Alright, hello AH.com! I have been on this sight for a little over half a year now, and thought it time to contribute a timeline that isn't in the ASB category. I wrote this story as a challenge for my eighth grade writing class, but managed to flush it out completely for the rest of the year. It is now ready, I hope you all enjoy the prologue/teaser! If anyone here comes from the previous version, then I should warn them that it will be mostly copy and paste from there, with a few changes here and there. Especially the prologue and first part. If anyone asks if this is an Ameriwank... then yeah, sort of, though it won't stay Americentric for TOO long, otherwise it gets boring.
The Grand Ascent;
Prologue:
Prologue:
The United States of America. Not always the most popular nation in international politics, but it does always seem to find it's place in the sun with the others. The Prime Minister of Poland-Lithuania visited last year and gave his thanks for helping his nation out of the economic turmoil it encountered in the early 2000's. How and when the US began this path many wonder. However, if traced back, it comes from the lengthy American revolution, as the British refused to surrender[1] for quite a long time, the Americans became intent on taking as much land as they could. After finally losing all of the 13 colonies and the land up to the Mississippi, they finally agreed to surrender in 1788, 12 years after they declared independence. They were given the land they had taken in the war[2], though France and Spain also mediated the peace. The French Revolution showed the Americans just how the ideals of republicanism can be corrupted and used in a horrible way.
However, during the "Quasi-war" of the early 1800s, the US was unofficially allied with the British against French and Spanish ships attacking their trade in the Caribbean[3]. The Barbary wars proved that the Americans could fight long distances from home, sacking the pirate outposts. The French sold Louisiana to the Americans in order to gain more money coming up for the Third Napoleonic war(War of the Third Coalition). The near outbreak of war in 1812[4] with Britain convinced the Americans that they needed to focus their expansionist desires elsewhere. It also led the British to stop taking of American sailors and boats.
This convinced the Americans that they needed to keep their heads down until they could truly shine and take more land that they could actually control. Many believe that the best example of this was the annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1845, which led to war with Mexico about three years later. The war was an overwhelming American victory, with almost half of Mexico being annexed. More land was bought from them in 1853, and several nations started to pay attention. Sardinia-Piedmont, a small Kingdom in northwestern Italy, definitely would have supported the US, had it not been at war with Austria, and receiving heavy American support, just shy of actually sending troops in. While they lost, it did establish a friendship between the two. This, I believe, is where this 'story' of modern history begins. One of our old sayings, coming from when we invaded Mexico, undemocratic at the time, came from this: "We are the fire of freedom, and that fire must light and warm up other places that are dark and cold in this world."
[1] Main Point of Divergence, the British refuse to surrender and convince the Americans that they must take as much land as they can to be relevant, though the radicals are quickly put down.
[2] It's the same as they got in OTL, no divergences here.
[3] First Minor POD, the Quasi-war went a bit hotter than OTL, but barely, so still no D.O.W. by the US, but it did cool the relations between France and the US a tiny bit more than OTL.
[4] Second Main POD, there is no war of 1812, so the US loses their victory disease through Native American Wars rather than against the British. Now, they do still prevail in the early 1800s here, but it is enough to teach them that they can't win everything.
However, during the "Quasi-war" of the early 1800s, the US was unofficially allied with the British against French and Spanish ships attacking their trade in the Caribbean[3]. The Barbary wars proved that the Americans could fight long distances from home, sacking the pirate outposts. The French sold Louisiana to the Americans in order to gain more money coming up for the Third Napoleonic war(War of the Third Coalition). The near outbreak of war in 1812[4] with Britain convinced the Americans that they needed to focus their expansionist desires elsewhere. It also led the British to stop taking of American sailors and boats.
This convinced the Americans that they needed to keep their heads down until they could truly shine and take more land that they could actually control. Many believe that the best example of this was the annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1845, which led to war with Mexico about three years later. The war was an overwhelming American victory, with almost half of Mexico being annexed. More land was bought from them in 1853, and several nations started to pay attention. Sardinia-Piedmont, a small Kingdom in northwestern Italy, definitely would have supported the US, had it not been at war with Austria, and receiving heavy American support, just shy of actually sending troops in. While they lost, it did establish a friendship between the two. This, I believe, is where this 'story' of modern history begins. One of our old sayings, coming from when we invaded Mexico, undemocratic at the time, came from this: "We are the fire of freedom, and that fire must light and warm up other places that are dark and cold in this world."
[1] Main Point of Divergence, the British refuse to surrender and convince the Americans that they must take as much land as they can to be relevant, though the radicals are quickly put down.
[2] It's the same as they got in OTL, no divergences here.
[3] First Minor POD, the Quasi-war went a bit hotter than OTL, but barely, so still no D.O.W. by the US, but it did cool the relations between France and the US a tiny bit more than OTL.
[4] Second Main POD, there is no war of 1812, so the US loses their victory disease through Native American Wars rather than against the British. Now, they do still prevail in the early 1800s here, but it is enough to teach them that they can't win everything.
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