Seizing The Day

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Seizing The Day

"The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart."
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

In the year 1936 the world continued to descend into chaos and turmoil unknown since the Great War ravaged Europe. Across the world the crisis was apparent as nations bled themselves dry over resources or political control. In Ethiopia, Italy pursued a catastrophic invasion with little to stop them but a faint bark from various Anglo-French politicians. In China, the valiant and tortured Nationalists under Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek bled themselves dry in a futile war against Mao Tse Tung's Communist government, all while to the north Japan consolidated its holds in Manchuria unopposed. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was busy initiating his "Second New Deal" to combat the major Economic crisis known as the Great Depression.

The Great Depression had, like the Black Plague, hit the US business elite hard and spread into every nook and cranny of American society leaving unemployment, drought, despair, and starvation wherever it passed. Lack of confidence in President Hoover or his measures to get the United States out of Depression had given the Democratic Party and FDR an overwhelming landslide and mandate to govern. FDR had initiated a host of programs to provide relief for the American people during this rough time and had started to turn the economy around considerably compared to where it was in 1932, however, 1936 is an election year and looked to be perhaps the toughest challenge yet for FDR and his New Deal supporters. Among the main threats to his reelection was Kansas Governor Alfred M. Landon, a Progressive-Republican who supported most of the New Deal and had worked hard to ease the suffering of the people of Kansas through the height of the Dust Bowl. With the economy still in shambles and few non-Public Sector jobs being created, Landon had a real chance to strike a blow with Moderates for the Republicans. In addition populist Senator Huey P. Long, having survived his assassination attempt only months before, was in the midst of launching his radical "Share Our Wealth" program and attempting to unseat Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination or possibly run as a third party candidate. Adding to the trouble was Father Charles Coughlin, one of the most influential men on the Radio, who brought Longs message to millions of Americans with every broadcast.

To make things worse, the political tension in Europe was starting to look more and more strained. With a weak France and Britain no longer watching over her, Germany under Adolf Hitler appeared ready to pounce upon the undefended Rhineland just as political instability on the Iberian Peninsula continued unabated. While America remained safe across the oceans from all of these troubles, with its strong isolationist wing keeping it steady, it was clear that the United States would have to face up to at least some of the cries for help before too long.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

Welcome to the forum, and nice job so far. Keep it up!

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

Welcome to the forum, and nice job so far. Keep it up!

[yougo1000]

Welcome to the forum, and nice job so far. Keep it up!

[hcallega]

This is really well written, keep it up!

[Frink]

Chapter I

An all too common site during the Great Depression

"It is now beyond partisan controversy that it is a fundamental individual right of a worker to associate himself with other workers and to bargain collectively with his employer."
 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The Second New Deal

Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers construct a storage facility as part of Roosevelts, "New Deal" program. The WPA would become the largest Federal Jobs program during the New Deal and would give work to millions over the course of its existence.

Since his election President Roosevelt had been battling the Great Depression with a bevy of programs to improve the economic situation; ranging from strict price controls to job programs to put people back to work. Roosevelt, a keen progressive reformer and popular figurehead, had put his first New Deal into place to relieve the people hardest hit by the Stock Market Crash of 1929. In 1935 as part of the first wave of his "Second New Deal" legislation, Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. The WPA was the largest Federal Agency to send people back to work, sending millions of Americans back to work on Public Works projects. Even though these jobs, such as modernizing infrastructure, building roads, and educating adults, weren't permanent solutions to the unemployment problem, they restored a great deal of confidence in the country and the president.

The next part of Roosevelts anticipated "Second New Deal" would focus on the two R's remaining in FDR's New Deal; Recovery and Reform. He would use his overwhelming Democratic majority in both houses of congress to increase regulation and prevent Wall Street financiers from making the same mistakes that led to the Depression. The most controversial reform item passed by Roosevelt and the Democrats was the Wagner Act[1], or National Labor Relations Act, which signifigantly capped private sector businessmen in their power. The Wagner Act was a firm repudiation of the governments previous polciies towards Labor Unions and would ensure Employees of their right to collectively bargain, form a union anywhere in any business, and allowed Unions to hold rallies and strikes. While heavily controversial, particularly with the Laisezz-Faire capitalists, the bill was very favorably received by the working class and won Roosevelt and the Democrats much favor.

