(OOC: I do not own Hetalia, or Kaiserreich. Only posting this for a friend. Enjoy.)
Washington DC, 1952
Alfred F. Jones dreamed of a prosperous, strong America. One that never fell the horrors of the Second Civil War due to careful backroom political maneuvering (And regrettably a few mysterious deaths). But in the end, the tragedies of 1861 were never repeated, and the American homeland was not only spared the pain of having brother fighting against brother, but thrived as an oasis of peace and stability, amidst the incredibly violent state the world is in as nations ripe each other to pieces. Ending with everyone in the world turning to his comparatively stable industries and financial system for trade in everything from household goods to artillery, as scientists, artists, engineers, and philosophers alike flock to his shores looking for a shelter where they can continue their work in peace. Giving American tremendous economic power, and cultural influences in the coming decades.
In another dream, while the tragedy that was the Second Civil War still broke out, democracy was preserved in the end. General Douglas MacArthur, having taken upon himself to become America's boss by established a provisional military government to lead the USA though the Civil War, has agreed to peacefully put down his dictatorial powers and restore democracy in a supreme act of civic virtue rivaling that of Cincinnatus in ancient Rome, earning him one legitimately elected term in office as president and a place in the history books. While much of the country's East Coast lay in ruins, the American people were now battle hardened and patriotic like never before, quickly rebuilding their homes and perparing for whatever comes next. As soon as the Second Weltkrieg broke out, after an intensive propaganda campaign, America quickly joined forces with the Entente under Canada's leadership, liberating Britain from the socialist, allowing Blue England to finally return home, earning himself a loyal friend and trade partner that will last for the foreseeable future. Now, he stands vigilant as the arch-defender of democracy, ready to push back against either German militarism or a syndicalist resurgent…
The sound of a gunshot quickly woke him from his drunken slumber, and the dream vanished. He has fallen asleep on the Resolute Desk in the White house, an empty, knocked over bottle of Tennessee whiskey by his side. Just like the country that he personifies, the United States since the Second Civil War was not an oasis of peace or the vanguard for democracy. Instead, he has been reduced to a vile mockery of the ideals that the nation is supposed to stand for.
It was simple at first: While the ideals of liberty, freedom, and democracy has always meant a lot to him since the days of the Revolutionary War, after the Second Civil War, with all the crises, rebellions, and chaos, his certainty in those ideals were has significantly diminished. It did not take much for General MacArthur to convince America to make his provisional military government a permanent one, with MacArthur being president, but with the day-to-day administration of the country left under civilian control by the Congress. After all, a strong leader is needed in these trying times, and an arrangement like this worked in Germany, does it not? And they are the world's leading superpower right now! The classical liberal ideas of the Founding Fathers might have worked in the age of sail, and even the age of steam. But in this industrialized age, with the radical socialists and their politics of envy on one side, and the crazed fanatics of the national populist on the other, 'REAL' freedom, and 'REAL' democracy can only be safeguarded under 'One nation, one country, one ruler'!
However, Alfred forgot what Benjamin Franklin once told him when he was just a newborn baby in the Thirteen Colonies, 'Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.'
Things quickly start spiraling out of control: First, freedom of speech and of the press were suppressed in the name of 'ensuring peace and stability', but in reality, it was to keep everyone's mouths shut and to hide abuses of power from the public. Next, any neo-confederate and syndicalist political parties and organizations were banned by the government. But the law defines 'neo-confederate sympathies' and 'syndicalism' so widely, that ANYONE who opposes ANY government policies, doesn't matter if you are an artist, professor, intellectual, businessman, homemaker, or even government official, risks being labelled as a 'national security risk', and end up being put in jail, exiled to Canada, or just outright disappeared off the streets when returning home from work.
Things just got worst and worst from here on. With public schools turned into army recruitment centers, the nationalization of private property of any wealthy capitalist (Such as the fortunate of the entire Rockefeller family) that dare to speak out again the MacArthur administration , and outlawing all labor unions that is not authorized by the government.
