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The Second Reconstruction-A Post-Civil War Kaiserreich USA Quest

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Hm, this cabinet is...acceptable. Its got the right amount of conservatives and progressives while making sure the conservatives don't really touch the positions that require a socially liberal person to enact the policies promised and sorely needed.
 
I feel that this is very good cabinet, however, I am worrying for the future ahead. May the war that will divide the nation be less harmful than the one we know.
 
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Fair Deal Part 2
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    • A Tale of Two Wagners​



    Senator Wagner, arguably the most important legislator of the Fair Deal    ​

    As March began to come into its own, The Olson Administration and the Fair Deal seemed to be on the ropes. With Garner coming out against the NLRA, making him a conditional ally at best, moderate Democrats and the rest of the party leadership were getting wary of the coalition. It seemed as though things were at a breaking point, yet Olson and his cabinet would make a series of wise, if risky, decisions to stabilize the coalition. Early on the potential to turn to Reed or Long for support was rejected, it would undermine everything Olson had run on as well as initial talks had shown that their prices was very high. Both radicals were more than willing to watch Olson flounder, especially Reed considering the passage of the NLRA would be a potential death blow to the Strike.

    The main problem that the coalition faced was that its supporters in the business world were getting incredibly nervous. The Fair Deal had also reached farther than they had anticipated and pretty much no one on Wall Street wanted to see a strong Labor bill passed. But Olson needed them, especially with Garner in opposition, for if he lost Wall Street, he would lose the Republican right. So Olson turned to a representative of those interests, Commerce Secretary Landon. Landon was a mid-western oil man with many contacts in the business industry and he brought to the President a three part plan to at least pacify the business community. The first part was a repeal of Smoot-Hawley. While still supported by some protectionists in the Republican Party, by this point it's damaging economic effects were becoming clear and considering the business world (nor Olson) had never supported it, it would be a relatively easy way for Olson to demonstrate he took business leaders' concerns seriously.

    The second part of the informally named 'Landon Plan' was far more controversial. The National Business Relief Act of 1937 was a massive and expensive package that would provide federal funds and bailouts to a broad range of businesses crippled by the effects of first the depression and now the strike. The US economy was in freefall and Olson pitched the act as the means to keep it afloat until the NLRA could be passed and an end to the strike brought about. The act was fiercely attacked by Socialists as a corrupt giveaway to Capitalists and even many progressives thought the bill went farther than necessary. Yet the actual purpose was quite clear to Olson's inner circle, it was a massive bribe to American Capitalists to help them sugarcoat the bitter of the NLRA.

    The third part of the Landon Plan was seemingly extremely self-serving in that it was another round of subsidies, this time to the American Oil Industry. While certainly opening Landon and Olson up to charges of corruption, the fact most of the funds were directed made the actual purpose of the plan clear. It was, simply put, a full on assault against one of the bases of Garner's support. Garner had long been an advocate for Texan Oil in Congress but now with him in the cold with the Administration, that same Administration was about to dump money into those same interests. It was a clear effort to break Texan Oil from Garner and in favor of the Administration and hopefully pull moderate Texan Democrats with it. Success would mean leaving Garner incredibly weak, with the risk being that failure meant all out political war with the Speaker of the House.

    Probably the most uncontroversial major bit of legislation that Olson pushed was a series of relief and reform acts authored by Secretary Wallace that would hopefully bring the much needed relief to midwestern farmers and make the repeal of Smoot-Hawley easier. These bills would soar through both houses because the simple fact was all the parties looked at midwestern farmers as political ground that was up for grabs and no one wanted to be seen as anti-farmer. Wallace's plans also ensured that western Republicans remained onboard and firm supporters of Olson, despite being somewhat conservative in most regards.


    Congresswoman Ruth Bryan Owen, committed Prohibitionist and Olson ally    ​

    Pretty much all the Fair Deal bills were incredibly pricey and in order to avoid crippling debt and appease supporters of a balanced budget, still most of Congress, Olson needed to at least try to pay for it in order to keep his coalition alive. To do that he would turn to Senator Thomas Hawking and what remained one of the strongest political movements in America, the Prohibition movement. While the coming of the Depression had brought seemingly more pressing issues to the national agenda, support for Prohibition had certainly not faded despite its failure to pass a Constitutional Amendment during the Wilson and McAdoo years. It was also a movement that was fertile ground for Olson to turn to support, despite personally not being a prohibitionist. The Progressive movement and Prohibitionists long had crossover, especially when it came to political activism from women, who Olson had courted for support in the election and with his appointment of Perkins. It also had the potential to help grow Olson's support by appealing to rural protestants. While a somewhat bitter pill for Olson, it was a faction he couldn't afford to alienate.