Yet perhaps the most important reform of the "Second New Deal" was the Social Security Act, also passed in 1935, which created a national old-age pension system and benefits for the unemployed. The Act was heavily criticized by a multitude of groups, including many Conservatives[2] who thought it would encourage people to not work, and minorities[3] who thought it did very little to help their poor situation. Proponents of the act hoped that it would encourage old people to retire early and increase the amount of jobs available to younger men who were out of work.

The Presidential Election of 1936 - Part One

Huey Long, father of the "Share Our Wealth" policy, and "The Most Dangerous Man in America" according to President Roosevelt in private.

As early as January the outlook of the Presidential Election was becoming settled. With presidential primaries in their infancy, it came as no surprise that Kansas Governer Alf Landon had finished firmly in fourth place behind nominees Earl Warren, William Borah, and Frank Knox. While he was certainly behind, the rest of the Republican candidates that opposed Landon were "Favorite Son" candidates that, with the exception of Borah, were often popular in their own states but weren't very well known figures nationally.

Alf Landon, a Progressive-Republican, sought both expansion and reduction of waste in FDR's New Deal programs. He was a strong supporter of the Social Security Act of 1935 and similar measures, but was strongly opposed to the Wagner Act and the National Recovery Administration (which had been ruled unconstitutional in 1935). Landon also strongly attacked the New Deal for not helping the Midwest enough, an area which included Landon's home state of Kansas, which had been hit hard by the Dust Bowl and created a serious refugee crisis with millions fleeing for California[4]. Landon also took relatively conventional Republican stances on regulation and fiscal conservatism. Although he approved of the regulation of Wall Street, he was antithetically opposed to the restrictions of money found in Huey P. Longs "Share Our Wealth" program and strongly attacked certain elements of the New Deal which nominally took from the Rich and gave to the poor. Confident of securing the nomination early in the process, Landon dubbed his campaign strategy "The Square Deal", named in honor of Teddy Roosevelt, and intended to focus heavily on isolationism.

As the Republicans got set to nominate Landon, the Democrats were putting their newly built coalition to the test. Senator Huey P. Long, with the backing of Father Charles Coughlin, Iowa Agrarian radical Milo Reno, and North Dakota Republican William Lemke; Long sat posed to challenge Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination. Senator Long took to the trails like a force of nature, particularly for a man who had been shot at only months earlier, and won the nominal support of numerous delegates in the Mountain West and from the South. Despite his rising popularity, Long was relatively untested in other areas, and his lack of support in the Northeast or West would be a major obstacle for him and his populist agenda. Despite these concerns, Long garnered a lot of support in the Solid South and among Progressives who thought that the New Deal didn't go nearly far enough in its reach. The most prominent man among the disenfranchised was Father Charles Coughlin, a former prominent supporter of the New Deal, who had become its harshest critic and had thrown his backing behind Huey Long and his "Share Our Wealth" program. The question remaining was how much support could the most popular radio priest in America garner for Long?

[1] Named for Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York. Wagner was among the Senates most progressive Democrats and was heavily involved in passing a large amount of New Deal legislation.
[2] Prominent conservatives on both sides of the aisle later criticized the Social Security Program as wasteful or unconstitutional. Among the many notable exceptions was the prominent Senator Robert Taft of Ohio.
[3] As originally passed the Social Security Act gave few benefits to Blacks, Women, or other prominent minority groups. In particular, the NAACP criticized the failure of the act and other aspects of the New Deal to provide benefits to Blacks.
[4] This was described in the popular novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. The novel has since become an accepted classic of American Literature.
 

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Good job Many newbies doesn't start so well in what-if business, glad to see you an exception.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

This is an extremely well-written timeline. I can't wait for the next installment.

[Frink]

Chapter II

"An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it."
 - George Bernard Shaw

The 1936 Presidential Election - Part Two

Republicans gather to support their favorite candidates outside of the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio for the Republican National Convention

With the final run of the National Conventions rapidly approaching, the Republicans looked ready to nominate Kansas Governor Alfred Landon for President. While it was not completely certain who the Republicans would choose as their Vice-Presidential Nominee, some early favorites were Frank Knox, popular Iowa Publisher, and the Isolationist William Borah from Idaho. Likewise, the Democrats were charging full speed into Philadelphia with Franklin Roosevelt in a commanding lead over Senator Huey Long and his "Share Our Wealth" group, however, Long was building significant support among the Mountain West and Southern Delegates.

