(Closed) This Land Was Our Land: The American Crisis and the Second Great War Between the States

[Amfleet]

1940, 8 years after the beginning of the American Crisis. After years of confusion, the borders and governments of the erstwhile United States have begun to settle into place. Years of economic decline, disease, and rampant crime have seen the nation divided up among political extremists, usurpers seeking to create a renewed USA in their own image, and those who seek only to be left alone.

Memories of the old order have begun to fade. Few remember the shock of J Edgar Hoover’s assassination by an anarchist in 1932, and the terror of the subsequent crime wave. More vivid are the winters of starvation as the farm crisis and Stagflation of the mid-Thirties as drought and economic mismanagement plunged the nation into an even deeper economic depression than that seen in Europe. The Horse Flu that claimed 9% of the population has since burned out. The freshest wound is the one that actively drives divisions today- the American Succession Crisis, caused by the unexpected illness and death of President Roosevelt.

Though this house divided has seemingly little interest in foreign politics, they are increasingly difficult to avoid in this age of extremism. A nation that once could impose its will across a hemisphere is slowly becoming the plaything of the remaining great powers. Their interests will certainly be difficult to ignore, especially as the situation in Europe continues to deteriorate...

INTRO

Out of the ashes of Facepunch Forums, I have returned to finally write the obligatory alt-WW2 Nation RP of my dreams. This RP was originally conceived by Zillamaster55 whose compelling scenarios first dragged me into RP. For an example of how I write RP, see “The End of History?” an early 2000s Nation RP.

In the style of the classic Facepunch RP games, this game will be turn-based, with player turns covering 4 months of in-game time and (hopefully) posted every 2-3 weeks. 8 players will be admitted, and 8 nations available (see the Lore Masterpost below). Up to 2 players may create their own factions subject to my approval and will control insignificant amounts of territory at the very start of the game. Any unclaimed nations will be controlled by yours truly as NPCs.

WRITING TURNS

DM your turns to me either here or on Discord if that’s your thing. Turns are written in the form of command lines. You are allotted up to 8 commands per turn, plus the technology section which does not count towards your total. Please categorize your lines as follows:

Diplomacy: Your diplomatic interactions with other players and NPCs, including those not on the map e.g. Britain, Germany, etc. If you make a deal with another player try to make sure I have some way of knowing that the other player agreed since that saves me time I can spend writing.
Domestic: Your interactions with your government, populace, and economy. Pass laws, subsidize industries, explore for resources, etc.
Military: Your interactions with your military. During peacetime, recruit and train different branches, order equipment from industry. During war time, this will also include declarations of war and military operations.
Espionage: Any of the above actions that you do not want me to publish in the turn. I will deliver results to you as a private message. Gather intelligence, form secret alliances, commit assassinations and sabotage. If the outcome is something that would make headlines it will be published in the turn but not necessarily attributed to you unless you are caught.
Technology: A special section. Name three technologies that you think your nation/faction would benefit from advancing and I will select one. How advanced this technology will be is directly influenced by your nation’s industrial and knowledge base. Example:
-Encryption machine
-Television broadcasting
-Night fighter plane

OOC DISCUSSION

As the only “in character” interactions required will be turns you send directly to me, OOC can be conducted in the game thread or the Discord. Per the rules here I will post the Discord link when the game thread is posted. Feel free to conduct diplomacy in character with your fellow players in either location, or directly with me when you need to negotiate with an NPC nation.

CURRENT SLOTS TAKEN

1. Sobotnik Coalition of Free States
2. Malos United States (Federalists)
3. Fighting Monk Navajo-Hopi Confederation (custom faction)
4. joshuadim United Socialist Republics of America
5. mausedpotatos Second Confederate Republic
6. Pat Confederation of New England
7. RayPurchase Gulf Republic
8. Emperor Scorpious II Cascadia Rebellion (custom faction)
9. Rictus West Coast Protectorate

NATION LORE POST TO FOLLOW, THE GAME THREAD WILL OPEN TOMORROW!

 

[Zillamaster55]

It is time to exercise our right to do just about goddamn everything

 

[Amfleet]

LORE REFERENCE POST

THE AMERICAN CRISIS OF 1937

By early 1937 the strain of the Depression-era presidency had taken a serious toll on Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his administration. The failure of several reform initiatives at the hands of a bickering Congress and conservative Supreme Court had put him in down spirits which exacerbated his complications with Polio. The president put all his chips down on one gambit to get around the obstruction and save the economy, which was to pack the Supreme Court with 9 new justices. The situation had grown desperate, the rapid spread of an epidemic of “Horse Flu” was dragging down the economy and stifling the effectiveness of any initiative that could get through.

