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Chapter 12 The Eagle's Gaze
Chapter 12 The Eagle's Gaze
"Did those idiots really think they could've won by dividing their votes?"- President Andrew Jackson 1836
"If we do not act now then Texas will be forever lost to the Union."- Speaker of the House James K. Polk 1837
One question that various Americans who are reading this book might ask is "Where were we during this time?", the answer for that is quite simple, playing politics. 1836 was the final year of the Jackson administration and was a tense time for one of the first major two party elections. In the previous year not only did Jackson remove all Indians tribes east of the Mississippi to present-day Sequoyah, against Supreme court mandate, but he also vetoed any renewal to the Bank of America's charter, a situation that would later result in one of the worst recessions in 19th century America. This created many enemies against Jackson and huge anti-democratic resentment among the Whig party, leading to precarious situation for the Democratic nominee Martin Van Buren to become elected. The main reason that Jackson choose not to intervene in Texas directly was an issue that was just starting to take root and could've cause the north to turn against the Democrats, slavery. In the Texas Constitution slavery was guaranteed as a right throughout the Republic, meaning that any possible intervention for independence would be a war to help a slave nation against one that was strictly abolitionist. And while the Missouri-Arkansas line explicitly guaranteed slavery in almost all territory that Texas claimed, to possibly annex Texas would've ruined the current slave vs. free state balance within the senate. Therefore, while Jackson was deeply pro-Texan and a close former friend of President Sam Houston, he took the cautionary route and made an official neutral stance on the Revolution. Unofficially he raised private support among the American elite to send financial aid to Texas and used government resources to set up volunteer groups to head west and either settle or fight for the Republic. As fate would have it, it turned out that all of these measures for Jackson to protect his vice-president's chances of re-election were unnecessary. As the Whigs would create the cause of their own defeat.
View attachment 285984
Andrew Jackson, one of the most popular yet controversial figures in American history.
With two prior defeats against the charismatic Jackson, the Whig party knew that they had to try new tactics to gain the presidency. At the Whig National convention there was much disagreement on who exactly would lead the new crusade against the Democrats. The northern states drew their support to William Henry Harrison, a charismatic frontiersman who was a war hero due to his victory over Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812. The south meanwhile choose to support their candidate Hugh L. White, a man who was very pro-nullification and promised when elected to be a firm supporter of state's rights. With these regions having very different reasons for the presidency and the leadership northern faction being pro-abolition, a schism in the party occurred. Eventually the leadership under Henry Clay actually encouraged for the Whig party to have separate candidates according to each region. Their goal was to divide the electoral votes so that in a situation where no one candidate would be able to get a majority then the vote would go to the House of Representatives, where the Whig dominated house would vote the next president (even though this direct process led to Adams unpopularity and Jackson's direct rise to power). Two other candidates from the Whig party joined the fray, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina. Oddly one man John Taylor was on the vice-presidential ticket for both White and Mangum. Unfortunately for the Whigs this strategy turned out to be their undoing as the divided ticket served to only secure Van Buren's election in several states while both the North and the South served to only draw votes away from the two other major candidates. Indeed evidence suggests that if the Whigs united by one candidate then they easily could've won by both electoral and popular vote. However, while Van Buren and the Democrats would claim victory for the third time in a row, what would come next would prove that Van Buren should've stayed out of politics and retire as a competent vice president, the same can only be stressed more importantly for vice president elect Richard Mentor Johnson.
View attachment 285982View attachment 285983
As for Texas, with his vice president claiming victory Jackson was now secure to move forward with official recognition of its independence. Unfortunately for him France was able to beat the United States as the first nation to recognize Texas's independence. Even more importantly they had secured an alliance with Texas and now had a firm sphere of influence within North America. While many nationalists expected Jackson to defend the Monroe doctrine and dispute France's interference, he instead welcomed it. Jackson saw this as an opportunity for Texas to win its independence without America having to be dragged into a war with Mexico and he expected the United States to annex it in the future anyway as his friend Houston assured him in a letter that the people of Texas would love to join the Union. Besides with Mexico delving further into bloodshed America could easily sweep in later and claim the Southwest. Had Jackson realized France's true intentions though, he would've immediately ordered the American army to march into Mexico to preserve America's interests and limit France's actions. By the time anyone realized what was going on in the southwest it was too late. America wouldn't be expanding to the Pacific south of Oregon.
A/N: I know that this post is mostly OTL developments but it was necessary as America does play an important role in this TL as Texas's most powerful neighbor. Next post will be the second/middle phase of the Mexican Civil war and then its off to 1837. Stick around for more and as always be sure to leave a comment for input.
