• 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'm glad to see Canadian devolution has happened. Cascadian independence is truly baffling, though. Hopefully self-determination will be good for your little nation.
 
Chapter Nine: Just Another Day

2nd of October, 1881:

Prime Minister Walkem had his legs up, was breathing normally and looked utterly bored. It was just another day of Cascadian politics, where the unexpected events of yesterday were forgotten and the monotony of today was everpresent. It was rather a let down from the lead up, but what can one do? It started very nervously on April 5th. The controversy of his administration still bright in the mind of him and the electorate, citizens started to talk politics more frequently as polling day approached. it was surprisingly calm for everyone, as the debates that occurred every election occurred peacefully in pubs and universities across Cascadia.

download31.jpg

Beginning of the 1881 Election
However the ice broke out from the calm in May. The Revolutionary Front, tired of the anti-social policies of the National Democrats, the Liberals and the Whigs before them, announced a campaign for the "liberation of the minds of the proletariat from the bourgeoisie of urban Victoria". Spreading their agents across Southern BC, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the Revolutionary Worker's Front and it's advocates could be seen in every open place that they could legally speak and even some that they couldn't. Walkem, true to form, ordered the removal of these "dissidents against Cascadian democracy". While looked down in future Cascadian history books as obvious political repression, hundreds of Communists were arrested and thrown in indefinite holding until the end of the election. However their influence was felt as more and more Cascadians became card holding party members.

download30.jpg

The Communist Surge of May, 1881
Walkem knew what to do to work against this devilish Marxist invasion of his election. He did what Prime Minister Elliot before him did, and it worked the exact same way. On the 10th of August 1881, Prime Minister Walkem signed into law the Enfranchisement Amendment of 1881, allowing any worker to vote in the election, though in practice it gave the upper and middle classes certain privileges, like an extra ballot or two as well as denying certain "unCascadian" peoples from voting. However the effect, and the idea of it, flooded the National Democrats with good faith. Hundreds of thousands of miners, fishermen, lumberjacks and factory workers took to the polling stations, many for the first time. Walkem took a walk one time to downtown and was shocked to see a line of over a thousand French immigrants from Normandy queuing up to vote for the first time in their lives. As he returned to his house, it gave the Prime Minister a warm feeling, knowing that his political maneuvering truly made his countrymen's lives better.

download29.jpg

National Democratic Party victory in the 1881 election
It was without a doubt who would win. While his margin of victory was much much lower then the election last year, the National Democrats won with a comfortable margin. Prime Minister Walkem slowly puffed on his cigar as he thought. The next administration was not going to be easy, as Cascadia and Canada fought day to day for immigrants from China, Europe and South America. He rubbed his temples thinking about it, he was sure he was developing an ulcer. However at least he won the election, creating a tradition of multiple elections per Prime Minister. Not that he minded that much, he had plans for Cascadia in the future.
 
Last edited:
Chapter Ten: Populism and Propaganda

3rd of October, 1885:

Prime Minister Walkem had aged over the years. He remembered when he was a simple man, using a mixture of liberalism, anti-socialism and nationalism to secure victory over the failing Cascadian Liberal Party, the small Conservative Party and the uppity Socialists with his newly created National Democrat Party. Taking up the ideals of successful industrialisation, he railed against the failed policies of former Prime Minister Elliot and the Red Hydra that occupied much of the upper class across the four provinces of Cascadia. Following this he railed against the old Liberal Party for being too attached to the British, whom had forsaken them for their favourite, the Dominion of Canada. That had changed now, and he knew where it started. With that damn Governor General Hamiliton-Gordon. Coming from New Zealand at the request of Prime Minister Gladstone in early 1882, he replaced Sir Anthony Musgrave who was clearly burnt out by the ever-changing landscape of Cascadian politics. Walkem remembered vividly a thought that crossed his mind upon first seeing the new Governor General, in that the man held steel in his eyes, whereas Musgrave's held iron.

Sir_Arthur_Hamilton_Gordon.jpg

Arthur Charles Hamilton-Gordon, GCMG, KJStJ, 3rd Governor-General of Cascadia
However the issue of the Governor General soon passed during the years of 1882 and 1883, as new issues took hold. Indeed, it was popularly viewed now as a deceptive time, though Walkem didn't think so. Though it was well known that Walkem and the American Ambassador were chummy after the first one got fired after a certain undiplomatic incident in 1881, it wasn't looked upon until 1883, during the "Railway Wars". Walkem could only shake his head at the thought, how was he suppose to know that when Cascadia left British protection that American railway companies would seize the chance and set up shop in Cascadia. He would never have predicted the frequent, and sometimes violent, confrontations between Cascadian and American rail workers and their owners. He remembered getting woken up at 2am by an aide, who had the American Ambassador waiting. There he found the Ambassador, flanked by two company men, inform him that eight workers of the TransCascadian Company had beaten and killed three members of the Grand Pacific Company in rural Oregon.

