Collaborative Presidential Elections - New

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I would but I don't know the politics of that time.

I don't either. I wiki things if I don't know the politics of the time. Oddly enough, this thread has helped me learn a good deal .

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

1876
The Panic of 1873 wrecked Seymour's presidency. His insistence on upholding the gold standard in the face of the Panic resulted in massive gains for the Republicans, putting James G. Blaine in the Speaker's chair. The 1876 Republican nomination was a fight between the new Speaker Blaine and various other contenders. However, the final winner was Governor John Hartranft of Pennsylvania. A Civil War general, Hartranft had supporter the rights of workers but when the depression hit had used the power of the militia to keep down strikes. Facing Seymour's Secretary of State William W. Eaton, Hartranft was easily elected following Democratic fatigue and depression.

Governor John Hartranft (R-PA)/Senator Arthur Boreman (R-WV) 246 electoral votes, 52.4% of the popular vote
Secretary of State William Weaton (D-CT)/Governor Thomas Hendricks (D-IN) 123 electoral votes, 46.8% of the popular vote

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1880

President John Hartranft (R-PA)/Vice President Arthur Boreman (R-WV)-231 EV, 50.7% of the popular vote.
Senator Thomas Bayard (D-DE)/Governor Samuel Tilden (D-NY)-138 EV, 43.7% of the popular vote.
Congressman James Weaver (F-IA)/Former Governor William Taylor (F-WI)-5.6% of the popular vote.

President Hartfrant’s first term was controversial and in some cases, violent. While Hartfrant pushed for reforms in areas of civil rights and labor, he used Federal troops to break up a railroad strike in 1877, as well against the Ku Klux Klan, bringing their reign of terror in the south to a violent end. Promising civil service reform and an end to reconstruction, the Democrats nominated Thomas Bayard and Samuel Tilden at their convention. The Farmers Party was founded, replacing the Greenbacks, and nominated James Weaver, who ran on a platform of more government regulation of banks, and federal crop insurance for farmers. Though the race was competitive President Hartanft was popular, and won reelection by a wide margin.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

1884
With President Boreman (who had assumed the presidency following the assassination of Hartranft in 1882 by a disgruntled union worker), the 1884 Republican National Convention was filled with chaos. Labeled by one historian as "Conkling's Last Stand", the convention would feature New York Senator Chester Alan Arthur backed by Conkling's machine, Senator John Sherman of Ohio who was brother to the famous Civil War general, the liberal Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont, and Secretary of State James G. Blaine of Maine. After several ballots and the entrance of Congressman James A. Garfield of Ohio into the mix, things were nowhere closer to being solved than on the first ballot. However, on the eleventh ballot, New York State Assemblyman and delegate Theodore Roosevelt was able to bring together a coalition nominating Sherman as a compromise candidate. Much to Roosevelt's derision however, Senator Arthur was nominated for Vice President.

The Democrats meanwhile nominated former Governor Tilden who had reluctantly agreed to a draft. For Vice President, Governor Thomas Hendricks was nominated. With Tilden and his surrogates working hard to attack the Republican ticket as the result of "Conkling and his machine", and Tilden pledging to end Republican patronage, the Democrats were looking at potential victory. However, Republican and their electoral strength were hard to contend with. It was only when a Republican preacher, standing next to Edmunds, derided the Democrats as the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" that Democrats really took the advantage.

Former Senator Samuel J. Tilden (D-NY)/Governor Thomas Hendricks (D-IN) 213 electoral votes, 49% of the popular vote
Senator John Sherman (R-OH)/Senator Chester Alan Arthur (R-NY) 188 electoral votes, 48% of the popular vote

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1888

President Thomas Hendricks (D-IN)/Governor Grover Cleveland (D-NY)-260 EV, 55.6% of the popular vote.
Governor Russell Alger (R-MI)/Senator Chester Arthur (R-NY)-141 EV, 42.3% of the popular vote.
Other (Farmers, Prohibition, Socialist)-2.1% of the popular vote.

President Tilden’s brief time in office would be remembered for his fight against political corruption. After a hard fought battle, the Civil Service Commission was created to root out political patronage. Unfortunately, President Tilden did not live long after the creation of the Civil Service Commission. He died of a heart attack in the Summer of 1886. President Hendricks was easily nominated at the Democratic National Convention in 1888, and asked Governor Grover Cleveland of New York to be his running mate. Hendricks was in ill health for most of the campaign, and many questioned his physical ability to take on the Presidency. Despite these fears, he easily dispatched Russell Alger and Chester Arthur by a wide margin, in part due to the strong economy. 

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

18. Horatio Seymour (D-NY), 1869-1877.
19. John Hartranft (R-PA), 1877-1882.
20. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1882-1885.
21. Samuel Tilden (D-NY), 1885-1886.
22. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1886-??

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Bump?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

1892
With voters' hopes riding high following eight years of Democratic propserity, it appeared the party, which had struggled for power since the Civil War, was finally back on its feet. President Cleveland, who had succeeded the late Thomas Hendricks in 1890, was popular and with the splitting of Republican votes between the main ticket and the Populist party, Cleveland was ensured a comfortable re-election.

President S. Grover Cleveland (D-NY)/Governor Horace Boies (D-IA) 376 electoral votes, 54.6% of the popular vote
Senator George F. Edmunds (R-VT)/Congressman William McKinley (R-OH) 45 electoral votes, 37.3% of the popular vote
Congressman James B. Weaver (P-IA)/Justice James G. Field (P-VA) 23 electoral votes, 7.8% of the popular vote

[Kitteh]

1896
Cleveland entered office extremely popular, but the economic devastation caused by the Panic of 1893 quickly made him deeply unpopular. The Democratic party was closely divided in 1896 between supporters of the gold standard and advocates of free silver. William Jennings Bryan was the leader of the silver faction, however silver delegates decided to support Vice President Horace Boies for the nomination as he would have more appeal to Cleveland supporters (it was also rumored that Bryan did not want to contest an election the Democrats seemed sure to lose). President Cleveland, who had previously declared that he would not be a candidate for reelection, decided to stand as an independent Gold Democrat in opposition to the pro-silver Democratic ticket. Cleveland knew he would not be reelected but hoped to deny either side a majority in the electoral college to force the election into the House where gold democrats could forge a deal with either side. William McKinley easily won the Republican nomination. The unpopularity of the Cleveland administration and a highly effective campaign ensured that McKinley easily won the election.

