ITTL America is a dominant-party state and the Federalist are the dominant party, correct? For how long have they been the governing party? And how does North America look like?POD: The Adams administration wields the Sedition Act more ruthlessly, and does for scandalmongers like Callender. Jefferson and Madison are unmasked as writing the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, and probably go to chokey too. Adams wins in 1800 and the Federalists cement their position. In the 21st Century Jeffersonian republicanism is the thing of cranks. Who needs abstract notions of freedom or liberty when there is the warm comforting embrace of the General Government? That freedom only means the freedom to be poor or to be hungry, or the freedom to spread subversive ideas; pretty poor freedoms, right?
EDIT: Companion piece.
Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes VI (Do Not Post Current Politics or Political Figures Here)
- Status
The Post-Dead Revolt (also known as the Undead Rebellion and the Corpse Crusade) was a widespread rebellion amongst the employees of the Great Rift Company against unfair and exploitative working conditions. The rebellion began on the planet of New Zephyrus when a group of post-dead agricultural workers, led by the charismatic radical No. 09-7812 and revolutionary preacher No. 09-7499, seized control of the local long-range communications array and broadcast their intentions and manifesto over the Latent Neural Network, an interstellar telepathic network linking all of the post-dead employees of the Company. This incited further rebellions on twenty-four planets and seventy-nine space stations.
The rebellion has its origin in the devastation caused by St Edgar's Curse, a pandemic which spread across the territories of the Company, killing tens of billions of people through the effects of compulsive paranoia and, more importantly, leading to the Company's share price on the Imperial Exchange dropping by more than five percent. This was unacceptable to the Governor and Board of Directors, who implemented more stringent requirements on their remaining employees to increase productivity, like increasing the working day to twelve standardised hours and paying all employees with company scrip instead of the new denarius. The most controversial of these measures was the addition of the 'post-death clause' to the contracts of the mainly illiterate agricultural workers, who had been disproportionately affected by St Edgar's Curse, which gave the Company the right to use their bodies as workers for a period after their death. This was vital to maintain agricultural production and provide food to the workers of the great planetary mines and refineries.
Initially, the dead were left for some time before they were 'recommissioned' as employees, but a second wave of the Curse made the situation more desperate and the Company began reanimating the recently-deceased. As their brains had decomposed less, many of these people retained their memories and personality and began to resent the Company. The immediate spark for the rebellion was when one of these employees, No. 09-4512 was terminated after complaining to the authorities about the situation. This prompted the initial uprising of Nos. 09-7812 and 09-7499, and the uprisings that followed.
The rebellion was characterised mainly by mass anarchy. Despite the efforts of the literate leadership to organise the rebels into a state, the Free Association of the Rift, many employees were out purely for revenge, leading to the wholesale slaughter of tens of thousands of Company and Imperial officials. This bloodshed was encouraged by the Cult of the Eternal Revolution, an illegal religious sect dedicated to periodic revolutions and purges to 'rejuvenate' society. Initial attempts by company militia to defeat the rebels were unsuccessful, mainly because bullets have little effect on corpses.
As with all extra-Solar affairs, the rebellion aroused no feelings whatsoever on Earth, Mars, or Venus, and the Imperial government, being heavily influenced by Lord Pluto and the Neo-Hansa, was unsympathetic to the troubles of the Company. The murder of Imperial officials changed this, and the Imperial government sent a detachment of the army led by the Captain-General to help restore order. In the end, the Company was able to recover eight planets and thirty-four space stations, the rest were deemed unsalvagable and were scourged with atomic weapons. No. 09-7812 was captured, along with a ship full of his supporters, attempting to escape Company territory. His supporters were executed, but he was not as the Lord High Astrologer deemed it inauspicious to do so. Instead, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Hell with a minimum of three and half thousand years.
Although the Revolt ultimately changed nothing and only led to minor damage to the assets of the Company, it proved to be an enormous embarrassment and the Governor, Sir Guy Despenser, was forced to resign and do public penance before the shareholders. This embarrassment was assuaged somewhat by the insurance payout for the destroyed planets and employees which totalled some six hundred and ninety billion new denarii, which was much more than the value of the destroyed assets and led to the bankruptcy of five insurance companies. Post-death labour remains common in Company lands, although they now take the added precaution of lobotomising the recommissioned employees. The Revolt remains unknown in the Solar System except amongst those who take a particular interest in such affairs.
The 1979 British General Election was a rather controversial election, as it saw Margaret Thatcher and her British Republican Party, win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, defeating incumbent Prime Minister Patrick Hillery, The Conservative Party, led by Francois Mitterand, became the opposition party while The Liberals and the Labour formed a coalition to help combat the Republicans.
After winning the election and becoming Prime Minister, Thatcher spent most of her tenure organising a referendum, which would be about whether or not The United Kingdom of Great Britain, France and Ireland would stay a monarchy or become a republic.
The people of The UK voted to keep the Monarchy in December 1981, The Conservative Party, alongside the Liberal-Labour coalition, teamed up to call a motion of no confidence with Thatcher and her party and an early election to held in February 1982, which resulted in most of the BRP, including Thatcher, to lose their seats. The only Republican to win re-election changed his party to Conservative and Francois Mitterand became Prime Minister of the UK.
After winning the election and becoming Prime Minister, Thatcher spent most of her tenure organising a referendum, which would be about whether or not The United Kingdom of Great Britain, France and Ireland would stay a monarchy or become a republic.
The people of The UK voted to keep the Monarchy in December 1981, The Conservative Party, alongside the Liberal-Labour coalition, teamed up to call a motion of no confidence with Thatcher and her party and an early election to held in February 1982, which resulted in most of the BRP, including Thatcher, to lose their seats. The only Republican to win re-election changed his party to Conservative and Francois Mitterand became Prime Minister of the UK.
John F. Kennedy was an American author active from 1950 to 1981. Kennedy was born in 1917, the second child of future ambassador to the United Kingdom Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The Kennedy family besides John would be best known for their role in politics-his older brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. served as president of the United States from 1965 to 1969, his brother Robert Kennedy was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1959 to 1983 and a perennial presidential candidate who ran in every Democratic primary from 1976 to 2012 and his youngest brother Edward 'Ted' Kennedy was Mayor of Boston from 1974 to 1980. John, on the other hand, was more interested in literature and writing than politics (though he supported his siblings' campaigns and was a staunch Democrat for the whole of his life). Kennedy began as a writer of short stories and journalistic articles, but first found literary success with his 1955 novel No Man's Island. Inspired by his brother's stories of the Second World War (John had enlisted but been discharged following an injury during his initial training in 1941), the book detailed a surreal experience of the fictional Patrick O'Malley being stranded alone on a remote island in the Pacific. The book received praise for subverting the expectations of a Robinson Crusoe-type story: instead of working to survive, O'Malley 'did the only thing he could: go mad' and much of the book is clearly delusions brought on by isolation, starvation and sickness. The book's success brought Kennedy into the limelight and he became a highly successful author. His other notable books include Camelot; a subversive take on the Arthurian mythos where King Arthur is a highly deformed and often sick man owing to his dynasty being inbred a la many real life royal families and Merlin is more akin to Grigori Rasputin than a wise mentor, For Want of a Nail; an alternate history where Imperial Germany won World War I and the world proves to be shockingly similar, with a Cold War between an ultimately communist Germany that dominates Europe and the US being little different than the real Cold War and The Law of Life, his last book where an unnamed man in his thirties is taken by a 'guardian angel' to see his past and future selves whom he often fights over values (the titular 'law' being that one will change over time inevitably). Kennedy died in 1981 from complications due to Addison's disease, but his works are still considered classics of postmodern writing.
