Eurofed
Banned
Goal: without making it utterly implausible, to make the USA grow as close as possible to resemble 1984’s Oceania in size, incorporating all of North America, South America, and Oceania.
My tentative take on a good start to that goal:
1774: due to the influence of George III and a few powerful anti-Catholic MPs, the British parliament passes a Quebec Act that reaffirms the second-class status of Quebec French Catholics, putting legal limitations to Catholic religious practice and use of French. Anti-British agitation from the 13 colonies spreads to Quebec and takes root in Nova Scotia as well. Quebec and NS representatives join the first Continental Congress.
1775: Quebec and Nova Scotia join the thirteen colonies in the American Revolution. The Continental Army secures Canada by spring of 1776.
1776: The 15 colonies sign the Declaration of Independence. New York is captured by the British along with Halifax but the Americans stubbornly fight on.
1777: The Americans win great victories defending Quebec City and besieging New York. France joins the American Revolutionary War.
1778: Spain joins the ARW as well. The Americans and the French beat back British assaults on Georgia and Florida is captured by the French and the Spanish.
1779: New York is finally captured by the Continental Army, Howe flees to Halifax. The peace party seizes control of the British Parliament.
1780: Benjamin Franklin goes to Paris to secure a peace treaty with the British. Negotiations begin with Britain.
1781: Britain agrees to a peace treaty with France, Spain, and the Americans. It recognizes the 15 colonies as free and sovereign States (Quebec, Georgia, Nova Scotia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island). Florida is ceded to Spain. The treaty guarantees ownership of Rupert’s Land to the Hudson Bay Company for 99 years, the United States may buy it at a later date. The HBC cannot cede the area to the British Crown or any other foreign state without the assent of the United States. All British forts will be turned over to the Americans as of 1788. United States fishermen are granted fishing rights off the coast of Labrador territory and British fishermen across the Great Lakes. The United States shall allow access from Rupert’s Land to the Great Lakes for Britain's fur trapping and fishing. British may still use the Mississippi river for trading with Spanish Louisiana and Great Britain and the United States are each to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River. Prisoners of War on both sides are to be released and lawfully-contracted debts are recognized to be paid to creditors on either side. The Congress of the Confederation will 'earnestly recommend' to state legislatures to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to Loyalists to prevent future confiscations of property of Loyalists still within their boundaries. The latter provision shall never be acted upon, and the Loyalists begin an exodus from the united States. The Loyalists shall settle in Ireland, Patagonia, South Africa, and Australia.
1785-86: The Constitutional Convention occurs in Philadelphia. The constitution is mostly similar to OTL. Every state is empowered to establish Churches for non-discriminatory purposes and additional official languages besides English. The President gets a line-item veto on appropriations. Every law may relate to but one subject. The Congress is empowered to give subsidies to commerce, charter agencies to carry out its delegated powers, and Executive Departments to fulfill the responsibilities of the President. A Bill of Rights, with strengthened provisions about freedom of religion, conscience, speech, and protection of privacy and the press, is incorporated in the Constitution and directly enforceable against the states. The Congress may acquire territories, set up territorial governments, and admit new states to the Union from territories and foreign republics alike. Copyright is given a maximum duration of fifty years and cannot infringe freedom of speech or scholarship.
1787-88: Debate rages across the 15 states about the ratification of the Constitution. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay write the Federalist Papers.
1789: All 15 states have by now accepted the Constitution. George Washington is elected first President and inaugurated in New York with the first Congress.
1791: Vermont joins the US as the 16th state.
1792: George Washington is reelected President. Kentucky joins the Union as the 17th state.
1793: Washington declares US neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars.
1794: The Whiskey Rebellion occurs and is suppressed by federal troops without bloodshed. Jay’s treaty is signed between Britain and the USA. The British agree to vacate their forts in the Midwest and Northern territories outside of Rupert’s Land, provide compensation for US ships confiscated during 1793-94, and are granted freedom of navigation in St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. The Americans get the British West Indies reopened to their trade. The boundary between US territory and Rupert’s Land is established on the 51st parallel north along to the Pacific, outside of Oregon Country. The British receive Most Favored Nation status.
1795: Franklin (OTL southern Ontario) joins the Union becoming the 18th state.
1796: George Washington is reluctantly elected US president for a third term and by now the Federalists (led by Adams and Hamilton) and the Democrat-Republicans (led by Jefferson and Madison) are firmly established, despite Washington’s misgivings about a party system. Tennessee joins the Union as the 19th state.
