Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries

The Road to Liberty - a U.S.A. PDM AAR

Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • 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.
Show only dev responses
Who knew socialism in America would be so controversial? xD

No update this weekend, unfortunately. I'm traveling and will be back home Wednesday.
 
rorlegion said:
Who knew socialism in America would be so controversial? xD

No update this weekend, unfortunately. I'm traveling and will be back home Wednesday.
Click to expand...

sorry for antagonising it. i just find blanket hatred annoying.... plus I'm a liberal socialist so i'm a bit of both.

hope you give USCA more help:happy:
 
A glorious victory for the USA! Perhaps we will see all of Canada being brought under the stars and stripes?
 
Vol. VI, Ch. 3: Beginning of Grant's Second Term
First Push into the Pacific; General Strike Cripples Economy ("Labor Day")
January 19, 1871​


In terms of urgency and importance, Grant's re-election campaign paled in comparison to the war with the UK. American voters in past war-time elections always chose to be pragmatic and keep the incumbent in office to see the conclusion of the war. This election was no different. Democrat voters largely backed Grant to see the nation through to the end of the war, but the party supported Horace Greeley of New York. The word "miserable" would hardly describe the lack of support for Greeley - he did not even carry his home state and the south, wary of supporting anyone hailing from New York, largely abstained. Franklin B. Owens, the socialist candidate, rallied support for social change yet again, with sizable turnouts from northern industrial cities, but garnering a negligible number of votes overall. As the War Over Canada came to a close, Grant was elected to his second term in office.

tumblr_nb85cnvjt31qe087co1_1280.png
One of the conditions of the 1870 Treaty of London was that the British turn over Canadian land in North America to a new semi-autonomous government. This new government would recognize the Crown as the head of state, but would still be able to govern itself with its own parliament, judiciary, and executive branch. Six months after the signing of the Treaty, the United Kingdom made good on its promise: the Dominion of Canada was formed and Grant breathed a sigh of relief - the British would no longer be a direct threat to American sovereignty. The Treaty allowed for the UK to implement a gradual transition toward a semi-autonomous Canada. Compliance only demanded they released all lands bordering the U.S. to the new government within five years.

tumblr_nb85cnvjt31qe087co2_1280.png
Two acts defined the start of Grant's second term: the National Banking Act of 1870 and the Coinage Act of 1871. The enormous national debt began to have devastating effects on the economy - namely, inflation. Before the war, the U.S. dollar was backed by both silver and gold ("bimetallism"). Over the course of the war, the national debt grew at a rapid pace, causing a panic in the banking sector of the economy. People were withdrawing their savings, demanding silver and gold, causing faith in the U.S. dollar to drop as quickly as a stone in the sea. Grant's response during the war was an executive decision to freeze the value of the dollar and issue currency backed only by the faith of the federal government. The U.S. Treasury began printing off money halfway through the war until the conclusion, roughly twice the amount it would have otherwise.

Grant's lack of understanding of the fundamentals of economics sparked a powder keg of devastating effects. Grant thought the U.S. dollar was just like any other commodity, that it could have a fixed value. While this is arguably true when the value is based on the value of an actual commodity, like precious metals, faith in the U.S. government is not an actual commodity. The value of the dollar plummeted while inflation and interest rates skyrocketed. This is likely the main cause of the "doubling" of the national debt, and was dubbed "Grant's Blunder of 1869."

Congressional Republicans responded quickly and appropriately. By the turn of the new year, he signed the twin financial acts into law. The National Banking Act gave the U.S. government full control over all monetary currency in the Union, centralizing financial power unto the federal government. The Coinage Act based the value of the U.S. dollar solely on gold, putting an end to the printing off of greenbacks and all but stopping inflation. Critics of these acts were farmers, laborers, and craftsmen. Stirring the pot was none other than Franklin B. Owens who argued that Grant was bowing down to Austrian financiers at the expense of the nation's workers.

tumblr_nb85cnvjt31qe087co5_1280.png
Noting that economic growth in America had slowed to a snail's pace, Grant's administration looked to economic leaders for guidance. The British and French economies grew much quicker than any other. For one, they were leaders in industrial technology. Second, they were expanding their access to exotic goods in the far east. The U.S. in decades past established ties with the Kingdom of Hawaii - a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. In December of 1870, the federal government approached King Kamehameha V and offered a steamboat full of gold in exchange for the island kingdom. The Hawaiian king was overjoyed and immediately accepted. The former Kingdom of Hawaii was dubbed the Hawaiian Territory and plans were drawn for a naval base. This would come to be the new springboard for expansion into the far east.

