This is the 6th incarnation of this timeline. This is my first timeline. I was wondering how plausible this scenario is? Any constructive criticism is appreciated.
The Foundations of Conflict: May 1787- November 1788
In May of 1787, after the failure of the Annapolis Convention, a new convention was held in Philadelphia, capitol of Pennsylvania. The War of Independence has been over since January 14, 1784. The Articles of Confederation were not sufficient enough to prevent the 13 former colonies from tearing a sunder. This convention would be the catalyst for a new government. Each state sent delegates to the convention(except for Rhode Island of course) to represent them and their interests in shaping this new government.
Though intended to "Fix" the Articles of Confederation, it was soon seen that an entirely new government was needed. This angered states in south, in particular, Virginia, home of the late Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson had died on commute from his home in Virginia to Philadelphia on September 5, 1783, only two days after the Treaty of Paris was signed. Without Jefferson’s support in the convention, the ties of this new Republic would soon collapse. Washington was asked to attend the convention and serve as its presiding officer, but he could not make the trip for he had grown ill. He would die in October 1788 from this illness.
Though Jefferson was gone, his feelings,(at least those for limited government) were still strong amongst the Virginia delegates. This was reflected in the Virginia plan, which was turned down by the other states. Other failed plans that followed were the Pinckney plan, New Jersey Plan, Hamilton Plan, and of course the Connecticut Compromise. These and many others failed. They needed all 13 states to approve this new constitution. All but three voted yes. Those states were, Virginia, New York, and Rhode Island. The convention ended in September of 1787, without a new constitution, or even a mending of the old one. In the coming year the states would secede from the union one by one until it was no more.
First to secede was Rhode Island in October of 1787, followed by Virginia in November. In January of 1788 the states of North Carolina and Maryland join the movement. In February South Carolina followed suit. In March it was Georgia, then New York. In May New Jersey and Delaware both left the fledgling union. New Hampshire was not far behind in leaving the union. Pennsylvania left in July of 1788. After Pennsylvania left the congress relocated to Boston, where only delegates from Massachusetts and Connecticut were remaining. By November 1788, all legal attachments between the states, except for Massachusetts and Connecticut, were broken an non-binding. Each state had become its own nation. Soon these new nations would do separately what they could not do together.
New Nations from the Ashes: January 1789- July 1790
After the Disolvement of the union, these new nations began forming new governments to reflect their new status as independent nations. In Virginia they started their own constitutional convention in February of 1788, and ended in June of 1788. They essentially adopted the Virginia plan from the convention. Their government possessed 3 branches, a Legislative, Judicial, and an Executive. The most powerful branch was the legislative. Their legislative branch was divided into two chambers, the Popular chamber, and then a Senate chosen by the reps of the Popular Chamber. For this they had to divide the Virginia map into new districts. Each district would have a representative for every 1000 residents. The Senate was to be of 50 members. They would be popularly elected by the members of the Popular chamber. The National Executive would be chosen by a joint meeting of the Legislatures. Reps in the Popular Chamber and the National Executive were given a limit of a single term. The National Executive had very little power outside what the Legislative gave him. They officially called themselves the Commonwealth of Virginia(CWV).
The governments of North and South Carolina meet together in May of 1788 to try and form a new constitution between the two of them that would bind them together into one country. At their convention they elected Charles Pinckney to be the President of the Convention. Just as Virginia, they had 3 branches, Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. The Legislative would be broken into two houses, a Senate, and a House of Delegates. The House of Delegates would be elected by popular vote and represent each district of the new Carolina Republic by population, with senate being chosen by the House of Delegates. The senators would serve in rotation for four years, representing one of four regions within each district. The President was also very weak with this constitution.
Georgia, always leaning loyalist, wanted a return to the old ways, so they restored their pre-revolutionary war government. The head of state was referred to as the Lord Governor, even though no longer a British colony. Georgia opened its arms to loyalists fleeing the other states, which began to drive them southward instead of into Canada.
New Jersey would go with the plan set by William Paterson at the convention. Pennsylvania retained their government organization, but decided to be more active with foreign powers non-American. New York began a convention in January of 1789. It grew to like the plan proposed by Alexander Hamilton at the convention. They removed the sovereignty of districts and created a highly centralized government.(This is where I grew tired of describing the new governments, if you really want to know what they were like, Wikipedia them). Delaware retained its old government.
Up north, the two remaining members of the united states of America, Massachusetts and Connecticut, decided to form a new union, abandoning the old Articles, and the title of United States of America. They wanted to form a new England economic community. They states invited were New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts(which still included Maine), Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. New York and New Hampshire didn't attend. So Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island founded the New England Confederation. There was little difference between this constitution and the Articles of confederation. The only real differences were: 1. a common currency, 2. no tariffs, taxes, or trade barriers between the members of the NEC, and 3. a defensive coalition military. This military was only defensive. If one member was attacked by and "Unprovoked" enemy, then the others must come to their aid militarily. These coalition armies can only serve within recognized territory of the NEC. Each member could have its own military and go to war with powers outside the NEC, but would not receive assistance from the NEC coalition military.
