alternatehistory.com
Columbia
The “Manifest Destiny” of the United States to march ever further westwards towards the coast had long been fulfilled. Alas, the Lone Republic [1] had now leaped across the great seas and oceans, and strode forth onto the Pacific and its peoples below. Though the American occupation of the German colonies in 1889 had proven wildly popular in the whipped up torrents of “yellow journalism” following the Samoa Incident [2] - their fate in the peace had now become a viciously divisive quandary. The lasting status of the newly-acquired Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Samoan Islands, Northern Solomon Islands, and most particularly so-called Kaiser Wilhelmsland (New Guinea), questioned the very ideals of American expansionism and the Republic for which it stood.
An obvious crossroads in American territorial development, Democrats in Congress argued viciously against the annexations, regarding such “imperialism” as the very antithesis of the American ideal. Though the various island territories would prove less controversial, the vast territory of German New Guinea and its shared land borders with both British Papua and the Dutch East Indies alike, would swiftly become the veritable lynchpin of such oppositions. Notably, the miserly Democratic House Minority Leader, William S. Holman, demanded the territory either be outright returned to Germany, or sold immediately to another power such as Britain or France, lest America be drawn into an “imperial conquest and costly occupation”.
Congressional Republicans, led by Thomas Brackett Reed [3], though more broadly supportive towards the policy, similarly harboured such personal reservations. Even President Harrison expressed his private doubts, however as he would later relent, he was left with few viable alternatives...
Instead Harrison saw it as America’s god-given duty to educate the Papuans, and hence uplift them to Christian civilisation where they might later stand on their own two feet [4]. As such, the one and only course of action which he could advocate in good faith, was that of annexation, and to that most Republicans ultimately agreed. In the ensuing votes, the Republican-dominated Congress would narrowly pass the various resolutions, annexing all the newly occupied German colonies as Federal Territories.
However such close divisions in Congress soon manifested themselves far more objectively. The 1890 Midterm elections spelled an inevitable doom for President Harrison and his faltering Republican administration. Whilst “rallying around the flag” in lieu of the conflict might have redeemed his polling at least somewhat in the final stages of the campaign, the election's outcome can only be described as a conclusive disaster for Harrison’s term in office. Losing almost 76 seats in the House, and 3 in the Senate [5], the Republicans had ceded total control over the nation’s legislative agenda to their Democratic rivals. It would be the culmination of a two-year long spluttering of his government - reeling from the ongoing fallout of the McKinley Tariff and its impact on consumer prices, the rising tensions between Republican Party grandees and Harrison’s more personal friends instead appointed to cabinet [6], successive corruption scandals, widespread controversies over the growing scale of the Federal government, and of course the disputes over the New Guinean annexation.
However this is not to write off Harrison’s Presidency in its entirety. Certainly he made many great achievements, especially so earlier on in his term. Harrison’s administration strengthened antitrust laws, enacted new consumer rights and protections, appointed four justices to the Supreme Court, and enormously strengthened the US Naval fleet [7]. Furthermore, despite its many valid criticisms, the McKinley Tariff and its revenues, helped balance the federal budget, and produced large surpluses for many years to come. And of course, Harrison’s territorial expansion of the United States, not just overseas, but also via the admission of six new states to the Union [8], helped further secure American primacy in North America, and more broadly on the global stage.
Nonetheless, these achievements would not prove enough to save his presidency for a second term, come the presidential election of 1892. Grover Cleveland, his Democratic rival, predecessor and eventual successor, successfully exploited ongoing public anger at Harrison’s flailing policies. In particular, Cleveland lambasted Harrison’s mismanagement of tariffs, arguing the almost 50% levies under the McKinley regime had crippled the pockets of hard working Americans and fueled excessive levels of spending in the so-called “billion dollar Congress” [9]. Cleveland further rebuked Harrison’s monetary policies, enacted largely through the Sherman Silver Purchase Act - arguing they had abjectly failed to tackle the worsening global deflation crisis and rapidly depleted the nation’s gold supply. Lastly Cleveland levied fresh assaults on Harrison’s territorial policy, in the wake of American involvement in the February 1891 Hawaiian Coup. Exploited by various American sugar magnates in the wake of the death of King Kalākaua, the subsequent failed attempt by Harrison to annex the new Republic, had even further humiliated his position in Congress, and emphasised the dominance of the anti-expansionists in American politics for at least the next decade to come [10].
As such, the results of the 1892 election later that year, came as little surprise to many. Grover Cleveland ultimately carried 25 states to win 302 electoral college votes, against Harrison’s 112, and third party populist, James Weaver's, 30 [11]. The election continued the precedent of somewhat ineffectual single-term Presidents in the latter half of the 19th-Century, and marked the first time an American President had served a second non-consecutive term. Cleveland’s electoral triumph however, would soon prove not quite the victory first imagined, but rather the most wicked of poisoned chalices….
