In this article we will focus on Robert Alphonso Taft and the major international events of 1949-1952. More detailed history of countries will be provided later. Current plan is: Europe 1949-52, Middle East and Indian subcondinent 44-52, Japan and southeast Asia 1946-1952, Rest of the World (brief) 44-52 (not much changes)... then we will go to another era from 1953 to 1963 (we already did Cuba).
American internal politics 1946-1952
Truman (1944-1948)
Long and exhausting war against Japan. Despite unquestionable support for the war effort, criticism of usage of nuclear weapons emerged from the left (other American war crimes remained secretly covered up). In 1946 a great wave of unemployment came, connected with large labour strikes (1946-1947 strike wave). Another labour strike started as a response to intervention in China, which was perceived very negatively by the public. 1946 midterms gave Republicans control over Congress headed by Taft, who became the most prominent opponent of Truman. Staunch conservative Taft attacked both Truman’s progressive policies and interventionism. In response to strikes Taft created the infamous Taft–Hartley Act in 1947, that heavily restricted work of the unions. Truman tried to veto it, but Congress overridden it. Taft’s Congress also passed Amendment XXII in 1947, not allowing more than two presidential terms (abolished later by MacArthur). Taft also successfully undermined several progressive policies and introduced major tax cuts (again Truman tried to stop it). In November 1947 Taft strongly criticised Truman for China and aggressive foreign policy, he also opposed extend of the Marshall plan, TATO and also American membership in the UN, Taft declared his desire to seek Republican nomination.
In 1948 Truman introduced his policies continuing Roosevelt’s New Deal as the Fair Deal. In 1948 US federal institutions and the US military were desegregated by Truman. Already during 1946 the Second Red Scare started, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) led by McCarthy gained prominence, in 1947 first hearing of Hollywood suspects. Suspected socialists were purged from unions. “Temporary Commission on Employee Loyalty” was also established by Truman to purge the federal administration of suspected communists. In 1947 US military and intelligence were reorganised, and the CIA formed.
Taft running on conservative (balanced budget, limited spending, pro-business policies and tax cuts, ending of majority of the New Deal social policies, but supported national housing and slum clearance) non-interventionist (retreat from China, non-involvement in Europe, opposing TATO, cutting Marshall plan) platform. Truman is Truman – anti-communist liberalism, interventionism, New Deal progressive policies. Split of Democrats: Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond (racism “state rights”, segregation) and Progressive Wallace (normalisation of relations with USSR, end to anti-communism, “radical” New Deal policies). Wikibox is of course accurate and Taft is elected president.
Taft (1949-1953)
In this part we will focus only on domestic policies of Taft. The international significance of Taft is massive, it forms probably the single biggest shift in international relations in this timeline compared to our reality during these years and he basically did a great job for the Soviets to win the Cold War.
Taft’s domestic policies can be easily predicted from his leadership of conservative-led Congress, turning away from the New Deal and Keynesian economics back to free market capitalism. New Deal social programs were abolished. Taft’s America will be somehow an anomaly compared to other countries going in the direction of Keynesian post-war consensus. Before 1950 mid-terms, when Congress and House were lost to the “Liberal Coalition” (liberal Republicans and Democrats) Taft enjoyed support of both. In 1949 his only progressive initiative Housing Act of 1949 was passed – construction of low-income housing, slum clearance. However, between 1949-1950 the US had housing problems, as rents rose on average by 30% as rent regulations were abolished. Also, other forms of price controls dropped in 1949, this resulted in massive increase in prices, on paper providing economic growth and considered successful. These policies led to dissatisfaction of the working class, however due to strong anti-union laws and anticommunism in society, their protests were met only with negative reaction. Another policy of the Taft presidency was rising tariffs to favour domestic industry and impose limits on immigration. Taft attempted to gain southern votes for Republicans in 1950 by implementing a proto-southern strategy. Other notable would be creation of the Wiley Committee dealing with organised crime (in our reality Kefauver Committee).
Taft was a strong anti-communist, don’t be fooled with his non-intervention. According to Taft: “True dangers of communism don't come from Moscow, but from the big government in Washington D.C.” Red Scare continues, Hollywood witch hunt starts. Senator Joseph McCarthy quickly gets national prominence. After signing the Peace Treaty with Germany McCarthy, who already criticised Taft’s foreign policy, openly attacked the president in June 1950. Allegedly his administration is infiltrated by communists. Taft calls McCarthy a “demagogic lunatic” in response. This creates rift among Republicans, and the majority of them condemn McCarthy, and he is basically shut down. This however makes him even more prominent and popular within the media and population, and he continues to claim that several Republican and Democratic figures are communist sympathisers, citing Republicans turning against him as further proof. McCarthy is touring the country, writing articles, and appearing on radio and wanting to “take the Republican Party back from traitors.” Meanwhile, Taft administration continues with hardline anti-communist policy with McCarran Act of 1950 (forced registration of all members of communist organisations, make possible their detention and barred them from entering US) and Walter Act of 1952 that banned all communist organisations, public hysteria is fuelled further by Rosenberg trial and Mao’s victory in China (1951).
Despite being a rather popular president during his first year, since 1950 Taft’s approval ratings go rapidly downhill, crashing in 1951. After 1951 even former Taft’s staunch supporters – big business – started to look to other horses to back. Taft becomes one of the most disliked incumbent and non-intervention is discredited. Majority of Republicans and Party bosses that backed Taft in 1950, changed their position and distanced themselves from him, in order to prevent the GOP from getting completely destroyed by Democrats in the 1952 election. During this pressure Taft retreats from the hardline isolationist stance and presents “New Foreign Policy Doctrine,” however it is not met with positive response and instead mocked as “late sobering up.”
We still didn’t meet Taft’s biggest hater – Douglas MacArthur. Already in his speech before Congress in May 1949 he attacked Taft’s policy. MacArthur toured America from 1950, visiting big cities, but also small rural towns. Speaking about war, communism, rebuilding of Japan and most importantly attacking the president as a coward. MacArthur pushed a variation of “stab in the back” narrative about China and the rise of communism. In 1951 MacArthur announced he wanted to challenge Taft for the Republican nomination. Already at the beginning he gained support of a large part of the GOP, which feared Taft’s defeat and popular general seemed like a great choice for replacement. As MacArthur adopted McCarthyistic talking points, he also gained his endorsement (many speculated about McCarthy’s own candidature) and both men appeared several times together.
1952 Republican primaries were dominated by MacArthur (3 June 1952), he was not only Taf’s adversary second one was liberal Republican Earl Warren, who strongly opposed both men. It marked the first time an incumbent president lost primaries. This was the largest humiliation Taft had to face. The visibly sad president congratulated the general at the GOP convention and announced that he will retire from politics after his term ends. What historians went to describe as “MacArthur mania” captured the year 1952 in the USA, he was everywhere, and everyone talked about him. Majority of people supported him as a respected war hero, who seems to have point, however the (largely decimated) left strongly warned about him and called him a danger to democracy. Similar position was adopted by President Taft, who stated that “Despite the fact that I have been a proud Republican my whole life, I cannot endorse Douglas MacArthur for President. Man, who wants to enable the rise of a dangerous demagogue without any strong political experience to one of the most prominent positions in this country, I am speaking of Senator Joseph McCarthy, poses a threat to the American values of individual freedom of individual.” The MacArthur campaign also adopted catchy slogans “Mac is back” and “I Back Mac.” MacArthur also gained important support of the working class dissatisfied with free market policies. In November 1952 MacArthur was elected president.