The Republican Nomination was held first, due to the unspoken tradition of the Minority party holding its Convention before the governing party. The Republican Convention was held June 9-12th in Cleveland, Ohio; one of the cities hardest hit by the Depression. Delegates, enthusiasts, business leaders, and reporters gathered awaiting the nomination of Progressive Kansas Governer Alf Landon over favorite son candidates such as William Borah, Earl Warren, and Stephen A. Day.

Governer Landon easily soared over William Borah, receiving 934 delegates on the first ballot, securing the nomination over the "Lion of Idaho". After the nomination of Landon, Senator Borah, as he did in 1932, didn’t support the Republican nominee, although his efforts to re-energize the Progressive base wouldn’t go unhinged as the Progressive Alf Landon was ready to revive Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal and push his isolationist views, views that Borah himself was very fond of.

Likewise, the Vice-Presidential nominee was Frank Knox, a supporter of Teddy Roosevelt back in 1912 and a vocal supporter of the interventionist wing of the Republican Party. During the convention, the party expressed support for the majority of the New Deal Programs, especially Social Security, which convinced numerous members of the Conservative-wing of the party, including Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, to walk out during Landon's acceptance speech and his "Square Deal" platform. Throughout his acceptance speech, Landon backed Social-Security and many of the WPA's programs, but attacked wasteful spending and other more controversial New Deal programs that had been ruled unconstitutional such as the National Recovery Administration [1].

The Democratic National Convention was held over a month later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The national media, particularly the New York Times, paid close attention to Senator Huey Long's uphill battle to unseat FDR to be the Democratic Presidential candidate. Through the opening moments of the convention, Long gave a passionate speech about various failures of the New Deal, re-asserted his Isolationism, and painted Roosevelt as a conservative who was reluctant to help out the common man.

Despite Long's very passionate pitch to the Democratic Convention, he only managed to capture 350 of the national delegates. However, he won over the minds of numerous Progressive Democrats and hundreds of others in attendance at the convention, especially many in the Deep South who felt they had been overlooked by the New Deal. As the Democrats gave Roosevelt re-nomination, Long walked out with the delegates he had won to form the Union Party, a political machine in support of Long's "Share Our Wealth" program.

Franklin Roosevelt promised to continue his efforts to end the Depression

Long's next move, however, baffled many observers of the period. Long chose to be the chief campaigner and orator of the Union Party along with Father Charles Coughlin, rather then be the party's nominee. The Senator figured that victory was impossible with the crowded field already including Roosevelt and Landon, and that his upstart third party wouldn't gain the votes required to win the election. His plan, rather, was to split the Progressive vote and allow Alf Landon to win the election. Then, come 1940, Long would be free to run as the Democratic nominee under his "Share Our Wealth" banner.

The Union Party held their hastily organized convention in Chicago, on July 30th with Huey Long leading the organization and Father Coughlin as the keynote speaker. By the end of the day, the party had nominated Gerald L.K. Smith as their Presidential nominee and nominated Congressman William Lemke of North Dakota as their Vice Presidential nominee. Smith, while controversial[2] due to some of his personal views, was an incredible speaker and orator who could "win over crowds better then either of the other two candidates" according to some observers of the time. His candidacy was strengthened by the addition of Lemke, a popular advocate for Farmers in Congress and recently Long's "Share Our Wealth" program. The Union Party, with Huey Long as their chief front man looked to win over most of the south, and the progressive west, and hopefully taking enough votes away in major states like Illinois, New York, New Jersey and New York to swing the states to Alf Landon. Despite these hopes, the Gallup polls released a day later predicted 50% of the vote to go to Roosevelt, 27% to Smith, and only 23% to Landon, who’s progressive base had a full three candidates to choose from; and the more progressive of the three being Smith and the Union Party.

[1] The NRA was one of the least popular and most controversial programs in the New Deal. It had been ruled unconstitutional in 1935.
[2] While he toned many of them down significantly in his Campaign depending on the audience, Smith was known to hold anti-semitic and racist personal beliefs that he often expressed to Union Party leaders.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

This is very good. Keep it coming!

[Sewer]

the more progressive of the three being Smith

Anti-semitism and white supremacy are SO progressive.

[Frink]

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Thank you! I don't know when I'll update next, but it'll be a juicy one.

the more progressive of the three being Smith

Anti-semitism and white supremacy are SO progressive.

Ah, yes. I knew I was pushing it with that line, but I was mainly pointing out the nature of his platform and not his personal beliefs.