The American Monarchy

[Josh/Devilman88]

Another great update.

[ottermax]

Will there be a Spanish-American War? I am assuming that this will add Puerto Rico and Cuba, which would be very interesting.

[Erc]

First James Garfield, now Tom Watson...we are getting spoiled with some high-quality politicians.

Although, as you mention, Watson's really young--33 in 1889?  I bet we'll be seeing him a lot over the next 35-odd years.

And Coxey as a major player in Parliament--nice touch, although perhaps a touch unstable.

[Reignman]

Go Populists!

[Dr. Cynic]

Alright!!!! a dude with my last name is the leader!!!!!!

MORE MORE MORE!!!!!!!!

[HappyWarrior]

Dakota seems kinda awkward, I'd recommend dividing it into two seperate states to make it look better.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Great Update, as per usuall. Just wondering has William Jennings Bryan made an appearence in the TL yet? He would make a great Populist Prime Minister. And I think many would agree.

GO POPULISTS!!

[Verily]

Dakota seems kinda awkward, I'd recommend dividing it into two seperate states to make it look better.

Actually, I have the opposite criticism. The reason the West was broken up into many small states in real history was because the Republicans saw dividing it up as being to their political advantage because they were strong there. (This has changed over time, of course, though the Republicans are indeed strong there now.) Since Liberty was very weak in the area, I find it unlikely that they'd have admitted "Montana", "Idaho" and "Wyoming" as separate states, given that doing so surely helped empower the Populists.

[Lief 🗽]

Will there be a Spanish-American War? I am assuming that this will add Puerto Rico and Cuba, which would be very interesting.

With memories of the War of Succession still fresh in most American's minds, there hasn't really been an impetus for war or expansion, and military and especially naval spending has dropped considerably.

Great Update, as per usuall. Just wondering has William Jennings Bryan made an appearence in the TL yet? He would make a great Populist Prime Minister. And I think many would agree.

GO POPULISTS!!

Bryan has not (yet) entered political life. In OTL, he went to school in Illinois and then Chicago during the 1870s and early 1880s, though, in my timeline, with the Illinois as a major front in the war, he had to postpone formal education until the 1880s. In the late 1880s, he moved to Lancaster, Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska in our timeline) and is thinking of running for the Senate in 1894.

Dakota seems kinda awkward, I'd recommend dividing it into two seperate states to make it look better.

Actually, I have the opposite criticism. The reason the West was broken up into many small states in real history was because the Republicans saw dividing it up as being to their political advantage because they were strong there. (This has changed over time, of course, though the Republicans are indeed strong there now.) Since Liberty was very weak in the area, I find it unlikely that they'd have admitted "Montana", "Idaho" and "Wyoming" as separate states, given that doing so surely helped empower the Populists.

At the same time, I doubt that the government would have been willing to create such a colossal state, as it would be ungovernable. One of the reasons in our history that Dakota territory was split up was that the two population centers of the territory were on opposite ends of Dakota.

[Lief 🗽]

Obviously, I tried a different format for this update. Please tell me which one you like more.

The American Monarchy: 1894 - 1898

June 1894- Liberty and National Party leaders enter into talks about a possible alliance. After a week of talks, the two parties decide that the only way that they can wrestle power away from the Populists is a merger. The National and Liberty parties become the Liberal Party, stressing a gold standard, laissez faire economics, and a strong military. At their convention in New York City, former New York Governor Grover Cleveland was courted to run for the Senate and lead the new party, but he declined. After 23 ballots, the convention eventually settled on Senator Mark Hanna of Ohio. Hanna had the backing of numerous industrial and business leaders, and the Liberal party would spend a record amount on the election.

July, 1894- The Populists hold their convention in Omaha, Nebraska. While Watson is popular, there are clear divisions within the party, with a Western-Progressive bloc, a Southern bloc, and a socialist bloc emerging. Watson is able to win re-nomination on the first ballot, and stresses that his party needs a strong showing in the upcoming elections going into the first Royal Council elections in November.

August 7th, 1894- The Populist Party maintains control of the Senate. With no more vote-splitting in the Northeast, the Populists lose a number of seats. However, with Populist governments in many Southern states, there is wide-spread disenfranchising of black voters, allowing the Populists to make further gains in the South. Western states, Populist strongholds, also gain many seats after reapportionment.

