The United States in 1839 is in a bit of trouble at the moment: Just two years ago, the Panic of 1837 swept the country following an ill-planned, controversial and poorly thought-out decision by Andrew Jackson to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States the previous year. The entire country has been hard hit by these problems, but no more so than much of the Deep South(even Florida, whose residents were known for punctual payments, had trouble keeping up!), and several of the northeastern states, Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey in particular. Martin Van Buren was in office only for about nine weeks before the economy crashed in May of that year, and yet unfortunately (perhaps unjustly) received much of the blame, though it can be argued that Van Buren's own refusal to involve the government in the matter couldn't have helped his case, as it exacerbated the problem.
Within 2 months, nearly $100 million worth of bank losses had been reported, in the state of New York alone. And it wasn't restricted to just banks, either; New York City lost over 250 of its businesses in the month of April, before the real crash began!
Farmers, too, have been affected: though the crop harvest in 1837 out in the old Northwest was rather good by most standards, which helped them weather the first months of the ongoing crisis, prices have begun a sharp drop and many now find themselves struggling to stay afloat. And, worst of all, many state financial institutions, too, have found themselves collapsing.
As things continue to go south, many people wonder when and where it will all end[1].
We turn, for a second, to Mexico, which is having to deal with a few of it's own problems today.
In 1836, President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was deposed after the fiasco in Texas which allowed that state to break off and become its own country, after being declared unfit for rule by the Mexican Congress. He did eventually make a comeback during the Pastry War[2], and had tried to rebuild his reputation, using his war service as a crutch. On March 20th, 1839, Santa Anna arrived back in Mexico City to a mixed reaction; some were indeed grateful for his return, but many others not so much. But just as Santa Anna was getting used to being back in the driver's seat, as it were, the generals Jose Mexia and Jose Urrea began into action a plot to orchestrate his overthrow, not two weeks after his re-ascension to office. Already having been deposed once, Santa Anna wasn't exactly willing to step in and let the rebels shove him aside, as the Texans did.....
And speaking of Texas, controversy has been stirring recently back over in the U.S. whether or not the country should be considered for a possible future annexation.
In April 1839, a fledgling Ohioan lawyer and Mass. native by the name of Lysander Spooner, began to consider leaving for Texas to start anew, and to make the case for a free state status should it become the next U.S. State, and to possibly establish a settlement in the area[3]. He decided to start a fundraising effort to try to raise some money for the cause. At first, the response was a little slow, but Spooner was, fortunately for him, able to raise several thousand dollars for the expedition to Texas by the end of June, and he and about 50 other adventure seekers left for the Hill Country on July 11th. Arriving at a site just northwest of Austin in early August, Spooner settled down, and was one of the primary founders of the town of Liberty Creek the following February(and platted in April 1840). This attracted some attention as Spooner was the first Yankee to have been the founder of ANY community in Texas, though of course, not everyone in the Lone Star Nation was necessarily welcoming of this known abolitionist.
Forward to 1840, and U.S. President Martin Van Buren is still planning to run for a second term in office despite the number of challenges he's had to overcome during his first, and his popularity has remained a bit on the low side, but he is beginning to see hope: the situations in Texas and Mexico may provide him with another chance to prove himself worthy of the office of U.S. President. Even so, is Van Buren perhaps still doomed to fail, an to be replaced by his opponent, the famous general and Ohio senator, William Henry Harrison? Or can he salvage his reputation and squeeze in another term as the Big Man in the White House?
[1]And there's no end on the horizon, it seems. Or is there?...*wink*
[2]One of the strangest, and quite frankly, silliest, wars in history.
[3]And this is where the fun begins, ladies and gents.....
[4]That's putting it somewhat lightly....there were a few Southerners who were actually radical enough to justify killing abolitionists just for not conforming to the whims of Southron society.
[5a]As per OTL.
[5b]It'll be tough for ol' Kinderhook but he's not exactly one to roll over and play dead, either. In any case, 1840 is sure to be an interesting year.....