Second American Civil War

The **Second American Civil War**, also sometimes called the **Second American Revolution**, was a civil war in North America between the United States federal government and several radical factions formed from states that had seceded from it. The cause of the war was the U.S. government's failure to alleviate the widespread economic inequality caused by the Great Depression, as well as the structure of the United States, particularly the Electoral College.

Two and a half decades of political controversy were finally brought to a head in the 1936 U.S. presidential election, which resulted in no candidate receiving the majority of electoral votes needed to win, despite Socialist New York Senator Jack Reed overwhelmingly winning the popular vote. This led to a contigent election in January 1937, where Democratic Speaker of the House John Nance Garner, and his runnning mate Robert F. Wagner, were elected President and Vice President respectively by the Democrat controlled House of Representatives. Garner's victory was seen as a "corrupt bargain" by his political opponents, and seventeen states seceded from the union, allying themselves with either the Combined Syndicates of America, led by Jack Reed, or the American Union State, led by Louisiana Senator Huey Long.

During the initial stages of the war, several major American cities including New York City were captured by secessionist groups. Following this string of federal defeats and embarrassments, President Garner was ousted from power in the White House Putsch on March 15, 1937. He was replaced by Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Douglas MacArthur, whom became Acting President and established a military junta. As a result of MacArthur's successful coup, the western states of California, Oregon, and Washington seceded from the union, and formed the Provisional Pacific Coalition, claiming to be the true champions of American democracy and liberty. California Governor Frank Merriam was made Chairman of this coalition.

Canada intervened on the side of the United States in 1937, with the Canadian Army placing much of New England under military occupation in order to prevent its capture by the Combined Syndicates. Canadian and Federal troops failed to prevent the Combined Syndicates from capturing Washington, D.C., leading to President MacArthur to relocate the federal capitol to Denver, Colorado. During the initial Texas campaing, the American Union State was successfully pushed out by the Federal army, forcing it to take a defensive position for the rest of the war. In February 1940, after the fall of Atlanta to Syndicalist forces, Huey Long and his brother Earl Long were killed in the Silver Shirt Uprising, which saw William Dudley Pelley take over as President of the American Union State. His tenure was short lived, and Pelley was later killed in April, during the Battle of Birmingham, leading to the total collapse of the Union State.

Increasingly at odds with President MacArthur's military junta, states such as Nevada and Idaho joined the Provisional Pacific Coalition. In 1940, former Senate Minority Leader Charles L. McNary was elected President, claiming to be the legitimate leader of the United States government. Additionally, the Canadian government began distancing itself from MacArthur, and instead began supporting the Pacific Coalition. Following the Battle of Denver, President MacArthur was taken prisoner by the Combined Syndicates, and Canada began lending its full support to McNary and his forces. The Battle of Monument Valley proved to be a turning point in the war, with combined Canadian and Pacific forces successfully pushing back the Combined Syndicates, and forcing them into retreat. This, coupled with several defeats in western Montana, caused the Combined Syndicates to call for a ceasefire. The Rocky Mountain Ceasefire was signed by both parties on February 12, unofficially bringing the war to an end.

The Second American Civil War is the deadliest conflict in American history, and is by far the most exstensively stuided war in North America. It remains a subject of cultural and historiographical debate.

## Causes of secession

**Failure of the Prohibiton Amendment**

**Wall Street Crash of 1925**

**Herbert Hoover's Presidency**

**1932 presidential election**

**Withdrawal from Nicaragua and Erosion of the Monroe Doctrine**

**Black Monday**

**Garner's election**