As a Yank, I resent that! But our track record proves you're right, I suppose.
Fair enough I shall reiterate: Yankee governments do not need excuses to start wars. Do not take it personally, the Fatherland is hated by most of its neighbors as well.
Napoleon's Victory [LONG]
- Thread starter Zach
- Start date
Fair enough I shall reiterate: Yankee governments do not need excuses to start wars. Do not take it personally, the Fatherland is hated by most of its neighbors as well.
I think I am the only person on here who already hates Morchenko. It probably has something to do with the fact he crushed the first socialist state in this TL, but I never like autocrats.
I feel your pain over names, Zach. I originally called Albion "Yankeelia". I'm looking forward to your next update. I also like your flags, good work.
Thanks!
Ah yes, I remember reading over that 'controversy' in your thread. I really like the name Albion. Yankeelia could sound good but I put the stress on "keel" when I say it, so it reminds me of a boat.
Here is the end of my American "catch-up" section. If you need a map, there is a map on Page 1 of this thread.
United States
The United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century can be characterized by a rapid increase of industrial production and a massive influx of immigrants. From 1880-1920 nearly forty million entered the United States from a foreign country, the majority of whom came from Europe. These millions of immigrants provided a cheap labor source and also created a diverse mix of communities, even in previously undeveloped areas such as the state of California. The majority of immigrants came from all over Europe, particularly from the Italian Peninsula, Germany, Russia and the Balkans. During the Great War and its aftermath, many Slavic people immigrated to the United States to escape further persecution from the victorious Ottomans. Also, many Germans left their homeland to escape the destruction from the war. These immigrant groups settled all across the country, forming communities in both large cities and rural areas.
The rapid rise in population led to an increasing westward movement and new states were formed. The vast territories that had been gained from the Spanish-American War were finally being settled in large numbers, helped along by the huge influx of European immigrants. The last states to enter the Union were the three largely Hispanic states of Lower California, New Mexico and Monterrey as well as the Mormon state of Deseret. This state was settled by thousands of followers of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and was admitted to the Union in 1901. The area south of Deseret, known as Utah, was admitted a decade later, being settled by many Mormons as well. New Mexico and Monterrey were admitted in 1917 and 1918 respectively while the last state, Lower California, of the continental United States was admitted in 1922.
By the late nineteenth century, the United States was one of the world’s major powers and this status was only enhanced after the Great War, as it survived the war with not a single casualty. After the war, the United States’ industrial output overtook the French, then the worlds leading industrial power. Its massive railroad system was enhanced and added to during these years and soon there were multiple transcontinental lines. Abundant natural resources, virtually untouched in the American West so far, further enhanced American industries and gave way to another industrial revolution. This era included the mass production of consumer goods, the development of an efficient steam engine, great strides in communications such as telegraph, telephones, railroad, airships and ultimately the airplane. American airships steamships rivaled those of France and Britain in ferrying passengers across the world’s oceans.
During the Great War, the United States was strictly neutral. Privately, many businessmen favored the Continental Alliance due to more favorable economic relations. Millions of Americans favored one side or another but the policy of neutrality was extremely popular. The war was viewed as Europe’s war, just another war in a series of thousands of years of war. However, following the war, the United States entered into the imperial arena with the acquisition of Alaska. There had always been a feeling of “Manifest Destiny”, that the United States ought to expand past the coast of California and into the Pacific to “save” the native islanders from the oppressive British, but hardly a thought was given to the sparsely populated Alaskan territory.
The acquisition of Alaska was a complicated affair that occurred at the height of the Russian Civil War and the height of power of the People’s Republic of Russia. Alaska was never very heavily colonized and remained a haven only for fur traders. The Russians had a total disinterest for the land and at its height in 1890, the Russian population of Alaska was roughly two thousand. During the Russian Civil War, the Czarists under Morchenko’s command effectively gave away the Far Eastern coastline of mainland Russia to Japan. The United States was fearful that Alaska would be given to Japan in a similar manner and already the Japanese had expressed interest in buying the territory. Though nominally under the control of the People’s Republic, the sentiments of the few Russians there were largely Czarist. Nevertheless, the People’s Republic were in desperate need of money as their economic policies were quickly failing. The United States offered to buy the territory for $10,000,000 and the Russians were quick to accept. Thus, Alaska officially came under American control in 1909, just as the People’s Republic of Russia was beginning to truly crumble. When American soldiers occupied the territory, they were briefly engaged in the short Alaskan War, in which the Russians of Alaska did not recognize the transaction because the “illegitimate” communist government of Russia rather than the “true” Czarist government had done it. However, the United States quickly overwhelmed the brief resistance. Interest in Alaska was initially lukewarm among the population, many calling it “Sharpe’s Folly” after the Secretary of State who organized the purchase of the territory. The discovery of oil and gold in the late 1910s quickly changed the Americans’ perception of Alaska. By then, the new government in Moscow under Morchenko had released all claims to Alaska and thus the territory became purely American.
