The American Monarchy

[Lief 🗽]

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. New Mexico it is then.

[Lief 🗽]

I'll update soon, don't worry. Just very busy.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarch: 1906 - 1909

In December 1906, Prime Minister Mark Hanna suffered a mild heart attack in his home in Ohio. This added to increasing concerns about the Prime Minister’s failing health. The 69-year-old Hanna refused to resign his position, however, and in 1907 was instrumental in passing the Frye Tariff, raising tariffs to their highest levels in American history. Following the passage of the tariff, a triumphant, but frail, Hanna called for elections, which King Robert II scheduled for the summer. Before any party conventions could take place, however, Crown Prince George married Alice Lee Roosevelt, daughter of the Secretary of War and member of the influential Roosevelt family. The American people quickly fell in love with Princess Alice. At the Populist convention in Baltimore, Tom Watson was once again nominated as the leader of the party. The 49-year-old accused the Liberals and SDP of endangering American lives and interests by allying with a belligerent European power. The SDP held their convention in Chicago, where Eugene Debs blasted the Liberals for stepping on the workers in favor of the rich. Finally, the Liberal Party held their convention in Ontario. Mark Hanna’s old age and poor health visibly showed, and it was a shock to many at the convention when he failed to win re-nomination on the first ballot. There were strong draft efforts for both William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, though none of them dared officially challenge the Prime Minister. Despite concerns about his health, Hanna won re-nomination on the second ballot. On Election Day in July, the Liberal Party retained their majority, though they lost a number of seats to the SDP and Populists.

The Senate after the Election of 1907:
Liberal Party: 223 Seats (-10)
Populist Party: 111 Seats (+15)
Social Democratic Party: 88 Seats (+15)
Total: 422 Seats



Mark Hanna once again became Prime Minister when the Senate reconvened that fall. Hanna rarely attended Senate meetings however, instead resting in his home in Ohio, and Deputy Prime Minister William McKinley more or less ran the show. McKinley and Secretary of War Roosevelt passed a number of bills through the end of 1907, further expanding the army and commissioning a number of new battleships modeled after the recently built HMS Dreadnought. In early 1908, Mark Hanna returned to the Senate, and in a frail voice called for the building of a canal in Panama¹, as part of the strengthening of the United State Royal Navy. The Columbian government, however, refused to sell the United States the Isthmus of Panama. King Robert II ordered three warships to the Panamanian-Columbian coast. When the Columbian’s still refused to sell the isthmus, Mark Hanna called for a declaration of war, and the Royal Council declared war on Columbia, by a vote of 28 to 18.

The war was short, and after a month, the United States had taken control of the entire region of Panama. The Columbian government, shocked that the United States actually went ahead with the invasion, surrendered quickly, and the United States annexed Panama with the passage of the Panama Act in the summer of 1908, setting aside the area as a territory. But the most important event of that summer, at least in the short run, was the death of Mark Hanna of a stroke in Washington at the age of 70. William McKinley immediately became acting Prime Minister, and the Senate was set to officially vote for him as Prime Minister on August 3rd.


Prime Minister William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt, on the other hand, had different plans. He and his supporters in the Liberal Party put him up for Prime Minister. For the first time in most American lifetimes, the vote for Prime Minister did not return a majority on the first ballot.

First Ballot
William McKinley: 159 Votes
Thomas E. Watson: 103 Votes
Eugene V. Debs: 74 Votes
Theodore Roosevelt: 54 Votes
Needed to Win: 196

William McKinley, still acting Prime Minister, delayed the second ballot until the next week, as about forty Senators had not attended the vote, as the result was supposed to be already decided. In the week-long recess, Roosevelt lobbied centrist Populists and Liberals to vote for him, while at the same time trying to keep his original base intact. At the same time William McKinley lobbied those who had broken with him and supported Roosevelt, in an effort to gain a majority and avoid the dissolution of parliament and an election. The second ballot, however, proved inconclusive.

Second Ballot
William McKinley: 139 Votes
Theodore Roosevelt: 102 Votes
Thomas E. Watson: 93 Votes
Eugene V. Debs: 88 Votes
Needed to Win: 212

On the third ballot, more Liberals and Populists broke with their parties, while Debs’ SDP vote remained solid.

Third Ballot
William McKinley: 127 Votes
Theodore Roosevelt: 123 Votes
Eugene V. Debs: 88 Votes
Thomas E. Watson: 84 Votes
Needed to Win: 212

As the day ended, King Robert II publicly threatened McKinley that if he could not gain a majority by the fifth ballot the next day, Robert would call for new elections. McKinley, ever the scheming politician, once again postponed the vote for a week, giving him time to lobby his party for votes. However, a week later, the fourth ballot showed little movement for him.

Fourth Ballot
William McKinley: 147 Votes
Theodore Roosevelt: 106 Votes
Eugene V. Debs: 88 Votes
Thomas E. Watson: 81 Votes
Needed to Win: 212

But on the fifth ballot, McKinley’s support once again crumbled.

Fifth Ballot
Theodore Roosevelt: 141 Votes
William McKinley: 114 Votes
Eugene V. Debs: 88 Votes
Thomas E. Watson: 79 Votes
Needed to Win: 212

A defeated William McKinley, after the results of the fifth ballot, complained of dizziness and chest pains, and was quickly rushed out of the chamber by his aids. With McKinley out of the chamber, Elihu Root, the next highest ranking government member, was, by Senate rules, the temporary head of the chamber. Unfortunately for the McKinley faction, Root was also a Roosevelt supporter. Within minutes of taking control, Root opened a vote of no confidence as per the King’s wishes. Debate lasted only a few minutes, as none of the Senators had anything to say that hadn’t already been said in between ballots. The Prime Minister lost the no confidence vote 98 to 324. McKinley never found out that he had lost a vote of no confidence though: McKinley collapsed minutes after being rushed out of the Senate, and died of an apparent heart attack minutes later. By the time the vote had occurred, McKinley had already been dead for nearly ten minutes. Elihu Root, as Deputy Prime Minister at McKinley's death, became Prime Minister (though he would only serve for a few months, and never over actual legislation).


