Atlas Election Match-Ups Through the Ages

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

It was Congress that ultimately had to sort out the fiasco of 1916. While many had expected Cranberry or Walsh to be able to finagle their way to the necessary House votes, in a stunned surprised, it would be Cassius Clay who triumphed. In an act of unusual diplomacy, Cassius managed to cut deals across political lines to secure his victory, lining up conservative Republicans that were put off by Max Walsh's moderation and foreign policy progressives that viewed Cranberry as doomed. Forging a coalition ranging from protectionists to internationalists, Cassius Clay would be sworn in as the nation's 26th President on March 4th, 1917.

Cassius Clay was an unlikely Kentucky Democrat. Though a Southron and the the descendant of slaveowners from years before the American Civil War, he was unsuited to Jacksonian populism, and was often more associated with both major parties' Northeastern wings, specifically the prominent Cornwallis family, with which he was friends with (to the point of nominating Cassius Cornwallis IV to the post of Secretary of State). And despite the turn towards laissez-faire economics that had happened to the Democrats under President Maxdonald Well, Clay was far more socially conservative than his party's more recent leaders, and was also in favor of protectionism. Despite the Civil War having devastated his family, they had worked their way back up through business on the Ohio River, and, as such, Clay was much more tied to Northern manufacturing than to textiles and other Southern industries. Such made for an unlikely Democrat in an unlikely time in American history.

Despite the bargaining taken to win, little of that skill in compromise would be reflected in the next four years. While Cassius had a number of legislative victories marking his first year in office, historians would ultimately criticize him on a number of fronts. Managing to defeat Cranberry's fiat currency, the "Hamiltonian monstrosity of a replacement" he left behind would still be decried for years to come. As well, while tariff increases would help with both the federal government's revenue as well as bolster American manufacturing, such a policy move would only aid in the post-war global diplomatic fallout that the United States experienced.

With the Great War wrapping up in 1918, the President, emboldened by this victory, set his sights on "Red Russia". Dictating policy from the Oval Office in a way many called unconstitutional, shots would be fired at Russian troops in three different preliminary expeditions throughout the summer and fall of that year. However, the electorate had had quite enough of the president's ardent nationalism and the duties associated with it. Immigrants, typically a Democratic constituency, would flock to the Grand Old Party with wild abandon. The most notable victory would be that of the newly elected Governor of Maine Thaddeus O'Connor. The son of Catholic immigrants on his father's side and distantly related to James G. Blaine on his mother's, like Cassius Clay, he was an unlikely man for his party.

O'Connor had spent the good portion of a decade as a backbencher Republican Congressman from Maine before his election as Governor in 1918. He had first risen to prominence at the 1916 Republican National Convention when the "liberal" wing of the Republican Party was successful in nominating Max Walsh for President. O'Connor had spoken eloquently on his behalf and had been an effective floor leader for the Governor. Two years later, he was elected on the promise of tax relief for Maine voters, a renewed look at the civil service, and on using the power of his office to protect immigrants and free as many "dissidents" as possible that had been jailed in the state under Cassius' administration.

1920
With the nation in a state of post-war economic collapse, war-weary, and tired of "red hunts" led by Solicitor General Cory Brooker (D-SC), it was clear that the country was looking for change. At the 1920 Republican National Convention, the progressive, liberal, and conservative wings would be (literally) at each other's throats over who could save the nation from Clay. The progressive and aristocratic Arnoldson Haliburton Duke of South Carolina would seem to many the favorite. Having forged out a strange coalition of formerly disenfranchised black voters, reformers, and more left-wing members of the upper-class, Duke was a successful two-term Republican Governor in the Democratic South. His background was also unconventional, his grandfather having been a Union soldier who married a the belle of the very plantation his platoon was raiding. However, this was one Cranberryan that wouldn't see convention victory. Nor would his conservative rival, the 1916 Vice Presidential nominee Adam Hurst, II. Known for controversial comments--including his convention address where he claimed "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice"--the anti-red and reportedly somewhat off-kilter Washington Congressman was not who the Republicans hoped could lead them to victory. Instead, it would again be the liberal "New Republican" faction that was nominated. This time, however, it would be the quiet Maine Governor Thaddeus O'Connor.

