Al Smith Victorious!

From Alternative History

This ATL deals with the possibility of what would happen if Democratic candidate Al Smith, a Catholic Irish-American, won the 1928 presidential election instead of Herbert Hoover. This radical change at this point in time would have drastic changes from OTL as it would have different effects on the Great Depression and, in the future, Hitler's rise to power and possibly World War II and beyond.

[edit] 1920's

1927: President Calvin Coolidge at the strong urging of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover pushs a bill (the Norris Act) trough congress that prohibites exess selling of stocks based on credit. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon resigns because of his opposition to the measure. He also pledges to fight aganist Hoover's bid for the White House in 1928.

1928: Economic troubles cause Democrats to hope for victory. NY Governor Al Smith is nominated of the fifth ballot over the opposition of Old Guard Democrats who beleive Smith's Catholicism would wreck his chances of victory.

Hoover faces a strong challenge from former IL Governor Frank Lowden but maneges to win the nomination on the second ballot with 577 votes to Lowden's 307. Hoover chose progressive Nebraska Senator George W. Norris as his running mate which further alienates conservatives in the party. Altough the economy was slowing a little the Republicans still expected victory.

October 15 was a day that would go down in history. Most investors had expected Hoover to continue the Coolidge era, but when word reached Wall Street that Hoover was considering rasing taxrs the markets took a plunge.

Election night was very close, Smith won the North-east, South-west, the South. The deciding state in the election was Florida, votes were being counted for three days before a victory was declared. Even as Florida had put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House, it did the same for------Al Smith. Smith total popular vote was 18,800,000 to Hoover's 18,000,000. Smith victory in the electoral was paper thin 268-263.

1929: President Smith had a large progressive agenda, and with Democrats having a majority in the House and the Senate he had a good chance to get it passed. The first part of the plan was to double taxs to pay for his other programs. Although this met with bitter opposition from conservatives, there were enough progressives and liberals in the Congress to pass it. These actions only drove the econamy further under.

[edit] 1930's

1930: In the mid-term elections, a resurgent Republican party gained control of Congress giving them the power to block President Smith's polices. Among the many losing Democrats that year was New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt, who lost to his distant cousin Republican Theodore Roosevelt Jr. by a margin of less than 5,000 votes.

1931: The Republican controlled Congress passed a tax cut but this was vetoed by Smith only to by overiden which almost distroyed Smith's credibility with the American people.

Many felt that this "catholic bastard" of a president is the reason the country is in termoil. In New York on March 15, Race Riots broke out against the Irish and Catholic communities. The riots were 10 times worse than 1844 Philadelphia or 1863 New York Riots. 107 Irish and/or Catholics were killed, while over a thousand were injured or missing. Al Smith declared a state of emergency and had police and military forces lay siege to the Manhatten Island. Part of the Statue of Liberty is destroyed by a misfire from one of the several battleships sent into the harbor.

The riots ended but the city was in ruins. Seeing the statue smoking and surrounded by rubble in the harbor sent cold chills down Al Smith's back. He adressed the nation on Ellis Island pledging to rebuild the statue and the city. But New York would never be the same after the 1931 riots.

1932: the Republicans were ready to through Smith out on his ear. Unemployment was at 20 percent and rising, thanks to Smiths tax increases and many could not forgive him for the New York riots they proclaimed he caused. The top Republican candidates that year were Idaho Senator William Borah and newly elected New York Governor Teddy Roosevelt Jr. (Roosevelt was supported by Andrew Mellon, Herbert Hoover and the GOP establishment). Borah won servel primaries but was seen as to radical, so the party boss' turned to Roosevelt and he won the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican convention with 683 votes to Borah's 310. In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt pledged himself "To a New Deal for the American people". Ohio Governor Robert A. Taft was nominated for Vice President. Roosevelt took to the campaign trail aganist Smith. Running on a platform of lower taxes and less goverment spending, Roosevelt swampted Smith 56% to 40%. The one bright spot for Democrats was the election of Franklin Roosevelt as Governor of New York.

In chosin his cabinet, Roosevelt choose experienced bureaucrats and Washington insiders (including a Democrats) to lead the executive departments. Roosevelt's First Cabinet was as follows

Vice President: Hebert C. Hoover

Secretary of State: William E. Borah

Secretary of the Treasury: Andrew W. Mollen

Secretary of War: Henry L. Stimpson

Attorney General: Charles E. Hughes Jr.

Postmaster General: Walter F. Brown

Secretary of the Navy: Charles F. Adams

Secretary of the Interior: Frank Knox

Secretary of Agriculture: Ray C. Chapin

Secretary of Commerce: Wendell L. Willkie

Secretary of Labor: Francis C. Perkins

The congressional leadership was dominated by conservatives.

