u/Begin_ThePurge

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Context

"IT'S SHERMAN BY A HAIR!"

Shouts the headline of the New York Tribune as Shermanites across the country celebrate the victory of the financial wizard of the Senate. It is the culmination of decades of work by Ohioan Senator to finally achieve the nomination of his party and the joy is only tempered by the knowledge it has come at the cost of his friendship with James Garfield. Perhaps one day the two men with reconcile but for now Sherman is focused on winning the ultimate prize in American politics.

No one is keen to drag the convention on any longer especially over the Vice Presidential nomination so the convention has only put forward two candidates. Both are from the Democratic wing, both are wealthy mining magnates turned Senators but one made his fortune in coal and the other in gold. Henry G. Davis has stood for the Vice Presidential nomination before as a Democrat in 1876 but was unsuccessful. Retiring from the Senate in 1883, Davis has continued to build out his mining operation and is well liked in the Appalachian region. From far out west is gold and silver mining magnate turned California Senator George Hearst whose personal connections offer a growing media empire to call on.

Both men offer deep pockets but also the chance to break into supposedly solid Farmer-Labor territory. Democratic-Republican leaders watched their rivals' convention with immense interest as the Miners faction proved to be a deciding swing bloc. With a silver sympathetic nominee and a mining magnate running mate, the party is hoping they can drive a wedge in the Butler coalition now that he's on the way out.

Candidates

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Former Senator Henry G. Davis of West Virginia

Originally from Maryland, Henry Davis rose through the ranks of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad before the Civil War. A Unionist and admirer of President Lincoln, Davis participated in the Wheeling Convention which saw West Virginia secede from Virginia and become its own state and he was duly elected to serve in the new state's legislature. Since the end of the war Davis has systemically explored the Allegheny Mountains and built up the region's coal, lumber and railroad infrastructure and founded the Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railroad Company which is one of the nation's largest suppliers of coal. He served as a Senator from West Virginia from 1871 to 1883 and his presence on the ticket would not only bring substantial campaign funds but also help Democratic-Republicans break into the formerly solid Farmer-Labor strongholds of the Appalachias.

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Senator George Hearst of California

A natural entrepreneur with an analytical mind, Hearst is one of the few men who can say they did get rich from the California gold rush. Making a decent living as prospector and businessman throughout the 1850s in California, Hearst would be one of the first to get in on the ground, or rather underground, of the Comstock load and amassed a huge fortune in silver mining. With millions made, Hearst has continued to invest in successful operations across the American west and beyond with enough left to spare to purchase the San Francisco Examiner, a base from which his son William is building out an even larger media empire. Spited by men of the Central Pacific Railroad in his political aspirations, Hearst built out a robust anti-monopoly coalition in California and became influential enough to replace the late Senator John F. Miller in 1887. With huge mining operation funding him, a growing media empire cheering him on and as a rare populist within the Democratic-Republican party Hearst links his candidacy is an offer the convention can't refuse.

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Context

Following the first round it's clear that one way or another an Ohioan will top the ticket this year. John Sherman and James Garfield are leagues ahead of their competition though the Human Icicle has just barely stayed ahead of his one time friend. Many are surprised that Sam Randall did not do better in the first round as he seemed likely to take most of the Democratic support but instead his caucus dispensed with the pretensions. Much of Randall's expected support went straight to Sherman whose years as a bridge builder in the Senate and occasional annoyance to Republican leadership made him the favorite choice. While Garfield might preach reform, few Democrats can forget that he was involved in some way in the Credit Mobilier scandal all those years ago and his obstinate commitment to the gold standard makes him seem increasingly like a relic of the 1870s.

Ben Harrison's expected supporters, by contrast, went to Garfield who viewed him as the true rejuvenated Republican that Harrison is always claiming to be. Garfield offers a genuine vision for the nation built on rationalized bureaucracy and public education rather than simple grand oratory. Besides that, Harrison is simply not well known enough to breakthrough. The same might have been said of James Garfield 8 years ago but the Ohioan had managed to build an extremely successful career for himself in the House and in state politics whereas the Hoosier's success in public life has been very brief by comparison. For a party desperate to win, picking a man who seems to have trouble winning in his home state doesn't inspire confidence.

So both Randall and Harrison will withdraw but depending on who prevails in the second round it may determine which of them will have a cabinet post come March should things go well for the party in November.

Candidates

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Senator James Garfield of Ohio

If ever there was a man to embody the best of the 19th Century it might be James A. Garfield. Born in a log cabin when Ohio was still the doorstep of the frontier, Garfield would obtain a college education and go onto be become a preacher in the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening and even became President of Reserve Eclectic Institute. During the Civil War he rose to the rank of Major General, seeing action at the Battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. In 1862 he entered Congress as a Radical Republican with a reputation for skilled oratory and an unyielding defender of the gold standard. A firm believer in Federal support for education, Garfield has a strong aptitude for mathematics and advocates the use of the emerging field of statistics to inform government policy which he has championed as a Senator since 1881

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Senator John Sherman of Ohio

Not since Alexander Hamilton has one man been so central to planning the American economy. The brother of famed General William Tecumseh Sherman, John would follow the path of politics instead of war, helping found the Republican Party in the 1850s and almost becoming Speaker in 1859. Elected to the Senate in 1861, Sherman became the architect of the nation's monetary system allowing it finance the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Cuban War all while ensuring the return of good credit abroad and a gold back currency at home. For his skills, President Grant raised him to Secretary of the Treasury in his second term and Sherman once again proved adept at stabilizing the nation's finances despite an ongoing depression. Although performing well at the convention in 1880, Sherman was eventually overshadowed by his one time ally James Garfield and the two now have an extremely cold relationship. In recent years, the Senator has attempted to help moderate Farmer-Labor's more outrageous monetary policies, playing a critical role in the passage of the Silver Purchase Act. Now he campaigns on the passage of strong anti-trust legislation and his years as a policy wizard but his nickname the "Human Icicle" betrays his lack of charisma.

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Welcome back to Chicago!

Context

In Chicago the delegates console themselves with sweet little lies

"The people know who the adults in the room are"

"No one trusts untested theories! We'll sail into the White House"

"Americans can't bear a demagogue. They'll see through this charade soon enough"

No one wants to acknowledge the truth staring them in the face: Farmer-Labor is Goliath and they're David without a sling.

From the height of power, the party have spent 8 years seeing their influence become smaller and smaller as the carefully crafted postwar order they built was smashed into pieces by a demagogue and his rabble rousing lackeys. Despite a few wins in 1882 and 1883, the Democratic-Republicans have not been the electoral success many hoped it would be. Despite this few seriously consider breaking the coalition apart since "if they don't hang together, they most certainly will hang separately " to quote Benjamin Franklin. Yet some still find hope amidst all the gloom.

Coming off a close defeat to Grover Cleveland in the 1884 convention, James Garfield stands for a final time as a candidate for President. With his skilled oratory boosted by the rising star William McKinley, Garfield will never compromise on the gold standard but he has chosen to deemphasize this and instead take a page out of his opponents' playbook. Education is the centerpiece of Garfield's platform, promising to establish a Federal bureau to create a national curriculum, improve literacy and aid children in gaining a trade, it would the first real Federal education program since Reconstruction. In addition, his platform offers a robust defense of the protective tariff and commitment to reformation and rationalization of Federal bureaucracy through robust civil service reform.