    With that in mind, the Administration through its support behind the Owens-Hawking Financial Act. The Act had a broad range of new taxes and tax increases, especially on higher incomes, to help pay for the Fair Deal but its most important and controversial measure was the imposition of a high tax on the trade and sale of Alcohol across the US. While certain to ruffle some feathers, it also had the potential to help alleviate the financial burden of the Fair Deal. Supporting the Bill also turned Florida Democratic Congresswoman Ruth Bryan Owen into a firm and lasting ally of the Administration, gaining them a rare ally in the south as well as now having the support of the daughter of William Jennings Bryan.

    While each of the bills had their supporters and opponents, with the full weight of the White House and party leadership, they managed to get through Congress in record time. Furthermore, any potential Senators or Representatives that wavered on the legislation found that the Administration was more than happy to take their opinion into account on where major Fair Deal programs should focus. Southern Democrats, some of whom still held powerful committee chair positions in the House, would try to block most of these acts. Yet the Democratic and Republican Whips soon became proficient in getting the signatures needed for discharge petitions, and these acts were passed with the aid of an unprecedented amount of discharge patients. All of these actions opened Olson up to accusations of corruption, blackmail, and strong-arming Congress but the man who "stole New York" was used to these kinds of accusations. As Roosevelt had promised so many months ago when he was chosen as Vice President, help was finally on the way to the American people. A sense of optimism and momentum was felt among the coalition's supporters following success after success. These swift victories had another important consequence, the cleared the Senate agenda.

    The toughest challenges for the Administration yet lay ahead. They still had to secure the passage of the NLRA which they had staked their entire success upon. The other was the Olson Administration decision to back the Wagner-Gavagan Act. The issue of an anti-lynching legislation had been on and off the national agenda since the Dyer Anti-Lynching law had failed in the Senate in 1922, facing opposition both from Southern Democrats and the McAdoo Administration. Further attempts had failed with the Hoover Administration refusing to enforce any legislation. Wagner had almost seen success in 1935 when his act passed the House but it would die before getting to the floor of the Senate, considering the tense circumstances at that time. Yet the Bloody Summer of 1936, along with violence against African Americans during the recent Presidential Election, had brought lynching back to the forefront of discussion when it came to civil rights. With a new Administration and public support for the law, it seemed ideal for Wagner and Congressman Gavagan, his co-sponsor in the house, to try again.


    Congressman Joseph A. Gavagan, who had seen discrimination first hand while growing up in Hell's Kitchen    ​

    The Wagner-Gavagan Act was very similar to the 1935 bill, even including the amendments that the Senate Judiciary Committee had added in. The bill was designed to target state and local officials that failed to prevent a mob from killing or injuring suspects in their custody, as well as if they failed to pursue legal action against the lynchers. These officials would each face a $5,000 fine and 5 years in jail. If the officials had actively conspired with the mob, they could face up to 25 years. The country government would as well face a $2,000 to $10,00 fine as well, with that fine paid to victims. It's constitutional justification laid with the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

    The decision on whether to back Wagner's law was certainly a difficult one for the Olson Cabinet. With many southerners and a few conservatives, it was perhaps the first progressive issue that faced opposition by the majority of the cabinet. Yet Secretary Ickes was not one to give up the fight and continually confronted the Cabinet with the horrors of lynching. Wallace was quick to lend his support as well. Eventually though, Roosevelt would come around to backing the legislation, both as a means of courting the growing African-American vote in the north, and also as a way of demonstrating that the Administration did not need the South, which he believed would strengthen their hand when it came to passing the NLRA. That was enough to sway Olson, who brought LaFollette, and soon the cabinet decided to back the bill.

    While Costagan, progressives, and the Republican leadership set about getting the signatures needed to bring the bill to the floor of the House, the Administration joined with the NAACP to start racking up the pressure in the Senate. The first major obstacle was the Senate Majority Leader Robinson. Even with the coalition, he still mainly controlled the Senate calendar and his refusal to bring the bill to the floor in '35 was a big factor in its defeat. In order to have any chance of passing the bill, Olson and Wagner needed his full support. After a single meeting they got it. While it is unknown what happened, the rumor around Washington was that Olson had promised Robinson appointment to the next vacancy on the Supreme Court. With the Senate leadership onboard, the Senate Judiciary Committee was swift to move the bill out of committee and onto the floor of the Senate.

