Death of a Republic (A monarchical USA timeline)
- Thread starter Schnozzberry
- Start date
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
Now, I have to get a Falcon reference in here somewhere. After all, revolution and baseball are the effectively the same thing, right?
Edit: Football. I meant football.
Better than the Patriots of the first 3 quarters, or the Patriots of the 4th and overtime?
4. Massachusetts Secedes
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
—Thomas Paine
The winter which struck New England in the later half of November was unusually cold. By December, Shays and Lincoln had called winter quarters at Worcester, only two weeks march from Boston. However, in Boston trouble brewed. Shattuck and Hopswood along with fourteen other Regulator leaders were assembled in the State House drawing up the plans for a new, free Republic of Massachusetts. By December 19th, a constitution for the “Free Regulated Republic of Massachusetts” was adopted by the committee. Amongst its provisions were:
All males above the age of 18 could vote for their representative.
The governance of the Republic would consist of a legislature and an executive council.
The legislature would have one member for every ten thousand citizens (36 representatives in 1787).
The executive council would consist of five Executives, with a Chief Executive elected from amongst them to serve as the head of the council.
Every citizen is entitled to ten acres of land.
Debtors prisons were abolished.
All able-bodied males are required to serve five years in a militia.
The committee, now styling itself the “Provisional Legislature of the Free Regulated Republic of Massachusetts” adopted the constitution unanimously. On December 20th, the final draft of the Massachusetts Declaration of Independence was read before the Provisional Legislature. Three days later the weather cleared sufficiently for a public reading of the Declaration. Christmas Day saw the inauguration of the Executives: Clark Hopswood, Job Shattuck, Edward Price, Martin Horn and Taylor Hammond. The Executive Council chose Clark Hopswood to be Chief Executive.
News of the Massachusetts Declaration of Independence spread fast. When the news hit Worcester, despite the horrible conditions, Lincoln mustered his men to stop the secessionists. Shays, concerned over the welfare of his men, attempted to hold Lincoln’s plan to march on Boston until the weather had warmed. Lincoln refused to delay, however, as he feared the secessionists would be able to sway other towns across Massachusetts to swing to their side if they were not put down. Not wanting to divide the armies, Shays rallied his men as well. There would be only one chance to strike the F.R.R. down. On December 30th, the six thousand men, a combined force of New Yorker militia and Regulator began marching for Boston.
The weather however was not on their side. A blizzard blew through Massachusetts on January 3rd leaving the army slowed, freezing and confused. By the time the army reached Boston, on January 14th, one in every three men, some two thousand in total had died, with General Lincoln falling to the cold as well on January 13th. Upon reaching Boston, the beleaguered forces were met with the secessionist force of thirty-seven hundred men. Despite a valiant effort by the Regulator and New Yorker forces, the well fed and rested secessionists defeated the army and captured Daniel Shays who had refused to flee. Of the six thousand who left Worcester on the 30th, it is believed only one thousand survived. With the secessionist victory at the Battle of Boston, the secessionists became the dominant force throughout Massachusetts.
News reached the Confederation Congress, then assembled in New York, on the 23rd of January. Although the Congress was not in session at the moment, an informal session was organized by the President of the Congress, Arthur St. Clair. Over the next three days, the Continental Congress hammered out an emergency act, the Clark-Pinckey-Griffin Act, which called for the establishment of an emergency army, to be lead by a provisional executive. The Act drew inspiration from the idea of the Roman Dictator, as the emergency executive position was to be dissolved six months following their election. While the Act had been popular with members of the Congress from northern states, who saw the secessionists in Massachusetts as being a serious threat to their home state’s stability, many Southern delegates were unhappy with the Act. Despite agreeing that something had to be done, the Southerners feared that the election of an executive would lead down the road to despotism. Thus, when the act was first voted over on January 26th, 1787, the United States of America rejected its first action towards creating a united government. With the growing instability, a single question was on all delegates minds as they left the conference hall that night: “How much longer will the Union last?”