Taft Conciliation 1949-1952
“Taft Conciliation” (also as the British-American Split or the Taft’s Retreat. Conciliation used mostly in socialist bloc, retreat in USA and split in UK) refers to the period of the Cold War, when tensions greatly reduced, occupation of Axis powers and post-WW2 conflicts ended. It completely changed the course of international relations: (Without Taft there would be: Very long China war, Vietnam war, Divided Germany, No French revolution…etc). Let’s first speak about more general issues. Japan will be addressed separately.
TATO – Taft wanted to completely withdraw from TATO, however this motion issued to Congress in August 1949 was rejected, despite conservative majority. Despite this, American withdrawal from Alliance leadership positions and President Robert Taft several times publicly states that the United States will not intervene in any wars TATO may be involved in. Leadership of Alliance shifted to London. British and other members saw this as a betrayal. The Soviets welcomed this move as a significant reduction of tensions. TATO continued to function on paper, but due to the American stance it was almost dysfunctional. American troops withdrew from Europe in 1950.
Marshall Plan and American loans – Taft viewed this as large government spending that has to reason, in 1950 the European Recovery Program was significantly cut off by 50%. Several special promised loans were either cancelled or put on high interest rates to be more profitable for the US, countries were also obliged to use American money only to buy American products. The UK managed to secure better terms, however far from what they had with Truman. Military aid was cut off completely.
Soviet-American Relations – Improvement. Another important document that came out of the Geneva Conference was the Four Powers Treaty of 9th May 1950 (UK, USA, USSR, France) in which all countries agreed to solve all diplomatic disputes amongst themselves by diplomatic means. Post 1950 the US and USSR did not have many relations and communication amongst each other. Despite Soviet pressures, Taft refused to speak about Greenland.
Unification of Germany
Taft changed the policy completely on Germany. He was a man that, both in our reality and here, did not want the US to go to war with Hitler and criticised Nuremberg trials as “victor's justice”. Taft is strongly opposed to the idea of dividing and punishing Germans. First move of Taft is to end the Berlin crisis with his speech from 1st February 1949 Restatement of Policy on Germany, Taft declared that Germany shall not be blindly punished by the victors and shall be quickly re-established as sovereign and united state. Taft also stopped any denazification. This was massive “f*ck you” moment towards Churchill, who wished both to weaken Germany and Soviets by division of Germany. “South German” Mark was withdrawn from West Berlin and the Berlin crisis ended in Soviet victory on 14th February 1949. Bizonia collapsed and both the British and Americans ruled their zones separately. Circulation of new Marks was not allowed in the British zone, while accepted in the American one.
Another point was to elect a new government, as Soviets envisioned in Leipzig notes. General election to the German People’s Congress (Deutscher Volkskongress) on 17th May 1949. This election was held in Soviet, International and American zones, but not in Baden and Wütenberg as the United Kingdom refused to recognise the DVK and instead organised an independent election to Länderrat. That was one controversy, the second one happened in the American zone as openly neo-Nazi parties were allowed to participate (Robert Taft refused to ban any parties from election), this was picked up by socialist bloc and became the main propaganda point. Election results (will be detailed): victory of SED, CSU in Bavaria and CDU in International zone. German People’s Congress declared itself to be constitutional assembly (first session in June 1949) and after heated discussions (despite it was dominated by SED, opposition was still present) delegates drafted the Constitution of German Democratic Republic (24th July), that defined Germany as federative, neutral and democratic state, giving power to unicameral legislative. All states in the Soviet zone agreed to the constitution, Bayern and Franken did not comment and Baden and Wurttemberg rejected it.
Geneva Conference 1st September 1949 to 8th May 1950
Largest conference of the postwar era, last meeting of WW2 Allies. USA (secretary of state William Richards Castle Jr.), USSR (foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov) Britain (prime minister Winston Churchill, foreign minister Anthony Eden), France (foreign minister Schumann) and Germany (represented by chairman of German People’s Congress Max Reimann (SED) and representative of Länderrat.) To discussion about Germany were also invited representatives of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Norway, Yugoslavia, and Denmark. Other topics discussed were Greece and Austria (later).
Goals: Soviets: Demilitarized, denazified united Germany led by DVK and its proposed constitution, approve eastern and northern border. Americans: just wanted to end occupation and create a united Germany. UK: if possible divided Germany, denazified, democratic, if under Soviet control at least demilitarised, removal of Soviet troops. France: democratic, demilitarised, denazified, French Saarland, removal of Soviet troops. Germans: united denazified Germany led by DVK, vague about borders and military (in best case minimise border losses and remilitarization).
Eventually consensus is reached: Germany would be a united, neutral, democratic, denazified and demilitarised state. Representatives from Länderrat had to attend the People's Congress where a second vote about the constitution shall be held. Polish-German border confirmed, Saarland will become part of France as autonomous regions, similarly with South Schleswig. Kiel Canal shall be administered by the joint German-Danish Commission. Czechoslovakia abandoned claims on Lusatia (due to Soviet pressure and issues of re-igniting issues with the German minority, as nobody agreed to further deportations of Germans), instead the region would be given autonomy and Germany would be obligated to protect Sorbs. Small annexations on the western border were also confirmed.
South German representatives refused to participate, and the constitution and peace treaty draft were approved yet again without them. Britain attempted to use this to break at least Baden-Wütemberg away, but Germans and Soviets made clear they would not sign any treaty that divides Germany. Even large protests are organised by SED to promote German unity. 8.5.1950, the Peace Treaty with Germany is signed. Both Stalin and Taft visited Geneva to sign it (this was the only foreign trip of Taft, but he also stopped in London on the way to Geneva and back, and the last of Stalin). To the German internal situation we will return later on.
Division of Austria
Unlike Germany, the American position towards Austria was a complete lack of interest. Britain wanted to secure a separate West Austria state, while Soviets wanted to do the same thing as in Germany. Americans made an agreement with the British to leave their occupation zone in Austria to British forces during (28 September 1949 Clark-McCreery Agreement). The Geneva summit proposed an election, however Eden objected that elections held in the East would not be democratic, so it would not show the will of the people. After the peace treaty with Germany, 16th May 1950 Britain signed a treaty with the West-Austrian government officially ending the status of occupation and giving its government official recognition. Day later, the USSR did the same in the East with the Koplenig government. 22nd May “Democratic Republic of Austria” promulgated its new constitution (before than both governments adhered to 1929 constitution)
Greek Civil War (1949-1951)
Thing to mention is that another reason for Soviet support to the DSA is Turkey in TATO, which Stalin saw as very provocative action. Already in February 1949 American troops pulled out of Greece. Already the election of Taft was blow for royalist morale, this worsened the situation. Britain reacted with increased presence. DSA commanded switched towards conventional warfare hoping to strike a major victory. Spring offensive of DSA (18th March to 30th May 1949) was major success: DSA captured important cities Kilkís, Sérres, Dráma, Xánthi, Édessa, Komotiní and Kavála – connecting its territories and establishing control over Thrace and large parts of Macedonia, putting Thessaloniki under great danger. Royalist and British forces attempted to counter Greek moves by successful offensive in Thessalia and unsuccessful offensive towards Kavála (June to October 1949). In November 1949 Greece was discussed in Geneva, representatives of governments were invited, however talks collapsed as Provisional Democratic Government representatives walked away after the notion of them putting down weapons. In January 1950 DSA launched a winter offensive towards Alexandropoulos and Thessaloniki (January-March 1950), continuing with guerrilla operations in Pindus. Ending in consolidation of communist territory, however after heavy losses. In summer 1950 royalist forces launched a large counter-offensive, DSA was forced to little retreat, however any major cities weren’t recaptured, to counter this counter-offensive, large guerrilla operations were launched in countryside of central Greece and Peloponnese that were very successful and strongly weakened royalists. Royalist forces reacted with repression against suspected supporters of communists. Winter is difficult for communist guerillas, during winter counter-insurgency operations several of their pockets are destroyed and morale worsens. However, so does morale of royalist and British forces as resources drain and war prolongs.
