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Reds: a Revolutionary Timeline

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Reds: A Revolutionary Timeline Introduction This timeline will focus on the events and causes leading up to a successful socialist revolution in the United States in the year 1933, and the impacts that such an earth shattering change had on the course of world events. While this timeline will note all of the massive changes that occurred (and also, how much really did not change), it will not begin at the point of divergence. Instead, we will start with a glimpse of the present, in the form of a look at a popular television show at the turn of the 21st century: The Committee's Office The brainchild of PBS 7's Aaron Sorkin, The Committee's Office was a weekly television drama that detailed the lives and work of the men and women in the Central Committee's senior staff. The senior staff of the Central Committee are responsible for the unglamorous but crucially necessary work that keeps the government of the UASR functioning. Often criticized for having an overly optimistic picture of the inner functions of socialist democracy at the union level, it remained a huge critical and viewer success on public television for eight seasons before drawing to a close.* Here follows an excerpt from a novelization of the pilot episode: So begins another day at the Committee's Office. With all of the activity in the lobby this morning, it is easy to forget that this is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the seat of the All-Union Central Committee for the Union of American Socialist Republics, and not a busy subway terminal. Amidst the hussle and bussle of the early morning activity, a stately man, advanced in age, walks briskly past the security guards at the entrance. He moves quickly through the lobby, weaving past a busy clerical worker as he walks towards the receptionist's office. As he passes the receptionist terminal, the attendant says "Nice morning, Comrade McGarry." "We'll take care of that in a hurry, won't we Mike?" the man replies with dry sarcasm. "Yes sir," the attendant chuckles. The man continues his brisk pace into the inner workings of the west wing of the old Pennsylvania House. He is Leo McGarry, the Chief of Staff to the Central Committee, and a personal friend of the First Secretary. He quickly pushes through a set of white double doors, into the inner office. A woman runs past him quickly, pausing only momentarily to exclaim, "Don't kill the messenger, Leo." "Oh why the Hell not, Bonnie?" he replies as he grabs the morning's memos. He passes quickly through the press office, making his routine morning acquaintances before calling out for his deputy. "Josh!" he yells. Josh's blond assistant responds instead. "Morning Leo," she says. "Hey Donna," Leo responds. "Is he in yet?" She pauses from stirring her coffee, looking up at him coyly. "Yeah..." "Can you get him for me?" he replies, clearly irritated. She turns around in her seat and yells "Josh!" "Thanks..." he sighs "I heard it's broken," she abruptly changes the subject. "You heard wrong," he replies, barely pausing from reading the memo. "I heard it's-" "It's a mild sprain," he interrupts, "he'll be back later today." Anticipating her next question, he continues explaining as he walks towards Josh's office: "He was swerving to miss a tree and he failed." Leo walks though Josh's open door just as Josh finishes his phone conversation. "How many Cubans exactly have crammed themselves into these fishing boats?" Josh responds as he busily jots down a note, "Well, it's important to understand, Leo, that these aren't exactly fishing boats. You hear the word "fishing boat" and it conjures up an image of, well, a boat first of all. What the Cubans are on would charitably be described as rafts." "I get it. How many of them are there exactly?" "We don't know." "What time did they leave then?" "We don't know." "Do we know when they get here?" "No" "True or false: If I stood on high ground in Key West with a good pair of binoculars I'd be as informed as I am right now." "That's true..." "Well that's the Foreign Office's money well spent then." "Well, having any sort of diplomatic relations with the old regime in-exile that's occupying Cuba, we might have a better idea." "You look like Hell, by the way," Leo sighs as he begins the walk toward his office. "Yes I do. Listen, Leo, did he say anything about it?" Josh asks timidly as he follows Leo. "Did he say anything?!" Leo cries, "the First Secretary is pissed as hell at you Josh, and so am I." "I know," he protests. "We've gotta work with these people, and how the Hell do you get off strutting your--" "I know" "Caldwell is a good man," Leo