W4E edit version

**Dev. Status** | Conceptual

*Another Pleasant Valley Sunday*

*Charcoal burning everywhere*

*Rows of houses that are all the same*

*And no one seems to care*

- The Monkees, *Pleasant Valley Sunday*
The American Unionists are an Echoes faction created by Protroid. They utilize a mixture of upgraded weaponry from the past decade with support from the Office of Secret Services, America's branch of ACIN.

## At a Glance

 **Motives** | Nationalism, Constitutionalism, Capitalism, McCarthyism

## Background

### To Unify a Nation

The Unionists gained their initial start in the dissolution of the GOP and Democratic Party in the wake of the formation of the Federalist Party. While many Republicans and urban Democrats flocked to the hopeful and forceful rhetoric of the Federalist Party, many conservative Democrats found their party shrinking rapidly. Desperate to rebrand, they realized that they had the powerful anti-communist tool right in their hands thanks to McCarthy. Post-WWII, the political balance of power was once more falling into a two-party system. The Federalists advocated for an America allied to but clearly sovereign from the Allied Nations; a populist, progressive, and robust social welfare system inspired by the ideas of Huey Long, FDR, and William J. Bryan, defanging Communist parties, making peace with more moderate leftist movements, and a military that would only be deployed to protect American interests rather than wars of aggression, resulting in a reduced military budget. They argued that while "Soviet communism" was a danger to America, they needed to make peace between the classes, work against wealth inequality, teach acceptance of other races and genders, and become a model of progressivism; with none too rich and none too poor, none working too hard and none too idle.

The Unionists soon became the opposite party. They saw any social welfare as a communist plot to gain power in the United States, that a strong military was needed to ward off the equally powerful Soviet Red Army. Meanwhile, they increasingly became incredibly pro-Allied Nations, almost more than the Federalists. Their failings however were that they weren't yet seen as a party of the people. The Midwest and Northeast profited greatly from the tax reforms of Pres. Ackerman, thanks to farm subsidies and the full blossoming of the civil rights movement respectively. The Unionists remained sidelined in American politics, their political capital sucked away by Federalist policies supporting the Allied Nations during the buildup and fighting in World War III. Their socially-conservative views were also off-putting to many Americans caught in the full bloom of a sexual revolution.

Doubling back, the Unionists started at the local level of support again. Along the heavily populated East Coast they set themselves up in the suburbs and manufacturing centers as champions of the American middle class. As images of American men and women fighting and dying in Europe came on during the nightly news, the Unionists organized the workers who remained at home into a voting block built on the protection of American industry. It was clear that the Allies gave a heavy preference to European megacorporations, while good American workers who would never fall to communism were ignored for their efforts. The silent majority of the Northeast slowly started to shift, especially when Ackerman's behavior during the war became increasingly erratic. While the Unionists publicly agreed with Ackerman's stance on communism, they did little to point out that the president's behavior was a clear sign that the pressures of his job may have finally been getting to his head. Furthermore, the Unionists decided to steal the Federalist thunder by agreeing on racial policies and populist welfare while using their support for libertine sexual mores and willingness to favor globalists more than local workers (i.e. the Grizzly's snubbing for the Guardian) as wedge issues.

### Rise of the Reds

By the time the Empire of the Rising Sun had started attacking the world, the Unionists were starting to solidify their position on the East Coast. From their headquarters in Trenton, NJ, the Unionists became the nation's leading civil defense organization. Schoolkids were taught what to do if their homes were attacked by a foreign enemy, as factory workers kept signing up for civil defense courses in their towns. Levittown, NY and Levittown, PA became their bases for their supporters, as the factory men that kept America's industries turning started to spread the Unionist message to their friends and neighbors. Soon entire communities were signing up for weekly civil defense lectures and drills, which on weekends became barbeques and softball games. Where the Federalists were increasingly being seen as warmongers being led by an unstable president and his cronies, the family-focused Unionists appeared as a breath of fresh air. In a nation where the nightly news was ruled by war, the Unionists offered both a way to survive and a way to forget about the troubles of the world.