Governor William McKinley (R-OH)/Governor Levi P. Morton (R-NY) 207 electoral votes, 48.7% of the popular vote
Vice President Horace Boies (D-IA)/Congressman Richard P. Bland (D-MO) 166 electoral votes, 40.6% of the popular vote
President Grover Cleveland (ND-NY)/Senator William Freeman Vilas (ND-WI) 11 electoral votes, 11.8% of the popular vote

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1900

President William McKinley (R-OH)/Vice President Levi Morton (R-NY)-254 EV, 53.6% of the popular vote.
Former Congressman William Jennings Bryan (D-NE)/Mr. Julian Carr (D-NC)-193 EV, 45.5% of the popular vote.
Other (Prohibition, Populist, Socialist)-0.9% of the popular vote.

The McKinley Presidency was popular after a quick victory over the Spanish in the Spanish-American War, which brought Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico into the Union as territories (all of them were later granted independence), as well as the signing of the Gold Standard Act, which was supported by many of the former National Democrats. President McKinley was easily re-nominated for the Presidency, and faced William Jennings Bryan, a former Nebraska Congressman who campaigned on bimetallism and prohibition. McKinley defeated Bryan by a good margin.

[Knives]

The second term on the McKinley administration was an utter failure, wages were dropping, inflation was rising and tax revenue was at an all time low. Growing tensions with Europe's Great Powers made the American citizens feel threatened and made them no long trust this Republican Party. And to cap of an enormous tide of animosity, in 1903 McKinley was caught red handed canoodling with another woman. Outrage broke throughout the nation at the disgusting man.

In early 1904 with an election coming up the Republicans nominated Ohio Senator Mark Hanna much to the disgust of Progressive American's including Teddy Rooservelt and in 1904 he announced his run as part of the Progressive party, he advocated for a Medicare and Medicaid system and an end to segregation, he was also a big supported of the poor. The Democratic convention emerged with no candidate when the center was the target for a massacre murdering many potential nominees and strong supporters of the party, in the end the party failed to register on the ballot. And as Communism and Socialism teachings spread across the nation a new party was formed compromising of many former Democrat's and Forgotten American's known as the Liberal Socialists, who advocated for equality and higher taxes for the rich. They nominated Eugene V. Debs for President.

VP choices were - Republican William Taft
Progressive Party - Charles W. Fairbanks
Liberal Socialist - John W. Kern

Former Senator Eugene V. Debs (LS-IN)/ Senator John W. Kern (LS-IN) - 246 EV and  40.3% of the popular vote.
Former Governer of New York Theodore Rooservelt (P-NY)/ Senator Charles W. Fairbanks (P-IN) - 155 EV and 35.4% of the popular vote
Senator Mark Hanna (R-OH)/Former Governor of the Philippines William Taft (R-OH) - 75 EV and 21.3% of the popular vote.
Others - 3%

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

1908
Debs came in without a majority and consequently without a mandate. Even self-describe progressives refused to pass the most radical pieces of Debs' agenda. As well, business proved a strong adversary to attempt to take on and attempts to nationalize certain industries failed. However, Thomas was able to pass his proposals for healthcare for the elderly and impoverished. While Thomas' agenda was bogged down in debate and sub-committee, the Republicans recovered. The 1906 elections resulted in the merging with the Progressive party and the election of a number of moderate and liberal Republicans. Led by Senator Nelson W. Aldrich of Rhode Island, the GOP primed for a comeback. Meanwhile, the Democrats, who had been utterly decimated by the St. Louis massacre, nominated Former State Representative Edward Wall of Wisconsin and former Senator George Gray of Delaware for President and Vice President. The Republicans nominated Aldrich and Senator Philander C. Knox of Pennsylvania. In the election, Aldrich's liberal reforms--which looked moderate compared to Debs--and his pledge to only serve one term and "keep the government within its constitutional limits" drew great appeal.

Senator Nelson W. Aldrich (R-RI)/Senator Philander C. Knox (R-PA) 281 electoral votes
President Eugene V. Debs (LS-IN)/Governor Robert LaFollette (LS-WI) 124 electoral votes
Former State Representative Edward Wall (D-WI)/Former Senator George Gray (D-DE) 78 electoral votes

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1912

Vice President Philander Knox (R-PA)/Senator William Smith (R-MI)-253 EV, 34.9% of the popular vote.
Speaker of the House Champ Clark (D-MO)/Senator Oscar Underwood (D-AL)-165 EV, 33.8% of the popular vote.
Governor Hiram Johnson (SL-CA)/ Congressman Victor Berger (SL-WI)-113 EV, 24.8% of the popular vote.
Mr. Edward Chafin (PH-WI)/Mr. Aaron S. Watkins (PH-KY)-3.1% of the popular vote.
Other (Union, Socialist Workers, American)-0.3% of the popular vote.

Nelson Aldrich enjoyed a period of calm and stability while President. Unfortunately for him, his major banking reform program continued to meet opposition in Congress. Conservatives opposed the proposed Federal Reserve from the right for being a central bank. On the left, the Progressives and Liberal Socialists opposed the Federal Reserve for granting too much control of its governing body to private banks.

The Liberal Socialists and the Progressive Party found common ground on many issues, and in 1911, merged into the Socialist Labor Party. They nominated Governor Hiram Johnson of California for President, and Congressman Victor Berger for Vice President.

Southern conservatives, still fuming over being relegated to support Mark Hanna in 1904 and the “St. Louis Massacre”, a bombing which they supporters of Eugene Debs were blamed for, became a major force at the Democratic Convention. House Speaker Champ Clark was nominated after a chaotic series of ballots, and Senator Underwood of Alabama was nominated for the Vice Presidency.