On the 14th of February, the major headline was the growing rift between the Vice President, John Nance Garner, and his boss over the court-packing. Garner saw it as a clear attempt to exploit a flaw in the Constitution and advocated an amendment against it in a radio broadcast. The buried lead was that the President had made no statement in his defense, having retreated to his health spa at Warm Springs, Georgia. The next day he passed away, the next victim of the Horse Flu. Vice President John Nance Garner was quickly sworn in, making a solemn promise to maintain the status quo. It was not a promise he could ever hope to keep.

Eleanor Roosevelt, taking little time to mourn, went to the press mere hours after the transition of power. In her hands was a typewritten but signed note from her late husband removing Garner and appointing Henry A. Wallace as Vice President. The only witnesses to the signing of this note were Eleanor and a trusted Navy Corpsman, Doc Bruenn. President Garner quickly denounced note as lacking sufficient legitimacy, claiming Doc Bruenn and the First Lady to be “in a power-mad conspiracy to stay behind the throne.” The Supreme Court would back President Garner, but the justices had little claim to know the will of FDR.

The political fight quickly broke along the lines the court-packing issue and were only exacerbated as “President” Wallace promised major racial and other progressive reforms to those who backed him. These were met with great enthusiasm in FDR’s mid-Atlantic strongholds, paving the way for a pretender administration to be formed in New York City’s Manhattan Municipal Building. Before long, this pretender administration began to look more legitimate than that of President Garner as most of the US bureaucracy moved in and pledged loyalty to Wallace and his reforms.

Back in Washington, President Garner tries and fails to federalize the New York National Guard to control the situation up north. A mishmash of Congressmen and judges piece together a “Government of National Consensus” that seeks to restore the old status quo. While states of the Deep South begin open talk of another secession, Garner rallies most of the country into this coalition at first. As tensions grow with the Wallace government, however, willingness to participate in a fratricidal war quickly wanes for states far removed from the east coast...

FACTION INFO



United States of America (Federalists)

Capital: New York City

President: Henry A. Wallace

Composed primarily of progressive reformers and holdovers from FDR’s administration, the Federalists were at one time considered the pretender government until they became more effective at governing than Washington. Support of the Federalists by racial minorities is the highest it has been since the time of Lincoln, and within its power, the Wallace administration pushes progressive ideals with broad consensus across New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Much of the former US opposes these reforms, considering them to be a gross overstep while the USRA encroaches on its territory and accuses the reforms of not doing nearly enough for the American workers and peasants.

The Federalists are in a vastly different position from the last Civil War, with virtually no navy to strangle its opponents, an issue that is embarrassingly illustrated when a British cargo vessel on a purchasing mission is sunk by a Nazi U-Boat in New York harbor. By contrast, its land armies have a core of experienced units backed by massive citizen militias, and an Army Air Force with modern equipment supplied by Curtiss and Republic Aviation. Though it has been able to keep New England in inconclusive negotiations on reunification for well over a year, on all other sides its forces must stand ready for a campaign to retake America, or at least avoid being taken.

Strengths:

- Strong economy despite setbacks

- Large population centers

- Public loyalty

Weaknesses:

- Surrounded by enemies

- Non-existent naval forces

- Heavily dependent on exports to Britain/Canada



United States of America (Opposition)

Capital: Washington D.C.

President: Harry F. Byrd

Made up primarily of dissenting house members, the opposition holds its own in the more southeastern states, hoping to retake the US and reimplement a "fairer, more legitimate democracy", though said definition remains unclear.

Maintaining its competing claim to be the legitimate US government from the District of Columbia, the Opposition Government consolidated its holdings and held elections on schedule in 1938, with President Garner running against powerful Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd. With the rest of the nation refusing to take part, voters in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee went to the polls and overwhelmingly endorsed Byrd’s Conservative Coalition party. The result in Tennessee was rendered moot by a concurrent referendum on secession to join the Confederacy, making it the most recent state to do so. President Byrd has since called this referendum illegal, maintaining anti-secession Tennesseans in Congress and creating a potentially deadly sideshow to his conflict with the Federalists.

While the peace has held, the Opposition has focused on fortifying its borders and Capital with extensive earthworks, as well as implementing its vision of a government based on a strict interpretation of the Constitution. An amendment has already been passed to put the court-packing issue to bed for good, and any kind of reforms along the lines of those up north can only happen over the dead bodies of the men who rule the Opposition. These men focus on a message of “Preserving the America the Founding Fathers intended,” which is plenty of motivation for the armies of the Opposition to defend this system to the last man.

