Jake Featherston
Encyclopedia
Jacob "Jake" Featherston is a fictional character
in
the Southern Victory Series novel series by Harry Turtledove
. He is the fictional timeline's equivalent of Adolf Hitler
.
to Settling Accounts: In at the Death
, rising from his rank as an artillery sergeant in the Army of Northern Virginia
to the office of President of the Confederate States of America
.
to lose the Great War. His rise in politics to the position of President of the Confederate States was spurred on by his dream of overthrowing the status quo, and solving race relations in the country once and for all. Featherston is so sure that Blacks are a threat to the Confederacy that, even as the United States begins to win the war, he continues committing resources to the genocide
against them.
Featherston's racism, unlike that of the German
Nazis
or Japanese militarists
, is of a very unmystical kind. He does not seek to carry out a global genocide, but simply to "save" the Confederacy.
, as he forces himself to attempt to accomplish increasingly dangerous goals in order to maintain his own belief in his greatness. He expresses several times his opinion that, without him, the Confederate States of America would amount to nothing, and that race relations would rot the core of the Confederate nation.
in the 1880s somewhere near Richmond, Virginia
, Featherston grows up in a poor household and joined the CS Army at a young age. It is mentioned that he learned from his father various elements of "overseer lore" - i.e., how to detect when Blacks are lying or pretending ignorance.
, Featherston fights on the Susquehanna River
and then falls back towards Maryland
. During this time he reports his suspicions to an intelligence officer about Pompey, Captain Stuart's body servant, being a Marxist rebel. The accusation would have more influence on Featherston's life than he could ever have imagined at the time. Not only is Pompey protected from investigation by his prominent master, he turns out to be a real Marxist when the Negro uprisings break out. Ironically at this point Featherston is not a raving racist, and allows Negro workers to serve an artillery piece to repel a US attack. The Negroes themselves are even enthusiastic about serving with Featherston, commenting they would have helped him defend the position even if it came down to using pistols.
As the uprisings petered out in early 1916, Jeb Stuart III, who had destroyed his career by protecting Pompey, intentionally allows himself a "heroic death" in combat. His father is General Jeb Stuart, Jr., a power in the Confederate General Staff at Richmond
, who ensures that Featherston never made officer's rank despite his fitness for the post. Featherston, previously no more racist than other ordinary White Confederates, now burns with intense fury at Blacks and aristocratic
officers alike. His anger intensifies as the war starts to go badly for the Confederates. By the end of the war, Featherston has begun pouring out his hatred on Gray Eagle scratchpads
in what would later become his autobiographical Over Open Sights
. When the ceasefire goes into effect he vows to Clarence Potter that he would have vengeance on the Blacks and the aristocrats running the War Department.
During the aftermath of the war, Featherston drifts for a short while, before joining the newly created Freedom Party
. Swiftly establishing himself as head propagandist
, it is not long before Featherston, aided by Party member Ferdinand Koenig, becomes its leader. With his raw energy and humble origins, Featherston has little trouble whipping up support from much of the Confederate populace, and it seems by the early 1920s that he would surely be leading the country. But with the assassination of President Wade Hampton V in 1923 by a Party stalwart, the Freedom Party suffers a sudden and near-total collapse as a political force.
Featherston spends the next few years repairing the damage, and waiting for his next opportunity. The vital discovery of the power of the wireless
radio and his subsequent broadcasts do much to aid the Party's recovery. The damage caused by the Mississippi floods
and the Business Collapse of the early 1930s ensures that the Freedom Party sweeps the elections in 1933.
Once he is legally elected President of the Confederacy, Featherston slowly and quietly twists the Confederate Constitution into giving him more power. He maneuvers the Supreme Court
into striking itself out of existence, provokes the Black minority toward rebellion with race riot
s, creates farm machinery to root them out of their livelihoods so he could incarcerate them in camps, and repeals the single term limit so he could run multiple times. In the meantime, the Black rebellions give the CSA a plausible excuse to reinstitute conscription
and arm itself. He manipulates Socialist president Al Smith
to allow the states of Kentucky
, Houston, and Sequoyah (all former CSA states) to hold plebiscites to determine their futures. Kentucky and Houston vote to rejoin the Confederacy, while Sequoyah, which had been saturated with settlers from other parts of the north, remains a part of the USA.
By 1941, Featherston is ready for war. With the excuse of redeeming lost territory, he initiates the Second Great War in North America with a surprise air raid on Philadelphia and the immense success of Operation Blackbeard, which cut the USA in half through central Ohio
. His megalomaniacal mindset would prove to be his undoing, however, and his expectations of quick victory are quickly dashed when Al Smith
rejects his peace offer. His empire begins to unravel starting with his disastrous attempt to take Pittsburgh in the fall of 1942 and the subsequent loss of an entire army trapped in a pocket there, because Featherston defiantly refuses to withdraw even when his generals realize it is the sensible thing to do. Menawhile, Featherston increases the program of systematic genocide
of the Confederacy's entire Black population.