The Republican Party had tried to re-nominate President Aldrich, but he remained committed to his one term principle, and would not run again. Vice President Knox was easily nominated and asked Michigan Senator William Smith to be his running mate.

Vice President Knox campaigned heavily in the industrialized Midwest, as well as the Northeast in an attempt to hold the traditional Republican states from falling to the Socialists. He succeeded in this mission. Likewise, Johnson succeeded in his mission of uniting much of the agrarian west under the Socialist Labor Party. The Democrats were mainly confined to the South, but were able to achieve a strong performance in the Midwest. None of the candidates were able to win an outright majority, and the election went to the House of Representatives. The Democratic majority in the House made a deal with the Republicans, and Champ Clark was elected President, with Senator William Smith being elected Vice President overwhelmingly in the Senate. The congressional election of the President forced the Socialist Labor Party to focus more on winning more seats in Congress, as well as bringing up a new issue in American politics-electoral reform.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Presidents of the United States
18. Horatio Seymour (D-NY), 1869-1877.
19. John Hartranft (R-PA), 1877-1882.
20. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1882-1885.
21. Samuel Tilden (D-NY), 1885-1886.
22. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1886-1890.
23. Grover Cleveland (D-NY), 1890-1897.
24. William McKinley (R-OH), 1897-1905.
25. Eugene Debs (LS-IN), 1905-1909.
26. Nelson Aldrich (R-RI), 1909-1913.
27. Champ Clark (D-MO), 1913-??

Vice Presidents of the United States.
17. Francis Blair (D-MO), 1869-1877.
18. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1877-1882.
Vacant, 1882-1885.
19. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1885-1886.
Vacant, 1886-1889.
20. Grover Cleveland (D-NY), 1889-1890.
Vacant, 1890-1893
21. Horace Boies (D-IA), 1890-1897.
22. Levi P. Morton (R-NY), 1897-1905.
23. John W. Kern (LS-IN), 1905-1909.
24. Philander C. Knox (R-PA), 1909-1913.
25. William Smith (R-MI), 1913-??

[Kitteh]

1916
The beginning of World War I in Europe lead to great division in the United States congress. The Socialist Labor party was strongly opposed to any American intervention in Europe, as was President Clark and the majority of the Democratic party. Republicans, however, supported increasing American military strength in preparation for eventual war, and many even called for active intervention on the side of the UK and France. At the 1916 Republican convention, the pro-war faction took control of the party and nominated General Leonard Wood for president and senator Henry Cabot Lodge for vice president. The Republican platform called for American entry into WWI while taking a relatively progressive stance on economic issues, calling for the introduction of an income tax and the federal reserve.

Incumbent vice president William Smith opposed entry into the war, and he and a number of other anti-war Republicans founded the "National Republican" party. Hoping to pick up support, the Democrats joined with the National Republicans and nominated President Clark and Vice President Smith for reelection. The Democratic platform was anti-war and opposed the Federal Reserve. Angry at the economic conservatism of the Democratic platform, former nominee William Jennings Bryan left the party to run on the Prohibition ticket, and selected representative Charles Randall of California as his running mate. Bryan campaigned on a platform of economic populism, restriction of immigration, pacifism and prohibitionism.

The Socialist Labor party had built up a strong base in the Western states since it's 1912 defeat and had managed to pass laws instating instant runoff voting in many states it controlled, but these states had few electoral votes. The party was the most strongly opposed to war of any of the parties. The party nominated famous author Upton Sinclair, who had been elected to congress in 1914, for president and Congressman Victor Berger for vice president.

The election was extremely close. The pro-war Republicans were strong among WASP voters in the Northeast, but very weak elsewhere. The Socialist Labor party picked up the overwhelming support of German, Irish and other immigrant voters, as well as their traditional base of organized labor and western populists. Bryan played to stereotypes of ethnic Socialist Labor supporters as heavy drinkers, attacked Sinclair's opposition to segregation and prohibition, and had campaign surrogates spread anti-semitic propaganda against Berger. These tactics attracted many poor Southern protestants who had previously supported Socialist Labor, in addition to populist Democrats. The Democrats picked up the support of some former Republicans but were hurt by the defection of much of their base to Sinclair or Bryan.

In the end, Sinclair managed to win a plurality of the popular vote and eek out a narrow majority in the electoral college due to the division of the other parties.

Congressman Upton Sinclair (SL-NJ)/Congressman Victor Berger (SL-WI) 273 EVs, 32.1% of the popular vote
President Champ Clark (D-MO)/Vice President William Smith (NR-MI) 137 EVs, 27.6% of the popular vote
General Leonard Wood (R-NH)/Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA) 65 EVs, 25.4% of the popular vote
Former Congressman William Jennings Bryan (PH-NE)/Congressman Charles Randall (PH-CA) 56 EVs, 13.9% of the popular vote
Others 1%
*Results indicate first preferences in states with IRV, Socialist Labor won the 2PP vote in all such states.

However, once again, the Socialist Labor lacked a majority in Congress. With the support of the congressman from the Prohibition party, who supported most of the Socialist Labor economic platform, they could count on a majority in the House, but they were far short of a majority in the Senate.

Composition of congress (I'm adding this because with the multi-party direction this TL seems to be heading its going to be more important):

House:
164 Socialist Labor
100 Democratic
93 Republican
65 Prohibition
14 National Republican

Senate:
33 Socialist Labor
26 Republican
26 Democratic
10 National Republican
5 Prohibition

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1920
The election of 1920 would be the second in eight years in which Congress was called to decide the results. President Sinclair’s first term was tumultuous, and in many ways, divisive. Republicans and some Democrats strongly opposed the decision to keep the United States out of World War I, which dragged on until the early months of 1920, when an uneasy ceasefire was brokered. President Sinclair also pushed through several pieces of Progressive legislation. Between 1917 and 1921, the President was able to create a federal crop insurance program, nationalize the railroads, and introduce the income tax.

