Playtest Presidents

[Murrman104]

In 1960 Young, Inexpierneced John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the youngest man to be elected president of the United States, but this time he had a much more turbulent path to the Presidency.
In 1948 Kennedy, as a young representative from Massachsets fell in with the old Southern Bulls of Congress and when it came time to vote for the Civil Rights act of 1949 he voted against it, a vote that would cost him his seat in his home state. Kennedy spent the next decade running for senate in Massachesets and lost in the primary 3 times (in 1952, 1954 and 1958). In 1956 he made a decision that would change the course of his carear, he ran a quixotic campaign for President. He lost but the charming young man impressed many people, first and foremost being the Revernd Billy Graham who also ran that year and lost in the primary. Following the election the Reverend gave a speech where he declared his retirement from politics which many believed caused the complete collapse of the "Dixiecrats" as an institution as the Revernd was the Charismatic face of the partys Traditionalist wing. But in his speech he praised the young Kennedy as the type of man he would like to see leading the Democratic party. The partys southern titans such as Richard Russel, George Wallace and Orval Faubus all stepped away from the light and began promoting the moderate Catholic former Represntative as the spokesman of the newly rebranded "Justice Democrats". Kennedy entered the 1960 Democratic primarys as a contender but not the favourite (who was former Chief of Naval operations Chester Nimitz). Nonetheless his charismatic debate perfomances charmed party democrats of all ideologys and he easily won the nomination, choosing former represnative, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and current Senator for Arizona Lewis Douglas as his running mate. The 1960 election which many believed was a forgone victory for the Democrats as they faced perpetual loser Thomas Dewey proved a tough affair. The cosmopolitan Dewey ran a briliant campaign and won victorys in the nations largest states and Kennedy ended up winning narrowly and with only 1 state with more than 16 electoral votes (Texas).

[MrPotatoTed]

I’m 1788, beloved war hero Arthur St. Clair is elected unanimously as President.

And by 1789, he’s forced to resign following one disaster after another.  In his one year in office, the US spiraled into a Great Depression, nearly tore itself asunder on the verge of a civil war, and plummeted British relations again so that they nearly invaded us before the ink was dry on the Revolutionary War’s peace agreement.

But the final straw was the public’s demand that Native tribes be relocated. President St. Clair tried to obey, but put his 27-year-old Secretary of State Albert Gallatin in charge of the relocation, which was an absolute disaster.

Both Gallatin and St. Clair were forced to resign.  Now Vice President Thomas “Common Sense” Paine is serving as acting President.

1788-1788 Arthur St. Clair (Red)

1788 - ? Thomas Paine (Blue)

Edited May 17, 2023 by MrPotatoTed

[Joe303300]

51 minutes ago, MrPotatoTed said:

I’m 1788, beloved war hero Arthur St. Clair is elected unanimously as President.

And by 1789, he’s forced to resign following one disaster after another.  In his one year in office, the US spiraled into a Great Depression, nearly tore itself asunder on the verge of a civil war, and plummeted British relations again so that they nearly invaded us before the ink was dry on the Revolutionary War’s peace agreement.

But the final straw was the public’s demand that Native tribes be relocated. President St. Clair tried to obey, but put his 27-year-old Secretary of State Albert Gallatin in charge of the relocation, which was an absolute disaster.

Both Gallatin and St. Clair were forced to resign.  Now Vice President Thomas “Common Sense” Paine is serving as acting President.

1788-1788 Arthur St. Clair (Red)

1788 - ? Thomas Paine (Blue)

Holy shit

[0ccultist]

On 5/16/2023 at 8:21 PM, MrPotatoTed said:

I’m 1788, beloved war hero Arthur St. Clair is elected unanimously as President.

And by 1789, he’s forced to resign following one disaster after another.  In his one year in office, the US spiraled into a Great Depression, nearly tore itself asunder on the verge of a civil war, and plummeted British relations again so that they nearly invaded us before the ink was dry on the Revolutionary War’s peace agreement.

But the final straw was the public’s demand that Native tribes be relocated. President St. Clair tried to obey, but put his 27-year-old Secretary of State Albert Gallatin in charge of the relocation, which was an absolute disaster.

Both Gallatin and St. Clair were forced to resign.  Now Vice President Thomas “Common Sense” Paine is serving as acting President.

1788-1788 Arthur St. Clair (Red)

1788 - ? Thomas Paine (Blue)

Guess the brits were right thinking we couldn't last on our own.

[OrangeP47]

TBH maybe in this timeline there'd be a precedent that if you were shit you'd actually resign.

[OrangeP47]

1840 Playtest Presidents

9th - William Henry Harrison (W-OH) 1841-1845:  Did not die in office as he did in real life, but did not win re-election.  Oversaw an early admission of Texas to the Union and war with both Mexico and Spain.  These wars would not be resolved for many years, and Harrison's incompetent overall administration soured many on the Whigs overall, leading to massive gains for the Democratic Party in both the 42 mid-terms and the 44 general elections.  Nearly all major accomplishments during Harrison's two half-terms focused on military matters or settlement of Westward territories, with the exception of the passage of an Amendment that required a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency to be filled should one arise.

10th - William Marcy (D-NY) 1845-1849:  Marcy was a key figure in the Democratic Party machine and was controversial because of alleged corruption.  He was able to end the war with Spain, but only late in his term, the Mexican war continuing on past the inauguration of his successor, though that would end in eventual victory as well.  Policy wise, Marcy actually wasn't that different from Harrison, merely more competent.  That made the 1848 election close, but he too failed to be re-elected.  The major policy accomplishment of his two-half terms that would be remembered would likely be the creation of the Department of the Interior.

11th - Millard Fillmore (W-NY) 1849:  Unfortunately, history will forget Millard Fillmore, except for the spectacular way he died.  At an event aboard the USS Princeton, a test firing of a new experimental cannon went awry, killing not only Fillmore, but Senator John Berrien and famed elder statesman Henry Clay as well.  Vice President Jacob Broom II ascended to the Acting Presidency.

12th - Jacob Broom II (W-PA) 1849-1853:  As the the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency, Broom's legacy is largely legitimizing the practice.  He struggled greatly for recognition, and it was not until the very last days of his term when a deadlocked Whig National Convention considered him as their 1852 candidate did he really have any political clout.  He was unable to secure re-election, however. Ironically, he would have a hidden, lasting impact, as he named several justices to the Supreme Court which would remain firmly Whig controlled for the 1850s.

13th - James Polk (D-TN) 1853-1861:  Polk was a master political operator the likes of which America had not seen for some time.  He brought some stability to a chaotic system that saw rapidly swinging fortunes between the parties, and was the first President to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832.  This was all the more impressive because he often times had to work with a downright hostile Congress.  Polk's accomplishments focused on cementing control of the newly acquired Western lands as well as expanding the voting franchise (for white males), in the best of the Jacksonian tradition.  He would break precedent and attempt to run for a third term in 1860, but would not win that election.

