STARS, STRIPES AND A PINE

Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #1:

The War of 1812 was meant to be a quick war, an easy war, a “Second War of Independence” that would be as great as the first…or at least, would’ve been. No-one expected a British victory in Baltimore. No-one anticipated the death of Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. And no-one expected the Northern states to be ripped away… [1]

American performance during the conflict was very poor. Despite scoring a few crucial victories during the early years of the conflict, American troops were falling back on almost every front by 1814. The unexpected British victory at Baltimore left some of the country’s most important cities open for capture. Philadelphia would fall only a few months later.

The utterly humiliating Treaty of London (1815) saw the United States lose nearly half of its states to the newly created Republic of New England. Although it was pretty much a buffer state, designed to protect Britain’s holdings in Canada, many couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment: talk of New England seceding had been present since the beginning of the century, most of it stemming from the Embargo Act of 1807, though this piece of legislation was repealed just a few days before James Madison took office. Being forced to recognize New England caused serious damage to Madison’s reputation, already low because of his administration’s perceived incompetence during the War of 1812.

A new border was also agreed upon between the US and Canada: a simple straight line, stretching from the now Canadian province of Wisconsin to the Pacific Coast (though the latter wouldn’t become official until 1845). Skirmishes between British and American soldiers on the borders of Wisconsin and Michigan would go on for many years. With the Democratic-Republicans having lost a significant amount of support, the 1816 election was won by Federalist candidate Rufus King… [2]


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Bombardment of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore (1814)

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[1] I couldn’t really think of a single POD for this timeline, so i have the British, either through better planning or sheer luck, score more victories in the War of 1812, allowing them to claim victory and press their demands.

[2] More detail in a future post…
 
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Here's one: Isaac Brock isn't killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

With him around, the British definitely do better than OTL...
 
Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #2:

Ringing bells and cheering crowds, that is what Napoleon and his Grand Armée saw entering Paris after returning from another successful campaign against the Russian Empire. It was long, it was brutal, but after all, it was worth it. Who could’ve expected anything else? Hadn’t his record of winning war after war, battle after battle told them anything?

He looked back at the final days of the campaign, especially the Battle of Moscow. He remembered it vividly: finally reaching the city after many months, finding the Russians preparing to abandon the city, crushing them with ease, and declaring victory while most of Moscow was burning around him. [1]

Europe was at his feet. Russia was dealt with, and most of the continent’s great powers had been brought to their knees. Only Britain and Portugal remained, the only powers that still dared to oppose him. The war in Spain was the last one he had to wrap up before achieving total supremacy over Europe. Maybe he could force them into some kind off armistice or peace, but those were concerns for another time. Marie was waiting for him…

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Was it right for Britain to decrease it’s presence in Europe in favor of defeating the United States? That’s a question historians have talked about for ages. Some say the nation was too desperate for vengeance against it’s former colony, leaving it’s age-old ally Portugal in the dust as it stood poised for a French invasion (which, luckily, never came). Others say the Peninsula War was a lost cause, an attempt to save an empire that was already dying from within.

While it is true that the Spanish Empire had been on the decline for decades, most of Spain’s colonial possessions were still very loyal in the years before the Peninsula War. Major independence movements wouldn’t really pop up until Napoleon installed his brother on the Spanish throne. Britain’s decision to scale down the number of troops in Spain mostly stemmed from a decrease in morale following Napoleon’s victory in Russia and the increase in manpower hoped for in North America after the surprise victory at Baltimore. The decreasing will of the British government to continue with a war that was increasingly seen as a lost cause was also an important factor in the decision. [2]

Regardless of the answer, it was a major factor in Britain’s increasingly concerning situation: it had effectively been kicked off the continent after Portugal was forced to end their alliance, and was left in a perpetual state of tension with the United States. The country had, now both literally and metaphorically, become an island. As the population was stil reeling from the nation’s defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, many in power began to realize what the nation was faced with: a mighty Imperial Eagle, watching it’s every move…

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Napoleon heads back to France after the successful campaign in Russia (1812)

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[1] In OTL, the city was already abandoned when Napoleon arrived. Here, that coincidence is butterflied away…

[2] It would make sense for the British government to increase men and supplies following success in the war with the United States, and decrease support for the Peninsular War, which they were probably going to lose anyway…
 
Well, strictly speaking there were actually a number of Russian soldiers in Moscow IOTL. They just happened to be disguised as escaped prisoners. Somebody had to start all those fires, after all...

Anyways, fully expect Nappy to start encouraging and backing the South in it's revachist/expansionist goals if Russia is truely considered subdued (Though, without firsting helping boost the Austrians and Ottomans to act as watchdogs in Eastern Europe the Czar won't be down forever. Russia has the manpower and resources to rebuild for a round three within a few years, and certainly will if there isn't a solid front checking them).
 
Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #3:

Rufus King was only one of two (the other being John Adams) Federalists to be elected to the White House. His situation before the election was one of the hardest anyone could have faced, as he had to make the Federalists appealing in the Southern states, who were dominated by the Democratic-Republicans. This was essential, as the Federalist party had almost lost its entire voting base with the independence of New England. But it wasn’t going to be easy, as many Southern states were still angry over the Hartford Convention (1814-15), which they saw as traitorous and secessionist. By shifting most of the blame to the New England Federalists specifically, combined with downplaying his abolitionist stance, he was able to gain 23 more electoral votes than Monroe with a surprising victory in Virginia. With the electoral vote secured, Rufus King would become the 5th president of the United States. [1]

His presidency was filled with various important acts and treaties, one of the most important being the revival of the Franco-American Alliance in 1818. Intended to undermine British power and give France a diplomatic foothold in the New World, it was surprisingly successful, with most of the new South American nations sliding into the pro-French camp in the coming decades. It also ruined Britain’s attempts to keep France’s influence contained to Europe, and left many of the anti-Bonapartist factions in the British government enraged.

