So I guess Robert Toombs now threatens to bury his own country.
May Lincoln save us all...
May Lincoln save us all...
Lone Star Republic
- Thread starter Kaiser Chris
- Start date
Sorry for pointing out small mistakes here, but suingw? I think you mean suing.
Sorry, I was reading from a while back and...
Surely this is a joke right?
Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver, Toombs' price I'm guessing is slavery. Good update, and in a train wreck sort of way I'm await the horror that is the Toombs administration.
You can say that again. No good will come from having that man as president, not when historians in this world are comparing him to Judas. I wonder if he will defect to the south once the shooting starts.
So... is he the Buchanan, Johnson, or Pierce of this world times 4.
You two are very right in your assesments of how shit has hit the fan in the United States. While the Civil War may start out similar to OTL, the leadup to it has been far worse with the highlight being Brown killing Douglas, American historians definitely won't be looking kindly upon this man. There will be events after the confederacy is formed and during the Civil War which could be called far worse than what happened OTL. As to whether or not the war itself can get on a lower level or if the United States can reconcile easily or go along the same path as OTL, will be something we'll have to find out.
As for Robert Toombs he will become somewhat of a villain within this timeline. Every Confederate TL I've seen thus far usually has Jeff Davis or Bobby Lee act as the leaders of the Confederacy, I wanted to switch things up by including a man who was a very strong proponent of the Confederacy but got overshadowed by Davis OTL. OTL Toombs was officially the Confederate Secretary of State who advocated secession from the United States as far early as 1850. The man was frequently involved in pissing contests with Davis and quite his post to join the Confederate Army since he was tired of Davis controlling things in Richmond. He had a rather lackluster career on the battlefield and fled to Cuba after the war to live in exile. As another mention I'd like to say that I have plans for both Judah P. Benjamin and Jefferson Davis TTL.
Sorry, I was reading from a while back and...
Surely this is a joke right?
Texas weather was probably cooler back then due to there being no global warming with the intense rise of CO2 levels. As a Texan I'd like to state that our weather is WEIRD. There is absolutely nothing positively normal about Texan weather when you come across our state. Here our winter is from February-March, It usually gets to 80 degrees in December and I've worn shorts every Christmas for the past five years, our rain storms are so freakish and unexpected that there's no point in even trying to track them down, summer may not start until July, Fall and Spring do not exist, and don't even get me started on our hurricanes or tornadoes. Maybe at that day there was a high gust of wind which made the weather really cool for Houston. Overall we Texans just take what we can get for the weather and just hope it doesn't flood or the temperatures don't get in the hundreds.
As you can probably tell from my earlier post, Toombs is not going to make the situation any better. He'll make for an extremely heated 1860 election and a rather confrontational stance towards the Confederacy. If you want a hint on where Toombs will go then all I'll say is that you can find one in the early chapters of Diary of a Doofus Kings II by AltHistoryBuff, a very well written timeline that unfortunately has many famous Texans serving in the Confederacy. I will say this, if there ever is a President TTL who is somehow worse than Toombs, then America will truly have fallen from grace.
None of these three men are truly on the same level as how I'll portray Toombs. Johnson and Pierce were more incompetent Presidents not true supporters of the southern cause. It is interesting though that you mention Buchanan since I'll have him be involved in the Civil War, far beyond what he currently is as Secretary of State.
I'm from Corpus Christi; we got snow one year (on Christmas!) and the people here wrote at least three books about it, while everyone in the DFW area just shrugged, wondering what the big deal was. And don't get me started on the summers down here....
IMO, air conditioning was the best invention for the southern states in the past century...
I do wonder how bad life was for people back then without it...
So your from the coast. I've got to ask, how bad is it there come Hurricane and Tropical a Storm season?
The weather's pretty hot during the day; Corpus Christi's last major hurricane hit was Celia in 1970...
It does get hot, especially in August (triple-digit temps in Corpus Christi are not uncommon); inland, it's in the triple digits by June usually...
Do not move to Arizona in the summer...
It does get hot, especially in August (triple-digit temps in Corpus Christi are not uncommon); inland, it's in the triple digits by June usually...
Do not move to Arizona in the summer...
I can feel you man. The last time it snowed in Houston was 2008/2009 and I got to stay home from school just so I could play in the snow with some snowball fights and mini snowmen. Luckily we got 1 inch of snow so that was great. I really hate winters down here because you get the cold temperatures and practically crap in return without any snow whatsoever. Here's to hoping we get some next year.