O'Connor, however, was at his family estate near Aroostook, and it took several days for the news to reach him of his nomination. Assuming that the liberals would again be supporting Max Walsh for the presidency, he had no reason to attend the convention, his state's delegates being in good hands. The convention was entering on a week and a half in length by the time the unlikely nominee was racing down a buckboard for the nearest train station, having already wired ahead at the first chance that he accepted. He had not done it enthusiastically, but upon having made his decision, he proceeded to move towards the New York City convention in all due haste. Arriving three days later and looking more than a bit disheveled, he made a brief acceptance speech before stepping aside. For Vice President, former Ambassador to Ethiopia Samuel Fallen of New Jersey was nominated.

The Democrats would as well have a surprising convention. While it had become clear that Cassius would face opposition to his renomination, few expected former President Maxdonald A. Well to come out of the woodwork. The aging titan had been silent in the party since his surprising endorsement of Nathaniel Cranberry. While at one point he had stood as the leader of his party's right wing on the national stage, by 1920, he was being dismissed by several younger conservative delegates as "the left-wing relic of a bygone age". Cassius' Minister to Germany, Hugh Flye, would be known for making derogatory comments about the former President's background, noting that he himself had attended school at Oxford in England.

While there were several other challengers, including the powerful Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee James Ernest and the Tammany Hall-backed Governor Benjamin Sawx of Pennsylvania, Maxdonald A. Well soon became the President's main opponent. Sixteen years out of office and well past his political prime, Well was willing to risk convention or even general election defeat in order to "save the party of Jackson, Guy, and Beans from this catastrophe". The gamble paid off, as even conservative delegates were conscious of Max's popularity as a respected former president. In order to keep the Clay administration's supporters in line, the party line-towing Governor Gerald Clinton of Arkansas was chosen for Vice President. Hardly a Clay loyalist, it was nevertheless assured that Clinton could "keep things in line".

The general election campaign was a brutal one to say the least. While Maxdonald Well and Thaddeus O'Connor both had respect for each other, their campaigns did not, and insults were traded back and forth as fast as goods in an urban market full of immigrants. While on a campaign swing through the Southwest, it was alleged by a Democratic reporter that O'Connor had been rumored to hate the South. "No! Of course not! I'm a fan of all the great people of the South, whether they be in Memphis, Atlanta or even Dallas, of which I'm particularly a fan of." O'Connor had been caught off guard, however, the nickname of "Dallas fan" would stick with him for the rest of the campaign.

Despite the hope that Well brought to the Democratic effort, he'd been well aware that he was doomed since the beginning. O'Connor would win rather easily, though his opponent put up far greater a fight than the Maine Governor could have expected.

Governor Thaddeus "Dallas Fan" O'Connor (Republican-Maine)/Former Ambassador to Ethiopia Samuel Fallen (Republican-New Jersey) 370 electoral votes, 55.3% of the popular vote
Former President Maxdonald A. Well (Democrat-Louisiana)/Governor Gerald "Jerry" Clinton (Democrat-Arkansas) 161 electoral votes, 41.3% of the popular vote
Mr. Nathan Debs (Single Tax-Massachusetts)/Former State Senator Mechwell Mann (Single Tax-Oklahoma) 0 electoral votes, 3.2% of the popular vote

The election would mark what the Governor referred to as "a definitive end for paternalism, prohibition, and protectionism." Within his first 100 days, O'Connor signed the greatest tariff decrease in several decades and saw the repeal of Cassius' short attempt at the nationwide prohibition of alcohol. Within that timeframe, several Clay administration heads including Solicitor General Cory Brooker, Commerce Secretary Walter W. Mitty, Ambassador to Great Britain Benjamin Constine, and even Secretary of War T.X. Condem would be tried on various corruption charges.

[Cranberry]

The war in Europe was over, and when a "Union of Nations" was proposed by the British, President O'Connor chose not to even mention a possible join of the United States to this organization. Instead his focus was on domestic policy. Uniting with Cranberryans and liberal National Democrats in Congress on social issues, he was a supporter of the 17th and the 18th amendments to the constitution, which would enable direct election of senators and female suffrage and were passed in 1921 and 1922, respectively. Additionally, he finally signed bills that would prohibit child labor and reduce the work day to eight hours. When those bills were passed, noone in America celebrated, as it was considered shameful that the United States would pass such laws as one of the last countries in the civilized world. He also slightly lowered the Income Tax that was established by the progressive congress a few years ago. 