Another important document with the aim of weakening Britain was the King Doctrine. Though it was officially created to prevent European empires (with, ironically, the exception of France) getting involved in New World affairs, everyone knew it was another obvious attempt to weaken the influence of the British Empire. The document would be in effect for decades, sometimes with alterations to fit the new political situation, until it was no longer considered necessary…

Back at home, King had to deal with the ever-growing influence of slave owners on American politics. The 1818 midterm elections saw the Democratic-Republicans gain a majority in both chambers of congress, mostly stemming from the King administration’s growing negligence toward the Southern states and their increasingly vocal abolitionism, despite King’s attempts to keep them silent. The results led to a rift in the Federalist Party between the moderates and radicals, leading to a decline starting in the 1820s and the party’s eventual destruction in the 1830s.

The last major act of the King administration was the Adams-Onís Treaty, signed in 1820. Finally completed after months and months of discussion and convincing Spain, who was reluctant to give territory to a nation that had lost a war only five years earlier, to even sign the treaty, it dramatically altered the American-Spanish border. Florida was ceded to the United States, and a new border, largely drawn based on natural landmarks, was created in the west: first following the Sabine River, then going straight up to the Red River, following that river until reaching the border of the Missouri Territory, continuing up that border to the 42nd parallel to become a straight line heading directly to the Pacific Coast. Britain protested, saying that it ignored British claims to the Oregon County (Columbia District for the US). This would mark the beginning of the Oregon boundary dispute, which wouldn’t be resolved until 1845. [2]

King decided not to run for a second term, citing his declining health and the increasing breakdown of his administration and the Federalist Party as a whole. He was succeeded by James Monroe, the first in a long line of Democratic-Republican Presidents…


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Rufus King, 5th President of the United States (1817-1821)



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Stars, Stripes and A Pine - 1820
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[1] I think i might be stretching it here a little bit, but if he managed to build up significant support in Virginia and he really worked his ass off to get electoral votes, which he probably would in TTL, then i think this might be possible…

[2] Though it is referred to as “Spain”, the treaty was actually signed with New Spain, one of the few Spanish colonies that had not yet declared independence. It would become Mexico just one year after the signing of this treaty. It’s only labeled as “Spain” for convenience.
 
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It's surprising that "America Needs No King" didn't become a rallying cry against Rufus leading to his defeat just on name alone.

Does he preside over the "Era of Bad Feelings"?
 
It's surprising that "America Needs No King" didn't become a rallying cry against Rufus leading to his defeat just on name alone.

Does he preside over the "Era of Bad Feelings"?

Oh, that would've been so good! I really gotta pay more attention to those little details...

And yes, he does preside over "The Era of Bad Feelings", maybe i'll mention that in a future post.
 
Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #4:

Ever since the May Revolution in 1810, during which Spanish Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros was removed from power and a local government was installed in the Río de la Plata, South America had been in a state of chaos. Revolutions and uprisings had ravaged the continent, killing thousands. The complete collapse of central authority following the French victory in the Peninsula War in 1812 made things go from bad to worse, as many of the remaining Viceroys seized total power in a series of bloody coups, effectively making them absolute monarchs. The most infamous example of this was José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, Viceroy of Peru. Despite being a dedicated supporter of absolute monarchy, he supported the fairly liberal Cádiz Cortes (Spain’s first national assembly) against Napoleon. After the end of the Peninsula War however, he gave up the title of Viceroy and declared himself absolute monarch of Peru. What followed was a 9-year long period of war and bloodshed, as any uprising against him was crushed with brutal force, and the national treasury was drained by an expensive war with Peru’s northern neighbor…

Gran Colombia, officially created in 1819 and led by Simon Bolívar, had always been a pretty unstable nation. Members of the government could never agree on what kind of form the government should take: federal, or centralized? These squabbles made it difficult for the nation to function, and put a halt on Bolívar’s vision of a united South America. That would change however, when a letter was received from the mayor of La Paz, in Upper Peru [Bolivia], which had recently been occupied and annexed by Abascal’s Peru. It called for Gran Colombia to liberate Upper Peru, and remove Abascal from power. Hoping that this could finally unite Gran Colombia’s government against a common enemy, Bolívar brought up the letter in a speech, made during the debate about whether Gran Colombia should go to war with Peru over the disputed territories of Jaén and Maynas. A declaration of war would be issued just a few days later. [1]

The war was a moderate success, with Abascal being deposed after the Occupation of Lima. Gran Colombia would suffer a great tragedy, when the nation’s founder and first president, Simon Bolívar, was killed by a stray cannonball during the Battle of La Paz, ending the liberation of Upper Peru. The peace treaty left Gran Colombia in control of all the disputed territory, but forced it to recognize Peruvian control of Upper Peru. After Abascal was removed from power and then killed by an angry mob, Peru became a republic, adopting its first constitution in 1824. Bolívar’s death ended his vision of a united South America, but allowed Gran Colombia to stabilize itself under it’s new president Domingo Caycedo, who helped create a new constitution that finally established the nation as having a federal government, similar to the United States… [2]

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Simon Bolívar (1783-1821)

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José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa (1743-1821)
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[1] The war about the border dispute also happened in OTL, though here it happens a few years earlier and has the extra goal of liberating Upper Peru.

