The American Monarchy

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: Europe in the 1920s
Note: At the suggestion of Colin and Xahar, I've edited the aftermath of the breakup of Austria-Hungary; Slovakia remained a part of Hungary, while a Republic of Bohemia and Moravia, comprising more or less the modern Czech Republic, became an independent nation.

Russia
Following the successful conclusion of the Russian Civil War in Spring 1923, Alexander Kerensky’s Socialist Revolutionary Party (a moderate leftist party) won 53% of the seats in the Russian Constituent Assembly. The second largest party was the Constitutional Democratic Party (a classical liberal party), led by Pavel Milyukov, with about 20% of the seats in the Assembly. The Bolsheviks (a socialist party led by Joseph Stalin) and the Octobrists (a moderate liberal party led by Mikhail Rodzianko) each gained about 10% of the seats in the chamber. Prime Minister Kerensky immediately nationalized large banks and large industries. At the same time, Kerensky’s government also pushed forward land reform measures, giving peasants greater economic freedom. Russia saw heavy economic investment from American and German companies through the 1920s, as Prime Minister Theodore Roosevelt in particular encouraged American business and industry to invest in the war torn nation. Due to a combination of Kerensky’s economic policies and foreign investment, Russia’s agricultural and industrial production had returned to pre-World War levels by 1927. As the 1930s began, Alexander Kerensky’s Russia had become a remarkable success story, largely free of the problems faced in other European nations, and quickly becoming an industrial power.

France
France saw widespread social turmoil and a poor economy following their defeat in the World War. As of 1925, German troops still occupied the east of the country, inflation was constantly rising, and governments came to power and splintered yearly. In 1925, Raymond Poincaré was Prime Minister, as leader of the center-right Democratic Republican Alliance (ARD). Hungarian-funded communists and Italian-backed fascists regularly pulled off terrorist attacks in the major cities of France. By 1926, Poincaré’s government had become increasingly unpopular, and unemployment rates peaked at 19%. Unrest and unemployment culminated in the July Revolution, as striking workers took to the streets in Paris and other large cities. On July 3rd, Raymond Poincaré was assassinated by Boris Souvarine, a Russian-born communist. This seemed to be the political tipping point, as the peaceful strikes that had engulfed the country quickly erupted in bloodshed, as leftists and rightists clashed in urban battles. The beleagered French government quickly lost control of the country, as competing fascist and communist groups seized power in various regions. André Tardieu was elected Prime Minister of France, as the French parliament fled from Paris. Tardieu ordered the French army to put down the protesters, while also appealing to the League of Nations for support. By the end of July, a combined French and international force (mostly made up German soldiers occupying France) had regained order. André Tardieu would continue as Prime Minister until 1928, when his government again fell. Through the end of 1928 and 1929, France continued to face social and economic unrest, with various radical groups continuing to gain prominence.

Germany
Though victorious in the World War, the German Reich faced its own set of problems during the 1920s. Kaiser Wilhelm II, though he had promised to democratize his nation and expand civil liberties in the Treaty of Rome negotiations, quickly reneged on these promises, and the 1920s saw the Reichstag gain little more power. Instead, the military gained increasing control of the German Empire, especially as German forces were dispatched across the world to garrison newly controlled territory. The German government slid further and further into debt as the 1920s continued, as it quickly became clear than Germany did not have the manpower or economic power to occupy (at times) hostile territories on four continents. In 1925, Kaiser Wilhelm II sold Madagascar to the United States, and began pulling troops out of Indochina, granting the territory limited autonomy. This angered some of the far-right in Germany, and in September of 1925, an attempted “Putsch” was attempted by members of the nationalist Kampfbund in Bavaria, principally the city of Munich. The revolt was quickly put down by General Erich Ludendorff. As the 1920s came to an end, there was increasing unrest and disillusion with the Kaiser and his government, as the economy had continued to worsen. The German people turned to a number of political groups, including liberal democrats, right-wing nationalists, and the left, as all these factions gained popularity and support.

