Second American Civil War

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-Thomas Jefferson
The Second American Civil War was a devastating conflict waged by various successor factions to the fractured United States, primarily the syndicalists under the banner of the NCL/IWW-AFL, and loyalists to the old order led by General MacArthur's military junta. The syndicalists, supported by the socialist Third Internationale, fought variously to secede and form their own republic or establish itself as the sole successor to the previous regime, while the loyalists sought to crush the Communist Party revolution and fully restore the United States. The military government received significant material aid from Mitteleuropa and the Entente, who feared the prospect of an Internationale-aligned North America which could threaten the already fragile balance of power globally in unpredictable ways. 
== Timeline ==
=== Prelude (1912-1919) ===
* 1912 - Eugene V. Debs heads the first presidential ticket for the Socialist Party USA with the support of the IWW. Wilson is victorious and implements tight anti-labor laws.
* 1913 - The AFL formally allies with the IWW to unite America's industrial union organizations.
* 1914 - The First Weltkrieg begins in Austria-Hungary with the archduke's assassination. Socialists in the US latch on to the anti-war movement.
* 1916 - Alexander Palmer is elected President. In reaction to the rise of the IWW-AFL and the Socialists as well as the crippling allied blockade, the federal government enters into an extremely unpopular alliance with the German Empire, beginning American involvement in the war.
* 1917 - The Bolshevik Rebellion is Russia is crushed. Congress passes the Espionage Act.
* 1918 - The leaders of the Socialist Party are arrested for inciting race riots and calling for the overthrow of the US government.
* 1919 - Journalist and Socialist Party member John Reed returns from Russia and rallies popular opposition to the increasingly authoritarian government. Debs and the other founders are released from prison. The Communist Party of America is founded to replace the defunct Socialist Party. The IWW and AFL unite to form the National Confederation of Labor (NCL) though both organizations retain a level of autonomy.
=== The Collapse (1920-1925) ===
* 1920 - After a summer of violent clashes between Communist sympathizers, the national guard, and southern separatists, the general election is canceled by General MacArthur, installing Garner as a puppet president and beginning the military junta era. The Communist Party calls an emergency meeting of the NCL in their Chicago headquarters, encouraging syndicalist forces across the country to rise up and seize the means of production, declaring the United States a "dead nation" and refusing to recognize Garner as president. The governors of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin contest the election results and instead acknowledge Debs as president. The communes of Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, and Phoenix are declared as syndicalist partisans overthrow their local governments, replacing them with NCL congresses. MacArthur gives the Communist Party and all states and autonomous zones loyal to Debs a January 1st deadline to stand down.
* 1921 - Threatened with fierce government crackdown, the NCL initiates the Great New Years' General Strike, grinding the country to a halt for several days. In reaction to syndicalists forces attempting to seize the US army barracks in Houston, Texas, MacArthur orders the military to arrest all members of the NCL and the Communist Party, and put down the strike by force if necessary. Communist partisans form militias to push all federal authorities out of the socialist midwest. As the MacArthur junta mobilizes to march upon the midwest, parts of the US armed forces in the army, navy, and airforce defect to the NCL. The Regional Defense Force of Illinois is organized in Chicago by the Communists, forming the first brigade of the new American Red Army commanded by General Smedley Butler. As the rogue state governments rush to secure their borders against the impending federal invasion, the Second American Civil War begins. Several state such as those in the Great Plains nominally remain part of the union but are considered unaligned, as little to no violence breaks out in their borders. The Silver Legion, with the support of the KKK and several other chauvinist militia groups, seize control of significant portions of the deep south to pre-empt similar socialist uprisings in their cities. Many among their ranks consider themselves the successors of the Confederate States.
* 1922-23 - Federal forces initially steamroll the disorganized Red Army, but as the Communist Party consolidates control over the midwest their martial forces begin to more effectively coordinate under Butler. Regional Defense Forces are formed in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York, threatening federal control over those states. The borders of the "Provisional Revolutionary States" stabilize and mass collectivization of agriculture and industry begins. Violent strikes continue to spread unrest throughout loyalist states.
* 1924 - Syndicalist forces from the NYRDF and PARDF surround the capital of the United States. The siege of Washington, DC begins. The ranks of the US Army swell with volunteers as socialists triumph in the west coast urban centers. Serious federal resistance militias rise up across the PRS.
* 1925 - Kentucky, Iowa, and Tennessee fall to syndicalism as IWW-AFL militias mount the devastating Spring of '25 Counteroffensive. The Communist Party founds the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution to suppress loyalist elements within the PRS. Mitteleuropa commits to financing the federal government's efforts. Syndicalist advance into upper New England is halted by the threat of Canadian intervention. Former Bolshevik leaders emerge from exile to serve and advise the Red Army. The Russian Republic condemns the PRS and demands it hand over the rebels.
=== Red Terror (1926-1929) ===
* 1926 - Eugene V. Debs dies of tuberculosis, leaving Communist leadership in the hands of his chosen successor John Reed. A failed naval invasion to reclaim Delaware and liberate the encircled Washington, DC damages federal war support among the republic. Unfettered CSA-SL militias spread chaos throughout the deep south, resulting in an unprecedented series of lynchings and bombings of black churches and other institutions. The RDF of Georgia, mostly black partisans, is organized in response.
* 1927 - A series of mutinies within the US military allow the Red Army to break through their front lines in the center of the country, beginning the syndicalist invasion of the Great Plains. Farms in Nebraska and the Dakotas are collectivized en masse to help feed the PRS, where hunger had become a serious problem. Some are set ablaze by vengeful anarchists seeking retribution against the US government. Similar acts of terror are committed across newly conquered states. Reed encourages the workers of America to take their revenge against the capitalists by any means necessary. A particularly pervasive drought cripples food production in both the US and PRS.
* 1928 - The city of Charleston, SC is encircled and seized by the syndicalists, costing the federal government their strongest bastion in the southeast. A wave of strikes shuts down south Florida, forcing the state's government to concede to their demands. In accordance, despite remaining in the union, loyalist forces are largely prevented from operating in Florida. As the Red Army advances upon the severely weakened south, Commander Butler declares his intent to "finish what Sherman started." The region is engulfed with chaos as socialists and confederates clash, resulting in the bloodiest stage of the war in terms of civilian casualties.
* 1929 - The Red Army marches upon Denver, Colorado, the political heart of the United States as DC continues to endure the siege. At 16:00 July 12, two days later, the red and black flag is raised over the Union Station, signaling the end of the war. Commander Oliver Law of the Raleigh Battalion receives a telegram from General MacArthur requesting a ceasefire to discuss a temporary truce after almost a decade of unthinkable destruction and millions of deaths. Upon relay, the central committee in Chicago agrees to an armistice; James P. Cannon and Norman Thomas are sent to represent the demands of the Communist Party. The Rocky Mountain Ceasefire is enacted, bringing about an immediate cessation of hostilities between federal and syndicalist forces. After several days of intense negotiations, both governments agree to a redrawing of political boundaries to reflect the de-facto victory of the syndicalists. Finally at peace, the NCL convenes to declare a second constitutional convention, and shortly thereafter the Commonwealth of America is established.
Category:Politics
Category:Hearts of Iron