[2] This doesn’t mean that Gran Colombia also has states, but the provinces are comparable with them in how autonomous they are, though there are many differences…
 
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Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #5:

Brazil had been in a very weird place since Napoleon came along. Fearing the loss of the Kingdom and Crown, future Portuguese King John VI fled across the Atlantic to Brazil in 1808, along with his mother, Maria I of Portugal, and the Royal Court. The idea was that the royal family would temporarily stay in Brazil, and return to mainland Portugal once Napoleon was crushed.

Napoleon’s unexpected victory in Russia and Britain’s forced withdrawal from the continent was a shock to the Portuguese royal family, and a major reorganization of the Empire was called for. A “United Kingdom” of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was created, elevating the status of Brazil from colony to kingdom. With this change in status, there was the expectation that Brazil would be granted more autonomy, but John VI instead clamped down on opposition and continuously increased his power, hoping to prevent the chaos that was ravaging Brazil’s neighbors. Many liberal factions in the government openly and aggressively denounced the King’s actions, as well as his refusal to do anything about the slave trade, with many wanting him to follow Britain’s example, which had abolished it in 1807. The most outspoken members of these factions were either thrown in prison for life, or executed. [1]

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John VI of Portugal (1767-1822)

By the 1820s, John VI had essentially become an absolute monarch, and Brazil in particular was a powder keg ready to blow. The various liberal factions had become radicalized after years of executions and crackdowns, with most openly calling for secession in the country’s various provinces. The most powerful and influential of these was the “Confederation of the Equator”, led by Manuel de Carvalho and Joaquim do Amor, who wanted to break away from Brazil and form a new, liberal republic. Their faction gained a large amount of support from people dissatisfied with the King’s policies, and slaves who were promised freedom in this new state. All they needed was a spark to start a rebellion, and they soon got one. [2]

John VI was holding a parade in Rio de Janeiro, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Kingdom’s foundation. He would also be driven through the city’s various streets in a carriage, making him a possible target for an assassination attempt. Many precautions had been taken: guards had been placed on the rooftops to spot sharpshooters, and dragoons surrounded the carriage at all times, in case someone tried to run up to the carriage and kill the King with a pistol. What hadn’t been accounted for, surprisingly, was someone trying to blow up the carriage with an explosive. As the carriage was riding through one of Rio’s most notorious streets, an assassin, member of one of the city’s local extremist factions, threw a grenade. The grenade exploded just a few inches away from the carriage, sending shards of metal flying through the air. The assassin was shot and killed just a few seconds later. The attack killed 3 bystanders, injured 12 more, and left the King with a shattered arm and a collapsed lung, as well as a giant metal shard having lodged itself into his leg.

Unable to walk and barely able to breath, the King was hospitalized. Everyone knew it was unlikely he would survive, and so the government had to prepare for the day when his son, Pedro, would take the throne. This day would come unexpectedly quick, as the King died just 2 weeks after the attack. There would be a short period were Brazil would officially have no king, as the government wanted to make certain changes to government and constitution, to prevent the excessive absolutism that John VI had become so infamously known for, leaving the door open for radical separatist factions to take advantage of the situation…

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[1] This “United Kingdom” was also formed in OTL, mostly because the royal family got a little too cozy in Brazil and refused to return to Portugal. Here, it is created so the Portuguese king can rule his nation, while at the same time being a safe distance away from France and Napoleon.

[2] The Confederation did actually exist in OTL, and was formed during Brazilian War of Independence against the “United Kingdom”. It was crushed after a single battle with Brazilian forces. Here, it is not only a lot stronger and has a lot more support, but also has different reasons for existing (The Confederation in OTL had more to do with disagreements over the new constitution, while in TTL they are the more traditional freedom fighters).
 
Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #6:

The rainforest was unexpectedly quiet, with occasional sounds from all the fascinating birds and insects, which couldn’t even have been dreamt up by the most imaginative people back home. Beams of light pierced the forest canopy, creating an evening glow that was stunning by it’s sheer beauty. The journey had taken them much longer than expected, as they’d clearly underestimated the difficulty of travelling through a dense rainforest in the middle of the rain. Nearly a quarter of his troops had either been bitten by an insect or snake, or had simply drowned during one of the many river crossings. England’s countryside, with it’s innocent animals and muddy roads, looked decent by comparison…

…At least, that’s what Wellington thought to himself. He had some hope that this conflict could finally restore some of Britain’s prestige, climbing out of the dark hole Napoleon had left them in. A whole decade of anger and instability would be washed away. He would be one of the many to come home triumphant, to be heralded as a hero of the nation, to become immortalized in the history books.

He lost that hope a long time ago. This war had become uncomfortably similar to that horrible war in Spain, with small militia picking off his troops almost every day. He was one of the few generals that didn’t resign out of disgrace following the end of that war. A political career was out of the question, a man who’d lost a war would have a hard time being taken seriously in Westminster. This war felt more like a redemption to him, one last chance to set things right, one last chance to…

He stopped as he heard bushes rattling behind him. Without hesitating, he ordered his men to fire. A few seconds of eerie silence, followed by return fire from the militia. He quickly got off his horse and pulled out his sword, hoping he could finally finish them off. Just then, he felt a bullet scrape his neck. After immense cursing that even shocked some of his own troops, he lept toward one of the militia and pierced his chest. Most of the soldiers didn’t even bother fixing their bayonets, using the backs of their muskets to bash the militia’s heads in. When the fighting had finally stopped, he climbed back onto his horse, with the soldiers quickly following him. That bullet wound in his neck would come later, he had a war to finish…

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Duke of Wellington (1769-1850)
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While officially known as the “Brazilian Civil War”, it was in truth a much more international conflict. Britain saw it as a way of finally securing a victory against Napoleon, who was no longer in any physical condition to lead an army on the battlefield. Even if he was, most think even he would’ve had trouble fighting in the dense and inhospitable places Brazil had to offer.

