What would have happened, if say through his worship of TR, FDR had joined the Republican Party as part of its TR progressive Wing and won his State Senate seat in 1910. Do you think he would still be president?
FDR - The Republican
- Thread starter Arch-Angel
- Start date
Quite likely as the Republicans were the dominant party before the depression. What kind of reforms he would bring before the depression hits is something to wonder about. My guess is that he would go after the trusts harder or something.
Xen
Banned
Makes me wonder, the Democratic Party before FDR was the more conservative party (though both had their liberal and conservative branches), with FDR a Republican would the parties of today switch roles? The Republicans as the liberal, social-democratic party and the Democrats as the conservative, faith based party?
It might well be that the two parties would today be almost a role reversal of their positions in OTL. The Republican Party was remembered as the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party that freed the slaves. Before The Depression The Republican Party was the more progressive of the two. It was The Republicans who in the late 1800's and early 1900's went after big business and after the monopolies, the party of Teddy Roosevelt who broke the monopolies. The Republicans were viewed as the party of the common people, of the working man. The Democrats were the party of big business.
In the 1930's in OTL the Republican and Democratic Parties did seem to reverse roles compared to what the were years earlier. So if FDR had been a Republican the two parties might well each still have the same roles they did about 100 years ago.
Fearless Leader
Donor
The easiest way to do this would to butterfly away TR's sons, thereby making FDR a more likely successor to Teddy's legacy. IOTL TR's boys were a major reason FDR chose to run for the Democrats. Without them, he could very easily change sides.
Not to mention that FDR developed quite a bit during his tenure with the Democratic Party prior to beocoming president. If he runs as a Republican there's no guaruntee FDR will be the same president (or even if he'd be president) as he was in OTL.
Not to mention that FDR developed quite a bit during his tenure with the Democratic Party prior to beocoming president. If he runs as a Republican there's no guaruntee FDR will be the same president (or even if he'd be president) as he was in OTL.
Have a Republican in office in WW1 and get the blame, have conservative Democrats in office from 1920 to 1932.
Then if FDR were a Progressive Republican he might have carried out much the same policies as in OTL and the parties would be the reverse of what they are.
There is one interesting aspect of this though. As a Democrat FDR was tied to the most overtly racist section of the country.
I wonder how far he might have tried to push Civil Rights issues.
Oh and he would not have won 46 states out of 48 in 1936. Several Southern states would have voted for the Democrat. (Though I wonder if there were any black majority or near majority states that might have voted for the FDR if he had managed to get voting rights enforced.)
Then if FDR were a Progressive Republican he might have carried out much the same policies as in OTL and the parties would be the reverse of what they are.
There is one interesting aspect of this though. As a Democrat FDR was tied to the most overtly racist section of the country.
I wonder how far he might have tried to push Civil Rights issues.
Oh and he would not have won 46 states out of 48 in 1936. Several Southern states would have voted for the Democrat. (Though I wonder if there were any black majority or near majority states that might have voted for the FDR if he had managed to get voting rights enforced.)