Great Britain
The Liberal-supported Labour government had, by 1923, fallen, with few accomplishments aside from constant squabbling and a souring economy to its name. In the 1923 general election, Stanley Baldwin’s Conservatives gained a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, falling short of a majority. Baldwin’s government quickly gave way to new elections, scheduled for the summer of 1924. Riots in many of the industrial cities of the United Kingdom sprung up through the Spring of 1924, and the Conservatives were effectively able to tie the occasionally violent riots and the threat of socialism to the Labour Party, leading to a clear victory in June 1924 and a majority Conservative government. Prime Minister Baldwin, pursued protectionist policies in a quest to drive down unemployment. Hawks in his cabinet, primarily Foreign Secretary Winston Churchill, pushed for a military and naval build-up, so that Britain would maintain its status as a world power after its loss in the war. Tensions during this period between the United States and the United Kingdom increased, as nationalist within Britain (and even in the government) blamed the United States for many of Britain’s problems, taking advantage of a history of antagonism between the two nations.

The Rest of Europe
Bela Kun’s Soviet Republic of Hungary survived since its inception in October of 1921. With the advice of failed-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, Bela Kun reformed the Hungarian Red Army and nationalized much of Hungary. Though much of Hungary’s industry was destroyed in the war and the first few years of Kun’s rule saw widespread famine and unrest, including a number of failed revolts, by 1926 Hungary’s industrial and agricultural production had begun to rebound. By the end of the 1920s, the Soviet Republic of Hungary had become the strongest industrial and military power in Eastern Europe, and was beginning to extend its power and influence into the independent states of the Balkans.

The Republic of Bohemia and Moravia, which gained indepdence following the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, came under increasing German influence throughout the first half of the 1920s. In 1925, after a concentrated German propaganda campaign and a failing economy, widespread unrest caused President Tomas Masaryk to resign. Germany quickly moved in, and Kaiser Wilhelm II placed Prince Sigismund of Prussia on the throne, taking the title King Sigismund of Bohemia and Moravia. Germany also quietly annexed some of the outlying ethnic-German regions of the country. Though Tomas Masaryk and his supporters initially appealed to the League of Nations, Germany and its ally the United States had established de facto control of the international organization by 1925. By 1929, the Kingdom of Bohemia-Moravia had become yet another German puppet state, along with Poland, Livland, Albania and, to a lesser extent, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The Kingdom of Austria survived the 1920s with heavy financial and military support from Germany. Throughout the decade, King Franz I sought to democratize his country, and reform it along the American model of a republican monarchy. As the 1920s ended, Karl Renner, a Social Democrat, was chancellor, and, like most European nations, was only just beginning to get out of the post-war recession.

Italy saw the rise of a Fascist dictatorship under Benito Mussolini , following his March on Rome in June 1923. During the 1920s, Mussolini nationalized much of the Italian economy and increased military spending and production. His government also supporter fascist paramilitary movements in France and the Balkans.

Like the Germans, the Ottomans were hesitant to democratize and liberalize their empire, as had been called for during the negotiations of the Treaty of Rome. While the Ottoman Empire was largely able to avoid the economic recession ravaging Europe, it did face many revolts in the ethnically non-Turkish regions of its empire. British forces in Palestine, Kuwait and Iran supplied Arab revolutionaries with weapons and ammunition throughout the decade. The Ottoman Empire, already unstable before the war, and now facing widespread revolt, began to fall apart in the period between 1924 and 1925. Mustafa Kemal, a general in charge of fighting Arab rebels in Syria, learned of the detiorating government in Istanbul and marched his army to Istanbul. When he arrived in Istanbul, his forces bolstered by deserting troops throughout the empire, Mustafa Kemal, with the support of much of the international community, including Prime Minister Theodore Roosevelt forced the Sultan to abdicate. By 1926, the Republic of Turkey had been established, with Mustafa Kemal as its President. From 1926 through the end of the decade, Turkey saw rapid modernization and westernization.

[Хahar 🤔]

Great. I'm glad to see a more organic breakup. Looks good to me.

Can you do Asia next? I have an insatiable obession with the state of affairs in Bengal.

[Hash]

Excellent job on the French situation

And I like the situation in Russia too! Kerensky is great.

[Хahar 🤔]

You got the Hashmite Seal of Approval, which has never before been awarded to any TL mentioning France.