Speaker of the House: Bertrand H. Snell (R)

House Majority Leader: Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R)

House Minority Leder: John N. Garner (D)

Senate Majority Leader: Charles L. McNary (R)

Senate Minority Leader: Morris Sheppard (D)

1933: With a super majority in the Congress, President Roosevelt pushed a long list of legilation through during his first 100 days of office. Among them was the Worker's Assistance Recovery Program (WARP), which set forth a system of goverment loans to working men and their familes instead of the blanket checks that some liberals supported. Another act of Roosevelt's Precidency was to pass the Social Security Act of 1933. Under the act a system of private accounts would be setup, into which taxpayers would place money and the goverment would match their savings. But by far the most importent bill passed during Roosevelt's first two years was the Revenue Act of 1933, which abolished the federal income tax and in its place a national sales tax of 21% was put into place.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a force in her own right, writing her own weekly newspaper colum intitled "Elly's Week", and doing around the country campaigning for the poor in the needed (though not as much as her Democratic cousin did in OTL since husband was not cripled by polio).

1934: The Republicans make a clean sweap in almost all elections. The one bright point for the Democrats was the election of Franklin Roosevelt as Governor of New York.

1935: President Roosevelt appoints former Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who had been appointed by President Smith in 1930. Hughes will serve until 1945.

1936: the economy was back on its feet, unemployment had been cut in half and the DOW was rising, Roosevelt was re-elected in a landslide over NY Governor Franklin Roosevelt in the presidential election.

Meanwhile in Europe, The Nuremberg laws are passed in Germany. President Roosevelt orders that refugee camps be set up across the East Coast and gets a bill passed through which grants all European Jews fleeing persecution US citizenship.

1937: During the first six mouths of Roosevelt's second term, conservative Republicans in Congress pushed for allowing the depression era legislation of Roosevelt's first term to expire. Although Roosevelt was opposed to repealing all the bills, he relized that the times required a change in focus and government spending.

Roosevelt saw the danger posed to the U.S. by Japan's expansion into China, and Germany's threats against Europe. Later that year the Supreme Court ruled that part of the WARP was unconstitutional. This caused Roosevelt to fallow the wishs of Taft and the conservatives. Roosevelt pushed the Naval Act of 1937 through the Congress.

1938: Conservatives succed in allowing the WARP program to expire in 1942, and cut Social Security by 15%.

In the mid-term elections, the Republicans suffered slight loses doe to division between liberals and conservatives. Inspite of this the Republicans retained overwhelming control of Congress.

Roosevelt decides "enough is enough" when he learns that Japn has committed unspeakable atrocities in China. It seems the Japanese forces invaded China and burned it's capitol to the ground and slaughter thousands of innocents. Roosevelt orders that sanctions on Oil, Steel and raw materials be imposed, as well as begin the largest arms buildup in American history so far.

1939: Roosevelt had been suffering from poor health for some time (sometimes he was forced to use a wellchair). Most expected Roosevelt to fallow the 2-term limit set by George Washington, Vice President Robert Taft was considerd the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Other potential candidates included Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg and New York District Attorney Thomas Dewey.

But by September, Germany had responded to America's rearmament by invading Poland and declaring war on Great Britian and France. By mid-October the Japanese had invaded French and Dutch colinies in South-east Asia. Roosevelt declared that the United States would not stand for this blanted aggresstion. Japan relized that American bases in the Pacific would threaten their expansionist goals, and they launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7. On December 8, Roosevelt ask Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. Within two weeks Germany and Italy had declared war on the United States, barley 100 days after Hitler invasion of Poland, the whole world was engulfed in war.

[edit] 1940's

1940: By early February, the Japanese had completed the conquest of all the Pacific north of New Guinea exept General Douglas MacArthur's Anglo-Philippine Army in the Philippines. In March, Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to leave the Philippines and go to Australia, the Philippines however, will hold out and will be relieved by MacArther and Nimitz in August. In May, the Japanese launched an naval attack towards Port Morsby, New Guinea but were stopped by the American fleet under Admiral Chester Nimitz. In June the U.S. fleet sunk 4 Japanese aircraft carriers at Midway and turned the tide in the Pacific.

Meanwhile, the 1940 elections went on as planned. Roosevelt decided to seek a third term because the country needed a experienced leader. Roosevelt easily won the Republican nomination. Robert Taft was also renominated for Vice President.

The Democrats countered by nominating Iowa Governor Henry A. Wallace with New York Senator James Farley receiving the vice-presidential nomination.