God knows Walkem shivered at the thought. Never before had he been so scared, with the ambassador hinting at "diplomatic action" by the government unless free access to Cascadia was allowed for American rail companies. Acquiescing, Walkem signed that damned document ending all tariffs on American rail companies in Cascadia. The better funded, better equipped and larger American companies soon outcompeted native Cascadian companies and forced them to merge or into bankruptcy. Soon it was all too normal to see the Stars and Stripes flying from the engine of a train, as it came to station in Portland, Seattle or Vancouver.

The outcome of this was fairly simple to the populace, Walkem had sold out. His former nationalism had been a false flag for American interests, he had been a fake the entire time. Leave it be that this, one of Cascadia's primal fears, left Walkem with not much to go on in faith. Only through a small miracle of rhetorical ability kept the faith of the Liberals, the Capitalists and the Conservatives, all for very different reasons. The Communists and Socialists on the otherhand were in a frenzy over the issue establishing unions in every major city for railworkers in defense of their rights against "Americo-Capitalist Aggression"

black-and-white-br-standard-9f-steam-loco-blog.jpg

train.jpg

A train from the Pacific United Railway Company, the undisputed controller of rail transport in Cascadia and winner of the "Railway Wars"
Walkem knew what to do to change his public perception for the better. He quietly gathered the Liberals, the Socialists and the Radicals in order to table arguably the most important bill of the entirety of the duration of Walkem's career as a politician. After months of arguing, finally, on August 9th 1884, Walkem presented the bill introducing universal male suffrage in Cascadia. The Imperialist Clique and the Traditionalists were in an uproar, but the Conservatives were mixed. They understood that this was against their instincts, but it would quell the temper of the Red Hydra for years to come. Overall only 40% voted for, but this was just enough to pass it. Walkem's pride and image, both on hard times, soared as a result. Every man in Cascadia, from the richest man in Victoria to the meanest beggar in Klamath Falls could vote in a Cascadian general election.

2014-02-21_00024.jpg

The Introduction of Universal Male Suffrage, 1884
However this wasn't enough for the Communists. Long militant, they connected to the exceedingly large Sino-Cascadian community as the newest source of vanguards against the powers that be. In November of 1884 they began an extensive leaflet campaign in the Asian farming communities of Westminister, seeking their support against their capitalist bourgeoisie oppressor. Walkem, long known for his distaste of anything red, sent a simple missive to the chief of police there. "Burn the letters, imprison the owners, shoot the resisters". The aftermath was terrifying to behold, as the police, ever ready to deal with unwanteds like the Asian communities in Cascadia, went after the small section of town with a cold fury. It is recorded that 250 men died in the Westminister Massacre, with almost 500 more arrested due to "unCascadian beliefs" as a result of that missive. One of the more popular legends from that day tells of the refugees, forced to flee into the mountains by the overzealous police, could see the blaze of their houses (officially stated later as only leaflets were burned, though historically proven as untrue).

2014-02-21_00027.jpg

The Westminister Massacre; 1884
The result of the Westminister Massacre was tremendous, as by the 1885 elections the anger at the government was palatable. The Revolutionary Worker's Front, powered by the unemployed, the industrial workers and clerks, seemed to grow in power every day. Even the Socialists, long the governing body of all leftist ideologies in Cascadia, became nervous at the power of these Communists. Walkem had worn himself out over the years, as the anger of Socialists and Communists began to form into a large anti-Walkem bloc dedicated to forcing him out of main chair and out of politics all together. Walkem, knowing that it was going to be a very long election, rested his eyes as he sat in his chair. He could hear them now through his reverie, the vile spittle and venom by the left. It wouldn't bother him, as he knew he would win the election, right ... right?

BarrowShipYardWorkers1900[1].jpg

Communist Workers on strike against the policies of Prime Minister Walkem; 1885

_________________________

((Sorry for the delay and all, exams and an appendectomy can really take it out of you sometimes. So I gave you a bit more to chew on instead, yey class warfare :D ))
 
Last edited:
I hope Cascadia goes communist. *giggle* :D Excellent update! :D
 
An AAR about a region encompassing my own state?

