Civil War II

[True Democrat]

Since this is the first post, I'm just going to update it will all the Presidents and Vice-Presidents we've had:

Presidents:

FDR: March 4, 1932 - August 25, 1944 (Defeated Hoover, Landon, Willkie, died in office) Democrat

Henry Wallace: August 25, 1944 - January 20, 1945 (Lost to Dewey) Democrat

Dewey: January 20, 1945 - January 20, 1953 (Defeated Wallace and
Russell) Republican

Eisenhower: January 20, 1953 - April 21, 1954 (Defeated Bricker, died in office) Democrat

Folsom: April 21, 1954 - January 20, 1957 (Acting President January 20, 1953 - January 27, 1954) (Became President upon Eisenhower's death, did not run for his own term) Democrat, though later Independent

Nixon: January 20, 1957 - January 20, 1961 (Defeated Reagan) Independent, aligned with Republicans

Vice-Presidents:

Henry Wallace: January 20, 1940 - August 25, 1944 (Became Pres upon FDR's death) Democrat

Vacant: August 25, 1944 - January 20, 1945

Bricker: January 20, 1945 - January 20, 1953 (Defeated Truman and Bennett, lost to Eisenhower in attempt for Presidency) Republican

Folsom: January 20, 1953 - April 21, 1954 (Acting President Acting President January 20, 1953 - January 27, 1954 because of Eisenhower's stroke) (Defeated Taft)  Democrat, though later Independent

Nixon: July 10, 1955 - January 20, 1957 (Nominated by Folsom) Independent, aligned with Republicans

Rockefeller: January 20, 1957 - January 20, 1961 (Defeated Monroney) Republican

1944:

August 25, 1944

Paris is liberated from Germany.  Henry L. Stimson, FDR's Secretary of Defense, upon hearing the news immediately drives to the White House to tell Roosevelt in person the good news.  As he enters the Oval Office, FDR's head is down on the desk.  He is pronounced dead at 9:37 PM.  Vice-President Wallace immediately takes over.

November 7, 1944

Results are streaming in on election day.  The popular vote is extremely close though.  Right now, the election is too close to call.  In mid-September, Wallace had a commanding lead over Dewey by about 65-30.  Most analysts believe this was sympathy over FDR's death.  However, since then it has all been downhill for Wallace.  He has committed a number of errors, including his proposal to drastically expand the New Deal, which is now  becoming unpopular.  It didn't help that he was endorsed by both the Communist and Socialist parties.  For VP, Wallace ran with FDR's running mate, Harry Truman.  Many believe he should have picked a more Southern candidate, but he decided to go with FDR's wisdom and stay with Truman.

Dewey on the other hand has been running a great campaign.  He has held the conservative base by opposing Wallace's plans, and he has brought over many FDR Democrats by supporting the war effort.  He is seen as the people's candidate.

By 11:30 PM it is evident that the election will be close.  The radio networks are going to wait till morning to call the race.

November 8, 1944

By mid-afternoon, the networks are ready to call the election.  The popular vote is extremely close, but Wallace has won it by a margin of 9179 votes.  The electoral college on the other hand is completely different.  Dewey wins the electoral college 320-211.  Many call on Wallace to challenge the results, but he gracefully accepts defeat.

Map of the results:



Dewey/Bricker: 49.63%, 320 electoral votes
Wallace/Truman: 49.65%, 211 electoral votes
Other: 0.72%, 0 electoral votes

[True Democrat]

August 16, 1948

The Democratic convention ends in disarray.  The powerful Southern wing of the party was in deadlock with the newer Northern progressive wing.  On the 71st ballot, the Soutern wing's candidate is finally chosen.  The Democratic nominee for 1948 is Richard B. Russell Jr., the Senator from Georgia.  However, this deal for the nomination could not have been made without help from Democrats in the Northeast.  Although this wing of the party was fairly small, it still held crucial votes.  Going into the convention, it appeared that most delegates from this region would support the Midwestern candidate.  Although most wanted Russell to pick former Rhode Island J. Howard McGrath as his running mate, Russell refused sighting that McGrath was a Catholic, and he could not run with a Catholic (Russell was a free mason after all).  In the end, Russell chose a little known former New York representative: Augustus W. Bennet.  Bennet was the representative from the 29th district in New York.  After barely becoming a delegate to the 1948 convention, Bennet met Russell at the convention, and they quickly became allies.  They were both freemasons.  When the time came for Russell to pick a NE running mate, he did not hesitate in picking Bennett, against the advice of his advisors.

