Winfield Scott also the general who lead America's last successful war (The first Mexican-American War which would itself have greater focus.) till the first Great War. Same for Zachary Taylor. There also John Paul Jones, von Steuben (Which
@Alterwright made some good posts about), Wayne (Martyrdom) Jacob Brown, Oliver Hazard Perry, (DON'T GIVE UP THIS SHIP), and plenty of others the Remembrance Movement would uplift once you look around.
Yes. There were Southerners that supported the union and were vehemently against secession, all committed to the idea of a
United States --- I'm also sure that there would have been Northerners that would have supported the idea of secession or the encroachment of a central government or supported slavery. If anything the issue of remembering American historical figures for the people of TL-191 would be a complicated and messy issue. This is the consequence of having such a closely shared history and a major issue in nation building not only for the South, but for the North as well --- how do you create (or in the North's case re-create or adopt) national heroes when so many of the ones you want to revere are also revered by your hated enemy? And that shouldn't be an easy question to answer.
I've never really understood why Washington's reputation would have taken a hit in the TL-191 US anyway. Yes, he's from one of the southern states, but he was also a successful military general who defeated the hated British. A nationalistic, militaristic ideology like Remembrance is going to need to venerate military heroes, and if the U.S. turns away Washington then who do they have? Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Winfield Scott, and Zachary Taylor were all southern born as well, so if you reject Washington because of his southern heritage than you lose them as well and after that the cupboard is pretty thin.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Confederates and Northerners are basically competing with each other over Washington and his legacy.
Very good points. I still believe Washington would be lionized more by the Confederacy, but specifically he would be revered the most in Virginia. The rest of the South might look upon him with respect and admiration as well, but they would never take it as far as a Virginian perhaps --- War of Secession generals and Second Mexican War heroes however would be more relevant and much more highly praised in many states, but especially in their home states.
For the North's view on Washington --- honestly, to me, its going to be complicated. Washington would be one of the most controversial and hotly contested presidents in terms how each side should remember him. United States scholars will acknowledge his political efforts during his actual presidency and perhaps even respect him for establishing the conduct of how a president should act - setting a precedence and such. But to revere him the same way as a Southern Virginian would? That would either be out of the question or highly, highly frowned upon in the United States academic sphere, discouraged even. And in a time where espionage, suspicion, and intense national rivalry could easily culminate into wars, where differences in opinions on how to view certain things can plausibly result in you getting hurt, it would be hard for a Yankee to openly praise Washington.
While presidents like Jackson and Taylor were southerners, the real clincher there is that yankees could more easily embrace them just for the fact that they supported the union of the United States and would be especially hated by southerners because of it. Actions in their case would speak very loudly. Someone like Washington though... again, he'd be more complicated, especially since southerners would still look upon him in high regard, while in the North there is a more cynical view of Washington. Sure the North could embrace him more perhaps and venerate him through the Remembrance ideology, but it shouldn't be underestimated that the north has more relevant warrior heroes to embrace than previously thought of. Teddy and Custer for example, the few commanding officers that saw success in the Second Mexican War, the veneration of foreign revolutionary war heroes like Von Steuben and Pulaski and others --- the veneration of rank and file soldiers even.
For sure though, the legacy of Washington would be one of contention and competition between the two sides --- about how to remember him, how to venerate him, and how to interpret his actions to fit in nicely into their national narratives post-War of Secession.