Thundering from the porch of his Indianapolis home comes the voice of Benjamin Harrison, the grandsire of Tippecanoe. Declaring himself a "Rejuvenated Republican", Harrison is the most traditional of the candidates, his platform promising the nation a return to sound money, high tariffs, low taxes, a new series of infrastructure projects and the reinforcement of civil rights countrywide. Decrying President Butler's abrogation of the tribal treaties, Harrison has made peace on the frontier his top priority along with a commitment to the growing conservation movement to preserve the nation's magnificent natural treasures.

Samuel Randall is the sole Democrat to stand for the nomination after the humiliation of Grover Cleveland 4 years ago. Pugnacious to the end, Randall is the classic urban Democrat with an unyielding commitment to high tariffs mixed with a loyalty to small government which makes him the ideal counter to the overbearing state of Butler's government. Promising to restore financial sanity to the treasury through a complete elimination of Federal taxes alongside major spending cuts, Randall decries the ways the American people have been forced to endure a corrupt Federal bureaucracy staffed with petty tyrants in the made image of their patron. Sam Randall promises a return to the Jeffersonian Republic of yesteryear and many believe in his vision as they walk amidst the pollution of Chicago.

Finally there is the human icicle from Ohio, John Sherman. With his piercing eyes and stiff demeanor he cuts the image of a man who seeks to force the government back into financial stability through sheer force of will. Yet behind the man's sternness is masked a surprisingly flexible negotiator, a politician willing to accept the new reality of a bimetallist America while his compatriots still cling to the ways of the Grant Administration. As he comes off the Silver Purchase Act, a major legislative achievement and currently preparing the nation's first robust anti-trust legislation, Senator Sherman promises to wage a war against corruption, fraud and bloat in a government taking on more and more everyday. Few men have the skills necessary to pull it off but John Sherman is one of them; too bad he's a terrible campaigner.

Candidates

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Senator James Garfield of Ohio

If ever there was a man to embody the best of the 19th Century it might be James A. Garfield. Born in a log cabin when Ohio was still the doorstep of the frontier, Garfield would obtain a college education and go onto be become a preacher in the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening and even became President of Reserve Eclectic Institute. During the Civil War he rose to the rank of Major General, seeing action at the Battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. In 1862 he entered Congress as a Radical Republican with a reputation for skilled oratory and an unyielding defender of the gold standard. A firm believer in Federal support for education, Garfield has a strong aptitude for mathematics and advocates the use of the emerging field of statistics to inform government policy which he has championed as a Senator since 1881

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Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana

The grandson of general and President William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison has been a pillar of Indiana politics since the 1860s. Beginning his career as a successful Indianapolis lawyer, Harrison would serve as Colonel during the Civil War and was eventually breveted Brigadier General by Congress for his service in the Atlanta campaign. Returning home, Harrison would continue his successful law career but fail twice to win the governorship before supporting James Garfield for President in 1880. Though it was Washburne who took the nomination, Garfield's influence had grown substantially and Harrison rode that wave of support into the Senate despite his party's defeat at a national level. As befits a lawyer, Harrison is an incredibly skilled orator whose primary policy goals are deflating the currency, reducing taxation, keeping tariffs high and fighting corruption in the Federal government.

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Representative Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania

Sam Randall has emerged as the leading member of the Democratic wing of the party since the ignominious defeat of Cleveland 4 years prior. Raised in a Whig family before switching to the Democrats then the Liberals then the Democratic-Republicans as each party collapsed in turn, Randall has remained a staunch defender of the protective tariff and small, decentralized government. These unique position have made Randall an essential party leader in the House where he is frequently the bridge between the Democrats and Republicans, no easy task when there is still so much bad blood. To many, Sam Randall is Cleveland perfected, a man willing to let citizens choose their own destiny free of government dictate but smart enough to know the necessity of protecting industry from cheap foreign imports. He has appeal to westerners as well with his openness to bimetallism and many hope he can peel off support from the Butler coalition.

Stannis? Is that you?

Senator John Sherman of Ohio

Not since Alexander Hamilton has one man been so central to planning the American economy. The brother of famed General William Tecumseh Sherman, John would follow the path of politics instead of war, helping found the Republican Party in the 1850s and almost becoming Speaker in 1859. Elected to the Senate in 1861, Sherman became the architect of the nation's monetary system allowing it finance the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Cuban War all while ensuring the return of good credit abroad and a gold back currency at home. For his skills, President Grant raised him to Secretary of the Treasury in his second term and Sherman once again proved adept at stabilizing the nation's finances despite an ongoing depression. Although performing well at the convention in 1880, Sherman was eventually overshadowed by his one time ally James Garfield and the two now have an extremely cold relationship. In recent years, the Senator has attempted to help moderate Farmer-Labor's more outrageous monetary policies, playing a critical role in the passage of the Silver Purchase Act. Now he campaigns on the passage of strong anti-trust legislation and his years as a policy wizard but his nickname the "Human Icicle" betrays his lack of charisma.

Does anyone know any good literature on the history of Fine Gael? I think the party is so fascinating how its had all these major shifts in leadership and policy yet the core beliefs have remained relatively the same over the last ~80 years.

VOTE HERE

Hail to Henry! The best George since Washington!

Context

"George Wins Battle of the Henrys!"

proclaims the New York Times as the Laborers celebrate their continued hold on the party's leadership after an extremely close vote between Henry George and his Moderate opponent Henry Teller. Teller's coalition had surged into striking distance of George's as large landowners, or those who might want to be large landowners, feared that the New York Mayor's signature policy, the land value tax, would should prevent the success they hoped to achieve. Though it would ultimately fail, the closeness of the vote demonstrates the often contradictory positions Farmer-Labor members have even within their own party.

Regardless, Mayor George will be the party's nominee while much of his economic philosophy forming the backbone of this year's platform with a land value tax at the top of the agenda. Attempts by the Tellerites to get a Native rights plank into the platform failed as the Farmers reunited quickly to block its adoption. George's own silence on the matter will not be enough to gain this important faction's support and so, as with so many other presidential tickets, the Vice Presidency must offer ideological and regional balance. George's surrogates have offered up two options to the convention who both come from the west and have backgrounds in either agriculture or mining.

To the surprise of many, Congressman Richard Bland has put forward his name for Vice President. A congressional leader with significant influence, Bland's decision to put himself forward for the largely ceremonial position seems mad but the man from Missouri has a plan. In exchange for his immense influence and experience in Washington, Bland wants George to delegate major responsibilities to him citing Ulysses S. Grant's role in Hamlin's second term as a direct example. It's a very tempting deal considering Mayor George's complete inexperience with the capricious ways of Washington but is Bland's price simply too high for what is supposed to be a ceremonial role?

