To Struggle and Strive: The Combined Syndicates of America in 1932. A Kaiserreich Quest

This is the fixed vote.

The CAS meets in Toledo, in a grand affair of pageantry and celebration, despite the fear and deprivation that has affected the entire nation. It is also the beginning of a revolution, despite the circumseption of the official decree. And so workers rally, waving banners and flags, shouting slogans, their enthusiasm and excitement buoying your spirits.

The former city hall is turned over to the CAS for use, but the body's deliberations spill out into the streets as delegates and speakers rally support and argue feverishly wherever they sense an opportunity. The three requests you have made to the CAS are a popular subject, as people celebrate or denounce them.

The city is in chaos, with a pair of reactionary uprisings crushed, attempted sabotage of several factories and foundries by capitalist agents, and severe economic disruption, but a semblance of order is being restored and the CAS is quick to gather after your arrival, with you going directly from your train to the meeting.

From the front of the meeting, you issue your first declaration. "We find ourselves in an unprecedented situation. The American pretense of democracy has completely dissolved in favor of a military junta. Reports from our comrades in the capital report that Congressmen of all parties are being coerced and controlled by soldiers and agents of repression, and so all who claim to love liberty, whether in fact or in truth, rally against this illegitimate government. We must form a broad alliance between ourselves and coordinate our efforts, and to that end I propose we turn this body into one that may represent all peoples as a step towards defeating this junta and preparing to bring about true democracy!"

It is not your finest speech, weary as you are, but it wins applause nonetheless, even as delegates rise to debate the motion. An hour passes, and then another, and then finally you lose patience, cutting off a speaker to call for a vote. Despite grumblings, you are seconded, and ballots are passed out.

You are victorious, by a firm majority. The next pair of resolutions you have are more controversial, but you have garnered firm promises of support from major segments of the CAS for each.

You next propose a reorganization and expansion of the CAS. The prospect of support from groups like doctors and lawyers sees the AFL-CIO back you, while the Red Grange rallies around the prospect of increased representation for farmers and farmworkers alike. However, these two groups are only a fraction of the CAS, and neither has anything more than a general ideological interest in the representation of the unemployed and refugees. For that, you turn to the IWW, who's highly mobilized and organized cadres and union sections have been heavily involved with the refugee camps.

Between the three groups, a number of schemes have been proposed, and you must decide which to back.

Similarly, you have had to go to several different factions to gather support for the expulsion of the most bigoted members of the SPA and its sister organizations and additions to their charters specifically condemning all forms of bigotry and demanding members oppose it wherever they see it. Sections of the IWW and ASA were enthusiastically for it, as well as several smaller special-interest groups such as the Jewish Labor Bund, the Black Liberation Council, and the Asian Communal Union, along with several language federations. Finally, you went to the Fosterites, seeking their support for the removal of counterrevolutionary elements who have already provoked dangerous divisions within the movement.

Despite the immense support each group had for the motion, they all had reservations, for reasons ranging from internal resistance to fear of purges to blatant opportunism. You promised you would think about it and went to review reports. The first, from Norman, makes your heart pound. But he survived.

"Washington, DC. had always been a city that struggled. Built in the middle of a swamp, it suffered constant disease and swarms of mosquitoes in early years, came under attack during the first Civil War, and then turned into a hotbed of radicalism and agitation as America suffered in the early 20th Century. As a result, during the November Crisis it turned into a battleground. Minutemen seized the Supreme Court for three days before being driven out, the Lincoln Memorial was destroyed by unknown attackers, and Red Guards attempted to take the White House and arrest the President.

And all the while, politicians who mistrusted the legitimate government attempted to flee to whatever rebel band they supported. The Socialist Party of America was particularly heavily watched, with a pair of loyalists embedded in the staff of Representative Henry Wallace were able to alert the BOI to their planned escape. However, the Red Guards were prepared and General Conner was overly cautious, refusing to use the aerial and armor advantage the government forces had.

The result was a bloody quagmire as soldiers died against vicious fighters battling house by house and street by street, using civilians as cover, using devastating fires as weapons, and showing no quarter. Significant portions of the SPA congress contingent were able to escape during the chaos, although some were trapped, such as Representatives Wilson and Lisa Snyder, who supposedly chose to take up a rifle and die fighting along the Red Guards (although analysis by BOI agents suggest that they were most likely killed by friendly fire)."
-The Twilight of America, Cairo Press


Henry sat in the basement, shivering slightly. He was still in his suit, but that wasn't enough against this bitter fall weather. That was what he told himself, anyway. It was easier than admitting the truth.