Britain allied itself with Portugal, while France sent troops to back the Confederation (the US, for a variety of reasons, decided to stay out of the conflict). The Royal Navy was sent in to block the Confederation’s ports, although Britain had seriously underestimated the improvements France had made to it’s navy. This wasn’t the same navy they’d fought against during the Napoleonic Wars, as this one had been heavily modernized and organized, meaning that maintaining the blockade around the Confederation was a lot more difficult. France scored a large number of strategic victories against the British despite heavy losses, managing to heavily weaken the blockade by the end of the war.

Many note the war’s lack of major large-scale battles, this largely being the case because of the Amazon rainforest. The rainforest provided the perfect conditions for militias to sneak up on large armies and cause significant casualties. These militia were a mix of Confederate, French and “volunteers” from various South American nations. Britain and Portugal were forced to operate with “armies” the size of scout patrols, and even that didn’t get rid of the problem. Both nations, Britain in particular, had barely learned their lessons from the Peninsula War, mainly how effective guerilla warfare could be. Britain also suffered from a lack of experienced generals (many having resigned in disgrace following defeat in the Peninsula War), which meant that generals with limited experience were forced to operate with tactics and armies that were completely unfit for the environment. Disease also became a major problem in the war, with malaria and yellow fever infecting and often killing entire divisions, and because treatment for these diseases was very underdeveloped at the time, there was pretty much nothing both sides could do about it. With these conditions getting worse and worse, it was only a matter of time before one side would break. [1]

Portugal was the first nation to give up, as it’s treasury had already been strained before the war, and the war itself only made this problem worse. Hoping to prevent the nation from falling into a state if bankruptcy and even a possible uprising, Portugal asked for an armistice. Britain followed, as continuing the war without Portugal would be pointless. [2]

The peace treaty forced Portugal to give up Brazil, recognizing it as well as the new Confederation of the Equator (“Equator” for short). Britain had to pay large sums of money to the French, and was also forced to recognize Brazil and Equator. British Guyana was ceded to Gran Colombia. Pedro, son of John VI, would be crowned Pedro I, King of Brazil. Miguel, one of John VI’s sons, would get the Portuguese crown. The treaty effectively dissolved the “United Kingdom” that had existed since 1812.

Britain would be affected significantly by the outcome of this war. Francophobia reached an all-time high, and politics became a lot more polarized. More radical parties and movements would spring up throughout the late 1820s and early 1830s, threatening to tear Britain apart. But the sun wouldn’t set just yet…

The United States actually turned out to be the biggest winner of the war, without even fighting in it. It opened up trade with Brazil in various goods, and gave the US one of it’s most important allies throughout the 19th century. What wasn’t known, was that multiple slave owners in both nations had begun trading slaves with one another, forming the basis for the “Saltwater Tear Trail”, a smale-scale version of the Atlantic Slave Trade, that wouldn’t be discovered and fully stopped until the 1890s… [3]

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South America - 1825

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[1] It took a very long time for Britain in OTL to properly deal with guerilla warfare, with the British even having trouble with guerillas during the Second Boer War (1899-1902), so I don’t think even a major defeat in Spain could have made them learn their lesson.

[2] Being forced to fight a war across the Atlantic after years of having a stagnant economy and almost non-existent trade, means that it won’t take a long time before you break.

[3] This will have some serious repercussions down the line, though i probably won’t mention it again until many, many posts later…
 
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Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #7:

Of all the nations that suffered from losing another war against the seemingly unstoppable Napoleon Bonaparte, none would suffer as much as the Russian Empire. The Battle of Moscow was a major embarrassment for Fyodor Rostopchin, the city’s Governor-General. His plan to evacuate the city before Napoleon’s arrival was considered by many to be a foolish decision, as they believed he severely underestimated Napoleon’s capabilities and the speed of his army. This led to him falling out of favor with not just the people and the army, but even Tsar Alexander I himself. Things became even worse for Rostopchin after it was discovered that he gave the order to set Moscow on fire, as a way of preventing Napoleon from raiding the city for supplies, sparking nationwide outrage. Things got so bad that Alexander I forced him to leave his position as Governor-General of Moscow. Hated and disgraced, Rostopchin would die in 1821 after shooting himself through the head with a pistol, following many years of a deep depression. [1]

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Fyodor Rostopchin (1763-1821)

The Tsar himself didn’t fare much better. Rostopchin’s failure in Moscow led to him becoming increasingly distrustful of his generals. As a result, he began to look more strictly at them, expecting them to follow his orders precisely and swear absolute loyalty to him. It became nearly impossible for many of the younger, more free-minded generals to work their way up the ranks. Even many of the older generals were frustrated by the Tsar’s constant interference in the way their armies were supplied, how their armies were organized and the equipment that their soldiers were using. Many were also worried about the Tsar’s mental health, as outbursts against generals and officers became more and more commonplace. This growing feeling of frustration and concern slowly began to spread throughout the entire Imperial Army, only to turn into outright hatred after the Russo-Turkish War (1824-1825). [2]

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Alexander I of Russia (1777-1825)


In 1821, Greek revolutionaries launched an insurrection against the Ottoman Empire, which quickly turned into a full-scale war of independence. The Greeks had backing from France, who sent a small fleet to help defeat the Ottomans at sea. Britain decided not to intervene, still licking it’s wounds from the Brazilian Civil War. Russia initially did the same, only offering diplomatic support to the revolutionaries. That would quickly change however, in 1823. Due to his growing paranoia, Alexander came to believe that the Ottomans defeating the Greeks could lead to a resurgent Ottoman Empire, something which could even further damage Russian prestige. Ignoring his advisors, he decided to join the French in sending naval support to the Greeks. The Ottoman Sultan was furious when he discovered this, and closed the Dardanelles to Russian ships. Alexander saw this as the perfect casus belli for war, and had Russia declare war on the Ottomans only a few months later.

