"Reform Begins in the Government!": The 1892 US Presidential Election (Nova Aurora Universe)

[u/Cyber_Ghost_1997]

John Bidwell was the Prohibition Ticket for the 1892 Election. He won in a landslide.

Fellow Prohibitionist John Sobieski's win in the 1892 Missouri Gubernatorial Election was a major factor in Bidwell's win.

Lore:

• The Prohibition Party in the United States gains a considerable amount of influence post-Civil War.
• John Sobieski, a prominent member of the Prohibition Party, wins the 1892 Missouri Gubernatorial Election.

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1892. In a stunning series of events, the Prohibition Party ticket of John Bidwell and his running mate Abraham Washington defeated both the Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland and his running mate Adlai Stevenson I, in addition to GOP candidate Benjamin Harrison and his running mate, Whitelaw Reid, and Populist James Weaver and his running mate James Field.

Bidwell wasn’t the only one to win a political election; thanks to an unusually strong Temperance Movement in the United States, the sudden growth of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the United States, and an outpouring of support from various Christian churches in the United States, in addition to numerous political scandals, the Prohibition Party received considerable influence. This was what led to John Sobieski of Missouri winning the 1892 gubernatorial election. 

Thanks to these events, Bidwell won the election in a landslide.

John Bidwell ran on a ticket of “national reform”, advocating for merit-based government hiring, and a reduction in patronage appointments. During the first 100 Days in Office, John Bidwell signed into law the Federal Ethics Act, which required financial disclosures for senior officials and contained provisions for criminal penalties for bribery. The similarly named Federal Integrity Act improved transparency in campaign financing and standardized some federal election procedures (provided Congress had the authority).

Bidwell’s biggest contribution was Prohiitionist legislation: Bidwell supported state initiatives regarding stronger restrictions on alcohol and also framed prohibition as part of a broader public health agenda.

The Bidwell Presidency would mark the beginning of a new age in the United States: the Reform Age…

[u/night_machine_2025]

Fascinating

[u/emmy_etc]

What happens to the populist movement in this timeline?

[u/Cyber_Ghost_1997 → u/emmy_etc]

That's going to be explored in a future post.