The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 918: Chapter 684: When the Wall Falls, Everyone Pushes

The brutal suppression incident at the Parliament House instantly ignited public opinion in the United States and around the world, earning President Hoover and the executioner of the incident, MacArthur, the hatred of almost all the veterans.

This was a major news event that only happens once in ten years, and a large number of media flocked to continuously report on the Parliament House protests and the suppression.

Even some fearless media went so far as to interview veteran groups and some police officers and, if capable, they even approached MacArthur, who caused this massacre.

MacArthur’s response was that President Hoover considered the protest movement dangerous and potentially manipulated by other forces, which is why the suppression was carried out.

But the American Government also issued an urgent statement, clarifying that President Hoover’s original intention was not to forcefully suppress, but to gently disperse the veterans.

Regardless of whether it was Army Chief of Staff MacArthur or President Hoover who was right, the damage to the veteran community caused by this incident could not be undone anymore.

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In the end, after a rough statistical count, more than 20,000 veterans and their families participating in the protest died in the incident, with the number of deaths exceeding 1,000, and the number of injuries surpassing 3,000.

These veterans and their families never understood to their dying day why the soldiers and weapons of the United States were not used to protect their homeland on the battlefield, but instead used to slaughter protesting civilians.

These veterans did not die on the ruthless battlefields of World War I, nor on the dangerous journey to Europe, but rather in the massacre by the American army, which also could not but make people lament.

Even if President Hoover provided an explanation, it could not cover up that this massacre took place during his term, and that General MacArthur had acted with hints from President Hoover.

Without the President’s consent, MacArthur could not have mobilized the Military. This also caused President Hoover’s approval rating to plummet. The opposition party, the Democratic Party, branded President Hoover as a cruel executioner, the biggest sinner in American history.

The dramatic reversal of reputation caused the American Government to suffer tremendous turmoil for a time. It is worth noting that Hoover’s predecessor was President Coolidge (not counting the few days of Charles), and President Coolidge was impeached from office.

In other words, two consecutive Presidents of the United States had lost the trust of the People, a heavy blow for a country already ravaged by economic crisis.

Sure enough, after President Hoover’s reputation was damaged, the hidden evils in various parts of America appeared again.

Although President Hoover subsequently expressed willingness to pay the Veterans’ Retirement Allowance in advance and to provide additional subsidies to the veterans and their families who died or were injured in the conflict.

But by then it was already too late. More irreparable than physical pain was the emotional trauma inflicted upon these veterans.

For veterans like Tom who had been very loyal to the country, they at most would no longer trust the government, but they would probably continue to live their own stable lives.

However, some veterans had little trust in the government to begin with, and after this incident, particularly if their family members died in the conflict, these veterans grew to hate the government, making it easier for certain forces to control and use them.

It’s worth mentioning that some World War I veterans also rose to the upper echelons of government, which added a bit of uncertainty to American politics.

After the incident, the Democratic Party demanded the government investigate the suppression of the veterans to determine whether the orders came from President Hoover or General MacArthur.

Following the Congressional investigation, the Democratic Party further stated that Congress should temporarily take over the President’s powers until it was determined that the President’s actions were completely faultless.

Naturally, the proposal by the Democratic Party was rejected by the Republican Party. Although the Republicans were also surprised by President Hoover’s decisions during the incident, this did not mean they could easily give up the presidential position.

Even if President Hoover lost the trust of the American people, the Republican Party could still support the next President of America, rather than let the Democrats take the throne.

As the two major parties in America, the contradiction between the Republican and Democratic parties is deep, and the fight over the presidential throne has been a hot topic in America from the beginning.

Compared to the struggle for the presidency, whether to support President Hoover had become a question with an answer.

Even if Hoover’s previous policies and the Hoover Dam had earned the trust of the American people, this brutal suppression was destined to lose much of it.

And to be frank, if President Hoover was proven to have condoned the military attack on civilians, then his reputation would become worse than that of President Coolidge, reaching a point beyond salvage.

