You have nothing to lose but your chains.

'In Memoriam' Unknown Author said:

One day we'll see our names in stone where fires burn.
The great who silent stood among you
never praised nor never known.
Our thoughts defined the passing days.
Sensed the spirit, seized the age.
After all these years to dream again.
Like smiling children with faces raised.
Cheering their path. Tomorrow's glory days.

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The months of the first half of 1942 were an interesting time within the many syndicates of the CSNA. As production was incentivised away from military construction on the grand scale, the people of the continent finally saw the improvements that had been promised those stalwart veterans of the 1937 campaign. Consumer appliances began to flow freely into homes and food became more varied as rationing of various supplies became relaxed. The internal border between Atlanta-Miami and the rest of the nation was relaxed as many men came home from Europe.

The erection of a grand monument on the shores of Lake Michigan was began, a vast warrioress whose gaze faced across the lake and towards Europe. This was to be the war memorial of the nation. On the plinth of the statue, over five million names were chiseled into the pale stone by a team of 200 hundred craftsmen. The construction of 'Lady Victory' was to take three years and required the time and labour of 10,000 men at the peak of works.

This, some would say was to be the peak of the Powers of the CSNA, the many peoples unified under the common banner of a grand American Dream standing proud and looking to the future with a hope in their hearts. Jack Reed, in his opening speech given to the 1942 first biannual congress in March would say that 'This is our finest moment. Even if the Combined Syndicates lasts for another 1000 years, they will always know this by the manner with which we have conducted ourselves through these trying times. No man or woman has shirked their duty to their fellows.'

All was not cotton candy and mom's apple pie however. The platforms within the congress were becoming divided as without the war effort to force them to pull together, ideological differences became more and more painfully apparent. The previous clashes of the Globalist and One-Nation platform had expanded into several competing factions. The 'Maximalist' platform having split from the Globalist movement, so named for their mimicry of Oswald Mosley's government of the Union of Britain - now in it's 6th year and going strong - advocated a move toward central management of the Combined Syndicates by the Congress at a greater level than the setting of quotas and incentivisation. William Z. Foster was their leader, with Joe Steele and Al Capone working closely with him to co-ordinate the activities of the movement. The Globalist movement didn't outlast the departure of it's most charismatic speakers, though remained a fringe in Congressional politics for the next decade under the direction of Paul Mattick.

The One Nation movement had disbanded officially but had rather metamorphosed into what were known variously as 'Real Workers', 'Unionists' and 'Politikers' depending on whom you spoke to. This was the leading movement, intent on rebuilding the still ravaged nation with a grand infrastructure program and further exploitation of the natural resources of the Syndicates for the benefit of all, by all, on the terms of all. The Unionists held the support of such luminaries as Reed, Shachtman and Macleish though by their name they were a compromised movement - with such firebrands as Aalto and Hoffa within their ranks as well as cooler more pragmatic heads like Dubinsky. The Unionists hinged upon Jack Reed to provide them with a cohesive movement. He of the florid poetic words, and the soft, silent contemplation meant that each felt he was being given his due time to speak and his words judged to their full extent before a final decision that usually pleased most was made.

Other fringes were still present in the Congress. Flora Blackford, previously a globalist, found Foster's behaviour so intolerable that she formed the Anarchist fringe in late 39 and found herself often in the company of the Quebecois and Mexican delegates when they met in Chicago. Hans Amlie and John Abt of the Military also joined the anarchists, as Amlie's personal style of goal based imperatives during the war had essentially left Marshall and Rickover to put heads together to decide how to work things out. Amlie was never destined for historical greatness for this, though his operational freedom could be attributed to allowing such greats as Maurice Rose and Oliver Law to flourish in the field, both of whom sat in the congress as part of the 'Guardian' platform - a strongly socialist movement comprised mainly of servicemen's union representatives who felt that the military had a part to play in safeguarding the nation's leftist ideals.

And so from March 21st until April 21st the city of Chicago heard the warring arguments that rolled through the House of Congress (the former Field Museum of Natural History). As the congress closed and the delegates left the building to proceed along Solidarity Drive, a cleverly hidden nailbomb detonated, hurting over 21 delegates and mortally wounding 4. Amongst those who had been mortally wounded was Jack Reed, who had a nail penetrate his skull and lodge into his brain. His death was instantaneous, as he fell into the arms of his wife, Louise Bryant, who had been accompanying him at the time. Responsibility for the explosion was claimed by the Sasketchewan Royalist Front, a Canadian freedom group.

The syndicalist world went into shock, with Jack Reed's demise appearing on the front page of every newspaper for the 22nd of April 1942. Nobody had forseen this, and no preparation had been made for such an event. An emergency congress was called, as the world watched with bated breath, wondering who would emerge as the leader of the World's major superpower.

The election was to be held a week after Reed's funeral, which was quickly agreed to be the 29th of April and nominations included Joe Steele, William Z. Foster, Max Schactman, Norman Thomas, James Cannon, William Aalto and Fiona Blackford, but nobody could tell who would be elected by the Congress...

Kurt_Steiner said:

A pity that Homer Simpson wasn't born in this age. He might have a chance.

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Vesimir said:

Noooooo! The hero dies!

My vote goes for Max Schactman or William Aalto as Al Capone isn't present.

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quantum said:

Anarchy !!!

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Viden said:

Now he's a martyr.

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loki100 said:

brave move to knock off your hero ....

I vote for anybody by Schactman, why should he behave any better in this alternative world than he did in the real one?

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Johnny Canuck said:

Good to see the Canadians strike a blow for liberty!

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SovietAmerika said:

I vote for William Foster, time for Maximalism!

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Viden said:

Me too. Maximalism forever!

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DeSota said:

Flora Blackford! How many AAR countries have a female head of state after all?

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Enewald said:

Tyrants always die and despotic states crumble down, freedom shall win.
As long as someone believes in the Kaiser, the Kaiser shall come back the darkest hour of mankind and save it from the devils of socialism.

Make it William Aalto as the followers, he shall perish next.

And he is a traitor of kindred to all Finns.

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Meadow said:

I can't decide who I want to see in charge yet. Blackford's Globalism appeals to me, so maybe her. Basically NOT Joe Steele... please... (Stalin's dead anyway, the 'Joe Steele' events were never included because it was too unrealistic and KR killed off FDR, Stalin and Hitler for good - the player is left to decide what happens to Churchill).

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Vesimir said:

Churchill in KR?! Where?! I can't believe I never played Canada without my favourite bulldog.

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4th Dimension said:

Don't indulge the reactionaries!

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Kurt_Steiner said:

Mmmmh... Monty Burns is too capitalist for the job, I guess...

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SovietAmerika said:

I have a question, if Foster, Steele, or Capone muster up enough votes, could the Maximalists make a compromise? Same goes for other factions.

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4th Dimension said:

PS: do you have any idea how hard was it to find a decent smokestacks-industrial-factory image? Unbelievable.

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