Two national parties, the Democrats and Republicans, dominated American politics during this era. The Democrats remained the stronger party, dominating the White House from 1880-1904 save for one Republican administration. The Republicans were a more conservative party, the bulk of whom were the veterans of the Civil War. They promoted a strong foreign policy with more involvement in world affairs and a more competitive relationship with the Confederate States. Economically, the two parties were nearly similar; both were pro-business. The Democrats were more inclined toward free trade and laissez-faire economics with reduced tariffs. Republicans favored higher tariffs, saying it would protect American businesses from foreign competition. During this era, the two parties were so similar that in the 1896 election, the Democrats split between traditional Democrats and progressive Democrats. The traditional Democrat, Alexander Mills, won the election.
However, his administration took up many of the causes of the progressive Democrats, which included many populist platforms. These included agrarian reforms, a limitation to the extent of laissez-faire, more government control of communications and transportation companies, and an increased role of the United States in world affairs. In the election of 1900, Mills was able to unite the two wings of the Democratic Party to achieve re-election. Indeed, it was under his administration that the Democratic Party became the party of progressivism and advocate for social assistance for the people.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, the election in November 1904 was dominated by foreign policy. Although the Democrats now advocated American involvement in foreign affairs and were not completely isolated, the Republicans ran a campaign that stressed a place for the United States in the “new, postwar world”. In a close election, Alexander Mills was defeated for his bid for a third term by Republican congressmen James P. Donnelly. After decades of Democratic rule, the voters looked to the young, charismatic Donnelly to bring about a new brand of change to the country.
Donnelly immediately brought about many “firsts” of the presidency. He was the first sitting president to visit Europe, meeting with Napoleon III, Charles IV of Britain and Jerome II of Westphalia, as well as the foreign ministers of Prussia and Austria. His optimism for a postwar world, intelligence and humor impressed the foreign dignitaries. Donnelly assured the defeated powers of a “future where war has no role”. He spoke of American economic interests and how beneficial it would be to trade with all European powers, no matter which side they fought on. His European tour was a great success and Donnelly proved himself to be an able statesman. Back home, his popularity surged among Democrats when he appointed ex-president Mills to be Supreme Court justice, a capacity he held for many years. Economically, Donnelly was a traditional Republican in that he favored businesses and ignored many of the plights of working people. He won an overwhelming re-election, however, in 1908 by running on his new foreign policy and painting the Democrats as weak. He was a highly partisan man, but managed to shove down many of his own policies through the Democratic Congress through a mixture of intimidation, sweet-talking, cajoling and sheer belligerence. Despite his faults, Donnelly revitalized the minority Republican Party and brought it back to the White House where it was able to implement some of its policies.
In 1912 Donnelly declined to run for re-election and his second term vice president, Illinois senator Harvey Hawkins, ran on the Republican ticket. The Democrats ran New Jersey governor Stephan Devereux but the voters narrowly followed the Republican slogan of saying “no to Devereux!” in a very close election. Under his administration, the United States made bold imperialist moves, especially in regards to Puerto Rico. Hawkins was not as popular as his predecessor and his administration was wracked with labor problems. The United States had failed to implement many of the industrial reforms that France had in the 1800s and as such numerous unions had sprung up. Under the Donnelly administration, the demands of the labor movement were given token notice and under his watch, union membership skyrocketed. By the time Hawkins’ administration came, the largest unions in the United States – the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) – had combined memberships of over 4 million. In numerous rallies and demonstrations in 1914 and 1915, state and federal soldiers had been called to limit the growing agitation. In one incident, known as the Boston Common Butchery or the Second Boston Massacre, 57 demonstrators were killed by the state militia. The political environment was suddenly unfavorable to the Republicans due to the great labor movement.
In 1916, Hawkins was overwhelmingly defeated by Stephen Devereux who immediately succumbed to the demands of the unions including the right to strike without consequence, ending child labor once and for all, improving workers’ wages, increasing work safety and establishing a minimum wage and maximum work hours a week. By rejecting the interests of big business, the Democratic Party moved closer toward populism and gained huge constituencies of the working class. Devereux was known as a “friend of the people” for his compromising attitude and friendly demeanor. Devereux’s foreign policy also showed a shift from the traditional Democratic position of isolation; the United States remained active in international affairs.
From 1880 to 1920, the United States grew and prospered. From the pessimism that stemmed from a defeat in the Civil War grew an optimism and work ethic that brought the United States to major power status during and after the Great War. As George McClellan said at his inauguration “Now that the American nation has been rid of its divisive elements, we emerge a stronger nation, the greatest in this hemisphere, united and inseparable, indivisible, one and forever.” Indeed, the rapid growth and attraction of millions of immigrants attested to the American strength in rebuilding from defeat. By 1920, the United States was a major world power, especially in international economics, and it looked toward a bright future.
Confederate States
The Confederacy followed a straight, conservative path in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Under President Thomas Jackson, slavery had been abolished and strictly outlawed by 1892. This did not mean, however, civil rights for the former slaves. The situation for blacks in the Confederate States remained tough. Many of them stayed on the plantations and worked for paltry wages. They had no civil rights, were not allowed to vote, were often subject to random beatings and lynch mobs, could not try in court, were segregated in public and were overall treated as a sort of under-class. To varying degrees, states passed laws granting certain rights to blacks but these were sometimes not enforced. The most liberal state was the westernmost Confederate State, Sumter, where some blacks where allowed to go to college while the most conservative state was South Carolina. It was a tough and oppressive life to be a black person in the Confederate States, even after the end of slavery. Nevertheless, millions lived through it, often in poverty just because they had no choice. Immigration laws between the more progressive and open-minded northern neighbor of the Confederacy severely limited the number of blacks able to enter the United States.
