User talk:Kbog/sandbox

This page was created for Kyle Bogosian's AP US History project, in Mr. Doom's Period 7 class.

The infobox and parts 7, 10, and 11 are partially rewritten from preexisting Wikipedia material. The introduction and Part 8 are almost completely fabricated and that should be considered the real substance of this project.

Yes, I know, there's still US involvement in World War I. Give me an A-. However, I think that that a Hughes presidency alone is not a significant enough POD to butterfly away the AEF. Keep in mind that Wilson himself was devoted to peace in OTL, and had to declare war anyway. Yes, there is the possibility that the Germans would treat Hughes with more caution and respect at first, but in the medium term his policies in regards to the war would be little different than Wilson's. I don't think the existence of a new president would significantly change German attitudes towards unrestricted submarine campaigning and foreign diplomacy.

Would they still send the Zimmermann telegram? Yes, probably, despite the fact that Mexico would probably be less hostile towards a Hughes-led USA (because of Wilson's military adventurism, hostility to Huerta, etc). The Zimmermann note is asking about what would happen if and when the US becomes hostile towards Germany and the result of that scenario is the same regardless of whether Wilson or Hughes is president. In any case they never meant for America to know about it.

It has been suggested that Hughes would order a halt to US export shipping to warring powers and only allow it to the Triple Entente via a cash-and-carry basis, which would lead to less outcry about Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare. However, that is a long shot in my opinion. I see no fundamental reason why Hughes would do this when Wilson did not. In fact Hughes seems like a more pragmatic figure less inclined towards dramatic international protest.

Also the League of Nations was an idea being thrown around anyway at the time (by Teddy Roosevelt among others) and I don't think Wilson's presence was necessary to have it established.

I admit Al Smith appointing Hughes as Chief Justice doesn't seem particularly likely, but they're both roughly moderate and I can imagine Hughes becoming a generally respected figure who can stand above partisanship. Hughes would be the obvious choice for Chief Justice.

There are still significant changes from OTL in this TL: no US involvement in Russia, no Palmer Raids, no nationalization of the railroads, US is in the LoN, pullout of troops from the Dominican Republic, and reversed political alignment of the Democrats and Republicans.

Some notes about the presidents after Hughes:

McAdoo (D, 1921-1929): a lot like Coolidge in OTL, avoids some or all of the scandals that plagued Harding. Appoints Mellon as SecTreasury.

Smith (D, 1929-1933): a lot like Hoover in OTL, elected in the shadow of his predecessor and cursed by the Great Depression.

Hoover (R, 1933-1941): passes reform bills to cope with the Depression; not quite on the same scale as the New Deal, and without the court-packing scheme and that sort of power grabbing.

FDR (R, 1941-1945): Basically the same things that FDR did in his last two terms in OTL.

Kbog (talk) 09:02, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Testing signature. &#91;&#91;User: Kbog&#124;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#60;font color&#61;&#34;black&#34;&#62;K&#60;/font&#62;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#93;&#93;.&#91;&#91;User talk:Kbog&#124;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#60;font color&#61;&#34;blue&#34;&#62;Bog&#60;/font&#62;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#93;&#93; (talk) 20:00, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Again. &#91;&#91;User: Kbog&#124;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#60;font color&#61;&#34;black&#34;&#62;K&#60;/font&#62;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#93;&#93;&#91;&#91;User talk:Kbog&#124;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#60;font color&#61;&#34;blue&#34;&#62;Bog&#60;/font&#62;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#93;&#93; (talk) 20:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
 * One more time.  K  Bog  20:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Here we go.  K . Bog  20:02, 22 May 2013 (UTC)