United States of America/Localisation

## Opening Screen

### The United States of America

Years ago, before the talk of the Nazi jackboot and the Japanese tyranny of the isles, the Stars and Stripes flew high and mightily above the likeness of a different worldwide sickness: that of the excesses of the Roaring Twenties, the explosion of the Wall Street Crash, and the dread of the Great Depression that journeyed forth, wrecking havoc upon a crippled America. It was here that the ideas of a Rooseveltian New Deal burned, as comparisons to the failures of the Soviets' Nikolai Bukharin's own doings left the ideas unpopular and unsupported. And it was here that Al Smith came on top for the Democrats, allowing for then-incumbent President Herbert Hoover to maintain his stay in the White House.

With 1936, however, things changed for the United States, Joseph P. Kennedy promised an administration of balance and isolation, seeking to tip toe away from the breaking out of war in Europe by the Nazi, despite the constant pleas from allied states. Peace and abstention reigned in North America, allowing the country to maneuver a recovery from the Great Depression and bolster the American economy; however, calm and stability hath reigned not. For, on December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan, crippling the United States' fleet as it rested in Pearl Harbor.

With a navy on the retreat and a new President to take hold, President Harry S. Truman promised the American people that they would see the Beacon of Liberty push through for the cause of democracy, a promise which sunk to the depths of the Pacific on July 4th, 1945, as a flash of light consumed the island of Hawaii upon the dropping of an atomic bomb on the previously attacked Pearl Harbor. To make matters worse, late August saw the signing of the Akagi Accords, officially ending the war with the first great American defeat in history, as it signed away the state of Hawaii and the naval bases of Los Angeles and San Francisco to Japanese control, alongside endless amounts of reparations to pay and the lifting of embargoes to Axis-aligned states. The chaotic 1948 elections saw Thomas Dewey signed trump the embarrassed Democrats over a reeling nation, having to deal with the planting of seeds towards the new political paths of the United States. In the first post-war election, an angry and bitter American populace almost unanimously turned their backs upon the ruling Democratic Party.

Facing waves of defections to the Republicans and the loss of nearly all of their senate seats, the party desperately sought a way to survive. Ultimately, a radical solution was proposed by several former Democrats-turned-Republicans such as Senator Lyndon B. Johnson – a union with the now triumphant Republican Party. After much political wrangling, the two parties were united to form the Republican-Democratic Party, briefly turning America into a one-party state.

Thus, the legendary General Dwight D. Eisenhower, famed for his bold defense along the English line against the Nazis, won the election as the first President under the Republican-Democrats.Eisenhower worked hard in creating the Organization of Free Nations, an economic and defensive alliance of the democratic forces left within the world. However, with the final declaration of Eisenhower's intent to oversee Hawaii's reintroduction into the Union against the Akagi Accords, the United States has firmly entrenched its position in the dangerous world of today, whilst new, rising political stars come to sit in the most powerful seats of the country.Now, as we look forward into the 1960s, President Richard Milhous Nixon and Vice President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, son of former President Joseph P. Kennedy, find themselves at the helm of the White House.

However, the Republican-Democrats no longer remain unchallenged in the political arena. As the American Depression wore on and the matter of civil rights began to enter the public consciousness, some Americans began to turn to alternative voices to represent their grievances. The National Progressive Front formed by Henry A. Wallace and Glen Taylor in 1947 became a beacon of progressivism, while George S. Patton's Patriotic Party was established in 1951 to represent hard-line conservative interests. Both were able to carry states in the elections of 1952 and 1956, but neither could unseat the Republican-Democrats. In the interests of presenting a united anti-establishment voice, the two parties made the controversial decision to unite under one banner – the National Progressive Party – though whether this Frankenstein of a political movement can have an impact remains to be seen.

### Where We're At Now:

In the year 1962, Richard Nixon is President of the United States of America. Fortunately, his work is cut out for him: Americans from coast to coast desire social reform at all levels. A new crisis is brewing in enemy-controlled Hawaii as the aggressive Japanese place nuclear missiles on the island chain. Racism runs rampant across the South as African Americans plead for the Civil Rights Act to be signed, while many white Southerners fiercely oppose the Act. The Cold War between us, Germany, and the Empire of Japan is starting to heat up once again, and it is President Nixon's job to bring his country to its rightful place on the world stage.

## Leader Descriptions

* Richard Nixon
* John F. Kennedy

Richard Milhous Nixon is a complicated figure. Originally a Representative, and then Senator from California, he rapidly rose through the ranks of Congress through skilled political manouvering. During his time as a Senator, Nixon worked closely with Joe McCarthy in carrying out the Grey Scare, working to root out suspected fascists in government. And while he didn't share the spotlight to the same extent as McCarthy did, nobody doubts that Nixon is still an anti-fascist crusader through and through.

A lifelong member of the Republican Party, Nixon has never been totally comfortable working alongside the Democrats. The broad popularity of the National Progressive Party dictates that they must, however, and the coalition ticket that won him the 1960 election has made his presidency a living hell. John F. Kennedy's position as the Vice President has driven a wedge in the Executive Branch, as his own magnetic charisma and stunning competence have taken the spotlight away from Nixon more than once.

As much as Nixon wants to focus on foreign policy, so he can act to undermine the unstable German and Japanese empires, domestic affairs have gotten in the way. Civil rights issues can no longer be ignored, as racial tensions flare and people demand action, one way or another. While Nixon has been reluctant to endorse either segregation or integration, staying on the fence is becoming increasingly costly.

Of course, Nixon is also doing what he can to keep the NPP down, including some... extralegal means. With challengers coming at him from all sides, including within the White House, Nixon will have a hell of a time trying to keep the ship of state steady.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy's path to political prominence was one overshadowed by others' controversies. Scion of the powerful Kennedy family and son of President Joseph Kennedy, John found himself recalled from the Pacific front after his elder brother Joseph Jr.'s death, and had been groomed to follow in his father's steps ever since. In the years following the 1948 election and the implosion of the Democratic Party, the Kennedys (with the exception of John's brother Robert) loyally followed the shattered remnants of the party to the GOP, becoming members of the Republican-Democrat Party. Some predicted that John's career would be tainted by the failures of Kennedy the Elder's administration, but John's personal charisma and political savvy were enough to help him grow out of his father's shadow. In 1960, he was on the Republican-Democrats' victorious Vice Presidential ticket. Unfortunately, his running mate was Richard Nixon.

Now, John finds himself thrust into leadership of a nation in turmoil, one that desperately looks toward him for guidance. But for every American who sees him as a beacon of stability, there is one who sees him as an obstacle: ardent segregationists fear that his idealism will lead to him furthering civil rights legislation, and committed progressives scorn him for not being as impassioned as his brother Robert. Fate has ordained John F. Kennedy be the one to steer the ship of state, but will he be the one to guide it out of dangerous waters?