1797: French seizure of American metrchant ships turns US-French relations sour. The XYZ Affair occurs, setting off a firestom of anti-French sentiment in the US.
1798: Repeated French impressment of French-speaking Americans fans the flames of anti-French sentiment. The Congress declares war on France. The US Navy and Marines capture the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and invade Guiana. The British do not cooperate operationally with the Americans, but they do sell naval stores and munitions to the Americans from the Bahamas and their other Caribbean possessions. President Washington persuades Congress not to pass the Alien and Sedition Laws.
1799: US Marines invade Guadalupe and Martinique, defeating the local forces.
1800: The Mortefontaine peace treaty is signed between France and the United States. France cedes French Guiana (which includes former Dutch Guiana), Guadalupe and Martinique to the USA. The Americans and French agree to free travel of all goods, save war provisions, stop impressments, and all French citizens who fled to the US are granted citizenship once they register. All prior agreements concerning alliance and mutual trade are rendered null and void. The Americans agree to return all prisoners of war to the French. Spain cedes Louisiana to France. Former Vice-President John Adams, riding on a wave of popularity for the victory in the French-American War, becomes President with Charles Pinckney as Vice-President.
1801: Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture conquers Santo Domingo, and declares himself emperor of the entire island of Hispaniola, abolishing slavery and instituting reforms. America starts the First Barbary War in response to Barbary pirates' demands of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean. The Federalist Congress and Administration use the French-American War and the First Barbary War as justification to pass a Naval Act and a Preparedness Act to enlarge and mandate proper training, funding, and equipment of both the Army and Navy.
1802: Haitian ships repeatedly attack American slave-trading ships. US Marines from Georgia and American Guyana invade Hispaniola in retaliation. In response to the fighting in the Caribbean, Napoleon reinstates slavery in the French colonies, which had been abolished in the French Revolution, and sends a French expeditionary corps to retake Hispaniola. Americans and French reach a deal that returns the island to France, but with the option for America to purchase it at a later date. The two countries re-affirm that there are no hostilities between the two countries.
1803: Ohio is admitted as the 20th state. Another slave revolt erupts in Hispaniola. French troops trying to suppress it meet severe losses from the rebels and tropical diseases. Napoleon wants to be rid of this increasing headache. The Louisiana Purchase is made, selling Louisiana and Hispaniola to the United States. France divests itself of its residual North American land and a troubled island to aid Napoleon's efforts in Europe. France deports the majority of the island's slave population to other French colonies in Africa, leaving the island of Hispaniola largely unpopulated. In response to the flaws in the Presidential election system which surfaced in the elections of 1796 and 1800, as well as concerns about possible Presidential death or inability from past illness bouts of Washington and Adams, the 1st Amendment to the Constitution is passed. It revises the system for the election of President and Vice President, and regulates cases of Presidential and Vice-Presidential inability and succession. It incorporates the provisions of the OTL 12th, 20th, and 25th Amendments. The precedent is established to make constitutional amendments as integral revisions to the original text, not separate footnotes.
1804-1805: The First Barbary War ends with a treaty between Tripoli and the US which freeds American priosners without ransom. Simon Bolivar dedicates himself to liberating New Grenada from Spanish rule after visiting American Guyana and seeing the peace and prosperity of that territory. This leaves him with a strong favorable impression about the American system. John Adams is re-elected president. During his two terms, he strives to implement internal improvements, develop American commerce, banking, and manufacturing, and reinforce the army, navy, forts, and state militias of the US, on the advice of his influential Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. British-Patagonian War begins with the British fighting against the Spanish-speaking settlers existing in Patagonia. Spain declares war on Britain.
1806: US troops suppress the last remnants of revolutionary insurgency in the Dominic territory (former Hispaniola). Britain conquers Rio de la Plata.
1807: the US Congress and the British Parliament forbid slave trade. The British sign a peace treaty with Spain that cedes the Rio de la Plata and Montevideo region to Britain. British South America is created. Aaron Burr is convicted of treason and conspiracy to set up an independent state in the Louisiana territory. The Congress renews the Naval Act and Preparedness Act in response to French and British interference with American commercial shipping as result of the British Blockade and Napoleon's "Continental System".
1808: the importation of slaves in the United States is banned. Portugal cedes the Rio Grande district to Britain and it is incorporated in British South America. Former VP and Federalist candidate Charles C. Pinckney is elected President with Alexander Hamilton as VP. Economic prosperity and lingering popularity from past military victories ensure continued dominance of Federalist party, which keeps fostering internal infrastructural improvements, banking and manufacturing, and a strong military.