14th - Francis Granger (W-NY) 1861-1873:  His election precipitated a crisis that resulted in Civil War, with the Southern States breaking away over the issue of slavery.  Granger won the Civil War in two short years, however, and while the Whig Party has continued to be internally fractious, Granger personally has long remained personally popular and even more of a beacon of stability than Polk was.  He has continuously passed civil rights legislation and maintained political control at a time when even a united front of Whigs is unable to get much done in other policy areas. Indeed, he has succeeded where no other has before, in 1868 he was elected to a third term.  The length of his time in office has meant that the Democrats have never had a chance to take back control of the Supreme Court either.  While overall the Whigs' division prevented his terms from being as productive as they possibly could have, in addition to the massive gains for civil rights Granger pushed Westward expansion harder than any President since the Mexican War, purchasing a huge swath of Mexico and engaging in several small "wars" against Native Americans and Mormons.

15th - Robert E Lee (W-VA) 1873-1877:  A former general and famous governor of Virginia (though he only had moderate success in the latter role), Lee was hugely popular as a key national figure from the South who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.  He was swept into office with a massive tide of support, but suffered a medical emergency and fall shortly into his first year in office.  He made a pretty remarkable recovery, considering 19th century medicine, but was not a great President.  He unilaterally ended Reconstruction, which was still largely popular in the North, and under his watch there were several major disasters with Native Americans defeating American troops in the West, greatly reducing the prestige of the army and stalling Westward settlement to some degree.  In the end, he was not renominated by the Whigs, who as a reaction to his social policies wanted a radical, so selected John C Fremont.  Fremont was a little too radical, however, and lost a close 1876 election campaign.

16th - Howell Cobb (D-GA) 1877-1885:  Cobb was a key figure in the Confederacy, but also a master of propaganda, pageantry, and public relations on par or greater than Granger, Polk, or Marcy.  This allowed him to maintain a stellar reputation despite it all.  He was a conservative and Southerner, but he knew how to throw a bone to Northern and liberal interests at just the right moments to give himself a reputation as a moderate.  Some might argue that is that reputation actually undeserved if he was actually, truly doing the moderate actions?  Notable examples include driving a moderate line on Workers' Rights at a time when many in both parties would like to see Big Business crush the nascent Labor Movement.  The cynics would say this was part of a ploy to industrialize the South over the North, which Cobb also largely accomplished in this time in office.  A good comparison to a Real Life President would probably be Nixon, if you removed Watergate from Nixon.  In that line, though, in Cobb's last two years in office he had a noted decline in commanding presence and sort of went off the rails.  Some blame him for the Democratic Convention spiraling to the level of chaos that is usually reserved for the Whig Convention, and thus the party's failure to hold the White House, but it's hard to say for of course if he's the cause.

17th - Benjamin Robbins Curtis (W-MA) 1885- As of his election, it is unknown how Curtis will govern.  He is the least experienced man to rise to the nation's highest office by far, his main credentials being that he is an outspoken liberal intellectual of some note.  The nation was, perhaps simply, tired of Democratic rule after 8 years, especially after Cobb's machinations weakened in the final two years.  There is some precedent for this sort of candidate, as in 1860 James Speed, a legal theorist and professor was selected as the great Granger's running mate.  Though he was often a punching bag politically and failed to obtain the nation's highest office, Speed did have a very respectable career following that nomination by objective standards and was quite astute leading a wing of the party for many years.  The Whigs are simply trying to channel that energy once more, and now we'll get to see how well it serves them.

[matthewyoung123]

18th- Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887- Shortly after the midterm elections, the elderly President Benjamin Curtis falls ill with flu-like symptoms.  Doctors are called to his bedside, and although he appeared to be regaining his strength, Curtis dies at the White House in August, 1887.  The charismatic celebrity, Frederick Douglass, a former slave and long time Civil Rights activist, now becomes President of the United States.  He is viewed by many as an only an acting President, much as Broom had been after the death of Millard Fillmore.  Douglass is then quickly besieged by a scandal in his new administration, and the number of critics quickly escalate.  While Douglass himself is viewed as a man of great character, there are many wondering if that translates into good leadership.  He will face an uphill battle in his own party to receive the nomination in his own right, and even if he does, he will have to battle a Democratic nominee in the general election, with the mood of the country heavily favoring Blue.

Edited August 9, 2023 by matthewyoung123

[Bushwa777]

1868 Playtest:

-President Washburne has a terrible fall in the president's office and is found hours later.  Although he is recovering he decides that he is going to resign office. 

-VP Joseph G. Cannon is elevated to the presidency and he has appointed Governor of Rhode Island Ambrose Burnside to be his VP.

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Bushwa777

[themiddlepolitical]

4 hours ago, matthewyoung123 said:

18th- Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887- Shortly after the midterm elections, the elderly President Benjamin Curtis falls ill with flu-like symptoms.  Doctors are called to his bedside, and although he appeared to be regaining his strength, Curtis dies at the White House in August, 1887.  The charismatic celebrity, Frederick Douglass, a former slave and long time Civil Rights activist, now becomes President of the United States.  He is viewed by many as an only an acting President, much as Broom had been after the death of Millard Fillmore.  Douglass is then quickly besieged by a scandal in his new administration, and the number of critics quickly escalate.  While Douglass himself is viewed as a man of great character, there are many wondering if that translates into good leadership.  He will face an uphill battle in his own party to receive the nomination in his own right, and even if he does, he will have to battle a Democratic nominee in the general election, with the mood of the country heavily favoring Blue.

We have reached peak "alternate history" moment. This is awesome.

[EYates]

1 hour ago, Bushwa777 said:

1868 Playtest:

-President Washburne has a terrible fall in the president's office and is found hours later.  Although he is recovering he decides that he is going to resign office. 

-VP Joseph G. Cannon is elevated to the presidency and he has appointed Governor of Rhode Island Ambrose Burnside to be his VP.

 

If Ambose gets approved

[Bushwa777]

1868 playtest:

Burnside is blocked by dem house so we are trying to figure out who is vp

[OrangeP47]

The official list, updated after the dust has settled a bit more and we've had proper elections.

1840 Playtest Presidents

9th - William Henry Harrison (W-OH) 1841-1845:  Did not die in office as he did in real life, but did not win re-election.  Oversaw an early admission of Texas to the Union and war with both Mexico and Spain.  These wars would not be resolved for many years, and Harrison's incompetent overall administration soured many on the Whigs overall, leading to massive gains for the Democratic Party in both the 42 mid-terms and the 44 general elections.  Nearly all major accomplishments during Harrison's two half-terms focused on military matters or settlement of Westward territories, with the exception of the passage of an Amendment that required a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency to be filled should one arise.

10th - William Marcy (D-NY) 1845-1849:  Marcy was a key figure in the Democratic Party machine and was controversial because of alleged corruption.  He was able to end the war with Spain, but only late in his term, the Mexican war continuing on past the inauguration of his successor, though that would end in eventual victory as well.  Policy wise, Marcy actually wasn't that different from Harrison, merely more competent.  That made the 1848 election close, but he too failed to be re-elected.  The major policy accomplishment of his two-half terms that would be remembered would likely be the creation of the Department of the Interior.

11th - Millard Fillmore (W-NY) 1849:  Unfortunately, history will forget Millard Fillmore, except for the spectacular way he died.  At an event aboard the USS Princeton, a test firing of a new experimental cannon went awry, killing not only Fillmore, but Senator John Berrien and famed elder statesman Henry Clay as well.  Vice President Jacob Broom II ascended to the Acting Presidency.