—Thomas Paine
The winter which struck New England in the later half of November was unusually cold. By December, Shays and Lincoln had called winter quarters at Worcester, only two weeks march from Boston. However, in Boston trouble brewed. Shattuck and Hopswood along with fourteen other Regulator leaders were assembled in the State House drawing up the plans for a new, free Republic of Massachusetts. By December 19th, a constitution for the “Free Regulated Republic of Massachusetts” was adopted by the committee. Amongst its provisions were:
All males above the age of 18 could vote for their representative.
The governance of the Republic would consist of a legislature and an executive council.
The legislature would have one member for every ten thousand citizens (36 representatives in 1787).
The executive council would consist of five Executives, with a Chief Executive elected from amongst them to serve as the head of the council.
Every citizen is entitled to ten acres of land.
Debtors prisons were abolished.
All able-bodied males are required to serve five years in a militia.
The committee, now styling itself the “Provisional Legislature of the Free Regulated Republic of Massachusetts” adopted the constitution unanimously. On December 20th, the final draft of the Massachusetts Declaration of Independence was read before the Provisional Legislature. Three days later the weather cleared sufficiently for a public reading of the Declaration. Christmas Day saw the inauguration of the Executives: Clark Hopswood, Job Shattuck, Edward Price, Martin Horn and Taylor Hammond. The Executive Council chose Clark Hopswood to be Chief Executive.
News of the Massachusetts Declaration of Independence spread fast. When the news hit Worcester, despite the horrible conditions, Lincoln mustered his men to stop the secessionists. Shays, concerned over the welfare of his men, attempted to hold Lincoln’s plan to march on Boston until the weather had warmed. Lincoln refused to delay, however, as he feared the secessionists would be able to sway other towns across Massachusetts to swing to their side if they were not put down. Not wanting to divide the armies, Shays rallied his men as well. There would be only one chance to strike the F.R.R. down. On December 30th, the six thousand men, a combined force of New Yorker militia and Regulator began marching for Boston.
The weather however was not on their side. A blizzard blew through Massachusetts on January 3rd leaving the army slowed, freezing and confused. By the time the army reached Boston, on January 14th, one in every three men, some two thousand in total had died, with General Lincoln falling to the cold as well on January 13th. Upon reaching Boston, the beleaguered forces were met with the secessionist force of thirty-seven hundred men. Despite a valiant effort by the Regulator and New Yorker forces, the well fed and rested secessionists defeated the army and captured Daniel Shays who had refused to flee. Of the six thousand who left Worcester on the 30th, it is believed only one thousand survived. With the secessionist victory at the Battle of Boston, the secessionists became the dominant force throughout Massachusetts.
News reached the Confederation Congress, then assembled in New York, on the 23rd of January. Although the Congress was not in session at the moment, an informal session was organized by the President of the Congress, Arthur St. Clair. Over the next three days, the Continental Congress hammered out an emergency act, the Clark-Pinckey-Griffin Act, which called for the establishment of an emergency army, to be lead by a provisional executive. The Act drew inspiration from the idea of the Roman Dictator, as the emergency executive position was to be dissolved six months following their election. While the Act had been popular with members of the Congress from northern states, who saw the secessionists in Massachusetts as being a serious threat to their home state’s stability, many Southern delegates were unhappy with the Act. Despite agreeing that something had to be done, the Southerners feared that the election of an executive would lead down the road to despotism. Thus, when the act was first voted over on January 26th, 1787, the United States of America rejected its first action towards creating a united government. With the growing instability, a single question was on all delegates minds as they left the conference hall that night: “How much longer will the Union last?”
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Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
And the Romans, Germans, Russians...
We're in luck though, we have George Washington, a regular old Cincinnatus. If he leads the emergency army, the USA will be fine, right?
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
Hi everybody, sorry I'm being so slow. Midterms have ended, so I can now get back to writing. However, I wanted to show a bit of a teaser for future events, a mockup of a Wikipedia info box in this timeline.