By the way Air conditioning will come in Texas after the Second Great War and will cause a major immigration boom in Texas along with the rise of both the oil and aerospace industry.
You get used to the weather after a while. The benefits of living in Texas such as cheap land and relative racial and religious tolerance far outweigh the weather. Besides just think of the people who live in Mexico or the Yucatan.
Hurricane and Tropical storm season is pretty random from year to year, but overall it's alright. The real places of danger on the gulf are the people who live in New Orleans and Florida. All that we usually get is extra rainfall. I consider Trcas to be pretty blessed considering we haven't received anything major since Ike. Here's hoping that continues. Living in the Houston area we only get tornadoes every few years and it doesn't affect the area much. On Monday we had tornado warnings from Harris to Fort Bend county. Luckily it only affected a few neighborhoods and nothing bad happened.
Update will come soon and will cover Crockett's second term. Before the Turtledoves end I plan to hopefully post two more chapters, one based on Texas immigration and the other one probably being either 1860 elections or Asian events.
Given the run up I wouldn't be surprised if you've found some way to make the Civil War worse than it was in OTL. Of course I'd almost bet things are about equal in terms of horror, but we'll see soon enough. Post-war does interest me greatly though. You've already said there is something of a southern exodus to Texas, and that the Southerners aren't to happy with what they find there, so I'd all but imagine reconstruction and reconciliation is somewhat rockier, but in the long run I'm hoping it is better than OTL.
You can have the Willamette Valley's share. Just last month my car looked like this...*
This isn't normal for us, and I don't want it to happen again.
*This photo is actually two or three years old, but my car looked like that again. 1966 before anyone asks.
Chapter 66 Where Do We Go From Here
Chapter 66 Where Do We Go From Here
"I don't give a damn if you think we are trampling over your rights! I built this country from the ground up against Santa Anna's tyranny and I will not see it become a shithole over the issue of slaves. America is going to a hell in a handbasket just because they can't solve a fucking yes or no question. Texas is different, we can do better."- President Mirabeau Lamar 1858
"While I am glad to see that Texas has started reforms on its abhorrent practice of slavery, reforms will only get you so far when men are still in chains. Freedom is the only path to take."- Fredrick Douglass 1858
"By electing Republican you will just the correct path which any rightful Texan should take, one that owes allegiance to the Republic. I am proud to call the Americanos who I fought besides me in the revolution as friends. I am forever grateful to Senor Crockett who saved my life at the Alamo. However, what Crockett and the Western Union are blind upon is that they treat Texas as a byproduct of America. The Republic is a unique nation among the west that isn't strictly Mexican or American, but rather a culture forged by hard working settlers immigrants, and Indians who want to share a common dream to make their own across the prairie. A vote for me as President is a vote for the independence of Texas."- Presidential Candidate Juan Seguin 1859
After the settling of the Mormon Rebellion and the Filibuster War the people of Texas at first went about their lives with a gleeful smile on their face. After all they just entered two major armed conflicts and emerged victorious just like they had twice against the Mexicans with the Revolution and the Border Wars. The economy was good and the land was plenty, what would there be to worry about. However the people of Texas started to take a look at themselves and then started to realize something, they lacked an identity, or rather they were only in the process of making one. In the first year of the Republic, Texas was considered by its citizens to be either an American or Mexican byproduct that had formed through a natural blend of the two cultures in the Revolution. Of course this can be considered true in many ways such as the important role of Austin's Colony and Tejanos throughout the revolution such as Seguin and de Zavala. Then the immigrant waves started to emerge, however people started to form that in mind with the American ideal of immigration and a nation of many peoples. Over time as the groups of Texans were getting diverse besides just Americans and Mexicans, the singular dual culture ceased to exist. Soon Texas started forming its own political ideologies, went through unique experiences such as the gold rush and life on the frontier, started introducing native ideas to their culture, were the first group to start integrating Chinese in the Americas, went through unique experiences such as the aforementioned Mormon Rebellion and Filibuster War; all of these events helping to distance themselves from both of their former countries. This process is what Texan historian Lamar Wright has called as "The process of nationalism" where from 1856 to roughly around 1870, Texan nationalism started emerging in the hearts of the Texan people and the Texan culture truly started to flourish. The process of Nationalism only later finalizing with the events of the Mexican War and the rejection of the Southern way with the Southern Exodus, post American Civil War. No where else would this start to become present than in the second and final term of Davy Crockett.