But what was most outrageous, however, was when MacArthur decided to unilaterally alter the US Constitution WITHOUT calling for an Amendments Convention, making it so that the presidency will allow for unlimited candidacies and can only be voted on by the House and Senate (Which is, of course, going to be stacked with MacArthur's cronies), effectively making him a dictator that cannot be legally removed from power!
However, even though all of this MacArthur still kept a façade of democracy, that America was ashamed he actually went along with. Elections for the Senate and Lower House were still being held, with the first one since the Civil War being in 1940. MacArthur's loyalist ran under the banner of the 'Patriotic Party', with the slogan, 'We are not Republicans nor Democrats; We are not confederate thugs from the South or Bolshevik rabbles from the North - We are honest American Patriots! United in struggle to save our country from peril! Long live MacArthur!' However, all hopes of this being the first step of reintroducing democracy were quickly dashed, when the public was stunned with intensive pro-government propaganda and blatant police violence against the Republican and Democratic oppositions alike. The Patriotic Party won in the end by manipulation and voter intimidation, getting 106% of the votes.
By the time of the next election of 1944, the Democratic and Republican Parties have jointed forces, and announced a boycott of the undemocratic 'elections', calling it a parody of the democratic process. Alfred was mad at this, storming into the Oval Office shouting at MacArthur, telling him to get out, that this office does not belong to him, that he is worst then the CSA and the AUS, since they were at lease honest in their desire to overthrow the United States and create a new polity, compared to him, who is turning American into a joke and his personal plaything. For his troubles, America was pistol whipped in the face by the Secret Service, and thrown out into the streets of DC, reduced to being dirt poor and desperate, just like the typical American in this brave new world…
By 1948, MacArthur realized that the opposition has become more radicalized because of his actions, with conservatives, liberals, socialists, and nationalists alike starting to organize and plot to overthrow the government by force of arms. There are even rumors of dissenting military and police personnel that are thinking about following their oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, joining forces with the democratic opposition if an uprising occurs… Responding to this, MacArthur, now mad with power, decided to throws away the Constitution completely, abandoning all pretence of the United States still being a democracy, and declared himself 'President-for-life', with Eisenhower as his second-in-command and successor.
Alfred F. Jones, the personification of the United States, decided that he just cannot allow this madness to go on anymore. He knows that MacArthur must be stopped, even if it means the country will be thrown into chaos. So, finally, in 1952, he sneaked into the White House, and killed MacArthur in his sleep. History will remember MacArthur as having died after a long and devastating disease, but he knows the truth.
Instead of the democratic opposition taking power and finally restoring democracy, however… The power vacuum left after MacArthur's death quickly resulted in chaos overtaking Washington, as military officers and local governors alike started fighting each other to gain as much power as they can, effectively becoming glorified warlords, while many members of the opposition decided that instead of fighting to gain control of the country, they should secede from the Union, and form their OWN nations from whatever town or city they can seize control of.
Sitting in the now empty, looted, and abandoned White House, outside the building Alfred can the sound of gun fire, shouting, and screams. Two weeks have passed since the collapse of the central government, the American people has become afraid and confused, and resorted to slaughtering each other in the streets in the most sickening ways for food and basic resources… The result of this is a shattered nation that collapsed into utter anarchy, filled with dozens of balkanized rump nations that have boarders defined by how far their guns can shoot: The utter and complete dissolution of the United States of America, with no chance to be reborn ever again.
Alfred cannot take this anymore. He wished that his brothers would have just killed him during the Civil War, since in that case, if the United States was to die, at lease his would have been buried in hallowed ground, instead of this pitiful, pathetic end. Lifting a pistol to his head, he looked around the room at the remaining presidential portraits that hasn't been burned or looted yet: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln… Tears filled his eyes as his whispered his last words, 'Forgive me, I have failed you', before pulling the trigger. His last thoughts being that the American Dream has died. The Great Experiment for republicanism that was the United States was a failure. All that remains now is the hope that the ideals of the Founding Fathers will outlive him, and someday, find new voices in the future.