In 1936, American Senator Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip enters the
presidential election campaign on a
populist platform, promising to restore the country to prosperity and greatness, and promising each citizen $5,000 per year (equivalent to $116,000 in 2025). Portraying himself as a champion of "the
forgotten man" and "traditional" American values, Windrip defeats incumbent President
Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination, and then beats his Republican opponent, Senator Walt Trowbridge, in the November election.
Having previously foreshadowed some authoritarian measures to reorganize the government, Windrip outlaws dissent, incarcerates political enemies in
concentration camps, and trains and arms a paramilitary force called the "Minute Men" (named after
the Revolutionary War militias of the same name), who terrorize citizens and enforce the policies of a
corporatist regime. One of Windrip's first acts as president is to eliminate the influence of
Congress, which draws the ire of many citizens as well as the legislators themselves. The Minute Men respond to protests harshly, attacking demonstrators with
bayonets.
In addition to these actions, Windrip's administration, known as the "Corpo" government, curtails women's and minority rights, and eliminates
individual states by subdividing the country into administrative sectors. The government of these sectors is managed by Corpo authorities, usually prominent businessmen or Minute Men officers. Those accused of crimes against the government appear before
kangaroo courts presided over by military judges. A majority of Americans approve of these dictatorial measures, seeing them as painful but necessary steps to restore American power.