The Senate following the Election of 1894:
Populist Party: 231 Seats (+33)
Liberal Party: 134 Seats (+19)
Total: 365 Seats



October 1st, 1894- The Senate reconvenes and Thomas Watson is elected to a second term as Prime Minister. In his speech before the Senate he outlines his party’s major goals within the next four years: passing a graduated income tax, passing the Barkley Fair Labor Act (establishing a national 8-hour workday), passing a federal minimum wage, passing universal suffrage, and lowering the tariff on essential goods.

November 6th, 1894- The first direct elections to the Royal Council take place. Many Councilors are elected as independents, though the Populists do gain a majority in the chamber.

The Royal Council following the Election of 1894:
Populist Party: 23 Seats
Liberal Party: 13 Seats
Independent: 8 Seats
Total: 44 Seats



February 1895- Both Houses reconvene. Prime Minister Watson begins debate on the Wilson-Debs Revenue Act, reforming and decreasing tariffs, and implementing a small, graduated income tax to make up for lost revenue. The vote for the Act went largely along party lines, though some in the Liberal Party supported the promise of tariff reform and were willing to substitute an income tax for the tariffs. The act passed 245-112.

April 1895- The Wilson-Debs Revenue Act is passed by a vote of 28 to 14 in the Royal Council.

May 1895- King Robert II, in a speech before the Senate, decries the lack of military spending. “Our military, once forced to become the most advanced in the world when our nation was torn apart by bloodshed, is now obsolete,” the King passionately argues. He calls for increased military and naval spending, and renewed expansion. Prime Minister Watson speaks the next day, after consulting with his cabinet: he will refuse the King’s request, arguing that “the plight of the worker, the farmer, the woman, and the child is, to my government, a more pressing concern than imperialism for the benefit of a privileged few.” However, freshman Senator Eugene V. Debs, famous war veteran and rising star of the socialist bloc of the Populist Party, comes out in favor of the king’s proposal. Despite support from Liberals and many in the Populist party, Watson and his cabinet are able to kill the proposal by the summer recess.

September 1895- Watson once again brings up the Barkley Fair Labor Act, establishing an 8-hour work day. Populist Senators eagerly amend the bill, attempting to add as many labor protections as they can, knowing that the Royal Council will pass the bill this time.

October 1895- The Barkley Fair Labor Act passes in the Senate, by a vote of 227 to 124. The act mandates a 10-hour work day, sets a national minimum wage, and adds numerous union protections. The Royal Council approves it later that month, by a vote of 29 to 13. King Robert II, still angry that his military proposals were not even debated, contemplates vetoing the bill, but instead allows it to become law without his signature.

February 1896- Benjamin F. Shively, Secretary of the Treasury, resigns to become Governor of Indiana. Prime Minister Watson decides to appoint one of the new freshman Senators to the post, eventually coming to Senators Eugene Debs (P-IN) and William Bryan (P-NE). The selection exposes a serious split in the Populist Party, as Debs has become the de facto leader of the Socialist bloc and Bryan is the rising star among Western and farming interests. Watson eventually settled on Debs, angering many Western Senators.

May 1896- In an effort to restore party unity, Prime Minister Watson creates the cabinet post of Secretary of Agriculture, promoting Kittel Halvorson (P-WI) to the post.

August 1896- The Senate once again takes up debate on the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Despite heavy lobbying from women’s groups, the King, and leaders of both parties, the amendment narrowly fails to garner the 2/3 majority needed, with the final tally at 239 to 119.

October 1896- In a cabinet meeting, Watson and his cabinet debate the legislative goals of the next term. Eugene Debs brings up King Robert II’s proposal for increased military funding, but Watson angrily cuts off the Senator.

February 1897- Eugene Debs is invited to Arlington Palace by King Robert II. Robert, after having heard that Debs supports him, commends the young Senator on having a place in the cabinet so soon into his career. Robert convinces Debs to force a vote on a bill increasing military and naval funding, assuring the Senator that with support from the Liberals and dissenting Populists, the bill will pass.

March 1897- Debs threatens Prime Minister Watson with resignation if his military bill is not brought up for debate. Watson agrees, confident that he can defeat it and unwilling to let Debs resign, a move that would surely break apart his party.