 In 1919, the Prohibition Party and the National Republicans merged into the Christian Democratic Party. The party’s platform was supportive of segregation, prohibition, restriction of immigration, and isolationism. The party also adopted much of the Socialist Labor Party’s economic planks, calling for high income taxes, wealth limits, and the creation of a pension system. At their first convention, they nominated William Jennings Bryan and John Butler, of Tennessee, as their ticket.

The Socialist Labor Party re-nominated President Sinclair and Vice President Berger at their convention. While the party promised to continue the economic programs they had implemented, the foreign policy planks were slightly changed, with support for the United States entering a “League of Nations”, as well as more active enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine, in response to the “Zimmerman Telegram” incident which almost brought the US into World War I.

The Democratic National Convention saw Governor Al Smith of New York achieving victory after multiple ballots.  Former Congressman Alexander Mitchell Palmer was nominated for the Vice Presidency. The Democratic Party campaigned on a platform of opposition to a central bank and prohibition, a non interventionist foreign policy, and low taxes.

The Republican Convention deadlocked between Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts, and Businessman Herbert Hoover. Hoover won after many ballots, and Governor Coolidge announced his candidacy for the National Republican nomination. The Republican Convention nominated Senator Irvine Lenroot of Wisconsin for the Vice Presidency.

The National Republican Party nominated Businessman Henry Ford over Governor Coolidge (who had previously supported American intervention in World War I) at their convention. Ford asked Congressman Louis McFadden of Pennsylvania to be his running mate.

The general election campaign was brutal. Most newspapers accurately predicted the election would be hung, and several began to call for a runoff election system. The idea picked up steam, and President Sinclair himself endorsed the proposals. On election day, no party came close to a majority of electoral votes.

1920

Mr. Herbert Hoover (R-IA)/Senator Irvine Lenroot (R-WI)-196 EV, 29.9% of the popular vote.
President Upton Sinclair (SL-NJ)/Vice President Victor Berger (SL-WI)-164 EV, 26.8%
Governor Al Smith (D-NY)/Congressman Alexander Mitchell Palmer (D-PA)-143 EV, 24.8% of the popular vote.
Former Congressman William Jennings Bryan (CD-NE)/State Representative John Butler (CD-TE)-28 EV, 13.4% of the popular vote.
Mr. Henry Ford (NR-MI)/Congressman Louis McFadden (NR-PA)-4.8% of the popular vote.
Other (Communist, States Rights, Farmers)-0.3% of the popular vote.

House:
133 Socialist Labor
96 Democratic
89 Christian Democrats
84 Republican
34 National Republican

Senate:
29 Socialist Labor
28 Republican
23 Democratic
11 National Republican
9 Christian Democrats

President Sinclair was able to gain the support of the Republicans in the House. However, they were only 1 vote short of a majority. The Democrats and National Republicans were adamant in their opposition to prohibition, so the Christian Democrats who held the balance of power. When the Socialist Labor Party and Republicans pledged to not push civil rights legislation, the Christian Democrats were won over, and the House reelected Upton Sinclair as President. The Socialist Laborites and Republicans in the Senate united around Irvine Lenroot.
I think this scenario gives us a chance to redo the last list with a better background. I will let the next couple of posts decide if we want to do that or not. I am enjoying this one a lot.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Presidents of the United States
18. Horatio Seymour (D-NY), 1869-1877.
19. John Hartranft (R-PA), 1877-1882.
20. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1882-1885.
21. Samuel Tilden (D-NY), 1885-1886.
22. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1886-1890.
23. Grover Cleveland (D-NY), 1890-1897.
24. William McKinley (R-OH), 1897-1905.
25. Eugene Debs (LS-IN), 1905-1909.
26. Nelson Aldrich (R-RI), 1909-1913.
27. Champ Clark (D-MO), 1913-1917.
28. Upton Sinclair (SL-NJ), 1917-??

Vice Presidents of the United States.
17. Francis Blair (D-MO), 1869-1877.
18. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1877-1882.
Vacant, 1882-1885.
19. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1885-1886.
Vacant, 1886-1889.
20. Grover Cleveland (D-NY), 1889-1890.
Vacant, 1890-1893
21. Horace Boies (D-IA), 1890-1897.
22. Levi P. Morton (R-NY), 1897-1905.
23. John W. Kern (LS-IN), 1905-1909.
24. Philander C. Knox (R-PA), 1909-1913.
25. William Smith (R-MI), 1913-1917.
26. Victor Berger (SL-WI), 1917-1921.
27. Irvine Lenroot (R-WI), 1921-??

[Knives]

Bags next entry, also a really good list.

[Knives]

As Sinclair came into his second term the country was facing many problems, the rising abuse and rape of women and increasing fights around bars a clubs lead to stricter regulations on the gaming, alcohol industries with some areas in cities no longer being allowed to sell alcohol. The illegal activities quickly subsided and support for Sinclair grew, and in 1922 despite harsh opposition from the right with the support of the Democrats and Christian Democrats he was able to pass his Medicare and Medicade acts which would become known as Social Security. He also passed the Education of 1922 which saw a major increase on education funding. His popularity continued to rise and in 1923 calls came for Lenroot to step down and Berger to replace him, realizing his dilemma Lenroot swapped to the Socialist Labor party to a wave of criticism from them right.

The Socialist Labor party faced two strong candidates for president in Lenroot and Berger but after Lenroot announced he would be quitting politics former Vice President Victor Berger was chosen as Presidential candidate for the Socialist Labor Party with Governor of New York Franklin D. Roosevelt to be VP.

The Republicans once again nominated Herbert Hoover hoping he would be able to get the victory they believed he deserved, with him they nominated Calvin Collidge for VP, he was widely tipped to make a run for president but was said to have been told not to by his wife.