Although the war ended in a Russian victory, many generals were less than happy with the way it was conducted. Alexander received a letter shortly after the peace was signed, containing a long list of complaints from his generals, emphasizing the army’s inefficiency during the war leading to an unnecessarily large number of casualties. When the Tsar didn’t respond to the letter, the Imperial Army knew one thing for sure: Alexander had to go.

They were not the only ones who wanted the Tsar gone however. Liberalism had become a growing and powerful ideology amongst some Russian intellectuals, who didn’t just have problems with Tsar Alexander, but the monarchy and the empire as a whole. Although this sentiment had existed for a long time, it really gained steam with Napoleon’s victory over Russia, functioning as liberalism’s symbolic victory over the old imperial system. Alexander’s increasing control over the army and him distancing himself from liberal ideas only confirmed this view, and led to the founding of a large number of secret societies. Two of these groups were the Northern and Southern Society, who would later become known as the “Decembrists”. The Northern Society was a moderate faction, which wanted to implement either a constitutional monarchy or a republic (though the idea for the constitutional monarchy was dropped after the Tsar and other members of the government showed their unwillingness to adopt this idea). The Southern Society was much more radical, going exclusively for a republic and even wanting the creation of a Slavic federation stretching all the way to Hungary, an idea that came from the recently joined Society of United Slavs. Though they’re were significant differences between the two, both had become united in their burning hatred for the Tsar, and what made them different from other societies was that they actually had support within the Imperial Army.

Alexander’s health had begun to deteriorate physically, when he caught a cold while on a voyage through Southern Russia that ultimately developed into Typhus. This left him mostly bedridden inside one of his mansions in Taganrog, a port city near the Black Sea. By November, Alexander was almost completely crippled and couldn’t even walk around in the mansion anymore. Many believed he would be dead within only a few days. The Southern Society, however, didn’t wanna wait that long…

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The sunlight shone through the window, right into the face of Alexander, who had just woken up. He blocked the light with his hand briefly, to stop it blinding his eyes, which had become very sensitive to light. As he slowly started to sit upright in his bed, he was struck by a crippling headache. Though it wasn’t bad enough to make him scream, it did quickly send him laying back down in bed, praying for the pain to stop. He knew the sickness would probably kill him, but it could at the very least let him die in peace.

Suddenly, he heard the door to the room open. Probably one of his advisors, he thought. They always went to him in the morning to check. He slowly rose back up, the headache still causing immense pain. He blocked the light with his hand again, hoping the advisor would block the window so they could have a normal conversation, but it still impaired his vision to some extent. As he looked at what he assumed to be one of his advisors, he suddenly saw an arm sticking out, holding some kind of cylindrical object with a black hole in it, directly pointed at him. It took him only a few seconds to figure out what the object was…

It was a barrel. The barrel of a gun.

Before he could duck away, he heard a loud noise that filled the entire room.

The sight of blackness was all that followed.

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It took a few days for the news to arrive in Saint-Petersburg, but when it did, the reaction was one of little surprise. The Tsar was dead, killed by the Typhus he had contracted a few months earlier. The message had been purposefully tampered with, making it look like the Tsar had simply died from the sickness, instead of being killed by one of his Southern Society advisors. The task was now on the Tsar’s two brothers, Constantin and Nicholas, to figure out who would be the successor, because Alexander had never stated who his successor was going to be. The royal guards swore their allegiance to Constantin, assuming him to be the heir. Confusion started to spread, however, when Constantin publicly renunciated the throne, forcing Nicholas to assume it. This period of confusion lasted for almost an entire month, giving the Decembrists more than enough time to strike.

On a cold December morning, thousands of troops had assembled on Senate Square in Saint-Petersburg, where they announced their refusal to swear allegiance to Nicholas, and instead proclaimed their loyalty to only be to the Decembrist Constitution. They were soon joined by various other troops stationed in Saint-Petersburg, and within only a few hours the entire city had turned into a battlefield, with Decembrist and loyalist forces clashing with each other. A number of civilians actually started joining the Decembrists, overpowering the loyalist forces. The Decembrists had stirred up anti-Tsar sentiment across the city, ending up with a big chunck of the city firmly on their side. Nicholas was horrified to see a giant army of soldiers and citizens march on the Winter Palace itself. A squad of grenadiers soon busted into the Palace and captured Nicholas and his family. Just a short while later, the Decembrists declared the abolishment of the Imperial monarchy. The Russian Republic was born. [3]

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Decembrist and loyalist troops clash during the December Revolution (1825)
But their work was not done yet. Big parts of Russia were still under the control of generals who swore their absolute loyalty to the Tsar, and they refused to join the Russian Republic. Constantin, who had fled Saint-Petersburg during all the chaos, made contact with a number of loyalist generals, and formed a monarchist faction that accepted only Nicholas as the rightful ruler of Russia. Constantin became the faction’s leader for as long as Nicholas was captured, and began to slowly organize a cohesive army. Russia was on the brink of civil war…

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[1] Rostopchin’s decision was already highly controversial in OTL, so losing a battle in Moscow as well would make things much worse.

[2] Alexander I grew very reactionary and paranoid even in OTL, so you could only imagine how bad it would be if he had lost against Napoleon due to the “failings” of one of his generals.