Prime Minister Elihu Root

In September 1908, the Populists and SDP held their conventions in Denver and Chicago, respectively. Both Thomas Watson and Eugene Debs were re-nominated on the first ballot. Both the Populists and SDP were confident in victory, as the Liberals were clearly divided. The Liberal convention, in late September, proved Debs and Watson right. Held in Boston, the two main candidates quickly became Theodore Roosevelt and Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois. Though Cannon was in his seventies, he was nonetheless a colossal figure in the Liberal party. Roosevelt gave a stirring speech, but he lacked establishment support within the party. Elihu Root (who had become Prime Minister following McKinley’s death) gave the next speech at the convention, but it was clear that the party bosses would not support Roosevelt. On the first ballot, Cannon secured 63% of the vote, though among delegates who were Senators, Roosevelt won with 53% of the vote. But, with the support of party leaders, Cannon was nonetheless confirmed as the Liberal Party Leader. A number of pro-Roosevelt Liberals walked out of the convention, but Roosevelt remained, and endorsed Cannon.

¹A failed revolution had embroiled Panama in 1903, but the Columbians had crushed it by 1904. Panamanian leaders had called for American assistance, but the United States had been too focused on Cuba at the time.

[Lief 🗽]

Too many characters, so I divided the update into two.

The campaign proved to be a close one. While there was no agreement between the national Populist Party and SDP, numerous state organizations acted together, running only one candidate or the other in districts that the Liberals had picked up with only a plurality. This strategy (employed in about thirty states), as well as fractures within the Liberal party, allowed the SDP and Populists to make solid gains that November, though neither was able to claim a majority. Continuing economic prosperity was also able to stem Liberal losses.

The Senate after the Election of 1908:
Liberal Party: 155 Seats (-68)
Populist Party: 163 Seats (+52)
Social Democratic Party: 104 Seats (+16)
Total: 422 Seats


 
The Senate met again in January 1909, where the vote for Prime Minister was once again up in the air. On the first ballot, each party voted for its respective leader.

First Ballot
Thomas E. Watson: 163 votes
Joseph G. Cannon: 155 votes
Eugene V. Debs: 104 votes
Needed to win: 212 votes

The second and third ballot returned similar results, and the Senate adjourned for the day. That evening, Theodore Roosevelt and leaders from the Populist Party met in Washington. Though Roosevelt personally despised Thomas, he realized his opportunity to gain a place in the government. The next morning, Roosevelt met with his supporters in the Liberal Party and told them what to do. The fourth ballot that day stunned leaders of the Liberal Party and SDP.

Fourth Ballot
Thomas E. Watson: 236 votes
Eugene V. Debs: 104 votes
Joseph G. Cannon: 82 votes
Needed to win: 212 votes

In return for Roosevelt’s support, Watson gave the New York Senator the most influential position in the cabinet, Secretary of State. However, Roosevelt and his supporters were kicked out of the Liberal Party for, in Cannon’s word, their “betrayal”, and they officially become independents. Nonetheless, the 52-year-old Thomas E. Watson had been re-elected as Prime Minister, and was able to serve a rare third term, at an age when most politicians were just beginning their careers.


Prime Minister Thomas E. Watson

The Government as of January 1909:
Prime Minister: Thomas Watson (P-GA)
Deputy Prime Minister: John Albert Johnson (P-MN)
Majority Whip: Robert La Follette (P-WI)
Secretary of State: Theodore Roosevelt (I-NY)
Secretary of the Treasury: William J. Bryan (P-NE)
Secretary of War: James W. Bryan (I-TX)
Attorney General: Gifford Pinchot (I-PA)

[Lief 🗽]

Update tonight.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1909 - 1912

In March of 1909, Thomas E. Watson proposed an agenda for the coming year: focused on reform, he would slash tariffs and regulate business. While the agenda was supported by Roosevelt’s independents and a majority of Populists, a handful of leftist Populists and the SDP decried Watson for such a moderate reform agenda. In Appeal To Reason, the SDP’s leading newspaper, “Sergeant” Debs said that Watson was propping up a “dying” system whose “extremities were already decomposing.” Nonetheless, in the summer of 1909, the Populist-Independent coalition passed the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act, by margins of 334 to 80 and 320 to 93. Both acts were celebrated by SDP activist and journalist Upton Sinclair. The year ended with 19-year-old Prince Charles’ marriage to German Princess Viktoria Luise, cementing the alliance between the two nations.

As the year 1909 began, the nation was shocked when the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Robert T. Lincoln¹, struck down the use of literacy tests in the state of Alabama, and thus the rest of the country, in a 5-4 decision. The Populist Governor of the state, B. B. Comer, refused to discontinue the tests, and other Southern states quickly followed. Prime Minister Watson supported Governor Comer, arguing that the issue was one of the state’s rights, and the Supreme Court had no place in intruding with decisions, like this one, that were purely up to the states to decide. His opponents, especially in the SDP, labeled him a racist.² Nonetheless, the Roosevelt independents in his coalition pushed strongly for government support of the legislation, so Watson allowed a resolution on to the floor. The resolution, which passed 221 to 195, showed the Senate’s agreement with the court decision. By April, King Robert II had threatened to send the military to Alabama to forcibly allow the registration of blacks without any sort of prior testing.