April 1897- The Debs-McKinley Army and Naval Expansion Act is put up for debate. Written by Eugene Debs and William McKinley (L-OH), the bill calls for doubling the size of the United States army, investing heavily in evolving rifle technology; increasing production of artillery and Gatling guns; increased production of steam-powered, steel warships with a goal of increasing the size of the American navy to top 5 in the world by 1910; and the subsequent creation of the Royal Atlantic and Royal Pacific Fleets. Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State James Weaver calls the bill “the beginnings of aggressive imperialism”, while Opposition Leader Hanna supports the bill as "the first step in re-invigorating this great nation following the crisis of the last decade.” After nearly a month of debate, Watson is shocked to see the bill pass by a margin of 197-162, as nearly 1/3 of his party supports it.

Mary 1897- The Royal Council votes on the Debs-McKinley Act, deadlocking at 21-21. King Robert II is constitutionally charged with breaking the tie, and he of course votes for the bill. In a triumphant ceremony, photographed by all the papers, the King signs the bill, flanked by Eugene Debs, William McKinley, Opposition Leader Hanna, General George Custer, and other current military leaders.

June 1897- While the Senate is in recess, the Supreme Court overturns the income tax provision in the Wilson-Debs Revenue Act. A week later it overturns the majority of the Barkley Fair Labor Act. Watson, at his home in Georgia, wires major newspaper, claiming that his government will amend the constitution to allow the bills’ passage.

September 1897- The 19th Amendment, allowing the Senate to levy income taxes, narrowly garners a 2/3 margin in the Senate. It will be ratified by the mostly-Populist controlled state legislatures.

January 1898- The Senate passes the Barkley Federal Labor Act, applying most of the provisions in the Barkley Fair Labor Act that affected private business to the federal government. The Royal Council will pass it a week later.

March 5th, 1898- Prime Minister Watson refuses to pass Eugene Debs’ proposed budget. The budget includes spending corresponding with the goals of the Debs-McKinley Act, but Watson, still angry about the bill’s passage, orders that the military appropriations in Debs’ proposal be halved. Debs demands that it be debated, as he is Secretary of the Treasury. When Watson refuses, Eugene V. Debs resigns from the government, and, with the backing of a significant portion of the party, calls for a no-confidence vote.

[Meeker]

I prefer the other way. It read more like a history textbook, while this is more like something you'd see walking through a museum.

[Хahar 🤔]

The only thing I really liss is the maps. However, the footnotes were interesting.

[Colin]

Maps please! I love maps. No maps obviously makes me very very sad.

As for the format I liked the previous format better. This format seems more dry than before. Plus having written things in both timeline form and "history textbook" form I seem to like the latter better than the former. It also seems easier to write, I didn't have to spend time figure out dates for events to occur.

[Verily]

Maps please! I love maps. No maps obviously makes me very very sad.

As for the format I liked the previous format better. This format seems more dry than before. Plus having written things in both timeline form and "history textbook" form I seem to like the latter better than the former. It also seems easier to write, I didn't have to spend time figure out dates for events to occur.

There are maps, just not in-thread.

I foresee a split in the Populists, with Debs leading a Socialist (Social Democratic?) Party out of its ranks. This timeline just isn't content with only two parties at once! (Not that I object, of course.)

As for format, I much preferred the old style, though the new style is okay, too.

[Verily]

Dakota seems kinda awkward, I'd recommend dividing it into two seperate states to make it look better.

Actually, I have the opposite criticism. The reason the West was broken up into many small states in real history was because the Republicans saw dividing it up as being to their political advantage because they were strong there. (This has changed over time, of course, though the Republicans are indeed strong there now.) Since Liberty was very weak in the area, I find it unlikely that they'd have admitted "Montana", "Idaho" and "Wyoming" as separate states, given that doing so surely helped empower the Populists.

At the same time, I doubt that the government would have been willing to create such a colossal state, as it would be ungovernable. One of the reasons in our history that Dakota territory was split up was that the two population centers of the territory were on opposite ends of Dakota.

