The Hero of Saratoga: The Presidency of Benedict Arnold

[IchBinDieKaiser]

TTL's American Flag, circa 1839, 28 Stars.

Happy Independence Day to OTL and all the others.

[herricks]

Originally Posted by IchBinDieKaiser

TTL's American Flag, circa 1839, 28 Stars.

Happy Independence Day to OTL and all the others.

i cant see it

[IchBinDieKaiser]

Originally Posted by herricks

i cant see it

There we go.

[herricks]

Originally Posted by IchBinDieKaiser

There we go.

still cant. it shows up as a red x. prolly my computer cus its done it before

[Free Lancer]

Happy independence day.

[IchBinDieKaiser]

Just bumping before I put up another update. Does anyone have comments or questions about the unification of Scandinavia under Denmark?

[herricks]

Originally Posted by IchBinDieKaiser

Just bumping before I put up another update. Does anyone have comments or questions about the unification of Scandinavia under Denmark?

i always lead more towards sweden than denmark but its still cool

[Confederate Liberal]

Will the united kingdom use the old Union of Kalmar Flag ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmar_Union

[IchBinDieKaiser]

XXXIX: The west under the Federalists

The western territories lacked infrastructure. This lead settlers on the frontier to favor the Federalist Party for their infrastructure projects, and the western territories would be no exception. The Adams Territory, populated largely by Spanish and French speakers who did not yet see themselves as Americans yet, the Federalists passed the Western Transit Act. This; was a project to build roads throughout the western territories. There were roads in the territory before hand built by the Spanish, but most were in disrepair after years of neglect. This act created jobs and infrastructure out west, bringing more settlers seeking employment during the economic downturn.

In the fall of 1839 the Federalist controlled congress would admit the Adams Territory into the union, making it the 29th state. The state of Adams would receive 1 member to the house, and 2 to the senate. All three would be from the Federalist Party. This increased the already strong hold of the Federalists on congress. This would quickly be followed by the creation of two new territories. North of the state of Adams they would create the Pinckney Territory, and north of that they would create the Washington Territory. The remainder of the western territory, which had been named the Washington Territory, would be renamed the Forsythe Territory, named for the Speaker of the House, Thomas Forsythe.

The Embargo Act of 1839 would have mixed results on the electorate of states. Merchants of the coastal states, especially the north-east, despised the act, preventing them from their professions. Manufacturers in the same region however were ardent supporters of it. With people being forced to buy more expensive domestic goods or risk buying on the black market, the profits of the industrialists soared for a short time. In more rural states such as the south they began to despise the act. They were forced to purchase goods at a much higher price, and they couldn’t sell their crops to European markets, which lowered the value of their crops, making the already sick institution of slavery die faster. In 1840 the state of Kentucky passed legislation that would emancipate all slaves in the state on January 1st, 1842. Tennessee would pass legislation that required all slave owners to emancipate a male slave upon his 21st birthday, while female slaves were to be emancipated on their 16th birthday, turning Tennessee into a “Semi-Free” state.

The embargo did not have much effect on the frontier territories, leaving the west firmly in Federalist hands.

[IchBinDieKaiser]

[Ego_Illud]

I just noticed this but you split the state of Illinois in your timeline very strangely Especially if the I&M canal is built

[IchBinDieKaiser]

Chapter XL: Tools of War

The introduction of black powder to European warfare marked an irreversible change in Europe’s politics. These new technologies would follow the Europeans to the Americas. The early firearms were unstable and not so reliable. They were just as likely to blow up in the user’s hands as it was to fire successfully, and that is not considering how inaccurate the shots were.

The Americans were among the first to adopt spiral groves inside the barrels of their muskets. This improved their accuracy which was necessary in the America’s where the supply of manufactured shots was in short supply. One innovation that was always eluding firearm producers was a multi-shot weapon. In 1777 a Philadelphia gunsmith Joseph Belton created a gun that could fire up to 20 shots in 5 seconds. He offered this new gun to the continental congress, but they turned it down because of the costs. The chaos and bloodshed of the Spanish-American War revived the interest in the United States for a multi-shot weapon.

In 1834 the first multi-shot weapon was developed in the United States by Massachusetts gunsmith Jared Jones. It had 12 musket size barrels in a circle around a larger barrel. It could fire 12 shots in quick succession without the need to reload. As the decades went on the number of barrels and means of reloading improved. Similar weapons were designed independently of Jones’. In England a gun smith by the name of Mathew Harris would make similar designs. In France the same was done by Alfred Sinclair. In each country the type of gun became known by the name of its designer; Jones-Gun in the United States, the Harris-Gun in Britain, and the Sinclair-Gun in France.

Observation balloons first saw military use during the wars of the French Revolution. They would see limited use through the following decades. The Americans would begin using balloons near the end of the Spanish-American War. The 1830’s saw increased American use of observation balloons. Though not at war with any foreign powers, they were commonly used in fighting against Indian tribes west of the Mississippi. As tension between the United States and Britain grew both sides began using observation balloons near their borders. In particular they would begin to see use in the Albion Country.

[herricks]

sooo update time?

[IchBinDieKaiser]

Originally Posted by herricks

sooo update time?

In the next day or so.