As the situation in the South worsened, Watson focused on further reform. He passed the Gronna Anti-Trust Act, which exempted trade unions and other workers’ organizations from the Coxey Anti-Trust Act. The Populists and SDP had both been vying for labor support for years, though the SDP generally had stronger backing. The law, proposed by Asle Gronna (P-DA), aimed to regain labor support for the Populist Party, especially in the Midwestern and Eastern states. The Gronna Anti-Trust Act passed 331 to 79, with strong support from Watson’s coalition and the SDP. However, in the Royal Council, which was still Liberal-controlled, the bill failed by a 21 to 26 margin. In 1910, Watson pushed for tariff reform, with support from Debs’ SDP. His first bill slashed tariff rates by nearly 50%, but it was soundly defeated in the Royal Council. Watson met with Royal Councilors that Spring, and the two chambers came up with a compromise solution, cutting tariffs, but only by about 10%. The SDP decried the compromise, but it passed in the Senate and Royal Council nonetheless.

As the November Royal Council elections approached, the situation in Alabama had still yet to calm down. King Robert II sent the army into the region in September and declared that they would remain there to protect voters from intimidation and violence on Election Day. Eugene Debs swung through Southern states, meeting with African-American leaders and selling his vision of equality and justice. On Election Day, the Populists and Liberals lost heavily, with the SDP making major gains. While the SDP campaign in the South hadn’t broken the Populists’ hold on the region, it had allowed the Liberals and SDP to gain a few Southern seats.



The Royal Council after the Election of 1910:
Liberal Party: 24 Seats (-5)
Populist Party: 8 Seats (-5)
Social Democratic Party: 16 Seats (+10)
Total: 48 Seats

Watson, though privately angry at the election results, pushed forward with his agenda. At the urging of Roosevelt, the Senate passed bills setting aside millions of acres of forests, parks and wildlife refuges. The Wilderness Act of 1911, passed by a close 227 to 193 vote, defined harsh penalties for hunting or destroy the habitat of a few specially designated “endangered species” and limited the amount of logging of certain protected forests. Attorney General Gifford Pinchot, who had been a leader of the conservation movement before being appointed to the cabinet, used the Department of Justice to strictly enforce these regulations against individuals and businesses. Debs, though personally supportive of conservationist policies, instructed his party to vote against the bills, and he accused Watson of “ignoring the worker in favor of the preservation of business’ future profits.” In the summer of 1911, Watson planned to focus on further economic regulation and another attempt to lower tariffs, but two foreign policy situations suddenly erupted. To the South, Francisco I. Madero overthrew Mexico’s President Porfirio Díaz, who escaped to the United States during the summer. King Robert II, who had worked with Díaz during and after the War of Succession, accepted the exiled President at Arlington Palace. In June, Prime Minister Watson and Robert II met in Washington, where the King told Watson that he wanted troops in Mexico to reinstate Díaz. Watson, ever the pacifist, refused, threatening the king (who was commander-in-chief) with a complete defunding of the army and navy if he even began to move forces towards Mexico. Termed the June 4th Meeting, the Prime Minister angrily stormed out of Arlington Palace when the King suggested he might be forced to use his constitutional powers to select a new Prime Minister.

Complicating matters, on July 1, 1911, two German gunboats (the Eber and Panther) were deployed to the Moroccan port of Agadir, as a move on the part of the Germans to force the French into negotiations over North Africa. As Europe came closer to war, British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith declared that his nation’s honor (and that of her allies) was more important than peace. In Paris, the French refused to negotiate with the Germans until they removed the gunboats from Agadir. As June ended, the French were preparing for a defensive war, as French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre gave up his attempts at reforming the strategic battle-plan to an offensive one. King Robert II and Prime Minister Watson pleaded with the French and German governments to stand down. In the Senate, Roosevelt, Debs and Cannon all pushed for a dramatic expansion of the army and preparations for war. Watson and the Populists refused to even consider the bill. Many pushed for Roosevelt to break from the coalition, forcing an election, but he refused to undermine the Prime Minister as negotiations were continuing. In July, the Eber and Panther remained outside Agadir. Both Germany and France were mobilizing, and Austria-Hungary and Russia were preparing to intervene on their respective allies’ behalves. Through August, both sides remained at the brink of war, while in the United States, Prime Minister Watson continued to refuse to allow war. In September, with an uneasy peace still prevailing over Europe, King Robert II and Prime Minister Watson again attempted to bring both parties to negotiations. Finally, on September 23rd, the Eber left Agadir. The French and Germans agreed to come to the table, and the Treaty of Fez was signed on January 4th, 1912, by representatives from Germany, France, Spain, Morocco and the United States (Secretary of State Roosevelt). The treaty gave control of Morocco to France, and France ceded territory in the Congo to Germany. Prime Minister Watson’s popularity surged, and he dissolved the Senate, and he publicly announced that there would be elections that year.

¹Robert T. Lincoln, the former Prime Minister, had been appointed Chief Justice in 1904, and easily confirmed by the Senate controlled by Mark Hanna. Lincoln, by taking a stand on a number of controversial issues in his 18-year term, would be regarded as one of the best chief justices. His father, Abraham Lincoln, would be widely regarded as one of the top Prime Ministers.
²Private writings by the Prime Minister released after his death would later show him to be a deeply prejudiced, racist man, and his image among Americans has depreciated considerably in recent years because of it.