These conventions went on until July of 1790, with states having second conventions, most making no changes. Now that new nations are formed, conflicts will soon arise.
The Vermont War: May 1791-1793
The governments have been established, but now conflict brews in the north. The Northern states could not decide who owned the Vermont valley in western New Hampshire. The NEC recognized the Vermont valley as part of New Hampshire, while Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania recognized it as New York’s. States such as New Jersey and others kept out of the issue. New Hampshire, who had originally turned down the membership to the NEC now requested it be let in, which was allowed with a vote of 2/3, Rhode Island being against.
The tempers boiled over in May of 1791 when New York sent troops into the Vermont Valley, claiming "We are occupying what is ours". This did not sit well with New Hampshire. To the NEC, this was considered an invasion by New York, so what became known as the First NEC coalition army was formed and sent to the Vermont Valley(The coalition armies are not permanent, they form when are needed, and after a peace is formed with the aggressing power, the army is disbanded. The next coalition army formed will be given the title of the next consecutive number).
The war moved slowly at first, running into a stalemate in November of 1791, when it became too cold and difficult to keep pushing forward. The 1st NEC coalition army reached the Taconic Mountains and had to halt their until spring. This however was not the case for a the local militia that was resisting both sides, the Green Mountain Boys, led by the now 53 year old Ethan Allan. He led the self proclaimed Vermont Republic. However, no state in North America recognized the Vermont republic, so the other states dealt with Vermont as if a territory up for grabs. The Green Mountain Boys(GMB) started a guerilla war against both the NEC and New York in the Winter. Both Sides were force to take these attacks until April of 1792, when the weather became tame enough to continue fighting. At that time the GMB went into hiding until winter came back.
The NEC coalition pushed the New Yorkers back out of Vermont by September of 1792. In the NEC assembly in Boston, they met with New York ambassadors and settled on an agreement, New York would pull out of the Vermont Valley, recognize the disputed territory as part of New Hampshire, and pay a reparations to New Hampshire and to the NEC general Fund.(Each killed soldiers family received 10 dollars in condolences).
The peace Agreement was approved 3 to 4, New Hampshire voting no. The movement passed, and the peace agreement accepted by all the members of the NEC except for New Hampshire. When the coalition forces from the other states withdrew, the New Hampshire forces stayed in place. In January of 1793, New Hampshire forces invaded Eastern New York, caught off guard, they made a good spear head into the enemy state. New York wasn't able to muster a force that could fight back until March of 1793, when they pushed New Hampshire all the way back into the Vermont valley and beyond. When this happened New Hampshire pleaded for help from the other NEC members, but the constitution of the NEC did not require the other states to respond, so they didn't. New York pushed back New Hampshire forces all the way to the Concord. When New York forces captured the capitol, they forced a very strict treaty on New Hampshire.
The treaty was made in Albany, so it became known as the Treaty of Albany. The first part of this treaty was that the previously disputed Vermont Valley would be ceded to New York. New Hampshire must recognize it as a New York province. New Hampshire was to pay reparations to New York and pay for the condolences to each family(15 dollarsw Hampshire would not be allowed to have a "Played" standing army, and could not Conscript people into service until 1805. On top of that, Western New Hampshire was to be occupied by New York Forces until 1805. The treaty was signed in Albany New York on October 20th, 1793. This treaty humiliated New Hampshire, as was the goal of New York, in hopes it would never rise to challenge it. This treaty would be the foundations of future conflicts in New England.
The Southern Divide: 1790-1793
In the south, there were territorial issues as well, But unlike up in New England where it escalated into war, they were far more civil in the south. Even before their new governments were formed, Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia were negotiating how to divide the land south of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. Between Carolina and Virginia, they decided to make the border as what had been recognized by the continental congress. Maryland and Virginia had not determined the border between them. They both lay claim to the Potomac River, which remains the main conflict between them. They eventually decide in 1791 to have it be a neutral river, allowing both access to it at all times, minus the use for military purposes. Maryland was the last of the southern states to form a new constitution. In 1790, they adopted a form similar to that of Virginia.
The land south and east of the two rivers was divided in 3 sections. Virginia and Carolina had the largest standing armies in the South, with Georgia, having the smallest. They gave Georgia apex 1/4 of the disputed land, furthest in the south, completely along the border of Spanish Florida, both east and west. The remaining apex 3/4 of the territory was divided equally between Virginia and Carolina. Virginia possessing OTL Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and the northern half of Tennessee. Carolina annexed the Southern half of Tennessee, and the upper half’s of OTL Alabama and Mississippi. This, for the time being, successfully divided the disputed territory in the south. It won't be too long before conflict arises in the south.
Indian Wars and Remodeling Militaries: 1793-1803
There was never an official "War" declared on the Indians of the Frontier, but the conflict levels were of one all the same. All of the states were dealing with Indian problems, especially those in the south, each having acquired vast amounts of land without firing any shots.