[IchBinDieKaiser]

Chapter XLI: Election of 1842

Henry Clay’s second Presidency was seen by most as a disaster. Despite starting the Second Bank of the United States, the economy was still stagnate thanks to the Embargo Act of 1839. The embargo act was creating a layer of corruption in the navy and port authorities. Smugglings and the black market grew in prominence. In the 1840 midterm election the Federalists took a big hit to their seats in the House of Representatives. The Federalists would hold on to the house, but by a much slimmer majority. In 1841 there was a battle for control of the Federalist Party in Congress. There was the leader of the Radical Federalists, Michael Newcomb of New York, and the moderate Federalists lead by Speaker of the House Thomas Forsythe.

Newcomb would attempt to gain the Speakership from Forsythe and the moderates, but the moderates would come out on top. This would begin a fight within the Federalist part that would plague the rest of Clay’s Presidency. By 1841 in was clear that the embargo was not stopping the spread of Cholera, and was creating corruption within governmental institutions. In March of 1841 President Clay signed an executive order to the Navy to stop enforcing the embargo. However when news of this reached congress, Newcomb began rounding up supporters for an impeachment of the President. He would not garner enough support, but it did create a block within the Federalist Party that would not support the President. There was attempts by the Moderates to repeal the embargo, but the Radicals used the rules of order to prevent this at each turn, keeping the law in place.

In 1842 President Clay announced that he would not seek a third term, and stepped out of the race. The Federalist National Convention would be held in Hartford, Connecticut. The party unified under Vice President John C. Calhoun for the Presidency, while nominating Alexander Hamilton Jr. as Vice President.

After the split that occurred in 1838, by 1842 the Liberty Party was reunited. This time Senator David Crocket would be nominated for the Presidential spot. Under his consideration, the party selected Virginia Senator Joseph McKinney. Under Crockett they added several planks to the platform, with one that he highlighted in particular. To protect the property rights of all peoples in the United States, including Indians. The Liberty Party platform would also include the desire to create a new Indian Territory out west.

With the declining popularity of President Clay thanks largely to the Radical Federalists in Congress, the Liberty Party would win the Presidency and the House of Representatives, with the Federalists maintaining their control of the Senate.

[IchBinDieKaiser]

[herricks]

ITS ALIVE!!!!

[servo]

Um, 189-142 in the Electoral College but 72%-28% in the popular vote? Also, the total size of the vote is also much smaller than 1844 in OTL.

[Justin Green]

Thanks for the name use. Looks like I have a Veep ancestor in this TL

[IchBinDieKaiser]

Chapter XLII: Cultural Migration

The 19th century would see large amounts of immigration toward North America. The 1820’s would see the Greeks fight for independence from the Turks. During this time many Americans would journey to the Balkans and fight along side the Greeks. Many Americans stayed and would influence the politics of the Greek Republic. Others would return home either with a Greek bride and or children or with a neo-Hellenist fervor. Neo-Hellenism was a mid 19th century cultural trend in the United States. People returning to the United States from Greece were inspired by the classical architecture, history, and writings of the Greeks. It became common custom to give children names from classical Greek literature. By the 1860’s one in four Americans under the age of 30 had a name from classical Greek History. Along with names Greek food also became more popular, especially in the Mid Atlantic States and the states around the Great Lakes.

On the other side of the continent, the Republic of Aztlan would see its own immigration. However instead of newcomers from Europe, they would see the people’s of the Orient call Aztlan their new home. The 1840’s and 1850’s would see the European powers constantly at war with China, in attempts to open up markets for their goods, and to acquire a few items in China a bit too rare to be reproduced in Europe. Opium was a big seller in China, and the Chinese government banned to product because of its addictive qualities and the harm it was doing to the Chinese people. This would be the crux of the war causes, and the Europeans would go to war with China in order to keep this trade alive.

These wars would lead many Chinese flee China for greener pastures. The largest number would head to the Republic of Aztlan, where cheap plentiful land was available. Those that could afford to move out to eastern Aztlan and farm did so. Many however had no money at all and would stay in California. These immigrants and refugees would bring much of their culture back with them. One piece of culture would quickly catch on with the people of Aztlan, games.

The Chinese immigrants brought several games with them to Aztlan, either one made in China, or one they reproduced when they arrived in North America. The two most popular of these games would be GO and Xiangqi. GO was quickly adopted by Aztlani citizens because of its simple look and rules. Xiangqi however would be more difficult to catch on. Xiangqi pieces were flat round discs of wood or stone with Chinese symbols denoting what piece they were. Some Aztlani’s learned to recognize these symbols, but most did not take the time to do so. One Chinese immigrant who went by the name of Aiguo Zhao [1] saw the growing popularity of GO and Xiangqi and decided to capitalize on it.

The Aztlani’s were used to western style Chess, with pieces carved into the shape they were supposed to represent. Zhao began to carve out figures for each piece in Xiangqi. This allowed more Aztlani’s to learn the game. By the twentieth century GO and Xiangqi would become the most popular games in Aztlan, with the Zhao version being most popular, even amongst oriental immigrants. The older version with Chinese characters written on them would still be used by older generations and in heavily Chinese neighborhoods.

[1] Fictional Character