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Joe Steele said:
I believe in one thing only, the power of the human will.

By the end of the 1932 congress, one thing was clear. The Industrial Workers of the World was to become known as the Combined Syndicates of America. The delegates left to their respective unions abuzz with Jack Reed's words. Distinct factions were forming within these groups already, but for the moment differences were to be set aside.

Several men who rose to prominence after the meeting of the IWW were Jimmy Hoffa of the Detroit Teamsters Union, Joe Steele of the Chicago Waste Syndicate and Alphonse 'Al' Capone of The Chicago Outfit. Seeing an opportunity these gentlemen associated themselves with the workers for the betterment of both.

As part of the CSA's remit, it was decided to begin forming a state within a state, as well as a political party in order to attempt a peaceful solution through democratic politics. Part of that remit called for the formation of militia groups, something the unions, whilst rich in manpower, were unable to perform in other ways. The addition of the men who had not attended the IWW congress brought the core groups of several Union militias that later became renowned for their actions the arms and training required so that the CSA was able to respond in kind against an aggressive opponent, or government attempts at suppression.

-Upton Sinclair, The Birth of a Movement​
 
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Sounds interesting, I can't wait to see, I get to shoot my gun of socialism back home again :D!
 
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Emiliano Zapata said:
Prefiero morir en pies que viviendo en rodillas. (I would rather die on my feet than continue living on my knees.)

My journey to Mexico in 1933 was my first international travel since the formation of the CSA, and I went south seeking guidance in a sense. The escape from the business of running what was practically a country in it's own right by August was a pleasant relief as well however. A flight from a private airstrip at Corpus Christi saved any unpleasantness with government officials.

We had been in Mexico for several weeks before I met Emiliano Zapata and that day was one of the greatest of my life. He was a man who had taken Mexico, and given the nation it's breath back. The Mexican experiment was something that I had always hoped that one day, I would be able to emulate in a way and to meet it's leading architect was a brilliant moment.

Like when I met Lenin, I was moved by the gravity of the situation, though unlike with Lenin, President Zapata had the time for me. He reminded me of Trotsky in the respect that when we spoke it was as equals who could discuss and comment, contest opinions and agree to disagree, or learn from each other.

Vicente Lombardo reminded me more of Lenin, he seemed a busy man and to have little time for others, secure in his doctrine already. I worry for the future of Mexico, for Zapata is severely ill. His doctors give him perhaps 5 years at the best. Still, I met Pancho Villa and was perfectly obvious that Lombardo was not the only one with designs for the future of Mexico.

A Memoir, John 'Jack' Reed.​
 
Nice AAR! Suscribed!

But I want blood! :D
 
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Malcolm X said:
I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment.

James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was born in Brazil, Indiana, on February 14, 1913. His paternal ancestors were "Pennsylvania Dutch" and German.

Jimmy's father, a coal miner, died in 1920 when Jimmy was seven years old; the family moved to Detroit in 1924, where Hoffa was raised and lived for most of the rest of his life. Hoffa left school at age 14, and began full-time manual labor to help support his family.

Hoffa began union organizational work at the grassroots level through his employment as a teenager with a grocery chain, which paid substandard wages and offered poor working conditions with minimal job security. The workers were displeased with this situation, and tried to organize a union to better their lot. Although Hoffa was young, his bravery and approachability in this role impressed fellow workers, and he rose to a leadership position. A while later, after being dismissed from the grocery chain, in part because of his union activities, Hoffa became involved with Local 299 of the Teamsters, in Detroit, by 1932, when he joined that union in December. The message of the IWW resonated with the young man, and the Detroit Teamsters became one of highest contributing unions to the CSA warchest.

-Upton Sinclair, Birth of a Movement​
 
Very nice! The best Kaiserreich games I've played have been with the revolting syndicalists of CSA and FAI-CNT of Spain. Nothing cooler than 3 (or even 4)-sided continent-wide Civil war with too few militia :D
 
Interesting concept you have here Kaisermuffin. Will be following this.
 
Nice work. It seems those presentations of Syndicalist politics slowly prepare the readers for revolution and new American civil war.
 
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Huey Long said:
“One of these days the people of Louisiana are going to get good government - and they aren't going to like it.”

Huey Long won the gubernatorial elections in Louisiana of 1928 by tapping into the class resentment of rural Louisianans. His proposals of social programs were groundbreaking for the state, though considered merely catchup by more developed regions. Several scholars at the University of Chicagos contend that until Long, "political power in Louisiana had been nearly a monopoly of the coalition of businessmen and planters, reinforced by the oil and other industrial interests. This situation was changed when Huey P. Long activated the farmers and other 'small people' and created a countervailing power combination."