[3] The Decembrist Revolt also happened in OTL, except it was done by a few liberal officers who hoped to implement reforms, but the revolt was poorly planned and executed, and had almost no support amongst the population or even the military. Here, they capitalize on anti-Tsar sentiment that has been building for almost a decade, and use that to overthrow the Tsar.
 
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So, here finally is the next update! Regular updates for this timeline are almost impossible, primarily because I have so much stuff to do all the time. That doesn't mean I have given up on this timeline though! :)
 
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Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #8:

Henry had always been somewhat of a quiet and isolated farmer, not that busy or invested in things happening in the outside world. Most of his day consisted of him letting his cows graze in the field, and feeding his goats with all the hay he could get. Atleast, that was during the summer. During winter, especially during heavy ones, like the one that was going on right now, he was constantly checking if the shelters of his livestock were still in good condition. He had already sold much of his livestock, scraping together as much money as he possible could, and another one of his cows or goats dying would be a disaster. Despite all this, there was one thing that had always fascinated Henry: the landscape.

The landscape of New Hampshire was truly a sight to behold. Henry’s location in particular was fascinating: a big lake, surrounded by a large variety of trees, some of which Henry didn’t even know the name of, with a large mountain range to the north. Henry would stare at them for a while during the short breaks he sometimes took.

Today, however, was different. New England was about to learn who would be the winner in its first presidential election. Henry didn’t really care about either candidate, only learning about their platforms whilst selling milk in some of the local towns. He sometimes saw pamphlets at the town halls, or small campaign ads in the local newspapers he bought. The only reason he was heading to Moultonborough (one of the local towns) to hear about the result, was out of curiosity.

As the evening dawned, Henry headed out to Moultonborough by foot. After about two hours of non-stop walking, he finally arrived. As he made his way to the town hall, he noted several people looking at a newspaper with visible concern. Why would that be? Had their favored candidate lost? His curiosity became greater. Further along the way, he spotted the same, but this time with an even larger group of people. What was going on? Had a candidate died or something? Now his curiosity was at its peak. Making his way into the town hall, he saw the same thing he had seen on the street. Grabbing the newspaper, he saw the election result being front-page news, and started to read.

A visible look of concern could be seen on Henry’s face.

---

The early years of New England’s history were ones of questions and chaos. The nations new-found independence following the Treaty of London (1815) left even members of the Hartford Convention surprised: not only was New England now an independent state, something that only the most radical members of the Convention had called for, but even the state of New York, which wasn’t even considered part of the region of New England, had been added to the nation. Many people in New York considered this to be purely a British decision (after all, adding New York to New England meant that important cities in Canada, like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, were protected from an invasion from the east, in case of another war between the US and Britain). Thus, a divide had emerged between New York and the rest of New England’s states. But this was the least of the nation’s problems.

The idea that New England as a nation was purely a creation of the British Empire, was something that would haunt it for a long time. Many American presidents during their campaigns would even refer to New England as “occupied territory”, and in the later years of the 19th century, “Britain’s first Dominion”, much to the dismay of New Englanders. But there was a level of truth in that idea: the Embargo Act of 1807, the main driving force behind New England’s secessionist movement, had already been repealed under President Madison, and the movement had already started to fade away during the time before the War of 1812. It is very likely that if the US had won the war, or it had simply turned into a stalemate, that New England would still be part of the United States to this very day.

Another problem had to do with how New England performed its presidential elections. New England’s relatively sudden independence from the United States had left many of its electoral institutions, particularly the Electoral College, in a state of chaos. Various things, like the number of electors per state, would have to be completely redecided. The Electoral College in New England following independence was so utterly broken, that a presidential election in 1816 had become impossible. Some politicians (particularly the more liberal ones), felt that the College as a whole was simply unnecessary for this new nation, and started campaigning for its abolishment.

In cite of these problems, many people felt that a temporary governing body had to be created that would govern the nation and develop its consitution, before switching over to the presidential system. Much debate took place on who the members of this body would be, but most eventually settled on the members of the Hartford Convention. There was, however, significant debate over who would be the body’s de-facto leader. After some time, it all came down to two candidates: Timothy Pickering and Harrison Gray Otis. Both were from Massachusetts, and both had fought with vigor for New England’s independence (Pickering had vehemently opposed the Embargo Act, whilst Otis was one of the more prominent members of the Hartford Convention). One small detail would eventually make the difference: in 1811, Timothy Pickering had violated the Logan Act, which stated that unauthorized negotiations with a foreign government the United States had a dispute with, were illegal. Pickering had violated it by holding several conferences with special British envoy George Rose, were he proposed the creation of a pro-British party in New England that would resist the Embargo Act. Fearing that this fact could lead to the public seeing Pickering as a British loyalist, something that would emphasize New England’s link to Britain, he was eventually sidelined, and Harrison Gary Otis (or H.G. Otis, as some would start to call him), became the body’s leader. [1]

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Timothy Pickering (1745-1829)

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Harrison Gary Otis (1765-1846)

This body, which eventually became known as “The Conventioners” (for obvious reasons), quickly went to work developing the nation’s constitution. Most of New England’s early Constitution was almost a carbon-copy of the US Constitution, with only a few tiny differences when it came to the wording of certain articles and amendments. There was also a restructuring of the Electoral College, with the number of electors being reduced from 80 (the number of electors whilst New England was still part of the United States) to 60, with New York and Massachusetts getting te largest numbers of electors (15 for both states). [2]

Almost immediately, this came under fire from Anti-Electoral College politicians, who criticized the fact that this division of Electors meant that a presidential candidate (if the Electoral College was left in place) could pretty much win a presidential election whilst having won only one-third of all the states. It would also create an electoral deadlock if a candidate only won these two states, if the Electoral College still remained as the deciding factor in an election. In response to this, the Conventioners publically stated that they had decided the number of Electors based on a state’s economic and strategic importance. But the Anti-Electoral College politicans decided this wasn’t a good justification, and went one step further, calling the Electoral College “undemocratic”.

