• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
I love that anthem, thank you for it.
 
I don't regret sending you that PM. :D
 
Hopefully the next world war goes a little better for the Californians. Also, what is that buffer state between France and Germany called?
 
Beautiful writing as always, however dismantling the entire British Empire seems like a bit of a stretch if the Royal Navy survived and Great Britain wasn't invaded and occupied, though maybe im a bit biased :)
 
@Anjwalker: Thanks, I'll admit, Europe was all my doing.

@DoomBunny: In due time.

@the_hdk: I had a hand in it. A big one. This is the first time I messed with the map in this AAR.

@oberstbrooksy: New Zealand's Head of State is President Dawes. Australia and Canada have gained their independence long ago, and severed all ties with Great Britain.

@Mr. Santiago: I have not finished with the Empire of the Rising Sun.

@Sakura_F: No problem.

@Seek75: More than they could ever imagine.

@TKFS: In the AAR, it's the Republic of the Rhine, in-game it's just Prussia.

@John Forseti: The Royal Navy WAS destroyed. At the end of the war, In-game wise, half of England was occupied, with troops in Scotland and Wales as well.
 

Dawes: 1921 - 1926


Acknowledging his election with a triumphant fanfare, President Dawes took the oath of office on an unusually sunny day in San Diego, California, and set out to being about one of the greatest changes in the country's history with a few simple sentences. In his inaugural address, he asked the members of the Californian Congress to assemble the very next day, and to call for Nation-wide Constitutional Convention. President Dawes felt that the Country, as it was, was on firm standing, but there was much wrong, in his eyes, with the way some things went. As President, it was his duty to try and fix them.

448px-Chas_G_Dawes-H%26E.jpg

1. Richard Dawes, Thirteenth President of the Californian Republic.

The Congress, eager to please the President with a substantial mandate, agreed and a Constitutional Convention was called for July 1st, 1921. As a keynote speaker, he laid out what he wished to see for this countries future. However, he was not able to dictate the new constitution at all. Mayors, District Presidents, and simply politicians from all around the country convened in Los Angeles to try and create a new, modern Constitution. Much of the political system was kept intact, but a major problem was with the local governments. The Federal Government was kept the same way, as were the local governance of Cities and Towns. The real problem lay with the next level of government. In the United States, this was fulfilled by the individual states, but the "United States of California" did not sit well with the delegates. Debate lasted for three months until a brand-new system, inspired by the United States, was envisioned.

9820a73ce68fa40e.jpg

2. The Californian Constitutional Convention in Los Angeles, California.

Coming forward on the 18th of November, 1921, Mayor Timothy Phipps of Anaheim, California presented the delegation with his "District Plan", which divided the entire country up into 100 "Districts", each one representing a part of the country, and all of them would be equal to each other in all ways, except their delegation to Congress. In each district, there would a District Government, which was comprised of its own legislature, and a Governor, who would serve as the executive of the District. When it came to Congressional Representation, each District would send 1 Senator to the Californian Congress, and would send at least 2 Representatives to the Californian House, with the district gaining more if their population deemed it. In total, the limit was capped to 100 Senators and 500 Representatives, making the Californian Congress have 600 individual legislators, a far cry from the current number of 387.

392px-Harry_Lincoln_Gordon.jpg

3. Mayor Timothy Phipps, the father of the District Plan.

The delegation was ecstatic about this idea, as it seemed to solve all the problems they had with the current level of government between the Federal and Local. The Final Draft of the Constitution of the Californian Republic was dated January 15th, 1922. With a near unanimous approval in the Convention, it was then sent to the Federal Government for approval in the Congress, then it would go on to the County Governments[1] for final approval.

