A Glorious Union or America: the New Sparta

What are Cass 1, 2 and 3 senators?

The Senate is set up so that while terms last six years, the elections for individual seats are staggered throughout the six-year term into three classes, allocated either on ratification of the Constitution for the original 13 states or on their induction into the Union for the rest. In other words, 1/3rd of the Senate is up for re-election each election year, in order to promote stability and retain institutional knowledge and tradition by not having the entire body be potentially replaced every six years. A class (1, 2, or 3), simply means the third of the Senate elected together on the same cycle. Class 1 are the seats elected in 2018 for example, Class 2 will be up next year, and Class 3 not until 2022, then Class 1 up again in 2024 and so on.
 
While I knew about the staggered elections for Senate and senior and junior senators for each state, I didn't know this was called class 1,2,3.
 
Funny, I'm not glancing askance at Florida TTL, very very interesting. This new Senate is fascinating.

Not only are lots of the former southern electorate disenfranchised as expatriated rebels who need to retake the oath of allegiance, but lots of their natural leaders have either been deported or are keeping out of politics less the Office of Proscription dust off their file and look again at it... Some states' politicians have been elected/chosen with the support of less than 20% of the population...
 
Not only are lots of the former southern electorate disenfranchised as expatriated rebels who need to retake the oath of allegiance, but lots of their natural leaders have either been deported or are keeping out of politics less the Office of Proscription dust off their file and look again at it... Some states' politicians have been elected/chosen with the support of less than 20% of the population...

It's going to be interesting to see how the South develops as a result of this. Having the vast majority of the electorate disenfranchised in some states is certainly going to cause some popular discontent. Which is just a way of asking - will these southern Reconstruction governments be any more stable than those of OTL and how will the Union deal with an eventual effort to 'redeem' the governments? The fact that the Office of Proscription isn't going anywhere anytime soon is likely going to keep potential Redeemer politicans' heads down - at least so long as Proscription remains politically popular. But it seems like these governments are going to have to be very proactive in building working coalitions within their state's populations in order to govern for long.

That all being said - love the Senate and I definitely learned about soem fascinating new figures!!!
 
Not only are lots of the former southern electorate disenfranchised as expatriated rebels who need to retake the oath of allegiance, but lots of their natural leaders have either been deported or are keeping out of politics less the Office of Proscription dust off their file and look again at it... Some states' politicians have been elected/chosen with the support of less than 20% of the population...

Well that's certainly a scary thought! This really does seem like what it would have taken for any sort of real lasting change to have been made in Southern society post Civil War. But with less than 20% of the population voting in some places because of flight, proscription or bans on voting, makes me wonder what the long term odds of things staying together are. For instance, how will the children of the disenfranchised vote one day?

Out of curiosity what is the most 'unreformed' rebel state in the Union at the moment?
 
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TheKnightIrish with this emerging three-party system and rising freemen power bases in the old confederacy, how is Frederick Douglas fitting in this timeline's political landscape?

Ironically very similar to OTL but for different reasons. General John J.Peck of the Freedman's' Bureau was previously a founder partner in the Burnett Bank of Syracuse. He recognises the vital role that having access to banking facilities plays. As a result Douglass has been invited to play a leading role in the Freedman Savings Bank which is being established throughout the south. This is separate from the National Development Bank idea Jacob Dolson Cox is playing with in the Bureau of Collectors to support unionists, freedmen etc develop the land grants they are receiving out of confiscated southern land...

Chunky policy will start soon with the appointment of Kearny's cabinet...and a couple of wars...probably...
 
Ironically very similar to OTL but for different reasons. General John J.Peck of the Freedman's' Bureau was previously a founder partner in the Burnett Bank of Syracuse. He recognises the vital role that having access to banking facilities plays. As a result Douglass has been invited to play a leading role in the Freedman Savings Bank which is being established throughout the south. This is separate from the National Development Bank idea Jacob Dolson Cox is playing with in the Bureau of Collectors to support unionists, freedmen etc develop the land grants they are receiving out of confiscated southern land...

Chunky policy will start soon with the appointment of Kearny's cabinet...and a couple of wars...probably...

Its hard for me to say which I look forward to reading about the most... the chunky policy or the wars. Thanks again for your work on this timeline.
 
Some idle speculation about upcoming wars:

1. Mexico: the exiled Confederates (sorry; Imperial Americans) earning their reputation putting down any remaining resistance to Maximilian.

2. Central Europe: the German Wars of Unification are due to get underway in a few years, IIRC, although if Austria gets smart and hands over Schleswig-Holstein without a fight then the actual fighting might be delayed a year or three. I doubt the Franco-Prussian War can be put off much past it's OTL date, unless Kearny manages to keep the Army and the Navy formidable enough to give Bismarck second thoughts. That seems a little unlikely even for Kearny, and Moltke might be able to convince Bismarck that the Prussian/German army can defeat the French quickly enough that the Americans won't be able to intervene. So the Franco-Prussian War will most likely occur by it's OTL date.

3. Balkans/Middle East: This might be a slower-burning powder keg than the Germanies, but the Ottoman Empire isn't likely to stop declining anytime soon so it's constituent states will start looking for opportunities to go their own way. I think it was hinted that there would be some trouble in Egypt relatively soon, and there's a revolt in Herzegovina due in 1875 that, OTL, metastasized to Bosnia and Bulgaria and eventually led to war with Russia.