[Lief 🗽]

I'll update January 3rd or so. Write now I'm swamped.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1912-1915

In 1912, Thomas Watson pushed forward with economic reform. In his first term, attempts to establish a national minimum wage had been struck down by the Supreme Court, so Watson now moved to amend the constitution to allow the federal government to set a minimum wage. Debate began on the 20th amendment to the constitution that spring, and it quickly became apparent that Watson, with support from the SDP and Roosevelt’s independents, would have the votes to pass it. On April 16th, 1912, the 20th amendment passed in the Senate by a vote of 321 to 87, and it was sent to the states for ratification. Both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition Debs celebrated the amendment as a victory for American workers. As the Senate prepared to adjourn for the summer, Prime Minister Watson pushed a new revenue bill through the Senate, further lowering the tariff and establishing an inheritance tax. While it passed overwhelmingly in the Senate, the revenue act barely passed in the Royal Council, by a vote of 25 to 22. On the final day of the session, Watson dissolved the Senate, and requested elections in November.

The big question of that summer was what would happen to Theodore Roosevelt and the independent Liberals who had followed him into a coalition with the Populists. In June, Theodore Roosevelt met with Liberal party leaders, assuring them that if he and his supporters were allowed back in the party and if he was elected party leader, he would lead the Liberals to victory that November. At the Liberal Party convention in Boston, party leaders gave Roosevelt a narrow victory on the first ballot. Writing the party platform was slightly more contentious, but by the end of the convention, both the Roosevelt-wing and the conservative wing of the party had agreed on a progressive, but pro-business, hawkish platform. The Populist convention took place in Jackson, Texas. While Watson was easily re-elected as Party Leader, the convention was split when Bob La Follette of Wisconsin asked that a plank be added to the platform opposing segregation and laws meant to decrease Black turnout in the South. Watson was livid, as a stance like that would alienate the Populist’s strongest supporters: working-class white Southerners. Put up to a vote, La Follette’s suggestion failed 73% to 27%. The SDP convention went much more smoothly, with Debs re-elected on the first ballot and the platform left unchanged.

On Election Day, the SDP saw losses, with both the Liberals and the Populists gaining similar amounts of seats. With the economy still strong, the rhetoric of the SDP was seen as radical, and voters who had briefly flirted with the SDP on foreign policy and economic issues return to the Liberals and Populists, respectively, as they were seen as the two major parties.



The Senate after the Election of 1912:
Liberal Party: 178 Seats (+23)
Populist Party: 200 Seats (+37)
Social Democratic Party: 79 Seats (-25)
Total: 457 Seats

With none of the parties gaining a majority, both Watson and Roosevelt met with Debs to negotiate a coalition. Though Debs and Watson had remained bitter enemies since their split in 1898, aside from foreign policy issues, the differences between the SDP and the Liberals were too great to form an effective coalition. With the uneasy support of the SDP and Populists, Watson was elected to a fourth term.

The Fourth Watson Cabinet (February 1913):
Prime Minister: Thomas Watson (P-GA)
Deputy Prime Minister: Robert La Follette (P-WI)
Majority Whip: Champ Clark (P-KY)
Secretary of State: Eugene V. Debs (SDP-IN)
Secretary of the Treasury: James T. Lloyd (P-MO)
Secretary of War: Victor Berger (SDP-NY)
Attorney General: William B. Wilson (SDP-PA)
Secretary of the Interior: Frank Oliver (P-ON)
Secretary of Agriculture: Andrew Volstead (P-WI)

When the Senate met that spring, Watson announced that he would allow all bills to the floor, from any party, dealing with the military, and that all votes on such bills would be strictly conscience votes. Many speculated that this new policy had been part of the deal struck between Debs and Watson. Debate quickly turned to the Creel-Longworth Military Readiness Act, written by Nicholas Longworth (L-OH) and George Creel (L-CA). The act called for the enlistment of 2 million men in preparation for war. It also set aside millions of dollars in further naval investments. While Debs supported a stronger navy, he was wary of increasing the size of the army so radically. The Secretary of State and SDP leader eventually voted for the bill, which passed with near unanimous Liberal support, strong SDP support, and a solid chunk of Populist defectors, by a vote of 262 to 191. The bill passed in the Royal council overwhelmingly (32 to 14).

Following the defeat over the Creel-Longworth Act (which Watson had strongly opposed), he moved forward with radical reforms. First was the Fair Railroad Act, nationalizing some of the largest, most frequently traveled railroad lines in the country. In his second and third terms, Watson had tried to use regulation to bring railroad prices and working conditions under control, but with those solutions now failed, he returned to one of the more radical planks from his first election. Debs and the SDP whole-heartedly supported the move, but there was staunch opposition from the Liberals and even some conservatives within Watson’s own party. Though it passed the Senate in early 1914, by a vote of 236 to 213, it was defeated in the Royal Council 26 to 22. King Robert II had also made it clear that he wouldn’t sign the bill if it did pass.

With two defeats early in his term, there was talk that Watson’s government would collapse. On June 3rd, 1914, Watson announced that he would retire from the Senate, and instead run for the Royal Council (an election in which he was almost assured victory). Robert M. La Follette was the natural successor, and Debs promised a continued coalition. That November, the Liberals gained a majority in the Senate, and the Populists managed to win back many seats lost to the SDP. Prime Minister Watson was elected to the Royal Council, and in a close race, former Senator William J. Bryan defeated the SDP incumbent in Nebraska to gain his own seat in the Royal Council. Unlike his Liberal and SDP opponents, Bryan ran on a completely anti-war platform, speaking out against the Creel-Longworth act.



The Royal Council after the Election of 1914:
Liberal Party: 26 Seats (+2)
Populist Party: 11 Seats (+3)
Social Democratic Party: 11 Seats (-5)
Total: 48 Seats

Robert M. La Follette was voted in as Prime Minister, with support from the SDP and most of the Populists. However, a handful of disgruntled Southern Populists, who believed that La Follette was too far to the left to lead the party, voted for John Nance Garner (P-TX), who had been elected in 1908. Nonetheless, La Follette secured a clear majority.