Succeeded by Andrew Jackson? Is there another political figure named Andrew Jackson ITTL?
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
No, the office of Dictator will have gaps where it isn't used. Jackson will just be the second man to take the title.
So it follows a lot more closely the Roman political theatre ala the dictators like Sulla and Caesar.
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
Yep. The office will be somewhat more limited than in Rome, the Dictator is granted immediate control of the armies, and only limited power to influence laws. They also aren't supposed to be re-elected to the dictatorship, but that may change. I best not say too much more, for the foundations aren't 100% set in stone yet.
5. The Slave Revolt Begins
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
Hi everybody, I've finally finished the next update. The next update will finally deal with the West, and the problems going on there. But for now, here's what is going on with the South.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"
—Patrick Henry
The Clark-Pinckey-Griffin Act, despite having been rejected by the Confederation Congress, still had some potential to be revived. Despite the Act having received support from Northern Congressional delegates, Southern Delegates fears that this as a plan to establish a Northern-led tyranny in the style of the Commonwealth of England kept progress from being made. Unbeknownst to the anti-Act Southerners, a crisis was brewing in their states as well.
As the secessionists’ revolt burned in Massachusetts, embers of rebellion spread through the whole of the American nation. One ember ignited in the heart of a free black preacher, Abram. Born Robert Meriday, he was a slave who was freed upon the death of his former master and became a farmer possessing a small plot of land in Northwestern Virginia. Sometime in October 1774, he reportedly saw a vision from God, where he was told to “Save his people.” Taking the name Abram, he began to travel the American south trying to free the souls of the slaves. Few records of him exist in this time period, however it is known that sometime in 1780 Abram was in Massachusetts where he met Clark Hopswood. The two would write letters between each other, the contents of which remain unknown. Abram would serve as the model for “Free Nigger Bob,” a recurring character in Hopswood’s anti-slavery writings. Although it is unknown exactly when sometime in 1781 Abram came to South Carolina. Eventually, through a mixture of Hopswood’s letters and news of the events in Massachusetts, Abram began to prepare to liberate the worldly bodies, rather than the souls of America’s slaves.
Although exact records are lacking, it is believed that by the end of 1786 Abram was able to recruit nearly five thousand slaves into the plot of rebellion. The beginning of the rebellion proper occurred entirely by mistake. On March 12th a slave, whose name history has regrettably forgotten, beat to death a white overseer following a beating. Following this, approximately eighty slaves stormed the plantation manor and whipped their former master, the plantation’s white workers, and the master’s family to death. Two days later Governor Thomas Pinckney heard the news of the event, he called out the local militia to deal with them declaring: “We shall make short work of them.”
Over the next two weeks, slaves began rising up throughout South Carolina particularly in the area around Charleston. On the 29th of March, Governor Pinckney’s militia was defeated in the Battle of North Charleston. This defeat spurred on the slave revolt and by the end of March, twenty thousand slaves or roughly one-fifth of the slave population of South Carolina were rebelling against the slavery. On April 2nd, Pinckney fled Charleston in light of an approaching black army, which arrived in the city the next day. The Battle of Charleston was barely worthy of the title, far more resembling a massacre rather than a battle. Only six thousand of the nearly seventeen thousand civilians of Charleston were alive the following morning.
As news of the slave revolt spread, nervousness began to set in throughout the Southern leadership. Slave revolts were a perpetual threat and the current revolt was of a larger scale than any other. In other slave states crackdowns began to occur with 24 slaves being hanged in Delaware alone. The largest change however, was in the attitude of the southern states towards the idea of establishing an emergency government. Although they had rejected in the Confederation Congress the establishment of an emergency army, the southern states began to approve of the idea despite the fact that Governor Pinckney himself had stated that the action was “a step from tyranny.” However, the threat of the slave revolt spreading to other states swayed their opinions. On April 18th, Virginia became the last state to ratify the Clark-Pinckney-Griffin Act and the emergency army (officially the United States Army of Internal Defense) came into existence. The office of the emergency executive was granted the title Dictator, drawing inspiration from the early Roman Republic.
