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My life would be empty without this AAR!!
 
I don't think it's dead. Fry ran into some problems in RL and as such has likely put this on hold, as with a lot of other stuff, until he can get things sorted out.
 
I don't think it's dead. Fry ran into some problems in RL and as such has likely put this on hold, as with a lot of other stuff, until he can get things sorted out.

Ah okay, that makes sense. I was just understandably concerned. After all, this was the first thread I ever posted in, it wouldn't be a terribly terrific start to my membership here if it died a page later haha.

In any case, hopefully he can get things sorted out soon. Hope he's alright.
 
@Seek75: I don't know. California's expansionism seems to have died down by now.

@TKFS: WWII will be HUGE.

@Anjwalker: Thanks, and yeah - that inflation is possible.

@John Forseti: Yeah, since this is California-centric, I don't spend much details on other countries.

@eqqman: Thanks for the explanation for everyone.

@MrHouse: Mexico is just sitting their like OTL Mexico. No recent revolutions, it's a pretty stable country.

@Mech610: I am glad that I have inspired you to do so! I'd do a quick state of the world - but I will push out an update first.

@Juanvito: Many thanks.

@CaptRobau: Just wait, we are approaching the ending. It will be good.

@Mr. Santiago: Mind the shrapnel.

@enf91: That piece of corn was 100 Marks when they planted it. You bought it for 500,000,000 marks.

@Heroicnoodles: After this update.

@Commandante: In due time.

@oberstbrooksy: Yeah, Britain is done for.

@Mech610: Nope. Not dead.

@TKFS: Here I am to fill it up again.

@DoomBunny: Yeah, that.

@Mech610: Thanks, I am fine.

Update inbound.
 

Dawes: 1926 - 1931


President Dawes' second inaugural address took place on a rainy afternoon in San Diego, California. In it, he laid out his ambitious plan for growth over the next five years. A main part of his plan was non-intervention in business affairs. Many prospective trusts took this as a signal they could expand, and many starts to buy up competition and competitors. In response to the President's plan, the Californian Stock Market went through the roof, with more value being added each and every day. The President hailed this explosive growth as long-lasting and never-ending. It seemed that nothing could stop this massive growth trend.

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1. Downtown San Diego in March of 1926, showing the affluence and modernization of California.

A revolution that had been slowly stirring after the Great War finally came boiled over into the popular culture. A new type of music, called Jazz, soon emerged onto the world stage, and with it, the liberalization and advancement of society as a whole. Women explored new and unheard of roles, including different types of dressing, professions, and even attitudes. While some people tried to fight back against this advancement in society, it was overall a permanent change. The affluence of the era led to everything being more upbeat, making Jazz the unofficial anthem of the decade.

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2. A typical band seen at any clubhouse in the 1920s.

On the international front, the Weimar Republic announced that its economy had finally stabilized and was experiencing growth for the first time since the Great War broke out. The international investment, mostly from the United States and California, focused on the construction of new, consumer goods factories, as well as the establishment of vital railroad lines. Although France tried to object to this new build-up, all protests were silenced when the United States threatened to cut off all supplies to the French Republic.

Presidential Elections in the United Kingdom, the second since the overthrow of the Monarchy, results in the British Union of Fascists taking complete control of the Parliament, as well as the election of former Prince Edward to the presidency. He supported the British Union of Fascists, and took a decidedly anti-French stance on the world stage. He quickly set out to try and right the ills of his country. Working closely with Parliament, they withdrew from the world stage to build their own country, how they wanted. They secured a secret agreement with the United States government, that pledged them the ability to act as any nation would, without the threat of France intervening.

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3. President Edward of the United Republics of Great Britain and Ireland.

Even though the United States and California were experiencing an period of roaring growth and expansion, the French Republic, now the sole protector of peace in Europe, began to show signs of weakness. In order to support her spending for other projects, the military had to be drastically toned down, where the French Government decommissioned both ships and men, in a bid to show her commitment to peace, as well as help revive the French economy, which was have small periods and booms and small periods of busts. The "Roaring Twenties" were known as the "Unstable Years" in France. As the rest of Europe grew, France desperately reached out for more economic ties, and finally settled on Italy, where discontent at the government was already high.

Only a few weeks after the Franco-Italian agreement went into effect, the sitting Prime Minister, of Italy's leftist party, was overthrown by a "March on Rome" by Benito Mussolini and his "Fascist" Blackshirts. They decided to refuse all cooperation with France, and instead turned inwards themselves, working on their vast and majestic African Empire, and sparking a huge controversy when they refused the right for any French ships to pass through the Suez Canal.

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4. Benito Mussolini after staging a coup of the Italian Government.

Tensions mounted even higher when Italian soldiers stormed across the Italian-Yugoslav border. Italy was interested in reuniting with the Italian minority in the Balkans. France, trying to gain Italy's favour, decided to stay quiet on the issue, while the United States and California payed no attention to it. The Weimar Republic, close to making an alliance with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, protested such movements, but they quickly died down, saying that they were asking for the Rhineland back, similar to the Italian's claim on Istria.