12th - Jacob Broom II (W-PA) 1849-1853:  As the the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency, Broom's legacy is largely legitimizing the practice.  He struggled greatly for recognition, and it was not until the very last days of his term when a deadlocked Whig National Convention considered him as their 1852 candidate did he really have any political clout.  He was unable to secure re-election, however. Ironically, he would have a hidden, lasting impact, as he named several justices to the Supreme Court which would remain firmly Whig controlled for the 1850s.

13th - James Polk (D-TN) 1853-1861:  Polk was a master political operator the likes of which America had not seen for some time.  He brought some stability to a chaotic system that saw rapidly swinging fortunes between the parties, and was the first President to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832.  This was all the more impressive because he often times had to work with a downright hostile Congress.  Polk's accomplishments focused on cementing control of the newly acquired Western lands as well as expanding the voting franchise (for white males), in the best of the Jacksonian tradition.  He would break precedent and attempt to run for a third term in 1860, but would not win that election.

14th - Francis Granger (W-NY) 1861-1873:  His election precipitated a crisis that resulted in Civil War, with the Southern States breaking away over the issue of slavery.  Granger won the Civil War in two short years, however, and while the Whig Party has continued to be internally fractious, Granger personally has long remained personally popular and even more of a beacon of stability than Polk was.  He has continuously passed civil rights legislation and maintained political control at a time when even a united front of Whigs is unable to get much done in other policy areas. Indeed, he has succeeded where no other has before, in 1868 he was elected to a third term.  The length of his time in office has meant that the Democrats have never had a chance to take back control of the Supreme Court either.  While overall the Whigs' division prevented his terms from being as productive as they possibly could have, in addition to the massive gains for civil rights Granger pushed Westward expansion harder than any President since the Mexican War, purchasing a huge swath of Mexico and engaging in several small "wars" against Native Americans and Mormons.

15th - Robert E Lee (W-VA) 1873-1877:  A former general and famous governor of Virginia (though he only had moderate success in the latter role), Lee was hugely popular as a key national figure from the South who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.  He was swept into office with a massive tide of support, but suffered a medical emergency and fall shortly into his first year in office.  He made a pretty remarkable recovery, considering 19th century medicine, but was not a great President.  He unilaterally ended Reconstruction, which was still largely popular in the North, and under his watch there were several major disasters with Native Americans defeating American troops in the West, greatly reducing the prestige of the army and stalling Westward settlement to some degree.  In the end, he was not renominated by the Whigs, who as a reaction to his social policies wanted a radical, so selected John C Fremont.  Fremont was a little too radical, however, and lost a close 1876 election campaign.

16th - Howell Cobb (D-GA) 1877-1885:  Cobb was a key figure in the Confederacy, but also a master of propaganda, pageantry, and public relations on par or greater than Granger, Polk, or Marcy.  This allowed him to maintain a stellar reputation despite it all.  He was a conservative and Southerner, but he knew how to throw a bone to Northern and liberal interests at just the right moments to give himself a reputation as a moderate.  Some might argue that is that reputation actually undeserved if he was actually, truly doing the moderate actions?  Notable examples include driving a moderate line on Workers' Rights at a time when many in both parties would like to see Big Business crush the nascent Labor Movement.  The cynics would say this was part of a ploy to industrialize the South over the North, which Cobb also largely accomplished in this time in office.  A good comparison to a Real Life President would probably be Nixon, if you removed Watergate from Nixon.  In that line, though, in Cobb's last two years in office he had a noted decline in commanding presence and sort of went off the rails.  Some blame him for the Democratic Convention spiraling to the level of chaos that is usually reserved for the Whig Convention, and thus the party's failure to hold the White House, but it's hard to say for of course if he's the cause.

17th - Benjamin Robbins Curtis (W-MA) 1885-1887:  Curtis is the least experienced man to rise to the nation's highest office by far, his main credentials being that he is an outspoken liberal intellectual of some note.  The nation was, perhaps simply, tired of Democratic rule after 8 years, especially after Cobb's machinations weakened in the final two years.  There is some precedent for this sort of candidate, as in 1860 James Speed, a legal theorist and professor was selected as the great Granger's running mate.  Though he was often a punching bag politically and failed to obtain the nation's highest office, Speed did have a very respectable career following that nomination by objective standards and was quite astute leading a wing of the party for many years.  Unfortunately, his lack of experience and advanced age made Curtis wholly unsuited for the nation's highest office, especially after his health took a downturn very early on in his first year.  Despite majorities in both houses , the Whig led 49th Congress was the most unproductive in United States history, the only accomplishments of notes being two procedural changes, namely the establishment of party leadership positions and a change in the line of Presidential succession.  Ironically, though an Amendment was in place that allowed a vacant Vice Presidency to be filled, the line of succession would get some use when Curtis died in 1887.

18th - Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887-1889:  A historic accomplishment, Douglass' ascent to the Presidency less than 30 years after the Civil War spoke volumes about the state of the nation, even if he had not been elected at the top of the ticket himself.  Unfortunately, so too did much of the opposition he faced.  Douglass proved an effective leader, or at least, an above average leader, but didn't have much time to work with and had many rivals.  Given what he faced, he was able to guide a remarkable slate of bills through a divided Congress that mostly focused on economic recovery, though to be fair nothing earth-shaking, all the while managing to retain a massive amount of respect within the Whig Party.  Unlike former Vice Presidents arose to the Presidency through vacancy, there was little doubt Douglass would run for a term of his own in 1888, and plenty of support for it as well.  It wasn't a sure thing though, and opposition was respectful (internally), because it was only fair to re-evaluate after Curtis' death.  The public at large, of course, was a lot less charitable towards the United States' first non-white President, so Douglass' failure to secure re-nomination wasn't a surprise, nor too was the Whigs' eventual loss in 1888.  The absolutely stounding margin, however, might have been, given Douglass' improvement in quality over Curtis.

19th - George H Pendleton (D-OH) 1889-:  President Cobb's Vice President was a reasonable choice for President among Democrats and Democratic supporters, albeit one that may be a bit conservative.  Though the last two years of Cobb's eight were a bit rocky, by and large the public liked Cobb's tenure, and Pendleton was a big part of that successful administration.  Though personally right-wing, he was a Northerner, and combined that meant he seemed like a safe choice that wouldn't rock the boat, a "return to normalcy" if you will.  Time would tell if the good times were back, but for many, Pendleton's election was simply a sigh of relief when the results came in in 1888.

[themiddlepolitical]

1 hour ago, OrangeP47 said:

The official list, updated after the dust has settled a bit more and we've had proper elections.

1840 Playtest Presidents

9th - William Henry Harrison (W-OH) 1841-1845:  Did not die in office as he did in real life, but did not win re-election.  Oversaw an early admission of Texas to the Union and war with both Mexico and Spain.  These wars would not be resolved for many years, and Harrison's incompetent overall administration soured many on the Whigs overall, leading to massive gains for the Democratic Party in both the 42 mid-terms and the 44 general elections.  Nearly all major accomplishments during Harrison's two half-terms focused on military matters or settlement of Westward territories, with the exception of the passage of an Amendment that required a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency to be filled should one arise.