Due to having the largest population amongst the states, it had the largest army as well. They built their new military on the ideas of Washington. They adopted the uniform of the Virginia Blues as their national uniform. In order to make these lands more inhabitable for Virginians, the Virginia legislature pushed through many budgets for different campaigns against Indians, the two largest being against the Iroquois and the Shawnee. In the appellations the Iroquois fought a hard guerilla war, trying to force the Virginians to some sort of Peace Agreement. The Virginians were having none of that. One major battle occurred near the Monongahela River, with 500 Virginia soldiers fighting against 650 Iroquois warriors. The battle ended with the Virginians holding the field, taking 120 casualties on their side, and 200 on the Indians side. It was said the river ran with blood. This would become known as the Battle of Monongahela. They also had small skirmishes with the Unnamed. While the Virginians were trying to kill off all the native inhabitants of their land.
The Carolinians tried a more diplomatic approach. They initially tried paying the Indians to leave the land, but some refused, and others returned after a few weeks, not understanding the western concept of purchases and ownership. They thought they merely loaned the land to them, and then did return when they felt it was up. This led to some violence with the Natives.
Georgia, however, got along fantastically with the Natives. After their independence, they remodeled their military after the British. They even used the same” Red Coat" uniform. This was unlinked by some people, but because of the large amount of loyalists entering Georgia, it remained. Tribes were hired by the Georgian government as mercenaries to fight against other tribes. They would grant them land in exchange for removing the indigenous population of another area of land. Georgia even had small scale wars with the Spanish in Florida, fighting the Seminoles and small number of Spaniard raiding parties.
In the North the problems with the natives are more localized. Fighting the natives that still live on the main land of the states. Especially in the Vermont Valley(annexed by New York) both Indian tribes and Green Mountain Boys wage guerilla war on the occupying New York forces. Conflicts between Ohio Indians and settlers still wages. British Agents have been inciting Indian violence on the borderlands and even inside the several new countries.
The Ohio War: 1803 - 1807
Through the late 17 hundreds there were many claims on the Ohio country and the Northwest Territory. However, there were only 5 who actually possessed any physical holdings in the territory: New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Great Britain. Because of the devolvement of the United States government, Great Britain no longer recognized the Northwest territory belonging to someone else. The British had been using agents within the Ohio to spark Indian uprisings within the foreign held areas of the Ohio. Some agents even penetrated even deeper into these other nations and promising British support in exchange for them causing trouble for the former Americans.(Rarely did any sort of British aid reach the Indians)
New York had been wanting to expand deeper into the Ohio, but without a direct land path it would be extremely difficult. New York looked to the British for help. They agreed to divide the Ohio country between the two of them, with the Sandusky and Scioto rivers with a line drawn to connect them serving as the dividing point. War was looming on the Horizon. What was once just frontiersman and settlers moving in now became soldiers and fortifications.
War was sparked when a New York regiment captured Fort McIntosh, a Pennsylvanian fort. This put New York and Pennsylvania at war. Along their border and in the Ohio they waged battle. It was not long before there were British attacks on Virginia and Maryland settlements. When the political trail was followed, connecting New York’s attack on Pennsylvania and the British attacks on Virginia and Maryland, an alliance was quick to form.
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia formed a triple alliance against New York and the British. On August 7th, 1803, War was officially declared by Virginia and Maryland on the British. Maryland also assisted Pennsylvania in its war against New York. In November of 1803, New Jersey allied itself with Pennsylvania, and invaded south eastern New York.
Now fighting a two front war, New York had to divide its resources to defend itself. It did not take long for New York to be overwhelmed by fighting Pennsylvania in the South, New Jersey in the South East, and a continuing military occupation of Vermont and western New Hampshire. Virginia was making ground against the British, but at a cost. By the Summer of 1804, it looked as if New York was down for the count, when they received a large reinforcement they did not expect, British Soldiers.
British soldiers sent from Canada came to back up New York. It, however was not enough to stop Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It wasn't until January of 1805 did the wind change. The article of the Treaty of Albany that had New York occupy Western New Hampshire(not Vermont) had ended, and a flood of troops came to the fronts. It wasn't enough to repel the invaders out of New York, but it was enough to halt the push of them.
The lines stayed quite solid in New York until spring of 1807, when New York sued for peace. New York made a separate peace with New Jersey and Pennsylvania. New York was forced to cede all its holdings in the Ohio territory to Maryland and Pennsylvania. It gave the counties of Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua to Pennsylvania. And it gave New Jersey much of its land in south eastern New York, completely removing Connecticut from bordering New York.
Virginia and Maryland made peace with the British as well. Great Britain signed a treaty, acknowledging the holdings of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. However, Virginia felt betrayed by Maryland. Maryland had not fought nearly as much as Virginia had, but got nothing from it. Virginia gained no land in this conflict, only recognition. This wasn't enough for Virginia. Feelings between Maryland and Virginia are forever soured.
Napoleonic America: 1803 - 1814
In Europe, history stayed course. The National Assembly occurred in 1789, and Napoleon was in power by 1800. Napoleon crowned himself empower in 1803. From their he did similar things as he did IOTL. He placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish Throne. He used his brothers position to obtain the Louisiana Territory from Spain and give it to France. But France had no use for it. There was no nation that could buy it, that he wanted to sell it to. So as he did with Spain, he made a puppet government. In 1807, he ceded the Louisiana Territory from France, and established the Louisiana Empire. He chose New Orleans as the capitol of this empire, and he placed his brother Lucien Bonaparte on the throne and crowned him, Emperor Lucien the First.
