AHC: America with Canada, yet screwed.

scholar

Banned
This is the challenge. Thirteen Colonies plus Canada, yet screwed by our standards.
Quebec causes unending problems, France stays in turmoil while Spain reforms into a far stronger and sturdy empire. It deals with revolts and revolutions but in fifty years they've beaten the odds and have a fully stable intercontinental empire. The United States continues internal strife, the constitution doesn't happen as fierce debate and interstate conflict causes the country to just barely maintain itself. Spain and Russia negotiate a border to the north. The United States, desperate, tries to make an alliance with the Spanish, but the states cannot agree to it and ultimately no alliance is formed. Animosity with the British ends up causing the states to be without any friends. Civil strife goes into outright rebellion and the country, while existing on paper is an amalgam of independent factions waging war against one another.
 
This is the challenge. Thirteen Colonies plus Canada, yet screwed by our standards.

During the War of 1812, the United States defeats the British in Canada and annexes the territory. However, during the war, the British occupy New Orleans (which becomes "New Bristol") conquer Louisiana, and supports Tecumseh's coalition more wholeheartedly, offering effective control over most of now-conquered Louisiana in exchange for allegiance to the British Crown. The Treaty of Antwerp will lead to mutual recognition of their respective conquests. On his return to the United States, feeling cheated from his victories by the peace treaty in Antwerp, Andrew Jackson will remain grudgingly in the military, albeit with political ambitions. After a major corruption scandal, a sizeable slave revolt backed by northern abolitionists, and a rebellion in Canada happen within three month of each other, Jackson, at the head of his loyal army and supported by many on the street, will march into Washington and lead a military coup, suspending the Constitution. This will lead to an American political system characterized by coups, counter-coups and street revolts as opposed to a truly democratic system. The United States (after Jackson, the "Second American Federal Republic) will remain trapped to the East Coast, while Britain and Spain will dominate the West.
 
This is the challenge. Thirteen Colonies plus Canada, yet screwed by our standards.

America wins the War of Independance. The Quebecois get very restive because they are even more afraid of assimilation as part of an English speaking US than as part of a British North America.

They rise up in the mid 1790's and are crushed. The French are angry but can't do much yet. Then under Napoleon the peace of Amiens is signed in Europe in 1802 and he decides to lead an army in person to liberate his French brothers from the Americans. The British decide to sit by and watch. You can guess the rest.
 
A simple solution is to expand upon Scholar's scenario. The US acquires Canada during the revolutionary war, but the additional colonies make a constitutional consensus impossible.

While the US is a "nation" in practical terms its a confederation of competing states. American industry is perpetually undercut by its inability to erect tariff walls. US currency is weak and subject to rampet inflation. Infrastructure is the province of states and joint stock companies, greatly slowing westward expansion and economic development. Land speculation and wild cat banks leads to a constant boom and bust economic cycle, and foreign debt constantly drains away american hard currency. Politically there is constant tension between the developed Northeast, the agricultural west, the slave owning south, the extractive north, and the french catholic Quebecois. Sometimes said tension is violent.

America isn't "poor" its hard to be poor with so much prime farmland and natural resources, but its economy isn't healthy think of a larger more northernly version of Argentina. It has industry, but only in several large eastern metropolises. It has capital, but most of the capital is reinvested in safer European bonds. It has natural resources, but it mostly exports them and imports finished goods.
 
A simple solution is to expand upon Scholar's scenario. The US acquires Canada during the revolutionary war, but the additional colonies make a constitutional consensus impossible.

While the US is a "nation" in practical terms its a confederation of competing states. American industry is perpetually undercut by its inability to erect tariff walls. US currency is weak and subject to rampet inflation. Infrastructure is the province of states and joint stock companies, greatly slowing westward expansion and economic development. Land speculation and wild cat banks leads to a constant boom and bust economic cycle, and foreign debt constantly drains away american hard currency. Politically there is constant tension between the developed Northeast, the agricultural west, the slave owning south, the extractive north, and the french catholic Quebecois. Sometimes said tension is violent.

America isn't "poor" its hard to be poor with so much prime farmland and natural resources, but its economy isn't healthy think of a larger more northernly version of Argentina. It has industry, but only in several large eastern metropolises. It has capital, but most of the capital is reinvested in safer European bonds. It has natural resources, but it mostly exports them and imports finished goods.

Less European immigration, and a greater front to move across, means the Westward expansion is slowed.

I'm not sure if Spain can hold on to all of its New World colonies à la British Dominions at so late a date, they really were nothing more than resource extraction, so we're likely looking at a wanked Mexico here. That's going to provide for an interesting dynamic, and likely leads to an independent Louisiana under Mexican influence. Mexico holds California and most of the Rockies, while everything north and east of, say, Kansas City, eventually falls to the Americans after they make a big push to force out the natives. The Yukon might get taken by Russian though.
 
BTW, my ancestors's name was originaly 'Canadiens'. Québecois is a recent change, and centered on Quebec, as implied.

I actually knew that but didn't use it incase people thought I said Canadians and people would ask 'why would the canadians have an uprising?' then someone else says 'hey you spelt Canadians wrong'.
 
I actually knew that but didn't use it incase people thought I said Canadians and people would ask 'why would the canadians have an uprising?' then someone else says 'hey you spelt Canadians wrong'.

Yeah, but it is inprecise - Canadiens also lives in Ontario and around.
 
Top