The Kingfish (A HOI4 Kaiserreich American AAR) - Part 1: An Address to the American People

Published: 2017-05-08, edited: 1970-01-01

Part of the campaign:

The Kingfish (A HOI4 Kaiserreich American AAR)

"Just more than a year ago, my friends, I was on death's door.

"Have you ever been shot, America? It changes a man, more than I could ever explain with my words."
"It was September 9th, 1935, and I was on my way to my office. Then this guy steps out from behind a marble pillar, raises a gun, and shoots me in the chest at around four paces.

"I make a break for it, heading down a hallway. I run into one of my errand boys; a good kid.

"'Kingfish, what's the matter?' he asks.

"And I say, 'Jimmy, my boy, I've been shot.'"
"Oh, and the bastard who shot me? Carl Weiss, some syndicalist radical. My bodyguards filled him with lead, so I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. They put thirty rounds in him."
"Anyway, my people put me in a cab and rushed me to a hospital. Things weren't looking good, I gotta say. Plans were being made for my funeral, my wife's since told me.

"By the grace of God, a doctor from New Orleans was in town on a day trip. He saved my life. I have the scars to prove how close I was to the other side."
"Taking that man's bullet to my chest scared the hell out of me, America. I had so much to do, so much left to accomplish for this great land.

"The feeling that came when I saw that the anarchist Jack Reed had managed to seize control of this nation, America... it was like being shot."
"It's important to remember how we got here, America! The inept Republicans failed to bring back this nation from the Crash of 1925. For the first time in years, you woke up, and you realized that the Republicans and Democrats had failed you."
"And then, the Germans proved that not just the American bankers were corrupt and evil. Black Monday ripped through this fine nation, and we still have not yet recovered."
"Oh, but it wasn't over, not even a little bit. The syndicalist provocateurs and their rich, corrupted Hollywood friends put out a degenerate piece of propaganda..."
"...and then Reed provoked Ford Motor in Detroit. Now, you'll never hear me defending a corporatist like Ford, but there comes a time when you need to choose your battles."
"In March of that year, the Hoover administration once again proved their hostility to the common man. Censoring my good friend and ally Charles Coughlin was a gross violation of the First Amendment, and was the first sign to me that this nation was going to fall apart."
"And Hoover's open disdain for the people only flared up yet again. When Pittsburgh flooded, did he help the city of Pittsburgh? No. The Republicans care only for their rich friends."
"Now, my friends, I saw the writing on the wall. This nation was going to hell, so I began to plan."
"As if proof of what a weak republic was capable of, the White Russian government collapsed faster than my uncle on New Year's Eve. Another warning sign that we should have heeded."
"And yet, we didn't."
"The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, of course, proved that the courts of this nation were already lost to the reds. Two anarchist murderers walked free, and still do walk free in Massachusetts."
"1936, by my estimation, was the most Godforsaken year in world history. The Great Heat Wave left us thirsty, hungry, and suffering."
"The 160th anniversary of our nation's independence came and went, but it felt... *different*. We all knew something was coming; something that would test American democracy forever."
"And for awhile, it almost felt as though things were getting better. My campaign rallies were packed to the gills with patriots: men and women who knew what was what. The Devil stopped belching his fumes onto our land, and we had a moment of peace."
"America, let me give you the scoop here and tell you what the monsters in power were considering in the September of that year. My men in Washington let me know that Hoover, Douglas MacArthur, and other military officials were considering suspending the elections.

"Now, when I heard that, I didn't believe it at first. I thought the men had misheard. But, of course, MacArthur never failed to surprise us, did he?"
"The Election of 1936, the single most important event in the history of America, came and shook this nation like artillery fire. Dixie, this great land, knew who to choose; sadly, the rest of the country was not so wise.

"No one even came close to the 266 votes that they needed, I included. The numbers will tell you that I came in last, America, but that's a blatant lie. I have it on good authority that vote tampering in Texas and Virginia helped to give that fool, John Nance Garner, a lead."