He had given up on keeping track of time. His pocket watch had broken during the initial scuffle and it was dark down here. The two soldiers with him refused to say a word, simply staring sullenly at the stairs. But after somewhere between the first eternity and the second, a Lieutenant in a scuffed, filthy uniform came down.

"Representative Wallce," the soldier said, nodding in greeting.

"I am an American citizen, and a representative of Congress, as you so kindly pointed out. Your actions are illegal! Take me to your commanding officer at once!" Henry barked, not returning the nod.

In response the soldier produced a paper, signed shakily but clearly by the President, ordering his arrest. "This is blatantly unconstitutional," Henry protested again, even as he paled and trembled under the cold gaze of the lieutenant.

"What's unconstitutional is Americans taking up arms and fighting to kill the President and destroy democracy. You have chosen to aid and abet them, and have been doing so for far too long. And now you are going to aid and abet us," he said.

Henry swallowed and admitted to himself that he might be scared. Then he began to scream for help.


Even as the capital convulsed, all ranks of the party were hard at work gathering support for the inevitable revolution. Clashes between reactionary forces and Red Guards erupted in many state capitals, while members of various government bodies worked to persuade their colleagues to be on the right side of history. Those who were overly stubborn were arrested, their fates to be decided later. Some resisted arrest.

While the legislatures are viewed as irrelevant by many of the most radical, they still have significance to moderates, they provide legitimacy, and most importantly, when they are taken the remnants of bureaucratic resistance and obstruction fall quiet. And so significant resources are expended on taking control of state capitals and rallying support among the legislature and bureaucracy. However, in some cases reactionaries expended more. Several state governments fled to areas they viewed as safer, including the Iowa, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Kansas governments. Attempts at taking Sacramento failed completely, and while Montegomery, Oklahoma City, and Austin all saw bloody fighting, the forces of reaction were victorious.

Even the victories often proved hard-fought, with gunfire erupting on legislature floors and skirmishes between militias badly damaging cities. The National Guards were often divided where violence or cowardice led to state governments splitting, and these forces will need to be dealt with through negotiation or negation. Many of the Red Belt National Guards have fully sided with the CAS, but all have suffered from a degree of desertion, and several Midwestern or Great Plains National Guards forces favor Olson or Long. In some cases, large portions of the National Guards have sided with the federal government, resulting in many tense standoffs and bloody clashes.

Meanwhile, SPA members gathered with workers and union representatives. Newspapers were seized to print leaflets demanding revolution, rallies and marches were held, groups were exhorted. The time of the revolution is at hand, and all must rally to the red banner.

The sheer enthusiasm of the moment carried many, perhaps further than they expected to go. Those moderates in positions of power were forced to accept the demands of their supporters and advocate for the total seizure of power by the workers and farmers of America.

The accusations against the federal government carried many more, sheer outrage at the blatant voter suppression in multiple elections, proving to many that it was an organized conspiracy. The announcements of the government only made the flames burn hotter, and revolutionary cadres fanned them even more.

Perhaps in a few more days, some will look around themselves and wonder how things went so far and so fast. But by then, their hesitation and cowardice will no longer matter. And perhaps they will decide they made the right choice after all...

Letters flow back and forth between politicians. Norman handles correspondence with Long and Olson, both of whom agree to allow members of their factions to run for CAS elections and allow the organization of socialist groups within their areas of influence. Both also begin to discuss industrial and military cooperation with you, however both have also established what are effectively rival governments: the American Unity Coalition and the Council for the Defense of Democracy have been declared, and neither Long nor Olson are willing to surrender their power.

You corresponded briefly with Roosevelt, however he is far more moderate than Olson, and refuses to outright support any of the alternative governments, outright blaming you for the crisis. Working with Schenck, you identify some alternate leaders and begin writing to them, although time will tell if that bears fruit.

Equally important are the many efforts to cajole and corral dozens of groups whose support you hope to gain inside and outside the Red Belt. Promises are made, concessions offered, deals proposed, but in general two approaches are taken. To those uninterested and separate, you make a deal: they don't cause trouble and you don't either. If they want more, they will have to give you more. To various ideologically deviant militias and political organizations, you push for unity in the face of reaction.