The Democratic convention once again fell into disarray as anti-Segregationists took control of the convention and ended up nominating Thomas R. Marshall instead of the extremely popular Woodrow Wilson. To appease the party Wilson was chosen as the VP nominee, but that didn't stop the party from being labelled the communists lap-dog a reference to the Socialist Labor parties anti-Segregation platform.

Meanwhile the Christian Democrats announced Billy Sunday as their Presidential nominee as staunch conservative and only a party member due to their Christian values he successfully lobbied for platform and name changed becoming the Christians of America party, their platform advocated low taxes, segregation and opposed social security. William Jennings was chosen as the VP nominee.

The National Republicans would later announce their endorsement of the Christians of America party with all House and Senate members switching to that party.

The election for the first time in many years had a clear winner.

Fmr. Vice President Victor Berger (SL-WI)/ Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt (SL-NY) - 359 EV and 41.3% Popular Vote.
Fmr. Governor Thomas R. Marshall (D-IN)/ Fmr. Governor Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ) - 87 EV and 21.2% Popular Vote
Mr. Herbert Hoover (R-IA)/ Fmr. Governor Calvin Cooldige (R-MA) - 40 EV and 17.5% Popular Vote
Pastor Bill Sunday (CR-IA)/ Fmr. Congressman William J. Bryan (CR-IL) - 45 EV and 15.3% Popular Vote
Others - 4.7%

House:
204 Socialist Labor
91 Republicans
69 Democrats
54 Christians of America
12 Farmers of America
6   Protect our Lands (A small environmentalist party based in New England)

Senate:
36 Socialist Labor
21 Democrats
21 Republicans
10 Christians of America
6 Peace and Liberty
3 Farmers of America
2 Protect our Lands

President Berger managed to get the Democrats, Peace & Libertarians and Protect our Landers
to caucus with him giving him a 65 seat majority in the Senate and a 281 majority in the house.

[Kitteh]

1928
The two-party system in the United States had long considered dead for some time now, but the rise of a number of small parties in the 1924 election final convinced everyone that the current first-past-the-post system was unsustainable. In 1925 the 19th Amendment was passed, which set up a system of instant runoff voting for all house and senate elections, and a two-round runoff system for president (in this timeline there was no national prohibition amendment so our 19th amendment was the 18th and so forth). In order to satisfy the smaller states, the electoral college was preserved, with the top two candidates in terms of EVs advancing to the second round.

The 1928 election featured a more heavy emphasis on foreign policy than any other election since WWI. Europe had been devastated by WWI, and this had lead to the rise of radical movements across the continent. Russia had gotten out of the war early due to the 1917 revolution. Because of this the new Soviet Union was recovering faster than the rest of Europe, and many working-class Europeans looked to the Communist state as a model to emulate. Communist movements took power in Hungary and subsequently in Romania following the Hungarian-Romanian war, and worker's strikes and riots had already broken out in the United Kingdom and France, which were just barely suppressed. A civil war between forces supporting the Kaiser and Communist revolutionaries had begun in Germany in 1921, but after a long struggle the Monarchist forces triumphed in 1926. The victorious conservative forces were convinced that democracy was inherently unstable, and in the aftermath of the war media baron Alfred Hugenberg and his Deutschnationale Volkspartei, (DNVP) established an authoritarian regime with the support of the Kaiser. Meanwhile, Benito Mussolini had taken power in Italy as the head of a fascist movement, and the Mussolini and Hugenberg governments formed a close alliance to fight against Communism.

The ripple effects of these events were felt in the United States. Many on the left wing of the Socialist Labor party supported the Communist movements of Europe. The majority of the party was ambivalent to the Communists and opposed entangling the United States in European affairs. During the German Civil War some Socialist Labor party members (especially German-Americans, who were a strong constituency for the party, proposed financially supporting the Communist side, but this idea was strongly opposed by the other parties and shot down by the Socialist Labor leadership. President Berger was personally sympathetic to the concerns of the left, especially given his Austrian Jewish heritage, but he remained silent on the issue, preferring instead a policy of containing fascism in Europe diplomatically through the League of Nations, while remaining neutral, although friendly towards the Communist states of Europe. This left the United States without any clear allies, as the governments of the UK and France were still angry at the Americans for not intervening in WWI, and without much international support Berger's valued League of Nations quickly became little more than a joke.

In the 1928 election, the Socialist Labor party renominated President Berger and Vice President Roosevelt. They campaigned on the strength of the economy, while largely avoiding foreign policy and downplaying the divisive anti-segregation and anti-prohibition stances in their platform.

The Democratic party nominated Governor and former candidate Al Smith for President and Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee for Vice President. In response to the nomination of an anti-segregation and anti-prohibition ticket for the third time, many Southern conservatives walked out of the Democratic convention and joined the Christians of America party (which in response renamed itself for the third time as the Christian Alliance). Many commentators noted the increasingly similarity of the Democratic and Socialist Labor platforms, which at this point only differed slightly on economic issues where the Democrats were somewhat more moderate.

On the Republican side, Calvin Coolidge finally got his chance to be nominated for president, and chose former Illinois governor Frank Lowden as his running mate. Coolidge campaigned on  a platform of lower taxes, smaller government, and an isolationist foreign policy.

The newly renamed Christian Alliance once again nominated popular evangelist Bill Sunday for President, along with former Democratic senator James Reed of Missouri for Vice President. The Christian party had managed to spread it's message widely through the sermons of a number of evangelists, including Sunday and the newly rising Charles Coughlin. The Sunday campaign's rallies attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees, far more than any other candidate's. The Christian Alliance platform strongly opposed the "Godless Communism" in Europe and supported the regimes of Hugenberg and Mussolini. Sunday attacked the Socialist Labor Party as Communist sympathizers, and launched anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic attacks against Smith and Berger, respectively. The Christian Alliance party was also opposed to the capitalist platform of the Republican party, however, which they blamed for fueling Communism.

This election was also the first in which the Communist party was a significant force. The Communists nominated William Foster for President and Earl Browder for Vice President, and picked up significant support from radical workers and left-wing Socialist Labor supporters, attacking the government for being insufficiently committed to socialism and allowing the victory of the Right in the German Civil War.