And then there is the controversial author and politician Ignatius L. Donnelly. Most famous for his "theories" about the lost city of Atlantis, Donnelly actually has an extensive political career going back to the 1850s and even longer history of immense debts. Considered more than a little strange, Donnelly has nonetheless won the support of many Minnesotans with his tireless efforts on behalf of farmers and against corruption.

Candidates

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Representative Richard P. Bland of Missouri

Born in Kentucky, Bland would seek his fortune out west where he worked as a miner and school teacher before establishing a legal practice in the Utah territory. Bland would first enter public service as treasurer for Carson County during the peak years of the Comstock lode from 1860-1864 before moving to Missouri to once again practice law in 1865. Bland was elected to the House in 1872 and quickly established himself as an advocate for free silver, coauthoring the Bland-Allison Act which required the Federal government purchase a certain amount of silver and put it in circulation. Along with this he became known for his anti-Imperialism which hurt him in the wake of America's victory in the Cuban War. Bland's rise in politics was occasionally stymied due to his marriage to a Catholic in 1873 but his early support of the Farmer-Labor Party allowed him to rise quickly. Serving 2 turbulent years as Secretary of the Treasury, Bland resigned and returned to Missouri to run for the House but with the reelection of President Butler he was nominated as Secretary of the Interior where he has served far more successfully. Although a free silver advocate and anti-imperialist, Bland has a more conservative attitude towards government action.

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Representative Ignatius L. Donnelly of Minnesota

The son of Irish immigrants to Philadelphia, Donnelly excelled in school and would first establish himself as a clerk and lawyer by the 1850s. Near the end of that decade he entered politics as a Democrat but failed to win anything. These failures plus mounting debts pushed Donnelly to move with his family to Minnesota where he found far more success (after starting a failed commune in the Dakota territory). As a Radical Republican Congressman and State Representative over the course of the 1860s and 70s he was a noted supporter of Black education through increased funding to the Freedmen's Bureau and was one of the first Congressmen to publicly support women's suffrage. By the 1880s his interests had shifted significantly as Donnelly became one of the founding members of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party where he was a vocal proponent of economic relief for farmers. However another part of that shift was his writings which involved books on the lost city of Atlantis which he believes was not only the origin point of most ancient civilizations but also destroyed in the same flood which Noah's Ark survived all caused by comet getting to close to Earth. His books on the topic have sold well though save his recent book on the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays which has landed with a thud. Donnelly is an eccentric figure who will be as much a liability as an asset on the campaign trail.

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Context

For all his attempts at politicking, James Weaver is at heart a populist from the plains of Iowa who speaks too plainly for his own good sometimes. The Agriculture Secretary approached the Miners faction with overconfidence, believing too much that policy would win over what he and his allies still considered a splinter group from the Farmers. But for all he's down to push Natives out and bring settlers in, Weaver has never put in the time to build genuine relationships with the Miners. For the coal men of the Appalachias, Weaver is an unknown westerner who knows very little and seems to care even less about anything east of the Mississippi. For the westerners his policies can't compare to Senator Teller's decades spent in the heart of silver country, building strong personal bonds with local leaders and tirelessly advocating for the interests of his people. With all this the Coloradan could make convincing argument few others could: Weaver's settlements were hurting the mining industry not helping it. Yes, more sites were being surveyed and a few big operations had gotten underway but every time these teams showed up they'd be attacked by outraged Sioux or Apache or Comanche before they could even get their tools out. What about the increased company revenue that came from no longer sharing profits with local tribes? Well no miner had seen a major pay increase had they? It was all going to the bosses back in the east. Teller could speak from the heart when he talked about the deprivations so many mining families dealt with despite the supposed boom. Coming from anyone else it might not have worked but the miners know Teller and they know he ain't no bullshiter.

So Weaver has fallen off the track as the Miners once gain play kingmaker and send Senator Teller to face off against the unstoppable force the seems to be Henry George. George has been uncharacteristically silent on the Reservation Wars, saying only that he will exhaust every possibility to find a peaceful solution. Instead his pitch to the Farmers is that as small landowners his land value tax will help them compete with the every growing cattle ranchers, big farmers and property speculators that own vast swathes of undeveloped land in the west and so will be more effected by its taxation by the Federal government. There is a certain appeal to this way of thinking as many farmers resent the ways in which prices have soared as eastern land speculators gobble up the new territories opened by the Butler Administration.

Ultimately it will be a contest between east and west, urban and rural but hopefully the winner can emerge strong enough to knit his party back together for the general election.

Candidates

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Mayor Henry George of New York

A successful journalist and author, Henry George has probably seen more of America than most. Beginning his adulthood in dire poverty, George was eventually able to build a successful printing and writing career in California and even became the editor of his own newspaper the San Francisco Daily Herald which was one of the state's most prominent critics of monopolistic railroad companies which had spread across the west. It was during his time in California where he developed the ideas that since become known as "Georgism" and were most famously articulated in his book Progress and Poverty which has been a worldwide bestseller for years. George believes that by taxing land values, society could recapture the value of its common inheritance, raise wages, improve land use, and eliminate the need for taxes on productive activity. In conjunction with this core theory he has also been an advocate of public ownership of utilities, free trade, the secret ballot, the use of greenbacks over metallic currency and a citizens' dividend for all Americans paid for by the single land tax. Though his theories are radical, George opposes the nationalization of private property putting him at odds with the emerging socialist group within the party. As New York Mayor he has just begun to implement his ambitious agenda but he has successfully passed the single land tax though the effects of it have yet to be fully realized.

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Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado

Henry M. Teller is curious man. A New Yorker by birth who has become one of the great champions of the west, Teller worked as a lawyer in Illinois for several years and helped establish the state branch of the Republican Party. During the 1860s he would move again, this time to Colorado where he established himself as an influential lawyer, businessman and politician in the growing territory. He parlayed this influence into becoming one of the state's first Senators upon its admission to the Union and was "Silver Republican" for a time until Farmer-Labor emerged as the primary party of pro-inflationary groups. As one of the few prominent Republicans to joined Farmer-Labor after its establishment, Teller found himself in an influential position to help Butler win the support of westerns miners which he achieved in 1880. As a reward he was made Secretary of the Interior and attempted to move the President to a more moderate, bimetallist position over greenbacks. The big break with Butler came when the President began opening native land to American settlement in violation of numerous treaties which obligated the Federal government to prevent such action. Teller resigned in protest and has been a permanent critic of the President, growing even louder with the commencement of the Reservation Wars and the signing of the Dawes Act. Teller is a firm anti-Imperialist and though he has some pull with the Miners, it is the Moderates who believe he can guide the party to a more just position.

VOTE HERE

Pour one ought for old Silver Dick Bland

Context

The 1st round has come and gone and with it goes the aspirations of Secretary Bland. Representing a well organized yet small faction within the party, it was not particularly surprising that Silver Dick was the first to go though the margin of defeat speaks to a bigger problem facing the Miners. Bland was sandbagged by his tumultuous time as Secretary of the Treasury and though he regained much goodwill in his new post he, like his whole faction, was routinely overshadowed by James Weaver and the Farmers. Bland still has a few years left and he can make another go of it in 1896 if things go wrong for the party in November but it requires him to establish a far greater presence then he has made so far.