[Kevinstat]

Your map on page 26 (I should have mentioned this earlier) seems to have France gaining Alsace-Lorraine or Alsase-Moselle (although it is under German de facto control along with other territory along France's northeastern border) rather than losing the remainder of Lorraine as you had said in the previous page.  That map is far enough back and the various regions of France would be small enough on it that I can understand if you don't want to update your map.  But are Nancy and Épinal and Verdun now (in the 1920s) de jure part of Germany.  If not, are they under German de facto control.  What about Belfort?  You mentioned the Meuse-Seine line as the boundary of France's required demilitarization apart from what was lost to Germany de jure, but I just thought I'd clarify what in general Germany formally gained from France.

Anyway, great update (your last one).  Has Mustafa Kemal take the additional name Atatürk as in OTL?  Will/has the Republic of Turkey lose/lost any territory, officially or effectively, from the postwar Ottoman Empire (with Kemal taking over in Istanbul the Turkish army might not have been able to quell or even contain rebellions in outlying areas, although that may change as Turkey's modernization is put to work on it's army and the Turkish people see enough internal improvements that they are willing to support what might have earlier been seen as foreign expeditions within the boundaries of an old empire).

[Хahar 🤔]

Mao question that got forgotten:

Does New Britain belong to Japan?

[MasterJedi]

Nice update, and as Xahar said it would be nice to see Asia if it wouldn't be too much trouble.

[Person Man]

I would really like to see the 1930s.

[Lief 🗽]

We'll be entering the 30s in the next update, don't worry.

Kevinstat, as for your first question, the text description is right, and the map is wrong. Over-sight on my part, as the maps were based on maps of the our timeline I found online with edits to update them to my own timeline, and giving Germany those extra couple pixels of territory was something that I forgot to do.

Mustafa Kemal has taken the name Atatürk, and part of the his mission in reforming Turkey was giving the ethnic-enclaves of the country greater autonomy. However, with the discovery of oil in Iraq in the late 20s, there is now a greater push by the Turkish government (as well as their allies in Berlin) to bring the Arab territories under full control once again.

New Britain does belong to Japan. Japan captured it during the Great War, and by war's end, neither Germany nor the United States had the will to retake the island from the Japanese. In the Treaty of Rome, Japan was given New Britain, as well as some other German Pacific possessions, in exchange for some light reparations.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Lief, as I always say great update for a brilliant timeline. This is one of the best ever on the Atlas Forum. However once in awhile Conor Flynn must ask questions and I'll fire away right now:

1) What's the situation in Ireland at the moment? Are they a Republic like at this time in RL or are they still apart of the United Kingdom?

2) What's the situation in Australia? Is Stanley Melbourne Bruce still Prime Minister?

3) What's the situation of the World Economy? Will it slip into a "Depression" anytime soon or will it not, like in my Herbert Hoover elected in 1920 and life there after timeline?

Thanks.

P.S. I'm sorry I kept on saying "What's the Situation in..." questions.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

BUMP

Lief, as I always say great update for a brilliant timeline. This is one of the best ever on the Atlas Forum. However once in awhile Conor Flynn must ask questions and I'll fire away right now:

1) What's the situation in Ireland at the moment? Are they a Republic like at this time in RL or are they still apart of the United Kingdom?

2) What's the situation in Australia? Is Stanley Melbourne Bruce still Prime Minister?

3) What's the situation of the World Economy? Will it slip into a "Depression" anytime soon or will it not, like in my Herbert Hoover elected in 1920 and life there after timeline?

Thanks.

P.S. I'm sorry I kept on saying "What's the Situation in..." questions.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1929 - 1931

Additional troops began arriving in Mexico in the Spring of 1929. By the summer, American troops had seen a number of successes, and public sentiment seemed to once again be on the Prime Minister’s side. Following the Battle of Progreso, where Americans successfully took control of a major rebel port city in late July, Prime Minister Nicholas Longworth flirted with calling elections, but instead, decided to delay them until 1930, when they would occur alongside elections to the Royal Council and when the amendment enacting proportional representation would be fully ratified. Throughout the remainder of 1929 and the early months of 1930, Longworth’s government, mostly under Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State John C. Coolidge and the prominent Minority Whip Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed the Immigration Act of 1929 establishing strict quotas and a budget for 1930 with steep cuts in non-military spending. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Longworth traveled, meeting Latin American leaders in 1929 and traveling to Europe to meet with German, Russian, Italian, British and French leaders in 1930. By the time Longworth had returned, the 22nd Amendment had been ratified, and he dissolved parliament and asked for new elections that November.

