Timeline (New England Secession)

The following is a timeline for the New England Secession universe. Italics denote a fictional character of my own creation.

1930s
1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt loses reelection to Republicans Alf Landon as the economy worsens. Upon entering office, Landon pushes an agenda designed to undo all of Roosevelt's policies.

1940s
1940: The economy is worse than ever. Unemployment is at 35% and rising. Landon is worried that he might lose reelection to Democrat Henry S. Breckinridge, so uses a relatively small labor riot in San Francisco to declare martial law on the entire country, and cancel the elections of 1940.

1941: Landon is assassinated by dejected former Roosevelt Vice President John Nance Garner. The assassination hurts the Democrats image terribly. Frank Knox, Landon's Vice President, becomes President. William Edgar Borah is named Vice President.

1942: Knox asks for the Republican-held Congress to hold an election for the next president, to replace the cancelled election of 1940, with Breckinridge the Democratic nominee and Eugene Debs the Socialist candidate. Knox, unsurprisingly, wins the congressional election. Debs receives no votes. Knox remains in the White House at least until 1944.

Unemployment rises to 48%, homelessness to 29%.

1943: With Britain almost completely occupied by Nazi forces, President Knox sends troops across the Atlantic to save Britain. Vice President Borah opposes the war, calling it "Europe's conflict."

1944: Knox is reelected, barely, but there are allegations of voter fraud. Democratic candidate Carl A. Hatch vows to fight the outcome.

1945: Carl A. Hatch gives up fighting the outcome of the 1944 election. Riots in liberal cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami and New York cause an estimated $54,000,000 in damage.

The Democratic Party falls apart. Left-wing Democrats join the Socialist Party, left-leaning Democrats join the Progressive Party, while centrist Democrats join the Moderate Party, bringing over a few moderate Republicans as well.

1946: Knox's approval ratings are under 30%. The midterm elections give many seats to the Socialist and Progressive parties: together, they make up 90% of the House of Representatives, with Moderates controlling 8% and Republicans controlling a dismal 2%. Progressives and Socialists make up 64 seats of the House of Representatives, and giving the allied parties a super-majority. Walter Emerson of Maine is chosen as Speaker of the House, and Joshua Benson of Oregon is Senate Majority Leader.

1947: The Soviet Union takes Berlin, while allied English and American forces retake France. Adolf Hitler is captured, and tried, and found guilty. In 1949, he is put to death by firing squad.

1948: Amazingly, Republican Thomas E. Dewey is elected President of the United States, defeating the Socialist-Progressive ticket of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas. The Moderates did not field any candidates. The election results are so surprising, the cover of the New York Times features the headline DEBS DEFEATS DEWEY. A famous photograph of President-Elect Dewey holding the newspaper with a broad grin on his face is circulated widely. The gaffe is likely a result of the staunchly Socialist-Progressive editors of the Times automatically assuming that their endorsement of Debs and Thomas would pan out.

1949: New England Anti-Conservative Organization (NEACO) is founded by Lawrence F. Dawes in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the heart of Speaker Emerson's Congressional district.

1950s
1951: Republican governor of Maine, Alvin Scott, is impeached by the Socialist super-majority in the state congress. Although the grounds for impeachment are sketchy at best, Scott retires to Florida without argument. Socialist Carson McMann, President of the Senate and next in line for the Governorship, is sworn in as Governor.

1952: Dewey is reelected, but replaces his Vice President Richard Nixon with Harold Strassen. Dewey famously calls Nixon "dangerous, insane and neurotic" during a conversation he didn't know was recorded. Nixon gives up the Vice Presidency unceremoniously, and then retires to southern California, where he's hardly ever heard from again.

1954: Midterm elections give the Republicans a majority, but Socialists and Progressives win every open seat in New England. The only non-left wing member of congress representing any part of New England is Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot Lodge of the Moderate Party.