Strengths:

- Unified government

- Defensible borders

Weaknesses:

- Exposed capital city

- Spread out military

- Few trade partners



Confederation of New England

Capital: Boston

Chancellor: Leverett Saltonstall

Perhaps the most unlikely of the fledgling nations to spring from the American Crisis was New England. Dismayed by the apparent Federalist march to war and unwilling to send their sons to die over what they saw as a conflict that could lead to countless deaths over a relatively minor political affair, the states of New England abandoned the Federalists and instead sought the protection of Canada and the British Empire, a great historical irony for the region that had once led the charge for independence. After it became apparent that America was not going to ride in once again to save the day in this second Great War, they agreed to guarantee the sovereignty of the fledgling Confederation.

Chancellor Leverett Saltonstall is regarded as a stabilizing force, an internationalist who can manage the complexities this nation will face in this tumultuous phase. His abilities will be needed as the populace clamors for reform and powers near and far pressure the small and decentralized nation.

Strengths:

- Easily defended borders

- Friendly relations with Canada

Weaknesses:

- Fragile economy

- Small population

- Very small army



United Socialist Republic of America

Capital: Chicago

General Secretary: Earl Browder

The economic crisis proved to be one of the greatest drivers of the labor movement’s plunge into Marxism. Pay cuts by desperate employers and massive unemployment among skilled laborers played directly into the hands of the US Communist Party and its affiliates in the Midwest, sowing the seeds of a revolution that saw several state governments stormed and ousted in favor of Worker’s Councils that sought to implement a Bolshevik-inspired “Second American Revolution.”

Outside this base, however, it found little support, and USRA is an isolated island of proletariat power. Still, its citizens are perhaps the most motivated of any of the factions, and a strong agricultural and industrial base makes it one of the best prepared for conflict, though a constant shortage of oil proves to be a logistical nightmare for its armies. Political infighting also rages as General Secretary Browder keeps his lines to Moscow open, seeking Soviet help in spite of growing anti-Stalin factions led by veterans of the Spanish Civil War. If additional states are to be brought into the fold of the Revolution, these issues will need to be rectified.

Strengths:

- Strong food supplies

- Strong industrial backbone

- Motivated populace

Weaknesses:

- No access to oil

- Hated by all neighbors

- Political infighting



Second Confederate Republic of America

Capital: Savannah

President: Richard Russell Jr.

Though echoes of the past ripple across its land, the Second Confederate Republic is not a mere case of history repeating itself. The possession of a large naval force in Charleston Harbor means it cannot be blockaded, and the steel mills of Alabama give it a notable industrial backbone the original Confederacy could only dream of. A thinly disguised slavery permeates industries far beyond agriculture as a brutal creativity is applied to get the most out of the black populace. The classic Southern Aristocracy is thriving like never before, both at the expense of these laborers and the large population of poor whites who are kept in line with the promises of a nationalistic government.

The politics of Dixie are also increasingly divided, as the ruling Whigs have brought back what citizens feel is a dated system of decentralized government focused on the rights of states. Their system pleases the powerful aristocracy, but this is no single party state. The Silver Legion, the fascist party of the Confederacy, has grown in power exponentially over the short years of the reborn CSA. This party argues that democracy’s time has passed, praising the centralized government of Hitler’s Germany and sharing its belief in Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy. Both the democracies and Communists of the world keep a wary eye on these developments.

Strengths:

- Above average economy

- Naval forces

- Strong upper class

Weaknesses:

- Decentralized governance

- Large labor class

- Racial divide



Republic of the Gulf

Capital: Dallas

President: James Allred

The independent spirit of Texas was awakened once more as a matter of necessity. With the Federal Government absent, Governor Allred declared a state of emergency and held a statewide referendum on independence, claiming it may be a temporary or permanent measure depending on how things go “up north.” With a landslide in favor, the Lone Star Republic once again sees a short lifespan as Oklahoma and Florida quickly join Texas in a united Republic of the Gulf, unable to keep themselves out of the tendrils of the Confederacy by any more desirable means. The result is a nation that is physically divided, but a juggernaut in terms of resources, with oil and agriculture making it a global trade powerhouse. Currently it has replaced the United States as the main influence over key Carribean states such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic under a scaled-back version of the Monroe Doctrine.

These trade relations are safeguarded by the Gulf Navy, which includes several aircraft carriers and battleships from the former US Navy. It is the only force in the eastern waters of the Americas that can take on the Confederate flotilla, and has been such a concern that the Confederacy has offered significant concessions to try and bring the Gulf peacefully to its side. All of this has been politely refused, and the Gulf currently adheres to a policy of strict isolationism. Of course, with its massive oil supply and other trade interests, true neutrality and isolation was never really an option, especially not with a growing Nationalist movement in Mexico.