[The map should say "secession" not succession please don't hurt me]
"The hoss trading began in the House of Representatives. While I consider myself to be the best hoss trader in goddamn country, I knew, plain and simple, that the men of the House were too corrupt, too built-and-sold by the wealthy, to ever vote for a man of the people like me."
"Now, around this time, America, I feared the worst, and wanted to keep the South from falling apart in the confusion. I worked with my pals across the South and we created the Minutemen to keep the peace."
"As the debates raged in the House, we became antsy, America. I left Washington and ended up here in Atlanta. Brawls broke out between the anarchists, my loyal patriots, and everyone in between."
"President Hoover, smartly, denounced Reed during the debates in the House. It was the one decent thing that bastard ever did. However, it was too late at that point."
"In the corrupt and evil 'New Years' Pact,' Jack Reed suddenly emerged from the House with a majority of the votes, after buying them from the Democrats and corruptible Republicans.

"In that moment, Reed showed that he was a true enemy of the American people, just as corrupt as any Republican or Democrat. As you know, that was when I resigned from the Senate. It had stopped being a legitimate governing body the second it voted for that damned red."
"The St. Louis Tragedy still fills my heart with sadness. My loyal supporters in Missouri clashed with anarchists, and several died in the scuffle. My thoughts and prayers are with their family members.

"I wanted to rebel at that moment, God as my witness. But I knew we weren't ready."
"One by one, the states in Dixieland stood alongside me. The South was clearly the last moral place on this continent, and by God, I thank them every night in my prayers for their loyalty."
"Rightfully, the order of the nation came crashing down around Jack Reed and his cabal of reds. When you elect an anarchist, anarchy is the only result."
"In a disgusting display of Northern ignorance, Reed sent his thugs to the south in order to displace our Union Party political structures.

"And now, Jack Reed, I speak directly to you. Do not come here and try to tell us how to live, how to treat our people, or what organizations to join. You come like a carpetbagger, and we have little tolerance for carpetbaggers in Dixie."
"But that wasn't enough for you, was it, Jack? Nope! You hired Mexican socialists to do your dirty work for you. You sent them to enforce your false authority."

"For that, Zapata, you'll pay."
"And then your Mexican thugs killed two of my men, Jack, just last week. Do you want to know who they are?

"Johnathan Travis, aged nineteen. Family was from Mobile, originally, but he moved up to Macon when he was grown.

"Armistice Willows, aged twenty-two. He was a law student at the University of Georgia. He had a two year old boy.

"I hope those two lives were worth it."
"And you got what was coming to you, Jack Reed. You thought you could dismiss the most dangerous man in the United States like it was nothing, like he wouldn't consider you nothing more than an obstacle."
"And now, Jack Reed, I'm done speaking with you. You've scampered off to Illinois, tail between your legs. Now, Douglas MacArthur, you bastard, listen up."
"You are the end of American democracy, General MacArthur. You are no better than Victoriano Huerta or Corneliu Codreanu; you will suffer a dictator's end. And it will be by my hand."
"Just yesterday, Doug, the socialists in the North declared their independence from you. Perhaps you were wondering how we in the South would react.

"'Maybe good ol' Huey will fight with me against the Syndicalists,' you thought to yourself, as you incompetently bumbled your way through Washington destroying our democratic institutions like an elephant in a window store.

"No, I have news for you, Doug. You too, America. You ought to listen up."
"I, Huey Long, speaking for the Union Congress in Atlanta, declare the American Union State. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and the grand old state of Louisiana declare independence from your 'republic.'

"In addition to this, the Union Congress has unanimously elected me to be its president."
"The American Union State declares war on the United States of America and the Combined Syndicates of America."
"Men and women of Dixieland, now we must fight more than ever. We fight corrupt dictators, capitalists, and syndicalists alike. I won't lie to you, friends - this won't be easy. The syndicalists have their factories in the North, and MacArthur has his army to the West.

"However, neither side has the courageous men and women of the South on their side. I don't think they know what's coming for them. I almost pity you, Jack. You too, Doug. General Ramey and General Patton will ensure you two will find out soon enough."
"Men of the Union State: Sleep well. We will have this country back in no time at all. Every man a king!"

- Huey Long, "Address to the American People," March 9th, 1937.

Next chapter:

Game: Hearts of Iron IV

The Kingfish (A HOI4 Kaiserreich American AAR) - Part 2: The Rise of the Union State

Images: 60, author: CargoShortsSensei, published: 2017-05-11, edited: 1970-01-01

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