The Confederacy began to industrialize in the 1880s and 1890s as long-term economists saw the dismal future of a staple crop economy, dominated by only tobacco, cotton and the occasional wheat, rice and Floridian oranges. The 1890s saw the diversification of the Confederate economy; industries popped up in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, burgeoned and the already industrial city grew in size and scope. Factories producing steel and consumer goods and even shipyards in Virginia and Louisiana creating a sizeable merchant marine all contributed to the diversification of the Confederate economy. Some areas remained largely agrarian. South Carolina, Mississippi, and large swaths of the Deep South continued the plantation system utilizing black sharecroppers. Far south in Florida, developers began to realize the profit that could be made from the miles and miles of beaches and the peninsula was soon the focus of a booming tourist industry by the 1920s.
Two parties dominated confederate politics. The National Party favored a stronger national government and more centralization while the Whig Party favored more power to the states. Besides this single distinction, there were little differences between the two parties. White males, most of who were wealthy planters or industrialists, ran them both. They favored low tariffs and an export-based economy to Europe. Even both were in agreement on the expansion of Confederate power in the Caribbean, an issue which came about in 1913.
In 1913, Spain was a weakened state. Its treasuries were already thinned by constant warfare in the nineteenth century with its colonies and following their independence, the Spanish economy had remained somewhat stagnant. The Great War had also brought about damage to Spain itself and much of Madrid still lay in ruins. As such, the Confederate government offered to buy Cuba from Spain in 1913 for a sizeable sum of money. When word reached American President Hawkins about this move, he was quick to jump and offer the Spanish even more for Puerto Rico, a smaller and less prosperous Spanish colony. Seizing the opportunity, the Spanish asked the Confederates for more for Cuba. When word reached Richmond what the United States was up to, tensions flared briefly but cooler heads prevailed. In 1914, Cuba was sold to the Confederate States for $50 million while the United States paid $45 million for Puerto Rico, a great treasure trove for the Spanish. This would be the only American venture into the Caribbean and for much of the rest of the 1910s and 1920s, the Caribbean increasingly became a Confederate-dominated lake.
Power was traded between the two political parties throughout the early 1900s. Whig Henry Barksdale was president was followed by Nationalist Zachary Franklin in 1904 who was in turn replaced with Whig Bruce L. Baumgartner in 1910. The election of 1916 saw the entrance of a fringe party, the Freedom Party, which advocated civil rights for blacks. It gained little attention or support. Instead, the Whig candidate, Howard Englewood, won the election. None of the Confederate presidents in the era had very noticeable policies and the country continued on much of the same track. In 1909, the Confederate Supreme Court affirmed that segregation was not only legal but also preferable in Mulligan vs. South Carolina, a blow to the tiny civil rights movement within the conservative country. Thus, the Confederacy moved toward a racially divided future but still, that future looked bright for the white majority as the country’s industrialization brought it to the world economic scene.
Indian Nation
The formation of the Federated Tribes of North America was initially hailed by the international community in a positive light. Only the harshest critics derailed the formation of the country to be a waste of land, and they were thoroughly denounced in turn. The United States still had a sizeable Native American population even after the 1866 formation of Indian Nation and in many circumstances, Native Americans refused to make the migration to the Indian Nation. As a way of clearing the Indians away, they were shoved aside onto reservations that were heavily taxed. It was a rough manner in dealing with the Indians and by the late 1890s many of the unreasonably high taxes had been abolished. By then millions of American Indians from the west had moved to Indian Nation and the population of the new country increased rapidly due to immigration. It had open doors to any member of an Indian tribe from North America but possessed very strict laws for everyone else. As such, by the time the twentieth century rolled around, 96% of the country was at least part Native American, the vast majority being purely Native American.
As the Treaty of Shreveport stated, neither the United States nor the Confederate States were allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of the Indian Nation. This proved problematic when traditional Indian hunters violated the border with the United and Confederate States, such was the case in numerous buffalo hunts. These were exceptionally rare occasions but were often met with hostility from locals. For the most part, the Indian Nation kept to themselves and its large neighbors ignored them.
Indeed, the Indian Nation possessed a strong isolationist and neutral foreign policy. In 1870, early in its creation, the Chief Council and House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an Act of Neutrality which started that the Federated Tribes of North America would not enter any sort of alliance with a foreign nation and in official terms expressed the wish to be left alone. In short, it was a memo to the world to stay out of Indian affairs. Of course, this policy worked well when the Indian Nation was viewed as a vast prairie with no notable natural resources. This changed as more oil was discovered in the country and its neighbors took a keen interest in the prized liquid.
