AHC: Worst Toledo War Possible

In our timeline, the Toledo War was a nearly bloodless land dispute between the states of Michigan and Ohio over the city of Toledo. The conflict had originated over cartographic errors and was eventually settled by Andrew Jackson after the states had exhausted their resources.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to escalate and perpetuate this conflict as much as possible.
 
Wow, that's actually a really good idea for a timeline!

Anyway, I was reading about the conflict and apparently Jackson's Attorney General (Butler) said that the territory should belong to Michigan. Jackson however thought that it was in his party's interests to have Ohio take Toledo. (Cough Cough Reelection) so he "helped" the dispute. However if he had taken his Attorney General's advice (they are there for a reason) then the conflict may have bloated out of proportion with other states possibly coming in to help a side. So that might be a good PoD.:)
 
Perhaps a losing Ohio desperately offers to trade becoming a slave state for some southern states (cough cough Virginia) to help them out. Perhaps earlier ACW?
 
The real problem with the Toledo War becoming a real war, is that it was really just a dispute. The name War makes it seem cool, but in reality it would end up with whichever state had more leverage and end up like OTL. Ohio was the more powerful state. If Michigan had more pull its possible they could've gotten it. If anything have up to 10 people die and the Federal government intervenes. Although it could lead to Michigan having a deeper resentment of the Federal government.
 
The real problem with the Toledo War becoming a real war, is that it was really just a dispute. The name War makes it seem cool, but in reality it would end up with whichever state had more leverage and end up like OTL. Ohio was the more powerful state. If Michigan had more pull its possible they could've gotten it.

That's why this is a challenge. The original conflict was by no means a war. A heated dispute, perhaps but not a war. To make the Toledo War live up to its name, you need a degree of skill.
 
Maybe make Michigan even more ambitious? The original Northwest Ordinance and Michigan's territorial incorporation act in 1805 both state that the territories southern boundary shall be a line drawn east from "the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan"-- which is where Gary, Indiana now sits. If Michigan really wanted to be stupid, the territory could've picked a fight with both Indiana and Ohio at the same time.
 
Congress gets involved, and there's a second Nullification Crisis. South Carolina and a few other states go to bat for whichever state was on the losing end of the congressional decision (let's say Michigan), and Darth Jackson loses his cool. Bam. Civil war over states' rights in 1836, but with the added factor that several northern states are involved. Jackson declares effective martial law, and uses the military intervention to start messing with his political opponents (mainly the Whigs, with a few others besides- Jackson made a lot of high-level enemies). However, several Whig military officers (led by Winfield Scott, amongst others) refuse Jackson's orders as clear violations of the Constitution ('unlawful search and seizure' or something) and the United States descends into a three-sided civil war between the Whigs, the Democrats, and the states'-righters.

The European powers look on the affairs with great interest. Mexico uses the whole thing as a distraction and completely destroys the Texicans at the Alamo and elsewhere. The British use the matter to complete the acquisition of the whole of Oregon Country and begin quietly interfering with the northern states, supporting whichever side looked weaker at the time.

Darth Jackson hears of this and decides that he can spare enough men to skirmish with the Canadians. They do so, and Britain is dragged into the war.

British forces, in a repeat of 1812, bombard and burn cities along the coast in Jacksonian hands, including Washington, DC. Jackson surrenders shortly thereafter, but the States' Righters continue the fight against the Whigs and the remnants of the Jacksonians. This fight, though, quickly ends, and Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Quincy Adams, and Scott form a provisional government until such time as they can either amend or rewrite the Constitution to prevent such a terrible tragedy from happening again.

And Ohio retains the strip.
 
Because Jackson lost in your idea, wouldn't Michigan get it?
Jackson was supportive of Michigan getting the strip. He lost.

The States' Righters were supportive of Michigan. They lost.

The Whigs, who were likely behind the Congressional decision to give it to Ohio in the first place, won.

('Upon further review, the play stands; Ohio retains, first down.')


(I could've made it worse and had Jackson win, setting up a tyrannical state across the United States that later crumbles and turns North America into a Somalia-esque petty warlord state, but that would've just been sad.)
 
Jackson was supportive of Michigan getting the strip. He lost.

The States' Righters were supportive of Michigan. They lost.

The Whigs, who were likely behind the Congressional decision to give it to Ohio in the first place, won.

('Upon further review, the play stands; Ohio retains, first down.')


(I could've made it worse and had Jackson win, setting up a tyrannical state across the United States that later crumbles and turns North America into a Somalia-esque petty warlord state, but that would've just been sad.)

The States` Righters could not win, even though the Southern States still had alot of leverage then?
 
It's funny, I've been toying around with the idea of doing a Toledo TL for some time now. I've put it off because of the need to do a bit more research. In Amy case, its a fascinating and little known about episode in American history, and there are more than a few chances to make it go all trippy. Hell, you had Michigan's 20-something year old governor stripped of power and his allies fleeing Lansing to set up a government in exile elsewhere. Fascinating!
 
The States` Righters could not win, even though the Southern States still had alot of leverage then?
The Whigs had half the military, the Jacksonians the other half. South Carolina couldn't do to much in 1832, and most of the states'-righter forces are untrained militia. The South was split between States' Righters and Jacksonians, and while they didn't want the other to win, they were more against the Whigs than each other- but the British and Whigs defeating the Jacksonians, especially with Old Hickory's surrender, would have made most of the states' righters give up. Only a few hardliners would keep up the fight, and would be quickly mopped up. (If the war took place even ten years later, it would have been another story- the South would have been a bloc and would have made serious trouble, but in 1836, cotton wasn't quite the king it was in later years.) (More or less, the war was between the Whigs and the Jacksonians, an when the Jacksonians surrendered, it was all over but the shouting.)
 
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