King Kamehameha met an unfortunate and untimely death before he left his former kingdom. He was found dead at the docks where his ship was located. A local native was arrested and the steamboat seized by the federal government, leading some to believe that the U.S. Department of State orchestrated the entire scheme to seize the Pacific kingdom. Some hypothesized that the steamboat never had any gold aboard.

((OOC: Mysteries always seem to surround high-profile assassinations when it comes to America, do they not? American political drama is a unique flavor, perhaps even an acquired taste.))

tumblr_nb85cnvjt31qe087co4_1280.png
By the turn of the new year, socialist leaders throughout the northern states managed to organize a general strike that stretched from New England to Illinois. Franklin B. Owens was seen as a champion by U.S. labor and a criminal by the government. From factory and railroad workers in the north to the coal miners in Appalachia, workers united and refused to work for fourteen days, demanding regulations prohibiting child labor. This labor movement successfully urged Congress to pass laws restricting child labor in most industries and is also credited with spurring federally-subsidized eduction.

While the Congressional response was well-reasoned, the same could not be said for Grant's. In a gut reaction, Grant sent in the military to enforce martial law in the northern cities. He also issued an executive directive to suspend all federal services for the duration of the strike. This was in blatant violation of the Constitution, but to no one's surprise, the military backed Grant. Shockingly, given the martial response, no violence erupted and the strikers obeyed curfews and other restrictions on their liberty as they awaited their elected representatives to cede to their demands. Near the conclusion of the strike, Owens was arrested at his residence in New York.

Grant's pig-headed response to the strike was dubbed "Grant's Blunder of 1871." Had it not been for his victory against the British - no small feat - his entire presidency would have been labeled as a failure. The first day of the strike was later named "labor day," and January 3rd would come to be celebrated for the achievements of American workers who spurred social change in the face of adversity. American labor was now recognized as a political force to be reckoned with.

tumblr_nb85cnvjt31qe087co3_1280.png

Pictured: Emergency Budget Cuts.
 
Last edited:
Wow. Grant really screwed up the economy this term. Here's to hoping you can eventually pay off your debts.
 
metalinvader665 said:
General strike?:eek: I've never got that event before! How badly did it nail your economy? Happy Labour Day?

Time to bring in the Socialists...
Click to expand...

I had never seen that event before either. My economy was absolutely crippled. I cut all spending to 1% because I would probably have gone bankrupt. Luckily the event cuts down all production for only two weeks. I just thought of the labor thing day yesterday when I was writing, and it seemed fitting ;)
 
Vol. VI, Ch. 4: The 1873/74 Presidential Election
End of Grant's Second Term, Great Chicago Fire
March 28, 1874

tumblr_nbjde5YS1E1qe087co2_1280.png
​

Soon after the passage of the twin financial acts, the U.S. economy recovered; production soared and unemployment rapidly dropped. Wages were on the rise and families consumed more goods than ever, enjoying the prosperity from the post-war recovery. Not every state recovered, however. The Southern economy, still impoverished and crippled from the civil war, struggled in adapting to an industrial economy like it's Northern counterpart. Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas were the few exceptional Southern states that were able to adapt, likely due to major cultural shifts in the demographics.