...Color me intrigued.

My reaction exactly :p

only read the first update, but it was intriguing going to finish reading the rest of it soon :)
 
Chapter Eleven: The Revolution of 1885

16th of July, 1885:

Leaflets fluttered in the breeze of urban Victoria. The streets blackened, looked abandoned in a wake of warzone instead of the day after the most important election in Cascadian history. Police milled about in groups no smaller than eight or ten while nervous business owners fidgeted with antique rifles behind barred doors. Every so often, if one paid attention, they could hear shots and yelling in the background, as revelers and reactionaries fought with the police. All in all it was a sight to behold, astonishing a pair of visiting British journalists, who wrote back with the following story.

Terror and Chaos in the Colonies! Socialism to Blame!

Myself and my associate Edward J. Knowles arrived at the port "city" of Victoria in the state of British Columbia of the former Dominion of Cascadia as honest reporters. Here to do our duty for God and Country. However, upon disembarking, we were shocked and appalled to see mayhem and madness having beset the young nation. It's metropolitan police overwhelmed and the milita being ordered in to disperse the rioters, it has seem that mob violence is taking the ballot box of Cascadia and burning it. One of my chauffeurs, a young Dutch man by the name of Conrad Vanderhoof, was mugged attempting to guard our persons from ruffians.

These men, or rather these animals, saw us without distinctive red wrapped around our arms and took us, honest God fearing folk, as traitors to Cascadia! Shouting obscenities that would make the sailors of Portsmouth blush and wish for nicer times, they pounced and attempted to lift everything of value off of our persons. Only by the bravery of young Conrad were we able to get on horses and get away. I have yet to see Conrad again, and I hope for the best, however I doubt that he has made it. Scores of men have died in the rioting and hundreds wounded. It is estimated that over 200 000 pounds have been looted in Victoria alone. While it was truly one of the darkest times I have ever seen as white men acted like low barbarians, I stayed in Victoria and wrote of the catastophe that took the 1885 Cascadian elections by storm.
A section of a series of articles on the danger of socialism and the Cascadian elections of 1885 written by George Frederick Mason of the Daily Telegraph

This series of articles, originally published in the Daily Telegraph in London, soon were read in every major nation of the Western World. The actions were mixed, ranging from the now well known socialist manifesto Der Triumph von Kaskadia, written by socialist author Eduard Bernstein and is viewed as the founding document of evolutionary socialism to the removal of the Austrian ambassador to Cascadia in nothing less than complete terror. Other notable reactions being the introduction of anti-socialist laws in France and the extension of them in the Northern German Federation as well as the beginning of the mass immigration of socialists from France, the Germanies and the UK to Cascadia.

But even with the noticable anti-socialist slant, the writings of George Frederick Mason were correct. The election of 1885 was the culmination of too many years of anti-socialist repression and anger at a government that seemed to work for the United States of America over it's own people. The anger boiled over onto the streets, the ballot boxes and into the squares and centres of Cascadia. From Prince George in Northern British Columbia where lumberjacks protested poor safety regulations to urbane college students in Portland holding marches for the equality of the working man in Cascadia. The protests boiled over in Bastion Square, a small square in Victoria. Here a groups of unemployed men protested to establish minor subsidies for the out of work. Walkem called in the local militia to disperse them. When the men saw that peaceful protest on resulted with the militia called in by the anti-socialist Walkem, the socialists rioted.

Tompkins_square_riot_1874.jpg

The Riots of Bastion Square, the beginning of the Revolution of 1885
However the socialists weren't the only one in the streets. The Revolutionary Party, seeing that their time has come, mobilised their vanguard in the states of Washington and Oregon. It is estimated that 12,000 men took up arms in the cities of Spokane, Seattle, Portland and Klamath Falls in defense of the rioters from the local Cascadian militias. This resulted in Prime Minister Walkem mobilising the 82,000 strong army and declared a state of national emergency in both Washington and Oregon. At that time it was heralded as the end of times of Cascadia, as lootings, fighting, actions and reactions were held. The Revolution of 1885, as it was soon dubbed, was amongst the most bloody conflicts in Cascadian history.

dreyfus1.jpg

Militant Socialists fight in the streets of Seattle during the Revolution of 1885, part of the Cascadian Unrest of 1885
However during this time ballot boxes remained open. While in some places they remained relatively guarded, for the most part they were abandoned and collected following the revolution. While in places like Abbotsford, Nanaimo and Boise the ballots were untouched and came to a National Democrat victory in each location, they were among the only locations. It is now known that up to 90% of the ballot boxes were in some way altered in the states of Oregon and Washington, at the time it was brushed off as not enough to make a difference, to their mistake. With ballots stuffed by revolutionaries, a simmering populace and conservative estimates of almost 20,000 deaths across Cascadia, the government was in no place to argue with the results. There were counts and recounts, with the majority of MPs in Victoria unable to believe the results. The Socialists had won.

