William Roberts of Quinque, Virginia sat on his front porch. It was the summer of 1972, and every once in a while, a car would zip by on the small road before him. Roberts was somewhat frightened for the future. Would some day, roads be classified as 100 mile an hour zones? Roberts had, of course, his experience of his lifetime, which streched back 111 years. His memory is clear, and he distinctly remember his mother and father from the 1870s. William hadnt even seen a car for most of his adult life. He had done many jobs since his birth, being in many strange places, but what always struck him was the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Despite being four, he could remember it clearly. His family, rich Washingtonians had been at Fords Theater that fateful night, and, William had watched in horror while John Wilkes Booth shot the President. Today he wondered, what if Lincoln had never been shot, where would he be today?
TLIAW: The Great Emancipator Lives On
- Thread starter Baconheimer
- Start date
Om April 14, 1865, as the war was wearing down, Abraham Lincoln went to a play with his wife and a Major Rathbone and his wife. A John Wilkes Booth, a renowned actor, arrived at the theater not to watch to play, but to kill the President. Booth intended to shoot the President during the funniest moment of the play, escaping while his co-conspiritors assissanted other government officials. He hoped this would revitalize the Confederate cause. As the line approached, Booth entered the box in which Lincoln was sitting, but just then, Rathbone turned around, and shouted. Booth was surprised and Rathbone chased him from the theater. On the street, Booth was shot dead by a District Police Officer, and Edmund Branch. The event was quickly forgotten, and, within the year, the south was defeated, and the Stars and Stripes reigned supreme.
The Lincoln that was nearly killed came out a different man. He had, by the end of 1865, decided that the south and its system should not rise again. The next year, he pushed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. During the post-war, Lincoln favored lenient terms for the south, allowing Unionists into office, giving freed blacks lands from the rich, but also allowing immigration to western states, like Colorado, which, by 1880, had a black plurality. As well, social services were created to educate freed slaves, some of who became important political figures in the occupied south. Still, formerly Confederate Southern whites believed things would return to the old ways. Finally, in 1867, Lincoln pushed through the 14th Amendment, giving men of all races the right to vote.
Lincoln, however, also managed to get the US into another war. Immediately after the south was defeated, he sent US volunteers to aid the Mexican Democratic revolutionaries. Victory came in 1867, and the US had friendly relations with the new Juarez government, but frosty ones with France.
The new President.
In 1868, the Liberal Schuyler Colfax of the Republican Party was elected President, his supporters being Unionists and Northerners, though Democrats gained a significant amount of power in the south. An issue erupted over giving blacks the right to vote, but that was not very widespread. Under President Colfax, the Republicans, under Unionists and Blacks, gained control of the south. However, in 1870, the Prussians went to war with the French, and, with US support, at least in spirit, for the Prussians, France cut off trade with the US. Fear wracked the US, and, in early 1871, the economy went downhill. In the south, it was worst, where reconstruction never fully finished. In the Conservative Revolution of 1871, Democratic candidates took much of the south, and a wave of neo-confederatism hit that region. In 1872, it was widely feared that blacks would give President Colfax the votes he needed to retake the Presidency. In the south, new Democratic governments and paramilitaries tried to stop blacks from voting, a campaign which they began weeks before the elction. In response, Republicans from the north came south, and violence rocked the south. In the end, Colfax was reelected. Elsewhere, European colonies expanded, and France sought new alliances.
The Lincoln that was nearly killed came out a different man. He had, by the end of 1865, decided that the south and its system should not rise again. The next year, he pushed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. During the post-war, Lincoln favored lenient terms for the south, allowing Unionists into office, giving freed blacks lands from the rich, but also allowing immigration to western states, like Colorado, which, by 1880, had a black plurality. As well, social services were created to educate freed slaves, some of who became important political figures in the occupied south. Still, formerly Confederate Southern whites believed things would return to the old ways. Finally, in 1867, Lincoln pushed through the 14th Amendment, giving men of all races the right to vote.