Though he didn't clinch it on the first round Henry George came incredibly close and many of his supporters were prematurely celebrating and discussing possible running mates. Though George's pro-free trade position does fracture his urban base, the man and his other ideas are held in very high regard not just by his party but by people across the political spectrum. Indeed had it not been for the importance of the Indian question its likely that many Teller voters would have gone over to George. Bland's more conservative tendencies have stopped him from endorsing George while his personal rivalries with Weaver and Teller prevent him from directing his followers to any other group.

Weaver believes that he can use his support for westward expansion to win over Miners who now have access to many more opportunities than before. This will prevent any crossover from Teller's camp but there was little chance that was going to happen anyway. Teller must likewise expand his base beyond the Moderates who, although solid, represent a somewhat self-segregating minority in the party. The "Native's Candidate", as Weaver's men like to call him, must shed this identity and persuade others that he stands for much more than the interests of tribesmen currently fighting the US army.

Candidates

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Mayor Henry George of New York

A successful journalist and author, Henry George has probably seen more of America than most. Beginning his adulthood in dire poverty, George was eventually able to build a successful printing and writing career in California and even became the editor of his own newspaper the San Francisco Daily Herald which was one of the state's most prominent critics of monopolistic railroad companies which had spread across the west. It was during his time in California where he developed the ideas that since become known as "Georgism" and were most famously articulated in his book Progress and Poverty which has been a worldwide bestseller for years. George believes that by taxing land values, society could recapture the value of its common inheritance, raise wages, improve land use, and eliminate the need for taxes on productive activity. In conjunction with this core theory he has also been an advocate of public ownership of utilities, free trade, the secret ballot, the use of greenbacks over metallic currency and a citizens' dividend for all Americans paid for by the single land tax. Though his theories are radical, George opposes the nationalization of private property putting him at odds with the emerging socialist group within the party. As New York Mayor he has just begun to implement his ambitious agenda but he has successfully passed the single land tax though the effects of it have yet to be fully realized.

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Secretary of Agriculture James B. Weaver of Iowa

A pillar of Iowa politics, James Weaver was forged in the fires of the Civil War where he served the Union as a colonel of a volunteer infantry regiment. Returning home, Weaver attempted to build his career in the Republican Party but as he failed to achieve a nomination and as the party moved in a more conservative direction he would leave for the Greenback Party in 1877. From there he would enter the House in 1878 where he worked tirelessly to expand the money supply via greenbacks and push for regulation of big business. He was an early supporter of the emerging Farmer-Labor Party and helped the Greenbacks fold into it which allowed Weaver to position himself as the leader of the Farmer wing of the party and ran for the nomination in 1880. Thanks to his influence, Weaver was made the party's House leader before entering the cabinet as Interior Secretary where he spent much of his time advocating for greenback centric fiscal policy, the opening of the west to American settlement and the establishment of an independent Department of Agriculture though he would fail to become its first Secretary. Campaigning hard on behalf of Butler, the President rewarded his one time rival with the long sought after position of Agriculture Secretary from which has only continued to strengthen his position as leader of the Farmers.

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Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado

Henry M. Teller is curious man. A New Yorker by birth who has become one of the great champions of the west, Teller worked as a lawyer in Illinois for several years and helped establish the state branch of the Republican Party. During the 1860s he would move again, this time to Colorado where he established himself as an influential lawyer, businessman and politician in the growing territory. He parlayed this influence into becoming one of the state's first Senators upon its admission to the Union and was "Silver Republican" for a time until Farmer-Labor emerged as the primary party of pro-inflationary groups. As one of the few prominent Republicans to joined Farmer-Labor after its establishment, Teller found himself in an influential position to help Butler win the support of westerns miners which he achieved in 1880. As a reward he was made Secretary of the Interior and attempted to move the President to a more moderate, bimetallist position over greenbacks. The big break with Butler came when the President began opening native land to American settlement in violation of numerous treaties which obligated the Federal government to prevent such action. Teller resigned in protest and has been a permanent critic of the President, growing even louder with the commencement of the Reservation Wars and the signing of the Dawes Act. Teller is a firm anti-Imperialist and though he has some pull with the Miners, it is the Moderates who believe he can guide the party to a more just position.

VOTE HERE

Welcome to St. Louis!

Context

By 1888 the political landscape has begun to stabilize around the Farmer-Labor and Democratic-Republican parties while the role of the Federal government plays far greater role in the daily lives of its citizens then ever before. Within Farmer-Labor sub-factions have coalesced around 4 primary wings. Breaking from the preexisting Farmer and Labor wings, the Miners have emerged as the kingmakers for intraparty maneuvering and generally correspond to the men of the far western states and those of Appalachia. In addition a growing "Moderate" wing constituted of middle and even upper class allies who consider themselves reformers but who reject the occasional radical pronouncements of revolution which have flared up from time to time.

The 3 major wings are all jockeying to claim Butler's legacy but none seem to hold his broad appeal yet. Mayor Henry George of New York has been a rising star for years thanks to his highly successful writings on economic theory known as "Georgism" and now as the Mayor of the nation's largest city he has moved Heaven and Earth to enact his land value tax. His support of the North Bridge Project and promise to name it the Butler Bridge once completed has earned him the public praise of the President as well. With his national appeal established well before his occupation of Gracie Manson, George is the undisputed leader of the Labor wing of his party though he has not embraced the outright Socialist members on the far left of the party.

For the Farmers, the largest faction within the party, Butler's second term has been far more successful. This success they attribute to Secretary of Agriculture James B. Weaver who campaigned hard for Butler in 1884 and lobbied even harder to move from the Interior Department to Agriculture once victory had been achieved. It is Weaver who oversaw the distribution of seed to drought stricken Texas and Weaver who established numerous agricultural experimentation stations to help farmers learn the best techniques for their homesteads. Most of all though it is Weaver who has managed to receive the most credit for convincing Butler to abrogate the treaties with the plains tribes and opening up the rest of the west to American settlement.

The Miners have their champion as well: Secretary of the Interior Richard P. Bland. Bland first served in the Butler Administration as Secretary of the Treasury but his time was marked by major financial upsets and he resigned despite his popularity with many inflationists in the party. Bland returned as Secretary of the Interior where he found much more success particularly as the administration's most vocal advocate for the minting of silver as a compromise between greenbacks and the gold standard. Additionally his role in the opening of the west has continued to earn him goodwill though Weaver has managed to gobble up most of the credit for it. Bland is a social conservative however and was the cabinet member most resistant to the President's public works spending spree, favoring a restrained federal economic policy, a relic of his days as a Democrat.

Finally there is Henry M. Teller, a wildcard candidate drafted by the Moderates who stands as the most prominent critic of the President from within his own party. Though a supporter of the Silver Purchase Act and generally aligned with the Miners faction, Teller resigned as Secretary of the Interior after Butler pressed ahead with plans to abrogate tribal treaties and totally open up the frontier. Teller is a passionate friend to the Natives and denounced the President for signing the Dawes Act, predicting it would mean the destruction of the tribes as a stable and free people. Many eastern reformers have picked up his cry and believe his friendly relationship with Democratic-Republicans could forge a strong crossover appeal.

