Empire of Freedom: The History of the American Empire
- Thread starter Kaiser of Brazil
- Start date
Name: Horatio Leeper
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Date of Birth: 8/3/1769
Sex: Male
Culture: Yankee
Political Leaning: Royalist
Background: Horatio Leeper is currently a junior officer in the American Army who's father was a close political ally of George Washington and thus inculcated his son with a deep loyalty to George Washington. As a result of this, he would be a loyal royalist and supporter of the system of government that Washington instituted. As an officer in the Army, he has distinguished himself in the crushing of the Whiskey Rebellion and it seems like he has a long future in the Army ahead of him.
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Date of Birth: 8/3/1769
Sex: Male
Culture: Yankee
Political Leaning: Royalist
Background: Horatio Leeper is currently a junior officer in the American Army who's father was a close political ally of George Washington and thus inculcated his son with a deep loyalty to George Washington. As a result of this, he would be a loyal royalist and supporter of the system of government that Washington instituted. As an officer in the Army, he has distinguished himself in the crushing of the Whiskey Rebellion and it seems like he has a long future in the Army ahead of him.
Ehhh... can't you make Americans first ? I'm not planning to touch Malaya for a long time.
V: FRENCH REVOLUTION
V: FRENCH REVOLUTION
After the Austrian Succession War, the Seven Years' War, and the support in the American Revolutionary War, France was on the brink of bankruptcy. Due to the eruption of the Laki in 1784 in Iceland, crops failed across Europe and France in special saw the price of bread skyrocket, to compensate the failed crops in the economy, the King Louis XVI decided to increase taxes to pay the War debts, increasing the unrest. With the spread of Liberal enlightenment of ones like Voltaire and Rosseau, several intellectuals, burghers, and members of the "Third Estate" started looking at France and desiring to change, fighting the almost feudal economy and the privileges of the nobility. The recipe for the revolution was there and left was to make the cake.
On the 8th of August, the Royal treasure was declared empty by the Minister of Finances Étienne de Brienne who called a meeting of the Estates General on the 5th of May, he resigned shortly after and instead was replaced by Jacques Necker.
Jacques Necker
The King ordered the army to stand down, he instead went to meet Assembly and compromised, the constitution would be finished and Louis XVI became a figurehead and the Declaration of Man and Citizen Rights was created. France would adopt ideals of the enlightenment: All men were made equal and have equal rights and opportunities, including freedom of speech and assembly. It took several elements from the American Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, and while all of that was happening, the King was in an essential house arrest, while members of Nobility fleed to other nations.
The Assembly divided itself in two groups: The Girondins and Jacobins. The first group was composed by burghers and defected members of the other two Estates, they were called "Right-Wing" due to their position in the assembly, and were composed of the most conservative members of the assembly who wanted to keep a Monarchy and an more strict suffrage. The second one was composed of the lower Peasants and urban workers called "Sans-Culottes", they were called "Left Wing" due to their positions, they wanted to abolish the monarchy and declare a Republic under Universal suffrage.
Typical San-Culotte
Meanwhile, the Austro-Prussian army was defeated on the 20th of September in the Battle of Valmy. The Convention created Revolutionary trials and the "Commitee of Public Safety", the first being used to judge "Enemies of the Revolution", which were anyone opposing the Jacobins, and the second would take control of the Finances and the "Terror". The King was put to death by guillotine on the 21st of January of 1793, outraging the other European Nations, the First coalition was composed by Austria, Prussia, The Netherlands, Spain and Britain who swore to destroy the revolution and avenge Louis XVI. Robespierre closed down the Assembly and arrested the Girondins, taking full powers of the revolution. But when the Jacobin journalist, Marat, was assassinated by his mistress, Robespierre became paranoid and started the "Reign of Terror", executing anyone considered enemy of the revolution.
The Execution of Louis XVI
Maximilien Robespierre
"The foundations of a popular government in a revolution are virtue and terror; terror without virtue is disastrous; and virtue without terror is powerless. The Government of the Revolution is the despotism of liberty over tyranny."
-Maximilien Robespierre
On the 26th of July, Robespierre went to the Convention and gave a violent, and paranoid, speech, accusing that there were members of the Convention and the Commitee of Public Safety who were plotting to destroy the revolution. Fearing for their own lives, the members of the Convention demanded that Robespierre gave them names, he refused to and that activated the instincts of self defense of the Convention. Instead of waiting Robespierre to kill them too, they voted to denounce Robespierre as a traitor, condemning him to, ironically, death by guillotine. Robespierre took refuge in the Hôtel de Villes guarded by Sans-Culottes militias, but the Convention would send in the army to arrest him. He would be executed on the 28th of July along with Saint-Just and other Jacobin leaders, ending the Reign of Terror. The Convention would take another year dismantling the Jacobin structures, with the Girondins put back in power by the new Constitution signed on the 22nd of August of 1795, creating an Lower and Upper houses on the British and American style, led by a directory of 5 members.