The election would see, for the first time since the mid-19th century, four major parties (the Liberals, Populists, SDP, and ILP) as well as numerous smaller parties, encouraged by the recent election reforms. One such party was the American National League (ANL), founded in February 1929 by veterans of the wars in Canada, Europe and Mexico. The party was strongly nationalist and pro-expansion, with some going so far as to label it a fascist party, in the mold of French paramilitary groups or Mussolini’s supporters. Indeed, in the months before the November election, ANL members, dressed in gray uniforms (and thus dubbed “grayshirts” by the American media) held large rallies in a number of American cities. At the first ANL convention, held in Nashville, Tennessee, Gen. Smedley Butler, commanding general of the army in Ireland during the Great War and now in Mexico, was offered the position of party leader, though he refused. Instead, after three ballots, Alvin York, a decorated seargant who had spent many years in numerous theaters of war, was elected party leader. York, in his acceptance speech, blamed the problems in Mexico on American cowardice, attacking the government for not “annexing the whole damned country when they had the chance!” 

The other parties had much less eventful conventions. At the Populist convention, Party Leader John W. Davis was defeated, and replaced with the Populist hardliner Theodore G. Bilbo (P-MS). At the SDP convention, the 51-year-old Fransisco Villa was renominated on the first ballot. Villa was confident that, after thirteen years of Liberal rule, the American people would be ready for a change, and even the normally combative New York City Mayor Norman Thomas gave Villa his full approval. At the Liberal convention in Cleveland, Nicholas Longworth was unanimously renominated. At the very first ILP convention, held in Chicago, Hiram Johnson won a majority of votes on the first ballot, and pledged to the American people a “third-way”, between the laissez-faire policies of the Liberals and the socialist policies of the SDP. The ILP convention in October was overshadowed by the Second Battle of Progreso, in which Zapatista forces retook the city, which had been re-garrisoned with Mexican troops. The loss of the city was a major symbolic defeat for Longworth’s government, and public sentiment began to once again turn against him.

In November, Longworth’s Liberal Party was able to hold on to a plurality of seats in the Senate, though they lost their majority. The ANL surprised many when they won a handful of seats, and the Populists and ILP both earned dissapointing results. Fransisco Villa’s SDP, while not gaining a plurality of seats, did gain the most seats and declared victory. Villa immediately began negotiating with the ILP and Populists in hopes of forming a coalition. In the Royal Council, the SDP made major gains, at the expense of the Liberals and Populists. The ILP and ANL, despite decent showings in the nationwide popular vote, failed to gain any seats.

The Senate prior to the Election of 1930:
Liberal Party: 250 Seats
Social Democratic Party: 114 Seats
Populist Party: 61 Seats
Independent Liberal Party: 59 Seats
American National League: 0 Seats
Total: 484 Seats

Map of the Senate Election

The Senate after the Election of 1930:
Liberal Party: 37.9% PV      
      115 CS; 96 PLS; 221 Total Seats (-39)
Social Democratic Party: 31.4% PV
      70 CS; 80 PLS; 150 Total Seats (+36)
Populist Party: 10.3% PV
      37 CS; 26 PLS; 63 Total Seats (+2)
Independent Liberal Party: 13.8% PV
      23 CS; 35 PLS; 58 Total Seats (-1)
American National League: 5.2% PV
      5 CS; 13 PLS; 18 Total Seats (+18)
Other Parties: 1.4% PV
      0 CS; 0 PLS; 0 Total Seats
Total: 500 Seats
(PV= Popular Vote, CS= Constituent Seats, PLS= Party List Seats)

The Royal Council after the Election of 1930:
Liberal Party: 26 Seats (-4)
Populist Party: 10 Seats (+0)
Social Democratic Party: 18 Seats (+4)
Total: 54 Seats

Map of the Royal Council Election

During the weeks immediately following the November election, both Longworth and Villa steadfastly argued that their respective party had won the election. Both leaders quickly refused to join a coalition with the radical ANL, and Hiram Johnson ruled out any coalition with the Liberal Party. On December 7th, Senators in the Populist Party held a meeting in the capital and decided against joining either the Liberals or SDP in a coalition. By late December, it had become clear that the only course of action would be the creation of a grand Liberal-SDP coalition. By January 4th, negotiations between the two parties had concluded, and Prime Minister Longworth released details on his government.