The outcome was simply a resounding cry for Democracy. Every single County in the Californian Republic approved the new Constitution and became effective on March 1st, 1922. President Dawes held a round of speeches around the country, hailing this new measure as a wondrous improvement over the old system of Government. The Executive Branch had not been changed, so he still held the same amount of power as he did before. However, his Political Power shot through the roof, with the new Congress in session, intern elections were held, which resulted in a massive number of Conservatives to be elected to the Congress, tipping the balance radically in the favour of the President, giving him a wide mandate, showing that the people approved of the changes he made.

Some of the first things he did was to roll back many more of the reforms still around from the Socialist Era, and even take it a step further and start to relax business regulations and other things that had been hampering the growth of business. This move set off an explosive trend in business, as more and more businesses started up and old ones grew. In a staggering statistic, the Chevrolet Motor Car Company, in the years 1921 - 1925 exploded in growth, growing to consume 35% of the World's Automobile Production, second only to the Ford Motor Company in the United States.

Intent on fostering better relations with California's Eastern neighbor, President Dawes invited Vice-President Coolidge of the United States to California to try and work out a treaty. This was successful as the Treaty of Sacramento was signed on May 20th, 1922, which opened up the United States and California to a mutual market, eliminating all trade barrier between the two countries, while the United States and California entered into a "Special Relationship", an unbroken bond both countries would share for a long time[2].

charlesdawes.jpg

4. President Richard Dawes and United States Vice-President Calvin Coolidge.

As a response to the previous deregulation and easing the ability for capitol to flow throughout business, the economy responded with an amazing boom, as wages, productivity, and nearly everything in the market saw huge hikes. With more money, people began to buy more things, which further stimulated the economy, sending it on an upwards spiral, which California shared with the United States. Both countries Stock Markets saw unprecedented increases in their indices. The world's largest oil company, Standard Oil, became the most valuable stock on the market, with shares being worth over six dollars, an amazing sum for a single stock at that time, considering a day's wages were only around two dollars.

stock_market_1920_4.jpg

5. A typical day of trading on the San Francisco Stock Market.

The "Roaring Twenties", as they would become to be known by, was in full swing by the Summer of 1922. This time allowed the Californian Republic to do some long-overdue renovations to the Armed Forces. Starting with the Navy, President Dawes asked Congress for a fleet of 65 new Ships, the top of the line, the best of the best. He would stop at nothing until the Californian Fleet could blast any competitor, mostly Japan, straight out of the water if they needed to. The first ship off the production line was the CRS Triumph of Commerce, one of the most advanced Naval Ships in the entire world. The sheer power of this ship many in the world impressed, most importantly it firmly told the Japanese that they would be diligent in their watch of the Pacific, and that nothing would stop their dominance.

800px-Tennessee_class_battleship_1920s.jpg

6. The CRS Triumph of Commerce, the Flagship of the Californian Navy

President Dawes ordered that on August 1st, 1923, a full list of the world's eight greatest powers be handed to him, in an effort to try and figure out the general power of any potential alliance against his country. The results were staggering, as the data came back that the United States of America and the Californian Republic were the two most powerful nations in the World, floated by their great economic wealth and their impressive armies. Below them was the Republic of France, the Republic of Great Britain, The People's Republic of China, The Kingdom of Italy, the Empire of Japan, and the Commonwealth of Australia. The old vanquished Central Powers were not faring well, with the newly established Weimar Republic barely making it in the top sixteen. However, the rising star of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was noticeable, where it it quickly dragging the carcass of the Russian Empire off the ground and turned Russia into a regional power, poised once again to spring onto the world stage.

Lenin-Trotsky_1920-05-20_Sverdlov_Square_%28original%29.jpg

7. Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The Soviet Union made no hesitation to assume control over territory that once belonged to the Russian Empire. They quickly overran the Ukrainian Republic, and smashed the Kingdom of Belarus, a Tsarist holdout, and then poised themselves on the border of Georgia, before France decided to pull the economic strings tied to the Soviet Union, preventing them from acting any further. For the Belorussians and the Ukrainians, however, their life was now in the hands of the deathly grip of Communism, unable to escape.