HAMILTON'S SECOND SHOT
Alexander Hamilton was the 5th President of the United States of America and an important statesman, politician, general, lawyer, economist, and writer. Born in Charlestown, Nevis, he was orphaned at a young age and taken in by a local merchant. In his teens, Hamilton immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York City to pursue his education. When the American Revolution began, Hamilton joined the New York militia and rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming George Washington's senior aide in 1777. After independence was won, Hamilton was elected as a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation.
Hamilton retired from the Congress in 1783 and returned to New York, where he practiced law and established the Bank of New York. He returned to politics with the 1786 Annapolis Conference, which urged the implementation of a more centralized Federal government. Hamilton then served as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention, where he proposed his own plan for the American constitution, though it was rejected in favor of James Madison's plan. Once the convention had approved the constitution, Hamilton worked with Madison and John Jay to write a series of essays known as the Federalist Papers. Out of 85 essays, Hamilton authored 51.
During George Washington's presidency, Hamilton served as the first Secretary of the Treasury. In this capacity, he directed the Federal government's assumption of states' debts, successfully argued that Congress possessed the authority to fund the National Debt, and formed the First Bank of the United States. All of these programs were primarily funded through tariffs on imports, and then with an unpopular Whiskey Tax. These financial policies, combined with Hamilton's opposition to support for the Revolutionary French regime, formed the nucleus of the Federalist Party's ideology. Hamilton left the Treasury in 1795, and returned to private legal practice. in 1798, he called for mobilization against the French during the Adams administration, and was appointed as the Commanding General of the American army, which Hamilton modernized and readied for war. The Quasi-War never escalated into out-and-out war, and Hamilton was enraged by Adams's diplomatic resolution to the crisis. His fierce opposition to Adams most certainly contributed to his defeat in 1800 to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, tied in the electoral college, and Hamilton used his influence to get Jefferson elected over Burr, whom Hamilton did not trust to lead the country.
After the election, Hamilton once again resumed private law practice in New York City, but emerged into the spotlight in 1804, when Aaron Burr ran for governor of New York. Hamilton campaigned ferociously against Burr, labeling him untrustworthy. Burr took offense to Hamilton's statements, and challenged him to a duel on July 11th, 1804. Both men survived the duel, though Burr's reputation was irreparably damaged by the duel.
At the outbreak of war in 1812, Hamilton emerged once more from private life, this time by organizing troops in New York. Like during the Revolutionary War, Hamilton rose through the ranks, from a militia general to the rank of Lieutenant General. He led his army from triumph to triumph, badly mauling a British army at Detroit, defeating another at Stoney Creek, and capturing the city of York, in Ontario. His march north through Canada was halted by orders from President Madison to return south and retake Baltimore and Washington, D.C., both of which had been taken by British troops and burned. Madison wanted Hamilton to stop the British before they destroyed Philadelphia. Hamilton duly obeyed, and defended Philaldephia in a bloody battle on October 8th. This victory, followed by the destruction of the British army at the battles of Baltimore and Annapolis, made Hamilton a national hero overnight.
After the Treaty of Ghent was signed, which transferred Ontario from Stoney Creek south to the United States, Hamilton was no longer seen as a wannabe aristocrat who looked down on the common man. He was instead regarded as the savior of the country, and Hamilton capitalized on this in 1816. In a repudiation of President Madison, the Democratic-Republicans nominated William H. Crawford of Georgia over Madison's preferred successor, Secretary of State James Monroe. Hamilton, meanwhile, had shed his previous reputation of a hardline Federalist, and the Reynolds Affair seemed long forgotten. The war hero was easily nominated by the Federalists, and Robert Goodloe Harper of Maryland was nominated as his running mate. Crawford and his allies dredged up decade-old smears, reminding the public of Hamilton's dalliances and previous monarchist leanings. He was labeled the "American Napoleon" and a tyrant. These attacks carried less weight in 1816 than they might have in 1800, while Hamilton's newspaper and allies criticized the Democratic-Republicans for not being prepared enough for war, and claimed that Hamilton was the only reason America had won at all. In the end, Hamilton won a narrow victory, with 124 electoral votes to Crawford's 93. If Pennsylvania, which Hamilton won by under 2,000 votes, had gone instead for Crawford, he would have won the election. The Federalists failed to capture the House or the Senate, though they made significant gains. Many predicted that the previously moribund Federalists would make a comeback and rise to dominance in the post-war political climate.
The Hamilton Administration reconstituted the National Bank, whose charter had been allowed to expire during Madison's presidency. Along with chartering the Second Bank of the United States, Hamilton oversaw the passage of several tariff increases. It was the last of these, the Tariff of 1819, that almost sparked another rebellion. South Carolina, worried that the tariff increases would damage their agricultural economy, voted to nullify the law. Hamilton denounced this, and introduced the 1819 Force Bill into Congress after South Carolinian militia prevented the Charleston Port Collector from collecting tariff payments. The situation was prevented from escalating by a compromise brokered by the House Speaker, Henry Clay. Clay's Compromise of 1819 involved repealing the Tariff of 1819, and imposing a moratorium on tariff changes for the next three years. Hamilton and South Carolina both backed down, with South Carolina nullifying the Force Bill as a matter of principle. However, the issue of nullification would once again rear its head during Hamilton's successor's administration.
Hamilton presided over another crisis during his administration: the Missouri Crisis in 1819-1820. In February, a Democratic-Republican representative proposed several amendments to the admission of Missouri into the union, all of which restricted slavery within the territory. The south objected to any legislation that restricted slavery, while the free states, which were of equal number to the slave states (both had eleven), did not want the south to gain the advantage. Hamilton intervened in the debate, supporting the admission of both Missouri and Maine (which had petitioned Congress for admission as a free state) as free states. Hamilton's refusal to countenance the spread of slavery into the lands of the Louisiana Purchase angered southerners, and when the Senate tied on admitting both states as free, his own vice president voted with the south.
Hamilton's uncompromising position on slavery, his bowing to southern interests in the Compromise of 1819, and his awarding of government jobs to political allies and friends, many of whom were corrupt, had significantly eroded his popularity. His use of the veto to block Missouri's admission as a slave state, as well as his vetoing of many bills passed by the Democratic-Republicans, led to the moniker "Emperor Alexander".
In the 1820 Presidential election, Hamilton was opposed by Andrew Jackson, another General from the War of 1812, and a staunch opponent of the Federalists, and Henry Clay, who disliked Hamilton's heavy-handedness, but also viewed Jackson as a dangerous populist. Hamilton was soundly defeated by Jackson, who swept the south and the mid-Atlantic, while Clay came in second place with his victories in the west, Maryland and Delaware. After his loss to Jackson, Hamilton once again returned to private law, and he continued to practice law and run the New York Post until his death in 1829. The law firm he founded in 1826, Hamilton & Associates, is today one of the largest law firms in the United States.
Hamilton is regarded by modern historians as an astute and intellectually brilliant politician and economist whose ideas laid the foundation for American government and finance, but his presidency is generally ranked below average due to his inability to get along with Congressional leadership and his inflexible approach to government.
The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces were unprepared for an attack, and were forced back at during the initial British landing at North Point. Despite attempts to delay the British advance, Baltimore fell after a brief battle. Rather than waste resources occupying the city, the British burned it and pressed north, towards Philadelphia.