Soon, the Indian Nation was giving into capitalism and oil wells were popping all over the country. Oil hungry America looked on the reserves of the Indian Nation greedily. Indeed, the automobile in the Confederacy and the United States was increasing rapidly in the early 1900s. Thus, the oil in the Indian Nation became increasingly important. This proved to be a threat to the Indian leaders who feared for their sovereignty. Thus, they immediately set out to create an economic treaty to please all sides. The 1914 FITNAPONGA (which stood for Federated Indian Tribes of North America Petroleum, Oil and Natural Gas Agreement) agreed to split the export of oil and natural gas to the United States and Confederate States to 60% and 40% with only minimal exports to other foreign nations. The ratio was later changed to 65% to 35% to mirror the United States’ demand for it and the pace at which the Confederate States lagged behind the United States in terms of oil usage. In a way, the two North American powers held a monopoly over the oil industries of the Indian Nation, but at the same time it was two companies that originated from the Indian Nation – SiouxCo and Buffalo Petroleum – that became the predominant oil companies in North America.
By 1920, the production and exportation of oil in the Indian Nation was in full swing, although the height of this production would not be reached for decades. The Indian Nation enjoyed a prosperous existence. In addition to oil and natural gas, the Indian Nation exported large quantities of beef from massive cattle ranches. It was not a very industrialized state at the time and its federal military remained small and professional. Each tribe, however, numbering between thirty-five and forty, had its own separate militia. The largely federalized structure of the nation was pleasing to the individual tribes. Each tribe continued to maintain its individual identity and the Indian Nation flourished.
COMING SOON: POST WAR EUROPE AND ASIA - including German unification, revanchist Prussia and stuff about Britain!
Lord Grattan said:
Ah yes, I remember reading over that 'controversy' in your thread. I really like the name Albion. Yankeelia could sound good but I put the stress on "keel" when I say it, so it reminds me of a boat.
Here is the end of my American "catch-up" section. If you need a map, there is a map on Page 1 of this thread.
United States
The United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century can be characterized by a rapid increase of industrial production and a massive influx of immigrants. From 1880-1920 nearly forty million entered the United States from a foreign country, the majority of whom came from Europe. These millions of immigrants provided a cheap labor source and also created a diverse mix of communities, even in previously undeveloped areas such as the state of California. The majority of immigrants came from all over Europe, particularly from the Italian Peninsula, Germany, Russia and the Balkans. During the Great War and its aftermath, many Slavic people immigrated to the United States to escape further persecution from the victorious Ottomans. Also, many Germans left their homeland to escape the destruction from the war. These immigrant groups settled all across the country, forming communities in both large cities and rural areas.
The rapid rise in population led to an increasing westward movement and new states were formed. The vast territories that had been gained from the Spanish-American War were finally being settled in large numbers, helped along by the huge influx of European immigrants. The last states to enter the Union were the three largely Hispanic states of Lower California, New Mexico and Monterrey as well as the Mormon state of Deseret. This state was settled by thousands of followers of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and was admitted to the Union in 1901. The area south of Deseret, known as Utah, was admitted a decade later, being settled by many Mormons as well. New Mexico and Monterrey were admitted in 1917 and 1918 respectively while the last state, Lower California, of the continental United States was admitted in 1922.
By the late nineteenth century, the United States was one of the world’s major powers and this status was only enhanced after the Great War, as it survived the war with not a single casualty. After the war, the United States’ industrial output overtook the French, then the worlds leading industrial power. Its massive railroad system was enhanced and added to during these years and soon there were multiple transcontinental lines. Abundant natural resources, virtually untouched in the American West so far, further enhanced American industries and gave way to another industrial revolution. This era included the mass production of consumer goods, the development of an efficient steam engine, great strides in communications such as telegraph, telephones, railroad, airships and ultimately the airplane. American airships steamships rivaled those of France and Britain in ferrying passengers across the world’s oceans.
During the Great War, the United States was strictly neutral. Privately, many businessmen favored the Continental Alliance due to more favorable economic relations. Millions of Americans favored one side or another but the policy of neutrality was extremely popular. The war was viewed as Europe’s war, just another war in a series of thousands of years of war. However, following the war, the United States entered into the imperial arena with the acquisition of Alaska. There had always been a feeling of “Manifest Destiny”, that the United States ought to expand past the coast of California and into the Pacific to “save” the native islanders from the oppressive British, but hardly a thought was given to the sparsely populated Alaskan territory.
The acquisition of Alaska was a complicated affair that occurred at the height of the Russian Civil War and the height of power of the People’s Republic of Russia. Alaska was never very heavily colonized and remained a haven only for fur traders. The Russians had a total disinterest for the land and at its height in 1890, the Russian population of Alaska was roughly two thousand. During the Russian Civil War, the Czarists under Morchenko’s command effectively gave away the Far Eastern coastline of mainland Russia to Japan. The United States was fearful that Alaska would be given to Japan in a similar manner and already the Japanese had expressed interest in buying the territory. Though nominally under the control of the People’s Republic, the sentiments of the few Russians there were largely Czarist. Nevertheless, the People’s Republic were in desperate need of money as their economic policies were quickly failing. The United States offered to buy the territory for $10,000,000 and the Russians were quick to accept. Thus, Alaska officially came under American control in 1909, just as the People’s Republic of Russia was beginning to truly crumble. When American soldiers occupied the territory, they were briefly engaged in the short Alaskan War, in which the Russians of Alaska did not recognize the transaction because the “illegitimate” communist government of Russia rather than the “true” Czarist government had done it. However, the United States quickly overwhelmed the brief resistance. Interest in Alaska was initially lukewarm among the population, many calling it “Sharpe’s Folly” after the Secretary of State who organized the purchase of the territory. The discovery of oil and gold in the late 1910s quickly changed the Americans’ perception of Alaska. By then, the new government in Moscow under Morchenko had released all claims to Alaska and thus the territory became purely American.