10th - William Marcy (D-NY) 1845-1849:  Marcy was a key figure in the Democratic Party machine and was controversial because of alleged corruption.  He was able to end the war with Spain, but only late in his term, the Mexican war continuing on past the inauguration of his successor, though that would end in eventual victory as well.  Policy wise, Marcy actually wasn't that different from Harrison, merely more competent.  That made the 1848 election close, but he too failed to be re-elected.  The major policy accomplishment of his two-half terms that would be remembered would likely be the creation of the Department of the Interior.

11th - Millard Fillmore (W-NY) 1849:  Unfortunately, history will forget Millard Fillmore, except for the spectacular way he died.  At an event aboard the USS Princeton, a test firing of a new experimental cannon went awry, killing not only Fillmore, but Senator John Berrien and famed elder statesman Henry Clay as well.  Vice President Jacob Broom II ascended to the Acting Presidency.

12th - Jacob Broom II (W-PA) 1849-1853:  As the the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency, Broom's legacy is largely legitimizing the practice.  He struggled greatly for recognition, and it was not until the very last days of his term when a deadlocked Whig National Convention considered him as their 1852 candidate did he really have any political clout.  He was unable to secure re-election, however. Ironically, he would have a hidden, lasting impact, as he named several justices to the Supreme Court which would remain firmly Whig controlled for the 1850s.

13th - James Polk (D-TN) 1853-1861:  Polk was a master political operator the likes of which America had not seen for some time.  He brought some stability to a chaotic system that saw rapidly swinging fortunes between the parties, and was the first President to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832.  This was all the more impressive because he often times had to work with a downright hostile Congress.  Polk's accomplishments focused on cementing control of the newly acquired Western lands as well as expanding the voting franchise (for white males), in the best of the Jacksonian tradition.  He would break precedent and attempt to run for a third term in 1860, but would not win that election.

14th - Francis Granger (W-NY) 1861-1873:  His election precipitated a crisis that resulted in Civil War, with the Southern States breaking away over the issue of slavery.  Granger won the Civil War in two short years, however, and while the Whig Party has continued to be internally fractious, Granger personally has long remained personally popular and even more of a beacon of stability than Polk was.  He has continuously passed civil rights legislation and maintained political control at a time when even a united front of Whigs is unable to get much done in other policy areas. Indeed, he has succeeded where no other has before, in 1868 he was elected to a third term.  The length of his time in office has meant that the Democrats have never had a chance to take back control of the Supreme Court either.  While overall the Whigs' division prevented his terms from being as productive as they possibly could have, in addition to the massive gains for civil rights Granger pushed Westward expansion harder than any President since the Mexican War, purchasing a huge swath of Mexico and engaging in several small "wars" against Native Americans and Mormons.

15th - Robert E Lee (W-VA) 1873-1877:  A former general and famous governor of Virginia (though he only had moderate success in the latter role), Lee was hugely popular as a key national figure from the South who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.  He was swept into office with a massive tide of support, but suffered a medical emergency and fall shortly into his first year in office.  He made a pretty remarkable recovery, considering 19th century medicine, but was not a great President.  He unilaterally ended Reconstruction, which was still largely popular in the North, and under his watch there were several major disasters with Native Americans defeating American troops in the West, greatly reducing the prestige of the army and stalling Westward settlement to some degree.  In the end, he was not renominated by the Whigs, who as a reaction to his social policies wanted a radical, so selected John C Fremont.  Fremont was a little too radical, however, and lost a close 1876 election campaign.

16th - Howell Cobb (D-GA) 1877-1885:  Cobb was a key figure in the Confederacy, but also a master of propaganda, pageantry, and public relations on par or greater than Granger, Polk, or Marcy.  This allowed him to maintain a stellar reputation despite it all.  He was a conservative and Southerner, but he knew how to throw a bone to Northern and liberal interests at just the right moments to give himself a reputation as a moderate.  Some might argue that is that reputation actually undeserved if he was actually, truly doing the moderate actions?  Notable examples include driving a moderate line on Workers' Rights at a time when many in both parties would like to see Big Business crush the nascent Labor Movement.  The cynics would say this was part of a ploy to industrialize the South over the North, which Cobb also largely accomplished in this time in office.  A good comparison to a Real Life President would probably be Nixon, if you removed Watergate from Nixon.  In that line, though, in Cobb's last two years in office he had a noted decline in commanding presence and sort of went off the rails.  Some blame him for the Democratic Convention spiraling to the level of chaos that is usually reserved for the Whig Convention, and thus the party's failure to hold the White House, but it's hard to say for of course if he's the cause.

17th - Benjamin Robbins Curtis (W-MA) 1885-1887:  Curtis is the least experienced man to rise to the nation's highest office by far, his main credentials being that he is an outspoken liberal intellectual of some note.  The nation was, perhaps simply, tired of Democratic rule after 8 years, especially after Cobb's machinations weakened in the final two years.  There is some precedent for this sort of candidate, as in 1860 James Speed, a legal theorist and professor was selected as the great Granger's running mate.  Though he was often a punching bag politically and failed to obtain the nation's highest office, Speed did have a very respectable career following that nomination by objective standards and was quite astute leading a wing of the party for many years.  Unfortunately, his lack of experience and advanced age made Curtis wholly unsuited for the nation's highest office, especially after his health took a downturn very early on in his first year.  Despite majorities in both houses , the Whig led 49th Congress was the most unproductive in United States history, the only accomplishments of notes being two procedural changes, namely the establishment of party leadership positions and a change in the line of Presidential succession.  Ironically, though an Amendment was in place that allowed a vacant Vice Presidency to be filled, the line of succession would get some use when Curtis died in 1887.

18th - Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887-1889:  A historic accomplishment, Douglass' ascent to the Presidency less than 30 years after the Civil War spoke volumes about the state of the nation, even if he had not been elected at the top of the ticket himself.  Unfortunately, so too did much of the opposition he faced.  Douglass proved an effective leader, or at least, an above average leader, but didn't have much time to work with and had many rivals.  Given what he faced, he was able to guide a remarkable slate of bills through a divided Congress that mostly focused on economic recovery, though to be fair nothing earth-shaking, all the while managing to retain a massive amount of respect within the Whig Party.  Unlike former Vice Presidents arose to the Presidency through vacancy, there was little doubt Douglass would run for a term of his own in 1888, and plenty of support for it as well.  It wasn't a sure thing though, and opposition was respectful (internally), because it was only fair to re-evaluate after Curtis' death.  The public at large, of course, was a lot less charitable towards the United States' first non-white President, so Douglass' failure to secure re-nomination wasn't a surprise, nor too was the Whigs' eventual loss in 1888.  The absolutely stounding margin, however, might have been, given Douglass' improvement in quality over Curtis.

19th - George H Pendleton (D-OH) 1889-:  President Cobb's Vice President was a reasonable choice for President among Democrats and Democratic supporters, albeit one that may be a bit conservative.  Though the last two years of Cobb's eight were a bit rocky, by and large the public liked Cobb's tenure, and Pendleton was a big part of that successful administration.  Though personally right-wing, he was a Northerner, and combined that meant he seemed like a safe choice that wouldn't rock the boat, a "return to normalcy" if you will.  Time would tell if the good times were back, but for many, Pendleton's election was simply a sigh of relief when the results came in in 1888.

