Post by westvirginiarebel on Feb 14, 2016 14:35:03 GMT
This is just an idea I had for some different Presidents over the past one hundred years; some ideas lifted from Fear Loathing and Gumbo, but overall a much less dystopian, but still turbulent, turn of events.
Alternate Presidents (20th Century)
Charles Evans Hughes (1917-1921)
Chosen as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State after Wilson narrowly lost to Hughes but before Wilson officially left the Presidency; agreed to serve only one term due to the controversy surrounding his unelected position. Hughes’ term was notable for America’s entry into World War One, an invasion of Mexico by U.S troops which resulted in the death of Pancho Villa, the passage of the 18th and 19th amendments which began Prohibition and gave women the right to vote, and his public opposition to the tactics of his own attorney general, Mitchell Palmer, during the Palmer raids of 1919-1920.
Henry Wallace (1945-1948)
Became President upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt. Wallace’s presidency saw the end of World War Two with an invasion of Japan due to Wallace’s objection to using the atomic bomb. Wallace attempted to create better post-war relations with the Soviet Union but became disillusioned by Soviet expansionism into Eastern Austria and Northern Greece, where a Communist state was briefly in power in 1948-49. Domestically, Wallace was faced with race riots and a series of strikes by steel and railroad workers. Wallace was defeated for the 1948 Democratic nomination by Harry Truman, who narrowly defeated Thomas Dewey in the 1948 Presidential election.
Carl Albert (1974-1977)
Became President as part of the line of succession following Nixon’s impeachment and his refusal to name a Vice President. Albert acted as a caretaker, largely deferring to House Minority Leader Gerald Ford for advice. His presidency saw the successful recognition of the independence of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese, the beginning of a major financial crisis following the crash of the stock market and an attempt to return to the Gold Standard, the bankruptcy of New York City, and the so-called “Second Cultural Revolution” in China under the “Gang of Four” led by Chairman Mao’s widow, which escalated tensions in the region. Albert did not run in the 1976 election, serving only the remainder of his term.
Morris Udall (1977-1981)
Udall won the 1976 election after narrowly defeating Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primaries and former Governor Ronald Reagan in the general election. Udall governed as a liberal, supporting legislation involving the environment, women’s rights, and health care. Unfortunately Udall’s early popularity was undone by a controversial involvement in the conflict in Angola, which saw American military forces fighting against Cuban troops, and the ongoing Great Recession, which had begun in 1974 and didn’t fully end until 1978. He also had to contend with a hostage crisis in Saudi Arabia while attempting to support the presidency of Mehdi Bazargan in Iran following the Iranian Revolution, which resulted in a civil war that Islamic hard-liners won, forcing Bazargan from power. Udall was challenged by Ted Kennedy in the Democratic primaries which Kennedy then won, only to lose the election in November.
George H.W. Bush (1981-1989)
Bush won the 1980 election by a wide margin against the unpopular Kennedy. Bush sought to return to a state of detente with the Soviet Union in containing China before the overthrow of Jiang Qing by the PLA. Bush sent American troops to Nicaragua in support of the Contras and oversaw a NATO-led invasion of Libya in response to several terrorist attacks which resulted in the overthrow and death of Muammar Gadaffi; he also supported the Marcos regime in the Philippines during the 1986 uprising and was hesitant to deal with Manuel Noriega until it became clear that his own people were planning to overthrow him. It was also during Bush’s presidency that the Second Great Recession (1988-1991) began following the 1987 stock market crash.
Howard Baker (1989-1993)
Vice President Baker was elected in his own right in 1988. It was during his presidency that the "Second Chinese Revolution" happened in 1989, civil war broke out in the Soviet Union in 1990 and the Persian Gulf War was fought. Although relatively popular, Baker lost the 1992 election.
Paul Tsongas (1993-1997) Al Gore (1997-2001)
Tsongas defeated Bill Clinton in the Democratic primaries. He only served one term due to his health, did not run for re-election in 1996 and died shortly before his presidency was scheduled to end in 1997. Upon his death, Vice President Gore became President and oversaw a period of general peace and economic expansion with the exception of a NATO intervention in Rwanda. Gore faced allegations of illegal campaign contributions stemming from the 1996 election and was forced to acknowledge them in a national address. He was defeated in 2000.
John Ellis Bush (2001-2009)
Bush, known widely as “Jeb,” became President after having served as Governor of Florida. His presidency became remembered for the 9-11 attacks which saw the destruction of both the World Trade Center and the White House, the subsequent war in Afghanistan, a major conflict between India and China in his first term, Hurricane Katrina, and the threat of another major financial crisis.
Hillary Rodham (2009-2017)
Hillary Rodham was elected President after serving in the Senate following her divorce from former husband Bill Clinton in 1998. Ms. Rodham was the first female President, and the first unmarried President since Grover Cleveland. Ms. Rodham’s presidency was marked by the signing of the Health Security and Affordable Care Act which contained elements of health care reform that she had supported while in the Senate and which has been proposed by her closest rival in the 2008 Democratic primaries, Senator Barack Obama. It is widely believed that she chose Obama as her running mate due to the similarities between their respective health plans. Ms. Rodham’s presidency was marked by an aggressive stance toward Syria, including a NATO-led invasion that resulted in the resignation (under the threat of removal by force) of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, immigration reform that allowed for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants (which conservatives blasted as amnesty) a minimum wage increase, and the legalization of gay marriage in most of the United States.