My tentative take on a good start to that goal:
1774: due to the influence of George III and a few powerful anti-Catholic MPs, the British parliament passes a Quebec Act that reaffirms the second-class status of Quebec French Catholics, putting legal limitations to Catholic religious practice and use of French. Anti-British agitation from the 13 colonies spreads to Quebec and takes root in Nova Scotia as well. Quebec and NS representatives join the first Continental Congress.
1775: Quebec and Nova Scotia join the thirteen colonies in the American Revolution. The Continental Army secures Canada by spring of 1776.
1776: The 15 colonies sign the Declaration of Independence. New York is captured by the British along with Halifax but the Americans stubbornly fight on.
1777: The Americans win great victories defending Quebec City and besieging New York. France joins the American Revolutionary War.
1778: Spain joins the ARW as well. The Americans and the French beat back British assaults on Georgia and Florida is captured by the French and the Spanish.
1779: New York is finally captured by the Continental Army, Howe flees to Halifax. The peace party seizes control of the British Parliament.
1780: Benjamin Franklin goes to Paris to secure a peace treaty with the British. Negotiations begin with Britain.
1781: Britain agrees to a peace treaty with France, Spain, and the Americans. It recognizes the 15 colonies as free and sovereign States (Quebec, Georgia, Nova Scotia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island). Florida is ceded to Spain. The treaty guarantees ownership of Rupert’s Land to the Hudson Bay Company for 99 years, the United States may buy it at a later date. The HBC cannot cede the area to the British Crown or any other foreign state without the assent of the United States. All British forts will be turned over to the Americans as of 1788. United States fishermen are granted fishing rights off the coast of Labrador territory and British fishermen across the Great Lakes. The United States shall allow access from Rupert’s Land to the Great Lakes for Britain's fur trapping and fishing. British may still use the Mississippi river for trading with Spanish Louisiana and Great Britain and the United States are each to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River. Prisoners of War on both sides are to be released and lawfully-contracted debts are recognized to be paid to creditors on either side. The Congress of the Confederation will 'earnestly recommend' to state legislatures to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to Loyalists to prevent future confiscations of property of Loyalists still within their boundaries. The latter provision shall never be acted upon, and the Loyalists begin an exodus from the united States. The Loyalists shall settle in Ireland, Patagonia, South Africa, and Australia.
1785-86: The Constitutional Convention occurs in Philadelphia. The constitution is mostly similar to OTL. Every state is empowered to establish Churches for non-discriminatory purposes and additional official languages besides English. The President gets a line-item veto on appropriations. Every law may relate to but one subject. The Congress is empowered to give subsidies to commerce, charter agencies to carry out its delegated powers, and Executive Departments to fulfill the responsibilities of the President. A Bill of Rights, with strengthened provisions about freedom of religion, conscience, speech, and protection of privacy and the press, is incorporated in the Constitution and directly enforceable against the states. The Congress may acquire territories, set up territorial governments, and admit new states to the Union from territories and foreign republics alike. Copyright is given a maximum duration of fifty years and cannot infringe freedom of speech or scholarship.
1787-88: Debate rages across the 15 states about the ratification of the Constitution. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay write the Federalist Papers.
1789: All 15 states have by now accepted the Constitution. George Washington is elected first President and inaugurated in New York with the first Congress.
1791: Vermont joins the US as the 16th state.
1792: George Washington is reelected President. Kentucky joins the Union as the 17th state.
1793: Washington declares US neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars.
1794: The Whiskey Rebellion occurs and is suppressed by federal troops without bloodshed. Jay’s treaty is signed between Britain and the USA. The British agree to vacate their forts in the Midwest and Northern territories outside of Rupert’s Land, provide compensation for US ships confiscated during 1793-94, and are granted freedom of navigation in St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. The Americans get the British West Indies reopened to their trade. The boundary between US territory and Rupert’s Land is established on the 51st parallel north along to the Pacific, outside of Oregon Country. The British receive Most Favored Nation status.
1795: Franklin (OTL southern Ontario) joins the Union becoming the 18th state.
1796: George Washington is reluctantly elected US president for a third term and by now the Federalists (led by Adams and Hamilton) and the Democrat-Republicans (led by Jefferson and Madison) are firmly established, despite Washington’s misgivings about a party system. Tennessee joins the Union as the 19th state.
1797: French seizure of American metrchant ships turns US-French relations sour. The XYZ Affair occurs, setting off a firestom of anti-French sentiment in the US.
