1948 Conventions (The Hearse at Monticello)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With the suicide of Adolph Hitler in the Spring of 1945 and the surrender of the Empire of Japan several months later, the long and bloody conflict that would become known as World War II came to an end. Twenty-six years earlier, an American Party president from California had led his country back into isolation following the First World War; as the victorious Allies convened for their second attempt at a lasting peace, President Earl Warren was determined to ignore that particular precedent. In the Autumn of 1945, Warren spoke at the inaugural meeting of the League of Nations, a union of the world's premier powers and newborn states designed to prevent future conflicts and build global consensus. Warren's Administration also launched what has been called "the Marshall-La Guardia Plan", or simply "the Marshall Plan". Named for Secretary of State George Marshall and Vice President Fiorello La Guardia (who served as Warren's Secretary of State from 1940 to 1945), the Marshall-La Guardia Plan attempts to facilitate the recovery of Europe's economy and infrastructure by offering direct aid to the continent.

Warren's vision for a world at peace has been interrupted, however, with tensions with the Soviet Union. Led by Joseph Stalin, its dictatorial Premier, the U.S.S.R. has come to dominate much of Eastern Europe and is threatening to expand its influence around the globe. As the major parties prepare to launch their 1948 presidential campaigns, a much larger struggle is playing out in the city of Berlin, where Soviet forces have blockaded the US-controlled Western half of the city. While President Warren has attempted to break the blockade by flying supplies into Berlin, so far little more than a stalemate has been achieved.

Despite high approval ratings and calls for him to stand for a fourth term, President Warren's failing health has caused him to decline to stand for reelection in 1948. Seeking to replace him as the American Party's standard bearer are a multitude of candidates, ranging from the serious to the ludicrous. Leading the conservative wing of the party is Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, who twice challenged Warren (without success) for the presidency in 1940 and 1944. Also in the running is New York Governor Thomas Dewey, a liberal American who has astutely observed that "our rivers are filled with fish", and Senator Arthur Vandenburg of Michigan, who played an important role in establishing the League of Nations. The real opponent to Taft, however, is Secretary of State George Marshall. Having successfully managed the War Department during World War II and then established the United States on the international stage as Secretary of State, Marshall is seen by many to be the natural choice for president in these trying times. While the former General was somewhat reluctant to run, this Wahsington-esque hesitance has only increased his appeal.

The Populists, meanwhile, are preparing for their most competitive convention in years, with multiple strong candidates having put their names in consideration, including former President Eleanor Roosevelt of New York (who has been endorsed by Henry Wallace, the party's 1944 nominee), Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri, former Senator Alben Barkley of Kentucky, Senator Claude Pepper of Florida (the party's nominee for vice president in 1944), and former Governor Paul V. McNutt of Indiana. Of these, Barkley and Roosevelt are considered the front runners. Barkley, who nearly won the Populist nomination in 1944, has cast himself as the champion of the party's rural roots, calling for new farm subsidies and other pro-agriculture measures. Roosevelt, meanwhile, has widespread support in urban centers and has called for a "forward focussed agenda". Of the second-tier candidates, Truman is also attempting to build support amongst farmers and has called for the revival of Upton Sinclair's Civil Rights program, Pepper has called for stronger ties with the Soviet Union, and McNutt is mainly running to increase his chance of winning a cabinet position.

Following their worst performance in decades in the 1944 election, the Democratic Party has collapsed. While a few stouthearted partisans attempted to rally support for former Congressman Richard Russell, following their catastrophic defeats in the 1946 midterms - in which the Democrats lost all of their remaining Senate seats and all but two in the House - the party leadership opted to dissolve the party, inaugurating a two-party system in the U.S. for the first time since Reconstruction.

[Mr. Smith]

Barkley/Truman

[Boston Bread]

Pepper for the most amusing outcome.
Barkley can be VP I guess.

[Illuminati Blood Drinker]

Pepper!

[Zioneer]

Were nuclear bombs dropped in this timeline?

In any case, I like Truman's style, I'll give him a pity vote.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Were nuclear bombs dropped in this timeline?

Yep.

[Antonio the Sixth]

With the Dems out of the picture, the AP will probably win every election...

[Boston Bread]

Who will white southerners go to now?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Who will white southerners go to now?

Well, it's important to note that white Southerners were by no means a reliably Democratic voting bloc prior to 1947. While the party performed reasonably well in a few states (Virginia, Louisiana, and Arkansas), the Populists have been the dominant party in the South for some time now, and poor Southern whites are a reliably Populist demographic. What's left of the party will probably split more or less evenly between the Populists and the Americans, with the former getting the farm vote and the latter the city vote.

[ElectionsGuy]

Taft

[TDAS04]

Pepper/Truman!

[VPH]

Truman!

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Taft

[Türkisblau]

Were nuclear bombs dropped in this timeline?

Yep.

Again, stupid of us to go with freaking Warren. You liberals voting for him are idiots.

With the Dems out of the picture, the AP will probably win every election...

Even more predictable than before!

[Boston Bread]

With the Dems out of the picture, the AP will probably win every election...

I voted Dem about half the time since 1900 (either for Smith who I liked or just because I wanted to see a 3-way race), and the Populists were my second choice.

[Sumner 1868]

Taft

[YaBoyNY]

Dewey.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Ooh, a tie!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Taft

[Illuminati Blood Drinker]

Oh,  me running...

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Taft/Vandenburg

[Zioneer]

Oh wow, Taft won the "American" nomination? I would've voted for Marshall had he been the nominee but yeah no, Taft is no good.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Oh wow, Taft won the "American" nomination? I would've voted for Marshall had he been the nominee but yeah no, Taft is no good.

Marshall was a major anti-Semite IIRC.