National Populism

National Populism, ​nicknamed "democracy for the white man" by both party officials and critics, was an American-based ideology originating in the country's deep south in the years prior to the Second American Civil War. The concept of National Populism was developed by American spiritualist and militant William Dudley Pelley as a response to the rise of both European fascism and eastern communism.

​History
​TBA

​Ideology
National Populism, in theory, rejected the mainstream political spectrum of left and right and, like other contemporary authoritarian doctines, was described by its adherents as a necessary "third" or "centrist" position. Pelley especially despised the growing socialist sentiment in the United States at the time, denouncing the labor movement as nothing more than "a lilly-livered conspiracy by the damn wobblies" to seize control of a country that was never theirs. He was also critical of Italian fascism, which he saw as a thinly veiled attempt at establishing Marxism through capitalist means.

America under the Silver Legion largely resembled the social democratic model, but paired with extreme nationalism and even elements of occultism and neo-colonialism. Healthcare was universal and world-class at no expense to the patient, public education was greatly expanded and state colleges made tuition free, every family was guaranteed good work, a house, and one autombile - every white family.

The phrase "democracy for the white man" was first coined by African-American author Ernest Hemingway in response to the growth of Pelley's doctrine in certain circles, but quickly appropriated by officials in the Silver Legion as a digestible mantra for their white, working class base. After taking power, Pelley institutionalized white nationalism in the country's new constituton and kept his political opponents suppressed with the use of his paramilitary and secret police force, the Minutemen.

While robust social programs were offered to all whites, not even the purest Americans were permitted to form unions, which Pelley saw as the vessel through which socialism could take root in a capitalist economy. In this way, National Populism evolved into a tool that would both maintain the white ethnostate and prevent socialism, in the form of worker ownership, from ever gaining traction in a country. Pelley believed that by humanizing capitalism with strong social programs ("comforts for the people") he would prevent the populace from ever turning to socialism.



​William Dudley Pelley's political compass