Because of the growing outside pressure, the Conventioners themselves started to become more and more divided on the issue. Fearing that this could fracture the Conventioners and lead to them falling apart, H.G. Otis started scrambling for a compromise. He sent out a letter to the most prominent members of the Anti-Electoral College movement, stating that he was willing to negotiate with them in Boston (the newly assigned capital of New England).

An understanding was reached between Otis, the Conventioners and the Anti-Electoral College movement, later dubbed the “Boston Compromise”: a presidential candidate would be the victor in an election if he had won both the Popular and the Electoral College Vote. Although this compromise partially settled the dispute over the Electoral College, it wasn’t actually written down in the constitution itself, and pretty much only became an unwritten rule for every election going forward. The Conventioners wanted to settle the issue going into the first presidential election, so that New England’s first presidential administration could deal with the problem. Although the Conventioners believed this to be a good decision at the time, it would backfire horribly, and be the main contributing factor behind the 1820 New England Constitutional Crisis.

The nation soon began to prepare itself for it’s first presidential election. Despite some members of the Conventioners believing that it was better to wait until the president’s inauguration in 1821, H.G. Otis believed that most of New England’s constitutional issues had been solved, and that the next presidential administration was more than capable of dealing with remaining issues, and decided to disband the Conventioners early, with its members going to their respective political factions.

Two main parties had emerged in New England during the 1810s: the Federalist Party (which was just a continuation of the New England faction of the old American Federalist Party), with H.G. Otis as its candidate, and the Liberal Party, with DeWitt Clinton as its candidate. Clinton had actually run against Madison in the 1812 election, with the second strongest showing of any Federalist candidate (only topped by Rufus King). Many who were against the Embargo Act had backed him during that campaign, and thus, he had pretty significant support in New England. He slowly started to separate from the Federalist Party after it became more and more influenced by the positions of the Conventioners, more specifically H.G. Otis. He felt that limited cooperation with the British wasn’t just crucial for New England’s economy (being heavily reliant on trade), but that it was crucial for its very survival, and that Otis’ anti-British stance could lead to disaster if it became too extreme.

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DeWitt Clinton (1769-1825)

Originally, Clinton wasn’t even planning on running at all, and only supported the creation of the Liberal Party to provide a strong counterweight to Otis. It was only after the Electoral College debacle, and the radicalism of the factions within the Liberal Party making it impossible for them to select a candidate, that he decided to step in. After officially joining the Liberal Party, he quickly became their best candidate, as he was able to unite the party’s various radical factions to create a cohesive party platform, one that included the pursuit of free trade, limited cooperation with Britain, and making the Popular Vote the deciding factor in the presidential election (Clinton considered abolishing the Electoral College too extreme, so he decided to remove it from the party’s platform).

The questions surrounding New England’s identity and the status of the Electoral College would come to take center stage during the election of 1820, with intense radicalism on both sides, particulary on the issue of the Electoral College: Federalists accused Liberals of only desiring the Popular Vote because the majority of their voting base lay in the major cities (like Boston and New York), whilst Liberals called Federalists’ support of the Electoral College “a betrayal of democracy”. Fights would break out regularly between the two sides, showing political polarization on a level that horrified both candidates, H.G. Otis in particular, who had to confront the fact that his attempts to settle the issue with things like the “Boston Compromise”, had failed. Clinton tried to develop a solid voting bloc for the Liberals, appealing to merchants with his free trade and to Anti-Electoral College moderates with his emphasis on the Popular Vote. He was also able to successfully get New York (his home state) on the side of the Liberals, meaning he had gained control over a significant share of both the Popular and Electoral College Vote. Otis, meanwhile, emphasized his role in developing the nation’s constitution and his attempts to forge an identity for New England that was separate from Britain.

As Election Day arrived, most people had no idea who was going to win. Both sides had campaigned exhaustively, trying to energize as much of their newly created voting base as they could. As people went to the voting booths, many believed that their candidate would win. Others feared that their candidate might lose. But most people were genuinely curious who the first president of the Republic of New England was going to be. Many members of government hoped that after this election, and the establishment of the first presidential administration, they could focus on issues that went beyond the Electoral College, something that had taken up their agenda for years. Many hoped that this election would relieve them of the stress, the pain and the frustration, that the last 5 years had brought.

The election results, however, were anything but relieving.

Clinton’s attempts at developing a solid Liberal voting bloc appeared to have worked, as large parts of New York, Massachusetts and the major cities in the remaining states, all voted Liberal, giving him a majority of the Popular Vote. Otis’ emphasizing of his role in various important decisions, also appeared to have worked. Many states had large chunks that firmly voted Federalist, meaning that the Electors in those states had also voted Federalist, giving Otis a majority of the Electoral Vote. Both sides seemed to have successfully energized their bases, shown by the incredibly high voter turnout (more than 90%), meaning that they had gained as many votes as they possibly could. There was, however, a tiny problem with the results: neither candidate had gained a majority in both Votes.

Panic ensued, with frantic discussion inside the government on what to do next. Some wanted a recount, others wanted a second vote to happen. Eventually, many turned to the New England Supreme Court to solve the issue. An institution which had only existed since 1818, and had only dealt with minor infractions on the constitution, was now tasked with solving one of the biggest constitutional crises in history. Despite being under the near total control of the Federalists, the Court took a fair look at both sides, trying to determine which side had won. Eventually, they decided to turn to the New England Constitution, to see how the electoral process had been defined. Seeing how it hadn’t been clearly defined, they decided that it couldn’t be used to determine who was the winner, unless serious changes were made. Realizing that the “Boston Compromise” was the only document they could go on, the Supreme Court made the only decision it could possible make: declare the 1820 election “null and void” until a proper amendment to the constitution had been made on the electoral process.