O'Connor did not focus much on the economy, as America was in a boom, and he did not see much neccessity to change the course of events. Many Americans buyed their first automobils in this term as wages were increasing while the prices for many luxury articles were decreasing. Furthermore, many Americans moved to so called "Streetcar Suburbs" that were constructed at the outskirts of the cities, and a new phenomena appeared: the "Middle Class", who were working as doctors, teachers, accountants and office clerks.

1924:
With President O'Connor's popularity, it was seen as nearly impossible for any Democrat to unseat this president. "The most popular president since General Cathcon", as he was dubbed by the New York Times, was therefore again nominated by the Republicans, enthusiastically supported by Liberals and Cranberryans. The conservative wing of the Republican Party could not unite behind one candidate, and even when, he would have had no chance against O'Connor and his running mate Fallen. Arthur Cranberry, the Republican Governor of Washington, son of Charles Cranberry, held the keynote speech, praising President O'Connor and stating: "Well, in the end a Moderate Liberal achieved all the things we Progressives have fighted for all the time!"

The National Democratic Party convened in Mobile, Alabama; and they were disputed. Supporters of Cassius Clay fighted against those of Maxdonald Well; followers of Jerry Clinton were particularly against Donald Cathcon, a Represantative from Michigan. In the end, Cathcon was nominated as consensus candidate, and chose Louisiana Governor Berty Miles Johnson as running mate. Cathcon chose not to run on a "National Democrat" ticket but rather a "Democratic" ticket; yet noone really minded, as a reelection of President O'Connor was a sure thing. In the end, Cathcon and Johnson were able to win a dozen southern states, but O'Connor celebrated a triumphant landslide reelection. "The Grand Old Party and their Grand Old President have won an incredible victory!", wrote the New York Times.

President Thaddeus O'Connor (R-ME) / Vice President Samuel Fallen (R-NJ) - 456 EV's / 62.31 %
Representative Donald Cathcon (D-MI) / Governor Berty Miles Johnson (D-LA) - 75 EV's / 37.68 %

[Cranberry]

BUMP!!!

[Skip]

[Maxwell]

1928: Four more years of President O'Connor was four more years of prosperity. The economy growing strongly, America at peace, so it looked like Republicans would once again take into the White House. Richard C. Berry, Senator from Wisconsin, upset the Vice President for the nomination on a moderate platform. Appeasing the reformist base, he picked New York Governor Samuel Ebner.

Democrats were in disasterous shape. With no serious candidates putting themselves forward, the more organized and wealthy Former Congressman Donald Cathcon usurped the nomination once again. This time, he picked President Pro Tempore Nathan Yankee, the Democrat from North Carolina. Yankee turned 83 on inauguration day, making him easily the oldest VP if Cathcon won. Fortunately, Cathcon had no chance of being elected, and he lost in a second massive landslide.

Senator Richard C. Berry (R-WI)/Governor Samuel Ebner (R-NY) - 60.8%, 444 EV's
Former Congressman Donald Cathcon (D-MI)/President Pro Tempore Nathan C. Yankee (D-NC) - 37.5%, 87 EV's
Others - 1.7%, 0 EV's

[Cranberry]

Just another bump

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Bamp.

[Maxwell]

1932 After the start of the stock market crash, President Richard Berry did his best to try to fix the situation, but his solutions were considered piecemeal and Americans wanted a dramatic change in leadership.

In one of the most amazing comeback stories in American politics, Donald Cathcon defeated Republican Michigan Governor Olland French on a platform of reform in 1930, and became one of Michigan's most popular Governors. He faced an uphill battle for the Democratic nomination - Former President Maxdonald endorsed Governor Jerry Clinton, who represented the last stench of the Bourbon segment of the Democratic Party, the frontrunner most of the election was Lousiana Governor Berty Miles Johnson, but he alienated far too many northern delegates to win. Cathcon once again became the concensus candidate.

To keep the south, Cathcon's pick for VP was conservative Former Democratic Chairman Michael Sanchez of Florida. Sanchez had limited actual political experience, he was a one term Congressman of Florida and didn't run for re-election, but he was considered a strong Democratic insider, someone who could turn out Democrats.

The election was heated: Berry called Cathcon a "royal idiot" and called his reforms "idiotic and unspecific". Cathcon, meanwhile, accused Berry of "putting this country on the path to socialism" and said "even Former Republican Presidents think Berry is an ingrate" (the claim was unsubstantiated. Either way, it didn't really matter: Cathcon defeated Berry in a landslide.