The question of who should become Dictator saw little debate. George Washington was the first choice for receiving the office with the news of the passing of the act reaching him on April 23rd, departing for New York the following morning. Washington was noted by many to be very reluctant to take the office, with many believing he would turn it down entirely. Despite his reluctance, Washington took the office on May 1st, 1787 and immediately set out to end the growing number of crises stood in his way. The militias in the north were losing ground to the Massachusetts Republic, slaves across the southern states were in revolt, Natives were attacking settlers in the west, and the central government was barely able to summon the quorum needed to function. Despite all of this, Washington vowed to save the union.
“My Country has called upon me, in its darkest hour, to once more fight for the Liberties and Freedoms which we had, so few years before, fought and died for. Heaven has ordained upon us the sacred duty to defend the Fires of Liberty, and the Republican form of Government. It is for the security of the Nation, the favour of the American people, and the progenity of all Free people of this Earth that the Union must hold.”
-George Washington.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"
—Patrick Henry
The Clark-Pinckey-Griffin Act, despite having been rejected by the Confederation Congress, still had some potential to be revived. Despite the Act having received support from Northern Congressional delegates, Southern Delegates fears that this as a plan to establish a Northern-led tyranny in the style of the Commonwealth of England kept progress from being made. Unbeknownst to the anti-Act Southerners, a crisis was brewing in their states as well.
As the secessionists’ revolt burned in Massachusetts, embers of rebellion spread through the whole of the American nation. One ember ignited in the heart of a free black preacher, Abram. Born Robert Meriday, he was a slave who was freed upon the death of his former master and became a farmer possessing a small plot of land in Northwestern Virginia. Sometime in October 1774, he reportedly saw a vision from God, where he was told to “Save his people.” Taking the name Abram, he began to travel the American south trying to free the souls of the slaves. Few records of him exist in this time period, however it is known that sometime in 1780 Abram was in Massachusetts where he met Clark Hopswood. The two would write letters between each other, the contents of which remain unknown. Abram would serve as the model for “Free Nigger Bob,” a recurring character in Hopswood’s anti-slavery writings. Although it is unknown exactly when sometime in 1781 Abram came to South Carolina. Eventually, through a mixture of Hopswood’s letters and news of the events in Massachusetts, Abram began to prepare to liberate the worldly bodies, rather than the souls of America’s slaves.
Although exact records are lacking, it is believed that by the end of 1786 Abram was able to recruit nearly five thousand slaves into the plot of rebellion. The beginning of the rebellion proper occurred entirely by mistake. On March 12th a slave, whose name history has regrettably forgotten, beat to death a white overseer following a beating. Following this, approximately eighty slaves stormed the plantation manor and whipped their former master, the plantation’s white workers, and the master’s family to death. Two days later Governor Thomas Pinckney heard the news of the event, he called out the local militia to deal with them declaring: “We shall make short work of them.”
Over the next two weeks, slaves began rising up throughout South Carolina particularly in the area around Charleston. On the 29th of March, Governor Pinckney’s militia was defeated in the Battle of North Charleston. This defeat spurred on the slave revolt and by the end of March, twenty thousand slaves or roughly one-fifth of the slave population of South Carolina were rebelling against the slavery. On April 2nd, Pinckney fled Charleston in light of an approaching black army, which arrived in the city the next day. The Battle of Charleston was barely worthy of the title, far more resembling a massacre rather than a battle. Only six thousand of the nearly seventeen thousand civilians of Charleston were alive the following morning.
As news of the slave revolt spread, nervousness began to set in throughout the Southern leadership. Slave revolts were a perpetual threat and the current revolt was of a larger scale than any other. In other slave states crackdowns began to occur with 24 slaves being hanged in Delaware alone. The largest change however, was in the attitude of the southern states towards the idea of establishing an emergency government. Although they had rejected in the Confederation Congress the establishment of an emergency army, the southern states began to approve of the idea despite the fact that Governor Pinckney himself had stated that the action was “a step from tyranny.” However, the threat of the slave revolt spreading to other states swayed their opinions. On April 18th, Virginia became the last state to ratify the Clark-Pinckney-Griffin Act and the emergency army (officially the United States Army of Internal Defense) came into existence. The office of the emergency executive was granted the title Dictator, drawing inspiration from the early Roman Republic.