It was the attack on New York that finally opened the doors. The Unionists were as unaware as anyone else at what Moskovin did in attacking New York, but were able to capitalize on what had happened. While the Allied Nations were the obvious heroes, the Unionists were seen searching through rubble to find injured citizens, or leading evacuation routes to safety along with local police. Ad-hoc Unionist "squads" delayed or distracted Soviet forces long enough to allow the Peacekeepers to get into position around the city and wipe out Soviet units. Even after the fighting was over, card-carrying Unionists were seen acting as medics and damage control staff through the affected neighborhoods, while Pres. Ackerman just kept calling for blood.

Yet it also marked a sudden shift in Unionist propaganda. Now the commies could appear anywhere, at any time. Then came the news reports from California of what had happened to Los Angeles, and the world was suddenly full of enemies no one knew how to deal with. Except the stalwart and forward thinking Unionists. Suddenly there was a new surge in Unionist membership in the following months, men and women up and down the East Coast taking part in hundreds of defense and survival classes along the seaboard. For the first time in years, communities were being brought together again as one. Shop-owners and customers started to know one another well enough to ask about families and hobbies, while housewives started swapping recipes and fashion tips. People started to homogenize, wearing the same clothes with the same mannerisms day by day. Unionist banners started to hang in every window from Maine to Maryland, as local National Guard units suddenly became card-carrying Unionist members.

If life had been bad for possible Communists under McCarthy, they were about to get worse.

### Union; Intersection

When the Confederacy finally decided that enough was enough and declared much of America in rebellion under a big tent of just about everyone with an ax to grind, the East Coast remained staunchly Unionist, and loyal members of the Allied Nations. The Unionists soon gained control of many state legislatures in sudden recall elections, and while they couldn't quite take control of Washington DC, they took over the statehouses in Harrisburg, Albany, and turned Trenton into what some have called their own miniature capital city. While the Allies officially took over the brunt of anti-Confederate operations, the Unionists were seen as an equivalent to the British Home Guard of World War II, not suited for actual combat but brilliant for boosting propaganda of how America was standing strong against the Federalist insurrection.

It was the eruption of conflict in Philadelphia on July 4th, 1969, that finally asserted the Unionists as a combat force that could potentially help break the back of the Confederates. Unionist leaders quickly capitalized on the footage of Confederate fighters in the streets of Philadelphia to paint an even more frightening narrative: The enemy is not only anywhere, he's probably living right next door. Unionist members started to buy guns for their homes, started working double, even triple shifts for the war effort. Children were made into mini-patriots during school, and at home families dug bomb shelters and prepared for an invasion or attack by Confederate forces at any time. They started drilling with each other on high school football fields, men and women going to whatever firing ranges were available to practice with their weapons and vehicles.

The Allies realized they were sitting not on a Home Guard, but a valuable second-line reserve of combat forces. Unionist leadership did little to play into this image, but their own internal propaganda painted a picture of Unionist "General Issue" troops fighting on the front against the Confederates while the Peacekeepers kept to the rear. Television commercials started to emphasize America as the true arsenal of Democracy, leaving out Europe's own sizable industrial base and production. Schools began teaching histories emphasizing American achievements and goals, almost painting World War II as a minor squabble until brave and stalwart American troops came in to save the day and push back the Red Horde.

Allied observers took note, but were too busy dealing with the world's brushfires to make any comments. Watching Unionist-led police raids on Confederate safehouses up and down the East Coast, seeing Unionist family rallies decrying the Confederates when the democratic people of the world need unity and alliance, and noting that all the tax returns and spending for the movement fell into place, the Allies did little to stop as the Unionists continued to arm up. Purchases of scout cars became armored cars became tanks, as the Unionists began setting up their own private airfields or contracting out with private fields to house their jets and helicopters. Small fleets of Unionist boats started to patrol the rivers and coasts under Unionist control, and at last reports Unionist bases were steadily being moved farther West, closer to the front.

### The American Way

The actions of the Unionists left an impact on international observers. While Soviet moles and agents revealed that the Unionists were simply a smaller subset of the rest of the Allied member-state forces, observers from Europe were quite interested in the Unionist plan. They themselves were seeking out a way to unify their populations under a central aegis, to root out any possible communist (Or really *any*) infiltration into their territories. The Unionists at first appeared to be hesitant about the idea, but soon started sending representatives to Europe to explore the possibility.

