liberals were polling well in all the key states, and the vote splitting from the populists was greatly weakening the Republicans. But the Liberals wanted to avoid a deadlocked election, and the chaos of that in the past has led to lame ducks and massive failures. Pattison needed an outright victory. He campaigned extensively in the east. Hoping aboard the 'Bobby Train' he went up and down the east coast, making impassioned pleas for normalcy. He reminded the public that ever since the Liberals left power, everything went downhill.
Pattison also sent Custer out west to lock down key swing states like Ohio and Illinois. Every vote was going to count, and he unleashed the Custer machine. Thomas, George, and Boston would dawn the uniforms and viscously campaign in the midwest, cautiously avoiding the subject of the strikes. The Custers instead tried to inspire unity and a promise that no violence would ever come to the streets again under a Pattison administration.
The Liberals would also make extensive use of political machines and other unsavory campaign tactics to achieve their coveted majority. The Adams' in New England ensured that there would be no vote splitting up there. Custer raised a proto-paramilitary group made up of former veterans who would lockdown Ohio by turning laborers from the ballot boxes, and the Pattison campaign would go to great lengths to appease monopolies and gain donations."
-from The Bloody Election
By Lucretia King, published 1988
"The final results were a field day for the populists. Liberal, Republican and Freedmen vote splitting delivered the Democrats key victories all over the South. From Texas to the Virginias. The populists, though getting third in the popular vote, gained second place overall in the electoral vote and had just denied Pattison and the Liberals an easy victory.
The other major winner of the 1892 election was the Freedmen! Booker T. had secured three states for them, the biggest Freedmen win yet. A victory in Lincoln, Alabama, and Grant. Though Lincoln was a forgone conclusion, Alabama and Grant certainly weren't. Republican-Populist vote splitting along with a heavy turnout from the black settlers that defined Grant handed Washington the state narrowly. Alabama was even closer, only being won by 544 votes. Again, it was mostly vote splitting from whites and unity from blacks that gave the state to the Freedmen. Though Washington wouldn't be in the contingent election, his point was made. There is indeed popular support for the Booker bill.
Obviously, the two disappointments of the election were handed to Pattison and Alger. The Republicans were essentially locked in the midwest, and though they remained the second most popular party, the electoral votes in the midwest weren't enough to keep them in second or first place. A spot that they had held since the parties' foundation. The Liberals were also disappointed, perhaps more so. Without a majority in the electoral college, a chaotic contingent election was guaranteed. Something that they most certainly had no interest in spending political power on. Now the hope was that Congress would be an easy battleground.
Moving into December, as the Congressional elections became more clear, most people began to sigh breaths of relief. The Liberals had secured a strong majority of state delegations in the House and were only one seat short of a majority. Pattison would almost certainly be elected president and have a friendly House of Representatives during the first half of his term. What was unfortunate, however, was the deadlock in the Senate. The Liberals were now ten seats short of a majority.
The Democratic and Populist caucuses in the House and Senate combined into 'The People's Unity Caucus' in October, anticipating a deadlocked election and planning to act as a united front to hold up the voting process. After the Congressional Elections were finalized, it was clear that the Union would be unsuccessful in stopping Pattison from assuming the Presidency. However, the Senate was a different story.
Once it became clear that the Liberals would need to make a deal to get Custer in the second spot, the People's and Democratic Parties began to open up discourse with the Republicans. A plan was hatched. The opposition would hold the Vice Presidency hostage and force Pattison to make a deal once he was inaugurated to free up the Senate. The deal was simple: pass an anti-trust act and postpone action on the Booker Bill.
The Liberals were terrified of this deal, and many of the more civil rights-minded Republicans promised to turn their backs on it, but moving into January, it was unclear if the efforts to convince the Republicans off of this corrupt bargain would be successful."
-from 93'
By Jackson Hobbit, published 1993
-
In an hour or so I will drop another Newspaper post. The next few months are about to be a bit, wild...
In an hour or so I will drop another Newspaper post. The next few months are about to be a bit, wild...
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