1936 United States Presidential Election (Kaiserredux)

'''Note: All of this is based off the lore from Kaiserredux (a A Kaiserreich Expansion). These ideas are not mine.'''

Unfinished

The 1936 United States presidential election was the 38th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1936. Incumbent President Herbert Hoover sought a third term while contending against IWW leader Bill Haywood, Governor of Oklahoma William Murray, Speaker of the House John Nance Garner, Senator of Louisiana Huey Long, and Senator of Nebraska George Norris.

The election was seen as the most controversial election since 1860, mainly due to the rise of radical third parties and paramilitaries across America in response to the American Recession of 1925, the Great Panic on 1929 and the collapse of the Berlin Stock Exchange in 1936.

The election result was inconclusive with no candidate reaching a minimum of 266 electoral votes. Because none of the candidates for president garnered an electoral vote majority, the U.S. House of Representatives, under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment, held a contingent election. Herbert Hoover was reelected President of the United States after making a deal with the Democratic Party and a number of Progressives. This is despite the fact that he didn't had most electoral votes making this the second time a U.S. President was elected while not having a majority of electoral votes. This was the third time in American history that an election went to the House with the others being 1824 and 1932. It was also the election in which third parties had the highest showing in American history with a combined 61% of the popular vote and 338 electoral votes coming from third party candidates.

Background
After avoiding the horrors of the 1st Weltkrieg, the United States remained relatively peaceful. President Woodrow Wilson won an unprecedented third term in office with his new running mate: Alexander Mitchell Palmer. This victory was short lived as Wilson suffered a stroke in office in late 1923. This set off a constitutional crisis and power struggle in his cabinet and the Democrat party itself. Palmer ascended to the Presidency.

When Syndicalist revolutions of Britain and France came about, the Palmer administration clamped down hard on left wing organizations in what is known as the Red Scare. This greatly hurt the American economy as American had just lost their most valuable trading partners, along with massive strikes across the nations and political instability.

Palmer's controversial Precedency ended with the Herbert Hoover being elected into office. Hoover attempted to revive the American economy but the response was slow. He also attempted to "Return to Normalcy" by re-legalizing non-violent left-wing organizations like the AFL-CIO and the IWW. In 1929, the U.S. economy took a further downturn with the Great Panic as Wallstreet's influence within the world market began to be replaced by the Berlin stock exchange.

In the 1932 U.S. Presidential election, the results were inconclusive leading to the the House of Representatives electing incumbent President Herbert Hoover. This comes after public upset over Hoover's failed promise to overturn the U.S. economy after the 1925 depression and the 1929 "Great Panic." Americans began to become disenfranchised with current American politics and began turning to more radical options. During his second term Hoover oversaw the rise of the Socialist Party, the split of Southern Democrats into the Old Democrats, and the creation of the American First Party.

Things got worse when in January 1936, the Berlin Stock Market Crashed in what is known as "Black Monday." The U.S. economy furthered plunged into turmoil. Both major parties pledged to revive the economy while Haywood, Murray, and Long lambasted the establishment for getting the U.S. to this mess in the first place.

Crime became more prominent throughout America mainly thanks to paramilitary groups like the National Democratic White Leagues, the Red Guard, and the Minutemen along with gangsters and bank robbers like Al Capone and Bonnie and Clyde. In order to combat this, President Hoover increased the funding of the FBI and started using the National Guard more often.

Republican Party nomination
Initially President Hoover wished not to run for a third term. He believed that he should follow the precedent followed by George Washington after he completed his second term and also believed that he had little chance of winning the presidency again due to his unpopularity. Hoover initially backed his Vice-President Charles Curtis who led the conservative/moderate wing of the party. The other major candidate in the race was famed businessman and Governor of Kansas Alf Landon who had support of the more Liberal wing of the party. Both Curtis and Landon agreed on policy such as the "Home Rule Plan" which would allow for greater autonomy in certain areas in America but it was their economic policies that differed. Curtis and the conservative/moderate wing believed in a more protectionist economy while Alf Landon and the liberal wing wished to peruse a free trade economy.

With the support of the President it seemed that Curtis would win the primary. But then many people within the Republican Party began to question Curtis' health, believing he was unfit for the presidency. Many on the liberal wing on the party began a push to switch Curtis for Landon. Many on the conservative wing objected to this idea and with the recent success of the 'Garner-Wagner Bill" they began a movement to draft Hoover for a third term. This draft would succeed, much to the dismay of the liberal wing.