Prime Minister Robert M. La Follette

In 1915, La Follette made it clear that he would continue to stick to the progressive, reform agenda of Prime Minister Watson. Many in his party pushed for him to tackle the issue of prohibition, popular with many Populists and SDP. Debate on an amendment to the constitution allowing the federal government to pass prohibition laws began that March. While there was a broad majority in support of the amendment, La Follette quickly realized that it would be incredibly difficult to garner the support of 2/3 of Senators. After weeks of debate, the amendment narrowly failed, 293 to 159. La Follette (who had never really strongly supported the amendment), pushed onward, passing the Volstead Act, establishing a national minimum wage, which was also passed narrowly in the Senate, when a few Liberal Councilors voted in favor of it.

[Lief 🗽]

Franz Ferdinand is still alive, but things are nonetheless incredibly tense. I'll cover this more in the next update.

[Lief 🗽]

Alaska was purchased by the British from the Russians in the 1890s.

[Lief 🗽]

Hiram Johnson is a Liberal, and a staunch supporter of Theodore Roosevelt. He became opposition leader in the Californian Senate in 1910 (against a Populist-SDP coalition government), and the Liberal Party took control of the chamber in 1914, so he is now President of the California Senate, and the head of government.

There isn't a clear heir to Theodore Roosevelt in the Liberal party, though Nicholas Longworth, co-writer of the Creel-Longworth Act, is popular among the conservatives in the party. Elihu Root is shadow Secretary of State, and part of the Roosevelt wing of the party, but he has little support from the conservatives in the party.

[Lief 🗽]

Woodrow Wilson is a prominent academic, especially with regards to politics, government and the constitution. After serving as President of Princeton University until 1908, he became President of Washington University in the Royal District (a university established by King George II in the nation's capital). In 1915 he resigned as President of Washington University to become a political advisor to King Robert II.

Thomas Marshall is a lawyer in Indiana.

[Lief 🗽]

Warren G. Harding has seen much success in the newspaper business throughout the state of Ohio. His newspapers have a strong, conservative Liberal tilt and as such, he's fairly powerful in the Ohio Liberal political machine.

After a successful stint in New York politics and some time teaching law, Charles Evan Hughes was appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by Prime Minister Hanna.

[Lief 🗽]

I'll update later tonight.

Robert II was born in 1846, so he's in his late sixties.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1915-1916

As the year 1915 ended, Americans were generally prosperous and happy. Large strides had been made since the War of Succession. The economy was strong, though regulations and wage laws had allowed the working class to prosper as well. In the South, elections were becoming fairer and freer, as Attorney General Wilson, with the support of La Follette, made sure that fair elections were run in the South. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Lincoln, had also made a number of rulings against voter intimidation practices and laws in the South. In Europe though, things could not be more different. On December 25th, 1915, seven bombs exploded outside Buda Castle, in  Austria-Hungary. The eighty-five-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph I was killed in the Christmas Day Bombings, along with 43 others (120 were wounded, including Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who suffered a broken arm). Austrian police arrested three young Serbians on December 26th, who confessed to be part of a larger plot¹. In January, Emperor Franz Ferdinand I blamed the assassination on the Serbian government. Negotiations between Serbia and Austria quickly broke down, as Germany and Russia offered support to their respective allies.

The Austrians and Germans sent diplomats to Italy, to ensure that they would honor the Triple Alliance. The Italians were non-committal, strongly hinting that unless the United States honored its alliance with Germany, they would stay neutral. At the same time, in the United States, King Robert II received word from German foreign minister Gottlieb von Jagow that Germany was mobilizing its army, requesting American support. The German government believed that the war would be over quickly and thus only requested support from America’s navy (which was at the time, the third largest in the world behind Germany and Britain). King Robert II, who had lived through the devastating trench battles and massive defensive lines of modern warfare, warned the Germans that the war would last for years. The French seemed to have realized this, adopting a defensive position against the coming German attack. German military leaders, confident in their abilities, disregarded Robert II’s warnings. In February, with the Czar mobilizing, Germany declared war on Russia and France, as Austria prepared to invade Serbia.

That February, King Robert II came before a joint session of the Royal Council and the Senate and asked for a declaration of war against France and Russia. Many Populist and SDP Senators and Councilors came out against foreign intervention, including the Prime Minister. The Liberal Party came out in support of the war, with Theodore Roosevelt calling the SDP and Populists “traitors” and “cowards.” Debate in the Royal Council continued for a week, until on March 3rd, Germany advanced into Belgium, and the British declared war on Germany. Public opinion in the United States soon turned in favor of war, as many Americans felt threatened by the British to the North. German-Americans and Finnish-Americans, the SDP’s strongest voting blocs, came out in strong support for war, and, with British-Canadian forces mobilizing on the border, Eugene Debs was forced by his party to reluctantly come out in support of the war. This left Prime Minister La Follette and the Populist Party. If there was one issue that united the western Progressive wing of the party with the southern wing, it was their shared anti-war outlook². Determined to bring the question of the war to the people, La Follette called for a snap election in May³.