    Despite expectations that the bill would pass, Long, Byrd, and many other Southern Senators were determined to launch the greatest filibuster yet seen. With the NLRA also facing a filibuster, the question facing Wagner and Robinson was which bill to face the filibuster with. They would decide to lead off with anti-lynching. It was fairly uncontroversial, at least in theory, outside the south (unlike the NLRA) as well as they could be certain of Reed's support, who opposed the NLRA seeing it as a true threat to socialist goals. Yet Huey Long was a master of the filibuster and soon seized control of the Senate for days on end. He was aided by fellow southerners of all political stripes, with fellow America First Senator Tom Connolly of Texas taking a leading role. Yet if the southerners were an unmovable object, supporters of the bill were an unstoppable force.

    Robinson was intent to use his control of the Senate calendar to his full advantage. With other pressing legislation already passed, there was little that the Anti-Lynching law was holding up, limiting the effectiveness of a filibuster. Robinson also pulled the Senate into marathon late night sessions, exhausting the body and the filibusters. Meanwhile labor unions across the country had brought supporters to Washington to march in favor of the NLRA as well as the Anti-Lynching law, considering it could in theoretically protect strikers from mobs as well, a growing problem considering the anger due to the New Years Day strike. Each day senators were met by crowds demanding they pass the law.

    Reed and his fellow socialists for their part did the most important thing they could, they kept their mouths shut, forcing opponents of the legislation to instead battle Wagner and leadership. Yet when the bill came up for a vote in the House, every single socialist Congressman showed up to vote in favor of the bill. All that was left was the Senate.

    Tempers were incredibly hot as the filibuster continued in the Senate. The economy was in awful state, with violence and starvation starting to take hold in the midwest. Several murders of striking workers, who had been detained by the police, added another dimensions to the fight for the Wagner bills, even further tying the two pieces of legislation together. With the entire country fed up, and the Senate exhausted from over a week of marathon sessions, Robinson made his last play, a change to the Senate rules so that cloture could be invoked on several debates with only a single motion. Once that passed, he filed a joint cloture motion on both Wagner bills.

    The debate on the cloture motion would go into the morning, with many Senators outraged over this rule change and southerners knowing it was the final moment. Olson's allies called in all the favors he had gained so far in his Presidency and when the vote on the motion finished in the early hours of the morning, it had exactly the 64 votes it needed. The Senate would adjourn, the filibuster broken, and within a week both the NLRA and the Wagner-Gavagan Act were on the President's desk. After nearly 100 days of constant legislating, some of the most comprehensive in its history, and Olson saying he had the tools he needed to end the strike, Congress would adjourn with most of its membership returning home. They would not return to Washington for years.
     
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    • Wondering who sets it off, Long or Reed... I can see both, as Reed is already mobilized effectively what with the Strike and is aware the NLRA might steal Labor from under him, while Long is more a gambling man and can decide to hit quickly. They will need a inciting incident to go, which leads me to the Socialists as we are in more active conflict with them (See the Strike and Hoovers boys).
     
    Pretty sure Long started it. He was always the less reasonable of the two and he's got robber barons that despise us in his circle.
     
    Yep, betting on Long. He made his bed, now its just a matter of who wants to join him. Byrd I'm counting on to join Long, I'm hoping Garner throws a fit and joins Long too.
     
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    An interesting thing is I remember the Kaiserreich devs specifically repudiating Reed's early depiction in the mod as someone who is willing to compromise with the government if he finds their policies acceptable, explicitly saying that Reed is very much a radical seeking to overthrow the established order.
     
    The Ayes have it! The bill passes!

    I am sure this moment will make for a fine movie in this timeline. The NLRA and the Wagner-Gavagan Act passed by the thinnest possible margins. I did not think it would happen, but the two bills passed. Cloture has been passed on the filibuster and the Southern Bloc has been handed a truly historical defeat. Senator Long joined the filibuster on the anti-lynching bill and has joined the wrong side of history in doing so. This will be the end of Long's ability to appear neutral on race issues. He was forced to pick a side and joined the wrong side.

    In passing these bills, the Olson government just declared, however barely, that it does not need the Southern segregationist vote on critical issues. The last time that the American South felt that they had lost control of the federal government on certain racial issues, it did not go well. Arguably, the passage of the NLRA and the Wagner-Gavagan Act by the Olson administration is a more direct assault on Southern interests than the election of Abraham Lincoln was back in 1860. After all, Lincoln did not originally want to abolish slavery in the Southern States where it already existed and only originally wanted to restrict the expansion of slavery. Here, Olson just signed a bill that will ban lynching across the whole country including the South. Many Southerners will not take this well.
     