Though he suffers further losses in 1943, losing occupied Ohio, as well as Kentucky
, Tennessee
, and Camp Determination, Featherston refuses to admit defeat. When U.S. President Charles La Follette demands the Confederates surrender unconditionally, Featherston goes on the wireless to refuse, and quickly responds by firing two rockets into Philadelphia from Virginia to prove that he is not ready to end the war.
Despite his displays of defiance, Featherston continues to lose more ground into 1944, losing northern Georgia
, and large parts of South Carolina
and Alabama
. A coup attempt by Nathan Bedford Forrest III
shakes his confidence in his men, and he begins to lose his grip on reality. Even then, he believes that he will be able to get his way through the use of superbombs, a technology he had poured everything he could into upon realizing the war would not be short. Shortly after Germany
uses the first superbomb in warfare, the only Confederate superbomb is set off in Philadelphia, by General Potter.
As Richmond falls to U.S. forces under Daniel MacArthur, Featherston flees to the Hampton Roads
area of Virginia to give a speech to what remains of the Confederate States. After leaving the radio station, he calmly watches Newport News explode, as a U.S. superbomb attempting to assassinate him goes off. Featherston is annoyed at the display of US power, but takes it in stride, considering it was he who set off the first North American superbomb, that Newport News wasn't nearly as important a target as Philadelphia, and most importantly, he was still alive.
Well into 1944, with the Confederate cause all but lost, Featherston attempts to flee the more populous northern areas with many core Freedom Party and CSA officials, including General Potter. He wants to lead them into the woods so that they could begin guerrilla action against the U.S., making occupation too hazardous for the United States forces to attempt. Ultimately, his plan was defeated by a guerrilla fighter named Cassius (son of Scipio/Xerxes), who finds the bedraggled party and kills Featherston. Upon his death, his vice president, Donald Partridge, quickly moves to end the war, and the Confederate States' existence, by surrendering to U.S. forces.
. One reviewer, however, has pointed out that Featherston is not an exact parallel to Hitler and found his image, rhetoric, and propaganda techniques for the most part credibly adapted to the American South.
Like Hitler, Featherston wrote a book expressing his political and racial views called Over Open Sights, an analog to Mein Kampf
. The title of the book is a reference to Featherston’s career as an artillery sergeant. Featherston started writing this book back during the defeat of the Confederate States of America
in the Great War of 1914–1917. His embitterment over his lack of promotion coupled with his resentment in the general atmosphere of defeat and his view that the CSA’s Blacks had stabbed his country in the back, is spoken clearly in the novel. It was published right prior of the Second Great War. While most Confederates bought the book, many characters remarked there wasn't anything different than what they had heard already from Featherston's radio broadcasts.
Turtledove himself had this to say about Featherston:
in his review of Settling Accounts: Return Engagement
calls Featherston a "scoundrel" but praises Turtledove for being able at times to get the reader to empathize with him.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in
the Southern Victory Series novel series by Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
. He is the fictional timeline's equivalent of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Character introduction
Featherston appears as a major viewpoint character in the series, from The Great War: American FrontThe Great War: American Front
The Great War: American Front is the first alternate history novel in the Great War trilogy by Harry Turtledove. It is part II of Turtledove's Southern Victory Series of novels. It takes the Southern Victory Series from 1914 to 1915.-Plot summary:...
to Settling Accounts: In at the Death
Settling Accounts: In at the Death
Settling Accounts: In at the Death is the last novel of the Settling Accounts tetralogy that presents an alternate history of World War II that was released July 27, 2007. It brings to a conclusion the multi-series compilation by author Harry Turtledove, a series sometimes referred to as Southern...
, rising from his rank as an artillery sergeant in the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
to the office of President of the Confederate States of America
President of the Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...
.
Motivations
Featherston is extremely petty and vindictive, taking the slightest mistake or remark as a personal affront and then vowing to take vengeance on the perpetrator, be it a single man, an entire race, or a whole country. Featherston also has the uncanny ability to vent his anger and frustration in a manner that captures the attention of his audience and holds it spellbound, enticing them to join him in his madness.Goals
Featherston blames Blacks, and the powerful families that control the country, largely via the Whig Party, for causing the Confederate StatesConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
to lose the Great War. His rise in politics to the position of President of the Confederate States was spurred on by his dream of overthrowing the status quo, and solving race relations in the country once and for all. Featherston is so sure that Blacks are a threat to the Confederacy that, even as the United States begins to win the war, he continues committing resources to the genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
against them.