Strengths:

- Huge oil reserves

- Large navy

Weaknesses:

- Texan exceptionalism

- Isolationism

- Threat from Mexico



Coalition of the Free States

Capital: Salt Lake City (On Occasion)

Leadership Council: Governors’ Committee

Many of the fiercely individualistic states of the American West initially sided with the Opposition and its strict Constitutionalist approach. As they became geographically isolated from it, these states began to go their own ways instead, each being ruled independently, though under broadly similar philosophies of minimal government and taxation. This experiment ended with the arrival of the two things they hated the most on the American continent: non-white foreigners and communism.

Sandwiched between the Rising Sun and the Red Star, the states of the wild west formed the Coalition of Free States, which are still independent in almost all affairs, but share a common diplomacy. They will also call crisis meetings at times to mutually handle threats to their independence and anything that threatens the sovereignty of the individual. Its citizens are hardier than most, and will proudly band together against any threat to their land, though this sentiment may not be enough in a modern war. Still, the combined State Guards of this “nation” are nothing to scoff at, and a few innovative companies exist in an environment of almost nonexistent regulations and taxation.

Strengths:

- Enormous territory to attack

- Individualism

- Aggressively defensive populace

Weaknesses:

- Enormous territory to attack

- Near non-existent federal government

- Aggressively defensive populace



West Coast Protectorate

Capital: San Francisco

President: Reese Taylor

Desperate for buyers in a failing economy, the industry of the west coast began to slowly turn to the resource-hungry Empire of Japan, supplying any raw materials that the Federal Government would allow as sanctions were never imposed due to the infighting. Many found it unsavory at first, but as the Californian economy began to stabilize, dissent was hushed and it was rationalized first into a necessary evil and then into a way of life. As the Federalists abandoned their Pacific bases and most of the Navy fell into the hands of other successor states, the west coast became increasingly indefensible, with vast wide beaches and predictable fog. The Japanese began to ratchet up the pressure, demanding and receiving key bases and manufactured goods.

Hoping to keep things from going too far, Unocal president and steel baron Reese Taylor convinced the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington to make a deal with the devil and accept an offer to join a newly announced “Pacific Co-Prosperity Sphere” as an ‘equal’ member. President Taylor would have near-dictatorial powers and keep the resources flowing to Japan, and in exchange, come under Japanese protection with a relatively high degree of autonomy. One of the early issues the new protectorate faces is “terrorism” by the large Chinese population, some of which have carried out bombings and assassinations against Karufornia’s many new “guests.”

Strengths:

- Some military support from Japan

- Defensible territory

- Stable government


Weaknesses:

- Economically dependent upon Japan

- Japanese first dibs on natural resources

- Disorganized domestic military

 

[Captain Amar]

Oh God, this is beautiful. While I won't join, I sure will be watching from afar.

But tell me - did all these nations fully adapt their new identity, ie. abandon democracy, or will future elections possibly switch their political focus?

 

[Sobotnik]

Gonna go Texas for that oil

Scratch that, someone beat me to it in ten minutes so ill go as the Coalition of free states

 

[Amfleet]

I awaken and will sort out claims made while I slumber in a bit, before launch tonight

Oh God, this is beautiful. While I won't join, I sure will be watching from afar.

But tell me - did all these nations fully adapt their new identity, ie. abandon democracy, or will future elections possibly switch their political focus?

Most of them are some form of Democracy, but are in varying degrees democratic, in ways that are very biased towards regional interests. For example, the Confederacy only allows White landed males to vote and the politics are divided between the Whigs who support the typical southern aristocracy and devolved government and the Silver Legion, open fascists who want a strong, centralized government.

 

[Amfleet]

And we're full! If you've already shown an interest I will get back to you about potentially sliding you in.

 

[Trektek]

Wow. This seems really cool. Considering that you are full however, I shall just watch the thread.

 

[Amfleet]

We are live!

 

[Historical Storyteller]

Say, you wouldn't happen to have another slot open? I'd like to control a mid-Western state (please give suggestions) or even control the Philippines (an American colony in Southeast Asia). I'm willing to step in if somebody calls quits. Otherwise, I'm just going to sit and keep the bench warm. Currently, I'm unsure if I should join this RP as I'm not well-versed in American history and I don't know 1940's America as I should. You might want to put me on training wheels if I sign up as a recruit.