The Will Of The People

November 5th, 2004

in 2068 AUC, Firenzian poet Dante Alighierius is ordered to trial by the city for the crime of fraud. Several citizens of the city claimed that his fictional account of his trip to Pluto’s underworld and the joys and miseries found there made them think such a thing was possible, and they expended fortunes in doing so. Once Alighierius appeared in court to contest the charges, the plaintiffs were laughed away.

in 1855, Communist President Comrade Eugene V. Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. Debs’ travels in Russia after his presidency led to the adoption of the Russian word soviet to signify bands of comrades in America, whether it be unions, states or the whole country itself.

in 1872, Victoria Woodhull, candidate of the Suffragette Party, is elected President of the United States. She had garnered virtually all of the women’s vote in the first presidential election allowing them to participate. She promised the country that “though I may represent the fairer sex in form, I vow to represent all of America in office.” She apparently did; she was re-elected with 52% of the vote in 1876.

in 1875, Susan Anthony of Massachusetts is elected First Chancellor of the North American Confederation. During her term in office, she took great steps to work with European countries toward the eradication of racial terrorists such as the Human League. Since she took office shortly after the nuclear destruction of the Mlosh city of Qu’Mar, she felt she was called upon to help halt this blight upon the earth.

in 1940, Progressive Henry Wallace pulls off the upset of the century by defeating incumbent Alfred Landon for the presidency. With war looming in Europe, the country was unsure with an isolationist like Landon in the Oval Office, and turned to the optimistic vision of Wallace, who led the nation through the conflict and beyond.

in 1943, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sam Rogers is born in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. His award-winning documentary on incest, Fool For Love, shattered all of America’s preconceptions about the problem, and focused a spotlight on it in the 80’s.

in 1968, 5-term president Strom Thurmond is finally defeated by American Bundist George Rockwell. Even though Thurmond was no friend of American minorities, the change is dreaded by them; Rockwell has promised to turn America into a mirror of the New Reich in Eurasia.

in 4699, Emperor Xiao Yang dies in office. With no clear laws guiding them in such an occurrence, the Imperial Council votes to allow its speaker, Zhang Chunqiao, to serve out the remainder of Xiao’s term, and then to hold elections as scheduled. The arrangement works well, and the Council writes it into Imperial law.