The Second Longworth Cabinet (January 1931):
Prime Minister: Nicholas Longworth (L-OH)
Deputy Prime Minister: Francisco Villa (SDP-HM)
Majority Whip: Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (L-MA)
Secretary of State: Francisco Villa (SDP-HM)
Secretary of the Treasury: John Calvin Coolidge (L-MA)
Secretary of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt (L-NY)
Attorney General: Seymour Stedman (SDP-IL)
Secretary of the Interior: Charles Curtis (L-KS)
Secretary of Agriculture: Henry A. Wallace (SDP-IA)
Secretary of Commerce: Ogden L. Mills (L-NY)
Secretary of Labor: Robert F. Wagner (SDP-NY)

The new government immediately began on a shaky footing. There were constant newspaper reports of internal squabbling between Villa and Longworth and the two struggled to agree on coherent domestic or foreign policy agendas. The debate over the budget was bitter and lasted through the spring. The eventual compromise budget saw modest tax raises, small cuts in tariff rates, and increased military spending. The final vote on the budget saw numerous defections from both SDP and Liberal Senators, but Longworth was able to rope in a handful of ANL, ILP and Populist Senators to get the budget narrowly passed.

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Roosevelt became increasingly focused on the situation in Mexico. During the summer of 1931, General Smedley Butler retired, and was replaced with General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur had privately criticized Butler for not being aggressive enough in destroying resistance to the Mexican regime. Secretary Roosevelt met with MacArthur in October 1931 and assured the general that he had the government’s full backing. MacArthur’s campaign would later be criticized for its at-times overly-aggressive nature and the heavy collateral damage and civilian casualties it incurred, but by the end of 1931, few could deny that he had made significant progress. In the Battle of Cuernavaca in late October, MacArthur nearly reduced the city, a hotbed of Zapatista activity, to rubble, after days of artillery barrages and bitter street fighting. However, in the days after the battle, much of Zapata’s routed army was captured, and in early December, Emiliano Zapata himself was captured by American forces. King Henry and Prime Minister Longworth both celebrated the capture as a major victory in the war and promised that a draw-down in American forces would soon follow.

[Lief 🗽]

Answers to Rocky's questions:

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The Irish gained their independence during the Great War and they are now a fairly stable Republic.

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The situation in Australia is essentially unchanged, though The Statute of Westminster was not passed in 1931, as, following the loss of so much territory during the war, British politicians are very much against letting go, even symbolically, of even more territorial possessions.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The world economy, at this point, is mostly dominated by the United States, though Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom all have strong economies. As for the second part of your question, you'll need to wait and see.

[Хahar 🤔]

OH NOES! DOUGLAS MACARTHUR!!!

I'm glad there's finally an update, but could you do Asia?

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Answers to Rocky's questions:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The Irish gained their independence during the Great War and they are now a fairly stable Republic.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The situation in Australia is essentially unchanged, though The Statute of Westminster was not passed in 1931, as, following the loss of so much territory during the war, British politicians are very much against letting go, even symbolically, of even more territorial possessions.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The world economy, at this point, is mostly dominated by the United States, though Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom all have strong economies. As for the second part of your question, you'll need to wait and see.

Thanks Lief . Great Update as usual.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The only good thing about MacArthur was that unlike some generals, he was willing to butcher his own troops to gain a victory.  Unfortunately he had a tendency to do the same even when it wasn't necessary, as the 32nd Division found out in New Guinea.

By the way, considering that it is led by a sergeant, the ANL wouldn't happen to use the following banner, would it?

[MasterJedi]

Nice update, I was hoping for more because of the gap but any update is better than none!

[Kevinstat]

Give me a B... B!
Give me a U... U!
Give me a M... M!
Give me a P... P!

What does that spell?  bump

Louder!  Bump!

One more time!  BUMP!!!

[Robespierre's Jaw]

BUMP

Lief, do you know when you'll be able to update this timeline once again? It's been quite awhile now. You don't want to upset the people that love this timeline do you?