Leah watched as the Indians came into the Milwaukee union hall. She had imagined that they would wear all kinds of fancy gear, feathers and painted skin and leather, but instead they wore suits. They honestly didn't look that different from the people who came to see her father normally, but she kept a watchful eye on them nonetheless, curious to see what would happen.

It was boring. They spoke in low tones, heads down, asking polite questions, and after a few minutes her father sent them off. "You stay in your place and we'll stay in ours, you can't ask for fairer than that," he said.

The Indians turned around and left, and Leah decided to follow them. They grumbled to each other, in a mix of English and a language she didn't know. It seems like they wanted a lot more, they wanted their land back and to choose who was a member of their tribes and a lot of things she didn't understand. She decided to go back and talk to her father. Surely he had a reason for refusing all that.


After the long hours of reading reports, you want nothing more than to go to bed, but you have put off decisions regarding the CAS resolutions you want passed long enough. You still need to meet with the leaders of the various factions to ensure the success of the measures and decide which reorganization scheme to push. (Failing a roll means the measure does not pass, however you can try again, and if it is a popular measure among the voters it will have reduced DCs. Note that the two votes will have separate rolls, with the reorg starting with a DC of 0 and the purge starting with a DC of 100-10 (Promise) - 15 (Investigation) = 75)

[] [REORG] As part of the CAS expansion, introduce territorial council representation, weighted to have less proportionally less power than the union representation (if a 100 union members have 1 representative, 105 territorial council members will have 1) (Broadly popular, fairly popular among the populace, +25 DC)
[] [REORG] As part of the CAS expansion, introduce territorial council representation, weighted to have proportional power to the union representation. (Broadly unpopular in the CAS, very popular among the populace, +21/76 DC. If the roll beats 20 but not 75, the first option is taken instead.)
[] [REORG] Introduce direct electoral territorial representation to the CAS (Broadly unpopular in the CAS,very popular among the populace,+41 DC)
[] [REORG] Formally recognize farmers as farmworkers, giving them representation in the Red Grange, under the condition that they work and use their land themselves along any hired workers. (Popular with the Red Grange, very unpopular with everyone else, will indebt the Red Grange to you and dramatically increase rural support, +51 DC)
[] [REORG] Establish a "Unemployed and Refugee" union with similar representation to any other as part of the CAS. (Very popular with the IWW, will increase popular support, +26 DC)
[] [REORG] Establish a series of minor, limited unions for individuals like lawyers and doctors who straddle the line between capitalist and worker. (Very popular with the ASA and the AFL-CIO, will increase support among the intelligentsia, +31 DC)
[] [REORG] Write-ins will be vetted by me

[] [GRIP] The majority of the IWW is concerned about this policy being cover for a power-focused purge. They will back you in exchange for moderating the lines about expulsion to make education and lesser punitive measures the first priority to deal with bigotry instead of removal. (Increase to purge coverage, decrease of purge depth, -40 DC)
[] [GRIP] The various minority groups are interested in seeing you fulfill your promises, and are willing to provide assistance in identifying those who have been difficult. (Increase to purge coverage, increase of purge depth, +21 DC)
[] [GRIP] The Fosterites view this measure with some trepidation, considering it a potential distraction, but they recognize the need to keep your promises and the potential division bigotry could cause. They have a few avenues of investigation that might be worth pursuing. (Increase to purge depth, ???, - 15 DC)
[] [GRIP] The opportunistic objections of various groups must be accepted, and concessions in the motion made. (Decrease in purge coverage, -20 DC)
[] [GRIP] Some have proposed making the discipline of the bigoted public. You rather like that idea. (Increase purge depth, +21 DC)
[] [GRIP] A segment of the IWW is willing to support the policy in exchange for economic concessions. (Minor decentralization of the economy, -20 DC)
[] [GRIP] The ASA has concerns about the wording of a few points of the planned motion because they fear it might restrict efforts at dealing with counterrevolutionary sentiment among various groups in the future. Make the concessions. (Possible mild decrease in future effectiveness, possible mild increase in future repression of counterrevolutionary sentiment, -25 DC)
[] [GRIP] You have been faced with serious obstinacy from moderates. Use this as an opportunity, and remove them. (Decrease in future political DCs, ???, +21 DC)
[] [GRIP] Write-ins will be vetted by me