More panic ensued, this time heavily affecting the social order. With no certainty over who had won, both Federalists and Liberals took to the streets in protest, demanding their candidate, the “rightful winner” of the election, to be put into office. The army (which had already been sent out by the government to keep the peace during the election) was overwhelmed, with small squads of soldiers being forced to contain thousands of rioters. New York suffered from riots almost every week, Boston had half of its harbor burn down after a merchant riot spiralled out of control. Some senators in New York openly talked about breaking away from New England to form a “Republic of New York” (an idea that Clinton rejected vehemently). It felt like New England was ripping itself apart.

Henry Dearborn, who was a Major General in the War of 1812 and had become one of New England’s most prominent generals following its independence, decided to step in. After gathering a variety of soldiers from across the country into what became known as “Dearborn’s Legion”, he decided to head for Boston to reestablish control, even picking up civilians on the way. Once he arrived in Boston, to the stunned faces of New England’s Congress, he requested them to put him in place as “Acting President”, and grant him emergency powers if necessary. Although this would have been seen as outrageous and an outright military coup under normal circumstances, Congress was desperate for someone to take control and restore order to the nation, and thus, Dearborn’s request was fulfilled.

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Henry Dearborn, 1st "Acting President" of New England (1820-1822)

Britain was less than pleased with this turn of events, fearing that they had a “Yankee Bonaparte” on their hands. Although Congress was able to stop a British military intervention, Britain did establish a semi-blockade around New England, in case any “outside forces” tried to supply them with weapons. For unknown reasons, the United States decided not to try and retake New England, with most historians believing they feared it could spark another war with Britain. The US did, however, establish connections with the secessionist New York senators, negotiating about New York rejoining the Union if things escalated. When these connections were discovered, the senators would receive the death penalty, with all of them getting hanged.

Despite all of this chaos, the issue of the electoral process still hadn’t been resolved. Various senators and lawyers had all sent in proposals to solve it, but the most interesting proposal of all was the one by Nathan Dane, a lawyer from Massachusetts who had recently gone deaf. He proposed something called the “County System”. Basically, a candidate would only have won a state if he had won the majority of the counties in that state, thus meaning he had won the “majority” of a state (in the most literal sense). This meant that the voting result of a state would be less determined by its major cities, and more determined by the state as a whole. It also meant that parties would have to create a platform that appealed to both the rural and urban population, thus decreasing the likelihood of one-sided radicalism, like the type seen during the 1820 election. Many in Congress liked the bill, many didn’t. But most considered it the best proposal for New England’s electoral process going forward. Eventually, by only two votes, Congress passed the bill, with the Senate passing it by a slightly larger majority. New England’s constitutional crisis was over. [3]

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Nathan Dane (1752-1835)

Now, the whole election process had to start all over again, this time with a functioning electoral process. Both parties had decided to drop their 1820 candidates, with H.G. Otis stepping down as presidential candidate, encouraging his supporters to back James Hillhouse instead, one of the more moderate candidates the Federalist Party had to offer, and DeWitt Clinton being forced out by the Liberal Party, since there were rumors going around he had secretly approved of the secessionist senators in New York, which did major damage to his reputation, despite Clinton consistently denouncing these rumors. This would, however, turn out to be a critical mistake by the Liberal Party, as Clinton was the only one that was able to unite the party into one with a cohesive platform. The Liberal Party had, in-fact, already started to fracture during the election itself, with many of Clinton’s platform choices (especially the one on the electoral process) being disliked by the more radical factions. Many of the moderates inside the Liberal Party would eventually break away and form the Reformist Party (sometimes jokingly called the “Pine Tree Party”, due to their party logo).

The “Snap Election” of 1821, was one of only a few snap elections done throughout New England’s history, and the only one done to override the results of a general election. With the Liberal Party completely unable to select a candidate, there wasn’t even any speculation as to who was going to win. James Hillhouse won almost every single state (with the exception of Rhode Island, which voted independent). In January of 1822, James Hillhouse would be officially inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of New England. [4]

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James Hillhouse, 1st President of New England (1822-1829)

Although there would be a few more constitutional crises in New England’s history, none would cause such chaotic change as this one. Within just two years, New England changed it’s entire electoral process, forged a national identity, and finally established itself as a functioning democracy. New England’s questions had finally been answered…

---

[1] My choice of Otis was mostly based on the fact that I couldn’t really find that much detailed data about the other members of the Convention, with only him and Pickering having it, so I could only really choose between these two, based on the information that I could find.

[2] It should be noted that the number of “80 electors” also includes New York, which is considered part of New England in TTL.

[3] It will of course be hard to keep this kind of electoral system in the future when things like urbanization start to become a major factor, but this document was mostly made out of desperation, to solve a crisis that was quickly escalating.

[4] “Snap Elections” essentially just take place when either a president dies/is no longer fit for office, or when a general election has proven inconclusive.
 
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Well, this was an absolute BEAST of an update (took me almost 10 hours to write)! Hopefully future updates won't be this time-consuming. More updates can be expected, because summer vacation.
 
What an interesting timeline!
It's interesting to see that New England is suffering from instability for so long since independence, it makes me wonder if it will produce a Yankee Santa Anna.
Great work so far, always a fan of War of 1812 alternate histories
 
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