Every new alternate president makes me sadder the game isn't out yet

[pman]

On 8/9/2023 at 10:46 AM, matthewyoung123 said:

18th- Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887- Shortly after the midterm elections, the elderly President Benjamin Curtis falls ill with flu-like symptoms.  Doctors are called to his bedside, and although he appeared to be regaining his strength, Curtis dies at the White House in August, 1887.  The charismatic celebrity, Frederick Douglass, a former slave and long time Civil Rights activist, now becomes President of the United States.  He is viewed by many as an only an acting President, much as Broom had been after the death of Millard Fillmore.  Douglass is then quickly besieged by a scandal in his new administration, and the number of critics quickly escalate.  While Douglass himself is viewed as a man of great character, there are many wondering if that translates into good leadership.  He will face an uphill battle in his own party to receive the nomination in his own right, and even if he does, he will have to battle a Democratic nominee in the general election, with the mood of the country heavily favoring Blue.

Frederick Douglass becoming President is definitely the coolest thing I've seen in a playtest. It is possibly one of the greatest signs of what's possible in A More Perfect Union.  

Edited August 28, 2023 by pman

[matthewyoung123]

1856 Playtest Presidents-

James Buchanan, Pennsylvania, 15th President, 1857-59;

Buchanan, the former Ambassador the UK, was largely elected in 1856 because he was out of the country and didn't take a public stand on issues that were facing the nation such as popular sovereignty and Bleeding Kansas.  He had both the House and the Senate on his side in his first two years, but was largely ineffective at passing much legislation that would help to stabilize the country.  He inherited two different crises, solved one, but created another.  The Panic of 1857 also hurt his party in the midterms. Ultimately, it was the bullet of a lone assassin that would bring him down, killing him as he walked the streets of Washington DC.

John C. Breckinridge, Kentucky, 16th President, 1859-61;

Breckinridge became the first Vice-President in history to become President due the the murder of the President.  At only 37 years old, Breckinridge did what he felt best for the country, which was continuing to appease the slave holding South and blocking attempts at reform or any hint of abolition.  While his cabinet did a good job at advancing the military preparedness of the nation, legislation that was passed and signed into law helped to further enlarge the size of the Federal budget, creating another crisis.  The policies he supported were deeply unpopular in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest.  He had to go to the 3rd ballot in the 1860 Democratic National Convention to secure the nomination away from former Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois.  Despite the addition of Ohioan Allen Thurman on the ticket, his campaign fared poorly in most northern states, though it was widely celebrated in the Deep South.  With three parties running for President, Breckinridge only secured about 28.5% of the popular vote, and with 97 electoral votes, finished a distant 2nd to the winner of the 1860 election, Governor Salmon P. Chase of Ohio.

Salmon P. Chase, Ohio, 17th President, 1861-1869

Salmon P. Chase, former Governor of Ohio, won enough electoral college votes to win the Presidency in a three way race.  One of the first challenges he faced was the attempted seizure of the Federal weapons arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia under the direction of abolitionist John Brown.  Chase was at the White House when the news came in, and he quickly dispatched the only armed military force in the area, the US Marines at 8th & I, under the command of Virginian Joseph E. Johnson, to Harper's Ferry to deal with the insurrection.  Within hours of their arrival, the Marines and Johnston had killed several of Brown's followers, and had captured John Brown himself.  Johnston then received orders to bring Brown to Washington to stand trial under Federal law.  But within a week, a vicious rumor began to spread that Chase wasn't going to put Brown on trial, but that he would pardon him.  The South erupted in a wave of fury over even the thought of such an action.  Within weeks, the Deep South had seceded from the Union, led by Louisiana.  When those states formed the Confederacy, many of the Upper Southern States, this time led by Virginia, also left the Union and joined the South.  Chase did all he could to prevent the split, but it was to no avail.  The fire-eaters of the South finally got their way, and a shooting war began with an attempted Federal resupply of Fort Pickens, Florida.  Brown, in the meantime, died in jail awaiting trial.  With 11 states leaving the Union, the Republicans had an overwhelming majority in Congress and proceeded to pass new direct taxes, establish a Department of Justice, allow freed slaves to serve in the military, confiscate Confederate plantations and sell or give them to former slaves, and perhaps the biggest piece of legislation, abolishment of slavery by compensating slave owners.  While there were only four slave states left in the Union, the economic toll on the Federal government was high, and there were claims that the new taxes that were passed were only for the benefit of freed slaves.  All this  came at exactly the same time that a major war was occurring.  As a result, economic stability dropped, domestic stability dropped, and the war fighting was slow going.  The popular phase became "We now have to CHASE our prosperity!"  The President's policies were not very popular and the voters in the midterm elections showed their displeasure by electing five new Democratic governors in places like New York, Connecticut, and heavy Republican New Hampshire.   Many other states were also very close.  In the House, the Democrats won several seats, by the Republicans managed to maintain their majority.  The war continued on, and after a troubling start, the Union finally gained the upper hand and was able to triumph over the Confederate States by the end of October, 1864.  This was just the boost that Chase needed in order to win another term as President.  He easily defeated his Democratic rival, Representative Henry B. Payne of Ohio, and won re-election.  The Republicans also increased their majorities in both houses.  However, reconstruction was not kind to Chase, nor the Republicans.  The party seemed to lack cohesion after the ending of the war.  There were varying thoughts over just how reconstruction should go in the South, and how much of the blame that southern siding politicians should have to take.  One wing of the party, the Radicals, believed that many ex-Confederates should be tried for their crimes an no longer be allowed citizenship.  While many in the other party thought that they should be given full pardons.  Most of the rest of the nation was somewhere in between.  Chase looked like he was getting things back on track when the world wide economic depression hit in late 1867.  Banks closed, the stock market went into panic, and there was a run on the money supply.  Chase's cabinet tried their best to right the ship in the nation, but the burden seemed too heavy.  Chase seemed to surprise many when he decided not to run for a 3rd term of office.  In a hotly contested Republican convention, Chase sat out the first round before endorsing his Vice-President for the job.

Abraham Lincoln, Illinois, 18th President, 1869-1871

For the entire Chase administration, Lincoln was somewhat of an afterthought for many in the nation.  Although he was known for working closely with Congress, his affable and harmonious nature meant that he liked to get along with people.  After finishing 4th on the 1st ballot in the 1868 Republican national convention, many bystanders thought Lincoln was done, and that Grant would be the nominee.  But then, President Chase worked some of his magic, and Lincoln won on the 2nd ballot.  He would face former Representative Henry B. Payne in the 1868 election.  And while Payne did win more votes, and more states than he had in 1864, the Lincoln ticket was just too popular to defeat.  Lincoln had several problems to work through upon becoming President.  There was still a lingering domestic stability crisis, and the economic stability crisis that began under Chase was still ongoing.  Some of the Republicans in Congress tried to overcome these issues by proposing tariffs, adding new states to the Union, and passing some bankruptcy regulations.  Lincoln, in the meantime, focused on punishing former Confederates.  In the end though, Lincoln's policy of retribution didn't pan out, and despite his personal objections, former Confederates who had not served in high office or at a high rank in the military were once again made citizens.  There was also a new tariff, a new peacetime conscription act, and a new proposed constitutional amendment.  Ultimately, the untimely death of Lincoln in the summer of 1871, due to diphtheria, cut short would could have been a great Presidency.