August 27, 1948

The Republican convention starts the next day.  Dewey, who is running unopposed for his party's nomination.  He will keep Bricker as Vice-President.  However, Dewey sees a unique oppurtunity.  The Democrats were deadlocked on civil rights in their  convention.  In the end, with the nomination of Russell, the Democrats adopted no position favoring civil rights.  Dewey, in attempt to draw away Midwestern and NE Democrats, decides to include a strong civil rights platform at the Republican convention.  Although this will make any chance of Dewey winning the South obsolete, he believes his gains in the North will be worth it.

[True Democrat]

September 27, 1948

Gallup releases its first poll of the election year.  The result is a surprisingly small lead for Russell.  The voters rate the economy as the biggest reason not to vote for Dewey.  Ever since WWII ended in early 1945 in Europe and early 1946 in Japan (at the threat of invasion, no atomic bomb dropped), the economy has been faltering.  The products once needed for war are no longer needed.  Also at this time, former President Wallace has decided to run as a third party, though his impact is minimal.  Here are the results of the poll:

Russell/Bennet: 47%
Dewey/Bricker: 42%
Wallace/Thomas: 4%
Other/Undecided: 7%

[True Democrat]

Do you want me to continue this?  There wasn't really that much interest in it.

[True Democrat]

October 31, 1948:

Gallup releases its final poll of the season:

Dewey/Bricker: 52%
Russell/Bennet: 41%
Wallace/Thomas: 2%
Undecided/Other: 5%

Dewey, who in the last weeks of the campaign launched a new anti-Soviet initiative has taken a hefty lead.  Dewey's new proposal includes stopping the spread of Communism from spreading around the world, the eventual liberation of Eastern Europe.  In fact, Dewey's idea of a possible international organization or "Nations of the World United" (UN) actually no longer includes the USSR.  This harsh stance is seen as highly favorable with the American people.

November 2, 1948

Election day has arrived.  As the networks begin calling the races, it appears the it will actually be fairly close, mainly due to Wallace getting higher than expected numbers.  These high Wallace numbers take a lot more votes away from Dewey than from Russell.  This swings states such as Rhode Island and Minnesota to Dewey.  However, by about 10:00 it is evident that Dewey has easily won.



Dewey/Bricker: 50.03%, 345 electoral votes
Russell/Bennet: 44.53%, 186 electoral votes
Wallace/Thomas: 5.14%, 0 electoral votes

Best States:

Dewey:
Vermont: 65.23%
Maine: 60.97%
Nebraska: 58.74%

Russell:
Mississippi: 95.75%
South Carolina: 92.49%
Alabama: 79.75%

Wallace:
New York: 11.16%
California: 7.11%
Washington: 6.52%

[True Democrat]

January 20, 1949

President Dewey makes his second inauguration speech.  Most analysts expect him to focus on foreign policy and the continual struggle against communism.  However, Dewey chooses a different tone.  Instead, he puts forth an initiative in which he calls for "every American to vote in the 1950 elections, regardless of race".  Democrats, who have been largely taken over by the Southern wing, immediately are outraged by this initiative.

This new plan was going to be a hard fight for President Dewey, even with the Republicans retaking the Senate and expanding their majority in the House by a lot (after having the smallest majority in history, see below).

Here is a record of how Congress has stood since Dewey came into office:

House:

1944:
R: 227 (+18)
D: 206 (-16)
I: 2 (-2)

1946:
R: 218 (-9)
D: 217 (+11)
I: 0 (-2)

1948:
R: 281 (+63)
D: 150 (-67)
I: 4 (+4)

Senate:

1944:
D: 51 (-6)
R: 44 (+6)
I: 1 (+0)

1946:
D: 49 (-2)
R: 45 (+1)
I: 2 (+1)

1948:
R: 55 (+10)
D: 39 (-10)
I: 2 (+0)

[True Democrat]

Good work SoS.

I enjoyed reading the story.

I believe Thomas Dewey would have been a very good President.

