Anaxagoras
Banned
IOTL, while riding home to Mount Vernon from Philadelphia after the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, George Washington was nearly killed when a bridge over a river collapsed. His horse was badly injured and Washington himself only escaped serious injury or death because he had decided to get off and walk for a little bit to stretch his legs.
What if Washington had not dismounted and had died when the bridge collapsed beneath him?
The Constitution had been written, but it had not yet been ratified. IOTL, the ratification process was far from a sure thing (nearly failing in Virginia and New York) and some of those who reluctantly approved the document did so only because it was obvious that Washington would be the first President. If Washington were removed from the scene, could the ratification conventions in Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts reject the Constitution?
Even if the Constitution had been ratified, who would the first President have been? How would the tension between the merchant/banking interests of Hamilton and the agrarian interests of Jefferson and Madison have played out without President Washington? Could the nation have been held together?
What if Washington had not dismounted and had died when the bridge collapsed beneath him?
The Constitution had been written, but it had not yet been ratified. IOTL, the ratification process was far from a sure thing (nearly failing in Virginia and New York) and some of those who reluctantly approved the document did so only because it was obvious that Washington would be the first President. If Washington were removed from the scene, could the ratification conventions in Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts reject the Constitution?
Even if the Constitution had been ratified, who would the first President have been? How would the tension between the merchant/banking interests of Hamilton and the agrarian interests of Jefferson and Madison have played out without President Washington? Could the nation have been held together?