As mentioned above, American Texans were actively starting to form there own identities of the Texans, therefore subconsciously rejecting their old American heritage. Sometimes this was extremely prevalent in the ways of Lamar and Austin, and others it was more subdued with the mannerisms and personalities of Houston and Crockett indicating a greater sense of belonging in Texas. While it can be hard to rather pinpoint the exact start of this process, one ongoing event that most historians agreed was a major shift towards nationalism was the leadup to the Civil War. For years the American Texans had looked on at their former nation with a heavy amount of disgust due to the rampant buildup of tension and conflict over the question of slavery. While there were clearly two camps of Americans in Texas with support and abolition of slavery, for the most part the same process had not begun in Texas due to the fact that it was legal throughout the Republic and both sides had a relative ignoring of the other, each living within their own select regions of the nation. When Dred Scott came to pass in the United States was when those select Americans began to truly look back at their former nation and look on in disgust. What both sides had relatively come to a conclusion in Texas had at the same time been tearing apart the once strong Union. Many people questioned why their homeland had been so torn up about it. Then when they asked that question another sinister thought came to their minds, could it happen here? The slaveowners in the east of Texas began to wonder if they would truly fight for their right to slaves, while the other half of the coin began to wonder if the plantations in the East would resist if they did begin to enact change. In the middle of it were the non-Americans who did not like for the result to happen over either half. They had built new lives in a nation that had relatively so few of the problems that existed in the old country or what little would've lied for them in America, they did not want this to happen in Texas. For with the exception of Mormons and hostile Indians, every race and ethnicity had built a relatively uneasy coexistince where each side kept to each other and when they did cross paths would often have cordial dealings. With the question of the Mormons and the dangers of Filibusters settled the people of Texas looked to Austin to fix the problem so that they would not have to suffer America's problems. However wishing for a solution to come is easier said than done.
Over the decades of teaching Texas history a common misconception has arose where the Republicans were the party of abolition like their American counterparts, while the Western Union were supporters of slavery. The truth is that this was far more complicated. The main reason for the emergence of this scenario could be said to lie mostly with the demographics of party lines, Republicans tended to have a diverse array of ethnicities who were opposed to slavery along with Americans in the west who did not use the practice, meanwhile the Western Union tended to draw upon the plantations of the east for a large amount of financial and voter support. In Austin and the other commonwealth capitols the composition of legislators who did and did not practice slavery was 50/50 with most being nonchalant on the topic. After Dred Scott came the grand realization that the problem needed to be addressed immediately rather than simply waiting out for years as the American Founding Fathers chose to do so after the Constitution. The start of the initiative to enact slavery reforms was rather a surprise to the Texas congressmen as it came from both Presidents Houston and Lamar, two men who were Texas' equivalent of Jefferson and Adams. Over the latter course of 1857 both men approached supporters in their respective parties and called for both sides to come to an agreement regarding the issue before it was too late. Adding to the two men were President Burnett who supported Lamar and President Crockett who spoke rather in a couple of sessions in congress for a call of bipartisan work to create a bill to solve the slavery issue. Both sides came together and started on the date of September 25th, 1857, to try and come up with a solution through the rest of the fall session of Congress to decide which path to take. Upon beginning the session the talk soon spiraled into an endless series of debates and mindless spillovers into various other issues of the day. The problem of emancipation of the day was that it was either enacted through orders of authoritarian monarchs or done in the aftermath of revolutions with the goal of emancipation in mind such as those of Latin America. There had never before been a relatively voluntary transition from being a country reliant on slavery to that of a free one. Many of those congressmen who did own slaves argued that slavery was a part of the constitution and to change such a clause would be entirely wrong, they argued of the economic necessity of slavery and how it helped the nation with the cotton plantations in the east. Others, primarily men who were from the commonwealths, argued that slavery was a dying economic practice that could easily be fixed with cheap labor. Yet while arguments were made for each path there was no bringing up of a general solution. Pro-slavery supporters could not come up with a plan that could somehow keep slavery for the forseeable future, while Anti-slavery supporters could not at the same time come up with a concrete idea for emancipation. The only thing that