1956: Henry Cabot Lodge loses reelection to Socialist John F. Kennedy, but Republicans gain a super-majority in both houses of congress. NEACO membership reaches 1,000,000 but Lawrence F. Dawes dies. The NEACO board of directors chooses Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy to replace Dawes, the brother of the recently elected senator. Ultra-Conservative Harry F. Byrd is elected president, but with only 271 electoral college votes. New England (and the rest of the northeast) goes completely for Lyndon B. Johnson and Estes Kefauver of the Progressive Party, with the Socialists endorsing them.

1957: Democratic socialism spreads to most of Europe, as Poland is the only European country without a Social Democratic or equally left-wing party in power.

1958: Senators John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson introduce the Civil Rights Act into congress, but it is a complete and utter failure. The Civil Rights Act called for complete equality to all Americans, including homosexuals and other minorities.

1960s
1960: Socialist John F. Kennedy runs for president with Progressive Hubert Humphrey. He wins the election with only 273 electoral college votes. Celebrations are held around New England. Byrd's immediate reaction was famously quoted as "Great. Now we have an Anti-American Catholic Irishman running the country."

1961: President Kennedy signs executive order 181, which is virtually the Civil Rights Act. Conservatives are enraged, and call it "a blatant form of tyranny by the president".

1962: A rumor that began as a joke, is circulate that President Kennedy wishes to give all of America to Ireland. It turns into genuine hysteria by Christmas, and Kennedy has to go on television on Christmas Eve to address the nation on the issue.

1963: Vice President Hubert Humphrey is assassinated while touring Dallas. Kennedy chooses Lyndon B. Johnson as his new vice president.

1964: Kennedy is barely reelected, on the backs of New Englanders and the new 'hippie' movement. Socialists close the gap on the Republican majority.

1966: Kennedy is shot by a still unknown congressman during his State of the Union address. He survives, but resigns as President. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President, and Robert F. Kennedy becomes Vice President.

1968: Republican Spiro Agnew is elected President, defeating the Johnson-Kennedy ticket. Agnew and his Vice President, George Wallace, push a very Conservative, anti-hippie, anti-New England agenda.

1969: Woodstock Massacre: During the Woodstock Music Festival in Woodstock, Maine, the United States national guard, under orders from President Agnew, attack. 4, 522 attendees and musicians are killed. Maine governor Milton Emerson is outraged. He immediately activates the Maine national guard, and places it on the Maine-New Hampshire border.

1970s
1970: Governor Emerson, speaking at the annual NEACO convention, blames ultra-conservatism of Agnew and Wallace for intolerance of all minority groups, xenophobia, and fear of new ideas. His famous line from the speech: "Sometimes, it seems like we shouldn't even be a part of this nation anymore."

July, 1971: The USSR lands four cosmonauts on the moon: Fedor Sergeyvich, Vladimir Makarov, Nikolai Igoravich and Sergei Malikov.

December, 1971: The Hoffman Polling Company releases a data which shows New England and the very west coast of the country have the highest tolerance for homosexuality and minorities: 86%, across the board. The rest of the country is in the low forties.

1972: Robert Kennedy and George McGovern are elected President and Vice President on the Socialist party ticket. Kennedy swears to increase the numbers on the recent Hoffman Poll.

1973: Prominent politicians and thinkers from around New England converge in Hartford, Connecticut for the New England Independence Talks. Of the attendees, Governor Emerson of Maine is most pro-independence, while Governor Michael Sampson of Rhode Island is most for staying with the US. The Talks end with no real progress made.

1974: Socialists regain a very small majority in both houses of Congress. Very conservative politicians break away from the Republican Party, and create the Christian Democratic Party. The remainder of Republicans who didn't want to join the CDP join the Moderate Party.

1975: Poll numbers show that America is among the most socially conservative nations in the world. However, the most socially liberal part of the country was centered in New England.

April, 1976: The New England Independence Talks begin again, this time in Manchester, New Hampshire. The poll is used by pro-independence supporters as a reason for seceding. The anti-independence supporters call New England a "sanity refuge" from the rest of the country. The Talks again end without any clear resolution.

June, 1976: American-born Canadian politician and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., is elected leader of the Canadian Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party is elected to government, and King becomes Prime Minister.