Change from the established lore is that civil war needs to last longer, as we see. In February 1951 Markos Vafeiadis (he wasn’t purged by Nikos Zachariadis, yet) devised a risky offensive plan, that counted with quick offensive to break and encircle parts of the royalist army backed by guerrilla offensive. Codenamed “OLYMPUS I” (military offensive) and “OLYMPUS II” (guerrilla uprising) plan was approved and coordinated in March. Launched On 7th April 1951 plan started with massive uprising and attacks by guerrilla units, followed after several days by military offensive. DSA forces surprisingly smashed a bulwark of royalist forces in the North and marched southward towards Larissa, key centre. Here DSA was met with royalist defences and a large battle started. Both sides committed everything to Larissa, as both realised this would be the decisive battle. The Battle of Larissa lasted from 21st April to 7th July 1951, it was the largest and deadliest battle of the Greek Civil War and resulted in a decisive communist victory. Royalist forces were decimated and as everything was moved there, meanwhile partisan units managed to secure control of large parts of Peloponnese and Pindus. Royalists regrouped on Lamia-Amfissa fallback line (July-September) but weren’t able to prevent communist forces from breaking them and marched almost unposed to Athens, 20th September 1951. Here, communists proclaimed victory and established the Hellenic People’s Republic. Royalist government relocated to Rhodes and declared evacuation. This is the officially given date to the end of the Greek Civil War. After fall of Lamia-Amfissa line, (British) Royal Navy enacted “Operation Poseidon” (19-30th September) with the help of Turkey, that helped with evacuation of royalist forces and established “Naval Quarantine” over Greece. HPR’s possible naval connection with outside World was closed, any possibilities of Soviet naval presence in Mediterranean prevented and existence of exiled Greece validated.
Taft’s “New Foreign Policy Doctrine”
Robet Taft eventually was forced by circumstances (communist victories in China and Greece were met with very strong response in American media) to reevaluate his stance. 7th of December 1951, on Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Taft spoke before Congress about “New Foreign Policy Doctrine”, he declared that America cannot and will not let “Stalin take over the World” and while he still opposes confrontational policy that may end up in completely unnecessary war, United States shall protect any country that will face Soviet military aggression. Taft also stated that America shall not oppose countries that choose communism voluntarily and shall not intervene in other countries' politics, as he considers this deeply undemocratic and imperialistic. When PRC landed on Taiwan, Taft was harshly criticised for not helping Chiang Kai-shek, as Taft understood it as what it was – Chinese internal conflict.
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Another map of Germany, (1952)

Former President Jânio Quadros and federal deputy for Guanabara Leonel Brizola tried to run, but their candidacies were rejected.
Quadros' presidential term he resigned from had not yet expired, and Brizola was a brother in law of President João Goulart, who carried out banking, education and tax reforms that faced little opposition but led to high inflation and threats of a military coup that did not materialize.
In the 1965 presidential election, former President Juscelino Kubitschek ran for a second non-consecutive term, using the slogan "The time of agriculture" and promising a greater focus on rural issues as President, by mechanizing agriculture and providing retirement pensions to rural workers. However, JK also addressed national issues by supporting Goulart's reforms, an independent foreign policy, and pro-business stance, which led many voters of the PTB, which endorsed JK to honor its alliance with the PSD, to vote for leftist Pernambuco governor Miguel Arraes instead.
The larger than life São Paulo politician, Ademar de Barros, ran for the presidency a third and final time, on a paternalistic conservative platform that called for an economy based on Christian values, and large-scale public works. His strongest showing was in his home state of São Paulo, where the other candidates in the running were from parties weak in the state, and he also won the federal territory of Rondônia, but Ademar only improved by 1% from the 1960 election.
In the end, Kubitschek was elected President by tying himself to Goulart and his policies, but followed a pro-business policy during his second term, which saw an economic miracle and the reduction of inflation. In 1970, Tancredo Neves was elected President, defeating Lacerda and Brizola.
Juscelino Kubitschek's second term saw an economic miracle, allowing Tancredo Neves to win the following presidential election by the largest margin at the time.
During the second Kubitschek presidency, electoral reforms required presidential and VP candidates to run on the same ticket instead of different ones, as had previously been the case, and this norm remains to this day.
Given the climate of prosperity, Leonel Brizola's first presidential candidacy failed, and he only won 14% of the vote, while Carlos Lacerda's anti-communist, conservative campaign failed to gain significant traction with the general electorate.
In a competitive race, Brizola was elected President against Lacerda in 1975, only to be impeached three years later by the conservative Congress, as the 1920s military generation retired from public life during his presidency, making a military coup unlikely.

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President La Follette campaigning in California.
Winning the presidency on a platform of silence, Philip La Follette would alienate his party’s anti-war wing immediately with his fierce prosecution of the Third Pacific War. Appointing General Douglas MacArthur as Secretary of State and retaliating to the Japanese usage of two nuclear weapons on American island bases with a series of atomic bombings claiming two million civilian lives, La Follette has presided over the dismantling and occupation of the Japanese Empire along a domestic promise to “Win the Peace” with a policy program including universal healthcare, an interstate highway system, investments into hydroelectric and nuclear energy, and the forced sterilization of criminals and the mentally ill. Amidst the fastest growing economy in national history, albeit one plagued by double digit inflation rates, the President has clashed with erstwhile supporters as he seeks to enshrine constitutionally the New State’s expansion of executive power, fueling efforts from opponents across the spectrum to pave their path to the White House of a burgeoning republic.
Surviving a fierce primary challenge from labor leader John L. Lewis that culminated in the most violent national convention in American history, 51 year old incumbent President Philip Fox La Follette has been renominated by the Farmer-Labor Party alongside 51 year old Vice President Michael A. Musmanno, despite rebellions from much of the party’s grassroots organization following La Follette’s call to make Farmer-Labor a middle class party of collaboration rather than one focused on working class interests and an effort by his supporters to purge CIO-affiliated and pro-John L. Lewis members of the Farmer-Labor National Committee. La Follette has barnstormed the nation to appeal to voters to “win the peace” and grant him a second term to bring to fulfillment the promises of Lindbergh’s New State, regularly posing for photos with sickened patients to highlight his argument for the need for universal healthcare and arguing to unionized workers the need for an employers’ union alongside the maintenance of General Trades Union nationalization. Meanwhile, Vice President Musmanno has targeted major cities to court ethnic voters as the administration has sent its message through the media, where the Hearst and McClatchy media empires have endorsed the President, alongside the Blackshirts famously embroiled in convention night violence on the President’s behalf. More controversially, opponents have accused La Follette of utilizing the machinery of the nationalized General Trades Union to promote his own candidacy, while others accuse the Farmer-Labor President of hypocrisy, pointing to a set of thousand dollar European golden goblets owned by First Lady Isen.