While Italian soldiers destroyed the Yugoslavian frontlines, the Kingdom of Wallonia peacefully came into existence under the graces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The French-speaking people had long been under the rule of the Dutch Crown, and finally they had been able to gain enough favour and representation in the Dutch Parliament for the bill to pass. On November 18th, 1927 - the Kingdom of Wallonia signed two treaties with the Republic of France and the Republic of the Rhine, signalling its intention to remain an independent nation.

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5. The first Government of an independent Wallonia.

On the home front, the first signs of some concerning economic data appeared in a governmental report dated March 24th, 1928. For the past two years, wages have been increasing by a rate of around 3% a year, well within the boundaries of inflation, but the silent killer was that production effectiveness and efficiency was increasing at a rate of about 7% a year. Some economists started to crunch the numbers, and tried to inform the Californian government of the concerning data, but they were quickly waved off because they didn't want a panic to start. In the eyes of the government, there was no way the growth could cease.

As the spring dragged on, and summer came to bear, the United States nominated Secretary of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover to be the Republican Presidential Nominee, and who was expected to win handily. When asked about the issue of "Overproduction", the Secretary replied with a hearty laugh and affirmed that the United States would continue to move forward, forever.

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6. Republican Nominee Herbert C. Hoover.

As 1928 dragged on, and the United States election formally elected Herbert Hoover in a landslide, the economy showed further signs of distress. Over in Europe, several German and French banks began to falter, to the point where the government had to step in a few times to regulate and control them directly. Housing prices also were on the decline rural parts of California, indicating more and more people were moving to the cities, in a bid to get a job in the factories that were becoming more and more productive. In many cases, wages were slightly dropped as more and more people began to compete for them, further deepening the underlying crisis.

Attention soon shifted to the decay of the nation's infrastructure. The collapse of a vital dam across a river in Southern California decimated a small town, and all its inhabitants. Several survivors were able to claw out of the wreckage of their home, and give an impassioned plea for the country to support a new building project to try and bring the country up to date. The outcry was heard far and wide, until finally the Californian Congress relented. They approved a massive, sweeping infrastructure bill that would give money to the Districts solely for improving roads and other infrastructure. The central government took it upon themselves to upgrade the nation's railroad system.

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7. The broken damn that caused an outcry and revitalization of the nation's infrastructure.

It seemed that this new, massive project was just what was needed to distract the population from anyone who seemed to speak ill of the economy. Most of the unemployed workers were drafted into this new project, leaving a real unemployment rate of .9%, the lowest in the world. The remainder of 1928 slowly receded and 1929 came to California uneventfully. President Dawes, long unseen and working in his own ways, finally appeared and gave a series of resounding speeches in support for the new project. Many people wondered if the President did much, as he was adhering to his pledge of non-intervention to the T. The Californian Justice Department, only twelve years before, had opened one hundred and fifty cases against businesses. For the entire length of President Dawes' term, it has opened two, and both of them were disputes over waterway usage.

In a somber, but telling event, the train carrying President Dawes on his speaking journey across California went over an old bridge across the Los Angeles River, where the bridge gave out as most of the train was over it. The locomotive and most of the cars plunged into the river, killing the President and several members of the cabinet. This was the second death of a President, and the second death caused by a train. Thousands mourned for President Dawes, who would be remembered as the man who initiated a new era, a new Constitution, and a new Republic.

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8. The remains of the train carrying President Dawes that crashed in the Los Angeles River.

Upon hearing the news of the President's death, Vice-President Terry Randall was sworn in as President of the Californian Republic. Inexperienced, and only Vice-President because Dawes used him to carry the vote in Northern California, Randall had little idea of how to handle the country. He was given a warm welcome by President Herbert Hoover, but by the summer of 1929, things started to look better for President Randall, as he began to grow into the office, and grew accustomed to the ability to manage a steady economy.

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9. Terry Randall, Fourteenth President of the Californian Republic.

This grace, however, would not last. On October 28th, 1929 Wall Street in the United States experienced a tremendous crash of stock value, losing over 15% of their value at the opening bell. With the markets opening in California a few hours later, all seemed lost at that point. The San Francisco Stock Exchange opened at 24% down, only to watch it sink further and further during the day. By November 15th, both stock markets in the United States and California had lost over 50% of their worth from only a month before. A period of minor rallies and further slumping values presented Presidents Hoover and Randall with a insurmountable crisis control situation.

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10. Crowds outside Wall Street after the great Stock Market Crash of 1929.

