The Rise of the Third Reich

The term of the President of the United States of America is 4 years, the term of Senators is 6 years, and the term of Representatives is 2 years. Due to the difference in term of office, elections in the United States are divided into "general elections" and "midterm elections." General elections are held every four years to elect the President, Vice President, House of Representatives and one-third of the Senators. Midterm elections are held every two years to elect the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate.

Or it can be seen as an election in the United States every two years to elect all representatives and one-third of the senators, and the president is elected every four years.

In addition, the elections for governors, state legislators, and some public offices and judges in various states in the United States are also held together with the "general elections" and "midterm elections" at the federal level. In some states, the gubernatorial elections are held at the same time as the general elections, while in some states the governors are held at the same time. and the midterm elections. The rules for municipal and political elections below the state level are also similar to those for state elections. In short, it is very complicated.

The so-called general election was held in November 1944. At the federal level, the president, vice president, all members of the House of Representatives, and one-third of the senators were elected. At the same time, a considerable number of states also held general elections. It's basically a reshuffle of American power.

But this time the reshuffle has produced results that are different from most previous elections - a third party and a fourth party have emerged in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives!

Representatives of the National Fascist Party and the Bolshevik Party both entered the Senate, and each party won 4 seats (a total of 33 seats were re-elected). In the House of Representatives, the National Fascist Party won 38 seats and the Bolshevik Party won 32 seats. The two parties won a total of 70 seats, accounting for almost 16% of the total 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

This is a political landscape that has never been seen since the era of two-party monopoly politics in the United States in the 1850s!

However, what really worries the knowledgeable people in the United States is not the emergence of two small parties with very few seats in Congress - elections in the United States are very expensive, so they are not conducive to the survival of small parties - but The two small parties that appeared in the Congress were called the National Fascist Party and the Bolshevik Party! These are two extremist parties!

Most of the time, American politics has been on a more middle-of-the-road path. Routes to the left or right are not popular. In fact, the political views of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, which have been rivals in the American political arena for the past 100 years, are very similar. Therefore, in most cases, the results of the U.S. election can be accepted by voters and will not cause turmoil in national politics. However, the 1860 election was an exception. At that time, American politics had serious conflicts over the two major issues of "abolition" or "slavery", and "trade protection" or "trade freedom." Therefore, the outcome of the election was not determined by the losing side. Accepted, triggered the Civil War!

Now, the same situation occurs again! The rise of the two extreme parties, the National Fascist Party and the Bolshevik Party, is only a superficial phenomenon. The deeper reason is that the mainstream domestic political factions in the United States were divided and weakened due to the war and peace issues of the world war, which gave the extremist factions the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. opportunity.

For Truman, who is about to be elected (actually already elected, but still needs to go through the Electoral College vote in mid-December) as President of the United States, the first problem posed by the divided American politics is that there is no way to seek peace!

Because the Democratic Party that supports him currently ranks second in both houses of Congress, there is no majority at all. Even counting the seats of the Bolshevik Party, there is no majority. Moreover, although the Bolshevik Party supported the Democratic Party during the election, it made it clear after the election that it would not join the federal government.

This also means that the Bolshevik Party will not endorse the Democratic Party's "traitory", and their members will naturally not vote for the "traitorous treaty" in parliament. It cannot be ruled out... No, it should definitely launch large-scale protests when the Democratic Party betrays the country! Even voted for the vote to impeach Truman!

That’s right, impeachment!

Truman was probably the first president in American history to face the risk of impeachment before he was officially elected. Because now the three opposition parties, including the Republican Party, the National Fascist Party and the Bolshevik Party, control 61% of the seats in the House of Representatives and 55 seats in the Senate. Although neither achieved an absolute majority of two-thirds, the distance was not very far. As long as a few leading Democratic congressmen defected, Truman's presidency would be taken away.

And these three opposition parties are now holding high the banner of "anti-Germany" and are firmly opposed to a peace that would be humiliating and humiliating the country. The leaders of the National Fascist Party and the Bolshevik Party, the most vocal among them, even stated in their recent election victory speeches (for them, the result of this election is of course a victory): If President Truman agrees to pay huge war reparations to Germany, they will Impeachment proceedings will be launched in Congress.