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Presumed dead and having lived for a decade under the alias James Hay, Ben Gitlow would return to the scene in 1934 with a book that would restart his career with a dramatic shift from the left to the right.
A decade and a half after returning from presumed death to denounce his revolution in I Confess, 57 year old anti-communist polemicist, former Representative, and former leader of the Bronx Soviet Benjamin Gitlow has been nominated by the nation’s Progressive and Federalist Parties after uniting the party’s interventionist Luceite and center right Progressive wings against Fulgencio Batista; a member of the Progressive organization, Gitlow has selected 49 year old Federalist Iowa Governor H.R. Gross as his running mate. Aided by a widely syndicated speech by actor Clark Gable, Gitlow has run his campaign akin to the thousands of speeches and lectures he has given since his return, with the man who once coined the term “New American Revolution” portraying himself as repentant as he conjures vivid images of the Bolshevik brutality that sent his one time idol Nikolai Bukharin to the grave, arguing that the communism he once fought for and the fascism of Howard represent two poles of authoritarianism irreconcilable with American liberal democracy. Utilizing his upbringing as the son of impoverished Jewish immigrants to appeal to the masses, Gitlow has campaigned alongside erstwhile Farmer-Laborites such as Senator J. Bracken Lee, who has implored anti-La Follette members of his party to back Gitlow over Batista, and celebrities such as aviator Eddie Rickenbacker. Further, Gitlow has taken moderate positions on issues such as universal healthcare, promising a market based path to universal coverage.
Declaring that “reactionaries ride on the totalitarian juggernaut…economic security and freedom go hand in hand, only through the democratic process can both be achieved,” Gitlow has invoked images of American exceptionalism in vows to act quickly to dismantle the New State and weaken executive authority while promising “massive resistance” to mitigate the spread of communism and fascism domestically and abroad, investigate communists in government, grant immediate statehood to the far north territory of Tannenbaum, denationalize trade unions, and to “not be taken in by talk about peace,” arguing that such rhetoric serves Soviet interests. Despite his fierce campaigning and successful fundraising, unrepentant revolutionary sympathizers and some members of the right alike have denounced him for his political turn and questioned his fitness for the presidency as a former insurrectionist, while others have criticized Gitlow for claiming that housewives are most susceptible to authoritarian ideologies. Further, although President La Follette has denounced anti-semitism, certain supporters such as Charles Coughlin have drawn attention to Gitlow’s Jewish ethnicity, though the candidate himself has identified as an evangelical Christian and, despite criticizing many missionaries as being susceptible to communist influence, Gitlow has attempted to break Farmer-Labor’s traditional hold on the religious politics of the Fourth Great Awakening by campaigning with controversial preacher Carl McIntire of the anti-communist organization Christian Crusade in response to critiques from General George Saladin Patton, the nation’s most prominent Muslim.
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Liberty League campaign poster.
In an attempt to breathe life into the Commonwealth alliance of old, both the Single Tax and Liberty League organizations have nominated 68 year old Cherokee comedian and 1928 Commonwealth presidential nominee Will Rogers for the presidency. In a concession to the group’s libertarian leadership, Suzanne La Follette, a cousin of the President, has been nominated as Rogers’ running mate on the Liberty League line while most Single Tax groups have endorsed California’s Jerry Voorhis, although the Illinois affiliate has nominated Governor Paul Douglas. Rogers, alone among the major candidates, has fiercely condemned the atomic bombings of Japan as murderous, while campaigning as the paragon of the common man and calling for a bottom-up redistributionist tax policy, proportional representation, a non-interventionist foreign policy caveated by support for a new League of Nations, the denationalization of unions, congressional representation for native tribes, the importance of religion to social morality, and, in a blow to his own Liberty League backers, campaign finance regulations. Mocking President La Follette as a want-to-be Milford W. Howard, Rogers has collaborated with Ben Gitlow to coordinate united tickets in swing states, urge strategic voting, and campaign together against the perceived dangers of fascism, with the specter of cooperation in a possible contingent election hanging over their heads. However, Rogers himself has been defensive of both France’s Marshall Petain and Milford W. Howard’s fascist Alabama in the past, humorously musing whether a benevolent dictatorship is ideal.
Driven to mass popularity by his sensational tales of entrance into the hollow center of the Earth, filigreed with claims of dinosaur inhabited plains open for conquest, 60 year old Antarctic explorer, Admiral, and former Secretary of the Navy Richard E. Byrd has been hoisted into a spirited campaign by supporters under the Scientific Government banner that nearly carried his brother Harry to the Virginia governorship, despite the urbane Virginia aristocrat standing as an awkward leader for his deeply populist supporters. A committed small government liberal conservative on mainstream issues, Byrd has focused his campaign on promises to harness the resources of the Hollow Earth alongside other conspiracy minded concepts such as an investigation into unidentified flying objects (UFOs). 45 year old Raymond W. Bernard, President of the American Hollow Earth Society, has been nominated as the Admiral’s running mate in most states, although several such as Missouri instead have 75 year old Mormon Apostle David O. McKay in an attempt to wrest from President La Follette the Mormon vote and win an intra-Church struggle with pro-La Follette elements led by John Y. Barlow.
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A young Richard E. Byrd in Antarctica.
Last among the major candidates is 47 year old Cuba Governor Fulgencio Batista, a military protege of the famed Rafael Trujillo, who led supporters to bolt from the Progressive-Federalist organization after facing certain defeat at the convention despite a first place showing in the primaries, who has been nominated on the Social Labor line alongside W.A. “Tony” Boyle, a protege of John L. Lewis, whose endorsement of the Batista ticket has carried it to newfound legitimacy. Campaigning on the slogan “Lock Up Lindy!,” Batista has denounced former President Lindbergh for his purging of accused war criminals in the military, including Batista’s mentor Trujillo, and thus has both promised to prosecute Lindbergh for criminal negligence and has accused La Follette of being a traitor for his support of Lindbergh. In a populist campaign claiming to have bridged nationalism and socialism, Batista has accused Gitlow of being too conservative and launched vituperations on his ties to the Christian Right, noting Batista’s clashes with the Catholic Church in Cuba. Legalizing gambling and refusing to enforce anti-prostitution measures, Batista has become infamous for his extensive ties to organized crime, but has won over Lewis and his CIO with the Cuban’s support for independent trade unionism and his willingness to hoist Lewis to power in the labor movement once more.
