Hail, Columbia! (Master Thread)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1904
 

Manuel Méndez [Concordite-Nuevo Leon]—37.5% General, 50.1% Runoff
Charles Edward MacDonald [ASWI-Niagara]—33.3% General, 49.9% Runoff
John Calhoun Bell [Democratic-Kansas]—25.0% General
John Burgess [American-New York]—4.2% General

Never before had Americans been so sharply divided by a presidential election as in 1904, and the fall campaign for control of La Maison Blanchet soon proved to be among the nastiest and most bitterly contested elections in the history of the Commonwealth. Four years after an unlikely turn of events had elevated his party to power, President Charles MacDonald began his reelection bid an embattled incumbent, struggling to contain rising inflation while maintaining the uneasy governing coalition that clung to a narrow majority in Congress. For all his efforts, MacDonald was unable to convince the electorate to return him to office; alarmed by rising prices and the perceived radicalism of the ASWI, the public turned instead to Senator Manuel Mendez, whose Concordite Party won a strong plurality in the Congress despite a spare popular vote victory. Thus, the tradition of Juan Alvarez was revived after twelve years of radical dominance in the capital, while the defeated Democrats and Socialists were left to ponder the cause of their downfall.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1908
 

Manuel Méndez [Concordite-Nuevo Leon]—21.2% General, 54.1% Runoff
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. [National Liberal-New York]—27.3% General, 45.9% Runoff
John Calhoun Bell [Democratic-Kansas]—18.2% General
Victor Luitpold Berger [ASWI-Winnebago]—18.2% General
Leon Czolgosz [Communist-Huron]—15.2% General

The election of 1908 took place against the backdrop of the Great War, as Americans debated whether to intervene on behalf of their old ally, France, or remain neutral in what had become an increasingly deadly struggle between the great powers of Europe. The tension between war and peace tore the prevailing party system at its seams, resulting in no fewer than five candidates contesting the presidency in the fall campaign. Leader of the peace forces was President Manuel Mendez, who narrowly survived the bloodbath of the first ballot to face pro-war Governor Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. in a runoff vote. The son of the late former President Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., Roosevelt won the support of French-speaking voters in Canada and the Old Northwest and made some inroads with progressive voters, but was unable to overcome the strongly anti-war sentiment sweeping the country. Instead, Mendez was reelected with the grudging support of the anti-war Democrats and Socialists, prompting an unusual realignment that would have broad implications for the still-beginning 20th Century.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1912
 

William Green [ASWI-Ohio]—34.5% General, 60.0% Runoff
Manuel Méndez [Concordite-Nuevo Leon]—31.0% General, 40.0% Runoff
Henry Cabot Lodge [National Liberal-Massachusetts]—24.1% General
Thomas James Walsh [Democratic-Montana]—10.3% General

Eight years after Manuel Mendez had first claimed la Maison Blanchet for the Concordite Party, the public was ready for a change, and with the Socialists gathering strength after nearly a decade in the opposition, the time was ripe for a realignment. Having healed the internal divisions that had caused their defeat in 1908, the American Section of the Workers' International rallied to the candidacy of William Green, a little-known Congressman from Ohio who seemed to many a feeble opponent to the great Mendez. Yet while Green lacked the incumbent's years of experience, he also lacked his legions of enemies, and it was this fact that caused the president's downfall. After winning a narrow plurality on the first ballot, Green went on to trounce Mendez in the final round, winning 60% of the vote and sweeping the map from the northern shores of Quebec to the Pacific coast. So it was that the Socialists were returned to power just four years after many had counted them finished, and the great Manuel Mendez, rejected and humiliated, began his retirement.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Question: What is it that would have Mexico support a right-leaning party? Is it merely Mendez' home region, or something larger?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Question: What is it that would have Mexico support a right-leaning party? Is it merely Mendez' home region, or something larger?

A mixture of both. Historically, Hispanic Catholics were one of the three pillars of the Blanchetesque Whig Party. Led first by Jose Maria Morelos and, later, by Juan Alvarez, these Mexican Whigs feared that a centralized continental government would undercut the power of the Catholic Church, a view legitimized when the Liberals formed an alliance with the Anti-Tithe Party of Benito Juarez in the 1860s. They never quite saw eye to eye with the rest of the party when it came to other matters, however, and were notably moderate on questions of trade and finance (a fact that led "True Whigs" to revolt against Juarez in the 1856 elections). In recent years, as the battle over the Laicism Act fades further and further into the past, these voters have been drifting away from the Concordite fold. While the leadership of Manuel Mendez was enough to maintain the loyalty of the Spanish provinces at the presidential level, Mexico and Nuevo Leon elected majority-Socialist delegations to the House of Commons in 1908, and were joined by Yucatan in 1912.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1916
 

William Howard Taft [National Liberal-Ohio]—40.6% General, 52.0% Runoff
William Green [ASWI-Ohio]—40.6% General, 48.0% General
Andrew Whitfield [Concordite-Acadia]—18.8% General

