April Revolution
The April Revolution was the overthrow of the liberal government of the Republic of Yorktown by President Jack Blue-Reed. The move came following the First election of Yorktown, where the Socialist party gained a large number of seats that was under the popular vote share, and were soon able to capitalise on this to obtain a majority and pass sweeping constitutional changes. The short-lived United Socialist Republic of Yorktown soon collapsed, forming the Duchy of Yorktown.
First election of Yorktown
Following the successful establishment of democratic procedure in the young nation, the Social Democratic majority led by President Blue focused initially on social security programs of land distribution and welfare systems. These policies were justified in a rhetoric of human rights that soon soured relations with nearby absolutist powers, such as the Fire Nation. Even as these tensions were soothed by withdrawing a belief in a global application of human rights, the Socialist party capitalised on this and soon gained a great deal of support. At the first election, Socialists were the only true winners as the Social Democrats and Liberals lost a total of 30 seats, solidly placing the Socialists as the leaders of the Opposition. Additional Senators and Representatives would defect to the Socialists after the election, following a public pressure campaign in order to make the popular vote share approximate the house seats. Further seats were added over time as the Liberal party collapsed, seeing a majority of 51 seats given to the Socialists while the Social Democrats held 32 and the Federalists 17.
The Spirit War
While Yorktown was never directly affected by the Spirit War, the Yorkish ship USS Lusitania was sunk en route to the Atlas city of Olympus, with all fifty six hands on deck lost. The attack was widely considered to be caused by the spirits, seeing further pressure on the state to join the conflict. Negotiations began with the Fire Nation soon after.
Union Representation Act
In order to accommodate worker wellbeing, the Union Representation Act was passed with the slim Socialist majority. This added an additional 20 seats to the House of Representatives and 15 seats to the Senate, all of which were allocated to the labour unions. These seats effectively were newly invented Socialist votes, granting a supermajority in both houses to the party.
Proclamation of the Socialist Republic
The new Socialist majority soon passed a flurry of laws to dismantle liberal governance. The Worker Ownership Act dissolved all private businesses, establishing new Worker Collectives and Co-operatives to take control of these instead. To remove President Blue from power, the Presidential Removal Act was passed, granting the House the power to strip the President of office "under special provisions" at any time with sole authority, with the condition that an election be called soon after.
Having firmly reduced their opponents in the public and private spheres, the Socialists passed the National Image Act, which effectively ended the final formal vestiges of liberal rule. This changed the flag of the nation to a new socialist banner, renamed the nation to the "United Socialist Republic of Yorktown", instituted a new national anthem of La Varsovienne and navy anthem of "Sailor's Glory". During this time, the Yorkish Army prepared to leave for the Spirit War and thus did not intervene in these changes. The new president, Jack Blue-Reed, was promptly elected.
Collapse
The speed of the socialist republic's rise was matched only by its downfall. Following the establishment of the Duchy of Lightning, a renewed interest in the Church of Fire entered Yorkish politics. Jack Blue-Reed read the Book of Fire and promptly began an expedition north to visit Fenixholm, delivering gifts and an oath of fealty to the Firelord.
Following this decision, a rapid string of laws were passed, effectively dismantling socialist laws and re-orienting the constitution to create the Duchy of Yorktown.