The Populist convention in late March was interrupted by the Battle of Mons, in Belgium, where a joint British-French force was defeated by the German armies. Both sides suffered staggering casualties, though the French were able to delay the German advance. Nonetheless, the Populists re-nominated La Follette and rallied around an isolationist platform. At the SDP convention, in early April, Eugene Debs was once again re-elected as the leader of his party. Speaking in front of the convention, Debs argued that it was the “duty of the American Worker to protect his country from the forces of Imperialism.” During the convention, Allan L. Benson (SDP-NY), challenged Debs running as a peace candidate, but he only won 20% of delegates. The Liberal convention met days after the SDP's, in Cleveland, Ohio. There, Theodore Roosevelt was re-elected as leader of the party. During the convention, the Battle of the Aisne was fought. French and British forces, after a week of bloody combat, halted the German advance seventy miles from the outskirts of Paris.

Americans voters went to the polls on May 23rd, 1916, while, in Europe, the German and Franco-British armies were racing to the sea, as trench lines extended across France. A week earlier, the first “battle” of the war in North America had taken place, when militia in northern California skirmished with British troops in Oregon. The death of three Americans in the short battle had made national headlines, and served to turn the country even further in favor of war. On Election Day, the Populist Party saw a resounding defeat, relegated to the anti-war South, as Populist voters in the West and Midwest, feeling threatened by British on the border, turned strongly to the SDP. Prime Minister La Follette lost his own Senate seat in Wisconsin, as the seven-strong Populist Wisconsin delegation was completely wiped out. Neither the Liberal Party nor the SDP was able to claim a majority, but both Debs and Roosevelt decided to form a wartime coalition government. On May 30th, with a clear mandate from the people, the Royal Council declared war on the allied powers.

The Senate after the Election of 1916:
Liberal Party: 221 Seats (+43)
Populist Party: 79 Seats (-121)
Social Democratic Party: 155 Seats (+76)
Prohibition Party: 2 Seats (+2)
Total: 457 Seats



When the new Senate met that July, Theodore Roosevelt became Prime Minister, and John Nance Garner (P-TX), was elected leader of the Populist Party. Prime Minister Roosevelt quickly formed a cabinet and began meeting regularly with King Robert II and military advisors. One of Roosevelt’s first actions was the creation of a cabinet position dealing with labor issues, at the behest of Eugene Debs.


Prime Minister Theodore Roosevelt

The First Roosevelt Cabinet (June 1916):
Prime Minister: Theodore Roosevelt (L-NY)
Deputy Prime Minister: Eugene V. Debs (SDP-IN)
Majority Whip: Meyer London (SDP-NY)
Secretary of State: Elihu Root (L-PA)
Secretary of the Treasury: Gifford Pinchot (L-PA)
Secretary of War: Nicholas Longworth (L-OH)
Attorney General: William B. Wilson (SDP-PA)
Secretary of the Interior: David C. Coates (SDP-CO)
Secretary of Agriculture: James W. Good (L-IA)
Secretary of Labor: Victor L. Berger (SDP-WI)

¹To this day, it is unknown who specifically was behind the assassination and bombing, though Serbian groups such as Narodna Odbrana  and the Black Hand are often pointed to as the mostly likely. Another theory is that the Serbian government, or other separatist groups within Austria-Hungary, funded the plot.
²Since the devastation of the Southern army in the War of Succession (over 1 in 10 soldiers had been killed, most during the trench assaults that marked the end of the war), Southerners had developed an isolationist, anti-war, bunker mentality. This expressed itself in the Southern wing of the Populist Party.
³La Follette’s memoirs reveal that he believed that by scheduling an election in May, he could delay a declaration of war by the Royal Council until after the elections, by which time he thought one side or another would have prevailed in Europe.

[Lief 🗽]

Finally an update. By the way, could you provide a map of North America? Europe would also be great, if you could do it.

I'll try and make some maps of North America at the moment, and then the world after the war.

And thank you for all the compliments guys. It's good to know that you're enjoying it.

[Lief 🗽]

Well, Roosevelt never traveled to South America, as he was in the Liberal Party leadership during that time, in my timeline. Roosevelt himself wrote that the trip had cost him ten years of life. So we'll see.

[Lief 🗽]

Expect an update on the year 1917 tonight.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1916 - 1917

Prime Minister Roosevelt, Dep. Prime Minister Debs, Secretary of War Longworth, King Robert II, Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, Maj. Gen. John Pershing, and Admiral William B. Caperton (recently promoted by King Robert II) met at Arlington Palace in July 1916. Admiral George Dewey and retired General George Custer, both in their 70s, also attended the meeting. War was raging in Europe, as the Germans desperately tried to break the evolving stalemate in France. The French and British, looking to lessons learned during the American War of Succession, believed that they could stay on the defensive through 1916, bleeding the Germans dry, and then invade a weekend Germany during the spring of 1917. The American war cabinet decided on a four-fold strategy:

1)   The Royal American Homeland Forces (the RAHF, commanded by Pershing) would be in charge of defending the continental United States from British-Canadian invasion, as well as the possibility of war with Mexico.
2)   The Royal American Expeditionary Forces (the RAEF, commanded by Funston) would, as soon as possible, aid the Germans across the Atlantic, by either fighting in Africa or landing in Italy (which had indicated that it would allow American forces passage to Germany or Austria, but was still hesitant about committing to fighting), then reinforcing Germans in France.
3)   The Atlantic Fleet, under Admiral Caperton, would be charged with aiding the German Navy fight the British navy.
4)   The Pacific Fleet would be greatly downsized, with many ships joining the Atlantic Fleet. The remaining Pacific Fleet would be charged with defending American and German Pacific possessions to the best of its ability from the British and Japanese (who had joined the Allied forces in May).