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    SzechuanSauce said:
    An interesting thing is I remember the Kaiserreich devs specifically repudiating Reed's early depiction in the mod as someone who is willing to compromise with the government if he finds their policies acceptable, explicitly saying that Reed is very much a radical seeking to overthrow the established order.
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    It is one of the few changes the KR devs made that I personally agree with. IRL, up until he went to Moscow to get his Communist Labor Party approved for the Comintern, he was convinced that the October Revolution was the spark needed to get socialists and workers to rise up worldwide. It wasn't until Emma Goldman and his experiences at the Second Comintern Congress that broke him and made him realize that the Bolsheviks weren't the saviors he believed they were.

    In TTL, the revolutions in France and Britain have made him double down on his idealism. So he's not going to back down, but I doubt he'll make the first move if he wants to sell this as a revolution.
     
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    Of course, here we should probably acknowledge the need for magical pixie dust to get the civil war going. While I can certainly see a great deal of violence, as the south has a bunch of riots and the Government heads towards confrontation with Radical Unions, it has not built up to anywhere near the point where Youd get a civil war. Anti-Lynching is bad for the South, but it's not like we just went full 1960s on them, they still retain Segregation. They wouldn't have the stomach to actually go through and start a total fraticdal war over this. In the North, Radical Unions are sure angry but I doubt it would be enough to actually do a Civil war. they dont even have Moderate Unions on their side, let alone the majority of citizens in the states. What should follow is a nasty rash of Political violence, with some highlights (deploying troops south, crushing the reds) but not an actual civil war.
     
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    While the focus - and condemnation - of the update was on Long and the Southerners, I'm willing to bet it'll be Reed who sets off the spark. America's closer to revolution than it's ever been before, but depressions can't last forever, and the current administration is working hard to subvert the unions from being a vanguard of socialism into a pillar of the status-quo. With the Act passed and economic recovery on the horizon, the Syndicalists have to know that it's now or never, and with the Southerners infuriated over the anti-lynching bill it's almost certain they won't support the federal government, or even start a revolt of their own.
    Earl Warren said:
    Of course, here we should probably acknowledge the need for magical pixie dust to get the civil war going. While I can certainly see a great deal of violence, as the south has a bunch of riots and the Government heads towards confrontation with Radical Unions, it has not built up to anywhere near the point where Youd get a civil war. Anti-Lynching is bad for the South, but it's not like we just went full 1960s on them, they still retain Segregation. They wouldn't have the stomach to actually go through and shoot people over this. In the North, Radical Unions are sure angry but I doubt it would be enough to actually do a Civil war. they dont even have Moderate Unions on their side, let alone the majority of citizens in the states. What should follow is a nasty rash of Political violence, with some highlights (deploying troops south, crushing the reds) but not an actual civil war.
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    If I had to guess, the precipitating factor here will be foreign interference. Both Germany and the 4th Internationale have a lot to gain by seeing the US descend into civil war, and if Long/Reed were offered serious external support, it's possible they'd decide to take the shot at the crown rather than let it slip through their fingers.
     
    Why did Long filibuster the Anti-Lynching Act? I thought he was against racism in RL and in Kaiserreich. He certainly had a feud with the KKK. Did he turn to them for voter base?

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    HanEmpire said:
    Why did Long filibuster the Anti-Lynching Act? I thought he was against racism in RL and in Kaiserreich. He certainly had a feud with the KKK. Did he turn to them for voter base?
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    In KR, he did. The AFP are a coalition of Midwesterners, Southerners, anti-Fair Deal industrialists and business owners, and the Second Klan.

    EDUT: also Pelley's Silver Legion of America, but IRL the SLA were a minor Fascist paramilirary group. In KR, ideologically they are a mix of OTL SLA, Second Klan, and First Klan.
     
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    HanEmpire said:
    Why did Long filibuster the Anti-Lynching Act? I thought he was against racism in RL and in Kaiserreich. He certainly had a feud with the KKK. Did he turn to them for voter base?

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    Long didn't give one ounce of a shit about civil rights or racism. He did whatever benefited him, and since Huey has Pelley's band of loonies and the Dixiecrats in his faction, it's not in his interests to be against racism.
     
    Well then, may the country soon return to its senses once this is over.

    MacMan?

    Take the wheel, we need you to take them ol' commies and brownshirts.


    May he be a Cincinnatus for us.
     
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