Governor Donald Cathcon (D-MI)/Former Party Chairman Michael Sanchez (D-FL) - 57.2%, 412 EV's
President Richard C. Berry (R-WI)/Vice President Samuel W. Ebner (R-NY) - 40.5%, 119 EV's

[RR1997]

1936 After Donald Cathcon enters office, the economy recovers from the Great Depression, so Cathcon's approval ratings are really high. Many people thank Cathcon's "New Deal" programs for the economic recovery. Many also noticed Cathcon's shift to the left once he took office. The Republicans nominate Senator Robert T. Maxwell, who comes from the more non-interventionist and conservative wing of the GOP. At the end, Cathcon defeated Maxwell in a landslide.

Donald Cathcon (D-MI)/Michael Sanchez (D-FL)-60.2%, 510 EV's
Robert T. Maxwell (R-LA)/Alec "Sean" Guy (R-WI)-37.1, 21 EV's

[MadmanMotley]

1940:
President Cathcon, believing that he had done his part for his country by bringing the U.S. out of the depression, decided not to run for a third-term. The election would be decided by involving the United States in World War 2. Admiral Ronald Rockford of Iowa managed to clinch the democratic nomination, advocated a strong national defense and involving the U.S. in the war. Governor John Maxwell of Oklahoma easily took the Republican nomination, advocating an active defense, but not involving the U.S. in foreign affairs, and instead focus on problems here at home.

Gov. John Maxwell (R-OK)/Sen. Robert Taft (R-OH) 297EV - 51.4%
Admiral Ronald Rockford (D-IA)/Sen. James Farley (D-NY) 234EV - 48.6%

[RR1997]

Bump

[Cranberry]

Maxwell was nearly two years in office, two years of steady growth and continuation of Cathcon's "New Deal" programs, when hell broke loose in most southern states in late 1942. The Governor of Alabama, Marion Oakley, had proposed a plan in the Alabama legislature to settle down all black Alabamians into special reservates, called "homelands", and reserve the rest of the state for whites. The proposal was not met with great approval from the legislature, but throughout the state young blacks protested against the so-called "Oakley-Plan". Oakley ordered police forces to brutally strike down the protests, in turn committing the "Montgomery Massacre", when twenty black civilians and three policemen were killed. The situation got even further out of control when in several other southern states, including Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, occured similar riots. Maxwell offered help from the federal government, but most southern states declined, fearing investigations over several illegal occurances of lynch-justice to young blacks. When the situation got no better until January 1943, Maxwell sent troops down south. The Governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas protested, and demanded a withdrawal of the federal troops, yet their protests fell on deaf ears. After the "order" was restored in early 1943 and the federal troops were withdrawn, voices became louder that demanded investigations over multiple cases of police torture and lynch-justice by the state police against young black Southerners. In April 1943, activists throughout the country filed lawsuits against the state governments of several southern states. For many (white) Southerners, this was a blatant slur. The state governments were sucessfull in portraying Maxwell's government as northern teabaggers, and voices were loud that demanded a new secession, "to hinder northern courts from overthrowing the legitimate governments of the south and further restrict the states rights". The last drop was an audiotape, percieved to be from the Oval Office, in which Maxwell alledgely claimed "the South must be finally broken!". Alabama declared its secession from the union on May 5th, 1943. Several others followed.

By August 1943, the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississipi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida had declared secession from the union, bounded loosely in the "Second Confederation of America". Several upper southern states had considered secession as well, but Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina and Virginia had seen protests against joining the second Confederacy, and therefore remained in the Union, Texas albeit only due to the strong Army presence in that state. Maxwell sought the Congress for a mandate to send troops into the South, yet many Southern and Western conservatives were against a second civil war. It was not until December 1943 that Northern troops crossed the border into Arkansas, thus giving the South enough time to build up defenses. Air strikes were forbidden by Congress, as the Southerners were considered American citizens, and just action against the "illegal militia" was approved. Therefore, Northern troops had just won back Northern Arkansas and Southern Florida until the fall of 1944. Thousands of Southern Blacks fled north, to the northern cities and especially to the Tennessee border, where the government had installed large refugee camps. The refugees, that were considered as citizens of and encouraged to vote in Tennessee, made said state a majority black state.