The Battle of Philadelphia was fought on October 8th, between the British invasion force and Alexander Hamilton's army. Robert Ross had planned to strike north from Baltimore and burn the important port and mercantile center of Philadelphia. This was opposed by Hamilton, who had rushed south from Ontario to defend the city. Despite the exhaustion of Hamilton's men, his inspirational leadership and the imminent threat posed by Ross to the United States carried them to a crushing victory. After defeating Ross at the outskirts of Philadelphia, Hamilton pursued the British south, retaking Baltimore and forcing Ross's surrender near Annapolis on December 7th. Hamilton's victory forced the British to seek peace, and the Treaty of Ghent saw the United States gain most of southern Ontario, today the state of Jacksonland.
The 1816 United States presidential election was the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1816. In the first election following the end of the War of 1812, Federalist candidate Alexander Hamilton and Federalist Democratic-Republican candidate William Crawford. President James Madison followed precedent and retired after serving two terms. His handpicked successor, James Monroe, lost his party's nomination to Crawford, while Hamilton easily won his party's nomination. Hamilton campaigned on his war record and experience in governing, while criticizing the Democratic-Republicans' poor handling of the war. Hamilton's attacks and war hero status left Crawford unable to respond, and he narrowly won the presidency.
The 1820 United States presidential election was the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1820. The incumbent, Alexander Hamilton, was increasingly unpopular due to his uncompromising position in the Missouri Crisis, his support of strong tariffs, and cronyism in the government. The Democratic-Republicans split over who to nominate, with the majority of the party supporting General Andrew Jackson, while the more ardent Madisonites backed Henry Clay the Speaker of the House. Despite the split, Jackson won in a landslide, with his war-hero status and promises of removing moneyed interests from politics and de-politicizing the National Bank proving immensely popular with voters. Jackson won the support of southern electors due to his pledge to "balance the tariffs". Henry Clay came in second, with his western roots and quasi-Federalist ideals securing for him the west, as well as the merchants of Maryland and Delaware. Alexander Hamilton came in a distant third, carrying only two states, Massachusetts and Connecticut. After Hamilton's defeat, the Federalists collapsed as a party, and never ran a presidential candidate again after the 1820 elections.
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Alexander Hamilton was the 5th President of the United States of America and an important statesman, politician, general, lawyer, economist, and writer. Born in Charlestown, Nevis, he was orphaned at a young age and taken in by a local merchant. In his teens, Hamilton immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York City to pursue his education. When the American Revolution began, Hamilton joined the New York militia and rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming George Washington's senior aide in 1777. After independence was won, Hamilton was elected as a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation.
Hamilton retired from the Congress in 1783 and returned to New York, where he practiced law and established the Bank of New York. He returned to politics with the 1786 Annapolis Conference, which urged the implementation of a more centralized Federal government. Hamilton then served as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention, where he proposed his own plan for the American constitution, though it was rejected in favor of James Madison's plan. Once the convention had approved the constitution, Hamilton worked with Madison and John Jay to write a series of essays known as the Federalist Papers. Out of 85 essays, Hamilton authored 51.
During George Washington's presidency, Hamilton served as the first Secretary of the Treasury. In this capacity, he directed the Federal government's assumption of states' debts, successfully argued that Congress possessed the authority to fund the National Debt, and formed the First Bank of the United States. All of these programs were primarily funded through tariffs on imports, and then with an unpopular Whiskey Tax. These financial policies, combined with Hamilton's opposition to support for the Revolutionary French regime, formed the nucleus of the Federalist Party's ideology. Hamilton left the Treasury in 1795, and returned to private legal practice. in 1798, he called for mobilization against the French during the Adams administration, and was appointed as the Commanding General of the American army, which Hamilton modernized and readied for war. The Quasi-War never escalated into out-and-out war, and Hamilton was enraged by Adams's diplomatic resolution to the crisis. His fierce opposition to Adams most certainly contributed to his defeat in 1800 to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, tied in the electoral college, and Hamilton used his influence to get Jefferson elected over Burr, whom Hamilton did not trust to lead the country.
After the election, Hamilton once again resumed private law practice in New York City, but emerged into the spotlight in 1804, when Aaron Burr ran for governor of New York. Hamilton campaigned ferociously against Burr, labeling him untrustworthy. Burr took offense to Hamilton's statements, and challenged him to a duel on July 11th, 1804. Both men survived the duel, though Burr's reputation was irreparably damaged by the duel.
At the outbreak of war in 1812, Hamilton emerged once more from private life, this time by organizing troops in New York. Like during the Revolutionary War, Hamilton rose through the ranks, from a militia general to the rank of Lieutenant General. He led his army from triumph to triumph, badly mauling a British army at Detroit, defeating another at Stoney Creek, and capturing the city of York, in Ontario. His march north through Canada was halted by orders from President Madison to return south and retake Baltimore and Washington, D.C., both of which had been taken by British troops and burned. Madison wanted Hamilton to stop the British before they destroyed Philadelphia. Hamilton duly obeyed, and defended Philaldephia in a bloody battle on October 8th. This victory, followed by the destruction of the British army at the battles of Baltimore and Annapolis, made Hamilton a national hero overnight.
After the Treaty of Ghent was signed, which transferred Ontario from Stoney Creek south to the United States, Hamilton was no longer seen as a wannabe aristocrat who looked down on the common man. He was instead regarded as the savior of the country, and Hamilton capitalized on this in 1816. In a repudiation of President Madison, the Democratic-Republicans nominated William H. Crawford of Georgia over Madison's preferred successor, Secretary of State James Monroe. Hamilton, meanwhile, had shed his previous reputation of a hardline Federalist, and the Reynolds Affair seemed long forgotten. The war hero was easily nominated by the Federalists, and Robert Goodloe Harper of Maryland was nominated as his running mate. Crawford and his allies dredged up decade-old smears, reminding the public of Hamilton's dalliances and previous monarchist leanings. He was labeled the "American Napoleon" and a tyrant. These attacks carried less weight in 1816 than they might have in 1800, while Hamilton's newspaper and allies criticized the Democratic-Republicans for not being prepared enough for war, and claimed that Hamilton was the only reason America had won at all. In the end, Hamilton won a narrow victory, with 124 electoral votes to Crawford's 93. If Pennsylvania, which Hamilton won by under 2,000 votes, had gone instead for Crawford, he would have won the election. The Federalists failed to capture the House or the Senate, though they made significant gains. Many predicted that the previously moribund Federalists would make a comeback and rise to dominance in the post-war political climate.
The Hamilton Administration reconstituted the National Bank, whose charter had been allowed to expire during Madison's presidency. Along with chartering the Second Bank of the United States, Hamilton oversaw the passage of several tariff increases. It was the last of these, the Tariff of 1819, that almost sparked another rebellion. South Carolina, worried that the tariff increases would damage their agricultural economy, voted to nullify the law. Hamilton denounced this, and introduced the 1819 Force Bill into Congress after South Carolinian militia prevented the Charleston Port Collector from collecting tariff payments. The situation was prevented from escalating by a compromise brokered by the House Speaker, Henry Clay. Clay's Compromise of 1819 involved repealing the Tariff of 1819, and imposing a moratorium on tariff changes for the next three years. Hamilton and South Carolina both backed down, with South Carolina nullifying the Force Bill as a matter of principle. However, the issue of nullification would once again rear its head during Hamilton's successor's administration.