1798: Repeated French impressment of French-speaking Americans fans the flames of anti-French sentiment. The Congress declares war on France. The US Navy and Marines capture the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and invade Guiana. The British do not cooperate operationally with the Americans, but they do sell naval stores and munitions to the Americans from the Bahamas and their other Caribbean possessions. President Washington persuades Congress not to pass the Alien and Sedition Laws.
1799: US Marines invade Guadalupe and Martinique, defeating the local forces.
1800: The Mortefontaine peace treaty is signed between France and the United States. France cedes French Guiana (which includes former Dutch Guiana), Guadalupe and Martinique to the USA. The Americans and French agree to free travel of all goods, save war provisions, stop impressments, and all French citizens who fled to the US are granted citizenship once they register. All prior agreements concerning alliance and mutual trade are rendered null and void. The Americans agree to return all prisoners of war to the French. Spain cedes Louisiana to France. Former Vice-President John Adams, riding on a wave of popularity for the victory in the French-American War, becomes President with Charles Pinckney as Vice-President.
1801: Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture conquers Santo Domingo, and declares himself emperor of the entire island of Hispaniola, abolishing slavery and instituting reforms. America starts the First Barbary War in response to Barbary pirates' demands of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean. The Federalist Congress and Administration use the French-American War and the First Barbary War as justification to pass a Naval Act and a Preparedness Act to enlarge and mandate proper training, funding, and equipment of both the Army and Navy.
1802: Haitian ships repeatedly attack American slave-trading ships. US Marines from Georgia and American Guyana invade Hispaniola in retaliation. In response to the fighting in the Caribbean, Napoleon reinstates slavery in the French colonies, which had been abolished in the French Revolution, and sends a French expeditionary corps to retake Hispaniola. Americans and French reach a deal that returns the island to France, but with the option for America to purchase it at a later date. The two countries re-affirm that there are no hostilities between the two countries.
1803: Ohio is admitted as the 20th state. Another slave revolt erupts in Hispaniola. French troops trying to suppress it meet severe losses from the rebels and tropical diseases. Napoleon wants to be rid of this increasing headache. The Louisiana Purchase is made, selling Louisiana and Hispaniola to the United States. France divests itself of its residual North American land and a troubled island to aid Napoleon's efforts in Europe. France deports the majority of the island's slave population to other French colonies in Africa, leaving the island of Hispaniola largely unpopulated. In response to the flaws in the Presidential election system which surfaced in the elections of 1796 and 1800, as well as concerns about possible Presidential death or inability from past illness bouts of Washington and Adams, the 1st Amendment to the Constitution is passed. It revises the system for the election of President and Vice President, and regulates cases of Presidential and Vice-Presidential inability and succession. It incorporates the provisions of the OTL 12th, 20th, and 25th Amendments. The precedent is established to make constitutional amendments as integral revisions to the original text, not separate footnotes.
1804-1805: The First Barbary War ends with a treaty between Tripoli and the US which freeds American priosners without ransom. Simon Bolivar dedicates himself to liberating New Grenada from Spanish rule after visiting American Guyana and seeing the peace and prosperity of that territory. This leaves him with a strong favorable impression about the American system. John Adams is re-elected president. During his two terms, he strives to implement internal improvements, develop American commerce, banking, and manufacturing, and reinforce the army, navy, forts, and state militias of the US, on the advice of his influential Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. British-Patagonian War begins with the British fighting against the Spanish-speaking settlers existing in Patagonia. Spain declares war on Britain.
1806: US troops suppress the last remnants of revolutionary insurgency in the Dominic territory (former Hispaniola). Britain conquers Rio de la Plata.
1807: the US Congress and the British Parliament forbid slave trade. The British sign a peace treaty with Spain that cedes the Rio de la Plata and Montevideo region to Britain. British South America is created. Aaron Burr is convicted of treason and conspiracy to set up an independent state in the Louisiana territory. The Congress renews the Naval Act and Preparedness Act in response to French and British interference with American commercial shipping as result of the British Blockade and Napoleon's "Continental System".
1808: the importation of slaves in the United States is banned. Portugal cedes the Rio Grande district to Britain and it is incorporated in British South America. Former VP and Federalist candidate Charles C. Pinckney is elected President with Alexander Hamilton as VP. Economic prosperity and lingering popularity from past military victories ensure continued dominance of Federalist party, which keeps fostering internal infrastructural improvements, banking and manufacturing, and a strong military.
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