Generals John Pershing and Frederick Funston, Commanders of the RAHF and RAEF respectively

In the Senate, Roosevelt called for conscription, which passed easily. The RAHF was the first to gain new conscripts, as Pershing reinforced the Oregon border, northern Wisconsin and Dakota, and the Quebec-Maine-Maritime States areas. The first battle on American soil was the Battle of Duluth. British and Canadian forces from the District of Winnipeg invaded Northern Minnesota in August 1916, hoping to quickly raid and destroy the factories and shipyards of the industrial towns along Lake Superior. American conscripts and hastily raised militia quickly fell to the British raiders, regrouping in the city of Duluth. British forces ignored Duluth until October, after razing nearby towns and cities, when they began their attack. The Americans had dug in, and had been reinforced with additional troops and machine guns. What was to be an easy victory dragged on for a month, turning into brutal urban warfare. The extremely cold winter of 1916 further complicated matters, as large percentages of the British and American armies died of exposure to the elements. In January 1917, after nearly three months of battle, the British withdrew, handing the Americans their first victory of the war.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the western front had settled into an uneasy stalemate during the winter, after nearly a year of bloody battles and high casualties. Despite numerous attacks by the Germans, they were no closer to taking Paris that they had been in the summer. In Austria, both the Serbs and Austrians had seen heavy casualties, but by winter the front between the two nations was all but unchanged. In the east, fighting was more fluid, though the Germans and Austrians had been able to halt the Russian advance. In April of 1917, the Germans began the Battle of Ypres. Believing that the French, who had assumed a mostly defensive position could only be defeated through attrition, the German Generals instead decided to focus their assaults on the British lines in Northern France, hoping to break the British morale on the continent. Ypres saw the first use of poison gas in the war, a tactic the Germans had hesitated to use in 1916, before the United States and the Ottoman Empire had decided to join the war on their side and the Italians had agreed to grant the United States passage. The gas attack caught the British and French soldiers at Ypres off guard, opening a large gap in the Franco-British lines. German forces took advantage of this, and pushed forward. For the first time since the summer of 1916, the Germans made major gains, and in a two week period they pushed forward nearly forty miles, forcing the Allies completely out of Belgium and surrounding the coastal towns of Dunkirk and Calais.

In the United States, General Robert L. Bullard arrived in Duluth in the spring, with reinforcements and artillery. His orders were to advance on Winnipeg and take the city from Canadian defenders. British-Canadian forces had been dealt heavy casualties in Duluth, and had surrendered the surrounding countryside of Bullard’s advancing army. The Canadian forces had fortified the city with trenches and makeshift defensive fortifications. General Bullard ordered a heavy bombardment of the city, but the Canadians were fully entrenched and determined to fight to the last man. The bombardment of the city began on April 28th, 1917. By the time the Americans had completely taken the city, it was early July, and 90% of the city’s buildings had been destroyed. The use of poison gas by Canadian forces had surprised American attackers, prolonging the siege until gas masks could be delivered to the front. But with the fall of Winnipeg, the British presence in central Canada was effectively neutralized.


General Robert L. Bullard, Conqueror of Winnipeg

In Oregon District, British and American forces had been fighting a bloody war of attrition. British forces, out-numbered and blockaded by the American Royal Pacific Fleet, had adopted a defensive position, retreating to the land between the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River, except for a small detachment left in Portland. The majority of defenses and fortifications were built along the western bank of the Columbia River, with further fortifications around the cities of Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria. General Hugh L. Scott was charged with breaking these British defenses. Scott, a veteran of the Southern army in the War of Succession, was charged with a difficult task, and the Americans incurred heavy casualties assaulting the British lines. Throughout the year 1917, the Americans made few breakthroughs, though the city of Portland did surrender in September. As 1917 ended, the Oregon front was static, with the British still holding the Columbia River. In the Canadian plains, Montana, and Dakota, the front was fluid, as cavalry armies skirmished and raided towns.

In the winter of 1917, the Germans and Americans pulled off two diplomatic feats, as Secretaries of State Elihu Root and Arthur Zimmerman negotiated with Irish and Indian rebels. In Ireland there was growing discontent, following the introduction of conscription on the island, combined with Irish nationalism. The British did not have enough troops to protect Canada and fight in France, and had passed harsh conscription laws, angering Britons, but leading to mass demonstrations in Ireland. Americans and Germans promised arms and supplies, as well as units from the RAEF, if Irish revolutionary groups could instigate a rebellion. The rebellion was to begin in April 1918, and the United States Royal Navy fought numerous skirmishes with the British Royal Navy throughout the 1917-1918 winter to gain control of the waters around Ireland long enough to drop off supplies and troops. The British Navy was already stretched thin, defending the British Isles, blockading Germany, and fighting the United States in the Atlantic and the Pacific. Matters were complicated further by American and German plans to support large-scale mutinies in India, which the British had left lightly defended as armies were moved to Europe at the beginning of the war. American submarines and merchant ships smuggled thousands of weapons to Indian rebels, concentrated primarily in the Punjab and Bengal regions.

[Lief 🗽]

When the Germans and Americans allied in the early 1900s, the British increased troops numbers in the Canadian colonies in anticipation of an eventual war. The American army is also rather small at this point (as conflicting policies from Liberal and Populist administrations has left it unprepared for war) and the American, without any experience at mobilization, are mobilizing slowly. Finally, the British government (and the residents of Oregon) know that an American conquest of the region will result in annexation (just like in Quebec and Ontario a hundred years earlier), so they're fighting tooth and nail over the province. The United States hasn't made a concentrated offensive effort to break the Columbia River lines quite yet, as Robert II and General Pershing are wary about a Mexican offensive, and as such have a sizable portion of the RAHF defending the southern border.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1918 - 1919