Even though the war has only been over for a short period of time, the Weimar Republic began in early 1923 to ask for the re-annexation of the Rhineland, which France emphatically denied them the right to do. Their greatest fears was a re-armed Germany that could steamroll across Europe, devastating the continent in yet another war. It did not help that the German Economy, with the loss of the Rhur Area, had lost a huge source of revenue, and France still demanded reparation payments be made to them. While the rest of the world was experiencing an uptick in Industry and Wealth, the Weimar Republic saw its economy slump even further, as thousands remained unemployed as factories closed, and unemployment lines grew.

1923waitline.jpg

8. Germans waiting in line to try and get their welfare checks from the Government.

To try and combat this, the Weimar Government decided to print money to pay both its people, and the French at the same time. As printing ramps up, so does inflation. Overnight, the German Papermark starts to lose its value dramatically. In February of 1923, a Californian Dollar would go for about 6 German Marks. By the end of 1923, a single Californian Dollar would exchange at a rate of fifteen trillion, one hundred and twenty eight billion, two hundred and four million, four hundred and six thousand, fifty three German Marks. This sent the economy spiraling down into an amazing depression, as the Government refused to stop printing money in order to make the reparation payments. They were determined to force the French to the negotiating table, or they would flood the French economy with worthless German Marks.

hyperinflation1923.jpg

9. A German Man walks to the store to buy bread with baskets of money.

The United States and the Californian Republic threatened France, to the point of war almost, to negotiate with Germany. An agreement was reached and reparation payments were suspended, on the terms that Germany get rid of it's worthless Mark, and replace it with a new currency, and they would have to pledge to try and keep inflation down. It worked, as the German economy saw a slight uptick by the middle of 1923, mostly fueled by foreign investment, and the strength of the overall world economy.

A notable achievement by Californian Industry was its expansion into new markets. The American automobile industry, long ruled by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company, soon saw its dominance shattered when the Californian Chevrolet Motor Car Company opened a factory in Atlanta, Georgia, and was soon producing Chevy's at a rate of one car every 10 seconds. This motivated the company to open up an American office in New York, New York. The so-called "Chevy Tower" was soon reaching towards in the sky in New York City.

hu043455.jpg

10. A worker pauses to wave while constructing the Chevy Tower in New York City.

Other than a minor budget problem, the rest of 1923 was uneventful, other than the American President Warren G. Harding passing away, to be succeeded by Vice-President Coolidge, who pledged, once again, to keep the bond open with the Californian Republic. For the first time, however, it was noted that the Californian Public, normally an isolationist bunch, was starting to send out the first feelers of caring about international diplomacy and generally what goes on in Europe, even though they have been long secluded from it, they seem willing to begin to branch out of their normal interest points.

1924 saw the same results as 1923, a mostly uneventful year, where Europe was slowly starting to shrug of the previous shackles of War, with the Soviet Union keeping to itself, which made many people fearful of what they were doing. In the United States and California, many speculated that they would pull some drastic move, a good guess was an invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria, in a bid to try and reclaim parts that they lost to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War. With the German economy slowly on the road to recovery, Europe seemed like a calm place. Little armed conflict, other than the occasional rebellion squashing, was unheard of. One of the most note worthy events of 1924 was the adoption of the Minimum Wage Act in California, in an effort to provide a bottom line for the poorest in the nation. While it wasn't expected to do much, it did succeed in providing some families with a reliable source of income.