Lincoln, however, also managed to get the US into another war. Immediately after the south was defeated, he sent US volunteers to aid the Mexican Democratic revolutionaries. Victory came in 1867, and the US had friendly relations with the new Juarez government, but frosty ones with France.
The new President.
In 1868, the Liberal Schuyler Colfax of the Republican Party was elected President, his supporters being Unionists and Northerners, though Democrats gained a significant amount of power in the south. An issue erupted over giving blacks the right to vote, but that was not very widespread. Under President Colfax, the Republicans, under Unionists and Blacks, gained control of the south. However, in 1870, the Prussians went to war with the French, and, with US support, at least in spirit, for the Prussians, France cut off trade with the US. Fear wracked the US, and, in early 1871, the economy went downhill. In the south, it was worst, where reconstruction never fully finished. In the Conservative Revolution of 1871, Democratic candidates took much of the south, and a wave of neo-confederatism hit that region. In 1872, it was widely feared that blacks would give President Colfax the votes he needed to retake the Presidency. In the south, new Democratic governments and paramilitaries tried to stop blacks from voting, a campaign which they began weeks before the elction. In response, Republicans from the north came south, and violence rocked the south. In the end, Colfax was reelected. Elsewhere, European colonies expanded, and France sought new alliances.
1872-1880
The violences of 1872 spread throughout the lower south. Democratic paramilitaries, such as the Sons of the South, the Southron League, and the Knights of the Blue Cross emerged. Their fighting did not work as well as expected, and, in the north and upper south, actually encouraged Republican voters. The Disturbances were over by the end of the year, with few of the participants actually punished. However, scorched earth tactics against partisans had ravaged much of the landscape and destroyed the economy. Blacks fled into the cities, where they created their own districts and often maintained control over the city or portions of the state governments. The National Government still continued what they called Reconstruction. Violence still continued to simmer.
This coincided with the outbreak of the Brazilian Civil War. In Brazil, Conservative and Liberal factions had long been opposed, and, in mid-1872, the Emperor Pedro II immediately illegalized slavery. This alienated a good portion of the populace, and war broke out. The Emperors supporters, the Liberals, were well trained, and managed to get the advantage at first, but, Conservative forces hired foreigners, and many Confederates flocked to the side of a slave-holding power. By 1874, the Liberals were defeated and slavery preserved, with the Emperor remaining a figurehead for the military officers who led affairs. Many ex-Confederates had fled and become part of the military class themselves.
Former Confederate officers in Brazil.
In Europe, a new system of alliances emerged. In 1871, the German Empire was declared, meaning Prussian supremacy over all the other states. France signed an alliance with Austria in 1873 after the Emperor Napoleon III managed to fight off Communist and Republican revolutionaries. In 1877, following joint Austro-French Naval Drills in the Mediterranean, the Italians and Germans signed the Rome-Berlin Treaty. When Russia signed with the French and Austrians, forming the Triple Entente, the British, at least in theory, gave their support to the Germans, in hopes of preventing an entente domination of Europe. From these treaties and alliances sprung nationalism, and, Pan-German ideas were spread inside the Empire, French nationalism by the revanchist Napoleon III, and Italian nationalism to help unify the country. These ideas became quite important to Europe.
Outside of Europe, colonization was continuing, the British produced an idea for a Cape Town to Cairo railroad, while the Portuguese wanted dominance from Angola to Mozambique. New players emerged, like the Dutch in East Africa, and later in the decade, the Germans and Italians.
In the US, the tieing of the Democrats with the 1872 Disturbances led to James Blaine, another Republican being elected. Under Blaine, the Federal government took a somewhat harsh tone to the south, but, with continuing military occupation, the military, under John Schofield held most of the power regarding that. Blaine was popular and best remembered for increasing ties with Mexico, as well as beginning involvement in the Caribbean and Central America, where American companies began to gain edges.