4. China: IIRC, the Taiping Rebellion is still going fairly strong, although Gordon and co. are putting some dents in it. Given America's OTL fascination with China (which lasted right up through WWII and, arguably, into the present day), might we see an American intervention if things continue out of control?

5. South America: The Paraguayan War is should be underway already, unless I miss my guess, and I doubt it will be any less of a bloody mess than it was IOTL. I doubt there will be much interest in America, but it will be interesting to see how Kearny and Pedro II deal with each other if Brazil assumes it's OTL position as the leading light of South America.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else, but does anyone else have any ideas?
 
I wonder to what extent more European interest in the civil war - tactics, strategies, and logistics - has on the outlook of militaries and the upcoming wars in Europe. Kearny was rather scathing about the Austrians and tried to convince his French friends that elan was no longer enough to win wars.
 
Some idle speculation about upcoming wars:

1. Mexico: the exiled Confederates (sorry; Imperial Americans) earning their reputation putting down any remaining resistance to Maximilian.

2. Central Europe: the German Wars of Unification are due to get underway in a few years, IIRC, although if Austria gets smart and hands over Schleswig-Holstein without a fight then the actual fighting might be delayed a year or three. I doubt the Franco-Prussian War can be put off much past it's OTL date, unless Kearny manages to keep the Army and the Navy formidable enough to give Bismarck second thoughts. That seems a little unlikely even for Kearny, and Moltke might be able to convince Bismarck that the Prussian/German army can defeat the French quickly enough that the Americans won't be able to intervene. So the Franco-Prussian War will most likely occur by it's OTL date.

3. Balkans/Middle East: This might be a slower-burning powder keg than the Germanies, but the Ottoman Empire isn't likely to stop declining anytime soon so it's constituent states will start looking for opportunities to go their own way. I think it was hinted that there would be some trouble in Egypt relatively soon, and there's a revolt in Herzegovina due in 1875 that, OTL, metastasized to Bosnia and Bulgaria and eventually led to war with Russia.

4. China: IIRC, the Taiping Rebellion is still going fairly strong, although Gordon and co. are putting some dents in it. Given America's OTL fascination with China (which lasted right up through WWII and, arguably, into the present day), might we see an American intervention if things continue out of control?

5. South America: The Paraguayan War is should be underway already, unless I miss my guess, and I doubt it will be any less of a bloody mess than it was IOTL. I doubt there will be much interest in America, but it will be interesting to see how Kearny and Pedro II deal with each other if Brazil assumes it's OTL position as the leading light of South America.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else, but does anyone else have any ideas?

If we see a Franco-Prussian War that is longer or with more advance preparations, the stage may be set for Kearny to send an American expeditionary force to the rescue of the French. It would be interesting to see the cry of "Lafayette we are here" almost a half century ahead of OTL
 
I doubt Kearny would be able to get an official force or declaration as long as France is in Mexico. That made a lot of people unhappy in otl to the point that the goverment sent Sheridan with a large force to the border and planned a filibuster war over it.
 
Some idle speculation about upcoming wars:

1. Mexico: the exiled Confederates (sorry; Imperial Americans) earning their reputation putting down any remaining resistance to Maximilian.

2. Central Europe: the German Wars of Unification are due to get underway in a few years, IIRC, although if Austria gets smart and hands over Schleswig-Holstein without a fight then the actual fighting might be delayed a year or three. I doubt the Franco-Prussian War can be put off much past it's OTL date, unless Kearny manages to keep the Army and the Navy formidable enough to give Bismarck second thoughts. That seems a little unlikely even for Kearny, and Moltke might be able to convince Bismarck that the Prussian/German army can defeat the French quickly enough that the Americans won't be able to intervene. So the Franco-Prussian War will most likely occur by it's OTL date.

3. Balkans/Middle East: This might be a slower-burning powder keg than the Germanies, but the Ottoman Empire isn't likely to stop declining anytime soon so it's constituent states will start looking for opportunities to go their own way. I think it was hinted that there would be some trouble in Egypt relatively soon, and there's a revolt in Herzegovina due in 1875 that, OTL, metastasized to Bosnia and Bulgaria and eventually led to war with Russia.

4. China: IIRC, the Taiping Rebellion is still going fairly strong, although Gordon and co. are putting some dents in it. Given America's OTL fascination with China (which lasted right up through WWII and, arguably, into the present day), might we see an American intervention if things continue out of control?

5. South America: The Paraguayan War is should be underway already, unless I miss my guess, and I doubt it will be any less of a bloody mess than it was IOTL. I doubt there will be much interest in America, but it will be interesting to see how Kearny and Pedro II deal with each other if Brazil assumes it's OTL position as the leading light of South America.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else, but does anyone else have any ideas?

The Taiping enjoyed early European support but that dried up as people realized they were crazy. I don’t think there’d be any appetite for intervening.
 
What happened to David Birney ? He would make a better senator for PA and was one of Kearny's brigade Commanders as well.
 
Should I use Covid-freedom to keep going or has the Abyssinian interlude turned you off? I have had the sense from several people I respect on several sites that the Abyssinian Adventure, as currently constituted, is an alternative course too far. Thoughts?
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