"Did those idiots really think they could've won by dividing their votes?"- President Andrew Jackson 1836
"If we do not act now then Texas will be forever lost to the Union."- Speaker of the House James K. Polk 1837
One question that various Americans who are reading this book might ask is "Where were we during this time?", the answer for that is quite simple, playing politics. 1836 was the final year of the Jackson administration and was a tense time for one of the first major two party elections. In the previous year not only did Jackson remove all Indians tribes east of the Mississippi to present-day Sequoyah, against Supreme court mandate, but he also vetoed any renewal to the Bank of America's charter, a situation that would later result in one of the worst recessions in 19th century America. This created many enemies against Jackson and huge anti-democratic resentment among the Whig party, leading to precarious situation for the Democratic nominee Martin Van Buren to become elected. The main reason that Jackson choose not to intervene in Texas directly was an issue that was just starting to take root and could've cause the north to turn against the Democrats, slavery. In the Texas Constitution slavery was guaranteed as a right throughout the Republic, meaning that any possible intervention for independence would be a war to help a slave nation against one that was strictly abolitionist. And while the Missouri-Arkansas line explicitly guaranteed slavery in almost all territory that Texas claimed, to possibly annex Texas would've ruined the current slave vs. free state balance within the senate. Therefore, while Jackson was deeply pro-Texan and a close former friend of President Sam Houston, he took the cautionary route and made an official neutral stance on the Revolution. Unofficially he raised private support among the American elite to send financial aid to Texas and used government resources to set up volunteer groups to head west and either settle or fight for the Republic. As fate would have it, it turned out that all of these measures for Jackson to protect his vice-president's chances of re-election were unnecessary. As the Whigs would create the cause of their own defeat.
View attachment 285984
Andrew Jackson, one of the most popular yet controversial figures in American history.
With two prior defeats against the charismatic Jackson, the Whig party knew that they had to try new tactics to gain the presidency. At the Whig National convention there was much disagreement on who exactly would lead the new crusade against the Democrats. The northern states drew their support to William Henry Harrison, a charismatic frontiersman who was a war hero due to his victory over Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812. The south meanwhile choose to support their candidate Hugh L. White, a man who was very pro-nullification and promised when elected to be a firm supporter of state's rights. With these regions having very different reasons for the presidency and the leadership northern faction being pro-abolition, a schism in the party occurred. Eventually the leadership under Henry Clay actually encouraged for the Whig party to have separate candidates according to each region. Their goal was to divide the electoral votes so that in a situation where no one candidate would be able to get a majority then the vote would go to the House of Representatives, where the Whig dominated house would vote the next president (even though this direct process led to Adams unpopularity and Jackson's direct rise to power). Two other candidates from the Whig party joined the fray, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina. Oddly one man John Taylor was on the vice-presidential ticket for both White and Mangum. Unfortunately for the Whigs this strategy turned out to be their undoing as the divided ticket served to only secure Van Buren's election in several states while both the North and the South served to only draw votes away from the two other major candidates. Indeed evidence suggests that if the Whigs united by one candidate then they easily could've won by both electoral and popular vote. However, while Van Buren and the Democrats would claim victory for the third time in a row, what would come next would prove that Van Buren should've stayed out of politics and retire as a competent vice president, the same can only be stressed more importantly for vice president elect Richard Mentor Johnson.
View attachment 285982View attachment 285983
As for Texas, with his vice president claiming victory Jackson was now secure to move forward with official recognition of its independence. Unfortunately for him France was able to beat the United States as the first nation to recognize Texas's independence. Even more importantly they had secured an alliance with Texas and now had a firm sphere of influence within North America. While many nationalists expected Jackson to defend the Monroe doctrine and dispute France's interference, he instead welcomed it. Jackson saw this as an opportunity for Texas to win its independence without America having to be dragged into a war with Mexico and he expected the United States to annex it in the future anyway as his friend Houston assured him in a letter that the people of Texas would love to join the Union. Besides with Mexico delving further into bloodshed America could easily sweep in later and claim the Southwest. Had Jackson realized France's true intentions though, he would've immediately ordered the American army to march into Mexico to preserve America's interests and limit France's actions. By the time anyone realized what was going on in the southwest it was too late. America wouldn't be expanding to the Pacific south of Oregon.
A/N: I know that this post is mostly OTL developments but it was necessary as America does play an important role in this TL as Texas's most powerful neighbor. Next post will be the second/middle phase of the Mexican Civil war and then its off to 1837. Stick around for more and as always be sure to leave a comment for input.
- Kaiser Chris
- Word Count: 1k