The loser of this decade was the Ottoman Empire. A Russo-Turkish War was fought from 1875 to 1877, in which Russian forces alongside European revolutionaries managed to inflict great defeats on the Ottomans. By the end of the war, România, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia were effectively out of the Ottoman Empire. Greece and taken Thessaly, Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Britain Cyprus. The Ottoman Empire still kept Albania, though it was somewhat unstable, with some chaos surrounding the death of Sultan Murat V in 1879.
Russian forces defeat Ottoman ones somewhere in Anatolia.
The violences of 1872 spread throughout the lower south. Democratic paramilitaries, such as the Sons of the South, the Southron League, and the Knights of the Blue Cross emerged. Their fighting did not work as well as expected, and, in the north and upper south, actually encouraged Republican voters. The Disturbances were over by the end of the year, with few of the participants actually punished. However, scorched earth tactics against partisans had ravaged much of the landscape and destroyed the economy. Blacks fled into the cities, where they created their own districts and often maintained control over the city or portions of the state governments. The National Government still continued what they called Reconstruction. Violence still continued to simmer.
This coincided with the outbreak of the Brazilian Civil War. In Brazil, Conservative and Liberal factions had long been opposed, and, in mid-1872, the Emperor Pedro II immediately illegalized slavery. This alienated a good portion of the populace, and war broke out. The Emperors supporters, the Liberals, were well trained, and managed to get the advantage at first, but, Conservative forces hired foreigners, and many Confederates flocked to the side of a slave-holding power. By 1874, the Liberals were defeated and slavery preserved, with the Emperor remaining a figurehead for the military officers who led affairs. Many ex-Confederates had fled and become part of the military class themselves.
Former Confederate officers in Brazil.
In Europe, a new system of alliances emerged. In 1871, the German Empire was declared, meaning Prussian supremacy over all the other states. France signed an alliance with Austria in 1873 after the Emperor Napoleon III managed to fight off Communist and Republican revolutionaries. In 1877, following joint Austro-French Naval Drills in the Mediterranean, the Italians and Germans signed the Rome-Berlin Treaty. When Russia signed with the French and Austrians, forming the Triple Entente, the British, at least in theory, gave their support to the Germans, in hopes of preventing an entente domination of Europe. From these treaties and alliances sprung nationalism, and, Pan-German ideas were spread inside the Empire, French nationalism by the revanchist Napoleon III, and Italian nationalism to help unify the country. These ideas became quite important to Europe.
Outside of Europe, colonization was continuing, the British produced an idea for a Cape Town to Cairo railroad, while the Portuguese wanted dominance from Angola to Mozambique. New players emerged, like the Dutch in East Africa, and later in the decade, the Germans and Italians.
In the US, the tieing of the Democrats with the 1872 Disturbances led to James Blaine, another Republican being elected. Under Blaine, the Federal government took a somewhat harsh tone to the south, but, with continuing military occupation, the military, under John Schofield held most of the power regarding that. Blaine was popular and best remembered for increasing ties with Mexico, as well as beginning involvement in the Caribbean and Central America, where American companies began to gain edges.
The loser of this decade was the Ottoman Empire. A Russo-Turkish War was fought from 1875 to 1877, in which Russian forces alongside European revolutionaries managed to inflict great defeats on the Ottomans. By the end of the war, România, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia were effectively out of the Ottoman Empire. Greece and taken Thessaly, Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Britain Cyprus. The Ottoman Empire still kept Albania, though it was somewhat unstable, with some chaos surrounding the death of Sultan Murat V in 1879.
Russian forces defeat Ottoman ones somewhere in Anatolia.
What's happened to General Grant? The Republicans were never going to choose anyone else over him.
Also, why is Reconstruction going differently? With the war over, the Army rapidly shrank back to prewar size, and even the war in Mexico will only delay that a couple of years, so pretty soon the Federal Gov't has little or no power of enforcement, and things presumably follow much the same course as OTL.