scolds. "Caldwell wasn't there!" "I'm saying you take everyone on the Christian front, dump them into one big basket and label them stupid! We need these people." "We do not need these people..." "Josh, if this minority government can't get at least some votes from the Left Democrats, then we can't govern. You know we have a whole lot better chance dealing with them than the authoritarian statists in the Socialist Party." So that's a little teaser for this timeline. Hopefully, I'll be able to make periodic updates on it throughout this week, but you'll just have to savor this much for now. I will give you this morsel to chew on: the POD is September 5, 1901. *Basically The West Wing, but with red flags, in case you didn't catch the reference. Excerpt A selection of posts from the alternatehistory.com discussion titled "WI: McKinley Assassinated in 1901", dated May 1, 2009. Quote: Originally Posted by Red American So I was just reading through The Daily Worker today when I found a very interesting article. Apparently, when a family in Detroit, Michigan SR were digging through their attic looking at old family heirlooms, they stumbled upon the diary of their great-great grandfather, a son of Polish immigrants named Leon Czolgosz. Apparently, Leon's diary had confessed that he had attempted to assassinate the President of the old United States in early September 1901. He made his first attempt on September 5th, but was unable to get close to the old imperialist. He was going to try to catch him on the next day of the exposition, but he was arrested that night by a racist Buffalo cop who had a grudge against Poles and other immigrants. So what would our wrld look like today if Leon had managed to assassinate that bourgeois dog? Quote: Originally Posted by SeriousSam Well, that's interesting. If I remember correctly, McKinley's VP at the time was a noted progressive... I forget his name though. Anyway, he's not a very imprtant person in history, so I don't think you'll find too much on Wiki about him. Quote: Originally Posted by LeninsBeard I think his name was Theodore Roosevelt... *wikis* Yup, Theodore Roosevelt. Apparently, he was a politician of some progressive sympathies at the time, and McKinley picked him for his deputy because it would help him fight off the influence of the populists and the unions. The corporatist establishment kind of marginalized him afterwards, and he faded into relative obscurity. If Mickinely were assasinated, then Roosevelt would become president, whcih would definitely give a boost to the progressive movement. While it might lead to short term gains for the working classes, ultimately it might butterfly away the Red May revolution in 33. It was the complete defeat of the progressive wings within the Republican and Democratic parties that ultimately gave the Socialists the long-term support base they needed. Some Notable Events, 1901-1904 October 1901: The Social Democratic Party of America, a relatively weak third party at the time, unites with dissident elements of DeLeon's Socialist Labor Party to form the Socialist Party of America. Though the party contained elements ranging from revolutionary left-wing socialists to more moderate social democratic reformists, it adopts a largely left-wing, industrial unionist platform. May 12, 1902: The Coal Strike of 1902. 150,000 miners in the anthracite coal fields of western Pennsylvania from United Mine Workers of America go out on strike, demanding shorter hours, higher pay and increased control over their workplaces. By June 2, the Coal Strike deepens as maintenance and clerical workers affiliated with the mines join the strike in solidarity. While owners originally welcomed a moderate strike lessen the effects of over supply, the situation turns serious by August. The owners appeal to the federal government for aid in defeating the strikers, as the Pennsylvania National Guard is not sufficient to maintain security of the mines and suppress the strike. In October, President McKinley deploys units of the US Army to suppress the strike. Dozens of miners are killed in the resulting engagement, and by the early November the strike is over, with the miners accepting a modest pay cut in exchange for keeping their jobs. These events anger progressives within the Republican Party, driving many into the political wilderness. January 1903: In the aftermath of the Coal Strike, leadership of the still recovering UMWA shifts dramatically to the left. The Union affiliates with the Industrial Workers of the World and the nascent Socialist Party. April 1903: After Columbia rejects the canal treaty, President McKinley sends Marines to support the Panamanian independence movement.
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