[1] A common term used to refer to the United States in the modern-day of this TL. A very broad evolution of the earlier phrase referring solely to Texas, it came to be used as a reflection of America’s isolationism and global neutrality.
[2] See “Revanche: The Second Franco-German War, Part III” for more details on the Samoa Incident and the American occupation of the German colonial empire in the Pacific.
[3] In OTL, Thomas Brackett Reed resigned as Republican Speaker of the House, in a similar crisis after the American annexation of the Philippines in 1898. As such I feel it’s in character for him to privately oppose the annexation of German New Guinea, albeit not be as vocal in doing so thanks to its much much smaller population and relative importance.
[4] See President McKinley’s response to the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, broadly the same approach in this TL just on a smaller scale and a decade earlier.
[5] In OTL, the Republicans lost 93 seats in the House and 4 seats in the Senate. Thanks to the temporary but ill-fated boost from the Samoa Incident and its aftermath, I think it’s entirely plausible in this TL Republican losses would be ever so slightly less (76 and 3 lost instead).
[6] Basically Harrison had pissed off the Republican Party establishment early on, by picking a bunch of people for cabinet based on whether they were from his home state of Indiana, undertook similar military service to him, or were also members of the Presbyterian Church.
[7] The US Navy is expanded even more so than OTL in this time period, thanks to need to now patrol even more Pacific island territories and waters.
[8] North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming were all admitted as states during his Presidency as OTL.
[9] A fairly amusing figure now, but at the time the “Billion dollar Congress” was seen as a stinging rebuke of the excess of the Federal Government.
[10] A slight change in this TL. As a result of America snaffling more Pacific territories in 1890, the Hawaiian coup occurs two years earlier than OTL in 1891. This is as a result of the opportunity of the sudden death of King Kalākaua, the belief that America would need Hawaii as a station to supply its new Pacific territories, and the idea that Harrison would quickly annex them as he did the German colonies. However, having lost the 1890 Midterms and control of Congress, Harrison tries and fails.
[11] Exactly the same outcome as OTL, only Cleveland also wins Ohio and Montana, and Weaver picks up Nebraska. This is a slightly worse result for Harrison as a result of the recent Hawaii failed annexation humiliation, and more divisions in Congress.
COLUMBIA:
“All this will be our future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man - the immutable truth and beneficence of God. For this, America has been chosen".
~ John O’Sullivan, Circa 1845
“All this will be our future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man - the immutable truth and beneficence of God. For this, America has been chosen".
~ John O’Sullivan, Circa 1845
The “Manifest Destiny” of the United States to march ever further westwards towards the coast had long been fulfilled. Alas, the Lone Republic [1] had now leaped across the great seas and oceans, and strode forth onto the Pacific and its peoples below. Though the American occupation of the German colonies in 1889 had proven wildly popular in the whipped up torrents of “yellow journalism” following the Samoa Incident [2] - their fate in the peace had now become a viciously divisive quandary. The lasting status of the newly-acquired Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Samoan Islands, Northern Solomon Islands, and most particularly so-called Kaiser Wilhelmsland (New Guinea), questioned the very ideals of American expansionism and the Republic for which it stood. An obvious crossroads in American territorial development, Democrats in Congress argued viciously against the annexations, regarding such “imperialism” as the very antithesis of the American ideal. Though the various island territories would prove less controversial, the vast territory of German New Guinea and its shared land borders with both British Papua and the Dutch East Indies alike, would swiftly become the veritable lynchpin of such oppositions. Notably, the miserly Democratic House Minority Leader, William S. Holman, demanded the territory either be outright returned to Germany, or sold immediately to another power such as Britain or France, lest America be drawn into an “imperial conquest and costly occupation”.
Congressional Republicans, led by Thomas Brackett Reed [3], though more broadly supportive towards the policy, similarly harboured such personal reservations. Even President Harrison expressed his private doubts, however as he would later relent, he was left with few viable alternatives...
“We could not give them back to Germany - that would be cowardly and dishonorable; nor could we turn them over to France or Britain - our commercial rivals in the Orient - that would be bad business and discreditable; and we certainly could not leave them to themselves - they were unfit for self-government - and would soon have anarchy and misrule”.
~ President Harrison, remarking for his memoirs.
Instead Harrison saw it as America’s god-given duty to educate the Papuans, and hence uplift them to Christian civilisation where they might later stand on their own two feet [4]. As such, the one and only course of action which he could advocate in good faith, was that of annexation, and to that most Republicans ultimately agreed. In the ensuing votes, the Republican-dominated Congress would narrowly pass the various resolutions, annexing all the newly occupied German colonies as Federal Territories.