Also, why is Reconstruction going differently? With the war over, the Army rapidly shrank back to prewar size, and even the war in Mexico will only delay that a couple of years, so pretty soon the Federal Gov't has little or no power of enforcement, and things presumably follow much the same course as OTL.
Regarding Grant, I am just trying to get some alternate people in. If he was so inevitable, let's say he died soon after the war.
Reconstruction was not going much differently, except with more Freedmens Bureau like stuff. The military is still in power there because of Lincoln's presence.
The 1880s
By 1880, the Democratic Party had recovered enough to field a decent candidate, George McClellen, who had a chance of winning the Presidential election. So, he won. McClellen himself was a moderate, and well-liked by Irish Americans, who turned out in droves in cities to vote for him. Under pressure from southern Democrats, he effectively ended Reconstruction by withdrawing most of the military from the south, appointing William Crowninshield Endicott as Secretary of War. By this time, the Secretary of War was a long-term position. The withdrawl of Union tropps led to Democrats slowly retaking southern politics, and violence decreased, though there still was some. McClellen died shortly after reelection and was replaced by Grover Cleveland of New York, who continued McClellens policies, however, he was not as liked, and was replaced by Republican Benjamin Harrison. Notable during this era was the expansion of industry. As large companies grew, so did unions, and, in the west, Populism became large, and by the late 1880s, a new Populist Party was contesting state offices.
Perhaps one of the most important events of the 1880s was the Conference of Geneva, held in a Switzerland divided by various nationalisms. There, areas were set out for the various European powers to colonize. Present were all the major European states as well as two American ones, the Empire of Brazil and the United States of America. Surprisingly, towards the end of the Conference, the area known as the Congo was offered to the United States to administer. The US Representative, James Russell Lowell, declined. Brazil then took the area. Meanwhile, the Conference ended up driving a wedge between Portugal and Britain, both of which wished to control south-central africa. As well, Anglo-French agendas often clashed.
Elsewhere, colonization continued, as the French moved into Indochina. As well, China was increasingly opening to Western Trade, and Japan, long considered backwards, was modernizing, with it seeking trade with China by the end of the decade.
The 1880s saw the rise of Russia. Under the Tsar Alexander II, it continued modernizing, and peasants began to live in better conditions. Still, it was not like the rest of Europe, but it was catching up. In 1887, it fought a quick war against Persia, eager to expand. In a few months, its armys smashed the Persians, and annexed Khorastan.
Russian buildup only solidified the alliances in Europe, and drove the Ottomans into the German bloc, leaving the Balkan states confused if they should join the Russians, but ally with the Austrians.
By 1880, the Democratic Party had recovered enough to field a decent candidate, George McClellen, who had a chance of winning the Presidential election. So, he won. McClellen himself was a moderate, and well-liked by Irish Americans, who turned out in droves in cities to vote for him. Under pressure from southern Democrats, he effectively ended Reconstruction by withdrawing most of the military from the south, appointing William Crowninshield Endicott as Secretary of War. By this time, the Secretary of War was a long-term position. The withdrawl of Union tropps led to Democrats slowly retaking southern politics, and violence decreased, though there still was some. McClellen died shortly after reelection and was replaced by Grover Cleveland of New York, who continued McClellens policies, however, he was not as liked, and was replaced by Republican Benjamin Harrison. Notable during this era was the expansion of industry. As large companies grew, so did unions, and, in the west, Populism became large, and by the late 1880s, a new Populist Party was contesting state offices.
Perhaps one of the most important events of the 1880s was the Conference of Geneva, held in a Switzerland divided by various nationalisms. There, areas were set out for the various European powers to colonize. Present were all the major European states as well as two American ones, the Empire of Brazil and the United States of America. Surprisingly, towards the end of the Conference, the area known as the Congo was offered to the United States to administer. The US Representative, James Russell Lowell, declined. Brazil then took the area. Meanwhile, the Conference ended up driving a wedge between Portugal and Britain, both of which wished to control south-central africa. As well, Anglo-French agendas often clashed.
Elsewhere, colonization continued, as the French moved into Indochina. As well, China was increasingly opening to Western Trade, and Japan, long considered backwards, was modernizing, with it seeking trade with China by the end of the decade.
The 1880s saw the rise of Russia. Under the Tsar Alexander II, it continued modernizing, and peasants began to live in better conditions. Still, it was not like the rest of Europe, but it was catching up. In 1887, it fought a quick war against Persia, eager to expand. In a few months, its armys smashed the Persians, and annexed Khorastan.
Russian buildup only solidified the alliances in Europe, and drove the Ottomans into the German bloc, leaving the Balkan states confused if they should join the Russians, but ally with the Austrians.
The Great European War
On May 1, 1893, the Queen Victoria was shot in killed in Dublin by an Irish nationalist. For years, France had been giving support of a sort to Irish nationalists. When the assassin was found with a French gun, the British ordered the French to give documents on who had purchased that sort of gun. The French refused, and, on May the 22nd, Britain declared war. The European alliance system quickly came into effect, and, by the end of the year, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire were aligned against Russia, France, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania.
The war began with quick French offensives into Belgium, intended to sweep into Germany. However, they were halted by the Germans. In the east, the Germans held back both enemies, and the Italians and Austro-Hungarians remained stalemated. In 1894, the British and Belgians, long beseiged in Bruges, broke out of Bruges, and, with German help, pushed into Northern France. The Italians landed in Dalmatia and the Germans marched into the Baltcis. In 1895, the Germano-British forces finally advanced within 15 miles of Paris, and the French sued for peace. Quickly, the Allied Armys were sent to Austria-Hungary, where that nation collapsed in July, with Russia ducking out of the war with only Poland lost. This was only in Europe. In the colonies, there had been heavy fighting, especially in disputed areas.
The Peace of Meaux, which ended the War with France ceded Germany the Meuse-et-Moselle Deparment, to Belgium was given the area around Dunkirk, to Britain Calais, and to Italy some lands on the border and Sardinia. To all nations were some minor colonial adjustments. Austria-Hungary was defeated, so it was divided between Germany, Italy, Russia, and Romania.
This war was fought in a new way. The mass armies of the past remained around, with bright uniforms discarded for gray ones. However, mechanized weapons and gas were heavily used, and, sometimes, fighting slowed down and was fought in trenches.
On May 1, 1893, the Queen Victoria was shot in killed in Dublin by an Irish nationalist. For years, France had been giving support of a sort to Irish nationalists. When the assassin was found with a French gun, the British ordered the French to give documents on who had purchased that sort of gun. The French refused, and, on May the 22nd, Britain declared war. The European alliance system quickly came into effect, and, by the end of the year, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire were aligned against Russia, France, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania.
The war began with quick French offensives into Belgium, intended to sweep into Germany. However, they were halted by the Germans. In the east, the Germans held back both enemies, and the Italians and Austro-Hungarians remained stalemated. In 1894, the British and Belgians, long beseiged in Bruges, broke out of Bruges, and, with German help, pushed into Northern France. The Italians landed in Dalmatia and the Germans marched into the Baltcis. In 1895, the Germano-British forces finally advanced within 15 miles of Paris, and the French sued for peace. Quickly, the Allied Armys were sent to Austria-Hungary, where that nation collapsed in July, with Russia ducking out of the war with only Poland lost. This was only in Europe. In the colonies, there had been heavy fighting, especially in disputed areas.
The Peace of Meaux, which ended the War with France ceded Germany the Meuse-et-Moselle Deparment, to Belgium was given the area around Dunkirk, to Britain Calais, and to Italy some lands on the border and Sardinia. To all nations were some minor colonial adjustments. Austria-Hungary was defeated, so it was divided between Germany, Italy, Russia, and Romania.
This war was fought in a new way. The mass armies of the past remained around, with bright uniforms discarded for gray ones. However, mechanized weapons and gas were heavily used, and, sometimes, fighting slowed down and was fought in trenches.