The End of Freedom: The Ultimate Cost of the Great Depression

[hawkeye59]

here comes the sympathy vote...

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Good riddance anyway

[hawkeye59]

Good riddance anyway

[Sewer]

Good riddance anyway

[Mechaman]

At a Crossroads: The Story of John N. Garner



A longtime conservative Democrat from Texas, John N. Garner was one of the leaders of the conservative faction of the Democratic Party during the 1920's-early 1930's. In 1932 during the midst of the Great Depression he would run for President, hoping to bring true conservative principles back to the nation after the four years of Hoover. However, after going against the very strong campaigns of Roosevelt, Smith, and Murray, he gave up in the primary stage and decided to wait out the storm at the Convention where he could hopefully score well after the ballots failed to get either Roosevelt, Murray, or Smith nominated. However, fate wouldn't be on his side as the supporters of Smith and Murray would stick to the bitter end and so would Roosevelt, despite losing a majority of his delegates to either Murray or Smith. With Roosevelt refusing to release the rest of his delegates to either Murray or Smith, it would be up to Garner to determine who won, or else run the risk of a "compromise candidate" being nominated like times past at the Democratic National Convention.Garner had a tough choice to make, he found himself agreeing more on economics with Smith, yet he felt very uncomfortable with the idea of an Irish Catholic being nominated President: would he be loyal to the United States or to the Pope? Eventually, the latter fear would end up being stronger than his feelings of agreement with Alfred Smith as he would end up releasing his delegates to Murray, after which he would go home and pray for hours that Murray would not govern (because he like many assumed that there was no way the Democrats would lose in 1932) like he had campaigned, that he would be a reasonable man in the Oval Office. Later on, after Murray got elected and had begun enacting the "New Society", Garner would realize that his worst fears of Murray did not come true.........they were pleasant dreams compared to what really ended up happening. And the worst realization of all of it was that he, John N. Garner, didn't do a damn thing to stop Murray, he had stayed in his position as Vice President doing nothing but drink scotch and play cards for the 7 years he was in the Vice Presidency while President Murray turned America into a hellhole. If he had taken a stand earlier, voiced his opposition to the President's abuses of power early on, the nation would be nowhere near the hell it found itself in today: states rights would still be respected in regards to segregation, the government wouldn't have the full ability to take over banks and corporations, and the Supreme Court wouldn't be total stooges to the President's whim. But no, Garner kept his mouth shut when he could've saved the nation years of pain, agony, and self-destruction out of a pure selfish desire to be near the Oval Office.Well, now he was in the Oval Office, he was President of the United States. Question is, did he have the courage, the strength to use all of his power to try to reverse the damage done to the country after 7 years of Murray and reveal to the entire people of America the abuses of power done under his watch, or would he sit in his desk like a scared little girl and do everything Murray's cabinet of fellow liberty destroyers tell him what to do?

[Mechaman]

The Presidents of the United States of America:

1. George Washington (VA) (No Party)/John Adams (MA) (Federalist) 1789-1797
2. John Adams (MA) (Federalist)/Thomas Jefferson (VA) (Democratic-Republican) 1797-1801
3. Thomas Jefferson (VA)/Aaron Burr (NY) 1801-1805/George Clinton (NY) (Democratic-Republican) 1805-1809
4. James Madison (VA)/George Clinton (NY) 1809-1812/No VP 1812-1813/Eldbridge Gerry (MA) 1813-1814/No VP (Democratic-Republican) 1814-1817
5. James Monroe (VA)/Daniel D. Tompkins (NY) (Democratic-Republican) 1817-1825
6. John Quincy Adams (MA)/John C. Calhoun (SC) (Democratic-Republican 1825-1829
7. Andrew Jackson (TN)/John C. Calhoun (SC) 1829-1832/None/Martin Van Buren (NY) (Democratic) 1833-1837
8. Martin Van Buren (NY)/Richard M Johnson (KY) (Democratic) 1837-1841
9. William H. Harrison (OH)/John Tyler (VA) (Whig) 1841
10. John Tyler (VA) (Whig) 1841 Independent 1841-1845
11. James K. Polk (TN)/George M. Dallas (PA) (Democratic) 1845-1849
12. Zachary Taylor (LA)/Milliard Fillmore (NY) (Whig) 1849-1850
13. Milliard Fillmore (NY) (Whig) 1850-1853
14. Franklin Pierce (NH)/William R. King (AL) 1853/None 1853-1857 (Democratic)
15. James Buchanan (PA)/John C. Breckenridge (KY) 1857-1861 (Democratic)
16. Abraham Lincoln (IL)/Hannibal Hamlin (ME) (Republican) 1861-1865/Andrew Johnson (TN) (National Union) 1865
17. Andrew Johnson (TN) (National Union) 1865-1866 Independent 1866-1869
18. Ulysses S. Grant (OH)/Schuyler Colfax (IN) (1869-1873)/Henry Wilson (MA) 1873-1875/None (Republican) 1875-1877
19. Ruthford B. Hayes (OH)/William A. Wheeler (NY) (Republican) 1877-1881
20. James A. Garfield (OH)/Chester A. Arthur (NY) (Republican) 1881
21. Chester A. Arthur (NY) (Republican) 1881-1885
22. Grover Cleveland (NY)/Thomas A. Hendricks (IN) 1885/None (Democratic) 1885-1889
23. Benjamin Harrison (IN)/Levi P. Morton (NY) (Republican) 1889-1893
24. Grover Cleveland (NY)/Adlai E. Stevenson (IL) (Democratic) 1893-1897
25. William McKinley (OH)/Garret A. Hobart (NJ) 1897-1899/None 1899-1901/Theodore Roosevelt (NY) (Republican) 1901
26. Theodore Roosevelt (NY) 1901-1905/Charles W. Fairbanks (IN) (Republican) 1905-1909
27. William H. Taft (OH)/James S. Sherman (NY) 1909-1912/None (Republican) 1912-1913
28. Woodrow Wilson (NJ)/Thomas R. Marshall (IN) (Democratic) 1913-1921
29. Warren G. Harding (OH)/Calvin Coolidge (MA) (Republican) 1921-1923
30. Calvin Coolidge (MA)/None 1923-1925/Charles G. Dawes (Republican) 1925-1929
31. Herbert Hoover (IA)/Charles Curtis (KS) (Republican) 1929-1933
32. William H. Murray (OK)/John N. Garner (TX) (Democratic) 1933-1940
33. John N. Garner (TX) (Democratic) 1940-

[Barnes]

Very good, Mech.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Good riddance anyway

[aaaa2222]

Very good, Mech.

[Max Electric]

Thanks for pointing me to this TL. You're right, Palin couldn't do worse than Murray if she tried.

It seems we have two semi-honorable men running for President (FDR and Garner) and a question mark for the Republicans...

Can we look forward to President Henry Ford? No, of course not, that's cliche, and if there is a testament to your creativity, it is this timeline.

Keep it up.

[Scam of God]

You should continue this.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

You should continue this.

Definitively, one of the most chilling timelines ever written here!

[Scam of God]

You should continue this.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Mecha, I know you're dry for future incest ideas for Muricana, so maybe that's time to take care of this one.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Go FDR, a true American Hero.

[Mechaman]

The Cactus gets pricked:



All of his life John Nance Garner had always been known as a reasonable man, one how tried to establish peace with all sides in order to avoid conflict and strife, however more recent events had called for drastic actions.  On the day of William Murray's funeral, he could not bring himself to attend Murray's funeral, but in fact had begun planning his greatest moment....the moment that would forever destroy his political career.

April 18th, 1940:

"My fellow Americans, today I have upon me the most dreadful of tasks.  I have contemplated this moment for many hours, I do not take this moment lightly or easily.  This moment is to tell all of you the awful truth of the nation you once known as America: It is truly no more.  No more, the America I know today is a shadow of it's former self, an America that has entered alliances with the greatest evils mankind has ever known: that of expansionist fascist Germany and her Communist ally Soviet Russia.  All gathered together in a great plan of a New World Order, a world under their omnipotent all knowing command.  For these past seven years I disregarded my own personal principles, that of small limited government, in the foolhardy belief that what the statist overseers of this country would stop once this nation was recover, well I was greatly wrong.  I have here in my hands documents, documents that will prove that for the past seven years the Murray Administration in it's efforts to suppress the truth have gone as far as to use the means of assas....."

Mic shuts off and a number of guards arrest Garner on stage.  Two days later Secretary of State Edward L. Jackson (one of a very few Republicans in the Murray Administration) would announce:

"It is my unfortunate duty to announce that President Garner has been proven, by medical examination, to be mentally unfit and unstable.  We had tried, for the past few years to disguise his condition from the public eye believing that the then Vice President could keep sane and able at the functions of his office.  For the past few years Garner has dwelled into veyr bizarre readings, I myself have even walked in on him performing an occult ritual.  Out of my duty as a friend, I tried to keep this fact hidden, hoping that Garner would one day recover from this mental abyss, but sadly the doctors tell me that it is highly unlikely that Garner will ever return to a state of mental stability ever again.  Therefore, I ask very humbly that the US Congress begin preparing Articles of Impeachment for President Garner immediately without delay.  Please believe me when I say that this has not been an easy decision for any of us in the Cabinet, but I believe that Garner would do the same thing for me.  Thank you and good day.