Featherston's racism, unlike that of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
or Japanese militarists
Japanese militarism
refers to the ideology in the Empire of Japan that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation.-Rise of militarism :...
, is of a very unmystical kind. He does not seek to carry out a global genocide, but simply to "save" the Confederacy.
Epiphany
Ultimately, Featherston is a victim of his own megalomaniaMegalomania
Megalomania is a psycho-pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, or omnipotence. 'Megalomania is characterized by an inflated sense of self-esteem and overestimation by persons of their powers and beliefs'...
, as he forces himself to attempt to accomplish increasingly dangerous goals in order to maintain his own belief in his greatness. He expresses several times his opinion that, without him, the Confederate States of America would amount to nothing, and that race relations would rot the core of the Confederate nation.
Prior story
Born the son of an (ex-)slave overseerOverseer
Rob Overseer is an English DJ/producer, born in Leeds whose works have been included in soundtracks for Animatrix, Snatch, Any Given Sunday and The Girl Next Door, as well as video games like Need for Speed: Underground, NFL Gameday 2004, several Matchstick Productions ski films, and Stuntman,...
in the 1880s somewhere near Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Featherston grows up in a poor household and joined the CS Army at a young age. It is mentioned that he learned from his father various elements of "overseer lore" - i.e., how to detect when Blacks are lying or pretending ignorance.
Actions in Southern Victory Series
By 1914 he becomes a sergeant in the First Richmond Howitzers, under Captain Jeb Stuart III. As part of the Army of Northern VirginiaArmy of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
, Featherston fights on the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
and then falls back towards Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. During this time he reports his suspicions to an intelligence officer about Pompey, Captain Stuart's body servant, being a Marxist rebel. The accusation would have more influence on Featherston's life than he could ever have imagined at the time. Not only is Pompey protected from investigation by his prominent master, he turns out to be a real Marxist when the Negro uprisings break out. Ironically at this point Featherston is not a raving racist, and allows Negro workers to serve an artillery piece to repel a US attack. The Negroes themselves are even enthusiastic about serving with Featherston, commenting they would have helped him defend the position even if it came down to using pistols.
As the uprisings petered out in early 1916, Jeb Stuart III, who had destroyed his career by protecting Pompey, intentionally allows himself a "heroic death" in combat. His father is General Jeb Stuart, Jr., a power in the Confederate General Staff at Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, who ensures that Featherston never made officer's rank despite his fitness for the post. Featherston, previously no more racist than other ordinary White Confederates, now burns with intense fury at Blacks and aristocratic
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
officers alike. His anger intensifies as the war starts to go badly for the Confederates. By the end of the war, Featherston has begun pouring out his hatred on Gray Eagle scratchpads
Notebook
A notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
in what would later become his autobiographical Over Open Sights
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
. When the ceasefire goes into effect he vows to Clarence Potter that he would have vengeance on the Blacks and the aristocrats running the War Department.
During the aftermath of the war, Featherston drifts for a short while, before joining the newly created Freedom Party
Freedom Party
Freedom Party is the name of several political parties, often of right-wing political ideology.-Active parties:: Freedom Party of Afghanistan: Freedom Party of Austria: Freedom Party of Canada: Freedom Party: Freedom Party: Freedom Egypt Party: Freedom Party: Freedom – Civil Rights Party for More...
. Swiftly establishing himself as head propagandist
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, it is not long before Featherston, aided by Party member Ferdinand Koenig, becomes its leader. With his raw energy and humble origins, Featherston has little trouble whipping up support from much of the Confederate populace, and it seems by the early 1920s that he would surely be leading the country. But with the assassination of President Wade Hampton V in 1923 by a Party stalwart, the Freedom Party suffers a sudden and near-total collapse as a political force.
Featherston spends the next few years repairing the damage, and waiting for his next opportunity. The vital discovery of the power of the wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
radio and his subsequent broadcasts do much to aid the Party's recovery. The damage caused by the Mississippi floods
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States.-Events:The flood began when heavy rains pounded the central basin of the Mississippi in the summer of 1926. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were swollen to...
and the Business Collapse of the early 1930s ensures that the Freedom Party sweeps the elections in 1933.
Once he is legally elected President of the Confederacy, Featherston slowly and quietly twists the Confederate Constitution into giving him more power. He maneuvers the Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
into striking itself out of existence, provokes the Black minority toward rebellion with race riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
s, creates farm machinery to root them out of their livelihoods so he could incarcerate them in camps, and repeals the single term limit so he could run multiple times. In the meantime, the Black rebellions give the CSA a plausible excuse to reinstitute conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and arm itself. He manipulates Socialist president Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
to allow the states of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Houston, and Sequoyah (all former CSA states) to hold plebiscites to determine their futures. Kentucky and Houston vote to rejoin the Confederacy, while Sequoyah, which had been saturated with settlers from other parts of the north, remains a part of the USA.