Two national parties, the Democrats and Republicans, dominated American politics during this era. The Democrats remained the stronger party, dominating the White House from 1880-1904 save for one Republican administration. The Republicans were a more conservative party, the bulk of whom were the veterans of the Civil War. They promoted a strong foreign policy with more involvement in world affairs and a more competitive relationship with the Confederate States. Economically, the two parties were nearly similar; both were pro-business. The Democrats were more inclined toward free trade and laissez-faire economics with reduced tariffs. Republicans favored higher tariffs, saying it would protect American businesses from foreign competition. During this era, the two parties were so similar that in the 1896 election, the Democrats split between traditional Democrats and progressive Democrats. The traditional Democrat, Alexander Mills, won the election.
However, his administration took up many of the causes of the progressive Democrats, which included many populist platforms. These included agrarian reforms, a limitation to the extent of laissez-faire, more government control of communications and transportation companies, and an increased role of the United States in world affairs. In the election of 1900, Mills was able to unite the two wings of the Democratic Party to achieve re-election. Indeed, it was under his administration that the Democratic Party became the party of progressivism and advocate for social assistance for the people.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, the election in November 1904 was dominated by foreign policy. Although the Democrats now advocated American involvement in foreign affairs and were not completely isolated, the Republicans ran a campaign that stressed a place for the United States in the “new, postwar world”. In a close election, Alexander Mills was defeated for his bid for a third term by Republican congressmen James P. Donnelly. After decades of Democratic rule, the voters looked to the young, charismatic Donnelly to bring about a new brand of change to the country.
Donnelly immediately brought about many “firsts” of the presidency. He was the first sitting president to visit Europe, meeting with Napoleon III, Charles IV of Britain and Jerome II of Westphalia, as well as the foreign ministers of Prussia and Austria. His optimism for a postwar world, intelligence and humor impressed the foreign dignitaries. Donnelly assured the defeated powers of a “future where war has no role”. He spoke of American economic interests and how beneficial it would be to trade with all European powers, no matter which side they fought on. His European tour was a great success and Donnelly proved himself to be an able statesman. Back home, his popularity surged among Democrats when he appointed ex-president Mills to be Supreme Court justice, a capacity he held for many years. Economically, Donnelly was a traditional Republican in that he favored businesses and ignored many of the plights of working people. He won an overwhelming re-election, however, in 1908 by running on his new foreign policy and painting the Democrats as weak. He was a highly partisan man, but managed to shove down many of his own policies through the Democratic Congress through a mixture of intimidation, sweet-talking, cajoling and sheer belligerence. Despite his faults, Donnelly revitalized the minority Republican Party and brought it back to the White House where it was able to implement some of its policies.
In 1912 Donnelly declined to run for re-election and his second term vice president, Illinois senator Harvey Hawkins, ran on the Republican ticket. The Democrats ran New Jersey governor Stephan Devereux but the voters narrowly followed the Republican slogan of saying “no to Devereux!” in a very close election. Under his administration, the United States made bold imperialist moves, especially in regards to Puerto Rico. Hawkins was not as popular as his predecessor and his administration was wracked with labor problems. The United States had failed to implement many of the industrial reforms that France had in the 1800s and as such numerous unions had sprung up. Under the Donnelly administration, the demands of the labor movement were given token notice and under his watch, union membership skyrocketed. By the time Hawkins’ administration came, the largest unions in the United States – the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) – had combined memberships of over 4 million. In numerous rallies and demonstrations in 1914 and 1915, state and federal soldiers had been called to limit the growing agitation. In one incident, known as the Boston Common Butchery or the Second Boston Massacre, 57 demonstrators were killed by the state militia. The political environment was suddenly unfavorable to the Republicans due to the great labor movement.
In 1916, Hawkins was overwhelmingly defeated by Stephen Devereux who immediately succumbed to the demands of the unions including the right to strike without consequence, ending child labor once and for all, improving workers’ wages, increasing work safety and establishing a minimum wage and maximum work hours a week. By rejecting the interests of big business, the Democratic Party moved closer toward populism and gained huge constituencies of the working class. Devereux was known as a “friend of the people” for his compromising attitude and friendly demeanor. Devereux’s foreign policy also showed a shift from the traditional Democratic position of isolation; the United States remained active in international affairs.
From 1880 to 1920, the United States grew and prospered. From the pessimism that stemmed from a defeat in the Civil War grew an optimism and work ethic that brought the United States to major power status during and after the Great War. As George McClellan said at his inauguration “Now that the American nation has been rid of its divisive elements, we emerge a stronger nation, the greatest in this hemisphere, united and inseparable, indivisible, one and forever.” Indeed, the rapid growth and attraction of millions of immigrants attested to the American strength in rebuilding from defeat. By 1920, the United States was a major world power, especially in international economics, and it looked toward a bright future.