Hamilton presided over another crisis during his administration: the Missouri Crisis in 1819-1820. In February, a Democratic-Republican representative proposed several amendments to the admission of Missouri into the union, all of which restricted slavery within the territory. The south objected to any legislation that restricted slavery, while the free states, which were of equal number to the slave states (both had eleven), did not want the south to gain the advantage. Hamilton intervened in the debate, supporting the admission of both Missouri and Maine (which had petitioned Congress for admission as a free state) as free states. Hamilton's refusal to countenance the spread of slavery into the lands of the Louisiana Purchase angered southerners, and when the Senate tied on admitting both states as free, his own vice president voted with the south.
Hamilton's uncompromising position on slavery, his bowing to southern interests in the Compromise of 1819, and his awarding of government jobs to political allies and friends, many of whom were corrupt, had significantly eroded his popularity. His use of the veto to block Missouri's admission as a slave state, as well as his vetoing of many bills passed by the Democratic-Republicans, led to the moniker "Emperor Alexander".
In the 1820 Presidential election, Hamilton was opposed by Andrew Jackson, another General from the War of 1812, and a staunch opponent of the Federalists, and Henry Clay, who disliked Hamilton's heavy-handedness, but also viewed Jackson as a dangerous populist. Hamilton was soundly defeated by Jackson, who swept the south and the mid-Atlantic, while Clay came in second place with his victories in the west, Maryland and Delaware. After his loss to Jackson, Hamilton once again returned to private law, and he continued to practice law and run the New York Post until his death in 1829. The law firm he founded in 1826, Hamilton & Associates, is today one of the largest law firms in the United States.
Hamilton is regarded by modern historians as an astute and intellectually brilliant politician and economist whose ideas laid the foundation for American government and finance, but his presidency is generally ranked below average due to his inability to get along with Congressional leadership and his inflexible approach to government.
The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces were unprepared for an attack, and were forced back at during the initial British landing at North Point. Despite attempts to delay the British advance, Baltimore fell after a brief battle. Rather than waste resources occupying the city, the British burned it and pressed north, towards Philadelphia.
The Battle of Philadelphia was fought on October 8th, between the British invasion force and Alexander Hamilton's army. Robert Ross had planned to strike north from Baltimore and burn the important port and mercantile center of Philadelphia. This was opposed by Hamilton, who had rushed south from Ontario to defend the city. Despite the exhaustion of Hamilton's men, his inspirational leadership and the imminent threat posed by Ross to the United States carried them to a crushing victory. After defeating Ross at the outskirts of Philadelphia, Hamilton pursued the British south, retaking Baltimore and forcing Ross's surrender near Annapolis on December 7th. Hamilton's victory forced the British to seek peace, and the Treaty of Ghent saw the United States gain most of southern Ontario, today the state of Jacksonland.
The 1816 United States presidential election was the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1816. In the first election following the end of the War of 1812, Federalist candidate Alexander Hamilton and Federalist Democratic-Republican candidate William Crawford. President James Madison followed precedent and retired after serving two terms. His handpicked successor, James Monroe, lost his party's nomination to Crawford, while Hamilton easily won his party's nomination. Hamilton campaigned on his war record and experience in governing, while criticizing the Democratic-Republicans' poor handling of the war. Hamilton's attacks and war hero status left Crawford unable to respond, and he narrowly won the presidency.
The 1820 United States presidential election was the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1820. The incumbent, Alexander Hamilton, was increasingly unpopular due to his uncompromising position in the Missouri Crisis, his support of strong tariffs, and cronyism in the government. The Democratic-Republicans split over who to nominate, with the majority of the party supporting General Andrew Jackson, while the more ardent Madisonites backed Henry Clay the Speaker of the House. Despite the split, Jackson won in a landslide, with his war-hero status and promises of removing moneyed interests from politics and de-politicizing the National Bank proving immensely popular with voters. Jackson won the support of southern electors due to his pledge to "balance the tariffs". Henry Clay came in second, with his western roots and quasi-Federalist ideals securing for him the west, as well as the merchants of Maryland and Delaware. Alexander Hamilton came in a distant third, carrying only two states, Massachusetts and Connecticut. After Hamilton's defeat, the Federalists collapsed as a party, and never ran a presidential candidate again after the 1820 elections.
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Henry Clay's home state should be "Kentucky", not "Tennessee". Also, the number of electors in the 1820 electoral college should be 227, not 235. The 1820 election shows Hamilton’s party affiliation as Democratic-Republican when it should be Federalist.
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@TheHedgehog Loved your look into an alternate life for Alexander Hamilton, but noticed just one little thing. In the 1820 election wikibox, it has Hamilton listed as a Democratic-Republican, so you might want to put that under the corrections button.
From the same TL as my Telfair's Treaty post
and George Washington dies of the flu
Map Thread XX
United States of Mexico This was somewhat inspired by that "future division of the United States" map that was floating around several years ago. While most of it was implausible at best (I really can't see China annexing the West Coast and the EU annexing the East Coast), I did find the idea...
www.alternatehistory.com
Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes VI (Do Not Post Current Politics or Political Figures Here)
A thing I've been thinking about/working on for a week or so. I haven't exactly nailed down the POD yet (and I may never do so, in fact) but one of the first really big butterflies is that an influenza epidemic hits Philadelphia and the surrounding area in late spring 1787.
www.alternatehistory.com
How is everyone enjoying my Thomas infoboxes? I have plenty more planned/and in the works. The next one will be up tomorrow.
Thanks Richard, I appreciate that very much!
Well, while I'm here, might as well get this out of the way. For my next series of Thomas infoboxes, I decided that I'd do all the Skarloey Railway/Mid Sodor Railway engines first since they're the easiest to make. Well, without further ado, here's the Gallant Old Engine himself, Rheneas!
This article is about the Skarloey Railway locomotive. For the station on the Island of Sodor, see Rheneas (station).
Rheneas (Sudric for "Divided Waterfall") is a narrow gauge steam locomotive.He was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. in 1865 [1] [2] [3] and is one of the oldest locomotives still in active service. He was delivered to the Skarloey Railway in 1865 shortly after its opening and continues to run on the railway to this day. He is also the twin engine of the locomotive Dolgoch of the Talyllyn Railway, who was built a year after him.
Bio
Rheneas was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. in Whitehaven and was delivered by sea to Kirk Ronan in time to haul the train carrying the Board of Trade Inspector in October 1865. Unlike SKR #1 Skarloey, Rheneas was stern and thoughtful and fell out with Skarloey after the latter called him a "stick-in-the-mud" following an argument over cabs (which Skarloey would gain in 1866-67 while Rheneas remained cabless for several more years) . The two reconciled after Rheneas saved Skarloey from a landslide in 1867 and became life long friends.[4]
Rheneas’ long wheelbase enabled him to ride steadily, but it also made him hard on the track and this, together with the initial absence of a cab, made Skarloey the more heavily used of the two. Unlike Skarloey (and Dolgoch), Rheneas never returned to Whitehaven. Such repairs as were needed, including the fabrication of a cab at an unknown date, were done at the Skarloey Railway workshops. In 1937 and again in 1943, he was overhauled at the NWR Works at Crovan's Gate. Like Dolgoch, Rheneas enjoys "peculiar motion," which did not make life any easier for the workshop staff.