William A. Wheeler, New York, 19th President, 1871-

When Lincoln selected the obscure Wheeler to be his running mate, many Republicans asked themselves...William who?  Indeed, Wheeler had been a prominent delegate in the New York state assembly for a decade, but few outside of the Empire State had ever heard of him.  Wheeler was known in New York for his integrity and his genuine desire to get along with everyone, though several people noted that he is somewhat uncharismatic, predictable, and has a general apathy towards domestic issues.  Wheeler will fill out the rest of Lincoln's term, but it remains to be seen if he can gather any support moving towards the general election of 1872.

Edited February 27 by matthewyoung123

[pman]

I don't think anyone has posted this yet but @matthewyoung123's Chauncey Depew has become President in the 1868 Playtest. Depew becomes yet another Red President in the Playtest (every one has been a 1 term President).  Depew, a charismatic former Ambassador to China (in this playtest) is notable for his running mate as well. Red Cloud has become the first Native American Vice President of the United States in 1884. 

[jnewt]

Lyndon Johnson was just elected President in 1972 (in the 1948 playtest). He won in a landslide with 51 out of 52 states (New Hampshire being the lone state voting against him), similar to Nixon's IRL landslide in 1972. Former astronaut John Glenn was elected Vice President.

[OrangeP47]

1840 Playtest Presidents

9th - William Henry Harrison (W-OH) 1841-1845:  Did not die in office as he did in real life, but did not win re-election.  Oversaw an early admission of Texas to the Union and war with both Mexico and Spain.  These wars would not be resolved for many years, and Harrison's incompetent overall administration soured many on the Whigs overall, leading to massive gains for the Democratic Party in both the 42 mid-terms and the 44 general elections.  Nearly all major accomplishments during Harrison's two half-terms focused on military matters or settlement of Westward territories, with the exception of the passage of an Amendment that required a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency to be filled should one arise.

10th - William Marcy (D-NY) 1845-1849:  Marcy was a key figure in the Democratic Party machine and was controversial because of alleged corruption.  He was able to end the war with Spain, but only late in his term, the Mexican war continuing on past the inauguration of his successor, though that would end in eventual victory as well.  Policy wise, Marcy actually wasn't that different from Harrison, merely more competent.  That made the 1848 election close, but he too failed to be re-elected.  The major policy accomplishment of his two-half terms that would be remembered would likely be the creation of the Department of the Interior.

11th - Millard Fillmore (W-NY) 1849:  Unfortunately, history will forget Millard Fillmore, except for the spectacular way he died.  At an event aboard the USS Princeton, a test firing of a new experimental cannon went awry, killing not only Fillmore, but Senator John Berrien and famed elder statesman Henry Clay as well.  Vice President Jacob Broom II ascended to the Acting Presidency.

12th - Jacob Broom II (W-PA) 1849-1853:  As the the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency, Broom's legacy is largely legitimizing the practice.  He struggled greatly for recognition, and it was not until the very last days of his term when a deadlocked Whig National Convention considered him as their 1852 candidate did he really have any political clout.  He was unable to secure re-election, however. Ironically, he would have a hidden, lasting impact, as he named several justices to the Supreme Court which would remain firmly Whig controlled for the 1850s.

13th - James Polk (D-TN) 1853-1861:  Polk was a master political operator the likes of which America had not seen for some time.  He brought some stability to a chaotic system that saw rapidly swinging fortunes between the parties, and was the first President to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832.  This was all the more impressive because he often times had to work with a downright hostile Congress.  Polk's accomplishments focused on cementing control of the newly acquired Western lands as well as expanding the voting franchise (for white males), in the best of the Jacksonian tradition.  He would break precedent and attempt to run for a third term in 1860, but would not win that election.

14th - Francis Granger (W-NY) 1861-1873:  His election precipitated a crisis that resulted in Civil War, with the Southern States breaking away over the issue of slavery.  Granger won the Civil War in two short years, however, and while the Whig Party has continued to be internally fractious, Granger personally has long remained personally popular and even more of a beacon of stability than Polk was.  He has continuously passed civil rights legislation and maintained political control at a time when even a united front of Whigs is unable to get much done in other policy areas. Indeed, he has succeeded where no other has before, in 1868 he was elected to a third term.  The length of his time in office has meant that the Democrats have never had a chance to take back control of the Supreme Court either.  While overall the Whigs' division prevented his terms from being as productive as they possibly could have, in addition to the massive gains for civil rights Granger pushed Westward expansion harder than any President since the Mexican War, purchasing a huge swath of Mexico and engaging in several small "wars" against Native Americans and Mormons.

15th - Robert E Lee (W-VA) 1873-1877:  A former general and famous governor of Virginia (though he only had moderate success in the latter role), Lee was hugely popular as a key national figure from the South who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.  He was swept into office with a massive tide of support, but suffered a medical emergency and fall shortly into his first year in office.  He made a pretty remarkable recovery, considering 19th century medicine, but was not a great President.  He unilaterally ended Reconstruction, which was still largely popular in the North, and under his watch there were several major disasters with Native Americans defeating American troops in the West, greatly reducing the prestige of the army and stalling Westward settlement to some degree.  In the end, he was not renominated by the Whigs, who as a reaction to his social policies wanted a radical, so selected John C Fremont.  Fremont was a little too radical, however, and lost a close 1876 election campaign.

16th - Howell Cobb (D-GA) 1877-1885:  Cobb was a key figure in the Confederacy, but also a master of propaganda, pageantry, and public relations on par or greater than Granger, Polk, or Marcy.  This allowed him to maintain a stellar reputation despite it all.  He was a conservative and Southerner, but he knew how to throw a bone to Northern and liberal interests at just the right moments to give himself a reputation as a moderate.  Some might argue that is that reputation actually undeserved if he was actually, truly doing the moderate actions?  Notable examples include driving a moderate line on Workers' Rights at a time when many in both parties would like to see Big Business crush the nascent Labor Movement.  The cynics would say this was part of a ploy to industrialize the South over the North, which Cobb also largely accomplished in this time in office.  A good comparison to a Real Life President would probably be Nixon, if you removed Watergate from Nixon.  In that line, though, in Cobb's last two years in office he had a noted decline in commanding presence and sort of went off the rails.  Some blame him for the Democratic Convention spiraling to the level of chaos that is usually reserved for the Whig Convention, and thus the party's failure to hold the White House, but it's hard to say for of course if he's the cause.

17th - Benjamin Robbins Curtis (W-MA) 1885-1887:  Curtis is the least experienced man to rise to the nation's highest office by far, his main credentials being that he is an outspoken liberal intellectual of some note.  The nation was, perhaps simply, tired of Democratic rule after 8 years, especially after Cobb's machinations weakened in the final two years.  There is some precedent for this sort of candidate, as in 1860 James Speed, a legal theorist and professor was selected as the great Granger's running mate.  Though he was often a punching bag politically and failed to obtain the nation's highest office, Speed did have a very respectable career following that nomination by objective standards and was quite astute leading a wing of the party for many years.  Unfortunately, his lack of experience and advanced age made Curtis wholly unsuited for the nation's highest office, especially after his health took a downturn very early on in his first year.  Despite majorities in both houses , the Whig led 49th Congress was the most unproductive in United States history, the only accomplishments of notes being two procedural changes, namely the establishment of party leadership positions and a change in the line of Presidential succession.  Ironically, though an Amendment was in place that allowed a vacant Vice Presidency to be filled, the line of succession would get some use when Curtis died in 1887.

