A Royal America

Yes, I must say it is Cliche, but youve given it your own twist and gone into great detail with the politics of it all.Great job!

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Blair152

Banned
[FONT=&quot]The Constitutional Convention

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[FONT=&quot]The Articles of Confederation had widely come to be regarded as a failure when the Constitutional Convention met in 1788. The one state which remained loyal to them was Rhode Island, which refused to even send delegates to Philadelphia. The union seemed to be coming apart at the seams.

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[FONT=&quot]Immediately, two plans saw fit to emerge. They were known as the Virginia plan, which included a powerful legislature, elected proportionally, and a less powerful executive; the New Jersey plan, was similar, but allowed for a multi-person executive, and for each state to have one vote in the legislature.

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[FONT=&quot]A third plan known as the South Carolina plan also came to be, a blend between the two[1]. There would be a lower house, elected proportionally, and an upper house, which consisted of four members, ‘one per region’; it also allowed for a chief executive, elected by the legislature.

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[FONT=&quot]The Convention was deadlocked between the three possibilities. Meanwhile, as it proceeded, events were also going on in foreign lands…

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[FONT=&quot]The French Revolution occurred, and a government had finally been decided. A one-house legislature, elected by the people, known as the National Assembly, was created; also existing was a King, who had few powers. As their fellow revolutionaries accepted the idea of a monarchy, slowly the Convention in Philadelphia also began to turn towards the monarchy…

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[FONT=&quot]Alexander Hamilton brought forward the so-called ‘New York Plan’. It consisted of a system similar to the French one, with a one-house legislature elected proportionally, known as the House of Commons, with a King, elected by the House of Commons for life. However, all this meant was that by October, the Convention was deadlocked four ways.

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[FONT=&quot]The main break for the New York Plan came when Edmund Randolph, a delegate from Virginia and the creator of the Virginia Plan, endorsed the New York Plan as a good idea after all. Although the Convention was still deadlocked, it was clear at this point that the New York Plan had an edge over the New Jersey and South Carolina Plans.

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[FONT=&quot]By the end of October, as the Convention was planning to adjourn, Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, proposed the so-called ‘Connecticut Compromise’. The main problem the New Jersey supporters had with the New York Plan was the fact that it’s legislature was proportional, and so the small states would have little power. Sherman brought forward the idea of an ‘upper house’ for the New York Plan; a so-called Royal Council, which would have one member from each state, elected for life by the state’s delegation. Although the vast majority of legislative duties remained with the House of Commons, the Royal Council would advise the elected King, and enter states into the union. Although some supporters of the New Jersey Plan remained, the Connecticut Compromise was good enough for most of its supporters, and by the end of October 1788, the plan had the support of over 50% of state delegations. The results were announced to the public.

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[FONT=&quot]Immediately, a Revolutionary leader, the former Governor of Virginia Patrick Henry, who had “smelt a rat in Philadelphia, tending towards the monarchy,” came out against the Constitution. In order to increase its general popularity among the American public, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers, a document in support of the Constitution. The papers generally advocated the Constitution that had been agreed upon in Philadelphia was, all in all, the best plan for the country.

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[FONT=&quot]In corroboration with a Pennsylvanian known as Samuel Bryan, Henry wrote the Republican Papers, which generated less publicity and were less effective than the Federalist ones. Nevertheless, the Republican Papers popularized the idea of a Bill of Rights.

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[FONT=&quot]By October of 1789, all of the states which had been present at the Convention had ratified the new Constitution. Elections were scheduled.

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[FONT=&quot][1][/FONT][FONT=&quot]This is OTL; such a plan was, in fact, created by Charles Pinckney; however, it was not seriously considered. This is the main POD; it is, so the Convention is deadlocked three ways, not two.[/FONT]​
If I remember correctly, there was a plan to bring the youngest son of Frederick William III to the United States and make him king. It didn't
come to fruition only because we adopted the Virginia Plan. Still, it would
make a great subject for one of Harry Turtledove's alternate history novels.
 
If I remember correctly, there was a plan to bring the youngest son of Frederick William III to the United States and make him king. It didn't
come to fruition only because we adopted the Virginia Plan. Still, it would
make a great subject for one of Harry Turtledove's alternate history novels.
No, bard, we didn't adopt the Virginia plan, and the Connecticut compromise was not the only thing that saved us from a monarchy. The contributing factors are numerous, ranging from pure political expediency to socio-economics. Unfortunately I can't think of any Turtledove books or history channel programs to drop the names of...
 