Rheneas saved the railway from possible closure by keeping services going through a very lean period in the late 1940s. By 1945, Skarloey was in very poor condition and would only be run in emergencies, leaving Rheneas to run the line alone. In 1951, he managed to pull a full train home one windy day despite having a jammed valve gear and was rewarded with a much needed overhaul [5]. When SKR number's 3 and 4 (formerly Mid Sodor Railway numbers 3 and 4, respectively) Sir Handel and Peter Sam arrived to the railway in 1952, he was sent to England for his heavy overhaul. While there, he was reunited with his twin Dolgoch. Money, however, was tight on both their railways and their repairs could not be completed immediately [6]. Skarloey often felt lonely to know he was not there, but he often used his story of when he saved the railway to teach younger engines how to behave, like SKR#6 Duncan. His overhaul about nine years and was finished in 1961, putting him back into good condition and he returned to the Skarloey Railway soon after. Because of his bravery, he earned the nickname "Gallant Old Engine" by the railway staff.
In 1996 when SKR#5 Rusty was spreading weedkiller spray on the tracks with a special truck, Rheneas had to fetch another coach when there were more visitors than usual. He was not happy about this because this meant he would be late and it did not get any better when he had to slow down for hedgecutters. To make matters worse, because of the weedkiller spray, he ended up slipping down the hill and ground to a halt. As his crew sanded the rails, he managed to make his way, but his passengers had a limited view of the countryside. They did not mind this however, as they were more pleased with Rheneas' brave efforts. Shortly afterwards, he would be present for SKR #7 Ivo Hugh's naming ceremony.[7]
He underwent another heavy overhaul at Crovan’s Gate Works in 2002. In 2015, both Rheneas and Skarloey would celebrate their 150th birthdays (as well as the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Skarloey Railway) and as of 2020, Rheneas remains in service on the Skarloey Railway, often taking passengers to tourist points on the line and working at the Slate Quarries.
Photos
A painting of Rheneas from 1867 showing him without a cab.
Rheneas being lowered back onto the Skarloey Railway track after returning from his overhaul in 1961. To the right of Rheneas is SKR #1 Skarloey while the locomotive in the back is SKR #3 Sir Handel.
A picture of all the Skarloey Railway steam locomotives taken in 1970. From left to right and front to back: SKR #6 Duncan, SKR #1 Skarloey, SKR #3 and former MSR #3 Sir Handel, SKR#4 and former MSR #4 Peter Sam, SKR#8 and former MSR #1 Duke and SKR #2 Rheneas.
A photo of all the engines of the Skarloey Railway fleet taken in 1970. From left to right and back to front, SKR #5 Rusty, SKR#1 Skarloey, SKR#3 and former MSR #3 Sir Handel, SKR #2 Rheneas, SKR#6 Duncan, SKR#4 and former MSR #4 Peter Sam and SKR#8 and former MSR #1 Duke.
Rheneas (far right) at the Mine Fairgrounds during its grand opening during the Summer of 1980. SKR #1 Skarloey can be seen on the left while SKR #10 Bertram is in the center pulling a passenger train.
A photo of both Rheneas and Skarloey taken in 1982 at the Boulder Quarry at an inconvenient time.
Notes
[1]: In The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (1987), it mentions that Rheneas was built in 1865. However....
[2]: In Sodor: Reading Between the Lines (2005), it mentions that Rheneas was built in 1866. This difference arises due to uncertainty about his twin Dolgoch's build date. However...
[3]: In The Railway Series Book 20: Very Old Engines (1965), Rheneas mentioned of being delivered to the Skarloey Railway shortly after its opening, which was in 1865, making him a year older than Dolgoch.
[4]: Ibid.
[5]:The Railway Series Book 17: Gallant Old Engine (1962), In the fourth and titular story Gallant Old Engine as well as the Thomas& Friends Season/Series 4 episode of the same name, Rheneas suffers from a jammed valve gear while pulling a full train home. This leads to his much needed overhaul.
[6]: This likely explains why it took about nine years to repair a small locomotive like Rheneas.
[7]: The Railway Series Book 40: New Little Engine (1996), In the first story Speedkiller, Rheneas and his passenger train slips backwards down a hill as a result of Rusty spraying weedkiller on the train tracks to kill weeds. Rheneas' crew puts sand on the tracks and makes his way up the hill. Rheneas attends Ivo Hugh's naming ceremony in the fourth story I Name This Engine...
Thomas infoboxes:
North Western Railway
NWR #1 Thomas
Skarloey Railway
SKR #1 Skarloey
SKR #2 Rheneas (you are here)
Other things
Fletcher, Jennings and Co.
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Related Pages (unnamed TL)
Edward VI to Thomas II (lineage)
Henry XII & I to Anne (lineage)
Henry XII & II & I to the present (lineage)
Empress Guinevere of America
The Northeastern Premier Lords of America
The Southern Premier Lords of America
Edward VI to Thomas II (lineage)
Henry XII & I to Anne (lineage)
Henry XII & II & I to the present (lineage)
Empress Guinevere of America
The Northeastern Premier Lords of America
The Southern Premier Lords of America
(Finishing with those in the middle)
The only one among the premier lords to have the right to call herself a “queen” (a right granted to the High Chief/Chief of Chiefs of the Lenape by Thomas II when he and King Tamanend signed a vassalage/alliance treaty in 1683, that was inherited by America when it became independent), Miriam II assumed the position of monarch of the Lenape in 2003, after being elected to the position among the members of the House of Tamanend (succeeding her 4th cousin, Grace III, who had been the third consecutive member of her own line to rule over the Lenape) following a month-long council that ended with her selection by a small margin. A capable ruler and administrator, Miriam’s rule over the Lenape has been a calm one, even if in a period of crisis as the nation has been severely affected by the recession (some even considered it and outright depression) and in recent years a cousin of her, Princess Coraline (who placed second during the 2003 council and was Grace III’s niece, she is also Miriam’s sister-in-law), has openly challenged her rule and declared that she “cheated her way into the throne” (although most believe it to be due to Coraline's episcopalism, as the Lenape Church, which in vein with the Gaelic Church considers all their gods as being "under the God Almighty", is deeply intertwined with the institution of the monarchy, and she openly denied converting, as she was raised a Episcopalian after her mother's conversion); Miriam’s diagnosis of terminal ovary cancer has not helped the situation.
Married in 1980 to her 5th cousin, Anthony Michael Norris (a mouthful of a name), whom she divorced amicably in 2006 (he died in 2014 of complications during a heart surgery), Miriam has six children, of whom all but one are married, and had tentatively groomed her eldest daughter, Mary Odina, as her successor.