Napoleon grew to like this system of puppet governments, so he created another with New Spain. He forced his brother to cede New Spain, minus Florida and Cuba, and create a puppet government there. There he created the Mexican Empire, with Napoleon's step son, Eugene de Beauharnais, as emperor. With two new puppet countries in the Americas, Spanish residents in Spain other colonies grew nervous. To prevent more puppet governments in the Americas, Florida beat Napoleon to the punch. Florida declared itself independent, with the leadership of Colonel Jose Fernandez(this character is made up, there is very little information on wikipedia on individual members of the Spanish military), they proclaimed themselves, the Republic of Florida on May 17th, 1809. In August of 1809, under order of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor Lucien declared war on the Republic of Florida, as well did his brother Joseph, king of Spain.
Colonel Jose Fernandez was promoted to General and asked to lead the new, small, Floridian army to victory. Jose knew he didn't have enough men to fight such a war. So he was given several unprecedented privileges in Florida. He drafted every male age 16 to 40 years old into the army. Any one older then 40 who had military experience was also called into service. With some bribery, he even convinced the Seminole to join his side. Along the Florida-Louisiana border there were several small skirmishes, but never a large all out battle. Using the Seminole's guerilla tactics really worked for the Floridians, as they were now calling themselves. But this wasn't enough. Spain had sent ships toward them, and by September, they were docked in Cuba, ready to attack Florida.
Florida had pleaded with Britain to acquire naval support. The Spanish ships mad harbor in Whitewater Bay, and landed troops onto mainland Florida. Having had a bad navigator, they did not realize they were venturing into the everglades. 1 week after landing in Florida, half the Spanish soldiers had died from diseases caused by mosquitoes. They turned back to return to the ships, but when they got there, a small fleet of British ships were out side of Whitewater Bay, blocking the only escape. The Spanish soldiers surrendered. The war in Florida continued in this manner until January of 1812. On the 20th of January, a fleet of British ships attacked New Orleans, and Landed British and Floridian Soldiers into the City. Only 2 hours after the British had taken control of the Harbor, did Emperor Lucien Surrender.
A peace treaty was made between Florida, Great Britain, and Louisiana. Louisiana lost all land north of the 48th Parallel. War still continued between France, Spain and Florida until the removal of Napoleon in 1814. In June of 1812, the people of Florida proclaimed General Jose Fernandez, King of Florida. The name of their nation was renamed, The Kingdom of Florida. The Mexican Empire, and the Empire of Louisiana retained it's independence from France and Spain even after Napoleon was defeated. Their governments were redesigned so that they had no legal ties to France or Spain. With independent Monarchies in North America, the landscape will never be the same.
The New Hampshire Revival:1805- 1810
When New York withdrew its military occupational forces from New Hampshire, there were cries of Joy within New Hampshire, with even louder cries of Vengeance. Within the New Hampshire government, a new political movement arose. This new movement grew into the Vengeance Party, of which its platform was based on achieving revenge on New York. In April of 1805, the people of New Hampshire were upset with the old government. Under threat of mob violence, the New Hampshire National legislature voted to have a constitutional convention.
All of the members of Government were invited to the convention, along with the heads of the major political parties. The people wanted a constitution that would never let anything like the Treaty of Albany happen ever again. There were two opposing thoughts in the convention, the Radicals who wanted Revenge on New York and the NEC by military means, and the Moderates who wanted simply to avoid more conflict and rise back to power peacefully. The Radicals had more way with the people. Their constitution was passed.
Theirs actually resembled the New York Constitution. It had more emphasis on electing to life terms, such as the President. They had an executive, a legislative, and a Judiciary branch, but they added a fourth branch of government, Military. Never before in any country had the military been a branch of government, Until now, it had only been a tool of government. The People elected the legislators, the legislators elected the Executive, and the Executive chose the head of the Military branch. Many other laws and amendments went into the constitution. It included a mandatory conscription of all male citizens 18 years old. They would serve for 3 years once they were conscripted, and then they would be on the Draft list after the mandatory 3 years until they were 35 years old. Officers in the military could not resign after the 3 years, they were required to work in this field until death.
The new constitution was finished in December of 1805. Their new government began a spree of military developments. They almost went bankrupt building state owned weapons factories. They traded a lot with the Dutch and Belgians, gaining knowledge of Industrial workings.
The New Hampshire military hired Prussian officers to train their army to be the best it can, soldier for soldier. They built 5 new forts along the border of New Hampshire and the Vermont Valley. New Hampshire began taking a bigger role in the NEC, by offering to lead any future coalition armies. Many of these new changes needed assistance and labor, but they did not have a large enough labor force to do this. In order to find a source, the New Hampshire government legalized the slave trade in 1807. When news of this was sent out, ships began deterring from their normal rout, and started heading north instead of staying in the south. The government offered any citizen that owned slaves could rent their slaves out to the government, or in some cases, the slaves were conscripted into the government labor force.