Although the leaders of the Republican Party, who were defeated by the Democratic Party in a high-profile manner, did not express their support for impeachment, they also made it clear that they were firmly opposed to any peace treaty that betrayed the interests of the United States...

In addition, there are now quite powerful forces within the Democratic Party that oppose peace negotiations with Germany. They are the main militant faction of the Democratic Party headed by current President Wallace. Because of their great contribution to the Democratic Party in the just-concluded general election, Wallace's popularity has greatly increased, and factions have emerged to support him. Although the number is small, it is a "critical" minority. If these men defected from the Democrats or voted in favor of a possible impeachment vote, Truman's presidency would be on the line.

"Harry," President Wallace said to the visiting Truman in the Oval Office of the White House at noon on November 8, "I think from now on, you should participate in all important decisions in the White House. Let's find a way to defeat the German Nazis together." Okay?"

Is there really such a way?

Faced with Wallace's suggestion, Harry Truman could only nod with a wry smile: "Of course, let's think of a way together... We will definitely be able to win a favorable peace treaty for the United States, right?"

"Yes, yes, we must obtain a favorable peace treaty for the United States." President Wallace said, "In view of the current minority status of our Democratic Party in Congress, we should first obtain the maximum support from both houses of Congress on the terms of the peace treaty. common denominator, and then engage in open peace talks instead of engaging in backroom diplomacy through Mussolini.”

"..."

Truman looked at Wallace speechlessly, not knowing how to reason with him. In fact, there is no reason to argue, because what Wallace said is right... Under the current circumstances, the peace treaty must obtain the support of the majority of members of both houses of Congress!

Otherwise, as a president, he would have to face an impeachment case, so how could he talk about peace?

But what is the greatest common denominator of Congress?

"Harry," Wallace said, "I think we should adhere to the following principles in future peace talks:

The first is not to cede territory or pay compensation;

The second is the principle of self-determination of the American and Australian nations. The United States does not seek to colonize any American or Australian country, and Europe cannot seek to colonize any American or Australian country;

The third is to establish an international customs and trade alliance between the Americas, Australia, Africa and Europe after the war, and gradually realize the liberalization of trade and investment;

Fourth, the United States can help Europe rebuild by providing low-interest loans and food and energy aid, but it must ensure that the aid provided by the United States is not used for military purposes;

The fifth is comprehensive disarmament and limitation of armaments. "

Truman thought to himself: Who has the missiles and the atomic bombs? America... or Germany?

"Henry, I'm afraid this can't be done, right?"

"How could it not be possible?" Henry Wallace smiled, "The new Congress will definitely support these five principles of peace."

Truman rolled his eyes, what use does the support of the U.S. Congress matter? Only if the German Parliament agrees!

"But the Germans will not agree to such peace conditions..."

"Then we will fight until they agree!" Wallace said confidently, "Harry, the current war situation is changing in our favor. We have achieved victory in the ports of Chile and Buenos Aires. Victory, Georgetown in British Guiana is still in our hands, Oahu is also completely controlled by us, and we still have the means to counterattack the European mainland. Our B-29 has the ability to break through the European air defense system. It has powerful biological and chemical weapons, enough to counter the German atomic bomb.

Therefore, we in the United States are fully capable of carrying the war to the end and bringing down the Germans! "

Before he was elected president, Truman was just a senator, responsible for a committee that reviewed military expenditures, and did not know much about the war situation. And his judgment that the United States could not defeat Germany actually came from Roosevelt.

Now after listening to Wallace's analysis, I started to murmur in my heart: Maybe Roosevelt was really wrong?

"Harry," Wallace stood up and said to Truman, "these five peace conditions are just my suggestions. You can consider it slowly...and consult with the Republicans and Bolsheviks at the same time. But before that, I I think you should listen to the military’s opinion first.”

"Okay, okay, I want to hear their opinions too."

Truman agreed with Wallace's suggestion and stood up from his chair.

Wallace smiled and said: "Come on, let's go to the Cabinet Room. Admirals Leahy, Marshall, King, and Arnold are all waiting for us there. I think they will give you something very special." Useful advice will also give you a full understanding of the real situation of the war...The situation is really not that bad, and if the Germans want to keep fighting, we can accompany them.”