Official "Retrospective History of the United States" Challenge Thread

[Turquoise Blue]

Originally Posted by Abhakhazia

Errgggghhhh......
Why Abe? Why?

I wanted to go the TL-191 route with Honest Abe. Conservatives in this USA will find themselves in a dizzy, that's for sure...

Originally Posted by d32123

John Wilkes Booth?

Yep.

[metastasis_d]

So does Nobel still have a career in science?

[Turquoise Blue]

Originally Posted by metastasis_d

So does Nobel still have a career in science?

Yes, he does. He's the one who makes the light bulb in this world, not Edison, which discovers dynamite and started the Edison Awards.

[Nerdlinger]

Originally Posted by Turquoise Blue

The Fifteen Founders of Socialism

5) Karl Marx (Germany) Irrelevant. Didn't do anything important.
6) Frederich Engels (Germany) Irrelevant as well.

If these fellows are irrelevant, why are they listed amongst the 15 founders of socialism in your TL?

[metastasis_d]

Originally Posted by Turquoise Blue

Yes, he does. He's the one who makes the light bulb in this world, not Edison, which discovers dynamite and started the Edison Awards.

And Tesla?

[Turquoise Blue]

Originally Posted by metastasis_d

And Tesla?

As OTL, but Tesla coils are used more.

[metastasis_d]

Originally Posted by Turquoise Blue

As OTL, but Tesla coils are used more.

Like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPoomwdNZeY

Or this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSAExHBrfwU

[JSmith]

So is everyone just silently working becuase Im silently fiending

[Turquoise Blue]

Originally Posted by JSmith

So is everyone just silently working becuase Im siliently fiending

Hell, I'm seriously considering a more centrist USA and regional devolution happening, like OTL Britain. Copying from my other TL, A Chip off the Old Block.

[jpj1421]

Originally Posted by JSmith

So is everyone just silently working becuase Im siliently fiending

I've been playing with a couple of paradox scenarios to see how my idea of the French Civil War I have in mind would turn out. I used America in Kaiserreich as France. We'll see about tonight.

[metastasis_d]

Originally Posted by JSmith

So is everyone just silently working becuase Im silently fiending

Writer's block all around, it seems.

[jpj1421]

A quick update to the JPJverse as I go to lunch. No American stuff here, sorry to say.


Letter from Louis Stanislas Xavier, Count of Provence to Prime Minister Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, September 15th, 1801. (Translated from French)

Dear Sir,

I have decided to accept your offer to return to Paris as monarch. Despite having a somewhat diminished authority compared to my brother, I believe it is important to return France to stability. I will return to Paris as soon as I am able, and am looking forward to working with your government in the years to come.

Louis, Count of Provence

Bourbon Restoration and the Start of the French Civil War
In the early days of the French Revolution, Sieyes wanted to establish a Constitutional monarchy, similar to the form of government in the United Kingdom. But, the Revolution proceeded on a different course and Sieyes focus was to survive The Terror. The 1 Pairial in 1799 ended with the control of the Revolutionary government in the hands of Sieyes. He would spend the next two years guiding the French Government to model the Parliamentary system of Britain and establishing peace with other European nations. Publicly this was to eliminate the instability and anarchy of the past decade, but privately wanted to re-establish the monarchy.

On September 25th, 1801, it was announced that Louis, Count of Provence, brother to the late Louis XVI would be restored as King of France. It was stressed that this would be a Constitutional Monarchy, and not an absolute, to tie the modern France to the past. Despite two years of careful planning, the government immediately fractured, into two factions, which would eventually become four. The Restorers and the Revolutionaries would fight over the next month before members of Parliament left Paris in disgust.

By November there would be 4 leading figures in France each pushing for a different future for the nation. General Napoleon had taken much of the army with, declaring the Republic failed and the start of a French Empire. Louis Marie de La Revelliere-Lepeaux, one of the former Directors deposed in the 1 Pairial, called for the continuation of a true Republic without monarchial influence. Sieyes led the constitutional restoration faction, and the government recognized by the rest of Europe. And finally, Jacques Antoine Marie de Cazales had returned from exile to France to read the royalist faction, wanting to restore the newly crowned Louis XVIII to absolute authority. Modern historians have suggested that King Louis XVIII was quietly supporting the Royalists wanting all of his brother’s powers, but stayed publicly loyal to Sieyes for fear of a Napoleon victory.