First Round results:

President Victor L. Berger (SL-WI)/Vice President Franklin D. Roosevelt (SL-NY) 194 EVs, 32.1% of the popular vote
Pastor Billy Sunday (CA-IA)/Senator James Reed (CA-MO) 121 EVs, 25.3% of the popular vote
Fmr Governor Calvin Coolidge (R-MA)/Fmr Governor Frank Lowden (R-IL) 121 EVs, 23.2% of the popular vote
Fmr Governor Al Smith (D-NY)/Senator Cordell Hull (D-TN) 55 EVs, 15.5% of the popular vote
William Foster (C-MA)/Earl Browder (C-NY) 0 EVs, 3.9% of the popular vote

President Berger came out on top in the first round, and went into a runoff against Sunday. The Democrats and Communists endorsed Berger in the second round, while the Republicans remained neutral.

Second Round:

President Victor L. Berger (SL-WI)/Vice President Franklin D. Roosevelt (SL-NY) 334 EVs, 56.3% of the popular vote
Pastor Billy Sunday (CA-IA)/Senator James Reed (CA-MO) 197 EVs, 44.7% of the popular vote

House:
172 Socialist Labor
109 Christian Alliance
71 Republicans
45 Democrats
3 Communists
15 Others

Senate:
34 Socialist Labor
21 Republicans
20 Christian Alliance
13 Democrats

11 others

[Knives]

1932
After the 1928 election a lot of questions were raised as whether the Socialists would interfere in the rise of European fascist dictators and in 1929 it was leaked that the Socialists had considered funding an German and Italian revolution but had backed after fearing internal repercussions. News of this spread to the League of Nations in which the Germans and Italians called for punishment over the potential threat to their sovereignty. Despite all these cries Berger managed to sway new Prime Minister of the UK Ramasay MacDonald and French president Gaston Doumergue into his good books. These strong ties he now held with France, Great Britain the Soviets, Cuba and Mexico strengthened the US's position in the world and together they squashed the Italian and German screams by saying they should be punished for human rights breaches. Hitler would later famously retorted.

'They say we abuse humans, they're economical system is an abuse of humans.'

Together with new alliances formed US exports of manufactured goods exploded with companies like Kellogg, Ford, Chrysler and Pfizer becoming well known international brands. With a booming manufacturing and business sector the presidency of Berger was strengthened when the Socialists made enormous gains in the House & Senate in 1930. However ongoing racial violence and intolerance continued to grow in the southern states which led to Berger's 1930 act to end all segregation and in 1931 his laws were passed resulting in an unprecedented attack on African Americans in the South. Leaders of the civil rights movements including Martin Luther King Sr and others called for the president to intervene in these ruthless attacks on human life. In 1931 for the first time in a long time martial law was declared in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia. Withing a matter of months public executions of African Americans greatly decreased and the leadership of the KKK was all but decimated. Despite the success pastor Billy Sunday labelled these attacks on the Southern people a disgrace and once again announced his run for president of the United States.

While the US maid inroads on ending racial hatred in the East the rise of Japanese hatred towards Chinese men and women and the German attacks on the Jewish people lead to what would be called 'the Speech of the Minority' a famous speech by President Berger when he addressed the League of Nations in 1932. An excerpt included

"We will no longer stand for this vile and disgusting behavior of the Japanese and German nations, we are all the same we are all made the same and the fact some people have the audacity to claim they are better sickens me."

This was the last speech President Berger would ever make in front of the League of Nations as he would die in office two weeks later of a massive heart attack. His state funeral was attended by all living former presidents and many international dignitaries. FDR would assume the remaining few months of his presidency. He would go down as one of the greatest Presidents of all time.

The Socialist Labor party had no challenge nominating President Franklin D. Roosevelt for president, they made an enormous move by nominating Fmr. Governor of Massachusetts and the first ever female VP candidate Frances Perkins.

Meanwhile for the third time in a row Pastor Bill Sunday was once again nominated by the Christian Alliance winning every single delegate vote at their convention. Controversy erupted at the convention when William J Simmons leader of the KKK was nominated for VP, causing quite a few minority members to erupt in anger screaming 'Hatred is not the act of God!'

The Democrats nominated Governor of Ohio George White, hoping his charm and charisma would put them onto the second ballot after having missed out last time, realizing they could win Ohio to strengthened their position they nominated Fmr. Governor of Ohio James M. Cox.

Charles Curtis won the Republican nomination choosing business man Frank Knox as his VP.

Republicans and the Christian Alliance together campaigned against the end of Segregation and the godless policies of the Socialist Party. They stood together on lower taxes, smaller government and a creation of the America bill which would make English the official language and Christianity the official religion.

The Socialists campaigned on the strong economy and their strong position in the world while Dem's campaigned they were the more moderate party, both tried to ignore their anti-segregation platform hoping they'd be able to win support in the south.

The first ballot was held one week before the second ballot with results as follow,

President Franklin D Roosevelt (SL-NY)/ Fmr. Governor Frances Perkins (SL-NY) - 288 EV & 36.3% Popular Vote
Pastor Billy Sunday (CA-IA)/ Mr. William J Simmons (CA-GA) - 91 EV & 21.3% Popular Vote
Governor George White (D-OH)/ Fmr. Governor James M. Cox (D-OH) 81 EV & 23.4% Popular Vote
Senator Charles Curtis (R-KS)/ Mr. Frank Knox (R-IL) 71 EV & 19.0% Popular Vote

Despite a lower Popular Vote the Christian Alliance went onto the second round with the Democrats calling it a slap in the face to the votes of America.

President Franklin D Roosevelt (SL-NY)/ Fmr. Governor Frances Perkins (SL-NY) - 357 EV & 60.2% Popular Vote
Pastor Billy Sunday (CA-IA)/ Mr. William J Simmons (CA-GA) - 174 EV & 39.8% Popular Vote

House
201 Socialist Labor
98 Christian Alliance
76 Democrats
46 Republicans
7 Communists
7 Others

SA, D, C and others caucus together.