Confederate States
The Confederacy followed a straight, conservative path in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Under President Thomas Jackson, slavery had been abolished and strictly outlawed by 1892. This did not mean, however, civil rights for the former slaves. The situation for blacks in the Confederate States remained tough. Many of them stayed on the plantations and worked for paltry wages. They had no civil rights, were not allowed to vote, were often subject to random beatings and lynch mobs, could not try in court, were segregated in public and were overall treated as a sort of under-class. To varying degrees, states passed laws granting certain rights to blacks but these were sometimes not enforced. The most liberal state was the westernmost Confederate State, Sumter, where some blacks where allowed to go to college while the most conservative state was South Carolina. It was a tough and oppressive life to be a black person in the Confederate States, even after the end of slavery. Nevertheless, millions lived through it, often in poverty just because they had no choice. Immigration laws between the more progressive and open-minded northern neighbor of the Confederacy severely limited the number of blacks able to enter the United States.
The Confederacy began to industrialize in the 1880s and 1890s as long-term economists saw the dismal future of a staple crop economy, dominated by only tobacco, cotton and the occasional wheat, rice and Floridian oranges. The 1890s saw the diversification of the Confederate economy; industries popped up in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, burgeoned and the already industrial city grew in size and scope. Factories producing steel and consumer goods and even shipyards in Virginia and Louisiana creating a sizeable merchant marine all contributed to the diversification of the Confederate economy. Some areas remained largely agrarian. South Carolina, Mississippi, and large swaths of the Deep South continued the plantation system utilizing black sharecroppers. Far south in Florida, developers began to realize the profit that could be made from the miles and miles of beaches and the peninsula was soon the focus of a booming tourist industry by the 1920s.
Two parties dominated confederate politics. The National Party favored a stronger national government and more centralization while the Whig Party favored more power to the states. Besides this single distinction, there were little differences between the two parties. White males, most of who were wealthy planters or industrialists, ran them both. They favored low tariffs and an export-based economy to Europe. Even both were in agreement on the expansion of Confederate power in the Caribbean, an issue which came about in 1913.
In 1913, Spain was a weakened state. Its treasuries were already thinned by constant warfare in the nineteenth century with its colonies and following their independence, the Spanish economy had remained somewhat stagnant. The Great War had also brought about damage to Spain itself and much of Madrid still lay in ruins. As such, the Confederate government offered to buy Cuba from Spain in 1913 for a sizeable sum of money. When word reached American President Hawkins about this move, he was quick to jump and offer the Spanish even more for Puerto Rico, a smaller and less prosperous Spanish colony. Seizing the opportunity, the Spanish asked the Confederates for more for Cuba. When word reached Richmond what the United States was up to, tensions flared briefly but cooler heads prevailed. In 1914, Cuba was sold to the Confederate States for $50 million while the United States paid $45 million for Puerto Rico, a great treasure trove for the Spanish. This would be the only American venture into the Caribbean and for much of the rest of the 1910s and 1920s, the Caribbean increasingly became a Confederate-dominated lake.
Power was traded between the two political parties throughout the early 1900s. Whig Henry Barksdale was president was followed by Nationalist Zachary Franklin in 1904 who was in turn replaced with Whig Bruce L. Baumgartner in 1910. The election of 1916 saw the entrance of a fringe party, the Freedom Party, which advocated civil rights for blacks. It gained little attention or support. Instead, the Whig candidate, Howard Englewood, won the election. None of the Confederate presidents in the era had very noticeable policies and the country continued on much of the same track. In 1909, the Confederate Supreme Court affirmed that segregation was not only legal but also preferable in Mulligan vs. South Carolina, a blow to the tiny civil rights movement within the conservative country. Thus, the Confederacy moved toward a racially divided future but still, that future looked bright for the white majority as the country’s industrialization brought it to the world economic scene.
Indian Nation
The formation of the Federated Tribes of North America was initially hailed by the international community in a positive light. Only the harshest critics derailed the formation of the country to be a waste of land, and they were thoroughly denounced in turn. The United States still had a sizeable Native American population even after the 1866 formation of Indian Nation and in many circumstances, Native Americans refused to make the migration to the Indian Nation. As a way of clearing the Indians away, they were shoved aside onto reservations that were heavily taxed. It was a rough manner in dealing with the Indians and by the late 1890s many of the unreasonably high taxes had been abolished. By then millions of American Indians from the west had moved to Indian Nation and the population of the new country increased rapidly due to immigration. It had open doors to any member of an Indian tribe from North America but possessed very strict laws for everyone else. As such, by the time the twentieth century rolled around, 96% of the country was at least part Native American, the vast majority being purely Native American.
As the Treaty of Shreveport stated, neither the United States nor the Confederate States were allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of the Indian Nation. This proved problematic when traditional Indian hunters violated the border with the United and Confederate States, such was the case in numerous buffalo hunts. These were exceptionally rare occasions but were often met with hostility from locals. For the most part, the Indian Nation kept to themselves and its large neighbors ignored them.