The question of who should become Dictator saw little debate. George Washington was the first choice for receiving the office with the news of the passing of the act reaching him on April 23rd, departing for New York the following morning. Washington was noted by many to be very reluctant to take the office, with many believing he would turn it down entirely. Despite his reluctance, Washington took the office on May 1st, 1787 and immediately set out to end the growing number of crises stood in his way. The militias in the north were losing ground to the Massachusetts Republic, slaves across the southern states were in revolt, Natives were attacking settlers in the west, and the central government was barely able to summon the quorum needed to function. Despite all of this, Washington vowed to save the union.
“My Country has called upon me, in its darkest hour, to once more fight for the Liberties and Freedoms which we had, so few years before, fought and died for. Heaven has ordained upon us the sacred duty to defend the Fires of Liberty, and the Republican form of Government. It is for the security of the Nation, the favour of the American people, and the progenity of all Free people of this Earth that the Union must hold.”
-George Washington.
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6. Perfidious Albion Meddles in the West
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
It's a bit short, but here's the story of the West. I want to know, however, whether or not people want to the events in Massachusetts, or the beginnings of the Constitutional convention to be talked about next episode.
“There’s something that’s gone wrong.”
—John Sevier
The territory of North Carolina west of the Appalachian Mountains were poorly maintained by the North Carolinian government. Central authority was poorly ran, and settlers had a poor protection from native Americans. As such, the settlers had established an interim government, the State of Franklin. In 1786, the government and population of Franklin rejected an offer by North Carolina to rejoin the state. By 1787 troops from North Carolina were sent to Franklin under the command of Evan Shelby in order to both restore North Carolina’s governance over the area, and to defend the settlers against Cherokee raids on settlers.
Shelby’s troops never pacified Franklin. In early April, Shelby was recalled to help prevent the South Carolinian slave revolt from spreading into North Carolina. For the state of Franklin this was a blessing. Without the troops, the North Carolinian government was unable to restore their control over Franklin and the separatist government continued functioning. Shelby’s withdrawal proved to be a blessing for the Franklinite government in one other way. A number of militias were drawn from the region, along with Shelby’s troops. This allowed the Governor of Franklin, John Sevier, to seize the assets of the North Carolinian counties which had been de facto defunct following establishment of Franklin. On June 2nd, 1787, Sevier led a small militia of two hundred to Jonesborough, the capital of the North Carolinian government of the region, and without a fight the North Carolinian government surrendered to Sevier.
While Sevier managed to secure Franklin, a new crisis began to brew in the Northwest. News of the Regulator crisis had reached the government of Great Britain by December 23rd. In response, the British government authorized British officials in Canada to supply rebellions in the United States of America, with 25,000 pounds being set aside to supply rebellious natives in the American Northwest. The news of this authorization would reach British Canada on March 3rd, 1787, with the natives in the Northwest not receiving word until April 15th.
Before the news had reached the Native tribes however, the tribes had taken matters into their own hands. Having formed a large confederation of tribes in 1785, the natives in the Northwest declared all lands North and West of the Ohio river as their territory. As news of the American’s weakness began to trickle west, the tribes began to take more direct action. On March 12th, 1787, Fort Harmar was attacked by a band of five hundred native tribesmen. This attack would serve as the beginning of the Great Indian War.
Over the next four weeks, until news of the British aid reached the natives, the war consisted primarily of native raids on American forts and supply trains to the forts. When news of the British plan to aid the tribes, the war expanded dramatically. Native attacks began to occur against American settlements south of the Ohio river. While local militias were able to fend off the majority of the attacks, the Virginian government was unable to provide sufficient supplies to the settlers in the west, due to the increasing crackdown against the spread of the slave rebellion. In a foreshadowing of events to come, on May 22nd, one hundred militiamen and the entire population of Maysville, roughly one hundred civilians, were killed during a native raid across the Ohio river.