The changes of government in the Revolution would halt for now, with France focused on the coalition of external enemies, Belgium was captured and annexed, the Dutch Kingdom was invaded and overthrown, with the Batavian Republic taking its place, Spain was forced into peace and gave France Louisiana back. And now with the Republic focused on external enemies, one man would become a rising star in the military, leading the Army of Italy into victory after victory against the Austrians in Northern Italy, his name was Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon Bonaparte, c. 1798
Why ? It depends on Washington's successor if it is a Whig, Federalist or compromise candidate.
Name: Jason Morrison
Birthplace: Wilmington, North Carolina
Date of Birth: 5/25/1765
Sex: Male
Culture: Southern
Political Leaning: Royalist
Background: Descended from the powerful Morrison merchant family of Edinburgh, Scotland, Jason inherited the family business at age 13. After serving with distinction in Nathanael Greene's Army of the South, Morrison went into the North Carolina frontier, outbidding a John Reed for a massive plot of land in eastern Mecklenburg County, soon to be southern Cabarrus County, on which he intends to build his New Edinburgh plantation. However, his son did just find a queer yellow rock...
Birthplace: Wilmington, North Carolina
Date of Birth: 5/25/1765
Sex: Male
Culture: Southern
Political Leaning: Royalist
Background: Descended from the powerful Morrison merchant family of Edinburgh, Scotland, Jason inherited the family business at age 13. After serving with distinction in Nathanael Greene's Army of the South, Morrison went into the North Carolina frontier, outbidding a John Reed for a massive plot of land in eastern Mecklenburg County, soon to be southern Cabarrus County, on which he intends to build his New Edinburgh plantation. However, his son did just find a queer yellow rock...
Name: Henry Bellamy
Birthplace: Annapolis, Maryland
Date of Birth: 16/11/1762
Sex: Male
Culture: Louisiana Creole
Political Leaning: Neutral (liberal)
Background: Born to a relatively prominent Quadroon artisan who emigrated to Maryland for trade purposes and a manumitted slave, Henry Bellamy is an artisan shop proprietor and canny, inquisitive trader who inherited the family business at age 18. A self-taught poet and writer, Bellamy has been partially involved with the Prince Hill Freemasonry, which - combined with his position in life - has solidified his liberal outlook on certain issues, particularly abolition. He's also been writing a number of works on the various artifacts he accumulated during his line of work, as well as the life of free people of color in Virginia, Chesapeake, Pennsylvania and New England, which has garnered him some popularity among free negroes. He has also corresponded with his friends and relatives in New Orleans and Saint-Domingue, particularly on the situation in newly-Republican France, which has inspired him to get involved with a newspaper business.
Birthplace: Annapolis, Maryland
Date of Birth: 16/11/1762
Sex: Male
Culture: Louisiana Creole
Political Leaning: Neutral (liberal)
Background: Born to a relatively prominent Quadroon artisan who emigrated to Maryland for trade purposes and a manumitted slave, Henry Bellamy is an artisan shop proprietor and canny, inquisitive trader who inherited the family business at age 18. A self-taught poet and writer, Bellamy has been partially involved with the Prince Hill Freemasonry, which - combined with his position in life - has solidified his liberal outlook on certain issues, particularly abolition. He's also been writing a number of works on the various artifacts he accumulated during his line of work, as well as the life of free people of color in Virginia, Chesapeake, Pennsylvania and New England, which has garnered him some popularity among free negroes. He has also corresponded with his friends and relatives in New Orleans and Saint-Domingue, particularly on the situation in newly-Republican France, which has inspired him to get involved with a newspaper business.
VI: EMPEROR WASHINGTON II
VI: EMPEROR WASHINGTON II
In 1795, there was a march to the West by Americans, settling down on the Midwestern Territory and forming new Commonwealths. But they weren't alone there, instead there were several tribes who prevented the settlement of the Ohio Valley. Militias of Pennsylvania and Virginia were fighting the tribal Confederacy for years, but on that year Emperor George I decided to end it.
The war was ongoing for 10 years, the Shawnee-Miami coalition led by Blue Jacket and Little Turtle had the support of Great Britain in the war, but in 1793 the Jay Treaty ended the support of Britain and forced the British to leave the forts of the Northwest. They were now alone against the "American Legion": 3,500 men led by General Anthony Wayne, nicknamed "Crazy Wayne" due to his tactics in the Revolutionary War. The two sides came to a decisive clash in Fallen Timbers, the Natives were decisively defeated and were forced to submit to the Treaty of Greenville, forcing the Shawnee to reallocate to the west of the Mississippi and expelling the tribes from the Northwestern Territory and opening the Ohio Valley for settlers.
But after this war was finished, Washington had to deal with a much worser conflict: Economics. The Imperial army and the growing Navy were sucking money like a baby sucked milk, and the two children of Washington were drying up America. The tariffs and Whiskey tax helped, but were not enough and the Empire risked bankruptcy. To make matters worse, the American trade ships were being harassed by the Barbary coast pirates when trading with Europe. The Pirates charged a fee for American ships to cross into the Mediterranean, with the economical situation deteriorating, the Emperor decided to make use of his fleet, sending the AIN (American Imperial Navy) to the coast of Algiers and Tunis to deal with the pirates once and for all, with other European nations like Sweden joining the war.