These new reforms revitalize the government… not necessarily the people. They are prepared to take revenge, but when will this occur?
The Foundations of Conflict: May 1787- November 1788
In May of 1787, after the failure of the Annapolis Convention, a new convention was held in Philadelphia, capitol of Pennsylvania. The War of Independence has been over since January 14, 1784. The Articles of Confederation were not sufficient enough to prevent the 13 former colonies from tearing a sunder. This convention would be the catalyst for a new government. Each state sent delegates to the convention(except for Rhode Island of course) to represent them and their interests in shaping this new government.
Though intended to "Fix" the Articles of Confederation, it was soon seen that an entirely new government was needed. This angered states in south, in particular, Virginia, home of the late Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson had died on commute from his home in Virginia to Philadelphia on September 5, 1783, only two days after the Treaty of Paris was signed. Without Jefferson’s support in the convention, the ties of this new Republic would soon collapse. Washington was asked to attend the convention and serve as its presiding officer, but he could not make the trip for he had grown ill. He would die in October 1788 from this illness.
Though Jefferson was gone, his feelings,(at least those for limited government) were still strong amongst the Virginia delegates. This was reflected in the Virginia plan, which was turned down by the other states. Other failed plans that followed were the Pinckney plan, New Jersey Plan, Hamilton Plan, and of course the Connecticut Compromise. These and many others failed. They needed all 13 states to approve this new constitution. All but three voted yes. Those states were, Virginia, New York, and Rhode Island. The convention ended in September of 1787, without a new constitution, or even a mending of the old one. In the coming year the states would secede from the union one by one until it was no more.
First to secede was Rhode Island in October of 1787, followed by Virginia in November. In January of 1788 the states of North Carolina and Maryland join the movement. In February South Carolina followed suit. In March it was Georgia, then New York. In May New Jersey and Delaware both left the fledgling union. New Hampshire was not far behind in leaving the union. Pennsylvania left in July of 1788. After Pennsylvania left the congress relocated to Boston, where only delegates from Massachusetts and Connecticut were remaining. By November 1788, all legal attachments between the states, except for Massachusetts and Connecticut, were broken an non-binding. Each state had become its own nation. Soon these new nations would do separately what they could not do together.
New Nations from the Ashes: January 1789- July 1790
After the Disolvement of the union, these new nations began forming new governments to reflect their new status as independent nations. In Virginia they started their own constitutional convention in February of 1788, and ended in June of 1788. They essentially adopted the Virginia plan from the convention. Their government possessed 3 branches, a Legislative, Judicial, and an Executive. The most powerful branch was the legislative. Their legislative branch was divided into two chambers, the Popular chamber, and then a Senate chosen by the reps of the Popular Chamber. For this they had to divide the Virginia map into new districts. Each district would have a representative for every 1000 residents. The Senate was to be of 50 members. They would be popularly elected by the members of the Popular chamber. The National Executive would be chosen by a joint meeting of the Legislatures. Reps in the Popular Chamber and the National Executive were given a limit of a single term. The National Executive had very little power outside what the Legislative gave him. They officially called themselves the Commonwealth of Virginia(CWV).
The governments of North and South Carolina meet together in May of 1788 to try and form a new constitution between the two of them that would bind them together into one country. At their convention they elected Charles Pinckney to be the President of the Convention. Just as Virginia, they had 3 branches, Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. The Legislative would be broken into two houses, a Senate, and a House of Delegates. The House of Delegates would be elected by popular vote and represent each district of the new Carolina Republic by population, with senate being chosen by the House of Delegates. The senators would serve in rotation for four years, representing one of four regions within each district. The President was also very weak with this constitution.
Georgia, always leaning loyalist, wanted a return to the old ways, so they restored their pre-revolutionary war government. The head of state was referred to as the Lord Governor, even though no longer a British colony. Georgia opened its arms to loyalists fleeing the other states, which began to drive them southward instead of into Canada.
New Jersey would go with the plan set by William Paterson at the convention. Pennsylvania retained their government organization, but decided to be more active with foreign powers non-American. New York began a convention in January of 1789. It grew to like the plan proposed by Alexander Hamilton at the convention. They removed the sovereignty of districts and created a highly centralized government.(This is where I grew tired of describing the new governments, if you really want to know what they were like, Wikipedia them). Delaware retained its old government.
Up north, the two remaining members of the united states of America, Massachusetts and Connecticut, decided to form a new union, abandoning the old Articles, and the title of United States of America. They wanted to form a new England economic community. They states invited were New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts(which still included Maine), Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. New York and New Hampshire didn't attend. So Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island founded the New England Confederation. There was little difference between this constitution and the Articles of confederation. The only real differences were: 1. a common currency, 2. no tariffs, taxes, or trade barriers between the members of the NEC, and 3. a defensive coalition military. This military was only defensive. If one member was attacked by and "Unprovoked" enemy, then the others must come to their aid militarily. These coalition armies can only serve within recognized territory of the NEC. Each member could have its own military and go to war with powers outside the NEC, but would not receive assistance from the NEC coalition military.
These conventions went on until July of 1790, with states having second conventions, most making no changes. Now that new nations are formed, conflicts will soon arise.