Candidates

Silver Dick

Secretary of the Interior Richard P. Bland of Missouri

Born in Kentucky, Bland would seek his fortune out west where he worked as a miner and school teacher before establishing a legal practice in the Utah territory. Bland would first enter public service as treasurer for Carson County during the peak years of the Comstock lode from 1860-1864 before moving to Missouri to once again practice law in 1865. Bland was elected to the House in 1872 and quickly established himself as an advocate for free silver, coauthoring the Bland-Allison Act which required the Federal government purchase a certain amount of silver and put it in circulation. Along with this he became known for his anti-Imperialism which hurt him in the wake of America's victory in the Cuban War. Bland's rise in politics was occasionally stymied due to his marriage to a Catholic in 1873 but his early support of the Farmer-Labor Party allowed him to rise quickly. Serving 2 turbulent years as Secretary of the Treasury, Bland resigned and returned to Missouri to run for the House but with the reelection of President Butler he was nominated as Secretary of the Interior where he has served far more successfully. Although a free silver advocate and anti-imperialist, Bland has a more conservative attitude towards government action.

https://preview.redd.it/m3m85ngo2sgh1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=877da3eeeda38504ca72ef1b6ff170a0eade986a

Mayor Henry George of New York

A successful journalist and author, Henry George has probably seen more of America than most. Beginning his adulthood in dire poverty, George was eventually able to build a successful printing and writing career in California and even became the editor of his own newspaper the San Francisco Daily Herald which was one of the state's most prominent critics of monopolistic railroad companies which had spread across the west. It was during his time in California where he developed the ideas that since become known as "Georgism" and were most famously articulated in his book Progress and Poverty which has been a worldwide bestseller for years. George believes that by taxing land values, society could recapture the value of its common inheritance, raise wages, improve land use, and eliminate the need for taxes on productive activity. In conjunction with this core theory he has also been an advocate of public ownership of utilities, free trade, the secret ballot, the use of greenbacks over metallic currency and a citizens' dividend for all Americans paid for by the single land tax. Though his theories are radical, George opposes the nationalization of private property putting him at odds with the emerging socialist group within the party. As New York Mayor he has just begun to implement his ambitious agenda but he has successfully passed the single land tax though the effects of it have yet to be fully realized.

https://preview.redd.it/melbauaq2sgh1.jpg?width=1591&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e19029d095963e2db3cf0c2cc286f0eb7aa80848

Secretary of Agriculture James B. Weaver of Iowa

A pillar of Iowa politics, James Weaver was forged in the fires of the Civil War where he served the Union as a colonel of a volunteer infantry regiment. Returning home, Weaver attempted to build his career in the Republican Party but as he failed to achieve a nomination and as the party moved in a more conservative direction he would leave for the Greenback Party in 1877. From there he would enter the House in 1878 where he worked tirelessly to expand the money supply via greenbacks and push for regulation of big business. He was an early supporter of the emerging Farmer-Labor Party and helped the Greenbacks fold into it which allowed Weaver to position himself as the leader of the Farmer wing of the party and ran for the nomination in 1880. Thanks to his influence, Weaver was made the party's House leader before entering the cabinet as Interior Secretary where he spent much of his time advocating for greenback centric fiscal policy, the opening of the west to American settlement and the establishment of an independent Department of Agriculture though he would fail to become its first Secretary. Campaigning hard on behalf of Butler, the President rewarded his one time rival with the long sought after position of Agriculture Secretary from which has only continued to strengthen his position as leader of the Farmers.

https://preview.redd.it/oiwfovzr2sgh1.jpg?width=454&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e3733242d3bff8c27753a83cd0f44c8277b2bfb

Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado

Henry M. Teller is curious man. A New Yorker by birth who has become one of the great champions of the west, Teller worked as a lawyer in Illinois for several years and helped establish the state branch of the Republican Party. During the 1860s he would move again, this time to Colorado where he established himself as an influential lawyer, businessman and politician in the growing territory. He parlayed this influence into becoming one of the state's first Senators upon its admission to the Union and was "Silver Republican" for a time until Farmer-Labor emerged as the primary party of pro-inflationary groups. As one of the few prominent Republicans to joined Farmer-Labor after its establishment, Teller found himself in an influential position to help Butler win the support of westerns miners which he achieved in 1880. As a reward he was made Secretary of the Interior and attempted to move the President to a more moderate, bimetallist position over greenbacks. The big break with Butler came when the President began opening native land to American settlement in violation of numerous treaties which obligated the Federal government to prevent such action. Teller resigned in protest and has been a permanent critic of the President, growing even louder with the commencement of the Reservation Wars and the signing of the Dawes Act. Teller is a firm anti-Imperialist and though he has some pull with the Miners, it is the Moderates who believe he can guide the party to a more just position.

VOTE HERE

Welcome to St. Louis!

Context

By 1888 the political landscape has begun to stabilize around the Farmer-Labor and Democratic-Republican parties while the role of the Federal government plays far greater role in the daily lives of its citizens then ever before. Within Farmer-Labor sub-factions have coalesced around 4 primary wings. Breaking from the preexisting Farmer and Labor wings, the Miners have emerged as the kingmakers for intraparty maneuvering and generally correspond to the men of the far western states and those of Appalachia. In addition a growing "Moderate" wing constituted of middle and even upper class allies who consider themselves reformers but who reject the occasional radical pronouncements of revolution which have flared up from time to time.

The 3 major wings are all jockeying to claim Butler's legacy but none seem to hold his broad appeal yet. Mayor Henry George of New York has been a rising star for years thanks to his highly successful writings on economic theory known as "Georgism" and now as the Mayor of the nation's largest city he has moved Heaven and Earth to enact his land value tax. His support of the North Bridge Project and promise to name it the Butler Bridge once completed has earned him the public praise of the President as well. With his national appeal established well before his occupation of Gracie Manson, George is the undisputed leader of the Labor wing of his party though he has not embraced the outright Socialist members on the far left of the party.

For the Farmers, the largest faction within the party, Butler's second term has been far more successful. This success they attribute to Secretary of Agriculture James B. Weaver who campaigned hard for Butler in 1884 and lobbied even harder to move from the Interior Department to Agriculture once victory had been achieved. It is Weaver who oversaw the distribution of seed to drought stricken Texas and Weaver who established numerous agricultural experimentation stations to help farmers learn the best techniques for their homesteads. Most of all though it is Weaver who has managed to receive the most credit for convincing Butler to abrogate the treaties with the plains tribes and opening up the rest of the west to American settlement.

The Miners have their champion as well: Secretary of the Interior Richard P. Bland. Bland first served in the Butler Administration as Secretary of the Treasury but his time was marked by major financial upsets and he resigned despite his popularity with many inflationists in the party. Bland returned as Secretary of the Interior where he found much more success particularly as the administration's most vocal advocate for the minting of silver as a compromise between greenbacks and the gold standard. Additionally his role in the opening of the west has continued to earn him goodwill though Weaver has managed to gobble up most of the credit for it. Bland is a social conservative however and was the cabinet member most resistant to the President's public works spending spree, favoring a restrained federal economic policy, a relic of his days as a Democrat.