SoS just stand for Secretary of State, it's just for fantasy purposes.  Thanks for enjoying these stories.

[True Democrat]

February 27, 1949

In his effort to create equality in American society, President Dewey produces an executive order to fully integrate the armed services.  Since Congress has not yet acted on his proposed initiative, Dewey has decided to take matters into his own hands.  Also on this date, Gallup releases a new poll with President Dewey's approval and approval on the proposed 22nd amendment that would limit the President to two terms.  Earlier polls has shown the public split on this:

Do you approve on the job President Dewey is doing?
Approve: 56%
Disapprove: 43%

By Party:

Democrats (41% of the poll):
Approve: 41%
Disapprove: 58%

Republicans (32% of the poll):
Approve: 69%
Disapprove: 30%

Independents (27% of the poll):
Approve: 62%
Disapprove: 36%

Do you support limiting the President to two terms?
Yes: 37%
No: 48%
No Opinion: 15%

[True Democrat]

With recent opposition to the proposed 22nd amendment, the Senate and House have dropped it from their agendas.  However, a fundamental problem is facing both Houses of Congress.  President Dewey's new "Equality Initiative" has split lawmakers.  This initiave is in two parts.  There is a proposed law known as the "Equality Act of 1949" and the Voting Rights Amendment.  The more controversial of these is of course the Voting Rights Amendment.

April 4, 1949

After about a month of debate, the House has overwhelmingly passed an amended version of the Equality Act.  This new version is acceptable to President Dewey.  The vote was as follows:

Republicans:
For: 276
Against: 3
Abstain: 2

Democrats:
For: 34
Against: 101
Abstain: 15

Independents:
For: 2
Against: 2

Total:
For: 310
Against: 106
Abstain: 17

April 17, 1949

Although the Senate has taken a little bit more time to debate, it has passed almost exactly the same version, though by a much closer vote.

Republicans:
For: 48
Against: 5
Abstain: 2

Democrats:
For: 7
Against: 31
Abstain: 1

Independents:
For: 1
Against: 1

Total:
For: 56
Against: 37
Abstain: 3

Although equality activists are thrilled at the passage of the comprehensive  "Equality Act of 1949", the Senate came nowhere close to the 64 votes needed to pass the Voting Rights Amendment.  The House on the other hand needs 290 votes to pass an amendment, and the Republicans have already surpassed that vote by 20.  This, added the fact that many Southern senators are threatening to walk out if the Voting Rights Amendment is passed, will make it nearly impossible to pass the amendment with this Congress.

April 21, 1949

President Dewey signs the Equality Act.  Instead of having a large ceremony to Washington D.C., President Dewey travels to Georgia to sign the bill.  He calls Atlanta "A new city for a new South".  He signs the bill among huge protests by white citizens in the South.  This will prove only to be a sign of things to come.

[True Democrat]

Since the passage of the Equality Act, the Senate hasn't taken on any controversial legislation.  As the 1950 election approaches, the Republicans are actually favored to gain seats.

October 26, 1950

Gallup releases a poll on which party the voters favor overall.  For his party, President Dewey has been pushing the Equality Act as the crowning achievement of the Republican Congress.

Which party do you favor in your Congressional election?
Republicans: 63%
Democrats: 31%
Undecided/Other/Neither: 6%

Do you approve of the passage of the Equality Act?
Yes: 71%
No: 28%

Do you approve of President Dewey's job as President:
Yes: 65%
No: 28%

[True Democrat]

November 7, 1950

Election day is upon America.  Thanks to efforts by the Republicans, voter turnout, especially in the Northern states, is huge.  Some analysts believe overall turnout (barring the South) may reach 75%.  By 11:00 PM every race has been called.

In the House, huge gains were made:

House:

Republicans: 305 (+24)
Democrats: 129 (-21)
Independents: 1 (-3)

However, in the Senate many Republicans were disappointed.  Although the Republicans gained seats in the Senate, it is not enough to take the 2/3 majority needed to pass the Voting Rights Amendment.

Senate:

Republicans: 62 (+7)
Democrats: 34 (-5)
Indendents: 0 (-2)

The Republicans are only two votes short of the 64 they need to pass the amendment, and every Democratic Senator except one plans to vote against it (all the other ones were either voted out of office or changed parties).  However, the Republicans have a plan. . .