The Vermont War: May 1791-1793
The governments have been established, but now conflict brews in the north. The Northern states could not decide who owned the Vermont valley in western New Hampshire. The NEC recognized the Vermont valley as part of New Hampshire, while Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania recognized it as New York’s. States such as New Jersey and others kept out of the issue. New Hampshire, who had originally turned down the membership to the NEC now requested it be let in, which was allowed with a vote of 2/3, Rhode Island being against.
The tempers boiled over in May of 1791 when New York sent troops into the Vermont Valley, claiming "We are occupying what is ours". This did not sit well with New Hampshire. To the NEC, this was considered an invasion by New York, so what became known as the First NEC coalition army was formed and sent to the Vermont Valley(The coalition armies are not permanent, they form when are needed, and after a peace is formed with the aggressing power, the army is disbanded. The next coalition army formed will be given the title of the next consecutive number).
The war moved slowly at first, running into a stalemate in November of 1791, when it became too cold and difficult to keep pushing forward. The 1st NEC coalition army reached the Taconic Mountains and had to halt their until spring. This however was not the case for a the local militia that was resisting both sides, the Green Mountain Boys, led by the now 53 year old Ethan Allan. He led the self proclaimed Vermont Republic. However, no state in North America recognized the Vermont republic, so the other states dealt with Vermont as if a territory up for grabs. The Green Mountain Boys(GMB) started a guerilla war against both the NEC and New York in the Winter. Both Sides were force to take these attacks until April of 1792, when the weather became tame enough to continue fighting. At that time the GMB went into hiding until winter came back.
The NEC coalition pushed the New Yorkers back out of Vermont by September of 1792. In the NEC assembly in Boston, they met with New York ambassadors and settled on an agreement, New York would pull out of the Vermont Valley, recognize the disputed territory as part of New Hampshire, and pay a reparations to New Hampshire and to the NEC general Fund.(Each killed soldiers family received 10 dollars in condolences).
The peace Agreement was approved 3 to 4, New Hampshire voting no. The movement passed, and the peace agreement accepted by all the members of the NEC except for New Hampshire. When the coalition forces from the other states withdrew, the New Hampshire forces stayed in place. In January of 1793, New Hampshire forces invaded Eastern New York, caught off guard, they made a good spear head into the enemy state. New York wasn't able to muster a force that could fight back until March of 1793, when they pushed New Hampshire all the way back into the Vermont valley and beyond. When this happened New Hampshire pleaded for help from the other NEC members, but the constitution of the NEC did not require the other states to respond, so they didn't. New York pushed back New Hampshire forces all the way to the Concord. When New York forces captured the capitol, they forced a very strict treaty on New Hampshire.
The treaty was made in Albany, so it became known as the Treaty of Albany. The first part of this treaty was that the previously disputed Vermont Valley would be ceded to New York. New Hampshire must recognize it as a New York province. New Hampshire was to pay reparations to New York and pay for the condolences to each family(15 dollarsw Hampshire would not be allowed to have a "Played" standing army, and could not Conscript people into service until 1805. On top of that, Western New Hampshire was to be occupied by New York Forces until 1805. The treaty was signed in Albany New York on October 20th, 1793. This treaty humiliated New Hampshire, as was the goal of New York, in hopes it would never rise to challenge it. This treaty would be the foundations of future conflicts in New England.
The Southern Divide: 1790-1793
In the south, there were territorial issues as well, But unlike up in New England where it escalated into war, they were far more civil in the south. Even before their new governments were formed, Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia were negotiating how to divide the land south of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. Between Carolina and Virginia, they decided to make the border as what had been recognized by the continental congress. Maryland and Virginia had not determined the border between them. They both lay claim to the Potomac River, which remains the main conflict between them. They eventually decide in 1791 to have it be a neutral river, allowing both access to it at all times, minus the use for military purposes. Maryland was the last of the southern states to form a new constitution. In 1790, they adopted a form similar to that of Virginia.
The land south and east of the two rivers was divided in 3 sections. Virginia and Carolina had the largest standing armies in the South, with Georgia, having the smallest. They gave Georgia apex 1/4 of the disputed land, furthest in the south, completely along the border of Spanish Florida, both east and west. The remaining apex 3/4 of the territory was divided equally between Virginia and Carolina. Virginia possessing OTL Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and the northern half of Tennessee. Carolina annexed the Southern half of Tennessee, and the upper half’s of OTL Alabama and Mississippi. This, for the time being, successfully divided the disputed territory in the south. It won't be too long before conflict arises in the south.
Indian Wars and Remodeling Militaries: 1793-1803
There was never an official "War" declared on the Indians of the Frontier, but the conflict levels were of one all the same. All of the states were dealing with Indian problems, especially those in the south, each having acquired vast amounts of land without firing any shots.