November, 1976: Kennedy decides not to run for reelection, so the Socialists choose Vice President McGovern as their nominee. Jimmy Carter is named McGovern's running mate. McGovern narrowly defeats polarizing Christian Democratic candidate Strom Thurmond.

1977: Edward Kennedy resigns as head of NEACO to run for Senate in 1978. Milton Emerson, Jr., is named president.

November, 1978: The Christian Democratic Party regains most of the house and senate, and roadblock everything in their path, to prevent McGovern and Carter from looking good.

1980s
1980: McGovern loses in a landslide to Christian Democrats Bob Dole and John Conally. Christian Democrats capture both houses of congress, giving them a super majority. New England and the West Coast remain decidedly Socialist.

1981: The Islamic revolution starts in Iran. Iranian students and militants take Americans working in the embassy to Tehran, hostage. Although America pleads for support, it receives none. Canada does nothing, as the "Canadian Caper" never happens. Each of the hostages are killed after 555 days of being held. It hurts Dole's image considerably.

1982: Congress is mostly unchanged. The New England Independence Talks begin again, this time in Montpelier, Vermont. Again, the talks conclude without a clear resolution.

1983: After taking advice from actor Ronald Reagan, President Dole announces a new kind of economics: Trickle down economics. The media plays the new economic style off as "Reaganomics". Business' contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to Dole's reelection campaign.

1984: Dole barely wins the election, defeating Socialists Walter Mondale and Gary Hart. It becomes evident that many southern states are moving considerably to the right, as Mondale-Hart were defeated by 60-80%. Same-sex sexual activity is also outlawed in each southern state, as well as a few rocky mountain ones like Utah and Montana.

1985: Full marriage equality is achieved in the New England States. Vermont is first to legalize it, making it the first place in the world gay people can be legally married. Some political insiders begin referring to the New England States as "A Different America".

February, 1986: The New England Independence Talks start again, now in Providence, Rhode Island. For the first time, each of the states delegates agree that leaving the union is the only option. With the Socialist Party in turmoil and Social Conservatism spreading throughout the nation, the delegate agree that secession is the only way to stop this force.

March, 1986: The New England Constitution Convention in Boston is held, and a declaration of independence is written. NEACO is completely for the secession. Congressional delegations to Washington are recalled.

April, 1986: The six-state region officially secedes from the United States. Britain is the first country to recognize independence, followed quickly by Germany, China, Canada, Cuba, South Africa (which had also seen an influx of Progressivism following apartheid, which was repealed in 1982), Australia, Andorra, New Zealand, India, Mexico and Ireland. The United States sends troops to New England to put down the "Uprising". More countries recognize the Republic of New England as a country. Michael Dukakis is declared President and congressional elections would start in October. The capital of the RNE is placed in Kittery, Maine.

March 2, 1986: President Dole declares the six-state secession unconstitutional, and declares martial law. He uses the full strength of the military to attempt to take down the "illicit" government.

March 15, 1986: The "American Invasion" is pushed back by the Republic of New England (RNE), with the help of most of the European Union. Most of the countries of the world now recognize the RNE as an independent nation, excepting the United States and Poland.

May, 1986: Attempting to recreate the RNE's secession, the states of Oregon, Washington (which is renamed "Liberty") and California secede. The American government tries forcefully to retain the states, but ultimately fail. The Republic of the Pacific is created. The Republic of New England is the first nation to officially recognize the Republic of the Pacific (RP).

July, 1986: Both the RNE and RP announce their willingness to join the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Both the UN and the OAS welcome them with open arms, excepting the United States.

August, 1986: Five political parties are announced for the October elections: the Progressive Social Democratic Party (PSDP), the Centrist Party, the Labor Party, the Green Party and the Conservative Party. Many more minor ones are formed.