The days after the annoucement the Articles of Impeachment against President Garner would begin immediately.  The House would vote overwhelmingly for impeachment, with only a few members voting against the measure.  John Nance Garner would be impeached on May 8th, 1940, and week later admitted to Bellevue for "mental evaluation".  No one would ever her from or see John Garner again.............

With the Presidential Succession laws of the day, that meant that Secretary of State Edward L. Jackson, a Republican, would succeed Garner to the office of presidency.



Edward L. Jackson (R-IN), acting president of the United States after impeachment of John N. Garner.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Now that's a twist.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

I love this TL, and I am overjoyed that it's back. Keep it coming!

[Mechaman]

The Rise of the Coalitions:





In early 1940, due to recovery of Franklin Roosevelt and the death of President Murray and the impeachment of acting President John N. Garner, the American political system would undergo a massive realignment.  No longer would there be “Democrat” and “Republican” (though the parties would still exist), but the coalitions.  Once the leadership of both parties realized that nomination of a presidential candidate was impossible with the divisions present in their ranks, that is when the first “coalition” was formed.  On June 11th, 1940, acting president Edward L. Jackson would announce the creation of the “United America Coalition”, which would field a bipartisan ticket come election due to “the existence of Good Feelings.”  A few days later on June 16th, 1940 Franklin Roosevelt would appear before the press with Republican Senator Charles McNary of Oregon and announce a counter coalition to be called the “Progressive Conservative Alliance”, a coalition of progressives and conservatives in both parties who opposed the current administration’s policies.  More details on the “coalitions”:

United America Coalition:
The United America Coalition is composed of Democrats and Republicans who support the policies originally enacted by late President William Murray.  The key planks of their platform:
•   Support of Federal Segregation
•   Support of nationalizing corrupt and failing businesses
•   Support of a strong and interventionist military.
•   Support the alliance between the United States and Germany
•   Support of abolishing the Constitutional requirement for warrants.
•   Support of strong regulations on the right to bear arms for “subversives”
•   Support abolishing the private medical industry and replacing it with nationalized healthcare.
•   Support the death penalty for “subversive” behavior (communist propaganda, homosexual behavior, etc.)
•   Institution of a tax on the Catholic Church, to prevent possible control of the government by Rome.
•   Bring back the ban on alcohol (which Murray ended, ironically)
•   Support of a “moral code” that makes such behavior as adultery, fornication, and profanity illegal.

Progressive Conservative Alliance
The Progressive Conservative Alliance is composed of Democrats, Republicans, and former Liberty Party members who are strongly opposed to the policies enacted by the late President Wiliam Murray.  The key planks of their platform:
•   No Federalized Segregation: let the states decide
•   Against widespread nationalization of private industries and businesses, though some support a good deal of regulation
•   Against using Reserve Guards at will without permission of Congress
•   Support of a non-interventionist foreign policy: Cancel the alliance with Germany and pull troops out of Canada and offer to pay reparations.
•   Support upholding the Bill of Rights.
•   Support the 2nd Amendment as “vital to American liberty”.
•   Against abolishing private healthcare and complete nationalization of health industry.  Some support for a public health option.
•   Support fair and unbiased trial for those accused of “subversive” behavior.  Support death penalty only in extreme cases.
•   Get the government out of regulating moral behavior such as homosexuality, political propaganda, adultery, drinking, smoking, etc. etc.
•   Keep not-for-profit organizations tax free.

The election season of 1940 would be one of extreme differences between the two tickets.  Would America continue onward the Murray vision of America?  Or would it look for new leadership under the Progressive Conservative vision?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Damn, I hope the PCA will win...

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

I've never been happier in my life that FDR was President of the United States. Go PCA!

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

Go PCA! (Although I wouldn't DARE to say that in public!)

Keep it coming!

[Derek]

FDR made the depression worse than it was with his government programs and used the misfortune for political gain.

[Mechaman]

FDR made the depression worse than it was with his government programs and used the misfortune for political gain.

You'll be praising FDR after reading this Timeline through, and after my next update.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

FDR made the depression worse than it was with his government programs and used the misfortune for political gain.

You'll be praising FDR after reading this Timeline through, and after my next update.

Are you kidding? People like Alfalfa Bill and whover is dictator now are great American heroes in the eyes of someone like Derek.