Due to having the largest population amongst the states, it had the largest army as well. They built their new military on the ideas of Washington. They adopted the uniform of the Virginia Blues as their national uniform. In order to make these lands more inhabitable for Virginians, the Virginia legislature pushed through many budgets for different campaigns against Indians, the two largest being against the Iroquois and the Shawnee. In the appellations the Iroquois fought a hard guerilla war, trying to force the Virginians to some sort of Peace Agreement. The Virginians were having none of that. One major battle occurred near the Monongahela River, with 500 Virginia soldiers fighting against 650 Iroquois warriors. The battle ended with the Virginians holding the field, taking 120 casualties on their side, and 200 on the Indians side. It was said the river ran with blood. This would become known as the Battle of Monongahela. They also had small skirmishes with the Unnamed. While the Virginians were trying to kill off all the native inhabitants of their land.
The Carolinians tried a more diplomatic approach. They initially tried paying the Indians to leave the land, but some refused, and others returned after a few weeks, not understanding the western concept of purchases and ownership. They thought they merely loaned the land to them, and then did return when they felt it was up. This led to some violence with the Natives.
Georgia, however, got along fantastically with the Natives. After their independence, they remodeled their military after the British. They even used the same” Red Coat" uniform. This was unlinked by some people, but because of the large amount of loyalists entering Georgia, it remained. Tribes were hired by the Georgian government as mercenaries to fight against other tribes. They would grant them land in exchange for removing the indigenous population of another area of land. Georgia even had small scale wars with the Spanish in Florida, fighting the Seminoles and small number of Spaniard raiding parties.
In the North the problems with the natives are more localized. Fighting the natives that still live on the main land of the states. Especially in the Vermont Valley(annexed by New York) both Indian tribes and Green Mountain Boys wage guerilla war on the occupying New York forces. Conflicts between Ohio Indians and settlers still wages. British Agents have been inciting Indian violence on the borderlands and even inside the several new countries.
The Ohio War: 1803 - 1807
Through the late 17 hundreds there were many claims on the Ohio country and the Northwest Territory. However, there were only 5 who actually possessed any physical holdings in the territory: New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Great Britain. Because of the devolvement of the United States government, Great Britain no longer recognized the Northwest territory belonging to someone else. The British had been using agents within the Ohio to spark Indian uprisings within the foreign held areas of the Ohio. Some agents even penetrated even deeper into these other nations and promising British support in exchange for them causing trouble for the former Americans.(Rarely did any sort of British aid reach the Indians)
New York had been wanting to expand deeper into the Ohio, but without a direct land path it would be extremely difficult. New York looked to the British for help. They agreed to divide the Ohio country between the two of them, with the Sandusky and Scioto rivers with a line drawn to connect them serving as the dividing point. War was looming on the Horizon. What was once just frontiersman and settlers moving in now became soldiers and fortifications.
War was sparked when a New York regiment captured Fort McIntosh, a Pennsylvanian fort. This put New York and Pennsylvania at war. Along their border and in the Ohio they waged battle. It was not long before there were British attacks on Virginia and Maryland settlements. When the political trail was followed, connecting New York’s attack on Pennsylvania and the British attacks on Virginia and Maryland, an alliance was quick to form.
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia formed a triple alliance against New York and the British. On August 7th, 1803, War was officially declared by Virginia and Maryland on the British. Maryland also assisted Pennsylvania in its war against New York. In November of 1803, New Jersey allied itself with Pennsylvania, and invaded south eastern New York.
Now fighting a two front war, New York had to divide its resources to defend itself. It did not take long for New York to be overwhelmed by fighting Pennsylvania in the South, New Jersey in the South East, and a continuing military occupation of Vermont and western New Hampshire. Virginia was making ground against the British, but at a cost. By the Summer of 1804, it looked as if New York was down for the count, when they received a large reinforcement they did not expect, British Soldiers.
British soldiers sent from Canada came to back up New York. It, however was not enough to stop Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It wasn't until January of 1805 did the wind change. The article of the Treaty of Albany that had New York occupy Western New Hampshire(not Vermont) had ended, and a flood of troops came to the fronts. It wasn't enough to repel the invaders out of New York, but it was enough to halt the push of them.
The lines stayed quite solid in New York until spring of 1807, when New York sued for peace. New York made a separate peace with New Jersey and Pennsylvania. New York was forced to cede all its holdings in the Ohio territory to Maryland and Pennsylvania. It gave the counties of Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua to Pennsylvania. And it gave New Jersey much of its land in south eastern New York, completely removing Connecticut from bordering New York.
Virginia and Maryland made peace with the British as well. Great Britain signed a treaty, acknowledging the holdings of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. However, Virginia felt betrayed by Maryland. Maryland had not fought nearly as much as Virginia had, but got nothing from it. Virginia gained no land in this conflict, only recognition. This wasn't enough for Virginia. Feelings between Maryland and Virginia are forever soured.
Napoleonic America: 1803 - 1814
In Europe, history stayed course. The National Assembly occurred in 1789, and Napoleon was in power by 1800. Napoleon crowned himself empower in 1803. From their he did similar things as he did IOTL. He placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish Throne. He used his brothers position to obtain the Louisiana Territory from Spain and give it to France. But France had no use for it. There was no nation that could buy it, that he wanted to sell it to. So as he did with Spain, he made a puppet government. In 1807, he ceded the Louisiana Territory from France, and established the Louisiana Empire. He chose New Orleans as the capitol of this empire, and he placed his brother Lucien Bonaparte on the throne and crowned him, Emperor Lucien the First.
