Hail, Columbia! (The Election of 1904)
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  Hail, Columbia! (The Election of 1904)
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Poll
Question: For President of the Commonwealth of North America
#1
John Calhoun Bell of Kansas [Democratic]
 
#2
John Burgess of New York [American]
 
#3
Charles Edward MacDonald of Niagara [ASWI]
 
#4
Manuel Méndez of Nuevo Leon [Concordite]
 
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Partisan results

Total Voters: 24

Author Topic: Hail, Columbia! (The Election of 1904)  (Read 665 times)
Unconditional Surrender Truman
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« on: July 23, 2016, 06:31:04 PM »

"A Socialist for the Presidency? Good heavens, what a thought!"
-The Boston Journal, October 10, 1900

The victory of Charles MacDonald and the ASWI in the election of 1900 caught America, and the world, by surprise, and none were more astonished than the Socialists themselves, for whom their rapid rise to power was as daunting as it was exhilarating. Bursting at the seams with enthusiasm for a host of social, economic, and political reforms, what the party lacked was experience: born from the spirit of the growing labor movement, their ranks were filled by union organizers, writers, and radical thinkers. Few had more than a perfunctory record in public office, nor did the party's unabashed radicalism make legislating alongside more moderate parties any more the easier.

Acutely aware of these weaknesses, President MacDonald moved with shrewd deliberation to compose his cabinet. For vice president, he settled upon Winnebago Senator Victor L. Berger, whose skills as a political strategist and parliamentary debater were unmatched within the Socialist caucus. It was a fateful choice. Having spent the last six years building the Socialist Congressional caucus into an effective political machine, Berger's experience would prove invaluable as MacDonald prepared to put his platform before Congress.

The closeness of the 1900 election had meant that, though the ASWI had added more than a hundred seats to its caucus since the last Congress, they were still far short of a majority. In the House of Commons, the Socialists held a narrow plurality over the Concordites, with the Democrats holding the balance of power; in the Senate, they were the third largest party. To have any hope of passing his agenda, MacDonald would need Democratic support. This meant that more radical propositions, such as the system of national unemployment insurance that had formed a centerpiece of MacDonald's presidential campaign, was effectively dead on arrival as Concordites and Democrats closed ranks to table the bill. On other matters, the president was more successful: legislation establishing the six hour workday and nationalizing the railroad industry passed with slim majorities, and in 1902 an amendment to the Commonwealth Charter was adopted granting women the right to vote.



Senator John Calhoun Bell of Kansas [Democratic]
Four years after Terrence V. Powderly led the party to the worst defeat in its history, Democrats are hoping to rebuild the farmer-labor coalition that won them control of La Maison Blanchet in 1892 and 1896. Their nominee is Kansan Senator John Bell, whose efforts to secure Democratic support for the Womens' Suffrage Amendment assured its passage in the upper house. He has likewise championed new health regulations designed to clean up the nation's meat packing plants, whose squalid conditions and unhygienic practices contaminate thousands of pounds of meat each year. More moderate than MacDonald on most issues, he is opposed to the nationalization of the coal and steel industries and voted against legislation that would have created a system of national unemployment insurance. He is opposed to a return to the gold standard, favors a mild form of protectionism, and otherwise argues for a foreign policy free of "entangling alliances."


Professor John Burgess of New York [American]
The nativist American Party has nominated John Burgess of New York, a political scientist and professor at Columbia University. A proponent of social darwinism, Burgess differs from the Concordites on two major counts: his unabashed protectionism and his and general hostility towards foreigners and Catholics. His party has little support outside of New England, but a strong showing could help or hurt the Concordites, depending on with whom his appeal is greatest.


President Charles Edward MacDonald of Niagara [ASWI]
Four years wiser after harrowing battles against the conservative forces in Congress, MacDonald's platform is an updated version of the one he campaigned on in 1900. Unshaken by his legislative defeats, he has put forward a series of audacious proposals designed to grab the attention of the press: nationalization of the oil, coal, and steel industries, national health insurance, national unemployment insurance, new health regulations for food producers, and a strong protective tariff. He stands firm in his opposition to the gold standard, but has suggested a significant increase of interest rates in an effort to combat inflation.


Senator Manuel Méndez of Nuevo Leon [Concordite]
Few in the capital can claim to rival the power and forcefulness of Manuel Mendez, whose strength as a debater and unmatched skill as a politician have made him the MacDonald Administration's most formidable enemy. Having served eight years as the governor of Nuevo Leon before joining the Senate in 1888, Mendez has been likened to the late President Juan Alvarez, a comparison he has done his best to encourage. His platform consists of calls for free trade, fidelity to the gold standard, a strong central bank, the repeal of the Silver Act, and blanket opposition to the policies of the MacDonald Administration.
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Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy
Alex
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« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2016, 06:51:30 PM »

Bell
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Goldwater
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« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2016, 07:06:57 PM »

Méndez
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NeverAgain
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« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2016, 07:07:32 PM »

Re-Elect the President... Reluctantly...
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Intell
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« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2016, 07:36:19 PM »

Bell.
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Unconditional Surrender Truman
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« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2016, 08:49:06 PM »

Bump.
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Mr. Smith
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« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2016, 08:59:19 PM »

Re-elect the President for one more round.
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Murica!
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« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2016, 12:21:43 PM »

MacDonald again.
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Kingpoleon
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« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2016, 04:06:15 PM »

Ring the bell!
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