[Abhakhazia]

Originally Posted by metastasis_d

Writer's block all around, it seems.

Unfortunately true.

[The Red]

Originally Posted by metastasis_d

Writer's block all around, it seems.

Not really writers block as much as writers hump.

[Nerdlinger]

Originally Posted by The Red

Not really writers block as much as writers hump.

Well, be sure to wear protection.

[jpj1421]

JPJverse Though the world is different, I'm going to try and make the issues of the elections parallel to our own though not necessarily identical, to try and get in the proper spirit of the elections. I think I have a few more words on Adams second term, but I've run out of time.
------------------------------------------------------------------

John Adams Second Term

Adams would find his second term more difficult than his first in a lot of ways. Congress was openly hostile to him, hoping to undermine any of policies. This was only exasperated as Congress and the President supported different factions in the French Civil War. Adams would rely on Vice President Pinckney heavily for achieving results in the Senate, as the Vice President was more well-liked by both sides. Due to his veto power and Pinckney’s presence as the de Facto Federalist Leader in the Senate, Adams was able to prevent the dismantling of his accomplishments.

Louisiana Purchase

In 1802 the French Civil War was well under way and victory was unclear. Even when the United Kingdom officially sided with Prime Minister Sieyes faction, Napoleon and the Royalists proved to be able combatants. Adams and his Secretary of State, Rufus King had established a cordial relationship, and there was concern that another victor in the War could lead to a slide back to the days of the Quasi War. Adams was especially concerned about the Louisiana Territory being used as a means for invasion into the United States. Rufus King was dispatched to Paris to negotiate for the purchase of the territory from the French. Spain had lost control of the territory in 1800 under the Treaty of San Ildefonso.

While there was some resistance to such a move from within the French government, but the loss of Haiti to rebels, and the need for financial support led to the sale. Sieyes offered to sell the entire Territory for a price of $30 million, which could be easily financed. Afraid of missing the opportunity, Adams authorized the purchase, much to the consternation of the Democratic-Republicans. Their opposition would be muted when the Congressional elections of 1802 returned the Federalists to control in the Senate, only to be renewed when Adams signed an Executive Order banning slavery in the new territory. This would be a point of contention, with Executive Orders being repealed or renewed, until the end of the Civil War.

In 1803, Adams would appoint Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as leaders of an expedition to explore the new territory.

Foreign Policy

The Sieyes faction was ultimately successful in the French Civil War, leading to a constitutional monarchy for the nation. Many Democratic-Republicans blamed Adams for his part in what they perceived to be the fall of the French Republic. They continued to attack the President as he continued to improve relations with France and Britain. In the last few years of his Presidency, there was peace on the Atlantic between America and Europe.

After the election of 1804, and Jefferson’s drubbing of Vice President Pinckney, Adams did one last thing to infuriate the Democratic-Republicans in the foreign policy sphere. Adams would fully recognize the Republic of Haiti as a legitimate nation, despite it being the result of a slave revolt. Many in the slaveholders were horrified, while many in the North approved of the action, having just begun to feel the stirrings of the anti-slavery movement.

[Nerdlinger]

Neat stuff, JPJ. Did Napoleon invade Russia in your TL?

[jpj1421]

Originally Posted by Nerdlinger

Neat stuff, JPJ. Did Napoleon invade Russia in your TL?

It's looking unlikely. If anything, Napoleon will be lucky to walk away from the French Civil War with his head attached. However there might be a war involving France in the years to come....we'll see how it goes.

[Abhakhazia]

Damn it people! I'm not ready for the '90s. Got something else?

[metastasis_d]

Originally Posted by Nerdlinger

Well, be sure to wear protection.

What kind of sick shit are you into that requires you to carry a gun in bed?