[True Democrat]

On election day 1950, two smaller known elections took place.  First, in Hawaii, incumbent Democratic Territorial Governor Oren E. Long was defeated in a landslide election by Republican Samuel W. King.  Meanwhile, in Alaska, popular former Territorial Representative and current Anchorage Mayor Waino E. Hendrickson has defeated incumbent Ernest Gruening by a surprising win of 51-48.

February 17, 1951

The Voting Rights Amendment has come up to vote in both the House and the Senate.  In the House, it passes by the following margin:

Republicans:
For: 298
Against: 5
Abstain: 2

Democrats:
For: 23
Against: 99
Abstain: 7

Independents:
For: 1
Against: 0
Abstain: 0

Total:
For: 322
Against: 104
Abstain: 9

The House has clearly passed the 290 votes its needs to approve the amendment.

The Senate on the other hand is entirely predictable.

Republicans:
For: 62
Against: 0

Democrats:
For: 1
Against: 33

Total:
For: 63
Against: 33

The Republicans, as expected, fall one vote short to pass the amendment.  However, the next vote on the agenda is the admission of both Alaska and Hawaii as states.  This bill allows the current territorial governors to appoint the two senators.  Many Democrats and many Republicans cry that this bill is unfair.  However, it easily passes.

Republicans:
For: 51
Against: 9
Abstain: 2

Democrats:
For: 3
Against: 30
Abstain: 1

Total:
For: 54
Against: 39
Abstain: 3

The bill easily passes the Senate.  Alaska and Hawaii are now officially states (the bill was approved by special sessions of the Hawaii and Alaska state legislatures only hours later).  The new Governors call the Senate and appoint their two Senators each.  These Senators just happen to be standing by outside the Senate.  They are immediately sworn in.  Long into the night the Voting Rights Amendment is debated, but when it finally comes up for a vote, it passes thanks to the new Republican Senators from Alaska and Hawaii.

Republicans:
For: 66
Against: 0

Democrats:
For: 1
Against: 33

Total:
For: 67
Against: 33

The Republicans get the 67 votes they need to pass the Senate.  The American people have no idea what has happened.

February 18, 1951

Early the morning the radio and television networks report that the Voting Rights Amendment has been passed by the Senate.  The people are amazed that this happened.  The networks then report on how the new states made this possible.  Many people are in outrage over this.  All over the South whites start riots.  These riots take place in Atlanta, Memphis, Bimingham, New Orleans, Jackson, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Houston, and a number of other cities.  These riots go on for days before the National Guard can stop them.

[True Democrat]

Is anyone reading this?

[True Democrat]

Is anyone reading this?

I am.

What do you think of it so far?

[True Democrat]

As 1951 draws to a close, the Republican Congress is still hugely unpopular.  This ridicule has spread to President Dewey himself who's approval stands now at only 53-45.  The Democrats are wishing to beat President Dewey, who at this point is seen as having the intention to run for a third term.

January 21, 1952

Former Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower announces he will seek the Democratic nomination for President.  As soon as the announcement is made, most analysts predict Eisenhower will easily win the nomination.

February 5, 1952

As it become clear that the ever popular Eisenhower will win the nomination for the Democrats, President Dewey announces that he will not seek a third term.  The Republican party is thrown into turmoil.

February 21, 1952

Vice-President Bricker announces he will seek the Republican nomination.  President Dewey, who is still very popular in the Republican party, decides to immediately endorse Bricker for the nomination.  All the other candidates drop out for the sake of party unity.

March 4, 1952

Gallup releases its first poll of the season.  It shows the following:

Eisenhower/?: 48%
Bricker/?: 27%
Other/Undecided: 25%

Eisenhower already has a huge lead over Bricker.  Also on this date, the Connecticut state legislature has become the 17th state to ratify the Voting Rights Amendment.  38 states are needed.

[True Democrat]

Is anyone reading this?

I'm reading it.  Interesting story.  I enjoy alternate histories.   

I am pleased to see Thomas Dewey become a two term President.

But Eisenhower a Democrat?  I thought maybe he could announce he would seek the GOP nomination, and Dewey would therefore not seek a third term.  But, this is your story. 