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1932 - 1934

When the Senate reconvened in February 1932, Prime Minister Nicholas Longworth and Secretary of War Franklin Roosevelt met with the King and decided upon a drawdown of American troops serving in Mexico. Over the winter, since Zapata’s capture, violence had died down considerably, and President Obregon had recently been re-elected in a landslide. In the Senate, Longworth and Villa both pushed forward the Veteran’s Benefits Act. The act contained numerous provisions to help returning veterans of the wars in Mexico and Europe, but there were two chief provisions: first, the government would provide veterans one year of unemployment insurance when they returned home and second, the government would grant returning veteran’s bonus certificates that would be redeemable in ten years. The Veteran’s Benefits Act passed with majority support from all five parties in the chamber, and after gaining the Royal Council’s near unanimous approval, King Henry proudly signed the bill into law.

As was largely par for the course in Longworth’s premiership, this legislative success was short-lived. On Monday August the 8th, a day that would come to be known as Black Monday, share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. After years of record growth and a decade largely marked by prosperity, the sudden collapse of stock prices shocked many Americans. Stock prices rebounded slightly that Tuesday, only to fall further until the end of trading on Friday. Compounding the problem, numerous banks, first in New York, but then throughout the country, closed throughout the fall and winter of 1932. The farm crisis, which had largely been ignored by Longworth’s government since it had begun in 1930, also added to the nation’s economic woes.

As the economic downturn worsened through the winter of 1932 and the spring of 1933, the Senate furiously debated what action, if any at all to take. The Liberals stressed a lack of government intervention and increased tariffs. The ILP, whose base was in large part made up of northern farmers, called for immediate farm relief. The Populists largely aligned themselves with the Liberals, supporting a balanced budget and coming out against attempts to fix the recession with heavy government intervention. The SDP was largely split on the issue. The leftist wing of the party, led by New York Mayor Norman Thomas and William Z. Foster in the Senate, railed against big business and demanded that the government empower workers and farmers. Moderates in the party (as well as the party leadership), led by Francisco Villa, sought to quiet the leftist wing. Villa was wary of breaking with Prime Minister Longworth and causing political instability, especially in early 1933 when he (and many others) believed the recession would soon end. Finally, Villa and Longworth agreed on the passage of the Mills-Thomas Tariff, which raised tariff rates dramatically. Despite opposition from many economists, the tariff passed in the Senate, by a vote of 398 to 101. It was quickly passed by the Royal Council and signed into law by King Henry I in April 1933.

The American recession soon hit European nations, many of which had had shaky economies in the late 20s and early 30s already and were greatly dependent on American loans and American trade. Germany, Great Britain and other European nations turned to protectionist policies. In Russia, the economic growth of the 1920s began to slow, though Alexander Kerensky managed to remain popular and fend off electoral challenges from socialist and liberal parties. The Hungarian Soviet Republic was one of the few states that largely avoided the recession, and continued to grow industrially and militarily. For the rest of the world, as international trade came nearly to a halt, 1933 was a dark year. In the United States, it soon became apparent that Mills-Thomas had not solved the problem, and had perhaps exacerbated it. By the fall of 1933, Villa had accepted the arguments of the leftists in his party. In an emergency cabinet meeting in July, Villa pressed for economic intervention. Longworth flatly refused; Villa and his SDP cabinet members resigned from the government the next day. King Henry pressed Longworth for elections, as it had become clear the Liberals had lost power. When a no-confidence motion came before the Senate in early-September, Longworth instructed his party to support the motion. King Henry called for elections that January.

The Liberals held their convention first, in Montreal, Quebec. Longworth, who was in poor health, declined to run again, and Coolidge, his natural successor, also in poor health and foreseeing electoral defeat, declined as well. Secretary of War Franklin Roosevelt also declined to run for the nomination. With the three leaders of the party not running, the Liberals were split. On the twelfth ballot, the convention settled on Royal Councilor R.B. Bennett of New Brunswick, who gave up his seat in the Royal Council to run on the Liberal party list. At the SDP convention, Villa was bitterly opposed by the leftist wing of his party. Moderates in the party lined up behind Villa, while Norman Thomas commanded the left of the party. On the first ballot, Villa eked out a slim majority, 52% to 46%. Villa, in an effort to unite the party, offered Thomas a high-ranking cabinet position if he ran for Senate, and Thomas agreed. In his acceptance speech, Villa called for immediate economic aid and reform and vilified big business and the banks for betraying the American people. At the ILP convention, Hiram Johnson did not run for re-election, and William E. Borah of Lakota won the spot as party leader. The ILP’s platform focused on farm aid, and Borah and ILP leaders hoped to enter into the next government with heavy support from rural voters. The Populists and ANL re-elected Theodore G. Bilbo and Alvin York, respectively. The Populists were hopeful, with many noting that the first Populist government, under Thomas E. Watson, had been elected during a similar economic crisis. The ANL appealed to suffering working class Americans throughout the country, blaming big business, socialists, Jews, blacks, immigrants, and even the monarchy for betraying working Americans.