Senate
41 Socialist Labor
22 Democrats
21 Christian Alliance
12 Republicans
4 Communists


The election was hailed an enormous success for the left in the US and the world.

[Kitteh]

1936
After 1936, it was clear to most that Socialist Labor had become the dominant party of America. Socialist Labor had won four consecutive elections and they still held a majority in Congress counting their close allies the Democrats (who by this point were pretty clearly a junior partner of the Socialists rather than a fully independent political party). The Socialist Labor party had passed through a number of wide-ranging reforms that had turned the United States into comprehensive welfare state with universal national healthcare, old age pensions, unemployment benefits, and a strong public school and university system, and the American National Bank, all of which were the envy of the world. In a country deeply divided along racial, religious, and regional lines, Socialist Labor was the only party that enjoyed broad national support. Some commentators even predicted that Socialist Labor would lead the country for the rest of the 20th century.

However, a number of events would come together to bring down the Socialist Labor government. The first was the outbreak of the Spanish civil war in 1933. Roosevelt was highly opposed to letting another nation in Europe fall to Fascism, and his administration decided to intervene heavily on the Republican side. The United States sent money and military advisers to Spain, used the United States navy to blockade Nationalist-controlled ports to block German and Italian aid, and supplied the Republican government with hundreds of tanks and airplanes.  The intervention was extremely controversial, and in the 1934 midterm elections Socialist Labor and their allies narrowly lost their majority in Congress.

The Republican side triumphed with American support in 1935. Unfortunately, the new Republican government was very unstable, and only a few months after the war another war broke out between moderate Republicans and radical Communists supported by the USSR. Due to the heavy intervention of the Soviet union, the Communists triumphed, and by 1936 Spain was under the control of an authoritarian, Soviet-aligned Communist government. This was seen as a major embarrassment to Roosevelt, and turned Americans strongly against the war.

The worst was yet to come for the government, however. The war had been a major boost for American manufacturing, but the end of the war led to the closure of many factories that had been producing military equipment. Combined with a slowing economy in Western Europe and contractionary monetary policy by the National Bank (which restricted the money supply because it believed that inflation was a major threat), the United States economy collapsed. The Roosevelt administration wanted to respond with major public works programs to fight unemployment, but they were opposed in Congress by the Republicans (who preferred a laissez-faire approach) and the Christian Alliance (who supported the idea in theory but didn't want to do anything that might help the Roosevelt administration just before an election), and none of President Roosevelt's major initiatives were able to pass Congress. The economy only got worse without any intervention from the government.

By the time the 1936 Socialist Labor convention rolled around, President Roosevelt was deeply unpopular, with an approval rating in the 20s according to opinion polls (a new invention). Nevertheless, he was nominated for reelection along with Vice President Perkins with no significant opposition from his own party. The Democrats also declined to nominate their own candidate and instead supported the Roosevelt-Perkins ticket.

The Christian Alliance party was benefiting strongly from the collapse of Socialist Labor. However, the popularity of its longtime leader Billy Sunday was fading, as his style of massive public preaching was being replaced by new radio-based preachers such as Father Charles Coughlin. Coughlin was widely expected to challenge Sunday for the nomination, however he surprisingly decided not to run and instead endorsed Governor Huey Long of Louisiana, a former Socialist Labor member who had defected to the Alliance after the federal intervention against the KKK int he south. Long faced a tough battle against the deeply entrenched Sunday, however his charismatic speech on the convention floor sealed the nomination. Long chose Gerald L. K. Smith as his running mate, and ran on an extremely populist platform calling for massive wealth redistribution and public spending to fight unemployment, which appealed to many working class former Socialist Labor supporters. The Christian Alliance also strongly opposed Communism in Europe, supported the Hugenberg and Mussolini governments, called for high tariffs and restriction of immigration, and warned of the influence of the "International Jewish Conspiracy."

The Republican party nominated New Hampshire Governor Henry Styles Bridges for president and Kansas Governor Alf Landon for vice president. The Republicans had seen a rise in support among the nation's growing middle class and they were strong contenders for the presidency. Bridges and Landon campaigned on a platform calling for cutting back the size of government, reducing taxes, and abolishing the National Bank. The Republicans also called for high tariffs to protect American manufacturing.

Also running was Congressman Norman Thomas of New York, a former left-wing Socialist Labor representative who had switched to the Communist party. Thomas ran to the left of Roosevelt, saying that the president had no interest in true wealth redistribution and was too unsupportive of the Soviet Union. Thomas chose famous activist Helen Keller as his running mate and picked up the support of many former Socialist Labor supporters.

The first round of the election was extremely close. President Roosevelt ran an extremely vigorous campaign defending his record and attacking the opposition parties for blocking all efforts to help the economy in Congress. But with voter fatigue after 20 years of Socialist Labor rule, the economic depression, the defection of many of his supporters and terrible approval ratings he failed to make it into the second round.

Governor Henry Styles Bridges (R-NH) 237 EVs, 30.9% of the popular vote
Governor Huey Long (CA-LA)/Mr Gerald L.K. Smith (CA-MO) 231 EVs, 31.1% of the popular vote
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (SL-NY)/Vice President Frances Perkins (SL-NY) 63 EVs, 27.6% of the popular vote
Congressman Norman Thomas (C-NY)/Ms Helen Keller (C-CT) 0 EVs, 10.4% of the popular vote

(It is speculated that had he not run, most of Thomas's support would have gone for Roosevelt, putting him in the second round)

The second round was extremely close. A number of Socialist Labor supporters found Long's economic views appealing, but Long's antisemitism and Protestant nativism was deeply unpopular among the Socialist Labor base of Catholics, "ethnic" whites, and Jews. President Roosevelt did not endorse either candidate in the 2nd round, and Thomas called for his supporters to sit the 2nd round out. There were large protests against both candidates, with hundreds of thousands of leftists taking to the streets in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Milwaukee, among other places.