Succeeding his father, Cadwallen II, as grand duke in 2016 (a rather active year in the matter of successions in the empire), Owain V is the current ruler of Keystone, considered by many as one of the most important, and at the same time most confusing, states within America. Ruling over a state with more Welsh than Wales itself, Owain’s reign has been a very calm one, after he had to deal with some “bloodline culling” (due to his father’s fondness for sleeping outside of his marital bed) to secure his succession, and has seen Keystone remain relatively afloat economically speaking in comparison to other parts of the empire, although it still remains remarkably medieval outside of its main cities (which are part of the trade networks of North America) and is at times considered by some as not being “really” American due to the fact that it started as a predominantly welsh colony founded in the early 17th century by Owain I (which started by building Caer Fythwyrdd, which started as a small wood-mud fort but is nowadays a gigantic medieval-inspired fortress that still serves as the grand ducal residence) and remains remarkably different culturally and linguistically from most of the empire, as it has staunchly held onto the Welsh revival of the 17th century
The most senior agnatic member of the House of Tudor (descending from the non-royal branch of the family, which was raised to a higher status during the reign of Elizabeth I), Owain married in 2005 Lady Meredydd of Hemmings (a city in southwestern Keystone), and has 5 children. He like most of his family, is a spiritualist, which is mostly considered a branch of Anglicanism that believes in commuting with the death and the practice of seances as a form of prayer
The current ruler of the United Duchies and First Prince of the Blood of the American Monarchy (as the first holder of the title and territory was Arthur I’s youngest son, whose line became the oldest branch of the Pendragon Dynasty after Maine’s secession), Thomas III is currently considered one of the most problematic monarchs in American history, as although simply the ruler of one of its states, under his leadership the United Duchies have seen an era of slow economic growth that entered freefall with the recent recession, something that is deeply contrasted by the lavish lifestyle of the ducal family and the corruption scandals that have recently wrecked the state (although many who support the duke hold to the belief that it is more a problem of dynasts and not the duke himself, as he seems to be relatively moderate in his spending), which together with the rise in gang violence (as the United Duchies, in special the older eastern half, have been for decades the center of organized crime in America) has created the 2019-20 Protests, which have occurred across the east of the United Duchies (and in part of the west, who was less affected in comparison to the industrial east by the recession).
Married a relatively later in life (for a member of royalty, at least) to the younger half-sister of Empress Guinevere, Princess Elaine (the only daughter of Emperor Percival and his second wife), Thomas, in an interesting turn, had 3 children named after the children of one of his famous ancestor (the Early Tudor politician, Thomas Cromwell, as the duke’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth, married a member of the american branch of the Cromwell Family), the eldest and heir, Gregory, is currently studying in Princeton, where he is known for his love of dogs (in special greyhounds), while his daughters, Anne and Grace (born in 2008), died in May when the boarding school they were attending was attacked by anarchists (it was used by a large portion of the nobility of the duchies) with a bomb, killing 152 pupils and 48 members of the staff.
The currently ruler of Avalon, having succeed his 7th cousin once removed (the Grand Duchy still retains Salic Laws to this day, and the Dukes of Annapolis were the oldest agnatic line of the Calvert Dynasty before Charles II’s death without male heirs), Benedict IV’s reign over the grand duchy was, more than anything, an unexpected one (Charles II was a young man when he died unexpectedly of meningitis, and so no provisions were made to change the law in case of his childless death), and to this day is contested by some relatives and even some members in the Grand Ducal Assembly, although his works on protecting the grand duchy from the worst effects of the recession have been helpful and establishing him as a liked figure among the populace and political class (although some say that he managed to do so by blackmailing wealthy aristocrats and industrials into injecting money on the economy, how he got blackmailing material? Let’s leave it to your imagination, although it must be commented that his mother, Lady Harriet, was accused, but later acquitted, of being the leader of a high-class prostitution ring in 2015)
Married to one of the daughters of the Grand Duke of Maryland, Suzannah, who had to become a Shaker to marry him (another Irish protestant faith that is the most followed in Avalon, being named over the fact that all worship is done while dancing, and almost all prayers are in the form of songs, with many non-Shakers comparing their meetings to balls, with the Calverts, for example, having an entire orchestra responsible for playing during their worship), he has four children, with both of his sons being married or promised to the nieces of his predecessor.
Succeeding his great-grandmother Alexandrina in 2018, Grand Duke Louis IV is currently the youngest of the Premier Lords, having ascended to the throne at age 3 as his father had died before his birth and his grandfather, the Duke of Mansfield, died of pancreatic cancer a month before his mother. Unremarkable due to his age, as he is but a child of five, the grand duke has made only two appearances since his ascension, living a secluded life with his aunts in Crowscorn Park, while his grand-uncle, the Duke of Salamanca, serves as regent, although many are criticizing him due to his lackluster administration while trying to maintain the economy afloat.
Unmarried and childless due to his age, his heir at the moment is his grand-uncle and regent, George, the Duke of Salamanca, and he is the first Grand Duke of Allegheny to be of the House of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, a branch of the Swabian Hohenzollerns, as beforehand Allegheny was a domain of the american branch of the House of Hanover (created in the early 18th century when Louis I married an illegitimate sister of Henry XI & I)
The only one among the premier lords to have the right to call herself a “queen” (a right granted to the High Chief/Chief of Chiefs of the Lenape by Thomas II when he and King Tamanend signed a vassalage/alliance treaty in 1683, that was inherited by America when it became independent), Miriam II assumed the position of monarch of the Lenape in 2003, after being elected to the position among the members of the House of Tamanend (succeeding her 4th cousin, Grace III, who had been the third consecutive member of her own line to rule over the Lenape) following a month-long council that ended with her selection by a small margin. A capable ruler and administrator, Miriam’s rule over the Lenape has been a calm one, even if in a period of crisis as the nation has been severely affected by the recession (some even considered it and outright depression) and in recent years a cousin of her, Princess Coraline (who placed second during the 2003 council and was Grace III’s niece, she is also Miriam’s sister-in-law), has openly challenged her rule and declared that she “cheated her way into the throne” (although most believe it to be due to Coraline's episcopalism, as the Lenape Church, which in vein with the Gaelic Church considers all their gods as being "under the God Almighty", is deeply intertwined with the institution of the monarchy, and she openly denied converting, as she was raised a Episcopalian after her mother's conversion); Miriam’s diagnosis of terminal ovary cancer has not helped the situation.
Married in 1980 to her 5th cousin, Anthony Michael Norris (a mouthful of a name), whom she divorced amicably in 2006 (he died in 2014 of complications during a heart surgery), Miriam has six children, of whom all but one are married, and had tentatively groomed her eldest daughter, Mary Odina, as her successor.
Succeeding his father, Cadwallen II, as grand duke in 2016 (a rather active year in the matter of successions in the empire), Owain V is the current ruler of Keystone, considered by many as one of the most important, and at the same time most confusing, states within America. Ruling over a state with more Welsh than Wales itself, Owain’s reign has been a very calm one, after he had to deal with some “bloodline culling” (due to his father’s fondness for sleeping outside of his marital bed) to secure his succession, and has seen Keystone remain relatively afloat economically speaking in comparison to other parts of the empire, although it still remains remarkably medieval outside of its main cities (which are part of the trade networks of North America) and is at times considered by some as not being “really” American due to the fact that it started as a predominantly welsh colony founded in the early 17th century by Owain I (which started by building Caer Fythwyrdd, which started as a small wood-mud fort but is nowadays a gigantic medieval-inspired fortress that still serves as the grand ducal residence) and remains remarkably different culturally and linguistically from most of the empire, as it has staunchly held onto the Welsh revival of the 17th century
The most senior agnatic member of the House of Tudor (descending from the non-royal branch of the family, which was raised to a higher status during the reign of Elizabeth I), Owain married in 2005 Lady Meredydd of Hemmings (a city in southwestern Keystone), and has 5 children. He like most of his family, is a spiritualist, which is mostly considered a branch of Anglicanism that believes in commuting with the death and the practice of seances as a form of prayer
The current ruler of the United Duchies and First Prince of the Blood of the American Monarchy (as the first holder of the title and territory was Arthur I’s youngest son, whose line became the oldest branch of the Pendragon Dynasty after Maine’s secession), Thomas III is currently considered one of the most problematic monarchs in American history, as although simply the ruler of one of its states, under his leadership the United Duchies have seen an era of slow economic growth that entered freefall with the recent recession, something that is deeply contrasted by the lavish lifestyle of the ducal family and the corruption scandals that have recently wrecked the state (although many who support the duke hold to the belief that it is more a problem of dynasts and not the duke himself, as he seems to be relatively moderate in his spending), which together with the rise in gang violence (as the United Duchies, in special the older eastern half, have been for decades the center of organized crime in America) has created the 2019-20 Protests, which have occurred across the east of the United Duchies (and in part of the west, who was less affected in comparison to the industrial east by the recession).