Among minor candidates, several possibilities have emerged with limited support or ballot access. Firstly, committed socialists unwilling to compromise in support of Gitlow or join the CIO’s conservative wing in supporting Governor Batista have managed to secure in several states ballot access for 51 year old Catholic Worker editor Dorothy Day and De Leonist activist Georgia Cozzini, herself ineligible due to being only 33. Endorsing a complete transition to a socialist and eventually anarchist economy, Day has promoted the consistent life ethic and called for nuclear disarmament, universal healthcare, pacifism, and federal restrictions on abortion. Finally, followers of the Church of Immanuel have placed their messiah Manuel Herrick of Texas on the ballot in several plains states alongside ally Wallace Dodd Fard, who have campaigned on declaring Herrick to be god and thus legally the nation’s supreme power in light of the Jesus Amendment.
Note: In order to accurately represent limitations on ballot access, the tickets of Dorothy Day/Georgia Cozzini or Manuel Herrick/Wallace Dodd Fard may only receive votes through write-ins.
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Quadros' presidential term he resigned from had not yet expired, and Brizola was a brother in law of President João Goulart, who carried out banking, education and tax reforms that faced little opposition but led to high inflation and threats of a military coup that did not materialize.
In the 1965 presidential election, former President Juscelino Kubitschek ran for a second non-consecutive term, using the slogan "The time of agriculture" and promising a greater focus on rural issues as President, by mechanizing agriculture and providing retirement pensions to rural workers. However, JK also addressed national issues by supporting Goulart's reforms, an independent foreign policy, and pro-business stance, which led many voters of the PTB, which endorsed JK to honor its alliance with the PSD, to vote for leftist Pernambuco governor Miguel Arraes instead.
The larger than life São Paulo politician, Ademar de Barros, ran for the presidency a third and final time, on a paternalistic conservative platform that called for an economy based on Christian values, and large-scale public works. His strongest showing was in his home state of São Paulo, where the other candidates in the running were from parties weak in the state, and he also won the federal territory of Rondônia, but Ademar only improved by 1% from the 1960 election.
In the end, Kubitschek was elected President by tying himself to Goulart and his policies, but followed a pro-business policy during his second term, which saw an economic miracle and the reduction of inflation. In 1970, Tancredo Neves was elected President, defeating Lacerda and Brizola.

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As Farmer-Labor fights for its meaning in a battle destined to be decided on the knife’s edge, a party defined by its role in the opposition must select a standard bearer in a field of giants of days past.
Robert Moses: The aftermath of the Revolution that left New York City in ruins gifted immortality to a young bureaucrat tasked with rebuilding the city. Arrogant, bullying, and dictatorial to his critics; a zealot with a single-minded focus on success to his admirers; Robert Moses’s idealism has integrated itself into every corner of the new New York, from rebuilt bridges, new stadiums, and infrastructure, to the clearing of largely minority neighborhoods to make way for modern roads, community pools, and sleek skyscrapers. A model for efficient bureaucracy in an era where the antics of Tammany Hall would propel POSCR to power, Moses’s vision of sprawling suburbs designed around the automobile has been heralded by some as a model for the modern American city, sweeping him into the Governor’s office in 1946 to bring his planning statewide. Now, the 60 year old Federalist Governor of the nation’s largest state has mounted a campaign for the presidency, denouncing the New State and La Follette’s Win the Peace plan as untenable while admiring his use of executive power as he claims to both support state regulation and want to lessen state involvement in the economy and denounces the concept of public ownership of utilities.
While opposing environmentalism, Moses has promised the consolidation of New State agencies and made a review of government efficiency his signature policy, while criticizing “the dogma of ultraconservatives builds an impassable barrier between the fields of business and government”, Moses has declined to campaign extensively, relying upon press releases denying his Jewish heritage and calling President La Follette a “weak sniveling liar,” vituperations that have damaged his campaign with its ferocity. Further, Moses’s lack of foreign policy experience and vague endorsement of the party platform on the American Century has led to criticism. Nonetheless, to those in the party looking less to dismantle the New State than to place it under new, efficient management, Moses is the man of the hour.
Eliot Ness: Handsome, intelligent, and disarmingly soft spoken, few Americans have blended the role of administrator and celebrity quite so well as dashing crime fighter Eliot Ness. Practically worshiped as a hero in the 1930s by the People’s Ownership Smash Crime Rings movement as he put Al Capone behind bars as one of J. Edgar Hoover’s agents and served as Cleveland’s Public Safety Commissioner, crushing not only organized crime but corruption within the police force as he sent dozens of police officers to prison. Ness’s fame would grow such that Hoover himself would privately attempt to soil his reputation behind closed doors, accusing him of stealing credit Hoover himself deserves.
Riding his fame to the Cleveland mayor’s office in 1945, Ness has taken a hardline on crime while funding a renewal of the city’s transit system. Most notably, Ness has become a darling to the growing environmentalist movement, legally challenging on factory owners to fulfill his promise of clean air in industrial Cleveland, and to conservatives, personally mounting a horse to lead strikebreakers in a move that has led John L. Lewis to denounce Ness as the worst mayor in the nation—yet, as he invariably points out, it was the strike he opposed, not the workers’ demands, which he fulfilled once the strike had been crushed. Nonetheless, despite his role as a nominal Progressive, Ness, who rarely votes and has been a registered independent for much of his life, has worked closely with the La Follette Administration, supporting and expanding the National Youth Administration while implementing rent control; nearly alone among the candidates, Ness has been reticent on the repeal of the New State, promising to take the nation “forward, not backward.”
With POSCR stalwarts such as Colorado Governor Roy Best and a young guard led by Eleanor Butler Roosevelt’s former attorney Richard Nixon, who has managed Ness’s campaign, “practically camping on my lawn” in an attempt to recruit a new celebrity candidate for the presidency, Ness has finally given in and mounted a campaign, declaring that “this country used to have a forward spirit, it has gotten listless, apathetic, and careless” as he promises to implement environmental reforms, infrastructural development, and rent control while taking on “the establishment,” yet being willing to listen to and manage teams of experts on such issues as foreign policy, where Ness himself admits his lack of expertise. Through the campaign, the preference of the Mayor for action over talk has become apparent. A dull campaigner, the now 45-year-old Ness has regularly slipped away from campaign staff to converse personally with onlookers once cheering from afar that “Ness is necessary.” Grappling with allegations of alcoholism and his noted lack of partisanship, his campaign has sought to frame Ness as an outsider, an incorruptible man without a price committed to not being “one more huckster on the hustings.”
Benjamin Gitlow: From the son of impoverished Jewish migrants to the golden boy of the Workers Party of America’s congressional delegation, Benjamin Gitlow’s 1920 arrest at the hands of federal agents would set off the greatest unrest in American history. Freed by cheering crowds, Gitlow would stand before tens of thousands of admirers to proclaim the formation of the Bronx Soviet as the opening salvo of a proletarian New American Revolution. Leading the most famous of the American soviets, Gitlow would earn a place in the pantheon of American communists behind only Richard F. Pettigrew along with the nickname “the American Bukharin” after his Bolshevik idol, as he led a Revolutionary army of over 100,000 against a siege by Japanese ships and Federal troops. Presumed a casualty of American bombs, Gitlow and his dictatorship of the proletariat would be hailed as a martyr of global revolution by the Comintern and a fallen apostle of treason by the federal government.