President Hoover didn't respond at all. As the markets sank, so did the economy of the two countries. By December, the entire world was slowly seeing the good times of the 1920s fade away. Almost overnight, Europe reverted to it's Great War levels of poverty and disrepair. Germany, on the path to recovery, slowly watched as it's small industry faltered, banks closed, capital tied up, and a general destruction of any prosperity. From there it spread to France, and on to the Republic of Great Britain.

When 1930 finally came around, President Randall was faced with a dilemma he didn't know how to solve. He was watching as the entire countries economic prosperity melted away, Government gold reserves crashed, and a run on the banks was made. The availability of money disappeared, and various loans were called upon to try and make payments. Thousands defaulted as businesses closed and wages were cut. Thousands more were fired from their jobs, and the downward spiral of the economy seemed to have no bottom, nor end, in sight.

Dismayed, the President ordered several governmental offices to be closed, including the age-old Census Department, in a bid to stop Government spending. Although several people working on the newest release had some information, it was not enough to compile a full result. However, the total, official population was 43,175,463, a total increase of six million people over five years. Many feared that this explosive growth would be constricted and that the countries ability to grow would forever be stopped.

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11. Population Statistics of the Californian Republic, 1930.

President Randall, weak and unsure of what to do, decided to run for re-election on his own right. He refused to directly hand out money to the public masses, and still struggled to achieve any sort of relief or recovery. The Socialists and Communists sang the drumbeat that this was the failure of Capitalism, as they seemed sure of victory at the polls against the disastrous President. The Progressives, eager to break away from the Socialists and capture the independents of California, nominated a fiery Progressive Senator from Los Angeles. Senator William Arthur, long time advocate for the Progressive cause, was matched up against the Socialist Robert Johnson and President Randall

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12. Progressive Candidate William Arthur with his running mate, Carl Sampson.

As the campaign started to wind down, and election day neared, the health of the Mr. Johnson candidate began to falter, where he sent his running mate out on speeches more and more. A day before the election, Robert Johnson was proclaimed dead of pneumonia at a San Franciscan hospital. With the Socialist candidate technically out, the battle was between President Randall and Senator Arthur.

When the ballots were counted, the race was surprisingly close. The late Mr. Johnson received 39% of the vote, with President Randall receiving 18%. Senator Arthur was proclaimed the victor with 43% of the vote, and 302 electoral votes, one over the amount needed to win the Presidency under the new system. The Senator was obviously gracious in his acceptance speech. In it, he proclaimed that he would not follow the Conservative mantra of doing nothing, nor would he totally change the system as what the Communists and Socialists wanted. Instead, he pledged he would stick to the Three R's. Relief. Recovery. and Reform. He was overwhelmingly popular with the people, even though they did not vote for him. All they wished now was to exit this current period of despair.

In the United States, President Hoover took a hands off approach to this situation, while both nations started to sink further into the abyss, President-elect Arthur was the first to call this new economic depression the "this Great Depression, unseen anywhere in human history". The country pledged their allegiance to him, in hopes that he would lead them back to stability once again.

Previous Update: Dawes: 1921 - 1926
Next Update: Arthur: 1931 - 1936

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Author's Note(s)
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[*] - Since this AAR will be winding down soon (I plan on dramatically slowing updates after WWII), I am willing to take a vote on the next country I play for a hundred years. The choices are as follows:

a. Commonwealth of Virginia
b. Kingdom of Greece
c. Other (Suggest)

 
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I'm just gonna say South Africa, because I'm weird like that and why the hell not :p

Not that I want to toot my own horn or anything, but are you still planning to include Carr at some point or another? Or did he get cut?
 
I'm going to vote for Commonwealth of Virginia... somehow. o.o
 
My Next AAR!
Commonwealth of Virginia (3)
South Africa (4)
Kingdom of Greece (1)

@Seek75: If you must know, Carr is coming soon.

@Sakura_F: Vote tallied.
 
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Alright. Was just wondering, because by this point I'm fairly certain he's over 100 (unless you're intending on making him not a crusty old man, which obviously at this point you are).
 
I also would like to see South Africa

Virginia sounds interesting, maybe after.....Is that even a country?
 
@Seek75: It won't be the same person you had in the Presidents, it will be the same name and similar though.

@Aliasing: No, but I'd mod it in. Vote tallied for South Africa.
 
Why's everybody excited over the next AAR while we still haven't seen WWII here? I mean, there are fascists, fascists everywhere here! And Hoover's crashing the american economy as usual....

Anyhow, I'll say South Africa, boer South Africa, to be precise.
 
Chalk another vote up there next to South Africa! I think we could see some very interesting counter-factual history here.
 
Great! And I say the Commonwealth of Virginia, just to see how the Civil War plays out.
 
@Anjwalker: Thanks! Vote tallied.

@Mr. Santiago: Fascists are rather popular in Europe, I'm afraid. As for Boer South Africa, do you mean Transvaal?

@TKFS: Tallied.

@Riccardo93: There wouldn't be a Civil War. If I played Virginia, I would dismantle the South from the United States.