Napoleon grew to like this system of puppet governments, so he created another with New Spain. He forced his brother to cede New Spain, minus Florida and Cuba, and create a puppet government there. There he created the Mexican Empire, with Napoleon's step son, Eugene de Beauharnais, as emperor. With two new puppet countries in the Americas, Spanish residents in Spain other colonies grew nervous. To prevent more puppet governments in the Americas, Florida beat Napoleon to the punch. Florida declared itself independent, with the leadership of Colonel Jose Fernandez(this character is made up, there is very little information on wikipedia on individual members of the Spanish military), they proclaimed themselves, the Republic of Florida on May 17th, 1809. In August of 1809, under order of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor Lucien declared war on the Republic of Florida, as well did his brother Joseph, king of Spain.
Colonel Jose Fernandez was promoted to General and asked to lead the new, small, Floridian army to victory. Jose knew he didn't have enough men to fight such a war. So he was given several unprecedented privileges in Florida. He drafted every male age 16 to 40 years old into the army. Any one older then 40 who had military experience was also called into service. With some bribery, he even convinced the Seminole to join his side. Along the Florida-Louisiana border there were several small skirmishes, but never a large all out battle. Using the Seminole's guerilla tactics really worked for the Floridians, as they were now calling themselves. But this wasn't enough. Spain had sent ships toward them, and by September, they were docked in Cuba, ready to attack Florida.
Florida had pleaded with Britain to acquire naval support. The Spanish ships mad harbor in Whitewater Bay, and landed troops onto mainland Florida. Having had a bad navigator, they did not realize they were venturing into the everglades. 1 week after landing in Florida, half the Spanish soldiers had died from diseases caused by mosquitoes. They turned back to return to the ships, but when they got there, a small fleet of British ships were out side of Whitewater Bay, blocking the only escape. The Spanish soldiers surrendered. The war in Florida continued in this manner until January of 1812. On the 20th of January, a fleet of British ships attacked New Orleans, and Landed British and Floridian Soldiers into the City. Only 2 hours after the British had taken control of the Harbor, did Emperor Lucien Surrender.
A peace treaty was made between Florida, Great Britain, and Louisiana. Louisiana lost all land north of the 48th Parallel. War still continued between France, Spain and Florida until the removal of Napoleon in 1814. In June of 1812, the people of Florida proclaimed General Jose Fernandez, King of Florida. The name of their nation was renamed, The Kingdom of Florida. The Mexican Empire, and the Empire of Louisiana retained it's independence from France and Spain even after Napoleon was defeated. Their governments were redesigned so that they had no legal ties to France or Spain. With independent Monarchies in North America, the landscape will never be the same.
The New Hampshire Revival:1805- 1810
When New York withdrew its military occupational forces from New Hampshire, there were cries of Joy within New Hampshire, with even louder cries of Vengeance. Within the New Hampshire government, a new political movement arose. This new movement grew into the Vengeance Party, of which its platform was based on achieving revenge on New York. In April of 1805, the people of New Hampshire were upset with the old government. Under threat of mob violence, the New Hampshire National legislature voted to have a constitutional convention.
All of the members of Government were invited to the convention, along with the heads of the major political parties. The people wanted a constitution that would never let anything like the Treaty of Albany happen ever again. There were two opposing thoughts in the convention, the Radicals who wanted Revenge on New York and the NEC by military means, and the Moderates who wanted simply to avoid more conflict and rise back to power peacefully. The Radicals had more way with the people. Their constitution was passed.
Theirs actually resembled the New York Constitution. It had more emphasis on electing to life terms, such as the President. They had an executive, a legislative, and a Judiciary branch, but they added a fourth branch of government, Military. Never before in any country had the military been a branch of government, Until now, it had only been a tool of government. The People elected the legislators, the legislators elected the Executive, and the Executive chose the head of the Military branch. Many other laws and amendments went into the constitution. It included a mandatory conscription of all male citizens 18 years old. They would serve for 3 years once they were conscripted, and then they would be on the Draft list after the mandatory 3 years until they were 35 years old. Officers in the military could not resign after the 3 years, they were required to work in this field until death.
The new constitution was finished in December of 1805. Their new government began a spree of military developments. They almost went bankrupt building state owned weapons factories. They traded a lot with the Dutch and Belgians, gaining knowledge of Industrial workings.
The New Hampshire military hired Prussian officers to train their army to be the best it can, soldier for soldier. They built 5 new forts along the border of New Hampshire and the Vermont Valley. New Hampshire began taking a bigger role in the NEC, by offering to lead any future coalition armies. Many of these new changes needed assistance and labor, but they did not have a large enough labor force to do this. In order to find a source, the New Hampshire government legalized the slave trade in 1807. When news of this was sent out, ships began deterring from their normal rout, and started heading north instead of staying in the south. The government offered any citizen that owned slaves could rent their slaves out to the government, or in some cases, the slaves were conscripted into the government labor force.
These new reforms revitalize the government… not necessarily the people. They are prepared to take revenge, but when will this occur?