The Barbary War lasted 2 years with American Experditions sent to bombard the pirate ports, ending in 1800 with the attack of Derna. The American fleet revealed itself to be a formidable navy, with the ships of line and frigates burning entire port cities, but that didn't mean that they didn't suffer loses. The AIN Philadelphia, an frigate commanded by Commodore William Bainbridge, ran aground on a reef in Tripoli Harbor, the pirates would capture the ship and hold the crew hostage, but a daring raid by Stephen Decatur, captain of a captured pirate vessel, would invade the ship and explode the gunpowder barrels, preventing the Pirates from turning its guns against the American fleet.
AIN Philadelphia, 17th of October 1799
The Battle of Derna
But the foreign adventures didn't stop there. In 1798 also started a shooting war between France and America, with the directory seeing the Jay Treaty as a signal of possible US-British alliance, French ships were ordered to attack American ones in the Atlantic. That was the "Quasi-War" an undeclared shooting war between American and French ships that lasted for an Year. The repercussions were felt mostly in the politics: The President of the Senate, Alexander Hamilton, would use it to approve the "Alien and Sediction Acts", increasing the requirements for immigrants to Naturalize in America, and banning "Speech against the Government" essentially creating the first censorship of America. It passed the Lower House thanks for the efforts of the President of the House Charles Pinckney of the Federalists, but when came the time to be reviewed by the Emperor, he refused to sign it. It was unprecedented that Washington would refuse to approve a law, he used his veto on the Sediction act based on his "Oath to protect the Constitution, which includes the freedom of speech of every American to criticize the government". Jefferson and the Whigs were surprised by this turn of events and applauded Washington's decision, while Hamilton was humiliated. Washington was not only protecting the constitution, but also asserting his status as an Independent monarch, which would set the precedent of "Impartiality of the Throne" upon which the Monarch was not supposed to side with a party, but stay above partisan politics and be an neutral sovereign.
On the south, on the 1st of April of 1801, another relief was discovered in North Carolina for the bank. Jason Morrison, an landowner of the Eastern Mecklenburg County, struck an Appalachian gold vein, the Black Cat Gold vein was part of the Charlotte belt in the Appalachian mountains. Morrison soon became rich, his lands attracted thousands of prospectors to attempt to strike gold, with small "Boomtowns" growing near the mines to provide services for the workers. The economy of North Carolina received a boost due to the Golden Rush, with Morrison rising as a prominent politician in North Carolina, becoming Governor of the Commonwealth in 1806.
In 1801 also came the rise of Columbia, with the city being inaugurated on the symbolical 4th of July. Emperor George I Washington would take residence in the Imperial Palace, called "The White House" due to its color, with the Senate and the House moving soon after. The city of Columbia became the New Capital of the American Empire, with the Potomac river side by side with the Marble buildings of the Government district, it reminded Washington of the city he saw in his vision all the way back to Valley Forge. Washington sat outside the White House, seeing the sun setting over the Potomac, at such beautiful sight and feeling his greatest legacy completed, he closed his eyes and breathed his last, resting in peace looking at the Nation he created. The First Emperor of America, George I Washington, was dead on the 4th of July of 1801.
Senate Building of Columbia, 1801
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Washington had other relatives, but I doubt they would be chosen unless some of them became prominent while Washington became Emperor.
VII: IMPERIAL ELECTION OF 1801 (CANDIDATES)
VII: IMPERIAL ELECTION OF 1801
(CANDIDATES)
The death of Emperor George I Washington was the end of the line, with the Father of the Nation having no biological children, the Constitution mandated that the Imperial Senate voted for an new dynastic house to rule America. The power vacuum of the most powerful position in America would open up the hunt season for many politicians and even ones who weren't interested, but wanted it for a sense of duty.(CANDIDATES)
ALEXANDER HAMILTON
Hamilton was an obvious contender from the very beginning, he wasn't content with the Senate and dreamed of a "House of Hamilton". The Federalist leader seemed like an natural successor until his autocratic nature was shown on the attempt to pass the "Alien and Sedition Acts", that's when many saw him losing Washington's favor. Nonetheless, he is still an strong contender running the platform of the Federalist Party, if not a little more Autocratic, which puts fear on the hearts of many Liberals, and is no doubt Jefferson's worst nightmare.
JOHN MARSHALL
Marshall wasn't ambitious, he didn't want the office for sake of power or ambition, he even refused to be an Imperial Minister, but after seeing the rise of the autocratic tendencies of Hamilton, he decided to run as a moderate Federalist. He is gifted by knowledge of Law and a strict constitutionalist, even going against the Party on the "Alien and Sedition Acts" based on the Constitution. He also grew close to Washington in his later years, and is considered the "Washingtonian" or "Status Quo" candidate.
AARON BURR
JAMES MADISON
Who will become the next Emperor of America ?
On the bright side for Hamilton, he will probably end slavery. Now, who are you rooting for ?
I don't personally think so. I've seen them thrown around but I've never seen anything concrete. Personally, I kind of like the idea of a Hamilton monarchy because of him starting off as a bastard in the Caribbean and ending up as an Emperor. Though I do acknowledge his faults especially in this TL.