On May 22, 1936, President Herbert Hoover accepted the Republican nomination for the President in Sacramento, California. His running mate would be Frank Knox who would replace Curtis due to his health. Knox was the publisher for the Chicago Daily News and held no political experience. He offended no particular wing of the party but his outsiders credentials worried some.

Democratic Party nomination
After the presidency of Palmer, it seemed that it would take decades for the Democrats to take back the White House. Yet after the failure of Hoover's presidency and the surprise result of 1932, it seemed like the Democrat's chances in taking back the the Precedency were more likely than ever. This was until any Democrats began to break ranks and form splinter parties such as the Old Democrats in the South or the AFP in the West. Though divided, the main party still hoped to pull of a strong performance this election cycle and preserve the party for years to come.

There was very little competition within the Democrat primary as Speaker of the House John Nance Garner was nominated for President a second time (with the first being in 1932). Garner campaigned upon restoring law and order in America stating that he would not tolerate extremist groups like the Red Guard or the Minutemen in American society and went on to condemn the Republican Party's "Home Rule" Plan. He also promised to revive many of Wilson's economic polcies and continue his legacy.

The Democrats nominated Al Smith, Former Governor of New York, was nominated for Vice-President. He was mainly selected in order to unite the party and Smith's appeals to working class voters can cut into both the Republicans and the Socialist's thresholds in places like New York. But Smith's Catholicism was something many voters feared with many Protestants in the Democratic Party switching over to Murray due to this fact.

Progressive Party nomination
Progressives in America have had a long and proud history yet the Progressive Party haven't seen major electoral success when it came to Presidential history. The closest the party ever got was in its inception when Former President Theodore Roosevelt ran in 1912. The only other time the Progressive Party did relatively well was in 1924 with Robert M. La Follette. But with dissatisfaction with the two major parties and the rise of radical parties, the Progressive Party hopes to take advantage of the chaos by portraying themselves as moderate liberals.

Initially it seemed that the primary for the nomination was to be competitive. Yet in the end Senator George Norris was given the nomination after Senator Hiram Johnson and Henry Wallace dropped out and endorsed Norris.

Norris campaigned in opposition of the Republican "Home Rule" Plan believing that it would cave to radicals. He instead insisted on implementing Roosevelt's Fair Deal legislation and fund massive projects into poor communities. He also wanted to work with Union leaders in order to further stabilized the nation and make a "truly fair" society. His candidacy attracted the attention of many liberal Republican and Democrats who were dissatisfied with the nominations of Hoover and Garner.

The Progressive Party nominated former WW1 pilot and son of former President Theodore Roosevelt; Quentin Roosevelt. This came as quite a shock across the political world. Many Progressives were skeptical over the fact that he has never held public office. Yet his emphasize on implanting his father's policies put the mind of party leaders at ease. Many in the Republican Party were disappointed believing that he would have had a good career within the GOP.

Socialist Party nomination
Unlike other political parties, the Socialist Party is the political wing of the much larger Combined Syndicates of America. The Party was originally founded in 1901 as it's own political party with Eugene Debs as its leader. In its early years the party was heavily divided between the moderate and the radical wings of the party. The party took a turn in 1920, during the May Day celebrations, when it supported the radical Syndicalist revolution in France leading to the radical wing of the party being the dominate force. On 12 July 1925, the Philadelphia Pan-Union Congress was held in which several party leaders proposed the creation of the CSA. It would create a large umbrella organization featuring the many unions across the United States, including the moderate AFL and the radical IWW, to coordinate union union activity and bring a syndicalist revolution to the United States. The Socialist Party was reorganized into the political wing of the CSA.

Bill Haywood was the General Secretary of the CSA meaning he is automatically nominated for the Socialist Party nomination. Being the founder of the IWW, Haywood represents the SPA more radical faction. Campaigning on bringing the same revolutions in Britain and France to the Americas, he was seen as a major radical in the race for the precedency. Before the nominations, many party leaders were concerned about Haywood age, with some suggesting that someone should have the nomination. But Haywood insisted that he was well enough to serve the precedency.

When it came to his running mate, they chose New York Senator John "Jack" Reed. With his role in forming the CSA and his upset win in New York in 1928, Reed was elevated to the high ranks of the CSA. He was mainly chosen due to being the safe pick that would offend the other factions of the party.