AHC: Unitary USA

Only if your ' USA' is a single colony, with the rest of the 13 in some other organization(s) with a different name.

Really. The word 'state' means 'independent' country. The initial conception of the US was a lot like the modern EU. No way, no how are you going to get a unitary state out of the original 13.

Under a democratic regime, no, but under a dictatorship, I think it could easily be possible. Other nations (Austria-Hungray, Prussia, Spain, the Ottoman Empire) held together far more factitious and diverse empires as unitary states. As I said before, a Federalist victory in 1796 or 1800 would lead to a trend of greater centralization of authority and power. That, combined with Hamilton killing Burr (better Federalist leadership), and with a Bonaparte-style military coup maybe 30 or 40 years down the line, could lead to a de-facto unitary state, with state governments still existing but having little to no power. it would look a little like modern Brazil's federation.
 
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Under a democratic regime, no, but under a dictatorship, I think it could easily be possible. Other nations (Austria-Hungray, Prussia, Spain, the Ottoman Empire) held together far more factitious and diverse empires as unitary states. As I said before, a Federalist victory in 1796 or 1800 would lead to a trend of greater centralization of authority and power. That, combined with Hamilton killing Burr (better Federalist leadership), and with a Bonaparte-style military coup maybe 30 or 40 years down the line, could lead to a de-facto unitary state, with state governments still existing but having little to no power. it would look a little like modern Brazil's federation.

Then you are not talking about "the United States of America", but some completely hypothetical construct. "Federalists" at the turn of the 19th century wanted a strong federal union - never a unified national state. The argument then was wherher or not the US would be a federal republic (like today) or a looser confederation. Nothing in the Federalist papers would suggest Hamilton and the like wanted a unified national dictatorship. Once you start talking about coups, Bonapartish dictatorships and the like you are no longer in the realm of reasonable hypothesis.
 

MAlexMatt

Banned
"Federalists" at the turn of the 19th century wanted a strong federal union - never a unified national state.

Depends on the Federalist. Hamilton, for instance, suggested a plan of Union that was essentially a copy of the British model, except with an elected monarch and House of Lords instead of having the monarchy and peerage based on inheritance or appointment. The central government would even have the ability to appoint the executive of each state who would have veto powers on state laws. The states would be disallowed from keeping any armed forces at all, with all state militias being commanded by the national executive (who, remember, served for life)..

He even says in his introduction to the plan that the ultimate goal is to deprive the states of all their sovereignty and, ultimately, dissolve their existence, instead to be replaced by municipal corporations.
 
Then you are not talking about "the United States of America", but some completely hypothetical construct. "Federalists" at the turn of the 19th century wanted a strong federal union - never a unified national state. The argument then was wherher or not the US would be a federal republic (like today) or a looser confederation. Nothing in the Federalist papers would suggest Hamilton and the like wanted a unified national dictatorship. Once you start talking about coups, Bonapartish dictatorships and the like you are no longer in the realm of reasonable hypothesis.

As MAlexMatt says later on, there were a variety of opinions within the Federalist Party. If Hamilton had won his duel with Burr and become President, the "Overton Window" of American politics would likely have shifted towards a more centralized state, with the debate focusing on maintaining a strong federal union, or centralizing power even more. The dictator (in my mind Andrew Jackson) would come later as a Federalist government, supporting federalism over centralism would be deposed in a popular coup (after a corruption scandal or failed war most likely). With a period of absolute power, and the centralist politicians behind him, the dictator would abolish the constitution and call a Constitutional Convention to write a new one, locking in a newly centralized government. States, with independent legislatures and state-level militias, would be a threat to iron-fisted control. Therefore, they would either be abolished or lose almost all of their power.
 
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