In January, as was expected, the Liberals suffered a crushing defeat. Their share of the vote fell over 10% since the election of 1930. However, the SDP, confident of victory, actually saw a reduced share of the vote, and only gained a few seats. Southerners turned en masse against the Populists, voting for the ANL and ILP, causing the Populists to fall below the 5% threshold needed for party list seats. Most shocking was the performance of the ANL, which won nearly 1 in 5 voters, though it managed to pick up comparatively few constituency seats.

The Senate after the Election of 1934:
Liberal Party: 26.1% PV   (-11.8%)   
      70 CS; 71 PLS; 141 Total Seats (-80)
Social Democratic Party: 29.5% PV (-1.9%)
      92 CS; 80 PLS; 172 Total Seats (+22)
Populist Party: 3.5% PV (-6.8%)
      23 CS; 0 PLS; 23 Total Seats (-40)
Independent Liberal Party: 18.2% PV (+5.4%)
      40 CS; 49 PLS; 89 Total Seats (+31)
American National League: 18.5% PV (+13.3%)
      25 CS; 50 PLS; 75 Total Seats (+57)
Other Parties: 4.2% PV (+1.8%)¹
      0 CS; 0 PLS; 0 Total Seats
Total: 500 Seats

Map of Constituent Seat Breakdown Following the Election of 1934

Following the election, SDP Party Head Francisco Villa met with ILP Party Head William E. Borah and the two quickly negotiated a coalition agreement. The Populists and Liberals also entered into a coalition, as the official opposition. The ANL, despite its gains, was once again shunned by all four parties. In February, after leading the SDP for nearly 14 years, Francisco Villa, son of Mexican immigrants, became the first SDP Prime Minister.

The First Villa Cabinet (February 1934):
Prime Minister: Francisco Villa (SDP-HM)
Deputy Prime Minister: William E. Borah (ILP-LK)
Majority Whip: Henry A. Wallace (SDP-IA)
Secretary of State: William E. Borah (ILP-LK)
Secretary of the Treasury: Norman Thomas (SDP-NY)
Secretary of War: William Z. Foster (SDP-MA)
Attorney General: Seymour Stedman (SDP-IL)
Secretary of the Interior: Elmer A. Benson (ILP-WI)
Secretary of Agriculture: Alf Landon (ILP-KS)
Secretary of Commerce: Burton K. Wheeler (ILP-MT)
Secretary of Labor: J. S. Woodsworth (SDP-ON)

Villa quickly set about trying to end the economic crisis. Since the Senate had been dissolved in the fall of 1933, the international economy had worsened further, and American unemployment had reached over 15%. Villa’s first address to the Senate was a bitter denunciation of business: “The bankers and financiers, the businesses, and the capitalists of our society have owned the government and exploited the worker since Alexander Hamilton stood before this body. That era, that era of laissez-faire and wage slavery, is finally at an end.”

¹A number of minor parties also did surprisingly well in the election of 1934, including the American Communist Party, which gathered 2.1% nationwide, as well as some regional separatist parties that played on the economic woes of their respective regions, in Cuba and the Canadian states. None of these parties, however, won any constituency seats or reached the 5% party list seat threshold.

[Хahar 🤔]

Death of the Populists?

I'd love an Asia update.

[Lief 🗽]

Death of the Populists?

I'd love an Asia update.

Maybe, maybe not.

Do you have specific questions about Asia? Things are largely unchanged from events in our own timeline, to the extent that I wouldn't really be able to write an entire update about Asia without just copying large swaths of Wikipedia.

[Хahar 🤔]

Sure.

• Events in China
• Japanese territorial ambitions
• Any Indian revolts/unrest
• Situation in the Middle East

[Kevinstat]

The next Royal Council elections should be interesting, particularly in the south where the Populists will face their first electoral test since their disappointing Senate election.

Keep up the GREAT work Leif.

[MasterJedi]

Nice update! I get the feeling that we'll be seeing more frequent updates?