The Election of 1799

The election of 1799 was the first ever election held in the United States with more than two parties. Three parties – the Federalists, the Democrats, and the Radicals – contested the election.

The 1799 race is perhaps more famous for the first ever true leadership contest ever held in America, as the Federalist caucus met in Columbia to decide if they would be led by Prime Minister John Adams or Minister of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Adams very narrowly defeated Hamilton, 29-26, with 1 abstaining.

The Democrats and Radicals did not hold similar contests, as it was universally recognized that they were led by Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, respectively.

Had the old Republican Party held, it is likely Adams would have been defeated in the 1799 election – after 10 years in power, the voters were tiring of him and his government. However, the vote splitting which resulted from the breakup gave Federalists victories in several marginal districts, and Adams was elected to a third term.

Federalist (John Adams): 53
Democratic (Aaron Burr): 25
Radical (Thomas Jefferson): 21

Of the Federalist 1795 states, all voted Federalist again but Maryland and Vermont, which flipped to the Democrats. Of 1795 Republican states, Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted Democratic, while the remainder voted Radical.

Soon after the election, John Marshall made his first Supreme Court appointments, as James Wilson and James Iredell retired almost simultaneously. Marshall nominated Bushrod Washington, the little-known nephew of King George I, to Wilson’s Supreme Court seat, and also-little-known member of the North Carolina State Supreme Court, Alfred Moore to the seat of Iredell.
 
The 3rd Parliament

Upon the narrow reelection of Prime Minister John Adams’ government to a third term in 1799, Adams decided to have his government undergo a Cabinet shakeup.

Perhaps most obviously, the position of Leader of the Opposition had been held by Thomas Jefferson for 10 years by the 1799 election. With his party slipping into third place, Aaron Burr (as the leader of the second-largest Cabinet party) led the Opposition.

The position of Minister of State was vacant, as incumbent Edmund Randolph had chosen to leave Parliament. In his later years, Randolph became a good friend, and political ally, of Aaron Burr, though he never reentered Parliament.

Randolph’s replacement was James Madison. Although some criticized Adams for nominating someone who had never served in Cabinet to the second highest office in the land, Madison was nevertheless a well-known figure: one of the authors of the final, compromise version of the Constitution, one of the authors of the Bill of Rights, and the man who had led opposition to the Sedition Act from within the Federalist Party.

At the time of his nomination, Madison was undergoing a feud with Alexander Hamilton, and some have argued that this feud was the reason Madison was nominated Minister in the first place. Although some staunch Hamiltonians voted against Madison’s confirmation, Madison’s friendship with Thomas Jefferson resulted in Jefferson’s convincing several Radicals to back Madison. In the end, Madison was confirmed.

Adams’ Attorney General, John Marshall, had been elected King. Adams nominated Charles Lee, an M.P. from Virginia elected in the 1795 election that was widely considered one of the nation’s best attorneys. There was little opposition to Lee’s nomination from any part of Parliament.

The incumbent Minister of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton, a man who Adams now rather disliked. However, Adams could not afford to upset the Hamiltonians too badly, as his majority depended on them. Adams, who had been ready to clench his teeth and re-nominate Hamilton, was suddenly faced with a pleasant surprise, as Hamilton tendered his resignation. Adams nominated Oliver Wolcott, Jr. – M.P. from Connecticut since 1795, and one of Adams’ key economic advisors for longer – Minister of the Treasury. Wolcott was confirmed without much difficulty.

Adams’ Minister of War, Timothy Pickering, was a Hamiltonian – however, Adams decided to keep Pickering, who was re-nominated and confirmed easily. The Minister of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, who was not a Hamiltonian, faced an even smoother ride.

Adams also re-nominated his Postmaster General, Joseph Habersham, whose re-nomination faced little difficulty.

