Hughes Defeats Wilson and the World Thereafter

[King of the Bench]

I'm actually a big fan of alternate history, and this is something I did in college. Enjoy.

[King of the Bench]

Hughes Defeats Wilson and the World Thereafter

Long Beach, California
Fall 1916

An assistant approaches Republican Presidential nominee Charles Evans Hughes in his hotel suite in order to notify him of the presence of California Governor Hiram Johnson in the hotel.  Hughes thanks his assistant and immediately walks off to greet Governor Johnson in the lobby.  The Governor is impressed with the Republican nominee, and decides to put his full effort into seeing that he wins the electoral votes of the state of California.

November 7, 1916

The returns are coming in from across the nation, and President Wilson is becoming increasingly nervous.  However, he refuses to concede.  Though he is likely to lose the popular vote, Mr. Hughes retires for the evening, confident that a victory in California will grant him an electoral vote triumph, making him President of the United States.

Hughes is correct.  At 11:25 P.M., President Wilson concedes defeat, and heads to bed a defeated man.

Charles Evans Hughes/Charles Warren Fairbanks
268 Electoral Votes
46.4% of the Popular Vote

Woodrow Wilson/Thomas Riley Marshall
263 Electoral Votes
48.9% of the Popular Vote

At 7:00 A.M. the following morning, a journalist phones the home of President-elect Charles Evans Hughes, hoping to score the first interview with the victor.  A butler answers the phone and says, “The President is sleeping.”  The journalist informs the butler that he will try to call again later.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

This is interesting; I'm looking forward to seeing how WWI turns out.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

This is interesting; I'm looking forward to seeing how WWI turns out.

BTW: Welcome to the forum

[Хahar 🤔]

This is interesting; I'm looking forward to seeing how WWI turns out.

BTW: Welcome to the forum

Thirded.

[The Hack Hater]

Fourthded.

[defe07]

BUMP-ed!

[Hash]

BUMP-ed!

Normally we bump after 5-10 days without updates, not an hour after.

[King of the Bench]

I will put on the next installment probably every day so everyone knows.

[The Hack Hater]

Sure you will.

[Хahar 🤔]

I will put on the next installment probably every day so everyone knows.

[King of the Bench]

 

Charles Evans Hughes
29th President of the United States

In his inaugural address in March 1917, President Hughes outlines the fundamental ideas which he hopes will shape his Presidency.  Some notable lines from the speech include Hughes’ proclamation that “the American government must be one that allows American business to flourish without overbearing regulation,” as well as the more controversial line, “The heinous crimes of Germany and her Kaiser must no longer be ignored.  Wilhelm has crossed into the territory of the unacceptable, and inaction is no longer an option.  The American people, in this election past, chose the option of action, and I will be a President who shall reflect the choice of the people.”

The line reflects strong anti-German sentiment in the United States, especially after the discovery of the Zimmerman Telegram, which sought to ally with Mexico against the United States.  A column in The New York Times, written by Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, urges President Hughes to declare war.

On March 7, 1917, just three days after being inaugurated, President Hughes addresses the Congress.  “The telegram by Mr. Zimmerman has only reinforced the notion that the German Empire intends to wage war against the United States.  Are we to remain unresponsive?  Are we not to prepare for war?  Let this address be a call to arms, and let this address be an ultimatum to Kaiser Wilhelm.  If one more American vessel is attacked on the open sea by Germans, war shall commence.”

Behind the scenes, the nation is already preparing for war.  The Secretary of War, former President Theodore Roosevelt, informs military leaders that mobilization and trans-Atlantic transportation can be called upon at any time.  Meanwhile, Secretary of State (and former President) William Howard Taft, meets with British and French diplomats in Nova Scotia to discuss the logistics of American entry into the war.

On March 14, as Secretary of State Taft is being transported back to Washington, roughly one hundred miles east of Cape Cod, his ship is attacked by a German U-boat.  The ship desperately signals distress in the twenty minutes it takes to fall under the surface.  Former President Taft is killed in the attack, along with other diplomats, among whom was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The nation falls into mourning for the former President.  On the evening of March 15, President Hughes addresses Congress yet again.  “In the name of security and freedom, and in the memory of great men, I ask for a declaration of war against the German Empire.  In a unanimous vote, the United States of America declares war on the German Empire.

After the speech, a shaken Secretary of War Teddy Roosevelt approaches President Hughes.  Roosevelt asks to lead an American Expeditionary Force in Europe in order to avenge the death of his cousin Franklin.  President Hughes grants his request.

[Хahar 🤔]

Great update. I wonder how the Great War'll turn out.