Married a relatively later in life (for a member of royalty, at least) to the younger half-sister of Empress Guinevere, Princess Elaine (the only daughter of Emperor Percival and his second wife), Thomas, in an interesting turn, had 3 children named after the children of one of his famous ancestor (the Early Tudor politician, Thomas Cromwell, as the duke’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth, married a member of the american branch of the Cromwell Family), the eldest and heir, Gregory, is currently studying in Princeton, where he is known for his love of dogs (in special greyhounds), while his daughters, Anne and Grace (born in 2008), died in May when the boarding school they were attending was attacked by anarchists (it was used by a large portion of the nobility of the duchies) with a bomb, killing 152 pupils and 48 members of the staff.
The currently ruler of Avalon, having succeed his 7th cousin once removed (the Grand Duchy still retains Salic Laws to this day, and the Dukes of Annapolis were the oldest agnatic line of the Calvert Dynasty before Charles II’s death without male heirs), Benedict IV’s reign over the grand duchy was, more than anything, an unexpected one (Charles II was a young man when he died unexpectedly of meningitis, and so no provisions were made to change the law in case of his childless death), and to this day is contested by some relatives and even some members in the Grand Ducal Assembly, although his works on protecting the grand duchy from the worst effects of the recession have been helpful and establishing him as a liked figure among the populace and political class (although some say that he managed to do so by blackmailing wealthy aristocrats and industrials into injecting money on the economy, how he got blackmailing material? Let’s leave it to your imagination, although it must be commented that his mother, Lady Harriet, was accused, but later acquitted, of being the leader of a high-class prostitution ring in 2015)
Married to one of the daughters of the Grand Duke of Maryland, Suzannah, who had to become a Shaker to marry him (another Irish protestant faith that is the most followed in Avalon, being named over the fact that all worship is done while dancing, and almost all prayers are in the form of songs, with many non-Shakers comparing their meetings to balls, with the Calverts, for example, having an entire orchestra responsible for playing during their worship), he has four children, with both of his sons being married or promised to the nieces of his predecessor.
Succeeding his great-grandmother Alexandrina in 2018, Grand Duke Louis IV is currently the youngest of the Premier Lords, having ascended to the throne at age 3 as his father had died before his birth and his grandfather, the Duke of Mansfield, died of pancreatic cancer a month before his mother. Unremarkable due to his age, as he is but a child of five, the grand duke has made only two appearances since his ascension, living a secluded life with his aunts in Crowscorn Park, while his grand-uncle, the Duke of Salamanca, serves as regent, although many are criticizing him due to his lackluster administration while trying to maintain the economy afloat.
Unmarried and childless due to his age, his heir at the moment is his grand-uncle and regent, George, the Duke of Salamanca, and he is the first Grand Duke of Allegheny to be of the House of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, a branch of the Swabian Hohenzollerns, as beforehand Allegheny was a domain of the american branch of the House of Hanover (created in the early 18th century when Louis I married an illegitimate sister of Henry XI & I)
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Do you have a map of this America or can you at least tell us where some of these places are? Very interested to know more.
I'm not sure if saying that New Orleans should be bulldozed was a great idea, Dennis...
The 2006 American federal election was held on Thursday, 11 May 2006, to elect members to the House of Representatives. The election took place in 743 electoral districts across America under the first-past-the-post system.
The election resulted in the Liberal Party, led by Harry Reid, receiving a landslide House majority of 153 seats, ending 12 years of Conservative government. The Liberals made a net gain of 105 seats and won 52.8% of the popular vote. The Conservative Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Dennis Hastert, won 293 seats. Two independents were elected: Joe Lieberman in Southwest Connecticut and Bernie Sanders in Vermont.
The Conservatives had won a 48-seat majority in 2002. Liberals needed to pick up at least 29 seats to take control of the House. The public's perception of the government, the handling of the war in Iraq, and a series of political scandals involving ministers and other Conservative representatives and took their toll on the party at the ballot box.
The prime minister, Dennis Hastert, went to Blair House on 30 March and asked Governor General George Mitchell to dissolve Parliament on 6 April, confirming in a live press conference in the White House that the election would be held on 11 May, four years since the previous election on 2 May 2002. The election took place on 11 May in 743 constituencies across America, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Representatives.
Pursuant to Boundary Commission recommendations, the number of seats increased by seven, and numerous changes were made to the existing electoral district boundaries.
Campaigning focused heavily on the Iraq War, the government's unpopularity and political scandals involving cabinet ministers. The Conservatives supported the war, while the Liberals strongly opposed the war. The Liberals campaigned on the theme that "Parliament Hill must change".
The unpopular war in Iraq was a key issue during the campaign. The Conservatives supported the war while the Liberals opposed it. Harry Reid said that a Liberal government would "redeploy American troops out of Iraq by March 2007". Reid also said he thought the war could not be won through military force, although he said America could still pursue political, economic and diplomatic means to bring peace to Iraq. Though Foreign Minister John McCain meant it as a peacetime presence like America maintained in Germany and Japan after World War II his statement that America could be in Iraq for as much as the next 50 to 100 years would prove costly. The Liberals used it against the Conservatives.
Dennis Hastert had become increasingly unpopular among Americans by late 2005. In 2005, following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Hastert told an Illinois newspaper that "It looks like a lot of that place [referring to New Orleans] could be bulldozed" and stated that spending billions of dollars to rebuild the devastated city "doesn't make sense to me." The remarks enraged Premier Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, who stated that Hastert's comments were "absolutely unthinkable for a leader in his position" and demanded an immediate apology. Former Leader of the Opposition Bill Clinton, responding to the remarks, stated that had they been in the same place when the remarks were made, "I'm afraid I would have assaulted him." After the remarks caused a furor, Hastert issued a statement saying he was not "advocating that the city be abandoned or relocated" and later issued another statement saying that "Our prayers and sympathies continue to be with the victims of Hurricane Katrina." Hastert was also criticized for being absent from Parliament during the approval of a $10.5 billion Katrina relief plan; Hastert was in Indiana attending a Representative's fundraiser and an antique car auction. Hastert later said that he donated the proceeds from one of the antique cars he sold at the auction to hurricane-relief efforts.
When Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and First Deputy Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Joel Hefley reprimanded Deputy Prime Minister Tom DeLay, Hefley had the whip removed, as well as Chairman of the Ethics Committee Ken Hulshof and committee member Steve LaTourette. This angered many voters, and Hastert was further damaged when he refused to dismiss DeLay due to a campaign finance scandal.
The campaigning also focussed on the issue of health care. The Conservatives focused on open-market competition rather than government funding or control. The Conservatives proposed tax credits – $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families who do not subscribe to or do not have access to health care through their employer. To help people who are denied coverage by insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions, the Conservatives proposed working with first ministers to create a "Guaranteed Access Plan".
The Liberals called for universal health care. Their health care plan proposed creating a National Health Insurance Exchange that would include both private insurance plans and a Medicare-like government run option. Coverage would be guaranteed regardless of health status, and premiums would not vary based on health status either. It would have required parents to cover their children, but did not require adults to buy insurance.