However, Long was interested in perpetrating the capitalist system. In 1932, he was elected to the senate of the United States as first a republican, then during 1934 after a recall election due to his formation of the America First party.

The America First party, expressed explicitly what was already a subconsciously strong component of the Southern States political makeup, headlining several previously underrepresented issues and each one was then radicalised by an infusion of several shady cronies of Long, such as Fritz Kuhn, Charles Coughlin and Prescott Bush Jr. These men transformed the party into a popular and surprisingly demagogic political movement that held the senate or governors seats for various regions of the 'South'. Charles Lindbergh's celebrity affiliation also helped woo Southern voters.

The America First was partially a response to the formation of the CSA in the Midwest, and partially an expression at Southern dissatisfaction at the Republican government they had played a significant role in electing in 1932.

-James P. Cannon, The Causes of the Freedom War​
 
I think that strongest weapon of Huey Long is some kind of unity between diffrent social groups. His program is supported by both small people and rich individuals. While poor support his program of sharing wealth, influental individuals count on reward after Long's victory. After formation of American Union State, companies that support Long become main economical power in new state.
 
How will you pick your HoG? Will the readers vote, your decision, or what?
 
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James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was born in Brazil, Indiana, on February 14, 1913. His paternal ancestors were "Pennsylvania Dutch" and German.

Jimmy's father, a coal miner, died in 1920 when Jimmy was seven years old; the family moved to Detroit in 1924, where Hoffa was raised and lived for most of the rest of his life. Hoffa left school at age 14, and began full-time manual labor to help support his family.

Hoffa began union organizational work at the grassroots level through his employment as a teenager with a grocery chain, which paid substandard wages and offered poor working conditions with minimal job security. The workers were displeased with this situation, and tried to organize a union to better their lot. Although Hoffa was young, his bravery and approachability in this role impressed fellow workers, and he rose to a leadership position. A while later, after being dismissed from the grocery chain, in part because of his union activities, Hoffa became involved with Local 299 of the Teamsters, in Detroit, by 1932, when he joined that union in December. The message of the IWW resonated with the young man, and the Detroit Teamsters became one of highest contributing unions to the CSA warchest.

-Upton Sinclair, Birth of a Movement​

Haha, nice use of Hoffa in the CSA. He'll be turning up in my extended-KR-universe AAR too, perhaps in a different role to what you have in mind...

Will watch with interest.
 
Author Q&A
Are you going to post any In Game Screens?

Yes, I have the First Battle of the Freedom War already and several others as well.

How will you pick your HoG? Will the readers vote, your decision, or what?

I have a favourite choice for the initial selection, however I am going to add some events post-war that will allow the readers to select a new HoG and possibly a new HoS too depending on how the cards fall.

***TEASER***​
The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything.
 
***TEASER***​
The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything.

Comrade Durden?
 
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Ambrose Bierce said:
War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.

On the 14th of June 1936, in Detroit, Michigan, the Automotive Capital of the World, leaders of the United Auto Workers - a subsidiary union of the Combined Syndicates by this point, Walter Reuther and Richard Frankensteen called a general strike against the Ford Motor Company and begin which they called ""Syndicalism, Not Fordism,"" demanding $8 an hour for 6 hours, as opposed to the $6 an hour for 8 hours the workers currently earnt. At 2:00 PM, a photographer from the Detroit Free Press asked to take a photo of the Leaders of the UAW standing on the overpass with the Ford sign in the background.

Whilst they were posing, 40 men with batons from the Ford's Service Department, a front for corporate mercenaries, came from behind and began to beat them. Frankensteen had his jacket pulled over his head and was kicked and punched. Reuther described some of the treatment he received: "Seven times they raised me off the concrete and slammed me down on it. They pinned my arms . . . and I was punched and kicked and dragged by my feet to the stairway, thrown down the first flight of steps, picked up, slammed down on the platform and kicked down the second flight. On the ground they beat and kicked me some more. . . "

One union organizer Richard Merriweather suffered a broken back as the result of the beating he received. The group then assaulted some of the beret-wearing women peacefully arriving to pass out leaflets along with some reporters and photographers, while Dearborn police at the scene largely ignored the violence.

-Upton Sinclair, The Flivver King​
 
The battle of the Overpass... the blood (or bruises) of our comrades calls for something that starts with R, or another starting with V, both of which end in E, and I think we all agree on that one!
 
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