Ben Gitlow spent a dozen years as a dead man. Returning to the factories that made him under the name James Hay, Gitlow would watch as his former Russian comrades, even his beloved Bukharin, fell from glory to the Gulags, and experience a most profound ideological shift. Thus, in February of 1934, garment worker James Hay would reveal himself to be the martyred hero of Revolution with the publication of I Confess: The Truth About the New American Revolution. In stark terms confessing to what he views as his own personal failures, Gitlow would accuse foreign forces of fomenting the Revolution, caricature the WPA as a party ruled by intellectuals rather than laborers, and denounce the ideology he and hundreds of thousands other Americans had once taken up arms for, labeling a dictatorship of the proletariat as no better than Howardite fascism as he declared that “reactionaries ride on the totalitarian juggernaut…economic security and freedom go hand in hand, only through the democratic process can both be achieved.” Further, Gitlow would allege that the tactics of he and the Revolution unwittingly set the stage for American fascism, a claim he would reiterate upon the election of Charles Lindbergh.
Immediately back in the center of the public eye, Gitlow has given thousands of speeches and written hundreds of articles since his return. Despite swearing off electoral politics, Gitlow’s fame and status as the prince of anti-communism has led to him being drafted by the presidency by an anti-communist movement ranging from moderate Benjamin Muse to right wing Everett Dirksen. Approaching his new crusade with characteristic zeal, Gitlow has spoken of rooting out communism at home and abroad, adopting the internationalist foreign policy of the American Century; most of all, if Hoover and Vandenberg speak of authoritarianism as surgeons diagnosing an illness, Gitlow relives with hollowed eyes days of revolution, conjuring vivid images of the execution of Bolshevik leaders he once embraced as brothers, while denouncing fascism in equal terms as communism as “nationalists storming the citadels of democracy.”
Seen as the most liberal of the candidates, Gitlow has promised to immediately decrease executive power and dismantle the institutional trappings of the New State, while defying the right wing of his supporters with liberal policies such as support for universal healthcare and free labor unions; praising the workings of a market economy and “the relationship between labor and management that is a cornerstone of American life,” while denouncing the USSR as mere “state capitalism,” Gitlow has nonetheless remained sympathetic to the concept of co-operatively owned businesses or profit sharing. Nonetheless, Gitlow’s prominent role in insurrection has led many to question the merits of his nomination, with retired Indianan James Watson quipping that “it's all right if the town whore joins the church, but they don't let her lead the choir the first night.”
Herbert Hoover: Isolationists including Progressive founders Hamilton Fish III and Thomas Schall have rallied around the presidential candidacy of 74 year old former Vice President Herbert Hoover. Transformed from philanthropist mine engineer to national hero after being arrested by Japanese authorities in 1915 while presiding over an effort to relieve Chinese famine victims, Hoover’s story would carry him to the vice presidency alongside Aaron Burr Houston and galvanize the nation to support the American-Pacific War. Yet, the Vice President himself would soon turn against his war and his President, abetting anti-war Federal Republicans in a move that would see the end of his short political career, leaving him to re-enter the private sector and serve as President of his alma mater, Stanford University.
Yet, after a surprise smattering of faithless electoral votes in 1944 from right wing opponents of internationalism, Hoover has waded anew into the political fray. Declaring that La Follette’s decision to use atomic weapons on Japanese civilians “revolts my soul,” Hoover has focused his campaign on isolationism, being the only candidate committed to opposing a Pacific alliance and call for the withdrawal of all American troops from Asia and an end to all foreign aid, rallying his supporters with the cry of “no more foreign grants, no more foreign loans, no more foreign wars!” On economic issues, Hoover has identified himself as a progressive conservative, strongly supporting public works projects while calling for the dismantling of much of the New State, the weakening of executive power, and increases to interest rates.
Arthur Vandenberg: 64 year old publisher and 1944 vice presidential nominee Arthur H. Vandenberg has emerged as the anointed successor of Henry Luce and his internationalist circle, despite rumors of an affair with Clare Booth Luce. A journalistic ally of the Lynch Administration whose caricatures of Henry Ford earned him national fame, Vandenberg’s quixotic attempt to build a new Federalist Party following the fall of Federal Republicanism would set the groundwork upon which the movement to establish Federalist parties has been built since 1942, with Vandenberg supporting renaming the entire party infrastructure to Federalist in a move to embrace the mantle of Hamiltonian Federalism for the coming American Century. Coining the phrase “politics stops at the water’s edge,” Vandenberg has advocated for a fiercely internationalist foreign policy, defending President La Follette’s foreign policy, from atomic bombings to ally armament, while advocating for further steps to form an American bloc internationally, as well as support for the United Kingdom in the Franco-British conflict and further expansions to the MacArthur Plan. Domestically, Vandenberg stands as a rock-ribbed conservative, denouncing the New State as a usurpation of the role of private business and questioning the merits of government funding for healthcare.
Fulgencio Batista: 47 year old Cuba Governor Fulgencio Batista began his rise to power as a protege of Rafael Trujillo and Pedro Del Valle in the dark fields of colonial Moroland, where Batista has been cleared formally of war crimes despite allegations of collaborating with the Moros to execute rivals for promotion as a means to rise through the American ranks. Returning to his native Cuba in the time of Revolution, Batista would participate in a bloody crackdown on the island’s revolutionaries before continuing his campaign under Trujillo in the mainland, first making his way into national prominence via the Hearst Press’s adoration of Captain Trujillo. Rising through Army ranks, Batista would swear an oath of vengeance against President Lindbergh as he drove Trujillo and Del Valle from the Army for their involvement in war crimes and the murder of journalists, resigning in solidarity only to return with them two years later to command American forces in the Third Pacific War, much to the chagrin of Progressive House leader Eduardo Chibas, whose disgust for Batista is well known.
Batista would, despite being largely sidelined, gain fame as a powerful propaganda tool in Cuba–a role that would win him election as Governor upon his return. Legalizing gambling and refusing to enforce anti-prostitution measures, Batista has become infamous for his extensive ties to organized crime, yet has become the only Progressive in the nation to win the wide support of organized labor. This saving grace has propelled Batista to serious consideration as a candidate, with analysts predicting that a La Follette triumph at the Farmer-Labor convention could drive John L. Lewis and millions of loyal Farmer-Labor workers behind Batista, effectively guaranteeing him the presidency. Further, the opposition of both the party establishment and young guard has allowed General Batista to campaign as a populist war hero, claiming to be twice the outsider as Ness while promising to expand American power abroad and “lock up Lindy” for the former President’s denunciation of Trujillo and Del Valle as war criminals, claiming that the action constituted criminal negligence.
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The Primaries:
With Gitlow and Ness leading the way in amiably competing through the first in the nation Wisconsin and Kentucky primaries, candidates would miss the groundswell developing beneath them. Former Wisconsin Senator Alexander Willey would be the first sign, hitching his attempt at a political comeback to a Cuban wagon as he swept through the state in support of his man. Eugene Siler, campaigning for Hoover in Kentucky, would write to his wife in surprise at the crowds shouting the name of their hero. Even if Siler and Willey had seen the coming storm, however, every candidate would find themselves unprepared for Fulgencio Batista’s back-to-back wins. Dismissed as the candidate of “Latins and far right nuts,” Batista’s full throated populism would place him in the center of the campaign.