The shells began falling en masse on the British side of the Columbia on the morning of February 27th, 1918. Hugh L. Scott had planned a massive offensive on that day, and the British were wholly unprepared for the large number of United States troops assaulting their lines. Scott planned a two-pronged offensive, crossing the Columbia River from the south and west. By the end of the week, American forces had forded the Columbia at a number of crucial points, defeating the British defenders. The crucial Battle of Vancouver Island had occurred a month earlier, and had established American control of the coastal Pacific Region. A joint Japanese-British had tried to break the American blockade of the British Pacific provinces, and deliver much needed supplies. In a two-day battle, however, the American Pacific Fleet was able to score a narrow tactical victory, which forced the Japanese and British fleets to retreat. The Columbian Spring Offensive continued into April, as Americans slowly pushed back the British defenders. By the middle of April, the British had retreated to their fortifications around Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria. American cavalry had taken the few remaining strongholds to the North, while General Scott’s infantry were converging on the final British strongholds. Two weeks of shelling led to the surrender of Seattle without a fight on May 4th, 1918. By the beginning of May, American forces were on Vancouver Island. There were calls from the British colonial governments to regroup in Victoria and force the Americans into brutal urban warfare. Governor James Dunsmuir, however, was strongly opposed to the further destruction of his province’s cities, and on May 23rd, 1918, he and the government surrendered.

As General Scott’s forces were conquering British Columbia, Major General Smedley Butler led an RAEF landing in south-western Ireland in early February. Approximately two hundred Americans made up the covert landing force, nearly all veteran marines of the conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines. Butler met up with the Irish Volunteers and other Irish revolutionary groups, and began training and supplying their soldiers. During February and March, more supplies and marines were brought to the island, and Butler became close friends with Irish leaders Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins. During Easter week, 1918, the revolution began. American troops (by this point numbering nearly 2000) were scattered throughout the country, attached to units of Irish soldiers. General Fred Funston (commanding general of the RAEF) also oversaw the landing of an additional five thousand troops in late April, this time overtly. Scattered conflicts broke out throughout Ireland, between various Irish revolutionary groups and American soldiers on one side and the British Army and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) on the other. By the end of May, Irish and American forces had secured Dublin and Cork, along with numerous other cities, while battles and guerilla attacks by the Irish and Americans continued across Ireland.

The United Kingdom’s position continued to deteriorate throughout the first half of 1918. The Battle of the Skagerrak took place between May 25th and May 27th, and ended the British blockade of the German coast. In the largest naval battle of the war, a joint American-German fleet led by American admiral Hugh Rodman soundly defeated a British fleet led by Admirals David Beatty and John Jellicoe. Though the British fleet had three more battleships than the combined German and American fleet, Admiral Rodman managed to partially surround the British fleet, sinking seven British battleships (compared to one German and one American battleship) along with numerous smaller ships. The battle gave the Germans control of the North Sea, and dealt a severe blow to the British navy. Meanwhile, in India, American-backed rebels attacked the British Raj and led mutinies throughout the country.

Conditions on the Western Front in Europe turned in Germany’s favor throughout the summer, as the German fleet gained the upper hand in the North Sea and disrupted the flow of supplies and troops, and the British government steadily pulled soldiers out of France, relocating them to Ireland and India, as well as the African colonies (which the RAEF had invaded in 1918). With less British soldiers to defend the trench lines, the French army became increasingly stretched thin. On July 14th, 1918, the Germans began the Battle of Verdun. The German military command saw the battle as an opportunity to finally defeat the French. By September, the battle had become the bloodiest battle in the war's history, as stalwart French defenders refused to budge, and the Germans poured more and more soldiers into the battle. As the Battle of Verdun dragged on, the British began an assault on the German lines in the north. The British Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, saw the offensive as the final opportunity for the Entente to win the war, and he knew that if the offensive proved unsuccessful, his government would likely fall. As such, British troops were recalled from Canada and the Middle-East (where they had been successful against the Ottoman Empire, conquering much of the empire outside of Turkey). The British army was backed up by tanks, a new technology that quickly proved to be more or less useless. The British Fall Offensive was as a total failure, and by the end of 1918, the British were forced by a German counter-attack back to where they had begun the offensive. Perhaps the only success of the offensive was that it pulled pressure off the French, allowing them to weather the German attacks until the winter, when the German army fell back.

On the Eastern Front in 1918, the Germans were able to make great advances, as the Russian army fell apart. In Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate and the Russian Provisional Government took control of the country in October. Despite a change in leadership, Russia vowed to continue fighting the war. German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman and American Secretary of State Elihu Root considered allowing exiled Russian Marxists into Russia (including Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, a prominent Russian Marxist), to further destabilize the country and end the war on the eastern front, but Prime Minister Roosevelt came out strongly against even the possibility of a communist revolution, and convinced the German government that the Entente was on the verge of collapse on the Western front anyway. Roosevelt began negotiations with Alexander Kerensky, the newly elected Russian Prime Minister, in December. On February 25th, 1919, with the Russian army continuing to collapse, increasing incidents of mutinies, and unrest among radical socialist and Bolshevik elements within Russia, Kerensky agreed to a ceasefire with the Allied Powers. Roosevelt had promised that Russia’s territorial concessions and war reparations would be few, a promise that had ultimately swayed Kerensky and the Russian government.

[Lief 🗽]

I'll do a map of the world after the war is over, as it's almost identical to our own timeline's map pre-war (with the exception of a larger United States and Alaska belonging to the United Kingdom).

[Lief 🗽]

North America looks the same as it did in our timeline, except that the British have Oregon, Washington and Alaska, and the United States owns present day New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Chihuaha, Sonora, Cuba and parts of Ontario and Quebec.

[Lief 🗽]

A new election doesn't need to happen until May 1921.

[Lief 🗽]

Update on 1919-1920 tonight.