Keep up the good work.

Well, no one really knew what party Eisenhower was until 1952.  In 1948, Truman offered to run for Vice-President if Eisenhower were at the top of the ticket.  I suspect that Eisenhower only became a Republican in 1952 because of the circumstances, but that's just me.  He really could have been in either party.

[True Democrat]

July 1952

Both the Republican and Democratic conventions have been held.  Bricker, who is in danger of losing the conservative wing of the party to Eisenhower has picked Ohio Senator Bob Taft to be his running mate.  Eisenhower, to hold the traditional Democratic base, picked Alabama Governor James E. Folsom as his running mate.  At this time, it is apparent that at this rate the Voting Rights Amendment will not pass in time for the election.  The Republicans step up their efforts to pass this.

July 31, 1952

Delaware has become the 27th state to ratify the Voting Rights Amendment.  38 states are needed, and so far 34 states have voted on the amendment.  Here is a map of the results so far:



States Voting Aye on the Amendment
States Voting Nay on the Amendment

The ratification by Missouri was a huge win for the Republicans considering the unpopularity of the antics the Republicans used and the split of the Missouri legislature.  If every truely Southern state votes Nay (as expected), that will be elevent states.  That means only Oklahoma or Kentucky can vote Nay for the amendment to pass.

August 15, 1952

Idaho has become the 34th state to ratify the amendment.  This leaves only Maryland, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and New Mexico to make decisions, all border states.



States Voting Aye on the Amendment
States Voting Nay on the Amendment

One surprising thing was how close West Virginia.  Even though the Republicans have over 55% of the representatives in both Houses, it was narrowly in both, and by only one vote in the lower House.

August 21, 1952

The New Mexico has overwhelmingly approve the Voting Rights Amendment.  However, the New Mexico Senate was tied.  This is completely unexpected, though the Lt. Governor does cast the tie breaking vote in favor the amendment.

September 7, 1952

Oklahoma votes down the amendment by a huge margin in both houses.  The pro-amendment forces must now get both Kentucky and Maryland to ratify the amendment.

September 9, 1952

Maryland barely ratified the amendment.  It is now completely up to Kentucky.

September 17, 1952

The Kentucky legislature splits on whether to approve the amendment.  The Upper Hosue approves by a fairly large margin, but the State House votes Nay.  A revote will be held one week later.

September 24, 1952

The Kentucky Senate again approves the amendment.  In the House, the Republicans hold a slight majority.  President Dewey calls in some favors, and amendment is passed by a close margin.  Kentucky the 38th state, and the amendment has passed.



States Voting Aye on the Amendment
States Voting Nay on the Amendment

[True Democrat]

November 4, 1952

Election day is upon America.  The latest poll shows Eisenhower leading by 13.  Although this is a dramatic decrease for his lead, he is still comfortably ahead.  At the same time, President Dewey's approval has rebounded to 61%.

Early results favor Eisenhower, though by a close margin than expected.  However, the networks still easily call the election for the general.  What is notable however, are margins in much of the South.  Due the passage of the Voting Rights Amendment and Republican turnout efforts in the South, African-Americans are voting in full force, and mostly for Bricker.  The two states the Republicans have focused on are South Carolina and Mississippi.  Although the Republicans do not come anywhere close to winning these states, both are remarkably closer, as Eisenhower does not even break 60%v in South Carolina.



Eisenhower/Folsom: 54.26%, 469 electoral votes
Bricker/Taft: 45.25%, 62 electoral votes

Best States:

Eisenhower:
Georgia: 75.12%
Alabama: 70.85%
Mississippi: 67.56%

Bricker:
Vermont: 58.6%
North Dakota: 58.2%
South Dakota: 56.8%

In the Congressional elections, the Republicans retain their majority in the House, those the Senate becomes a tie for the first time in history (partially due to many Republicans switching to the Democratic party after their party's actions with the VR Amendment)  Although neither party has a majority in the Senate because of Independents, with caucusing it is a tie (which means a Democratic majority):

House:
Republicans: 242 (-63)
Democrats: 190 (+61)
Independents: 3 (+2)

Senate:
Republicans: 49 (-17)
Democrats: 49 (+15)
Independents: 2 (+2)

One independent caucuses with the Democrats and one with the Republicans.