18th - Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887-1889:  A historic accomplishment, Douglass' ascent to the Presidency less than 30 years after the Civil War spoke volumes about the state of the nation, even if he had not been elected at the top of the ticket himself.  Unfortunately, so too did much of the opposition he faced.  Douglass proved an effective leader, or at least, an above average leader, but didn't have much time to work with and had many rivals.  Given what he faced, he was able to guide a remarkable slate of bills through a divided Congress that mostly focused on economic recovery, though to be fair nothing earth-shaking, all the while managing to retain a massive amount of respect within the Whig Party.  Unlike former Vice Presidents arose to the Presidency through vacancy, there was little doubt Douglass would run for a term of his own in 1888, and plenty of support for it as well.  It wasn't a sure thing though, and opposition was respectful (internally), because it was only fair to re-evaluate after Curtis' death.  The public at large, of course, was a lot less charitable towards the United States' first non-white President, so Douglass' failure to secure re-nomination wasn't a surprise, nor too was the Whigs' eventual loss in 1888.  The absolutely stounding margin, however, might have been, given Douglass' improvement in quality over Curtis.

19th - George H Pendleton (D-OH) 1889-1897:  President Cobb's Vice President was a reasonable choice for President among Democrats and Democratic supporters, albeit one that may be a bit conservative.  Though the last two years of Cobb's eight were a bit rocky, by and large the public liked Cobb's tenure, and Pendleton was a big part of that successful administration.  Though personally right-wing, he was a Northerner, and combined that meant he seemed like a safe choice that wouldn't rock the boat, a "return to normalcy" if you will.  Pendleton was a largely hands-off President at first, with his area of direct intervention being more foreign affairs.  That might seem risky in this era, but he was the standard-bearer for isolationism and nativism, or in other words, "no foreign affairs", which is what the American people looked for in foreign affairs.  This combined with the best economy on record to date made him quite popular, along with his bombastic style, despite a lack of substance.  Some "experts" feared the economy was actually doing too well, though, and the supercharged environment would just lead to a steeper fall.  In the latter half of his second term, Pendleton took a more hands-on approach to the economy, though for egotistical reasons.  While still objectively good, the economy wasn't as good as it had been earlier, and the people soured on him slightly, though he still had a good deal of popularity.

20th - James A Gary (W-MD) 1897-:  Gary was a nominee in the typical Whig mold, though with a bit more robust credentials than some of their past offerings.  He had spent a lifetime in the civil service, capped by high profile Ambassadorial appointments.  This was exactly the high-minded sort of politician the Whig base loved.  He was also from a key state for the Whigs to peel off, Maryland.  How he would govern would remain to be seen, however.

[OrangeP47]

1840 Playtest Presidents

9th - William Henry Harrison (W-OH) 1841-1845:  Did not die in office as he did in real life, but did not win re-election.  Oversaw an early admission of Texas to the Union and war with both Mexico and Spain.  These wars would not be resolved for many years, and Harrison's incompetent overall administration soured many on the Whigs overall, leading to massive gains for the Democratic Party in both the 42 mid-terms and the 44 general elections.  Nearly all major accomplishments during Harrison's two half-terms focused on military matters or settlement of Westward territories, with the exception of the passage of an Amendment that required a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency to be filled should one arise.

10th - William Marcy (D-NY) 1845-1849:  Marcy was a key figure in the Democratic Party machine and was controversial because of alleged corruption.  He was able to end the war with Spain, but only late in his term, the Mexican war continuing on past the inauguration of his successor, though that would end in eventual victory as well.  Policy wise, Marcy actually wasn't that different from Harrison, merely more competent.  That made the 1848 election close, but he too failed to be re-elected.  The major policy accomplishment of his two-half terms that would be remembered would likely be the creation of the Department of the Interior.

11th - Millard Fillmore (W-NY) 1849:  Unfortunately, history will forget Millard Fillmore, except for the spectacular way he died.  At an event aboard the USS Princeton, a test firing of a new experimental cannon went awry, killing not only Fillmore, but Senator John Berrien and famed elder statesman Henry Clay as well.  Vice President Jacob Broom II ascended to the Acting Presidency.

12th - Jacob Broom II (W-PA) 1849-1853:  As the the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency, Broom's legacy is largely legitimizing the practice.  He struggled greatly for recognition, and it was not until the very last days of his term when a deadlocked Whig National Convention considered him as their 1852 candidate did he really have any political clout.  He was unable to secure re-election, however. Ironically, he would have a hidden, lasting impact, as he named several justices to the Supreme Court which would remain firmly Whig controlled for the 1850s.

13th - James Polk (D-TN) 1853-1861:  Polk was a master political operator the likes of which America had not seen for some time.  He brought some stability to a chaotic system that saw rapidly swinging fortunes between the parties, and was the first President to be re-elected since Andrew Jackson in 1832.  This was all the more impressive because he often times had to work with a downright hostile Congress.  Polk's accomplishments focused on cementing control of the newly acquired Western lands as well as expanding the voting franchise (for white males), in the best of the Jacksonian tradition.  He would break precedent and attempt to run for a third term in 1860, but would not win that election.

14th - Francis Granger (W-NY) 1861-1873:  His election precipitated a crisis that resulted in Civil War, with the Southern States breaking away over the issue of slavery.  Granger won the Civil War in two short years, however, and while the Whig Party has continued to be internally fractious, Granger personally has long remained personally popular and even more of a beacon of stability than Polk was.  He has continuously passed civil rights legislation and maintained political control at a time when even a united front of Whigs is unable to get much done in other policy areas. Indeed, he has succeeded where no other has before, in 1868 he was elected to a third term.  The length of his time in office has meant that the Democrats have never had a chance to take back control of the Supreme Court either.  While overall the Whigs' division prevented his terms from being as productive as they possibly could have, in addition to the massive gains for civil rights Granger pushed Westward expansion harder than any President since the Mexican War, purchasing a huge swath of Mexico and engaging in several small "wars" against Native Americans and Mormons.

15th - Robert E Lee (W-VA) 1873-1877:  A former general and famous governor of Virginia (though he only had moderate success in the latter role), Lee was hugely popular as a key national figure from the South who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.  He was swept into office with a massive tide of support, but suffered a medical emergency and fall shortly into his first year in office.  He made a pretty remarkable recovery, considering 19th century medicine, but was not a great President.  He unilaterally ended Reconstruction, which was still largely popular in the North, and under his watch there were several major disasters with Native Americans defeating American troops in the West, greatly reducing the prestige of the army and stalling Westward settlement to some degree.  In the end, he was not renominated by the Whigs, who as a reaction to his social policies wanted a radical, so selected John C Fremont.  Fremont was a little too radical, however, and lost a close 1876 election campaign.