Indeed, the Indian Nation possessed a strong isolationist and neutral foreign policy. In 1870, early in its creation, the Chief Council and House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an Act of Neutrality which started that the Federated Tribes of North America would not enter any sort of alliance with a foreign nation and in official terms expressed the wish to be left alone. In short, it was a memo to the world to stay out of Indian affairs. Of course, this policy worked well when the Indian Nation was viewed as a vast prairie with no notable natural resources. This changed as more oil was discovered in the country and its neighbors took a keen interest in the prized liquid.
Soon, the Indian Nation was giving into capitalism and oil wells were popping all over the country. Oil hungry America looked on the reserves of the Indian Nation greedily. Indeed, the automobile in the Confederacy and the United States was increasing rapidly in the early 1900s. Thus, the oil in the Indian Nation became increasingly important. This proved to be a threat to the Indian leaders who feared for their sovereignty. Thus, they immediately set out to create an economic treaty to please all sides. The 1914 FITNAPONGA (which stood for Federated Indian Tribes of North America Petroleum, Oil and Natural Gas Agreement) agreed to split the export of oil and natural gas to the United States and Confederate States to 60% and 40% with only minimal exports to other foreign nations. The ratio was later changed to 65% to 35% to mirror the United States’ demand for it and the pace at which the Confederate States lagged behind the United States in terms of oil usage. In a way, the two North American powers held a monopoly over the oil industries of the Indian Nation, but at the same time it was two companies that originated from the Indian Nation – SiouxCo and Buffalo Petroleum – that became the predominant oil companies in North America.
By 1920, the production and exportation of oil in the Indian Nation was in full swing, although the height of this production would not be reached for decades. The Indian Nation enjoyed a prosperous existence. In addition to oil and natural gas, the Indian Nation exported large quantities of beef from massive cattle ranches. It was not a very industrialized state at the time and its federal military remained small and professional. Each tribe, however, numbering between thirty-five and forty, had its own separate militia. The largely federalized structure of the nation was pleasing to the individual tribes. Each tribe continued to maintain its individual identity and the Indian Nation flourished.
COMING SOON: POST WAR EUROPE AND ASIA - including German unification, revanchist Prussia and stuff about Britain!
A good Freedom Party in the CSA. I like it!
Really? Only that small a number for each tribe?
Oh no, I meant that's the number of tribes total. Not the number of people per tribe.
Mainly from North America - the Indians in Mexico, Central America and South America are poor and treated pretty fairly (because years of Spanish rule saw them integrated into the society especially with racial mixes) so they don't feel the need to move. However, the doors are open for them!
corourke said:
Mainly from North America - the Indians in Mexico, Central America and South America are poor and treated pretty fairly (because years of Spanish rule saw them integrated into the society especially with racial mixes) so they don't feel the need to move. However, the doors are open for them!
Zach,
Very much like the TL. It is strange that there aren't very many Napoleon wins TLs.
In any case, I have one minor quibble: the western border of the Indian Natione / Federated Tribes. The map you originally posted showed basically the OTL borders of Texas and New Mexico (save for the Texas Panhandle). That border is a creation of the Compromise of 1850, which saw Texas surrendur its claim to modern day New Mexico in exchange for the Federal government assuming its debts.
Now you could have the Treaty of Shreveport come to a similar conclusion, with TTL's Confederates pushing for more land for Indian Nation to keep it from US dominance. However, I think a more natural border would be to follow the Rio Grande to the Pecos River and then follow the Pecos north until it doglegs west. Essentially, you cut off West Texas.
And of course since's you're so far into the TL and since this is just a minor note, I'd expect you'll probably keep things as is.
Very much like the TL. It is strange that there aren't very many Napoleon wins TLs.
In any case, I have one minor quibble: the western border of the Indian Natione / Federated Tribes. The map you originally posted showed basically the OTL borders of Texas and New Mexico (save for the Texas Panhandle). That border is a creation of the Compromise of 1850, which saw Texas surrendur its claim to modern day New Mexico in exchange for the Federal government assuming its debts.
Now you could have the Treaty of Shreveport come to a similar conclusion, with TTL's Confederates pushing for more land for Indian Nation to keep it from US dominance. However, I think a more natural border would be to follow the Rio Grande to the Pecos River and then follow the Pecos north until it doglegs west. Essentially, you cut off West Texas.
And of course since's you're so far into the TL and since this is just a minor note, I'd expect you'll probably keep things as is.
Last edited:
Will there be problems in the Indian Nation (did I miss a name for the nation?) as a result of historical inter-tribal rivalries (even hatred)?
Manifest Destiny eh. Well I do not see Puerto Rico coming. Since the US is not going to make fiurther inbroads into the Caribean I wonder if they will go after Canada? If so British Columbia would be the reasonable target. It would join the main US with Alaska and cripple the British in the Pacific. Heh, a Pacific War thought between English speakers.
Good to see the Federated Tribes doing well. Though I agree there probably would be some troubles between traditional enemy tribes. So what is the religous make up? Traditionalist or Christian, hybridizing perhaps?
Good to see the Federated Tribes doing well. Though I agree there probably would be some troubles between traditional enemy tribes. So what is the religous make up? Traditionalist or Christian, hybridizing perhaps?