However such close divisions in Congress soon manifested themselves far more objectively. The 1890 Midterm elections spelled an inevitable doom for President Harrison and his faltering Republican administration. Whilst “rallying around the flag” in lieu of the conflict might have redeemed his polling at least somewhat in the final stages of the campaign, the election's outcome can only be described as a conclusive disaster for Harrison’s term in office. Losing almost 76 seats in the House, and 3 in the Senate [5], the Republicans had ceded total control over the nation’s legislative agenda to their Democratic rivals. It would be the culmination of a two-year long spluttering of his government - reeling from the ongoing fallout of the McKinley Tariff and its impact on consumer prices, the rising tensions between Republican Party grandees and Harrison’s more personal friends instead appointed to cabinet [6], successive corruption scandals, widespread controversies over the growing scale of the Federal government, and of course the disputes over the New Guinean annexation. However this is not to write off Harrison’s Presidency in its entirety. Certainly he made many great achievements, especially so earlier on in his term. Harrison’s administration strengthened antitrust laws, enacted new consumer rights and protections, appointed four justices to the Supreme Court, and enormously strengthened the US Naval fleet [7]. Furthermore, despite its many valid criticisms, the McKinley Tariff and its revenues, helped balance the federal budget, and produced large surpluses for many years to come. And of course, Harrison’s territorial expansion of the United States, not just overseas, but also via the admission of six new states to the Union [8], helped further secure American primacy in North America, and more broadly on the global stage.
Nonetheless, these achievements would not prove enough to save his presidency for a second term, come the presidential election of 1892. Grover Cleveland, his Democratic rival, predecessor and eventual successor, successfully exploited ongoing public anger at Harrison’s flailing policies. In particular, Cleveland lambasted Harrison’s mismanagement of tariffs, arguing the almost 50% levies under the McKinley regime had crippled the pockets of hard working Americans and fueled excessive levels of spending in the so-called “billion dollar Congress” [9]. Cleveland further rebuked Harrison’s monetary policies, enacted largely through the Sherman Silver Purchase Act - arguing they had abjectly failed to tackle the worsening global deflation crisis and rapidly depleted the nation’s gold supply. Lastly Cleveland levied fresh assaults on Harrison’s territorial policy, in the wake of American involvement in the February 1891 Hawaiian Coup. Exploited by various American sugar magnates in the wake of the death of King Kalākaua, the subsequent failed attempt by Harrison to annex the new Republic, had even further humiliated his position in Congress, and emphasised the dominance of the anti-expansionists in American politics for at least the next decade to come [10].
As such, the results of the 1892 election later that year, came as little surprise to many. Grover Cleveland ultimately carried 25 states to win 302 electoral college votes, against Harrison’s 112, and third party populist, James Weaver's, 30 [11]. The election continued the precedent of somewhat ineffectual single-term Presidents in the latter half of the 19th-Century, and marked the first time an American President had served a second non-consecutive term. Cleveland’s electoral triumph however, would soon prove not quite the victory first imagined, but rather the most wicked of poisoned chalices….
[1] A common term used to refer to the United States in the modern-day of this TL. A very broad evolution of the earlier phrase referring solely to Texas, it came to be used as a reflection of America’s isolationism and global neutrality.
[2] See “Revanche: The Second Franco-German War, Part III” for more details on the Samoa Incident and the American occupation of the German colonial empire in the Pacific.
[3] In OTL, Thomas Brackett Reed resigned as Republican Speaker of the House, in a similar crisis after the American annexation of the Philippines in 1898. As such I feel it’s in character for him to privately oppose the annexation of German New Guinea, albeit not be as vocal in doing so thanks to its much much smaller population and relative importance.
[4] See President McKinley’s response to the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, broadly the same approach in this TL just on a smaller scale and a decade earlier.
[5] In OTL, the Republicans lost 93 seats in the House and 4 seats in the Senate. Thanks to the temporary but ill-fated boost from the Samoa Incident and its aftermath, I think it’s entirely plausible in this TL Republican losses would be ever so slightly less (76 and 3 lost instead).
[6] Basically Harrison had pissed off the Republican Party establishment early on, by picking a bunch of people for cabinet based on whether they were from his home state of Indiana, undertook similar military service to him, or were also members of the Presbyterian Church.
[7] The US Navy is expanded even more so than OTL in this time period, thanks to need to now patrol even more Pacific island territories and waters.
[8] North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming were all admitted as states during his Presidency as OTL.
[9] A fairly amusing figure now, but at the time the “Billion dollar Congress” was seen as a stinging rebuke of the excess of the Federal Government.
[10] A slight change in this TL. As a result of America snaffling more Pacific territories in 1890, the Hawaiian coup occurs two years earlier than OTL in 1891. This is as a result of the opportunity of the sudden death of King Kalākaua, the belief that America would need Hawaii as a station to supply its new Pacific territories, and the idea that Harrison would quickly annex them as he did the German colonies. However, having lost the 1890 Midterms and control of Congress, Harrison tries and fails.
[11] Exactly the same outcome as OTL, only Cleveland also wins Ohio and Montana, and Weaver picks up Nebraska. This is a slightly worse result for Harrison as a result of the recent Hawaii failed annexation humiliation, and more divisions in Congress.
- Exvio74
- Word Count: 1.5k