[True Democrat]

May I ask what happened to Alaska and Hawaii in that election?

Alaska was granted statehood January 3, 1959.
Hawaii was granted statehood August 21, 1959.

The first election in which they cast votes for President was therefore 1960.

True Ind. got them admitted as states already in this TL.

Oops.  The 1952 map didn't include, so I forgot about them.  I'll make a new map.  Just give me a couple of hours.

[True Democrat]

January 20, 1953

Eisenhower is sworn in as President, and Folsom is sworn in as Vice-President.  Eisenhower's inauguration speech focuses at first on ending communism around the world, but then moves to ending corruption in the government, specifically the Senate.  This is a direct attack to the Republicans' antics in the Voting Rights Amendment (which Eisenhower has neither supported nor opposed).  However, twenty minutes into his speech, Eisenhower falls from the podium.  He is immediately brought to a local hospital, at which point they determine he has had a serious stroke.  He has amnesia and barely remember anything.  Meanwhile, Folsom immediately takes over as acting President.

[True Democrat]

Small problem here, just a nit-pick.

Bricker and Taft were both from Ohio.

Oh, well, let's just say Bricker moved to DC or Florida or some exotic state.

[True Democrat]

For his first few weeks in office, Acting President Folsom does, well, basically nothing.  He simply waits for President Eisenhower.  However, by mid-February it is apparent that it will be at least a couple of months before the President can assume his duties again.  Folsom decides to take a more active role in the Presidency.  Southern Democrats are extremely pleased with this, many of whom viewed Eisenhower as being liberal on civil rights.

February 19, 1953

Gallup releases its first poll with Folsom's approval:

Approve: 78%
Disapprove: 9%

This great jump in approval is mainly due to Eisenhower's sickness.

With the Senate now in a tie, the Democrats hope to repeal the Equality Act of 1949.  However, during the first vote on a bill that would repeal the law, it fails, easily.

Republicans:
For: 3
Against: 45
Abstain: 1

Democrats:
For: 36
Against: 5
Abstain: 8

Independents:
For: 1
Against: 1

Total:
For: 40
Against: 51
Abstain: 9

[True Democrat]

It is interesting to note that during the Democrats' first attempt to repeal the Equality Act, Vice-President Folsom was completely silent.  Most expected him to rally Congress, but he did not.

April 7, 1953

President Eisenhower suffers another stroke.  This one is more serious, and he goes into a coma.

April 19, 1953

Acting President Folsom makes his first oversees trip.  Many critics believe he is assuming too much as he is not actually President.  This first trip is to Western Europe to meet with leaders there and discuss ways to oppose the USSR and their growing influence in the Middle East.

[True Democrat]

May 21, 1953

President Eisenhower's situation is upgraded to stable, but he remains in his coma.

July 3, 1953

President Folsom decides to put forward a new iniatiative that combat Communism and the USSR.  He gives a press conference in speech in primetime, however, the plan is almost exactly the same as the one Dewey put forward in the 1948 election, but was never enacted.  The American people don't really recognize this similarity and immediately applaud Folsom's efforts.  A small portion of the public still believe that Acting President Folsom is overstepping his boundaries.

[True Democrat]

August 1, 1953

Vice-President Folsom makes his first visit back to his native South.  He visits with the Governors of Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and finally his own home state of Alabama.  In Alabama, he meets with Governor George Wallace, who was his Lt. Governor.  A day earlier, Governor Wallace had signed a petition to Congress to repeal both the Equality Act and Voting Rights Amendment.  At this meeting, Wallace presents the petition to Vice-President Folsom, saying "Mr. Vice-President, stand up for the White man in the South and sign this petition.  For too long have out states' rights been violated by the overbearing federal Congress.  Stand with the South."  Vice-President Folsom picks up the pen, and seem as though he is going to sign it.  However, he instead tells Governor Wallace "Mr. Governor, by supporting these acts, I am not only standing up for the Negro man, but also for the White man.  It is the White man's best interest to live in a democracy where all people can vote."  Governor Wallace is outraged.  He storms off stage.

August 2, 1953

Governor Wallace, along with many other prominent Southern Democrats, makes a public statement condeming the actions of Vice-President Folsom.  He calls for him both to resign and change parties.