Total Votes - 875.82
Cascadian Liberal Party - 287k ~ 32.77% of the vote
National Worker's Union - 518.92k ~ 59.25% of the vote
National Democratic Party - 69.9k ~ 7.97% of the vote
The distribution of votes in the 1885 elections
With a majority of seats in the lower house, a upper house gripped by fear of another socialist revolution and almost 60% of the "supposed" electorate behind them, the National Worker's Union, the new governing party of Cascadia had to choose a leader. Out of the diverse selection of workers, demagogues, philosophers and newspapermen came a small and tubby bespectacled man. Speaking fluent, if accented, English and with an uncharacteristically strong sway over both the Volkspartei (the German clique, and among the strongest voting blocs in the NWP) and the Social-Labour Party (the Yankee clique, with strong connections to the Socialist Party of America), twenty five year old Victor L. Berger came to the forefront of Cascadian socialism, and with it became the youngest Prime Minister in the history of Cascadia.

Berger-victor-1898.jpg

Victor Luitpold Berger, Austrian immigrant, Socialist and third Prime Minister of Cascadia



((Yeah, this is goin' to be a slow one. But it will be completed!))
 
Last edited:
Finally got around to reading this AAR! Seeing a competitor to both the United States and Canada (although a potential friend as well) as well as an entirely new nation is always interesting, and your focus on Cascadian politics makes for good reading.

The way Montana juts into your nation fills me with concern. Maybe you could work something out with the United States to remove the excess of concavity it creates?
 
As a resident of Victoria, the thought of a riot in Bastion square is quite funny! Excellent AAR by the way!
 
Socialism! It begins....
 
I will be very interested to see if the Berger ministry will be able to keep a grip on the country. Even as the driving force behind the violence to a certain degree, one imagines that it will take more than some promises of social equality and reform to dissipate the angry mobs...
 
I will be very interested to see if the Berger ministry will be able to keep a grip on the country. Even as the driving force behind the violence to a certain degree, one imagines that it will take more than some promises of social equality and reform to dissipate the angry mobs...

Indeed, what Cascadia needs is a republic! :p
 
Chapter Twelve: Enter Gladstone

23rd of June, 1886:

The Grand Old Man listened to the young boy speak. Though at any other time, it would seem preposterous that the Right Honourable Gladstone, Prime Minister of England and a man of the ripe age of seventy seven would listen to a boy of fifteen, this was different. This boy was George Hamilton-Gordon, son of his good friend Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 3rd Governor-General of the nation of Cascadia. He was astounded when not five days ago this brave boy knocked on his door, accompanied by one of his father's retainers, with a note from his father and a story to tell.

245px-1271754717_william-e.-gladstone.jpg

The Right Honourable William E. Gladstone, four time prime minister of Britain
So the Prime Minister sat him down for tea, having made a little time for himself away from the demands of state, in order to hear the story the boy had to tell and read the letter he had brought. Gladstone did miss Arthur, a funny and boisterous man of fit health, and had naively, even nearing his eighth decade on God's own earth, looked forward to the letter's contents. What he heard from the boy shook him to the core. Socialists, powered by German intellectuals and the American labour machine, had fought the Cascadian militia in open rebellion, forcing the incumbent Prime Minister to declare martial law in two of the provinces. The army fought openly with these militant socialists and their communist allies in order to secure control and establish peace in these regions. From the rumours that young George had heard, it had been estimated by some that upwards of twenty thousand men or more were killed in the rebellion and it's fallout.

The sheer magnitude of this occurrence, the first open rebellion in a non-Germanic country and one of Her Majesties possessions was enough alone to pause, but it went further. It was obvious that this rebellion had been timed perfectly, as an election was occurring at the same time. As the ruckusness and roguery of the rebellion calmed down, the ballot boxes, many of which were abandoned during the fighting, were collected. There they were counted and the numbers sent to Victoria. But the numbers were unbelievable in their result. A near sixty percent vote for the socialists, with numbers of one hundred percent of the votes socialist in areas that were controlled by rebellious militia's for any sort of time. With the nation in disarray and the army apparently unwilling to declare the elections false for risk of setting a dangerous precedent, the socialists elected an Austrian to lead the government.