Finally there is Henry M. Teller, a wildcard candidate drafted by the Moderates who stands as the most prominent critic of the President from within his own party. Though a supporter of the Silver Purchase Act and generally aligned with the Miners faction, Teller resigned as Secretary of the Interior after Butler pressed ahead with plans to abrogate tribal treaties and totally open up the frontier. Teller is a passionate friend to the Natives and denounced the President for signing the Dawes Act, predicting it would mean the destruction of the tribes as a stable and free people. Many easternereformers have picked up his cry and believe his friendly relationship with Democratic-Republicans could forge a strong crossover appeal.

Candidates

Ole Silver Dick

Secretary of the Interior Richard P. Bland

Born in Kentucky, Bland would seek his fortune out west where he worked as a miner and school teacher before establishing a legal practice in the Utah territory. Bland would first enter public service as treasurer for Carson County during the peak years of the Comstock lode from 1860-1864 before moving to Missouri to once again practice law in 1865. Bland was elected to the House in 1872 and quickly established himself as an advocate for free silver, coauthoring the Bland-Allison Act which required the Federal government purchase a certain amount of silver and put it in circulation. Along with this he became known for his anti-Imperialism which hurt him in the wake of America's victory in the Cuban War. Bland's rise in politics was occasionally stymied due to his marriage to a Catholic in 1873 but his early support of the Farmer-Labor Party allowed him to rise quickly. Serving 2 turbulent years as Secretary of the Treasury, Bland resigned and returned to Missouri to run for the House but with the reelection of President Butler he was nominated as Secretary of the Interior where he has served far more successfully. Although a free silver advocate and anti-imperialist, Bland has a more conservative attitude towards government action.

https://preview.redd.it/cmtfp8c45ogh1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4355a275535577ad743426a7e59e4065b110ce02

Mayor Henry George of New York

A successful journalist and author, Henry George has probably seen more of America than most. Beginning his adulthood in dire poverty, George was eventually able to build a successful printing and writing career in California and even became the editor of his own newspaper the San Francisco Daily Herald which was one of the state's most prominent critics of monopolistic railroad companies which had spread across the west. It was during his time in California where he developed the ideas that since become known as "Georgism" and were most famously articulated in his book Progress and Poverty which has been a worldwide bestseller for years. George believes that by taxing land values, society could recapture the value of its common inheritance, raise wages, improve land use, and eliminate the need for taxes on productive activity. In conjunction with this core theory he has also been an advocate of public ownership of utilities, free trade, the secret ballot, the use of greenbacks over metallic currency and a citizens' dividend for all Americans paid for by the single land tax. Though his theories are radical, George opposes the nationalization of private property putting him at odds with the emerging socialist group within the party. As New York Mayor he has just begun to implement his ambitious agenda but he has successfully passed the single land tax though the effects of it have yet to be fully realized.

https://preview.redd.it/aqsc2cq65ogh1.jpg?width=1591&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7ed0798cf5145e66c2f316fcf6c482348c72cf5

Secretary of Agriculture James B. Weaver

A pillar of Iowa politics, James Weaver was forged in the fires of the Civil War where he served the Union as a colonel of a volunteer infantry regiment. Returning home, Weaver attempted to build his career in the Republican Party but as he failed to achieve a nomination and as the party moved in a more conservative direction he would leave for the Greenback Party in 1877. From there he would enter the House in 1878 where he worked tirelessly to expand the money supply via greenbacks and push for regulation of big business. He was an early supporter of the emerging Farmer-Labor Party and helped the Greenbacks fold into it which allowed Weaver to position himself as the leader of the Farmer wing of the party and ran for the nomination in 1880. Thanks to his influence, Weaver was made the party's House leader before entering the cabinet as Interior Secretary where he spent much of his time advocating for greenback centric fiscal policy, the opening of the west to American settlement and the establishment of an independent Department of Agriculture though he would fail to become its first Secretary. Campaigning hard on behalf of Butler, the President rewarded his one time rival with the long sought after position of Agriculture Secretary from which has only continued to strengthen his position as leader of the Farmers.

https://preview.redd.it/nqbdatk85ogh1.jpg?width=454&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=852291c9f64dbf38fb8f6809627ecc54259bb1c2

Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado

Henry M. Teller is curious man. A New Yorker by birth who has become one of the great champions of the west, Teller worked as a lawyer in Illinois for several years and helped establish the state branch of the Republican Party. During the 1860s he would move again, this time to Colorado where he established himself as an influential lawyer, businessman and politician in the growing territory. He parlayed this influence into becoming one of the state's first Senators upon its admission to the Union and was "Silver Republican" for a time until Farmer-Labor emerged as the primary party of pro-inflationary groups. As one of the few prominent Republicans to joined Farmer-Labor after its establishment, Teller found himself in an influential position to help Butler win the support of westerns miners which he achieved in 1880. As a reward he was made Secretary of the Interior and attempted to move the President to a more moderate, bimetallist position over greenbacks. The big break with Butler came when the President began opening native land to American settlement in violation of numerous treaties which obligated the Federal government to prevent such action. Teller resigned in protest and has been a permanent critic of the President, growing even louder with the commencement of the Reservation Wars and the signing of the Dawes Act. Teller is a firm anti-Imperialist and though he has some pull with the Miners, it is the Moderates who believe he can guide the party to a more just position.

Hi everyone, u/Begin_ThePurge here.

It's been several days since I posted a new entry into my ongoing series A New Birth of Freedom and while it's not the first time I've an extended period with no new posts this time feels different. For some reason since I posted the recap of President Butler's term I haven't been able to find any motivation to complete the next post. I have oscillated between a recap of the last 20 in-universe years of the series with more info on the post-Reconstruction society which has emerged and a standard candidate selection post. I get a few paragraphs in before I get frustrated and delete the whole thing. It's some serious writer's block and it's something I've felt before when I was nearing the end of the New Frontier. I say nearing the end when in reality I had not planned to end so suddenly with a Jesse Jackson presidency and a recap on the following 40 years of history that followed it. I am getting that same dissatisfied feeling I got then but I don't want to just delete all my posts and account without first talking to you guys. The truth is that as much fun as I have writing certain posts, I do this mostly to get some form of social interaction. Your support and interest in this series has been a real source of joy in my life and one of the few places of genuine community I have. I've found myself increasingly motivated to post simply to please my audience and to get some form of positive interaction rather a real passion for working on the series.

A New Birth of Freedom merged from literally one of the nerdiest things a person can think

"Man, wouldn't be cool if NPR was created in the 30s instead of the 60s and was like the BBC"

That it. That's the origin of this entire series.

Once I started thinking about it more I became interested in an alternative Federal government that wasn't afraid to get directly involved in cultural affairs, establish its own media sources, to fund artists and scientists directly. I envisioned a diesel punk world where the United States government had sponsored the grandest projects the minds of the Bella Epoque could imagine. A world where Daniel Burham's "Chicago Plan" had come to fruition and Nikola Tesla's inventions were backed by the wealth of the American government and placed it leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of world. A nation not held back by the wasted potential of Reconstruction and where Booker T. Washington could be President by 1900. All so we could get NPR by 1934.