Meanwhile, actions in the Caribbean revealed the Unionists might have a right way of running things. Post-war, Cuba was still infested with communist loyalties and without a strong central government. Busy dealing with the Confederates and knowing their track record for dealing with communists, the Allies allowed a Unionist-sponsored force to aid Cuban forces to secure the island. The Unionist volunteers began in the large cities, moving out from Guantanamo Bay across the island to see that the communist enemy could gain no traction in the urban poor and working class. The strategy gained ground, and soon the communists were forced into the countrysides. The Unionists kept pushing, and in time families were giving up their own to the them for being communist supporters. Unsurprisingly, the Cuban government praised the Unionists along with the Allies, and soon Cuba was declared safe. Once more American tourists flocked to the island to enjoy the pristine beaches and wild nights in the casinos, all under the protection of the Cuban Unionists.

The success of the Cuban Unionists spurred on other nations. Soon there were English Unionists, French Unionists, Italian Unionists. Yet there seemed to be a pause, as none of these groups seemed to have the same broad appeal as the original American Unionists, who by now had managed to secure Ohio and parts of West Virginia against the Confederates. Then the Unionists announced they were opening up a center in Saigon, and all hell broke loose.

Confederate-sympathetic spokespeople claimed that this was a blatant attempt to subvert a sovereign nation to more Allied control. The Soviets claimed that the Americans were now shouldering more responsibility for an Allied war of aggression. The Empire voiced their objections as roughly being, "Something is just wrong about these people." While the South Vietnamese appreciate the effort to subdue their urban problems, they haven't fallen so heavily to the Unionist ideals as with the majority of Europe. The Unionists have publicly stated that they will accept this as a "gradual process."

Claims are also coming out that there is something wrong with Unionist propaganda. Posters and advertisements seem to imply more and more that America, not the Allied Nations, is the leader of the world's democratic peoples. Television and radio ads seem to create a world of American supremacy. Psychologists in Unionist-controlled regions speak of a rise in Dissociative Identity Disorder with no corresponding trauma or illness.

This is in part thanks to the media narrative the Unionists have crafted about their enemies. The United Technate, formerly nothing more than a collective of eccentrics, were embellished to a horde of maniacs who seek to corrupt America's best and brightest with perverted knowledge. The Atomic Kingdom will plan to erase the greatest nation off the Earth with a push of a button, something that Americans must be prepared for by hiding behind desks for cover. Filmmakers transform anyone hostile to the Unionist agenda into mustache-twirling villains, shaping public opinion in the Northeast against them.

For the Unionists, it's a beautiful madness. Support steadily grows as the days move forward, and more money flows into Trenton by the hour. The men in nice suits who walk down South Warren Street find themselves meeting with representatives from Saigon, London, and Paris to hammer out their next moves. Atlantic City and Havana have become dangerous competition to Las Vegas in the West, safe from Confederate infiltration.

Now possessing one of the world's strongest industrial bases and a dangerously loyal population, the Unionists push forward with their self-appointed mission. Communism will be eradicated. America will be first, America will be their only, and America will be forever.

## Units and Structures

*"Ladies and gentlemen, our great country has never been under siege in all fronts. But let us not forget that we have always been a stalwart bastion against the evils of socialist thought. Our nation, founded on the very principles of freedom, now lies assailed by traitors to the great American dream we all cherish. We must start to give every drop of blood in our veins, every ounce of sweat from our brows, every spark in our minds, to prevent these collectivist barbarians from ruining that which we have worked so desperately to rebuild. My fellow Americans, above all else, we must remember that our individual liberties are, without a doubt, the Founding Fathers' most sacred gifts to us."*

- Pres. Nicholas Laramore, in his state of the Union address after taking power.
### Specializations

Specializations are required to advance beyond Tier 1 for the Unionists. They do not require a build time, but are not reversible; once selected, that is the specialty for the entire battle.

### Vehicles

Nearly all Unionist vehicles can garrison infantry inside, giving added firepower as well as acting as impromptu transports should the need arise.