Berger-victor-1898.jpg

Victor Luitpold Berger, Austrian immigrant, Socialist and third Prime Minister of Cascadia
Gladstone had taken a moment after hearing this to recollect his thoughts and think on what the letter contained. As the situation was obviously far from perfect. Considering the decision of the former Prime Minister Walkem to cut ties with Her Majesty following spats with the reactionary Lord Salisbury over the status of Cascadia in the Empire. It was mistake on both sides, and a travesty that it happened. That the Governor General would send a letter such a way showed that the issues may be bigger then they seemed, which was doubtful in Gladstone's mind. It seemed dealing with the Cascadians might turn into a pain similar to the Irish problem. Focusing, Gladstone turned back to the boy, allowing him to finish his story.

The year following the election was a mess. Popular discontent boiled over in two main ways, strikes and infighting. Strikes apparently occurred once a week, with many of the larger papers in the nation simply dedicating the third page to strike news. With the socialists in power, factory production had fallen dramatically while unions grew ever stronger. The military was cut, taxes raised on all sides and unions given concessions in all matters. One simply had to grab a good size chunk of the current working staff and take a long lunch break before government agents came crawling with concessions.

Even as this was happening, the Union was breaking in half. Straining for power, the Volkspartei and the Labour Movement threatened secession from the party whenever their demands were not met, forcing the Right Honourable Victor Berger to begin to promise as much as possible to everyone within the party. Attempts to reform working hours, subsidies and minimum wage all fell flat as the two different sects fought over which was more important. It was apparently a miracle when the Prime Minister got the two sides to agree to Healthcare Reform as a moderate way to begin the process of "fixing the state."

SuffragettesSwindon1908.jpg

A victory parade in Seattle, March 4th 1886
This instability in parliament was fed as well by the hostility of all parties towards the socialists. Viewing them as illegally seizing the reigns of government, all parties refused to work with the National Worker's Union. The only thing they ended up agreeing on, although begrudgingly, was the expansion of the voting franchise to women on March 4th, 1886. Overall the government was in turmoil, the economy collapsing and general resentment rising.

As the boy finished his story, Gladstone slowly opened the letter. This would be a delicate request he assumed, that would needed to be deftly and confidently. As he read the letter, he knew what he had to do.

Dear Lord Gladstone,

I know that these are hard times for you, but I must make a request. Cascadia is in shambles, without the protection of the Empire the socialist disease has crept through our windows and is tearing down the house. Racked by indecision and turmoil, I ask you as the representative of Her Majesty's Government to authorise me to replace the current government. While never done in our New World Dominions, even a wayward one such as Cascadia, it is necessary to the survival and stability of this young nation.

I have undersigned every the leader of every party in Cascadia, even Walkem's. It is understood among the parties that a representative close to Her Majesty's Government will be appointed, and that Cascadia's current relationship within the Empire be reimagined.

Faithfully and Loyally yours,

Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, Governor General of Cascadia


Now, holding this letter in his pocket, he arrived at Parliament. After dealing with the various necessaries that came first, he stood and waited until the House calmed down. Then he began to speak.

"Gentlemen of the House, today I come to you with news. One of the Empire's wayward daughter's, the poor Dominion of Cascadia, is being ravaged by socialists. Imported from foreign soil, they drive Cascadia away from the eyes of God and into the realm of the Devil. Knowing that this is occurring, and seeing the threat it poses to British interests in North America, I am authorising the Governor General to relieve the Prime Minister of Cascadia. In replacement, the Governor General has found a worthy replacement, one Theodore Davie. While member of the Conservative Party of Cascadia, he is a loyal subject of the Crown and has stated his desire to renegotiate the current sour relationship between Her Majesty and the Cascadian Government. Thank you."
As Gladstone sat down, he was confident in his decision. The British Parliament was a great many things, but it was not treasonous. The power of the British Empire will not be tampered with, not even by backwater socialists in Cascadia.

136-4.gif

Theodore Davie, Conservative and forth Prime Minister of Cascadia



((Chapter 7 edited to make more sense, also yey for somewhat coherent storylines!))
 
Last edited: