The Union Forever: A TL

[MacGregor]

The Immediate Aftermath of the War
and
the Start of Reconciliation

July-September, 1863


Artist depiction of Confederate forces surrendering their colors
July, 1863



Following the dissolution of the Confederacy in early July the rest of the South not already subjugated fell to the North in rapid succession. The advancing Union armies wasted no time occupying the state capitals not already under their control. On their way Federal forces enforced the P.E.R.U, freeing hundreds of thousands of slaves in a matter of weeks. The State of Texas, which had remained basically free of Union troops during the war, was the last Southern state to be occupied. When General Sherman’s army arrived in the state capital of Austin at the end of July Sherman proclaimed that under the P.E.R.U all slaves in Texas were now and forever free. For this reason July 29th is often celebrated as Emancipation Day in many parts of the United States.

Throughout the South, the defeated Confederate forces were almost invariable paroled after their military munitions had been confiscated. The few exceptions were top military and political leaders such as Jefferson Davis who was arrested by Ulysses S. Grant’s forces as the former confederate president was making his way home to Mississippi. Davis would spend several months in prison before eventually being pardoned by President Lincoln. Davis, who was still immensely unpopular in the South for his conduct in managing the war, went into exile in Europe for the rest of his life. Jefferson Davis would die in London in 1873 of phenomena never having returned to the United States. Other former Confederate generals and politicians, such as Alexander Stephens, would spend short times in prison before being released. Many of these leaders would be banned from voting or holding elected office for the rest of their lives.

In what would become known as Reconciliation, Lincoln outlined his top priorities for the post-war United States. 1) The return of all Southern states still outside of the Union under his 10 percent plan, 2) Ensure that the P.E.R.U is enforced in the Deep South, 3) Complete the compensated emancipation of slaves in the Border States and Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana, and 4) Establish a new Homestead Act that would provide land grants to settlers (including freed slaves) in the western territories. It is also worth noting that with the war now over Lincoln began the movement of troops to the Rio Grande under General Sherman to send a message to the French forces, who had recently captured the Mexican capital, that their presence was not welcomed.


A Union victory parade in Washington D.C.
late July, 1863

Summary

In the end, the American Civil War proved to be the costliest war in American history up to that time, resulting in an estimated 315,000 deaths both North and South. Property damage although significant was relatively light considering the scoop of the war. Indeed of all Southern cities, Chattanooga stands out as the most damaged of the war, while other major urban centers such as Richmond, Atlanta, and New Orleans emerged from the conflict mostly unscathed. Slavery was virtually destroyed by the war. With the institution only remaining in a strip of states in the center of the country, all of which with plans for complete emancipation within a few years.

[DuQuense]

So with the War Ending in 1863, [and the end being seen in Europe long before that] Maximilian will probably not accept the french offer [he was ambivalent OTL].
?So what will Happen to Him ITTL, can He keep Italy part of Austria?

[Fiver]

Originally Posted by SilverSwimmer

I am a little surprised that Davis isnt seriously considering surrendering and hoping that the Union has mercy. Without Virginia, Lee, and no control whatsoever over the interior, there is no no hope for the Confederacy.

That didn't make Davis consider surrender in OTL.

[Fiver]

Originally Posted by DuQuense

One problem will be enforceing emanicpation in the Backwoods.
Without the Union Army running around controlling the States, there will be local powers that try to maintain Slavery dispute the law.

The backwoods of the Confederacy were largely full of pro-Union people with few slaves.

[Fiver]

Originally Posted by MacGregor

On June 2nd, 1863 Johnston withdrew from Chattanooga towards Georgia with Halleck’s army in hot pursuit.

While I'm generally liking TTL, I'm having a very hard time wrapping my brain around the idea of Halleck hotly pursuing anything.

[Nytram01]

Originally Posted by Fiver

While I'm generally liking TTL, I'm having a very hard time wrapping my brain around the idea of Halleck hotly pursuing anything.

Likely to have been more of a case of George Henry Thomas doing all the work while Halleck took the credit.

[Tom Veil]

Excellent posts, as always. Some thoughts on the near future:

• I would expect black homesteaders to flood Kansas; they did in OTL even without official backing. I doubt many blacks could afford to resettle in or beyond the Rockies, though. Those who prefer not to farm will go wherever the railroad and telegraph companies are hiring black construction workers.
• If the City of Alexandria is going to return to the District of Columbia, it's now or never.
• I propose the following text for the Thirteenth Amendment:

Sec. 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction, after January 1, 1870, and Congress shall have the power to enforce this right for all persons.
Sec. 2: Congress, in conjunction with the states, shall have power to enforce earlier emancipation, or to provide recompense for empancipation, prior to January 1, 1870, upon due consideration of the subject's participation in rebellion against the Constitution of the United States.

[The Sandman]

One idea on the issue of stripping the Southern aristocracy of their voting rights: they can regain their voting rights regardless of loyalty oath, but only if they surrender the bulk of their property and financial holdings to the US government as compensation for the war. One little sweetener would be that the US government would also assume the debts associated with said property, since most of the major Southern landholders were heavily in debt.

The land would then be redistributed to the newly freed slaves and to poor whites who previously had no chance of being able to afford that land. The reasons are stated to be compensation for the enslavement of the former and repayment for the relative loyalty of the latter. It also, of course, would help produce a solidly Republican-voting bloc in the South to go along with the Republican-voting soldiers in the North.

[mrmandias]

Secession, not succession. Secede, not succeed.

Secession did not succeed.

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by mrmandias

Secession, not succession. Secede, not succeed.

Secession did not succeed.

Got me. fixed.

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by Tom Veil

Excellent posts, as always. Some thoughts on the near future:

• I propose the following text for the Thirteenth Amendment:

Sec. 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction, after January 1, 1870, and Congress shall have the power to enforce this right for all persons.
Sec. 2: Congress, in conjunction with the states, shall have power to enforce earlier emancipation, or to provide recompense for empancipation, prior to January 1, 1870, upon due consideration of the subject's participation in rebellion against the Constitution of the United States.

sounds good, but how about "after January 1, 1868" ?

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by The Sandman

One idea on the issue of stripping the Southern aristocracy of their voting rights: they can regain their voting rights regardless of loyalty oath, but only if they surrender the bulk of their property and financial holdings to the US government as compensation for the war. One little sweetener would be that the US government would also assume the debts associated with said property, since most of the major Southern landholders were heavily in debt.

The land would then be redistributed to the newly freed slaves and to poor whites who previously had no chance of being able to afford that land. The reasons are stated to be compensation for the enslavement of the former and repayment for the relative loyalty of the latter. It also, of course, would help produce a solidly Republican-voting bloc in the South to go along with the Republican-voting soldiers in the North.

Not a bad idea in theory, but I think it would be viewed as to radical a solution in the TL. Also who exactly would constitute “aristocracy”? If this was done I can imagine it would create even worse bitter and lingering hostility in the South.

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by DuQuense

So with the War Ending in 1863, [and the end being seen in Europe long before that] Maximilian will probably not accept the french offer [he was ambivalent OTL].
?So what will Happen to Him ITTL, can He keep Italy part of Austria?

*SPOILERS*

To be discussed in detail later, Maximilian will not be taking the Mexican throne. As far as what will become of him I am not sure. Any ideas? how would he keep Italy part of Austria?

[Tom Veil]

Originally Posted by MacGregor

sounds good, but how about "after January 1, 1868" ?

No objections; whatever date makes the most sense with the other political considerations that you're juggling.

[MacGregor]

Hey everyone, as you know the 1864 elections are approaching. A few questions I have are

1) Will the Republicans keep Hannibal Hamlin as the VP nominee or pick someone else and if so who?

2) Who will the Democratic nominees be?

3) What will be the central issues?

[Expat]

Been lurking for a while, great TL! Glad to see a Civil War TL making it through the post-war transition; that's where most Civil War TLs seem to lose steam, unfortunately.

This era isn't really my forte but I'll take a stab:

1) I would think Lincoln might have the political capital at this point to choose whomever he wants as a running mate. Don't know who that would be, but he's The Man right now in the eyes of the people, or at least he should be.

2) How about the new governor of the first successful state to reintegrate into the Union, Andrew Johnson? You can't question his loyalty or his credentials, and the Democrats need a tail-between-their-legs candidate right now.

3) Resettlement and westward expansion will be big issues. Not sure how quickly you're planning on resolving the Mexico issue but that could play a big part. Efforts to rebuild the south and get it economically viable without a labor-intensive crop would be important. Perhaps even a return to the decades-old debate about financing infrastructure improvements? You seem to be going for less post-bellum animosity, but resentment, banditry and terrorism could still be an issue. Oh and the status of Freedmen of course.

You're going to have a lot more runaways in the next few years. Why stay put in South Carolina when the slaves have been freed in North Carolina? And why would (for instance) a deputy in North Carolina care about sending slaves back over the border when they'll just be freed again in a year? Especially if all the escaped slaves want to do is head west.

[Tom Veil]

Originally Posted by Expat

You're going to have a lot more runaways in the next few years. Why stay put in South Carolina when the slaves have been freed in North Carolina? And why would (for instance) a deputy in North Carolina care about sending slaves back over the border when they'll just be freed again in a year? Especially if all the escaped slaves want to do is head west.

This point is an exquisite combination of insightful and obvious -- I'm angry you thought of it first. My guess is that Congress will establish the Freedmen's Bureau and pass the 13th Amendment before the 1864 elections in the hopes of dealing with these questions, but the early implementation will prove inadequate for the reasons you've laid out. So one of the big election issues will be how to run the Freedmen's Bureau.

Personally, I would vote for the candidate who proposes Sandman's idea:

One big idea: make "40 Acres and a Mule" a more general land reform instead of just dedicated to the freedmen. Giving the poor whites reason to identify with the poor blacks, splitting them from their dependency on the wealthy plantation owners, and generally putting the huge plantations to more productive use would be an excellent move both politically and economically.

But Sandman's idea might be a little too Communist to win the day. So perhaps the moderate solution is: (1) government subsidizes anyone, white or black, who takes to the frontier in a civilized manner, with certain free supplies (fruit tree seedlings, mules, a town hall), (2) fugitive slaves get "assumed manumission": if they state who their owner was, they are allowed to alight for the territories and their owner gets recompense, (3) the government auctions railroad rights to fund the project. My moderate solution has its own quirks, most principally that it will encourage a denser, less wild-west style expansion, so it's certainly not the only answer.

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by Expat

Been lurking for a while, great TL! Glad to see a Civil War TL making it through the post-war transition; that's where most Civil War TLs seem to lose steam, unfortunately.

This era isn't really my forte but I'll take a stab:

1) I would think Lincoln might have the political capital at this point to choose whomever he wants as a running mate. Don't know who that would be, but he's The Man right now in the eyes of the people, or at least he should be.

2) How about the new governor of the first successful state to reintegrate into the Union, Andrew Johnson? You can't question his loyalty or his credentials, and the Democrats need a tail-between-their-legs candidate right now.

3) Resettlement and westward expansion will be big issues. Not sure how quickly you're planning on resolving the Mexico issue but that could play a big part. Efforts to rebuild the south and get it economically viable without a labor-intensive crop would be important. Perhaps even a return to the decades-old debate about financing infrastructure improvements? You seem to be going for less post-bellum animosity, but resentment, banditry and terrorism could still be an issue. Oh and the status of Freedmen of course.

You're going to have a lot more runaways in the next few years. Why stay put in South Carolina when the slaves have been freed in North Carolina? And why would (for instance) a deputy in North Carolina care about sending slaves back over the border when they'll just be freed again in a year? Especially if all the escaped slaves want to do is head west.

Thanks for the support and your comments Expat. However, I'm not sure if I follow your last paragraph as all slaves in the Deep South have been freed under the P.E.R.U (except for LA which was exempt). The states that still have slavery will all be ending it in a few years time.

[MacGregor]

French withdraw from Mexico

Emperor of the French, Napoleon III

October 1863-January 1864

The French, along with the British and Spanish, had invaded Mexico in early 1862 with the stated intention to force Mexico to pay debts owed to the European Powers. It soon became apparent to the British and Spaniards though that the Second French Empire under Emperor Napoleon III was actually intent on conquering the Latin American country. Accordingly, Britain and Spain withdrew from Mexico a few months later. Unfortunately for the reformist government of Mexican President Benito Juarez, the French stayed and were able to successful capture the Mexican capital in June of 1863.

With the Civil War now won, President Lincoln was adamant that France’s violation of the Monroe Doctrine would not stand. Lincoln, having already moved thousands of Federal troops to the Mexican border, ordered a naval blockade in October of 1863 to block the arrival of French reinforcements. This blockade, coupled with Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian’s earlier rejection of an offer to be made Emperor of Mexico, forced the French Emperor to rethink his intentions. Bereft of British and Spanish assistance Napoleon III realized that he could not risk a war with the United States whose army and navy were still swollen from the Civil War.

In light of what was widely viewed to be a situation that would only deteriorate for the French, Napoleon III made the decision to get out while he was ahead. In a deal mediated by the United States in January of 1864, it was agreed that French troops would be withdrawn if President Benito Juarez would promise to honor Mexico’s debts to France. With French forces occupying Mexico City, and therefore little room to maneuver politically, President Juarez reluctantly accepted.

This agreement allowed all sides to claim victory. France had achieved it stated war aim, although it was far short of Napoleon III’s real desire to build a New World Empire, and showed that Napoleonic France was a major world power able to project itself anywhere in the world. Lincoln successfully upheld the Monroe doctrine and earned himself additional political capital as he moved towards reelection. In the end Mexico was liberated and President Juarez was able to consolidate his power from the conservatives who had backed the French.

Despite all sides apparently achieving their goals this near-conflict caused considerable tension in Franco-American relations. Historians would often point to this as the beginning of a Franco-American hostility that would last well into the twentieth century. Mexican-American relations however were improved by Lincoln’s stand against the French, furthering the United States’ reputation as, Vice President Hannibal Hamlin once said, the “Defender of the Hemisphere.”

[Tom Veil]

Originally Posted by MacGregor

Thanks for the support and your comments Expat. However, I'm not sure if I follow your last paragraph as all slaves in the Deep South have been freed under the P.E.R.U (except for LA which was exempt). The states that still have slavery will all be ending it in a few years time.

I think Expat got his states mixed up, but that his point is valid. The states in the Deep South have already ended slavery, and by now the slaves in the gradual emancipation states like Virginia have surely heard that they will eventually be freed. Well, what's to stop a brave black Virginian from freeing himself a little bit early? He can run not only north, but also south or west, and no one is going to be returning fugitives these days.