This world I had imagined in my head was far more intricate and fascinating then what I feel I have been able to do so far. Part of that is my own inability to not deviate from historical fact. For example, Tesla's inventions grew increasingly impractical and physically impossible so I scrapped it before it had even been introduced the concept in the series or Interesting potential candidates I excluded from consideration because they flat out refused to be considered for the role. But more than anything, the 19th Century after Reconstruction is fucking boring to write for. For the New Frontier I had the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Space Race and let's how the pool of candidates stack up against each other. The traditional format of Presidential Polls is that we spend a lot of time just choosing candidates and only briefly touching on their actual actions in office. As my description of my vision for the series might indicate, I saw this as much more of a creative writing project which went far beyond the convention halls of the late 1880s but we are restriction by the conventions and mediums we work in and you need polls related to the President to post on r/Presidentialpoll. Spending so much time writing descriptions for candidates I know aren't going to win sucks the energy right out of me.

I know it's a cliche at this point for writers on this sub to complain about Redditors trying to vote for the most left wing candidate every time but it really kill my passion for doing this. When every outcome is known in advance why bother spending all this time writing descriptions for Thomas Bayard or Winfield Scott Hancock or Grover Cleveland. Listen, I get it, the country is run by right wing authoritarians who make everything worse every day they're still in office and these series can be a good escape from that. It lets people imagine a world which is more equal and communal than the one we have. But as a writer you need conflict, you need new ideas to come in and shake things up even if you wouldn't vote for them in real life. As I sit hear writing contemplating my next move I am very wrestling with the fact that Butler's overwhelming victory in 1884 could portend 140 more years of socialists having an effective one party state in the US. That's not fun to write for nor is it realistic. The truth is that total control of a society by any group no matter how much I agree with inevitably leads to stagnation if they have power for too long. But no matter how much writers to try come with reasons not vote for the most left wing candidate they succeed nonetheless not just in my series but so many others. This fact is probably why I'll never finish my Ireland election series because having the Labour Party win in a landslide every single election just because its called the Labour kills all motivation to even try to come up with something interesting for the other parties.

So I think what I'm getting at with all of this is that although I really love this community and the support people have shown my work its clear to me that the format has very strict limitations and I'm not exactly sure where to go from here.

I know this pretty niche and it might get a response but I just love Ireland and Irish history and culture and people so much that I want someone to correspond with about it. I spent a couple of months in the north on study abroad but I didn't make many local friends while I was there to my shame so I'm hoping somebody on here is Irish or also very interested in Ireland. I'm American so I get that it can be annoying dealing with yanks always coming over and talking about their heritage and DNA test results but I promise I will avoid the subject unless you bring it up. I just really love Ireland and the Irish and I really want to talk about it with someone.

Two days in a row now the largest portion of the paper’s opinion section has been given to authors who wrote pieces defending either Israel or AIPAC. I just started regularly reading the paper and wondered if anyone else noticed this.

https://preview.redd.it/jcf0592phmeh1.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe27b00433b3d9f2fa3fa30243282a33c3dca495

https://preview.redd.it/ibiru2pphmeh1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b219b9c33198eee6d8f53ca93b0971e733f8671

Cabinet

President: Benjamin F. Butler 

Vice President: Joseph E. McDonald 

Secretary of State: George H. Pendleton

Secretary of the Treasury: Francis M. McDowell 

Secretary of War: Adelbert Ames

Attorney General: William Windom (1885-1887), Barzillai J. Chambers (1887-1889)

Postmaster General: William M. Ireland

Secretary of the Navy: Edward Cooper

Secretary of the Interior: Richard P. Bland

Secretary of Agriculture: James B. Weaver

Events

March 1885: Benjamin F. Butler and Joseph E. McDonald are inaugurated for the their second term as President and Vice President

April 1885: Following meetings with the President, Congressional FLP leaders announce plans to begin looking into various infrastructure projects to alleviate unemployment amidst economic downturn

May 1885: President Butler names Clara Barton as the President’s Special Advisor on Health and Sanitation, the first major Federal position held by a woman. She will help direct a major modernization of Washington, D.C.’s sewer system

July 1885: Following a meeting with architect Gustav Lindenthal, President Butler announces plans for the Federal government to take over the North River Bridge Project from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The bridge will connect Manhattan to Hoboken, New Jersey with a length of 3,100 ft and 10 train tracks included. It is the biggest single Federal infrastructure project in history and will be the largest suspension bridge in the world when completed. 

July 1885: Former President Ulysses S. Grant dies after finishing his memoirs from throat cancer; The 7 mile long funeral procession in New York City sees 1.5 million attendees

August 1885: On the advice of Attorney General Windom and Interior Secretary Bland, President Butler request Congress create the Inland Waterways Commission to investigate ways to improve transportation and flood control along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and the Great Lakes

September 1885: President Butler withdraws the Berlin Conference Treaty from Senate consideration following advice from Federick Douglass

October 1885: President Butler officially abrogates numerous peace treaties with western tribes. The US Army units protecting the borders of several Native reservations are redirected to seize the weapons of the tribes to facilitate easier white settlement instigating the Reservation Wars

January 1886: The President signs the Silver Purchase Act which requires the US government to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver on a monthly basis, roughly the entire American silver output. The Act is seen as a compromise between the Free Silver movement and the hard money position of the Democratic-Republicans

April 1886: President Butler creates the Niagara Falls National Park to preserve the falls and places large tracts of upstate New York under Federal control. The move pushes many locals out of their homes. Many remain for work though as plans for a bridge downstream of the falls are begun

June 1886: Associate Justice David Davis dies; President Butler nominates Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court Horace Gray as his replacement

August 1886: The President officially announces his support of women’s suffrage while hosting Suffragist Susan B. Anthony at a White House dinner though he stops short of promoting prohibition as well

February 1887: President Butler signs the Texas Seed Bill into law to provide $20,000 to the farmers of Texas to purchase seed grain after a major drought. Secretary Weaver is tasked with creating an official drought prevention committee to study the causes of the crisis and ways to prevent it. Clara Barton and the American Red Cross is tasked with distribution of the grain supplies

March 1887: President Butler signs the Dawes Act, breaking up the communal lands of the Tribes into private allotments distributed to certain native individuals on the basis of their assimilation into white culture. 

April 1887: The Samoan Crisis begins, seeing US and German ships hold each other at bay in Apia Harbor, Samoa while the British ship HMS Calliope observes; The crisis intensifies pressures in the US to speed up the modernization and expansion of the US Navy

June 1887: Associate Justice James Speed dies; President Butler nominates his Attorney General William Windom as Speed’s replacement

July 1887: The Cabral Act provides federal monetary assistance for the construction of a modern sewer and road system in the capital of Santo Domingo, Ciudad de Santo Domingo. 
August 1887: Major General George A. Custer is killed alongside a large portion of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to his overconfidence. Shocking the nation, it is the worst defeat of US forces during the Reservation Wars

November 1887: Secretary of State Pendleton negotiates a treaty with Great Britain to resolve outstanding disputes between American and Canadian territorial waters angering many New Englanders at the concessions. 

