Hail, Columbia! (The Election of 1916)

At noon on the 28th of July, 1914, the monstrous Great War that had raged across Europe for more than seven years came, finally, to its end. The collapse of the Russian Empire the year before and the untimely intervention of the Ottomans on behalf of Prussia had spelled doom for the wearied French; the Prusso-British alliance had won out, and the armies of the republic were left with no choice but to lay down their arms and submit to the mercy of their conquerors.

There was to be a good deal more vengeance than mercy in Berlin as the ambassadors of the victorious nations drew up the terms of the hard-won peace. France was forced to accept the creation of a unified German Empire, to whom was ceded the long-contested territory of Alsace-Lorraine; her colonies in Africa and Indochina were divided among the victorious powers. By far the most humiliating proviso, however, was the clause blaming France for starting the war and requiring that she pay yearly reparations to the victorious powers in penance. Powerless to resist, the French government had no choice but to accept the terms, condemning her people to a new age of hardship and resentment towards the Germans and the leaders who had failed them.

. . .

Four years after his astounding victory in the election of 1912 restored the ASWI to the helm of the North American Commonwealth, President William Green has done his best to sooth his country's conflicted conscience. In this, he has been only partly successful: Theodore Roosevelt and the National Liberals lost no time blaming Green and his successor, Manuel Mendez, for the French defeat, famously declaring that "the blood is on your hands" after the terms of the peace treaty became known to the American public. Privately, Green and Mendez would express disgust over Germany's handling of the defeated French. Green even went so far as to dispatch Mendez to Berlin on an informal mission, but the former president's appeals for leniency fell upon deaf ears.

At home, Green has capitalized on large Socialist majorities in both houses of Congress to pass sweeping legislative reforms. The Liszt-Benson Act, passed in 1913, nationalized the oil and steel industries, much to the consternation of the business community. This was followed by the Bond Act and the Silver Purchase Act, both passed in 1914, which respectively authorized the Commonwealth Reserve to purchase treasury bonds and reduced the quantity of silver currency in circulation. Together, these bills represent an attempt to reign in inflation, which some economists fear may soon result in a major recession. While the rate of inflation has slowed somewhat in recent years, it is unclear whether this is due to the president's policies or natural market forces. Finally, the National Health Act of 1915 established a basic system of national health insurance that passed thanks to the support of Roosevelt's National Liberals.

In addition to the country's financial matters, Green has had to contend with the rise of radical leftist politics in the form of communist-Czolgoszist societies. Encouraged by the success of the Russian Revolution, these Czolgoszists - a motley collection of communists and anarchists loosely affiliated with the abstentionist wing of the Communist Party - have begun agitating for the violent overthrow of the Commonwealth government. Their activities went largely unnoticed until the Blackwater Square Riots of 1915, which saw a dozen Czolgoszists and two policemen killed in a three-day standoff in Dearborn, Ottawa. ^[1] Only the arrival of the National Guard brought an end to the riots; six anarchists were ultimately convicted of instigating the riots and sentenced to death.

The Democratic Party disintegrated following the election of 1912, its members dividing into three main camps. The first of these formed the Social Democratic Party, a coalition partner of the ASWI that remains popular in parts of the West. The second became the Center Democratic Party, the heir to the Powderly wing of the Democratic Party. The remainder split themselves between the Concordites and the National Liberals, while a handful continue to stick to the old Democratic banner, albiet without any real base of support.

Former Governor Andrew Whitfield of Acadia [Concordite]
After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Socialist Party in 1912, the Concordites have pinned their hoped for redemption to the candidacy of Andrew Whitfield, the former governor of Acadia. One of the founding members of the Concordite coalition, Whitfield has taken a hard line against the policies of President Green and the ASWI: he calls for the privatization of the railroads, oil, and steel industries; the repeal of the National Health Act; a general reduction in tariff rates; and the loosening of laws governing labor relations. He has attacked the president for failing to crack down on the Communist Party in the wake of the Blackwater Riots and has proposed the passage of a "Sedition Act" outlawing membership to the group.

President William Green of Ohio [ASWI-SDP]
Having been unanimously renominated by his party's delegates, the president is campaigning on a promise to finish the job begun four years ago. His platform is characteristically ambitious, calling for national unemployment insurance, the first-ever minimum wage, old age insurance, in addition to the traditional planks supporting organized labor and the protective tariff. He has been endorsed by the Social Democratic Party, a fragment of the former Democratic Party.

Judge of the Circuit Court William Howard Taft of Ohio [National Liberal-CDP]
Few are sure what to make of the National Liberal Party in 1916. With the coming of peace, their signature issue - immediate intervention in the Great War on behalf of France - is no longer relevant, and many now contend that the time has come to rejoin the Concordites. Those that remain have nominated William Howard Taft, the distinguished if uninspiring Judge of the 12th Circuit Court, as their candidate for president. Taft has taken a markedly Rooseveltian stance on the issues of the day: he supports the repeal of federal laws nationalizing the railroads, oil, and steel industries but supports the National Health Act and has promised to reform the notoriously corrupt Customs Office. In a distinct break from his opponents, Taft has called for the Commonwealth to renew her friendship with the French Republic, promising aid to rebuild the war-torn country and vowing to pressure Britain and Germany to reduce the reparation payments mandated by the Treaty of Berlin. Taft has been endorsed by the Center Democratic Party, the successor to the Powderly faction of the old Democratic Party.

^[1] Chicago, IL

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