16th - Howell Cobb (D-GA) 1877-1885:  Cobb was a key figure in the Confederacy, but also a master of propaganda, pageantry, and public relations on par or greater than Granger, Polk, or Marcy.  This allowed him to maintain a stellar reputation despite it all.  He was a conservative and Southerner, but he knew how to throw a bone to Northern and liberal interests at just the right moments to give himself a reputation as a moderate.  Some might argue that is that reputation actually undeserved if he was actually, truly doing the moderate actions?  Notable examples include driving a moderate line on Workers' Rights at a time when many in both parties would like to see Big Business crush the nascent Labor Movement.  The cynics would say this was part of a ploy to industrialize the South over the North, which Cobb also largely accomplished in this time in office.  A good comparison to a Real Life President would probably be Nixon, if you removed Watergate from Nixon.  In that line, though, in Cobb's last two years in office he had a noted decline in commanding presence and sort of went off the rails.  Some blame him for the Democratic Convention spiraling to the level of chaos that is usually reserved for the Whig Convention, and thus the party's failure to hold the White House, but it's hard to say for of course if he's the cause.

17th - Benjamin Robbins Curtis (W-MA) 1885-1887:  Curtis is the least experienced man to rise to the nation's highest office by far, his main credentials being that he is an outspoken liberal intellectual of some note.  The nation was, perhaps simply, tired of Democratic rule after 8 years, especially after Cobb's machinations weakened in the final two years.  There is some precedent for this sort of candidate, as in 1860 James Speed, a legal theorist and professor was selected as the great Granger's running mate.  Though he was often a punching bag politically and failed to obtain the nation's highest office, Speed did have a very respectable career following that nomination by objective standards and was quite astute leading a wing of the party for many years.  Unfortunately, his lack of experience and advanced age made Curtis wholly unsuited for the nation's highest office, especially after his health took a downturn very early on in his first year.  Despite majorities in both houses , the Whig led 49th Congress was the most unproductive in United States history, the only accomplishments of notes being two procedural changes, namely the establishment of party leadership positions and a change in the line of Presidential succession.  Ironically, though an Amendment was in place that allowed a vacant Vice Presidency to be filled, the line of succession would get some use when Curtis died in 1887.

18th - Frederick Douglass (W-NY) 1887-1889:  A historic accomplishment, Douglass' ascent to the Presidency less than 30 years after the Civil War spoke volumes about the state of the nation, even if he had not been elected at the top of the ticket himself.  Unfortunately, so too did much of the opposition he faced.  Douglass proved an effective leader, or at least, an above average leader, but didn't have much time to work with and had many rivals.  Given what he faced, he was able to guide a remarkable slate of bills through a divided Congress that mostly focused on economic recovery, though to be fair nothing earth-shaking, all the while managing to retain a massive amount of respect within the Whig Party.  Unlike former Vice Presidents arose to the Presidency through vacancy, there was little doubt Douglass would run for a term of his own in 1888, and plenty of support for it as well.  It wasn't a sure thing though, and opposition was respectful (internally), because it was only fair to re-evaluate after Curtis' death.  The public at large, of course, was a lot less charitable towards the United States' first non-white President, so Douglass' failure to secure re-nomination wasn't a surprise, nor too was the Whigs' eventual loss in 1888.  The absolutely stounding margin, however, might have been, given Douglass' improvement in quality over Curtis.

19th - George H Pendleton (D-OH) 1889-1897:  President Cobb's Vice President was a reasonable choice for President among Democrats and Democratic supporters, albeit one that may be a bit conservative.  Though the last two years of Cobb's eight were a bit rocky, by and large the public liked Cobb's tenure, and Pendleton was a big part of that successful administration.  Though personally right-wing, he was a Northerner, and combined that meant he seemed like a safe choice that wouldn't rock the boat, a "return to normalcy" if you will.  Pendleton was a largely hands-off President at first, with his area of direct intervention being more foreign affairs.  That might seem risky in this era, but he was the standard-bearer for isolationism and nativism, or in other words, "no foreign affairs", which is what the American people looked for in foreign affairs.  This combined with the best economy on record to date made him quite popular, along with his bombastic style, despite a lack of substance.  Some "experts" feared the economy was actually doing too well, though, and the supercharged environment would just lead to a steeper fall.  In the latter half of his second term, Pendleton took a more hands-on approach to the economy, though for egotistical reasons.  While still objectively good, the economy wasn't as good as it had been earlier, and the people soured on him slightly, though he still had a good deal of popularity.

20th - James A Gary (W-MD) 1897-1901:  Gary was a nominee in the typical Whig mold, though with a bit more robust credentials than some of their past offerings.  He had spent a lifetime in the civil service, capped by high profile Ambassadorial appointments.  This was exactly the high-minded sort of politician the Whig base loved.  He was also from a key state for the Whigs to peel off, Maryland.  Like Curtis before him, Gary was incompetent and easily influenced by his advisors, but unlike Curtis, he was able to maintain a charismatic façade.  Despite blunders from the get go, his popularity was hard to dent.  As predicted, he was something of a foreign affairs focused President, a stark change after previous isolationists.  He will be remembered for a declining economy, drastically reduced relations with Mexico (which while nothing new, Gary really hammered home on and mishandled, despite public forgiveness), and most importantly, the start of the Third Spanish American War.  On paper, America's military should have won easily, especially with France siding with the United States, but Spain proved challenging.  Gary did not enjoy the task of chief administrator, and his blunders tolled on him personally even if the public cared less so, so he declined to run again in 1900.  With the war on, this ironically was seen as the biggest betrayal.  "They say don't change horses mid-stream, but our horse drowned."

21st - Richard Yates Jr (W-IL) 1901- A young, rising star in the Whig party, Yates was perhaps as "exciting" as a Whig candidate could possibly be, with youth, vim, and vigor.  He had traditional government experience, too, having been the governor of Illinois.  He was still a policy wonk as the Whig base tended to prefer, on the other hand, and after nomination, despite personally being more conservative, the Whig platform he crafted and promised was some of the most forward thinking the nation had seen.  As an added bonus, Yates was from the new heart of the nation instead of the East Coast like so many before him (The only states other than the original 13 colonies to have a President before Yates were Ohio and Tennessee).  A third party run originally thought to peel off Democrats and help the Whigs' chances ended up being a disaster for the Yates Campaign however, and Yates would suffer the ignominy of being yet the latest President decided upon by the House, tarnishing his power before he even had the chance to get started.  It would remain to be seen if he would be able to wield power effectively, though Congress was predicted to overall be fairly friendly to his agenda.

Edited December 25, 2023 by OrangeP47

[Bushwa777]

Deleted per request  

Edited February 24 by Bushwa777

[Bushwa777]

Deleted per request  

Edited February 24 by Bushwa777

[Arkansas Progressive]

Oh God the state of Moultrie in the Pacific northwest. 

[Bushwa777]

8 hours ago, Arkansas Progressive said:

Oh God the state of Moultrie in the Pacific northwest. 

Yeah i'm keeping it as Washington....figure by 1890 or so his stupidity would have been forgotten and he would earn his own state 

[Arkansas Progressive]

[Arkansas Progressive]

VPs