they could agree upon was the goal of not becoming like America. This deadlock went on for quite a few weeks as the halls of Congress were filled with spectators who were interested on the future of the nation being discussed. It also didn't help that both sides were starting rally's and propaganda across the nation to advocate their position to the largely uncaring masses. Finally in early November, a few weeks before the start of winter break, a coalition of congressmen led by Senator Constantine Badouin of the Western Union and Representative Felipe Chavez of the Republicans. These two men led a group of congress on both sides who advocated not for either extreme to happen, but rather for a general reform to take place. There was a general agreement among those present that America was the cause for all this, so why not wait it out and see how they would react? There was a large and rather sound argument from this coalition that no matter what they would do, America would be the deciding factor. If the United States decided to keep slavery then so would Texas. If they decided to do away with the practice then so would Texas as retaining it would make it a pariah and rather unstable in the western world (no one had any idea that the Civil War was coming). So in the end the general agreement was that a draft of reforms would be enacted so that the abolitionists would be pleased, and yet slavery would not be abolished so as not to ruin the whole system without a full strategy. The planning took several weeks and lapsed into the spring session, however by the end Texas came up with its first step towards full civil rights. These reforms are:
Slaves being lead to an auction in Texas (Left) Political Rally of an anti-slavery movement in Lamar (Right)
Outside of the issue of the slave question the rest of Texas in Crockett's second term was rather quiet. In Deseret there had been a process of reconstruction going on since the end of the rebellion and while there was some animosity left over the loss and concessions, no large unrest had happened besides a few minor fights in the settlements. California was still on an economic boom with trade increasing and the last of the gold recoveries being spent on investment and the creation of businesses. The main problem with that commonwealth at the time was the arrival of increasing waves of Chinese but while that had been an hot issue for a time with calls for an immigration ban, the issue soon died down as the slavery question rose up and the Chinese Texans were left to their own devices in their communities in cities such as San Francisco and Sacramento. In Arizona the main issue of the day was the railroad growth. This commonwealth had been targeted by both corporate investors in Texas and California and the government as it was the setting of a critical route to connect the nation's two oceans. One main issue that arose at the time and began to impede growth was that of the Apache. While the Apache had largely ignored the Texans early on, their annexation of Rio Grande New Mexico and the building of the railroads caused what was seen as an intrusion unto Apache territory that these desert warriors did not take lightly. Raids increased tenfold throughout the 1850's while whole battles would take place on the rails or in the settlements. While local Pueblo Indians had taken to joining the ICI, they were largely outnumbered by the hostile Apache who did not have a single tribe become integrated. This was the start of the rather irregular Apache Wars which was a series of conflicts that lasted until the 1870's involving regular battles between the Texas Army/Rangers and the Apache. Within Texas itself trade had been reestablished with Rio Grande and Nicaragua while economic and social developments had been following the same pace as before, though there was an ever present increase of immigrants arriving in the state. On the field of foreign affairs, much like America there was little else of notability. After the Filibuster War relations with Central America was strengthened with new deals, most importantly Texas getting favorable status with Nicaragua. Relations with Quebec were strengthened with regular trade while greater contact with South America and Asia was beginning to development. One great happening of notice was a large cozying to Emperor Napoleon. With the United States going increasingly unstable, President Crockett was generally unsure if their relationship could continue so he ordered Secretary-Prince Carl to being visiting Paris reguarly and having talks with Napoleon to strengthen ties. Luckily for the Secretary-Prince, Napoleon was welcoming to the ideas of stronger ties as he now saw a path open to building a French block of nations in Latin America with Texas as its head. Military cooperation and trade began to strengthen under Napoleon with the Emperor's enthusiastic love for Texas later being extended to future Emperor Napoleon IV. Unknown to Crockett at the time due to Secretary-Prince Carl acting of his own initiative, the man used State department resources to also seek out further ties with Germany. Adelsverien had been actively helping in the immigration of tens of thousands of Germans in the decade and new favorable trade was seen as valuable with Germany due to it becoming the new economic powerhouse on the continent. Leading to several conflicts of France and German ties to the Great War. Though while Prince Carl could be praised for his current efforts, there was one key detail that he severely missed at the time, the rise of Mexico.