By 1941, Featherston is ready for war. With the excuse of redeeming lost territory, he initiates the Second Great War in North America with a surprise air raid on Philadelphia and the immense success of Operation Blackbeard, which cut the USA in half through central Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. His megalomaniacal mindset would prove to be his undoing, however, and his expectations of quick victory are quickly dashed when Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
rejects his peace offer. His empire begins to unravel starting with his disastrous attempt to take Pittsburgh in the fall of 1942 and the subsequent loss of an entire army trapped in a pocket there, because Featherston defiantly refuses to withdraw even when his generals realize it is the sensible thing to do. Menawhile, Featherston increases the program of systematic genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
of the Confederacy's entire Black population.
Though he suffers further losses in 1943, losing occupied Ohio, as well as Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and Camp Determination, Featherston refuses to admit defeat. When U.S. President Charles La Follette demands the Confederates surrender unconditionally, Featherston goes on the wireless to refuse, and quickly responds by firing two rockets into Philadelphia from Virginia to prove that he is not ready to end the war.
Despite his displays of defiance, Featherston continues to lose more ground into 1944, losing northern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and large parts of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. A coup attempt by Nathan Bedford Forrest III
Nathan Bedford Forrest III
Nathan Bedford Forrest III was a Brigadier General of the United States Army Air Forces, and a great-grandson of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest....
shakes his confidence in his men, and he begins to lose his grip on reality. Even then, he believes that he will be able to get his way through the use of superbombs, a technology he had poured everything he could into upon realizing the war would not be short. Shortly after Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
uses the first superbomb in warfare, the only Confederate superbomb is set off in Philadelphia, by General Potter.
As Richmond falls to U.S. forces under Daniel MacArthur, Featherston flees to the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area of Virginia to give a speech to what remains of the Confederate States. After leaving the radio station, he calmly watches Newport News explode, as a U.S. superbomb attempting to assassinate him goes off. Featherston is annoyed at the display of US power, but takes it in stride, considering it was he who set off the first North American superbomb, that Newport News wasn't nearly as important a target as Philadelphia, and most importantly, he was still alive.
Well into 1944, with the Confederate cause all but lost, Featherston attempts to flee the more populous northern areas with many core Freedom Party and CSA officials, including General Potter. He wants to lead them into the woods so that they could begin guerrilla action against the U.S., making occupation too hazardous for the United States forces to attempt. Ultimately, his plan was defeated by a guerrilla fighter named Cassius (son of Scipio/Xerxes), who finds the bedraggled party and kills Featherston. Upon his death, his vice president, Donald Partridge, quickly moves to end the war, and the Confederate States' existence, by surrendering to U.S. forces.
Major themes
Featherston serves in the series as an analog to Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. One reviewer, however, has pointed out that Featherston is not an exact parallel to Hitler and found his image, rhetoric, and propaganda techniques for the most part credibly adapted to the American South.
Like Hitler, Featherston wrote a book expressing his political and racial views called Over Open Sights, an analog to Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
. The title of the book is a reference to Featherston’s career as an artillery sergeant. Featherston started writing this book back during the defeat of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in the Great War of 1914–1917. His embitterment over his lack of promotion coupled with his resentment in the general atmosphere of defeat and his view that the CSA’s Blacks had stabbed his country in the back, is spoken clearly in the novel. It was published right prior of the Second Great War. While most Confederates bought the book, many characters remarked there wasn't anything different than what they had heard already from Featherston's radio broadcasts.
Turtledove himself had this to say about Featherston:
I see people who write characters who are loonies and make them convincing and believable, and I envy them tremendously. I don’t really understand them. It’s funny, because I’ve created my own monster. In the ‘Great War’ and ‘American Empire’ books, I’m writing the person who is the functional equivalent of Adolf Hitler. I’m inside his head — and that’s a very strange place for somebody who thinks of himself as a fairly rational fellow to be. That’s alarming.
Literary significance & criticism
Paul Di FilippoPaul Di Filippo
Paul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...
in his review of Settling Accounts: Return Engagement
Settling Accounts: Return Engagement
Return Engagement is the first book of Harry Turtledove's Settling Accounts series of alternate history novels. It is an analogy of World War II being waged on American soil between the United States and the Confederate States....
calls Featherston a "scoundrel" but praises Turtledove for being able at times to get the reader to empathize with him.