The British aid to the natives did not just serve to disrupt the Americans. The British wanted a buffer state between their westward expansion, and American expansion. As such, Jonathan Vallwick was sent as an envoy to the native confederation, along with two hundred British soldiers. Departing from Fort Detroit on the 23rd of April, Vallwick had four goals:
“There’s something that’s gone wrong.”
—John Sevier
The territory of North Carolina west of the Appalachian Mountains were poorly maintained by the North Carolinian government. Central authority was poorly ran, and settlers had a poor protection from native Americans. As such, the settlers had established an interim government, the State of Franklin. In 1786, the government and population of Franklin rejected an offer by North Carolina to rejoin the state. By 1787 troops from North Carolina were sent to Franklin under the command of Evan Shelby in order to both restore North Carolina’s governance over the area, and to defend the settlers against Cherokee raids on settlers.
Shelby’s troops never pacified Franklin. In early April, Shelby was recalled to help prevent the South Carolinian slave revolt from spreading into North Carolina. For the state of Franklin this was a blessing. Without the troops, the North Carolinian government was unable to restore their control over Franklin and the separatist government continued functioning. Shelby’s withdrawal proved to be a blessing for the Franklinite government in one other way. A number of militias were drawn from the region, along with Shelby’s troops. This allowed the Governor of Franklin, John Sevier, to seize the assets of the North Carolinian counties which had been de facto defunct following establishment of Franklin. On June 2nd, 1787, Sevier led a small militia of two hundred to Jonesborough, the capital of the North Carolinian government of the region, and without a fight the North Carolinian government surrendered to Sevier.
While Sevier managed to secure Franklin, a new crisis began to brew in the Northwest. News of the Regulator crisis had reached the government of Great Britain by December 23rd. In response, the British government authorized British officials in Canada to supply rebellions in the United States of America, with 25,000 pounds being set aside to supply rebellious natives in the American Northwest. The news of this authorization would reach British Canada on March 3rd, 1787, with the natives in the Northwest not receiving word until April 15th.
Before the news had reached the Native tribes however, the tribes had taken matters into their own hands. Having formed a large confederation of tribes in 1785, the natives in the Northwest declared all lands North and West of the Ohio river as their territory. As news of the American’s weakness began to trickle west, the tribes began to take more direct action. On March 12th, 1787, Fort Harmar was attacked by a band of five hundred native tribesmen. This attack would serve as the beginning of the Great Indian War.
Over the next four weeks, until news of the British aid reached the natives, the war consisted primarily of native raids on American forts and supply trains to the forts. When news of the British plan to aid the tribes, the war expanded dramatically. Native attacks began to occur against American settlements south of the Ohio river. While local militias were able to fend off the majority of the attacks, the Virginian government was unable to provide sufficient supplies to the settlers in the west, due to the increasing crackdown against the spread of the slave rebellion. In a foreshadowing of events to come, on May 22nd, one hundred militiamen and the entire population of Maysville, roughly one hundred civilians, were killed during a native raid across the Ohio river.
The British aid to the natives did not just serve to disrupt the Americans. The British wanted a buffer state between their westward expansion, and American expansion. As such, Jonathan Vallwick was sent as an envoy to the native confederation, along with two hundred British soldiers. Departing from Fort Detroit on the 23rd of April, Vallwick had four goals:
- Establish British relations with the native confederacy
- Support the confederacy against American retaliation.
- Push the natives to abandon their native governments, and adopt European style governments.
- Have the natives accept British protection.
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It'sa wonder anyone other then Portugal made alliances with them.
Schnozzberry
Gone Fishin'
Well, when you got a gun held to your head, and the options are an alliance with Britain, or war, I guess some people made the mistake of choosing the alliance.