It's smaller than Texas and not much larger than Dakota or California. Plus, almost no one lives in the northern third of the combined state at this point; the big industries are ranching in the south and mining in the center.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1898 - 1902

On May 6th, 1898 the no confidence resolution against Prime Minister Watson came up for a vote. Opposition Leader Mark Hanna led his 134 Senators to vote against the Prime Minister. Watson had quickly lost control over his party the week before, as it had broken into three factions: a Socialist faction, led by Debs, holding most of the Populist seats in the North and Midwest; a Southern faction led by the Prime Minister; and an agrarian, progressive faction holding most of the Western Populist seats led by James Weaver. On May 5th, Weaver had given Watson his word that he would support the Prime Minister, and most in Weaver’s faction followed him in support of Watson. Nevertheless, with Debs’ support, the no confidence motion passed 211 to 145.

At the Liberal convention in New York City, Mark Hanna was re-nominated on the first ballot. “Americans want optimism, free enterprise and opportunity,” Hanna argued. “While the socialists, anarchists and communists seek to break this nation apart, we seek to establish a foundation of mutual trust and success between the laborer and the employer.” The Populist Party held its convention in Baltimore. Thomas E. Watson was nominated without opposition. The Prime Minister reminded all convention delegates that their party had “in one decade, done more for the working man, woman and child than any party in the nation’s history,” but Speaker of the Wisconsin State Senate¹ Robert M. La Follette’s keynote speech stole the show.  Finally, in Philadelphia, surrounded by labor activists and union workers, “Sergeant” Debs founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP). While he called for socialist reform, he also called for a stronger military, “so that the emancipation of the worker may extend beyond American shores.”

On Election Day, the Liberals were able to claim a slim majority of seats, largely due to SDP-Populist vote splitting across the country, but also due to some Populist-fatigue in parts of the nation. The Senate would meet again in late November for a short session, but in early November the elections for the Royal Council were held. Once again, the Liberal Party made gains, taking a majority of the chamber. Following the elections, there was talk in both the Populist and Social Democratic Parties about implementing proportional or run-off voting, as the combined popular vote of the Populists and SDP had been greater than that of the Liberals.

The Senate before the Election of 1898:
Liberal Party: 134 Seats
Populist Party: 151 Seats
Social Democratic Party: 80 Seats
Total 365 Seats



The Senate after the Election of 1898:
Liberal Party: 185 Seats (+51)
Populist Party: 113 Seats (-38)
Social Democratic Party: 67 Seats (-13)
Prohibition Party: 1 Seat (+1)
Total 365 Seats



The Royal Council after the Election of 1898:
Liberal Party: 24 Seats (+11)
Populist Party: 15 Seats (-8)
Social Democratic Party: 4 Seats (+4)
Independent: 1 Seat (-7)
Total: 44 Seats

The Government as of December 1898:
Prime Minister: Mark Hanna (L-OH)
Deputy Prime Minister: John Sherman (L-OH)
Majority Whip: Theodore Roosevelt (L-NY)
Secretary of State: John Sherman (L-OH)
Secretary of the Treasury: William McKinley (L-OH)
Secretary of War: Garret Hobart (L-NJ)
Attorney General: Joseph McKenna (L-CA)

Claiming an electoral mandate, due to his majorities in both chambers, Mark Hanna won a vote along party lines to become the new Prime Minister when the Senate briefly convened in December 1898. Thomas Watson would become opposition leader. When the Senate reconvened again in March 1898, Prime Minister Hanna made it clear to the entire Senate that he would follow a course of government reform and government reduction. By the end of December, Prime Minister Hanna had, with the support of the SDP, passed a budget dramatically increasing military spending (though only slightly reducing government spending in other areas). In 1899, still claiming a mandate, the Prime Minister attempted to pass the McKinley Tariff, dramatically raising tariff rates, above the level they had been before Watson’s government had cut them. Owing to his small majority, the vote was incredibly close, largely along party lines. While some moderate Liberals were initially leaning against the tariff, the young, charismatic Majority Whip Roosevelt was able to keep the caucus together, and the McKinley Tariff passed by a vote of 183 to 180. It easily passed in the Royal Council, by a vote of 24 to 18.

Hanna’s success as Prime Minister was short-lived. He had spent most of his political capital on the McKinley Tariff (which was unpopular among most voters) and the moderates in his party were unwilling to support many of his later proposals. While he was able to pass the Gold Standard Act of 1899 towards the end of the year, reaffirming a gold-only monetary system with full support from his party as well as some cross-over support, his further proposals failed. His early 1900 Revenue Act, dramatically cutting income taxes, failed by a close vote of 173 to 182. By the spring of 1900, Hanna’s government, unable to accomplish any of its legislative goals, was on the verge of collapse.