Within days, unable to fundraise adequately, Robert Moses would announce his withdrawal from the race outside of New York, endorsing Elliott Ness in a move credited with giving the crime fighter Missouri by a 2% margin over Batista, even as the General won his native Cuba. The coming days would see few surprises, Ness carrying Ohio and Hoover triumphing in Texas with 31.2% of the vote to 31.1% for Gitlow, who would be able to carry Colorado and Massachusetts despite the endorsements of Ness and Vandenberg by much of both state’s prominent figures. With his favored Ness losing the state, Colorado Governor Roy Best, predicting either a Batista or Gitlow victory, would openly speak of serving in the Vice Presidency in a move that would win him the ire of Richard Nixon.
Arthur Vandenberg would win the Luce bastion of Connecticut, but come up short in Wyoming. However, victory in Wyoming would mean little for Gitlow in comparison to Fulgencio Batista’s successes in Dakota and Nevada, once more showing to the world that, among the voting populace, he was far from alone in his willingness to defy party orthodoxy. The Super Tuesday wave of primaries would carry Batista forth with victories in South Carolina, earning the backing of the legenary Tolbert family and demonstrating an ability to hold the black vote, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Shoshone, and even New Jersey, where Batista would win a relative blowout with 36.1% of the vote to 28.8% for Ness, Gitlow wracking up his worst showing of the day with a mere 6.3%. Nonetheless, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, and, in a lone sole Caribbean dissent, Haiti would all add themselves to the ex-communist’s corner. A perennial second place, Elliott Ness would leave the night with only Houston to his name, nonetheless showing above both Herbert Hoover and Arthur Vandenberg, whose sole triumph in his home state of Michigan would spell the end of Luce’s anointed successor–and, with it, a rise in the fortunes of Benjamin Gitlow as a peculiar standard bearer for an American Century.
The combined efforts of the party’s orthodox wing would stem the rising Batista tide in coming primaries, as the support of Robert P. Bass allowed Benjamin Gitlow to sweep the New Hampshire delegation despite a narrow loss to Ness, with Gitlow winning via popular vote in Delaware and Vermont as he withdrew from the Virginia primary to allow Elliott Ness to triumph over Batista with 37.2% of the vote to the Cuban General’s 34.6%. With rejection after rejection, the Hoover campaign would sputter to a grinding halt despite narrow victories in Iowa with the support of Lester J. Dickinson and Misssippi with the endorsement of Senator Mary Booze, as North Carolina voted for Benjamin Gitlow, allowing Senator George Pritchard to enter the former revolutionary’s name into the nomination. Meanwhile, running largely as a surrogate of the Ness campaign despite rumors of desiring selection as a compromise candidate, Robert Moses would sweep New York’s winner-take-all primary despite only triumphing over Fulgencio Batista by a 1.8% margin.
Elliott Ness’s campaign would see a revival with a triad of victories in the miniscule Alabama primary and those of Nebraska and Indiana, where Senator William E. Jenner had moved from the Hoover column to back the untouchable Ohioan. Yet, the stump speaking of Benjamin Gitlow would carry him ahead of the bland Ness, an ever reluctant campaigner, to carry Louisiana, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Maine, leaving Ness with Washington and pyrrhic victory in Arkansas, where political wizard Osro Cobb had engineered a joint anti-Batista ticket only symbolically led by Ness. Despite parries by Batista in Montana and Tijuana, as well as a shock victory in Georgia with the overwhelming support of rural voters despite the Georgia Progressive Party’s tacit support for Gitlow, leaving Vancouver to Ness, Maryland to Gitlow, and Minnesota to a razor thin Ness victory as Thomas Schall found his Hoover camp abandoned.
The final primaries would come down to Pennsylvania and California, neither able to give a delegate load able to secure the nomination, even if both swept, yet able to represent the choices of two key swing states. Pennsylvania would see Senator Hugh Scott leading the Gitlow campaign, to James E. Van Zandt for Batista, the urbane Scott’s infallible machine would deliver a resounding victory to the former leader of the Bronx Soviet. California would be a greater contest, as California Senate Minority Leader Thomas H. Werdel would organize a Batista effort able to counter Richard Nixon’s for Ness. On behalf of Gitlow, moderate State Senator Alphonso Bell would organize a movement mired in third place, even with the support of Sam Hayakawa. Despite Hoover and even Eleanor Butler Roosevelt making campaign appearances for the Mayor of Cleveland, and erstwhile pro-La Follette newspaper mogul Elinor McClatchy publishing for Ness, the state would fall to Fulgencio Batista with 42.7% of the vote to 35.5% for Ness and 26.4% for Gitlow, leaving him as the undisputed victor of the primaries despite having far from a victor’s share of the delegates.

Benjamin Gitlow	397	701
Herbert Hoover	157	101
Elliott Ness	44	13
Robert Moses	41	0
Arthur Vandenberg	3	1
Fulgencio Batista	2	2

The Convention:
Two key events would shift the nature of the race as the convention approached, pundits preaching prophecies of a convention of chaos.
Firstly, the carnage of the Farmer-Labor convention would leave Progressives and Federalists horrified at the prospect of losing the trump card of order to a wild convention of their own, and begin a scramble for unity. Former President Luce, unimpressed with Batista, would publicly endorse Ben Gitlow for the first time as the strongest rallying point in opposition to the controversial Cuban.
Secondly, the nomination of the incipient Liberty League national convention of Will Rogers for the presidency aside the nomination of elderly John Nance Garner for Vice President, who would decline by declaring that the office was "worth a bucket of warm piss" and leave the party’s libertarian vanguard to nominate the president's right wing libertarian cousin, author Suzanne La Follette, although certain members of the Single Tax Party have put forth Jerry Voorhis as his running mate, which would propel the candidacy of Gitlow to the forefront on the grounds of his cordial relationship with the famed humorist and the possibility of electoral collaboration to victory against President La Follette. Most importantly, despite the implorations of Richard Nixon and other campaign leaders, a weary Elliott Ness would refuse to stay in for the possibility of a prolonged convention fight. Thus, on July 17th, Elliott Ness would join Arthur Vandenberg for a press conference in Indianapolis to endorse Benjamin Gitlow for the presidency and issue a call for party unity soon joined by Robert Moses.
With enemies lining up against their standard bearer, an article by Brent Bozell would call for a bolt by Batista and his supporters before the convention even commenced to join with those elements of the Lewis movement willing to collaborate on a “Social Labor” ticket, claiming to unite nationalist and socialist interests beneath a singular banner. Importantly, Bozell would pledge the marketing fortune of his recently deceased father to an independent Batista ticket. Seeing the nomination slipping from his grasp and wanting to avoid the humiliation of a convention defeat, Fulgencio Batista would announce on July 20th that he would pursue the presidency as an independent, pledging to resist sore loser laws in court and announcing the formation of state Social Labor parties to secure him ballot access in places such as Massachusetts.