Having celebrated a landslide victory over Manuel Mendez just four years earlier, William Green was forced to surrender the presidency following the election of 1916, which saw William H. Taft of the National Liberals narrowly defeat his fellow Ohioan in the final round of balloting. Green's administration had been a tumultuous one: in Europe, the signing of the Treaty of Berlin forced a vindictive peace upon the defeated French, while at home the rise of radical Czolgosist societies challenged the supremacy of the rule of law. Even so, Green's success in uniting farmers and urban laborers behind his candidacy nearly won him a second term; ultimately, it was the support of the old Powderly Democrats - newly reconstituted as the Center Democratic Party - who propelled Taft to victory, supplying just enough votes in the Western provinces to swing the race in favor of the old jurist.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1920
 

Franciso Ignatio Huerte [ASWI-Mexico]—41.9% General, 54.8% Runoff
William Howard Taft [National Liberal-Ohio]—38.7% General, 45.2% Runoff
Jonathan Roland Edwards [Concordite-South Carolina]—19.4% General

The election of 1920 brought the Liberal government of William Howard Taft to an early death as the ASWI regained control of la Maison Blanchet after just four years in the opposition. Elected by a narrow majority in 1916, Taft had sought to establish his country as a major player upon the world stage, but his unwavering support for the French Republic was ill received at home by an electorate fearful that the president was draining the national coffers for the benefit of a foreign power. This sentiment allowed the Socialists to return to power under the leadership of Francisco Huerte, who rode a wave of discontent to trounce Taft on the second ballot, winning nearly 55% of the vote and 34 of the 54 provinces. Thus, Huterte became the third Socialist president and only the fifth elected from the Spanish Provinces, while Taft - though defeated - held his party together and so affirmed the Liberals as the main opposition to the ASWI.

[Kingpoleon]

Did Huterte win the German vote?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Did Huterte win the German vote?

That he did. German-Americans have been a reliably Socialist voting bloc since the collapse of the Democratic Party, and the ASWI enjoyed significant support in the German-speaking provinces even before then. Most currently affiliate with the Social Democratic Party (one of the two main factions to emerge from the rupture of the Democratic coalition; it fused with the ASWI in 1915).

[Kingpoleon]

I was asking because I've voted only Democratic/Liberal before, IIRC, and this was my first time voting for a Socialist I think. Before I felt like a good fit for Germans. Did Edwards overperform with Germans as well?

(Sorry for asking about this so much. This is an interesting topic to me.)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I was asking because I've voted only Democratic/Liberal before, IIRC, and this was my first time voting for a Socialist I think. Before I felt like a good fit for Germans. Did Edwards overperform with Germans as well?

(Sorry for asking about this so much. This is an interesting topic to me.)

To the contrary, I wish people would ask more questions! Edwards received next to no votes outside of New England and the Southeast, where the German-American population is almost non-existant; he did poll a strong third in a handful of provinces with significant German-American minorities (e.g. Ohio), but did not significantly improve upon Whitfield's 1916 showing.

I should note that while the Germans of the upper Great Plains are overwhelmingly for the Socialists, the provinces of the lower Plains are a different story. In Missouri, for instance, equally large numbers of German Americans can be found in the SDP and the rival Center Democratic Party (whose caucus supported Taft in the last two elections). Missouri's German population voted narrowly for Taft in 1916 but swung towards the Socialists in the last election, effectively mirroring the transformation you described.

The Forty-First Continental Congress of North America
elected in the year 1920

The Continental Congress is divided into two chambers: the 577 members of the House of Commons are apportioned amongst the provinces according to population, while every province elects one member of the Senate. Members of the Commons serve four-year terms, while Senators are chosen for eight-year terms, with half the body up for election every four years.

House of Commons	Senate
577 Members	54 Members
A.S.W.I. (274 seats)	A.S.W.I. (21 seats)
Social Democratic (35 seats)	Social Democratic (7 seats)
National Liberal (225 seats)	National Liberal (18 seats)
Center Democratic (16 seats)	Center Democratic (3 seats)
Concordite (29 seats)	Concordite (5 seats)

PARTISAN COMPOSITION OF THE SENATE following the 1920 ELECTIONS

[PPT Spiral]

Are congressional elections subject to runoffs as well?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Are congressional elections subject to runoffs as well?

They are.

[Kingpoleon]

If Missouri is south Missouri and northern Arkansas, I have an awesome province I live in.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

If Missouri is south Missouri and northern Arkansas, I have an awesome province I live in.

Missouri is the roughly-triangular province just west of Illinois. The province comprising RL southern Missouri and Arkansas is Lafayette, home of the 11th President of North America, Thomas Hart Benton.

[PPT Spiral]

Actually, I have another question: How large is the dovish wing of the National Liberal Party, if one exists? Do they have any prominent leaders?

[Kingpoleon]

Actually, I have another question: How large is the dovish wing of the National Liberal Party, if one exists? Do they have any prominent leaders?