On June 20th, 1900, Chinese rebels (styled “Boxers”) surrounded and laid siege to the Legation Quarter in Peking, an area housing the British, French, American, Belgian, Dutch, Russian, and Japanese legations. Though the American presence was smaller than that of the other European powers in China, due to some two decades of unofficial and official policies of isolationism, the Prime Minister still saw the siege as an act of war. In a meeting with King Robert II on June 22nd, the Prime Minister asked the King for an expedition of troops and ships to defeat the Boxers in China and protect Western interests. Hanna and Robert II both saw an opportunity to expand American influence. Through June and July sensationalist stories ran in the American press about the atrocities committed by the Boxers in Northern China and the heroic stories of the international defenders in Peking. By July, an international, nine-nation force (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the USA) had arrived in China and liberated Peking.

The fighting ended quickly, with the Boxers defeated by the end of 1900. While only a few American soldiers had participated, the American army and navy were celebrated as heroes on their return home. American forces had quietly taken control of ports in Hawaii (an island chain that had been embroiled in years of fighting between the Hawaiian monarchy and American corporations), and the Cannon Act, passed in 1901 with Liberal and SDP support, formally annexed the Hawaiian island chain. After the passage of the Cannon Act, Hanna realized that his party, with cross-over support from SDP (and some Populists) could effectively govern on foreign policy issues. Furthermore, the boost of popularity he had received following the intervention in China and the annexation of Hawaii had saved his government.

Since the 1890s, American newspapers had written sensationalist stories about the revolution occurring in Cuba, just South of American shores. Americans, still confident over the easy victory in China, now called for aid to the Cuban rebels. Secretary of State William McKinley was sent to Spain to negotiate Cuban independence in 1901. To back-up McKinley, King Robert II had ordered the American fleet to surround Cuba. After a grueling month of negotiations, the diplomatic envoy led by McKinley returned in 1902 to the United States with a promise of greater political freedom in Cuba. Prime Minister Hanna himself then traveled with a group of diplomats to Cuba, where he met with Máximo Gómez and other Cuban leaders and the Spanish government on the island. By the summer of 1902, the three sides had signed the Treaty of Havana, granting the island of Cuba an autonomous, democratic government as part of the Spanish empire. The Prime Minister returned to the United States triumphant, and with the popular support of the people, he called for elections later that year.

¹In Wisconsin, the Speaker of the State Senate was also the head of state. By the late 1800s, state governments varied wildly: some still had governors, often with either a bicameral or unicameral legislature; others had only a unicameral legislature, with the speak of the legislature effectively acting as the state’s executive; still others were governed by royal appointees (the royal dependencies of Texas, Deseret, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia).

[Robespierre's Jaw]

What system of voting is used in America in this TL? Is it First past the Post or Preferential Voting? Keep up the good work.

[Lief 🗽]

First past the post, with whichever candidate secures a plurality of the vote winning.

[Хahar 🤔]

Congratulations on guessing Verily! Do you win a prize? I hope Debs wins election, though I dislike his militaristic policies.

I'm going to pile on now and say that this is the best timeline I've ever read.

[Meeker]

When will the Arizona/New Mexico/Oklahoma place become a state?

Incredible work. You should talk to a publisher and work on an actual novel.

[CultureKing]

When will the Arizona/New Mexico/Oklahoma place become a state?

Incredible work. You should talk to a publisher and work on an actual novel.

more importantly what has happened to Washington/Oregon???

[Meeker]

When will the Arizona/New Mexico/Oklahoma place become a state?

Incredible work. You should talk to a publisher and work on an actual novel.

more importantly what has happened to Washington/Oregon???

Yea, they should start a war over it. Trust me guys, it'd be worth it.

And I don't want to be a British subject when I'm born 80 years from now.

[CultureKing]

When will the Arizona/New Mexico/Oklahoma place become a state?

Incredible work. You should talk to a publisher and work on an actual novel.

more importantly what has happened to Washington/Oregon???

Yea, they should start a war over it. Trust me guys, it'd be worth it.

And I don't want to be a British subject when I'm born 80 years from now.

Agreed, I dont want my teeth to be in bad order, also I would still not have a cool british accent

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Ah yes, the future states of Vancouver Island, Oregon, and North and South Columbia.

[Meeker]

The wait is killing me...