Meanwhile, the Germans have begun an invasion of France. Thanks to American support the Germans are stopped just short of Paris and are eventually forced back across the Rhine in 1941.

Wallace seemed to have a chance early on because of Roosevelt seeking an unprecedented third term and because of early American defeats in the war. But with American victory at Midway, Roosevelt took a twenty-two point lead in a July Gallup poll. In August, American forces landed in Norway in support of British and French forces and drove the Germans out of the country by January, 1941. Also, American forces under Dwight Eisenhower landed in French North Africa and drove towards Italian controlled Libya. By November, Americans felt that victory was really possible leading them to chose to give Roosevelt and the Republicans another four years by a 20-point margin.

In December, German forces landed in Syria and drove towards the Suez. Around the same time Russian forces invaded Persia and Afghanistan, in response the Allies declared war on the Soviet Union.

1941: In late January, Allied forces landed in southern Iraq and pushed north. A German force drove towards Jerusalem, the British desperate for troops turned to Jewish units to stem the tide of Nazi onslaught. under the command of Colonel Ben Guron Jewish forces made a stand at Meggido (a.k.a. Armageddon). German commanders realized that it would take more men than they had to dislodge the Jews, and asked Hitler for re-enforcements. Hitler ordered them to capture Meggido regardless of the cost. The attack failed and cost the Germans dearly. By August, the Germans were being surrounded but Hitler had become obsessed with capturing Jerusalem and crushing the Jews once and for all. By September, the allies had trapped the Germans and forced them to surrender on September 11. Meanwhile in Iraq American forces were driving the Germans towards Syria. Also, Turkey entered the war on the allied side and began closing in on German occupied Syria. On December 12, 1941 Axis forces in Syria surrendered, the campaign had cost Hitler over 390,000 men killed, wounded, and missing. In the meantime, the Manhattan project is coming close to completion (President Roosevelt put more emphasis on the atomic bomb, as he wanted to ensure the war was brought to a quick end).

1942: McArthur meets with leaders of the Chinese, Australian, British, and French militaries and discuss plans for the invasion of Japan. "D-Day" of "The Battle of Hiroshima" takes place on June 6th, when Allied forces invade Japan. Kamikaze fighters destroy many allied ships, while US paratroopers sneak behind enemy lines and destroy many important installions. The invasion is a success.

MacArther then launches a full force to destroy the Japanese military once and for all, but the Japanese couht off guard when the invasion began are ready now and put up a hard fight. MacArther however executed a brilliant landing at Yokahoma and within weeks, the Japanese forces scattered and crumbled, and at "The Battle of Tokyo", the Emporer is captured and after a conversation with MacArther orders the surrenderd of all Japanese forces.

Generals Patton and Eisenhower complete the conquest of Germany and surrounded Berlin. Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders on May.

Among the captured German equitment is the new Me262, which helps the US develop the F-86 Sabre and British the Meteor.

1943: The Manhattan project bears fruit in the New Mexico Desert in March, and the first nuclear bomb is deemed a success. The USA is now the soul poseser of the A-bomb.

The war wasn't over yet as Stalin and Communists still had the will to keep fighting. But quickly the Allies from the European and Pacific Theaters began driving the Russians further into the motherland.

On August 5, the Allies dropped an atomic bomb on Stalingrad and five days later on St. Petersburg. Stalin wanted to fight on but his generals know it was usless and assasinated him. On September 1st, General of the Army Dwight David Eisenhower acceted the surrended of the Soviet Armed Forces.

With the Russian surrender, VR-Day was celebrated, WWII was officialy over!

In November, Roosevelt, Churchill, Daladier, and Chiang Kai-skek meet in Potsdam, Germany and agree that France will oversee the rebuilding of Italy and the Balkans, Britian will administer Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. China would occupie Siberia and Russian Central Asia while the U.S. would rebuild Japan and Russia. The US and the UK agreed to support Chiang against the Communists.

1944: In January, the allied nations signed the charter for the United Nations. Among the articles of the charter was a statment of support of colonialism and against Communisum.

Without the Soviet Union the Communists in China, Vietnam, and Cuba failed. Communisum died out in the 1960's.

In July, President Roosevelt died from heart failure and Vice President Robert Taft became President.

In November, President Taft and his running-mate NY Governor Tom Dewey defeated Florida Senator Claude Pepper and his running-mate MO Senator Harry S. Truman. The Republicans retained control of both houses of Congress.

TO BE CONTINUED

This timeline is open to anyone who wants to add to it. I will inject my own information where I can and edit as I see fit.