Critics of the Conservative plan argued that it would not significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans, would increase costs, reduce consumer protections and lead to less generous benefit packages. Critics of the Liberal plan argued that it would increase federal regulation of private health insurance without addressing the underlying incentives behind rising health care spending.
A poll released in early May 2006 found that voters supporting the Liberals listed health care as their second priority; voters supporting the Conservatives listed it as fourth, tied with the war in Iraq. Affordability was the primary health care priority among both sets of voters. Liberal voters were more likely than Conservative voters to believe government can do much about health care costs.
With agreement of the party leaders, it was announced on 19 December 2005 that there would be three leaders' debates, each broadcast on prime time television, and a subsequent announcement in March 2006 that a debate between the financial spokesmen of the two main parties, John Kasich and Kent Conrad would be held on 27 March.
On election night, a Conservative victory quickly became improbable as the Liberals amassed early wins in Canada, New England, Ohio and Pennsylvania by 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. The Liberals won many seats in New England and the Great Lakes by comfortable margins. The Conservatives held on to traditionally blue seats in provinces like Norht Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska (though notably, the Liberals won in the electoral district of Omaha), Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Arizona.
CNN and Fox News projected that the Liberals had won 350 seats shortly before 11:00 PM, leaving him only 22 seats shy of victory with only eight West Coast provinces (British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Yukon, Alaska, and Hawaii) still voting. All American networks called the election in favor of the Liberals at 11:00 PM as the polls closed on the West Coast. The seat totals were updated to 397 for the Liberals and 246 for the Conservatives (272 are needed to win). Hastert gave a concession speech half an hour later in Aurora, Illinois. Reid appeared just before midnight Eastern Time in Lorenzi Park, Las Vegas in front of a crowd of 100,000 people to deliver his victory speech.
The 2006 American federal election was held on Thursday, 11 May 2006, to elect members to the House of Representatives. The election took place in 743 electoral districts across America under the first-past-the-post system.
The election resulted in the Liberal Party, led by Harry Reid, receiving a landslide House majority of 153 seats, ending 12 years of Conservative government. The Liberals made a net gain of 105 seats and won 52.8% of the popular vote. The Conservative Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Dennis Hastert, won 293 seats. Two independents were elected: Joe Lieberman in Southwest Connecticut and Bernie Sanders in Vermont.
The Conservatives had won a 48-seat majority in 2002. Liberals needed to pick up at least 29 seats to take control of the House. The public's perception of the government, the handling of the war in Iraq, and a series of political scandals involving ministers and other Conservative representatives and took their toll on the party at the ballot box.
The prime minister, Dennis Hastert, went to Blair House on 30 March and asked Governor General George Mitchell to dissolve Parliament on 6 April, confirming in a live press conference in the White House that the election would be held on 11 May, four years since the previous election on 2 May 2002. The election took place on 11 May in 743 constituencies across America, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Representatives.
Pursuant to Boundary Commission recommendations, the number of seats increased by seven, and numerous changes were made to the existing electoral district boundaries.
Campaigning focused heavily on the Iraq War, the government's unpopularity and political scandals involving cabinet ministers. The Conservatives supported the war, while the Liberals strongly opposed the war. The Liberals campaigned on the theme that "Parliament Hill must change".
The unpopular war in Iraq was a key issue during the campaign. The Conservatives supported the war while the Liberals opposed it. Harry Reid said that a Liberal government would "redeploy American troops out of Iraq by March 2007". Reid also said he thought the war could not be won through military force, although he said America could still pursue political, economic and diplomatic means to bring peace to Iraq. Though Foreign Minister John McCain meant it as a peacetime presence like America maintained in Germany and Japan after World War II his statement that America could be in Iraq for as much as the next 50 to 100 years would prove costly. The Liberals used it against the Conservatives.
Dennis Hastert had become increasingly unpopular among Americans by late 2005. In 2005, following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Hastert told an Illinois newspaper that "It looks like a lot of that place [referring to New Orleans] could be bulldozed" and stated that spending billions of dollars to rebuild the devastated city "doesn't make sense to me." The remarks enraged Premier Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, who stated that Hastert's comments were "absolutely unthinkable for a leader in his position" and demanded an immediate apology. Former Leader of the Opposition Bill Clinton, responding to the remarks, stated that had they been in the same place when the remarks were made, "I'm afraid I would have assaulted him." After the remarks caused a furor, Hastert issued a statement saying he was not "advocating that the city be abandoned or relocated" and later issued another statement saying that "Our prayers and sympathies continue to be with the victims of Hurricane Katrina." Hastert was also criticized for being absent from Parliament during the approval of a $10.5 billion Katrina relief plan; Hastert was in Indiana attending a Representative's fundraiser and an antique car auction. Hastert later said that he donated the proceeds from one of the antique cars he sold at the auction to hurricane-relief efforts.
When Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and First Deputy Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Joel Hefley reprimanded Deputy Prime Minister Tom DeLay, Hefley had the whip removed, as well as Chairman of the Ethics Committee Ken Hulshof and committee member Steve LaTourette. This angered many voters, and Hastert was further damaged when he refused to dismiss DeLay due to a campaign finance scandal.
The campaigning also focussed on the issue of health care. The Conservatives focused on open-market competition rather than government funding or control. The Conservatives proposed tax credits – $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families who do not subscribe to or do not have access to health care through their employer. To help people who are denied coverage by insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions, the Conservatives proposed working with first ministers to create a "Guaranteed Access Plan".
The Liberals called for universal health care. Their health care plan proposed creating a National Health Insurance Exchange that would include both private insurance plans and a Medicare-like government run option. Coverage would be guaranteed regardless of health status, and premiums would not vary based on health status either. It would have required parents to cover their children, but did not require adults to buy insurance.
Critics of the Conservative plan argued that it would not significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans, would increase costs, reduce consumer protections and lead to less generous benefit packages. Critics of the Liberal plan argued that it would increase federal regulation of private health insurance without addressing the underlying incentives behind rising health care spending.
A poll released in early May 2006 found that voters supporting the Liberals listed health care as their second priority; voters supporting the Conservatives listed it as fourth, tied with the war in Iraq. Affordability was the primary health care priority among both sets of voters. Liberal voters were more likely than Conservative voters to believe government can do much about health care costs.
With agreement of the party leaders, it was announced on 19 December 2005 that there would be three leaders' debates, each broadcast on prime time television, and a subsequent announcement in March 2006 that a debate between the financial spokesmen of the two main parties, John Kasich and Kent Conrad would be held on 27 March.
On election night, a Conservative victory quickly became improbable as the Liberals amassed early wins in Canada, New England, Ohio and Pennsylvania by 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. The Liberals won many seats in New England and the Great Lakes by comfortable margins. The Conservatives held on to traditionally blue seats in provinces like Norht Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska (though notably, the Liberals won in the electoral district of Omaha), Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Arizona.
CNN and Fox News projected that the Liberals had won 350 seats shortly before 11:00 PM, leaving him only 22 seats shy of victory with only eight West Coast provinces (British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Yukon, Alaska, and Hawaii) still voting. All American networks called the election in favor of the Liberals at 11:00 PM as the polls closed on the West Coast. The seat totals were updated to 397 for the Liberals and 246 for the Conservatives (272 are needed to win). Hastert gave a concession speech half an hour later in Aurora, Illinois. Reid appeared just before midnight Eastern Time in Lorenzi Park, Las Vegas in front of a crowd of 100,000 people to deliver his victory speech.
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