The second round was extremely close and the outcome was not known for days following the election:

Governor Henry Styles Bridges (R-NH)/Governor Alf Landon (R-KS) 281 EVs, 50.7% of the popular vote
Governor Huey Long (CA-LA)/Mr Gerald L.K. Smith (CA-MO) 250 EVs, 49.3% of the popular vote

Congress was similarly divided:

House
147 Republicans
140 Christian Alliance
81 Socialist Labor
27 Democrats
18 Communists
11 Others

Senate:
32 Christian Alliance
31 Republicans
25 Socialist Labor
6 Democrats
4 Communists
2 Others

The Republicans and the Christian Alliance combined could get a majority, but they disagreed on almost every issue except tariffs and immigration restrictions. Socialist Labor and the Christian Alliance also theoretically agreed on some economic issues, but President Bridges was strongly opposed to any deficit spending and the Republicans had just enough votes in the House to block a veto override. Commentators predicted lots of fighting in the next government.

[Kitteh]

Also, I really like how this timeline is going. Good job everyone!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1940
President Bridges became the first authentic right wing President since Cleveland when he took office. Almost immediately, President Bridges took on the labor unions in congress, attempting to pass a bill that would greatly restrict the rights of unions to collectively bargain, as well as their rights to organize for politicians. The plan was overwhelmingly defeated, and it tainted the Presidents relation with Congress. His plans to partially privatize the central bank was shelved soon after.

Despite his low popularity, President Bridges easily overcame a convention challenge by his own Commerce Secretary, Herbert Hoover. President Bridges and Vice President Landon went into the election with an uphill battle ahead of them.

The Democratic Party dissolved in 1939, with their supporters heading mostly towards the Socialist Labor. The Socialist Labor convention resulted in former Vice President Perkins being unamiously nominated as the first female nominee of a major party for President. The convention then elected former Iowa Governor Henry Wallace as the Vice Presidential nominee.

The Christian Alliance Party was expected to nominate Governor Huey Long again. He declined to run, and a relatively obscure Congressman from North Dakota won the nomination. Activist Francis Townsend won the Vice Presidential nomination. The Christian Alliance Party platform remained the same as 1936, with the controversial addition of support for a controversial amendment to the constitution that would have restricted citizenship to people of the “American race.” No definition of the “American race” was specified.

The Communist Party nominated its chairman, William Foster, and Congressman Frank Zeidler as its ticket. The party was growing, and 1940 was the year they planned to win their first electoral votes. And that they did, with heavy support in states like Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan, which they won.

In the end, the race became a battle between the Christian Alliance and Socialists. The Republicans held strong in the west, but failed to win over the unionized industrial Midwest. The Socialists Labor Party was able regain influence in the Midwest because of President Bridges policies regarding Labor.

Former Vice President Frances Perkins (SL-NY)/Former Governor Henry Wallace (SL-IA)-244 EV, 32.5% of the popular vote.
Former Congressman William Lemke (CA-ND)/Mr. Francis Townsend (CA-CA)-169 EV, 30.2% of the popular vote.
President Henry Styles Bridges (R-NH)/Vice President Alf Landon (R-KS)-99 EV, 25.4% of the popular vote.
Mr. William Foster (C-MA)/Congressman Frank Zeidler (C-WI)-19 EV, 10.0% of the popular vote.
Other (Labor, Prohibition, Liberty)-1.9% of the popular vote.
The Republicans begrudgingly united around William Lemke, but he failed to beat out Perkins, who was able to rally most of the Communists and former Democrats around her, which helped her in her quest to become the first ever female President of the United States.

Former Vice President Frances Perkins (SL-NY)/Former Governor Henry Wallace (SL-IA)-294 EV, 54.8% of the popular vote.
Former Congressman William Lemke (CA-ND)/Mr. Francis Townsend (CA-CA)-237 EV, 45.2% of the popular vote.

House
125 Socialist Labor
124 Christian Alliance
120 Republicans
66 Communists

Senate
30 Christian Alliance
30 Republicans
30 Socialist Labor
10 Communists

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Presidents of the United States
18. Horatio Seymour (D-NY), 1869-1877.
19. John Hartranft (R-PA), 1877-1882.
20. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1882-1885.
21. Samuel Tilden (D-NY), 1885-1886.
22. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1886-1890.
23. Grover Cleveland (D-NY), 1890-1897.
24. William McKinley (R-OH), 1897-1905.
25. Eugene Debs (LS-IN), 1905-1909.
26. Nelson Aldrich (R-RI), 1909-1913.
27. Champ Clark (D-MO), 1913-1917.
28. Upton Sinclair (SL-NJ), 1917-1925.
29. Victor Berger (SL-WI), 1925-1933.
30. Franklin Roosevelt (SL-NY), 1933-1937.
31. Henry Styles Bridges (R-NH), 1937-1941.
32. Frances Perkins (SL-MA), 1941-??

Vice Presidents of the United States.
17. Francis Blair (D-MO), 1869-1877.
18. Arthur Boreman (R-WV), 1877-1882.
Vacant, 1882-1885.
19. Thomas Hendricks (D-IN), 1885-1886.
Vacant, 1886-1889.
20. Grover Cleveland (D-NY), 1889-1890.
Vacant, 1890-1893
21. Horace Boies (D-IA), 1890-1897.
22. Levi P. Morton (R-NY), 1897-1905.
23. John W. Kern (LS-IN), 1905-1909.
24. Philander C. Knox (R-PA), 1909-1913.
25. William Smith (R-MI), 1913-1917.
26. Victor Berger (SL-WI), 1917-1921.
27. Irvine Lenroot (R-WI), 1921-1925.
28. Franklin Roosevelt (SL-NY), 1925-1933.
29. Frances Perkins (SL-MA), 1933-1937.
30. Alf Landon (R-KS), 1937-1941.
31. Henry Wallace (SL-IA), 1941-??