The people could tolerate a President’s incompetence, they could tolerate a President who disregarded them. But this does not mean the people can tolerate a President who orders the military to slaughter them without a second thought.

If the American people showed no reaction to this incident, wouldn’t that imply that future protests could all have life-threatening risks?

This would be an unacceptable outcome for major political parties, for consortiums that can control the populace, and for those with ulterior motives.

This also meant that President Hoover was destined to suffer a major blow because of this incident. Forget about re-election; he even had to worry about being impeached by the opposition party.

What’s even more deadly is, if President Hoover were impeached by the Democratic Party, then the presidency was doomed to fall into their hands.

After all, with back-to-back Republican presidents Coolidge and Hoover both carrying a heavy stigma, how could the people trust a new Republican President?

Before the Republican and Democratic Parties could settle their dispute, civilian chaos had already erupted in America.

A large number of veterans didn’t return to their hometowns, because their families brought from home had died at Parliament House.

This filled the veterans with hatred for the American Government, and it was only natural for some forces to approach them.

In unnoticed corners, several forces that had once swept across America, including Black Storm, Liberty Corps, and others, saw a huge increase in numbers.

Beyond these dark forces that could only create chaos behind the scenes, several states publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the federal government’s forceful suppression.

Among them, the governor of California State directly expressed his discontent and announced that a statewide referendum would be held in California to decide whether it would remain part of the United States.

It’s worth noting that the federal system of the American government not only resulted in the states having significant autonomy but also theoretically allowed them the right to independence.

This is why in later generations there were frequent reports of some states wanting to hold referendums to leave the United States.

In particular, Texas, which had explicitly stated in black and white when it joined the United States that it had the right to be an independent Lone Star Republic.

Although it’s not easy for states to secede from the United States—since approval from the federal government and all states is necessary—it doesn’t mean that state governments can’t threaten the federal government with independence, as it is their legal right.

So why did the governor of California have such a strong reaction?

Understanding the identity of California’s governor actually makes it quite comprehensible.

Firstly, there were still a lot of veterans in California. This wasn’t because California had contributed a large number of soldiers before, but rather, during the economic crisis, a large number of veterans had moved to California.

After all, the West Coast was not as devastated by the economic crisis as the Eastern Coast, where it erupted.

The influx of a massive unemployed population resulted in growth in both the population and economy of California, with Los Angeles growing into an urban city of over a million people at this time.

Speaking out for veterans was a way to consolidate his position and reputation as governor, and was one of the reasons the California Governor was able to quickly take a stand.

Secondly, as a political star who became governor at a young age, the California Governor had also participated in World War I; his position was that of a regimental commander in America.

Several of the California Governor’s former subordinates and his family members were massacred in this conflict, which outraged the once-soldier-turned-governor.

Beyond these reasons, the enabling factor for his public declaration of an independence referendum was that he had secured the support of several consortia in California.

Although these consortia were insignificant compared to America’s leading consortia, they still held considerable sway in California.

Perhaps the independence referendum could truly pass, and choosing between being a governor of a constituent state or the president of an independent republic, the latter was certainly more alluring.

The news of California’s Governor’s referendum declaration instantly ignited the situation in America.

In just a few days, Texas also erupted with protests demanding a referendum to decide the state’s fate.

Almost simultaneously, a large number of Black people took to the streets, demanding that the government treat Black people fairly in relief efforts and provide them with the aid and supplies due to them.

While most of the protests were organized by ordinary Black people and the government quickly quelled them,

A small fraction of the protests were clearly well-planned. Upon the police’s arrival, some well-trained armed forces in the protest groups immediately attacked them.

This turned the protests into direct assaults on the police, eventually leading to gunfire between Black armed forces and the police.

Compared to the ill-prepared police, these Black protesters were clearly more ready.

They not only had relatively uniform rifles but even a small amount of light machine guns—they were prepared for a fight.

Facing such a wide disparity in firepower, a few police officers were quickly driven off, and a considerable number became victims of these armed forces.

Such attacks quickly spread across the entire United States, and not just Black people participated—the veterans were involved too, throwing the country into unparalleled chaos.

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