401384large.jpg

11. Workers in factories like these greatly benefited from the Minimum Wage Act.

When the Census Department released their findings in January of 1925, they found that the country had continued it's suspected growth of of around 1,300,000 able bodied males. Overall, it was noticed that the entire population had surpassed 35,000,000. It total on January 1st, 1925 was 37,693,537 people. A staggering amount, considering the amount of land that was still available for Californians to expand into. Another staggering number was California's two closest rivals for the position of the Second Greatest Power in the world, smashed California in terms of population. Another interesting thing to note was that the Californian Republic had surpassed the population of the Kingdom of Italy.

cali1o.png

12. Population Statistics of the Californian Republic, 1925.

The election was an interesting one, as it was the first one to use the new electoral system using the new Districts in the country. The Progressives, by now a minor third party, simply decided to endorse the Socialist candidate, Robert Johnson of the District of San Francisco. Not an elected member of any Government, he was the leader of the Californian Federation of Labour (CFL), and campaigned on radical redistribution of wealth as well full justice and equality for the working man. It was this kind of radicalism that was rejected earlier, but the Socialists felt that if they hammered the issue enough times, then it was possible that change might be enacted from it, and they would eventually get their man in the office.

457px-John_William_Davis.jpg

13. Socialist Candidate Robert Johnson.

Johnson's radical views were quickly passed over by the Californian People, as President Dawes was given another smashing mandate, sweeping all but six Districts clean, he garnered an impressive 543 Electoral Votes, compared to Johnson's 57. President Dawes, in his acceptance speech, thanked the people for this mandate, and swore to them that he will continue forward, in an effort to try and maintain a sound, proven Government to reign over this era of peace and expansion. For the first time in History, Californians were looking outward, and eager to accept their place as one of the greatest powers in the World. It was that mentality, however, that was slowly rising in the Soviet Union, and in the Empire of Japan. As Californians ran faster, and stretched their arms farther, it was met by the same reaction on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Previous Update: Wilson: 1916-1921
Next Update: Dawes: 1926 - 1931

---
Author's Note(s)
---


[1] - The County Governments were replaced by the adoption of the District Plan.

[2] - This Special Relationship is still active to this day.

 
Last edited:
Huh, that was quite a fast update.

I still wanna see a Pacific States of America...perhaps later on, after Japan gets what's comin' to 'em, though I wouldn't put my money on it after seeing the second note at the bottom. Wonder how the district system would work with that...

Anyhow, wonderful update as always.
 
Wow, I didn't expect another update so soon, but it was still a good one. I'm really starting to hope that WWII is one massive affair.
 
I like your new update. But seriously, in that type of infinite inflation even possible? I mean ... more than a trillion marks for a Californian Dollar? O_O Wow.

Awesome as always though.
 
@John Forseti: The Royal Navy WAS destroyed. At the end of the war, In-game wise, half of England was occupied, with troops in Scotland and Wales as well.

That's fair enough then, I just didn't get that impression from the story, i only remember something about struggling without American goods and some of the navy lost to the french. Didn't seem as disastrous.


Good work on the latest update aswell by the way. :)
 
I like your new update. But seriously, in that type of infinite inflation even possible? I mean ... more than a trillion marks for a Californian Dollar? O_O Wow.

Awesome as always though.

Yes, very possible, and still happens today, sad to say. In a different article educators were complaining that this distorts the children's concepts of numbers, for example, nobody is impressed that a rock is 100 million years old when you spend 100 billion on a loaf of bread. Large numbers quickly become meaningless.
 
Yes, very possible, and still happens today, sad to say. In a different article educators were complaining that this distorts the children's concepts of numbers, for example, nobody is impressed that a rock is 100 million years old when you spend 100 billion on a loaf of bread. Large numbers quickly become meaningless.

Woah, amazing! Thanks for that.

I'd heard of paying thousands for a loaf of bread because of inflation, but I didn't think it got that bad IRL.
 
What's happening down in Mexico? We haven't heard about that for a while. Also great AAR I'm finding it very immersive, as I'm a native Californian :D
 
What's happening down in Mexico? We haven't heard about that for a while. Also great AAR I'm finding it very immersive, as I'm a native Californian :D

I'm in agreement with MrHouse, I'd love to see a quick state of the world post, just showing the map and such, if you could.

Also I've been following this thread for a good long while now, just silently lurking. You've inspired me to work on my own AAR, great job! You've certainly made me a fan of these threads!