Hiram Johnson

Hiram Johnson (b. 1866) was a Socialist politician from California and vice president of the United States from 1929-1933. He rose to prominence prior to the Great War, becoming the state's first Socialist governor. In 1920, he was elected to the Senate. In 1928, presidential hopeful Hosea Blackford made Johnson his running mate, a shrewd move, as the ticket was able to capture the considerable voting block California represented, and won the election.

However, the stock market crash came less than a year later. Blackford was unable to deal with the resulting depression in any tangible way. The outbreak of the Pacific War with Japan in 1932 didn't help Blackford's popularity.

In an attempt to build support for the ticket as it sought re-election, Johnson arranged for Blackford to visit Los Angeles. As Blackford was in the middle of a speech, Japanese bombers attacked the city. Blackford lost his re-election bid. Johnson's political career was also damaged. He retired to California to spend the remainder of his days.