George B. McClellan campaigned for the office of President of the United States in the year 1864. He ran on a platform that supported the cessation of all hostilities with the Confederate States of America, and the allowance of the secessionists to leave the Union peaceably. Lincoln won the election handily, commanding 55% of the popular vote.
But what if he hadn't? What if, say, the Union hadn't enjoyed the military success it did during the fall of 1864, and McClellan had been elected by a war weary Union?
The United States was founded with the energetic enthusiasm of American Exceptionalism in mind, as a nation of industry and enterprise. The early 20th century was plagued by robber barons and capitalist excess without the encouragement of its government and the competition of a state with access to slave labor. It is for the best that Lincoln won the election of 1864, and the United States has only reaped the benefits of its unified states.
But Lincoln did not win the election of 1864, and confronted with this precarious political and economic position, a young, industrializing nation became a hypercapitalistic, corporate dominated state. That state endured as the American Union, and its influence spread. Buoyed by economic dominance in the Western Hemisphere, the Union aided in the reconstruction of Europe in the aftermath of the Great War. This demonstration of economic prowess seduced the many countries on the receiving end of American aid packages, and the corruption spread. As the economic infrastructure behind slavery collapsed and the Confederacate States of America eroded, the golden age of the Union began.
The world as we know it is a few steps away from the edge of dystopia. This world took the plunge long ago, and in the year 2064 it has yet to hit bottom. Welcome to the future, and watch your step.
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If you've ever played Shadowrun, you know what you're in for in Project // EOS. Espionage and sabotage, megacorporate greed and manipulation, and the lifeless husk of the American Dream. Drop me a line if you're interested, and stay frosty. More information is forthcoming.
-W