Tax revenue was on the rise, but the federal government still struggled to make interest payments. The financial sector of the economy struggled to finance enterprising capitalists, turning many budding entrepreneurs to the socialist party. The American Socialist Party ("ASP") rapidly grew in strength, especially in the Northeast and in Texas. They were elected to state offices where laws were enacted to boost tax revenue and make funds available for investment projects. The ASP was geared up for their third presidential campaign. Grant wished to run for a third term, and he was confident that the Socialists were still a fringe party, only popular in large cities, and could easily be defeated like the prior election.

tumblr_nbjde5YS1E1qe087co3_1280.png

As promised, the Dominion of Canada annexed nearly all British colonial lands in North America by 1874.

tumblr_nbjde5YS1E1qe087co6_1280.png
In Europe, national governments sponsored expeditions to find the source of the Nile River in Africa. The British were expected to quickly find the source, as access treaties and steamboat technology gave them a great advantage. Grant sent an American expedition led by Fredrick Hanover in 1870. Unfortunately, Hanover and his team took the funds and never made it to Egypt. Instead, they sold their steamboat in Bristol, England and were never heard from again. By 1871, three teams announced they had discovered the source: the Dutch, the British, and the Austrians, all mapping different sources. In 1872, the British, having the incessant urge to define who is the best at something, sent an investigatory expedition to determine which team was correct. This investigation revealed that the Austrian team had in fact discovered that "Lake Hapsburg" was the source of the Nile. The British later renamed "Lake Hapsburg" to "Lake Victoria," upholding the tradition of usurpedly renaming everything in English.

tumblr_nbjde5YS1E1qe087co5_1280.png
On March 12, 1872, a fire erupted in Chicago, Illinois, killing 300 people and leaving over 100,000 residents, one-third of the city's total, homeless. This was named "The Great Chicago Fire" and it destroyed over three miles of the city. After an investigation, the state government concluded that a cow had kicked over a lantern in a barn along the Chicago river. Firefighters who responded to the blaze were unable to contain it as the famous Chicago winds pushed the fire further and further north. Much of the city was made of wood, including the city's waterworks building. This too was eventually engulfed, stopping efforts to put out the fire. The fire was estimated to have caused over $200 million worth of damage.

tumblr_nbjde5YS1E1qe087co1_1280.png
The 1873/74 election was unexpectedly the closest election seen in years, with each party winning roughly one-third of the popular vote. Grant used the same election strategy he had used the previous two elections, focusing on northern "Republican" states and largely ignoring "Democrat" southern states. Bolstering his confidence was the fact that both his opponents were from the South. He also ignored the crucial fact that more and more people were living in large cities and were seeking to improve labor conditions. Even though much of the nation was enjoying the benefits of economic prosperity, the gap between the nation's richest and poorest was wider than ever, labeling Grant as a candidate for the wealthy. Grant put most of his effort into defeating his Democrat opponent, Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden, a New York reconstructionist and governor of Georgia, rallied Democrats in the nation, and in terms of the popular vote, the Democrats proved they were still competitive as a political force.

Grant's previous foe, Franklin B. Owens, was still imprisoned in a federal penitentiary in Virginia. Albert Parsons, a labor activist from Texas, studiously targeted industrial cities along the east coast where districts voted in socialist state legislators. Several states were proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to allow for an income tax just as they had done to their own state constitutions. Parsons campaigned on this strategy for neutralizing the national debt and using extra tax revenue after the debt was paid to finance capitalists and states in industrializing. Needless to say, he also campaigned on improving labor conditions on a national level, including enacting a federal minimum wage, pension plans, and reducing work hours. Businessmen throughout the states were either strongly for him or against him - those with means were against, but those struggling for financing were encouraged by ideas of state capitalism.

tumblr_nbjde5YS1E1qe087co4_1280.png
In February, 1874, Albert Parsons was declared President-elect. The underdog squeaked by in winning the majority of the electoral votes. Grant was in disbelief - he won the majority third of the popular vote, but his tired campaign strategy failed him. A new political era had begun - no longer was the north strictly liberal and the south strictly conservative - labor was obviously important to Americans. Only the future will show if Americans chose correctly in the political guidance of the nation.
 
Last edited:
Hm. If the Socalists intend to keep power, they'll probably have to prevent any other territories from becoming states until they can solidify their hold on the seaboard.
 
Texas...voted...Red...

*99 vomits everywhere.
 
v1989 said:
Michigan and Florida don't have the statehood yet?
Click to expand...

I grant statehood to regions that reach at least 100k population. I've played to 1880 and grant Michigan, California, and Utah statehood in 1879. Florida at the time only has ~70k, but I have a migration NF on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back