Thus, a pallor would hang over the convention, nearly a third of its delegates missing, as the proceedings moved forth with a background show of quietly seating delegates to replace the unspoken apostates. Indeed, as speeches continued and balloting began, hushed whispers would tell that John L. Lewis ally Tony Boyle had been selected for the Vice Presidency. Nonetheless, with Ness and Vandenberg delegates uniting behind him, Benjamin Gitlow would fall only a few small votes short of the nomination. By the second ballot, with new delegates seated in Cuba, Georgia, and California, Gitlow would carry the day at the rump convention and win the nomination despite a handful of Ness loyalists led by Nixon to hold the line on their candidate. In a move to appease Herbert Hoover, a relative isolationist and a hardline conservative would be necessities in a vice presidential nominee. With Batista showing strength among black voters, Mississippi Senator Mary Booze would win consideration for a time, as would Lester J. Dickinson of Iowa, Alice Roosevelt, and even young Richard Nixon. Yet, bombastic as ever, with a resume filigreed by his connections to Aaron Burr Houston, former Secretary of the Treasury W. Lee “Pappy” O’ Daniel, once viewed as a 1948 frontrunner before choosing to step back and pursue Texas's competitive Senate seat instead, would rise to the fore.
Gitlow would meet with O’Daniel, furrowing his brow but cordially shaking his hand and leaving the convention to assume his nomination a done deal. Yet, as Henry Luce had driven O’Daniel from the cabinet with accusations of drunkenness and fundamental policy differences, the prospect of his rise would bring the Time editor to Philadelphia to implore Gitlow against the decision. Surprised, the former communist would nonetheless demur and turn to Herbert Hoover, who would suggest Lester J. Dickinson of Iowa. 75 and reluctant to threaten his senatorial career on a ticket he had lost faith in, Dickinson would recommend 49 year old Iowa Governor Harold Royce Gross, a famed fiscal conservative notable for vetoing every tax and spending increase passed by the legislature; denounced as an “unanchored radical” by some moderates and outspoken in his devotion to conservatism, the nomination of Gross would serve as an olive branch to the party’s right. Unwilling to renounce O’Daniel in front of the convention, Gitlow would instead step back as Dickinson introduced Gross’s name into the nomination in a surprise move after Margaret Bell Houston’s introduction of O’Daniel. As word silently swept the convention of Luce’s opposition to O’Daniel, Gross would emerge first. Yet, with the lack of a firm statement from Gitlow on his preference fueling miniature movements for Frances P. Bolton, Mary Booze, and Alice Roosevelt that would force the excruciating contest to seven ballots and Pappy O’Daniel to a fit of fury that has led him to refuse to campaign alongside Gitlow and Gross.
Benjamin Gitlow’s acceptance speech would roundly denounce perceived threats to American democracy from the left and the right alike, declaring that:
My emphatic answer to the claims of both Fascists and Communists is, No! The record of Fascism speaks for itself, and it is not a savory record.
What about the idealistic claims of the Communists? What about their vaunted slogan of bread and freedom? What about their promises to the masses that Communism would abolish poverty, rid them of their exploiters, deepen democracy and provide them with economic security?
Few are they who today harbor any illusions about the sort of “democracy” that prevails in Russia today. It is virtually indistinguishable from the “democracy” practiced in Marshal Petain’s France and, dare we say, Governor Elliott’s Alabama. In the thirty years of its existence Communism in Russia has failed to fill the bread basket.
To yield to Communism is to permit the abrogation of our liberties and the institution of a system of state exploitation of labor that would make of our people chattels of the dictatorial regime. Communism is universal conscription of labor. Communism is forced labor. Free labor cannot exist under Communism any more than it can exist under Fascism. Free trade unionism is impossible under either regime. Neither regime recognizes the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Democracy is something more than a shibboleth. The history of Man is a sanguine record of stubborn struggles against oppression, of countless sacrifices for the sake of freedom. We cannot lightly surrender this dearly-won heritage. If democracy in America, precious for all its imperfections, were to be replaced by a Communist dictatorship, a new American Revolution would have to be fought to reestablish the rights of Man. Economic security and freedom go hand in hand. Only through the democratic process can both be achieved.
I have come to the conclusion that the Communists, more than any other force, were responsible for the development of fascism. Strangely enough Fascism and Bolshevism in their modus operandi, greatly resemble each other. The essence of both is dictatorship; the one is the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, the other the dictatorship of the proletariat. Both are compact, enthusiastic, highly disciplined military organizations composed of militants of the two warring groups; both are based upon the principle that in the supreme crisis, all the riff-raff of ignorants and incontinents in the respective classes must be pushed to one side, and that the direction of the struggle shall pass into the hands of the active spirits, who not only understand the true interests of their social group but who also have the energy, courage, and initiative to battle for them relentlessly to the end.
Spirited cheers would fill the hall on a closing note promising to reach out further to the Rogers and Lewis camps in an attempt to unite on an American democracy ticket, drawing allusions to 1940, and a line of red meat to conservatives accusing “liberals” of failing to recognize the true depravity of communism. Yet, Ben Gitlow’s speech, though made in the same fierce voice that once spurred New York to revolution, has been overshadowed by another. Days after the close of the convention, Progressive National Committeeman Osro Cobb, a political genius nicknamed the “wizard of Arkansas,” would buy a time slot for actor Clark Gable, previously largely apolitical, to announce his support of the Gitlow and Gross ticket. From an attempt to divert the headlines from the Social Labor Party’s small national convention, the speech has taken on a life of its own as Gable declared the coming of “a time for choosing.” Abridged and distributed widely in pamphlet form, the speech has been cut and played over the radio countless times since.

President Rufus C. Holman (U, 1946)
War is over. The Unionist Party and its crimes have been laid out, the party disbanded, William Dudley Pelley dead at his own hand. After two years of military occupation, several states started the work to hold elections, despite misgivings from the occupiers. While the UK, Canada, and Confederacy have partially or fully ended their occupations, Texas still occupies much of Nevada and Colorado. The nation still seeks to recover, chafes under occupation, and desire a strong leader. The three parties, still recovering and very careful to avoid Unionist ties, put forth their candidates.

The Progressive Party

Progressive Presidential nominee, Thomas E. Dewey of New York
Progressive Vice Presidential nominee, Earl Warren of California
The Progressives put forth the former New York Attorney General, Thomas Dewey. Dewey's name reached national recognition when an attempt on his life was made, now known to have been by the Unionists, who he sharply criticized. Dewey favors a more diplomatic approach to ending the Texan occupation, leaning on the Confederacy to apply joint diplomatic pressure.

The Democrat Party

Democrat Presidential nominee, Paul V. McNutt of Indiana
Democrat Vice Presidential nominee, James A. Roe of New York
The Democrats are caught in the middle of the two competing attitudes of the Progressives and Republicans, and try to walk a tightrope between the two, favoring immediate end to Texan occupation, while simultaneously, though not openly, being willing to give up all claim to West Virginia, Arizona, and New Mexico entirely.

The Republican Party

Republican Presidential nominee, Douglas MacArthur of Wisconsin
Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Joseph W. Martin Jr. of Massachusetts
The Republicans have made a bold choice. The former General of the Army during the war, Douglas MacArthur of Wisconsin. MacArthur has been investigated and supposedly didn't actively collaborate with the Unionists in their crimes against humanity, but still this choice makes some nervous. MacArthur takes a firm stance that not only will he not accept anything less than a full end to Texan occupation of the West, he also makes clear his intention to regain West Virginia as a state. "38 by Hook, or 80 by Crook," goes the slogan.

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