United States of America

The United States of America, more commonly known as America, is a country in North America. It is bordered to the north by Canada, and to the south by Mexico. In the west the U.S. borders the Pacific Ocean, and to the east the Atlantic Ocean.

Civil War
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Reconstruction
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Gilded Age
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The Peoples' Presidency
Main Article: Presidency of William J. Bryan

During the 1896 election, the firebrand politician William Jennings Bryan was able to assume control over the Democratic Party. This resulted in the co-opting of the Populist and Silver platforms into the Democratic platform itself. Seeing a possibility to bring change, the two parties decided to both nominate Bryan to be their candidate for president, although the Populists refused to nominate Arthur Sewall for Vice President, instead nominating their own candidate in Thomas E. Watson. In the resulting election, Bryan was able to secure a slim victory in the popular vote, and a wider victory in the Electoral College.The Vice Presidency however, was increasingly contested, as it appeared that Bryan’s dual running mates were leading to no party gaining a majority in the Electoral College, the election thus passed to the Senate, where Arthur Sewall was able to secure victory over the Republican nominee Garret Hobart. As a result, Bryan and Sewall were able to confirm their victory and be inaugurated as the new President and Vice President of America. Starting out his term, Bryan quickly went to work trying to overturn the so-called “Crime of ‘73” As a result, Bryan was able to achieve this goal, which helped to dissolve the Silver Republicans as a political bloc, most of whom quickly folded back into the Republican Party by 1898. Bryan thus turned his attention to the ongoing economic crisis sweeping America. Hoping to alleviate the devaluation of the dollar and dropping prices, and also combat what he viewed as British imperialism, he authorized the minting of more currency to help raise prices and reduce American dependence on British economic strength. This measure proved to have limited success as a whole and the Free Silver Party continued its advocation of the full implementation of Silver into the American currency, much to the growing chagrin of Bryan and his allies in Washington. Eventually, in late 1897, Associate Justice Stephen J. Field retired from the Supreme Court, leading Bryan to nominate lawyer Alton B. Parker to be his successor, a motion which was readily accepted by the Senate. While Parker was nominated, a storm had begun to brew as jingoistic newspapers agitated for war with Spain, a conflict Bryan and other anti-war politicians had worked hard to prevent. Despite his hopes for peace, the Maine exploded in Havana Harbor and jingoistic politicians were able to exploit national frustrations and declared war on Spain. While his personal convictions meant he opposed the War, Bryan was forced to sign off on the Congressional Declaration of War on Spain or, Bryan worried, he would face impeachment. During the early months of the war however, it was discovered that Britain had held various sympathies for the Spanish cause in the War. The discovery only fueled anti-British feelings amongst the American public. By mid 1898, Congress also passed a bill to annex Hawaii into the United States, much to the frustration of Bryan, who continued to face threats of impeachment if he refused to cooperate. By the end of the year, America had readily beaten Spain and was in the process of negotiating for peace in Paris. By the time negotiations rolled around, Bryan was able to gain various compromises within the treaty, such as establishing a nominally free Republic in the Philippines, and recognizing the full independence of the Cuban Revolutionaries. After a few more weeks, the negotiations finally resolved as the Treaty of Paris was signed in late 1898. As a result, Cuba was organized into an independent republic while the Philippines was similarly organized along republican lines with heavy American oversight. Despite his compromising victory in the Treaty, the damage to Bryan’s reputation had been done, and his decline was made extremely apparent when his coalition nearly collapsed the midterms, only surviving due to Bryan's numerous concessions to Bourbon Democrats, much to the ire of of Populist and Free Silver partners. Bryan held out until the 1900 election, where he lost against popular Republican candidate Thomas B. Reed.

Republican Ascendancy
Main Article: Presidency of Thomas B. Reed

During the election of 1900, the Republicans had conceded ground to their Populist opponent, and even parroted policy ideas from their opponents on foreign and domestic policy. While the election was divisive, Bryan ultimately failed to secure victory against Reed and Roosevelt, his Vice Presidential candidate. A few factors combined into Bryan’s loss in the election, such as the Silverites leaving Bryan's coalition, as well as an unspoken truce between Bourbon Democrats and the Republican Party to not campaign against one another. Following Reed's inauguration in March, one of the first acts of his administration was to confirm the prior amendments of the Treaty of Paris, which was an attempt to bring former Bryan allies and members of the anti-imperialist coalition into the fold. Furthermore, Reed brought forward his prized legislation, the Lodge Act, which was written with the attempt of enforcing the 14th Amendment to combat Southern efforts to disenfranchise their African American populations. Eventually Associate Justice Horace Gray died in September 1902, Reed quickly selected a successor and put his name forward to be voted on in the Senate. Tragically, Reed passed away before his nominee could be appointed by the senate and the appointment was overseen by his successor, Theodore Roosevelt.

Rooseveltian Era
Main Article: Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt

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Anglo American War
Main Article: Anglo American War

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Dissilusioned Progressives
Main Article: Presidency of Albert J. Beveridge

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Return to normalcy
Main Article: Presidency of James M. Cox

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Global collapse
Main Article: Presidency of George W. Norris

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Progressive consensus

Government & Politics
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