Random Stuff:
The symbols of the two powerful oil companies on North America by 2008:
A book review:
A casualty chart for the Great War:
---------------------------------------------------------
Good question. I think the initial camaraderie of independence will wear off soon and traditional rivalries will heat up, creating a hostile and interesting environment in the federal government. Overall, they will sense that their situation has no room for such squabbling and the hatred will ultimately downplay itself to friendlier rivalries rather than all out wars between the tribes.
A hybrid, depending on the tribe, really. A lot of traditional beliefs as well as some Christian tribes, so there is a bit of religious fusion here.
To be honest, and please do not take offense, my only reason for putting the border of Indian Nation to look like Texas is to prevent the existence of Texas the state or nation. I've known some pretty arrogant Texans and this is one way to, well, make them and their states' whole self-congratulatory way of life not exist. No offense to Texans!
The symbols of the two powerful oil companies on North America by 2008:
A book review:
New York Times Book Review said:
A new biography of the man known as Emperor Napoleon III of France paints a bold, new picture of the French leader on the centennial of his death. Historian Anthony Toobis’ work, The Third Napoleon: His Life and Times, delves into a side of the man history rarely discusses. We learn more about the life of “Xay” (as his close friends and family knew him, short for Xavier) through personal letters and intimate descriptions from a large variety of diaries and journals.
The portrait of Napoleon III is so different from the stoic emperor who reigned calmly and steadily from 1881 to 1911 and who guided France through the Great War. Toobis enlightens the reader with numerous anectodes, both humorous and serious, to put a more human element behind the famous lithograph that graces the front cover.
In one anecdote, the American ambassador’s wife accidentally walked in on the Emperor when the signs of the restroom were switched at a reception in Paris. “Never mind me madam,” he said with a chuckle, “I am nearly done. The soup was not so agreeable this evening.” The woman quickly agreed and fled, forgetting to close the door in her embarrassment. In another story, the Emperor in his younger days would often play pranks on the palace servants. One time, he filled a bucket with pudding and put it above the door, hoping someone would walk through the door. When he saw his father, Napoleon II, coming toward the door, young Prince Napoleon screamed and begged his father not to go through it. Looking up, the Emperor realized what his son had planned and as a punishment made the boy open the door, thus spilling pudding all over himself. To further the punishment, the young boy had to clean himself up. In his diary years later, Napoleon III admitted, “that was the end of my foolish phase.”
And indeed the Emperor the world knew was a serious statesman and leader. During the Great War he was known as a heavy-handed ruler when faced with sedition and calls for peace. But his steadfastness prevailed and in his last years as Emperor, he presided over the clear major power of the world. Caught between duty to France and the pressures to match his illustrious father and legendary grandfather, Napoleon III spent a lifetime full of inner and outer conflicts. From his strict and overbearing mother, to his sexual prowess that so often hurt the only true love of his life, the Empress Alexandra, even to his obvious disdain for his youngest son Ferdinand, the Emperor’s life was a roller-coaster of court drama, world wars and lost loves. Toobis captures it all.
Toobis also provides a history of the world during Napoleon III’s lifetime. The years preceding 1833 and following 1911 are covered in impeccable detail and in language easy for the everyday reader. There are no scholarly airs in Toobis’ writing style. He is a true storyteller and the story he tells is truly fascinating.
A casualty chart for the Great War:
---------------------------------------------------------
Lord Grattan said:
Good question. I think the initial camaraderie of independence will wear off soon and traditional rivalries will heat up, creating a hostile and interesting environment in the federal government. Overall, they will sense that their situation has no room for such squabbling and the hatred will ultimately downplay itself to friendlier rivalries rather than all out wars between the tribes.
Herr Frage said:
A hybrid, depending on the tribe, really. A lot of traditional beliefs as well as some Christian tribes, so there is a bit of religious fusion here.
Nicomacheus said:
To be honest, and please do not take offense, my only reason for putting the border of Indian Nation to look like Texas is to prevent the existence of Texas the state or nation. I've known some pretty arrogant Texans and this is one way to, well, make them and their states' whole self-congratulatory way of life not exist. No offense to Texans!
To be honest, and please do not take offense, my only reason for putting the border of Indian Nation to look like Texas is to prevent the existence of Texas the state or nation. I've known some pretty arrogant Texans and this is one way to, well, make them and their states' whole self-congratulatory way of life not exist. No offense to Texans!
No worries: I'm thoroughly aware of my benighted-bretheren. It's just IMO you further compound their woes by pointing out that the borders of the state are completely arbitray (for example, the Rio Grande border even though Mexican Texas alwasy ended at the Nueces). In any case, I kind of like the notion of Indian Nation as Texas: Sam Houston would be happy about it, for one.
What does Australia have to make it have a population of 37 million people.
Whats wrong with Canada, the US, or the CSA that so many people go to Australia.
people.Whats wrong with Canada, the US, or the CSA that so many people go to Australia.
What does Australia have to make it have a population of 37 million
Whats wrong with Canada, the US, or the CSA that so many people go to Australia.
They have pie there.
Ah, that makes sense.
On another note, how is Canada going along? What are her relations with the USA at the moment?
On another note, how is Canada going along? What are her relations with the USA at the moment?