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[b][center][color=96D2B7]UNITED STATES OF AMERICA[/color][/center][/b][/h1][/sup][/color]
[center][sup][color=A1C7B6]"It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."[/color][/sup][/center][hr]
[indent][indent][b][color=96D2B7]HISTORY[/color][/b][/indent][/indent][indent][indent][indent][color=A1C7B6]After eight years of fighting in Western Europe, an armistice was declared in autumn between the major European powers involved in the bloodstained war. Even though they fought aside the Allied Powers, the United States of America was chosen to manage negotiations for peace. President Woodrow Wilson set forth with several key points for enduring peace, including plans for a "general association of nations," the abolition of secret diplomacy, and the decrease of armaments. But before having the chance to finish composing his speech, the 28th President died after suffering a severe stroke that left him comatose while in the White House. With a lackluster Thomas Marshall assuming the presidency and a population keen on normality, the Republican Party won the 1920 election by a landslide. Soon after, the United States withdrew its delegates from the talks and signed separate treaties with the Central Powers, officially ending their involvement in "European matters."

While President Warren Harding was able to uphold his campaign slogan of a "return to normalcy," it was anything but normal in the states. The post-war recession gripped the country while labor unions conducted strikes to prevent the loss of gains made during the war. Harding sought compromises in those strikes, which often benefited the companies more than the workers. But it wasn't until the collapse of the 1922 Great Railroad Strike that labor decided to escalate matters. Labor groups settled aside their differences to unite under a general strike across all major industry sectors. President Harding, convinced that organized labor was acting viciously against business, began efforts to combat it. And yet it didn't deter the union throughout the twenties as memberships reached all-time record highs despite aggressive pushback from local authorities and state and federal government crackdowns (regardless of political affiliation).

By the 1924 election, the United States saw economic growth and widespread prosperity, making it the world's richest country per capita at the time. So it wasn't much of a surprise that the Republicans won again, with Vice President Calvin Coolidge securing the nomination (Harding intended to run for a second term but died of a heart attack before the start of his re-election campaign). While not as fierce as Harding, President Coolidge considered matters regarding labor the responsibility of state and local government and even weakened regulatory agencies in the federal government. But he opposed farm subsidies and providing Great War vets with bonuses using his veto power when both bills reached his desk, angering struggling farmers and veterans. Nonetheless, the public still very much admired Coolidge, thanks to the booming economy and a $300 million surplus. It made his refusal to seek out a second elected term evermore shocking to the nation.

The Republican Party retained the White House in 1928 with a landslide by Herbert Hoover. His optimism for a bright tomorrow freed of poverty was shattered when the stock market collapsed, followed by a worldwide economic depression. President Hoover, not wanting direct federal intervention, concerned it would've caused more panic on Wall Street, chose to strengthen businesses and sponsored public works projects which ultimately did nothing to rebound the economy. In fact, it was worsened by the passage of the Tariff Act of 1930 (a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the nation) and his continuous refusal to approve relief measures. It caused Republicans to suffer substantial losses in the midterms, losing control of the House to the Democratic Party. With the rise of shanty towns and homeless encampments across the country, the unemployment rate reached 24% when the "Bonus Army" set up camp in the nation's capital during the early summer.

Two months later, on July 28th, federal troops marched on the camp after riots erupted over the death of two veterans at the hands of the District police. Under orders of President Hoover, General Douglas MacArthur began advancing upon the campground alongside the troops, intending to only evict the marchers and their followers across the nearby river. But things took a violent turn as gunshots erupted and fires engulfed shacks injuring hundreds and killing dozens. According to eyewitness testimony, MacArthur ordered troops to open fire without notice upon a crowd of veterans and their loved ones. MacArthur later testified in a committee hearing that he witnessed a group of individuals exiting out of a shack with weapons, believing them to be part of a syndicalist conspiracy ready to open fire upon the federal troops. Regardless, the event known as the Anacostia Massacre squashed any chance of a second term for the Hoover administration in the 1932 election.

With leverage from labor unions and Great War veterans, the Democratic Party selected former mayor Jacob S. Coxey to be the Vice President nominee while farmer Henry A. Wallace was nominated to the ticket (a compromise made to please moderates in the party).[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
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