1944:
When the election came nearer, the whole of America was watching nothing but the so-called "Southern War", to distinct from the Civil War eighty years prior. The Democrats, that did not want to see themselves aligned with the Southerners, had dissolved in April 1943, and formed two parties that would succed them: the Conservative and the Liberal Party. The Republicans were still existing, yet drifting apart between a more liberal and a more conservative wing. When President Maxwell, who was considered a consensus-builder, declined to run for reelection, it was a big shock for Republicans. Their convention in Detroit, Michigan, was a hard one, yet they came to the conclusion to run Governor Ronald Rockford of Iowa, who changed his party registration upon the secession, and Senator Orwell Nation of Texas. They ran on a ticket of continuing the war by all means. The conservative ticket was composed of Congressman Marcus Motley of Indiana and Governor James Spiral of Missouri, and ran on not letting escalate the war, but instead finding a compromise on what was best for all Americans. The Liberals ran a fringe ticket of Senator Darren Cranberry of Maine and Congressman Samuel W Elton of New York, attempting to draw the focus on full civil liberties for all Americans, yet they were not heard outside of New England.

Rep Marcus Motley (C-IN) / Gov James Spiral (C-MO): 421 EV's - 46.32%
Gov Ronald Rockford (R-IA) / Sen Orwell Nation (R-TX): 82 EV's - 31.12%
Sen Darren Cranberry (L-ME) / Rep Samuel W Elton (L-NY): 28 EV's - 23.55%

Maybe that makes it more interesting

[MadmanMotley]

Bump.

[Cranberry]

Bump

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

President Motley considered himself a proud constitutional conservative, and, as such, had opposed the "New Deal", foreign war, and President Maxwell's crackdown on the South. While his friends and colleagues had seen little racism in him, for the incoming president, the issue was not about racism, but about the right of a state to determine its own policies. Following the issuance of the "Oakley Plan", in fact, Motley had simply stated that he encouraged all African-Americans to simply leave Alabama, and, in rather harsh words, described the types that wished to pursue Governor Oakley's agenda. However, when it came to legal opposition to it, he was far from inclined to act, viewing it as a matter of the limits of the federal government. "I would strongly urge the citizens of Alabama, rather than the U.S. Army, to point out that such an act is in violation of  the Alabama State Constitution. If--and I don't believe it would be--is found constitutional under such laws, they obviously need to be changed. However, that is not the job of anyone outside of that state."

Nevertheless, the idealistic Congressman, upon assuming the vast power of the presidency, was forced to look at things in a different light. While he would still work for passage of his economic policies and kept to his principles on U.S. isolationism, the situation in the South would be re-examined. Many of his party's base would accuse him of selling out in the wake of being granted such power. Some outside the Conservatives believed it had been a change of heart for the better. President Motley, however, would maintain until his passing in 1971 that "When I was exposed to the array of intelligence that a President must be forced to look at, after several attempts at negotiation on our terms had failed, and in viewing the amount of federal property the rebellion had confiscated and stolen, it seemed that the matter did fall in my lap, as much as I desired not to." While opponents to his left would still call him "weak" on his Southern policy, over the next four years, the South was saturated with force on the grounds that Motley had stated. By 1948, the war was winding down.

The capture, trial, and execution of SCA Benjamin "Banjo" Broski that wrapped up in June of 1948 would occur just as Motley was nominated for re-election. Despite the President's achievement, many claimed he had sold out. Senator D.S. Natureson of New York had won several primary victories against the president and had nearly won at the convention. Given the foundations of the party, the convention cobbled together an often-times contradictory platform to run Motley on. While applauding the President's success in the South, at the same time it maintained that no other government would have accomplished such a feat and that it was due specifically to the party's policies and principles that the conflict was winding down.

The Republicans, in a seeming electoral freefall nationwide with their main issue off the table--despite large gains in the 1946 mid-terms--nominated former Governor John Adams Winfield of Rhode Island, who was notable for his internationalism, ties to Eastern business interests, and his establishment of universal healthcare in his home state (though Liberals decried it as a "corporatist scheme"). He was joined on the ticket by M.L. King of New Mexico, a former bureaucrat known for his unorthodox style. Such a choice pissed off many in the party's right-wing who claimed that King pretended to be a New Mexico Republican for trolling purposes purely. Winfield, who was attempting to form a centrist coalition, ignored their claims. The Liberals, meanwhile, again nominated Darren Cranberry. This time he was paired with attorney Jefferson Dent of Alabama. Dent, the scion of a powerful Democratic political family, had rejected his roots and, during the uprising in the '40's, had led the legal crusade against the Oakley plan.

Motley won landslide re-election despite low turnout from his own party, easily trouncing the internationalist Winfield and the radical Cranberry.

[Cranberry]

Bumpity Bump