I'd guess the Center Democrats, Germans mostly who endorsed Taft in both of the last elections, are probably closest to that. Any prominent German Liberals are probably more moderate on France/international affairs in general.

[LLR]

Odd that there are no regionalist parties, at least in congress

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Actually, I have another question: How large is the dovish wing of the National Liberal Party, if one exists? Do they have any prominent leaders?

Kingpoleon's hypothesis is mostly correct. Given that the National Liberals were originally organized to opposed the neutrality policy of the Mendez administration, you'd be hard pressed to find a true non interventionist within the party. That's not to say there aren't varying degrees to which Liberals feel involvement in foreign affairs is wise or beneficial, but the general principle that the Commonwealth should play an active role on the world stage is fairly strong. The most dovish wing of the Liberal coalition would be the CDP, who agree with former Vice President Thomas Walsh that the Commonwealth should go to war only if she is attacked.

Odd that there are no regionalist parties, at least in congress

I beg to differ. The SDP and CDP are regional affiliates, respectively, of the ASWI and National Liberals (akin to the real life DFL of Minnesota). Both parties are limited to the Great Plains and what we would call the Midwest. Neither is a true regionalist party in the way that the Canadiens or the Commonwealth Party were, but they're not truly national parties either. Likewise, the Concordites are now a de facto regional party, having lost most of their support outside of a few provinces (the Southeast, parts of New England, and the upper South). Keep in mind, also, that we've just come through an electoral realignment; give the system time to settle down before the big coalitions begin to fracture.

[Boston Bread]

I presume that Northern ON and QC are much more heavily settled than IRL? IRL their populations are too low to justify being a province. Areas in Russia with similar climates are more populated so it is possible, although the soils in the Hudson Bay area are less fertile so any population centres would have to be based on industry, mining, and forestry.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I presume that Northern ON and QC are much more heavily settled than IRL? IRL their populations are too low to justify being a province. Areas in Russia with similar climates are more populated so it is possible, although the soils in the Hudson Bay area are less fertile so any population centres would have to be based on industry, mining, and forestry.

You know more than I do about the real-life populations of these areas, but essentially, yes. In the 1880s, the Campbell Administration set aside most of the remaining brown territories on the map for settlement by indigenous peoples, while simultaneously lowering the price of land in RL Northern Ontario and Quebec. This resulted in, if not a flood, than a respectable stream of white settlers into these territories over the last two decades of the 20th Century. All three provinces have primarily industrial economies.

[Intell]

What are different ideological factions between parties, and where do their support base/their vote constituency lie?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1924
 

Felipe Carrillo Puerto [Socialist-Yucatan]—57.7% General
Daniel Heath Goodrich [National Liberal-Indiana]—34.6% General
Charles Ellsworth Gould [Concordite-North Carolina]—7.7% General

The third so-called "accidental president," having assumed the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor, Charles W. Bryan had enjoyed legislative success and broad popularity during his term in office, and most observers predicted this would allow his party to retain control of La Maison Blanchet in advance of the 1924 campaign. Indeed, the election of 1924 ended in one of the largest landslides in the history of the Commonwealth with the election of Vice President Felipe Carrillo Puerto. In the general election, Carrillo carried nearly 58% of the vote and 38 of the 54 provinces. Nationally, the Socialists made large gains in the Senate and the House of Commons; the Concordites, meanwhile, suffered the further erosion of their party's fortunes, carrying but a single province and less than 8% of the vote, while their once safe Senate seat in South Carolina fell to the Liberals.

[Kingpoleon]

What is Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., up to?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Election of 1928
 

Theodore Roosevelt III [National Liberal-New York]—30.8% General, 58.3% Runoff
Herbert Martin Strauss [IWL-Minnesota]—34.6% General, 41.7% Runoff
Felipe Carrillo Puerto [Socialist-Yucatan]—19.2% General
Daniel Maltheson Hearst [Independent-Pennsylvania]—15.4% General

The face of the country had visibly aged, the shadows beneath its eyes grown darker, as the quadrennial campaign for La Maison Blanchet began in the spring of 1928. The Crash of 1925 had transformed the prosperity that Charles W. Bryan left upon his retirement to bitter depression, and when President Felipe Carrillo ordered federal troops to break the Miners' Strike of '27, the Socialist Party was cleaved down the middle. The party faithful nominated Carrillo for a second term in 1928, but his inability to end the recession and the hated brand of "strikebreaker" had turned the working classes against him. Running under the banner of the Independent Workers League, Herbert Strauss polled well enough to knock Carrillo out of contention, but was himself defeated in the runoff by Theodore Roosevelt III, nominee of the Liberal and Center Democratic parties and the grandson of former president Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Promising to retain the most popular Socialist initiatives of the past decade while combatting graft and government waste, Roosevelt combined support from traditional conservative quarters with moderate Socialists and Social Democrats from the western provinces to forge a formidable electoral coalition that swept to victory on election day, carrying 44 of the 54 provinces and nearly three fifths of the popular vote.