January 1888: President Butler announces he will not seek a 3rd term amidst speculation citing old age and health

June 1888: Following rumors given to him from Frederick Douglass and former Senator Blanche Bruce, President Butler appoints former soldier and missionary George Washington Williams to investigate claims of atrocities in the Congo Free State

Hi!

I'm a 20 something and since graduating college I've really struggled to make new friends or have a regular social life. I'm really into history and I've even made a whole map of Chicago area local museums which at like 160 something spots. I was wondering if there's anyone else who is in their 20s or 30s that interested in getting together to visit some of these places. I'm also interested in doing some kind of reading club or just getting to catch about the past whether Chicago related or not.

I've tried to find similar groups but I haven't come up with anything yet. So, yeah, if you're into history or just want to hang out with younger adults to make some friends let me know. There's so many cool places to explore around here and it's always a friendly atmosphere.

VOTE HERE

https://preview.redd.it/rmohbsqvfwdh1.jpg?width=651&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ffbc398969c040e3c7a6548b896c5a2bac15806

Context

The last 4 years have seen a dramatic realignment in American politics with the rapid ascension of the Farmer-Labor Party and the merging of the once untouchable Republicans into a marriage of convenience with their old Democratic rivals. The contest this year will be a national judgement on the Butler Administration's radical changes to the monetary and tariff policies of the United States as well as the Democratic-Republicans attempts to reverse them over the last two years. For everyone the results are a mixed bag. Farmers benefited from the inflationary polices as it caused food prices to rise while making their previously crushing loans bearable but it drove out foreign investment and sent the stock market plunging. Tariff reductions caused many products to drop in price as cheap foreign imports forced American competitors to lower prices just to stay alive. While it helped the pocketbooks of farmers and even many middle class Americans, captains of industry and factory workers alike have struggled to stay afloat when faced with these new economic realities. Labor conditions in the cities are now significantly safer than they ever were but only those who survived widespread closures can benefit from it. While Black Americans enjoy an every increasing standard of living thanks to continued defense of their political and material gains under the Butler Administration, the tribal peoples of the American West face renewed encroachment from White settlement as the President neglects his government's treaty obligations to please the Agrarian wing of the party. Don't even ask how Asian immigrants are doing since everyone else in the country seems happy enough to hang them out to dry. Finally, the President made a characteristic about face on civil service reform after he signed the Pendleton Act. Its reach remains limited though as he has been hesitant to truly disrupt the web of patronage which is so critical to maintaining political loyalty.

Platforms

The Democratic-Republicans offer up the unmovable Grover Cleveland to match the unstoppable Ben Butler. Promising to return the country to the sensible fiscal policies of the past, the DRs have tried their best remain quiet on the tariff issue as Cleveland is a free trader while a significant faction of his party is not. Instead they choose to stress a full and total return to the gold standard, a phase of greenbacks and a commitment to fiscal prudence. That last promise is interwoven with a plan to significantly expand the Pendleton Act's reach which the party says will go a long way to eliminating waste and fraud in Federal positions.

Farmer-Labor by contrast are campaigning hard to not only retain the White House but also regain control of Congress. They promise that with a government trifecta they will institute a Bimetallist policy rather than a full blown return to greenbacks. Farmer-Labor say that while a completely unbacked currency caused a panic, the free coinage of silver will have the same general inflationary effect but will at least keep the US dollar somewhat within the traditional monetary boundaries. Butler has campaigned to also use the large Federal surplus from years of high tariffs to increase education funding and subsidies for farmers in the event of natural disaster or financial downturn.

And as with any race the campaign has featured its fair share of personal attacks. Butler has foregone the typical executive silence during an election to lob attacks at Cleveland for hiring a surrogate to fight in the Civil War and the tabloid press have made hay with a supposed affair and bastard child the New York Governor had. The Democratic-Republicans have returned fire with frequent reminders of Butler's wartime actions particularly his iron fisted rule of New Orleans and anti-Jewish directives.

Candidates

Democratic-Republican Party

Governor Grover Cleveland of New York

The reformist and tight fisted Governor of New York, Grover Cleveland made his political bones not amidst the crowded streets of New York City but instead growing Buffalo along the banks of Lake Erie. A lawyer by trade, Cleveland first entered politics as a Democrat in 1871 as Sheriff of Erie County which he held for two years. A decade later he was elected Mayor of Buffalo and spent his term aggressively fighting the city's corrupt machine in conjunction with fiscal prudence. These credentials would although to win the Governorship over a divided Republican Party and has continued to combat corruption alongside State Assembly Minority Leader Theodore Roosevelt regardless of how much Tammany screams.

https://preview.redd.it/yfat5fhnfwdh1.jpg?width=648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=262ffd7f69ec2c8024eb5165fe1865be0939ddd3

Senator Blanche Bruce of Mississippi

Born the son of a white master and his domestic slave in Virginia, Bruce was lucky enough to receive an education alongside his white half brother. Using what limited autonomy he had to free himself by moving to Kansas once the Civil War broke out, Blanche furthered his education at Oberlin College in Ohio, worked as steamboat porter along the Mississippi River and started a school for black children in Missouri. By 1868 he would, ironically, follow in his father's footsteps as a wealthy plantation owner when he moved to Mississippi and used his newfound prominence to rise up in county and then state politics during the height of Reconstruction. As a Senate he has been a loyal soldier of the Grant Administration and its conservative economic policies.

https://preview.redd.it/v6wec26ofwdh1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3aea4217e93de27b683f918fea6a21b9dff31f3b

Farmer-Labor Party

President Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts

Ben Butler is one of the strangest characters in American politics ever. An anti-war Democrat and Southern sympathizer before the Civil War, Butler made a massive about face when he joined the Union Army and became a Major General. He gain national renown for his refusal to return escaped slaves to their masters while serving as military governor of New Orleans, preceding the Lincoln Administration's own Emancipation Proclamation. His questionable military skills and illicit dealing across enemy lines eventually led to his removal from command at the request of General Grant later in the war. Soon though he was in Congress causing havoc as a Radical Republican. He advocated harsh measures against the South, helping authored of the Klu Klux Klan Act and Civil Rights Act of 1875. Eventually he broke with the Republicans over the issue of hard vs. soft money and joined the Liberals before breaking again for Farmer-Labor once they became the champions of soft money. His abrasive, showboating personality puts off most other politicians but gives him a certain populist appeal.

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Vice President Joseph E. McDonald of Indiana

A longtime figure of Democratic politics in Indiana, Joseph E. McDonald is the state's most prominent pro-inflationary figure. Working a variety of jobs before settling into law in the 1840s, McDonald would first enter politics as a Representative for 1 term before serving as the state's Attorney General from 1856-1860. He would unsuccessfully run for Governor in 1864 but 11 years later would ride a wave of public frustration over the Great Depression into the Senate where he currently sits. McDonald has been sidelined over the last 4 years and was only retained on the ticket to keep the support of the more conservative Agrarian faction of the party who are very irritated by the President's recent actions.

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