The Third Adams Government –
Prime Minister: The Rt. Hon.1 John Adams (Federalist-Massachusetts)
Minister of State: James Madison (Federalist-Virginia)
Attorney General: Charles Lee (Federalist-Virginia)
Minister of the Treasury: Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (Federalist-Connecticut)
Minister of War: Timothy Pickering (Federalist-Massachusetts)
Minister of the Navy: Benjamin Stoddert (Federalist-Maryland)
Postmaster General: Joseph Habersham (Federalist-Georgia)

The 3rd Parliament was, like the second, a seemingly quiet, almost do-nothing Parliament, but one which hid the tensions between the parliamentary groups. The informed observer might have likened this period to a mine before its explosion – calm, you may not even notice it – but about to go off.

In the early 1800s, the Library of Parliament was established. The Library of Parliament, intended for the use of, well, Parliament, quickly became one of, and eventually the, largest libraries in the United States.

Some debating occurred during the 3rd Parliament about the status of the capital city of Columbia. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, which made the city independent from any state, without any representation in Parliament, was viewed a suitable solution to the problem. The act ensured that the state of Maryland would not house the nation’s capital (this was viewed as giving it a ‘leg up’ against other states). To a modern reader, the act of not giving Columbia any Parliamentary representation may seem odd, but at the time it was viewed like giving Parliament its own vote in Parliament.

In 1801, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Oliver Ellsworth, aging rapidly, decided to retire from the Court. As expected, King John nominated Attorney General Charles Lee to the Supreme Court. Parliament confirmed Lee with little debate.

The vacancy in the position of Attorney General resulted in another Cabinet reshuffle, as Adams promoted Postmaster General Joseph Habersham to the position of Attorney General; demoted Minister of War Timothy Pickering to the position of Postmaster General; and appointed Samuel Dexter, a Federalist M.P. from Massachusetts, Minister of War. Dexter had been elected in a 1793 by-election.

Meanwhile, some areas of the western frontier were reaching statehood – in particular the very western portion of Indiana Territory, which styled itself ‘Ohio’. The Enabling Act of 1802 created a procedure for turning U.S. territories into U.S. states; summarized, it said that the U.S. government would create a territorial government, which must then be propped up by voters; only an elected territorial government could petition for statehood (which, as outlined by the Constitution, must then be accepted by Parliament). Soon afterward, the Indiana territorial legislature petitioned for a large section of itself to be admitted as the U.S. state of Ohio. Ohio was admitted to the Union in late 1802.

Then, in 1803, the mine known as the 3rd Parliament exploded.


1In the late twentieth century, it became standard to add the title ‘Rt. Hon.’ to those nominated for King. This also applied retroactively.
 
I have been busy with my own Tl and so I am hoping on here for an occasional comment. I am enjoying this. I just caught up. I have to say King John Jay I would have interesting indeed. John Marshall was a real curveball. I like it a lot and I am subscribing so Please continue.

Edit: is Adams aware that Pickering and Wolcott are Hamilton's men? Are they ITTL? Also where is John Quincy? I would imagine since there is actually a king, the fears of an Adams Royal dynasty are not as prominent?
 
I have been busy with my own Tl and so I am hoping on here for an occasional comment. I am enjoying this. I just caught up. I have to say King John Jay I would have interesting indeed. John Marshall was a real curveball. I like it a lot and I am subscribing so Please continue.

Edit: is Adams aware that Pickering and Wolcott are Hamilton's men? Are they ITTL? Also where is John Quincy? I would imagine since there is actually a king, the fears of an Adams Royal dynasty are not as prominent?

Thank you for commenting, and for the praise.

Timothy Pickering - Pickering remained in office largely as Minister of War in order to pacify the Hamiltonians. Adams, however, demoted Pickering to Postmaster General in 1800 during a Cabinet shakeup, partially for siding with Hamilton.

Oliver Wolcott, Jr. - ITTL Wolcott becomes a favorite of Adams, who encourages him to run for Parliament in the mid-1790s. Although closer to Hamilton ideologically, Wolcott is an Adams loyalist, and for that gets the Treasury position after Hamilton's resignation.

John Quincy Adams, Jr. - The younger Adams was elected to Parliament in 1795. Although formally he is an average member, he holds some special power as the son of the P.M., and a major adviser to his father. His father considered appointing him Attorney General in 1800, but decided that Parliament was unlikely to go for blatant nepotism, and abstained. No, there aren't really many fears of an 'Adams dynasty', especially after the elder Adams lost the 1799 royal election.

Any other questions? I'd be happy to answer them. Comments are also appreciated.
 
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