October 7, 1986: America launches a covert attack on the RNE, on the day before the first elections of the new republic. Although the initial invasion of New York goes well, the New English Army fights back from the Vermont line and takes parts of Eastern New York. After days of fighting, the United States surrenders. The New York counties of Clinton, Franklin, Washington, Warren, Columbia, Rensselaer and parts of Hamilton and Dutches Counties are annexed to the RNE, and renamed the State of West Vermont. It's capital is Troy.

October 29, 1986: The elections are finally able to take place. The PSDP has the majority, with the smaller parties being the Labor Party and Conservative Party with neither the Centrist Party nor the Green Party winning any seats in either house.

November 1986: The Christian Democratic Party is in shambles for the failures that were the attempted invasions of the RNE and RP. They lose most of their seats to the upstart Conservative Party, but the Socialist Party (even without the Socialist bastions of New England and the West Coast) grabs a majority in both houses.

1987: RNE's congress declares that in 1988, there will be the first presidential election in the RNE's history. President Dukakis announced he won't seek the presidency again, after being handed it during the formation of the country. RNE works on bringing it's nation together with others, and forming alliances and friendships. Arguably, it's strongest ally in 1987 would've been Britain.

1988: The Conservative Party wins the 1988 presidential election, with Jack Kemp and Dan Quayle. Socialists Lloyd Bentsen and Dick Gephardt almost win, but ultimately lose without the New England states. The RNE presidential election pits PSDP candidate and NEACO president Milton Emerson, Jr., up against the Moderate Party's Lincoln Chafee and Conservative Party candidate Kelly Ayotte. Emerson wins the election without much fanfare, and Ayotte doesn't come away with one state.

1990s
1990: On New Years Day, 1990, the United States makes one last-ditch effort to take out the Republic of the Pacific. It launches a massive air and sea invasion from Alaska, and a land invasion from Arizona, Idaho and Nevada. President Emerson of the Republic of New England says he was "heartbroken" by the invasion. No country approves of the United States' actions. In February, after weeks of occupation of the city of Los Angeles, the threat of UN sanctions causes President Kemp to announce the withdrawal of troops from the Republic of the Pacific. The famous image of a group of Pacifican soldiers raising the Pacifican flag over the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles as American troops leave is forever a defining moment history.

1991: American Richard Holbrooke negotiates the Sacramento Peace Accords. The United States agrees to give up the Idaho panhandle and parts of Nevada. The panhandle is renamed East Liberty and the parts of Nevada are renamed New California.

1992: Kemp loses massively after the failure of the Pacifican invasion, as Socialist Tom Harkin and Moderate Bill Clinton sweep into the White House on a unified ticket. Progressives Al Gore and Bob Kerrey finish ahead of Kemp, but still are far behind. Emerson is reelected to a second term. The Green Party gets one member in the New English House of Representatives. Jerry Brown is elected President of the RP.

1993: The last of the embassies in Kittery are finished being built, as well as the last of New English embassies around the world are finished. Iran and the RNE begin diplomatic talks, but no official embassies are being built. The RNE also partially recognize Palestine as an independent state.

1994: North Korea invades South Korea. For the first time, the US, the RNE and the RP are allied and working together to save South Korea. Presidents Harkin, Emerson and Brown are famously photographed laughing and talking in Seoul after the fall of Pyongyang.

1996: Moderate Lincoln Chafee is elected president of the RNE. The Moderate Party also begins to cut into the PSDP's majority. Harkin is reelected, as is Brown.

1997: President Chafee announces he has discovered where notorious anti-West terrorist Osama bin Laden, and the rest of the brass of the group Al Qaeda, is hiding: Pakistan. Despite the fact that the RNE and RP are incredibly low on Al Qaeda's list because they partially recognize of Palestine, the United States is very high on Al Qaeda's list. Chafee warns Presidents Brown and Harkin, along with Pakistani President Farooq Leghari about bin Laden. The Pakistani military finds most if not all of Al Qaeda in Pakistan, and arrests them, before handing them over to the UN. They also find plans for many terrorist attacks going well into the 21st Century, including a massive one which involved hijacking planes and crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York City, along with the Pentagon and the Capitol Building in Washington.

WORK IN PROGRESS