Apache's planning a raid on a Texas convoy
Come the 1859 Presidential Elections the Republicans had found a new opening to regain the presidency. While they were far from the situation of the American Federalists, the Republicans held a general mentality similar to that of the American First Party system due to the constant feeling of having to eliminate the opposition. While Crockett had lost some points with the population due to Deseret and slavery, he was still generally well liked among the Texas population. Therefore the Republicans had to find someone equally charismatic and of similar renown to challenge the presidency, enter Juan Seguin. In the revolution Juan had served valiantly in both the Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, two key battles where the Republic saw its independence. In the aftermath Juan became Senator of San Antonio, serving with a reputation comparable to Henry Clay due to his key role in leading the Senate and drafting multiple legislation over the years. Seguin also held high esteem in the party due to his role in founding the Republican Party and status as leader of the Tejano population of Texas. While all of these natural qualities should've put Seguin on the nomination earlier, the party had been holding back due to a belief that nominating an non-white Catholic candidate could be damaging to their chances of election. Now the situation had changed immensely due to the fact that the traditional American electorate were now a minority in Texas and the Tejanos were currently about a fifth of the population. Add into that the dissatisfaction with Crockett and Seguin's nearly unblemished record produced a rather convincing case for the presidency. While the 1859 election was a calmer affair than some previous ones, there were still periods of conflict as some white radicals seeked to organize a mass opposition to deny Seguin purely on his Tejano ethnicity. Thankfully the Texas Rangers were able to deal with most of these gangs and the threat of racial war with the large Tejano population prevented any mass action from being taken. Throughout the nation the Republicans had taken massive organization efforts with smear campaigns on Crockett's inability to decisively solve slavery and the situation which led to the Mormon Rebellion, something that the Western Union happily retorted back that both situations were largely caused by Republicans. Throughout the campaign Seguin created a platform of Texas first, whereby his administration and a Republican led-congress would enact laws that would meet the needs of Texas first and seek to make the nation a great power that could stand on its own two feet and not have to rely on the mother country as the Western Union did so with America. This showed a stark abandonment within the Tejano community of their Mexican roots and a move towards the Texan identity. At the presidential debate in San Antionio (a poor choice due to being Seguin's hometown advantage) Seguin was on the constant attack on Crockett for the rise in Indian attacks, the Rio Grande intervention leading to zero stabilization for their southern neighbor, failure to meet fiscal platforms and the rather slow growth in recent years thanks to the Panic, and how a plan for emancipation needed to be created for the indefinite future. Crockett was able to fire back at the Republicans for their faults however he was mainly on the defensive for most of the time and could not find an opening to attack Seguin, leading to a situation where a slight majority found Seguin to be the victor of the debates. Sectional lines were drawn as East Texas was turning out in large support for Crockett along with the French, Northern California, and Deseret. While the Tejanos, Germans, West Texans, and Arizona was proving to be in strong support for Seguin. In the final return for the elections which were called in October, Seguin was found to be the winner with a close difference of less than 2,00 votes. The overall deciding factor for Seguin's victory being the high turnout in total Tejano support and the introduction of the Chinese votes for the Republicans due to their plans to draw votes in a support system. Thankfully Crockett ceded the race rather elegantly as he and Seguin still maintained a close friendship even after their attacks on the campaign trail. In his farewell address Crockett called for all Texans to come together in the coming years so that they may face whatever challenges coming head on and so that no matter what issue may come, the Lone Star Republic may never be divided. Two years later this message would come to be necessary with the beginning of the fateful Mexican War.
1859 Presidential Elections
Seguin/Pease (R): 52,345 Votes 50.78%
Crockett/ Van Zandt (W): 50,743 Votes 49.22%
Juan Seguin (Left) Davy Crockett (Right)
Attention everyone, the Turtledoves have only one day left in voting. We are currently in 1st place with five votes ahead but we'll need more in order to secure victory. It's important to remember that every vote counts so we'll need your support now more than ever. If we manage to climb all the way to the top I'll do a special request chapter on anything you guys will want (it will be important to remember though that some areas of the future will be off limits in order to limit spoilers and future developments). If you'd like to see the epic struggle that is the Mexican War, Morgan Freeman becoming President, Fascist Britain, and much much more then go out and vote today. Long Live the Republic!
Best Colonization and Revolutions Timeline at https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...-colonialism-revolutions-era-timeline.409386/
"I don't give a damn if you think we are trampling over your rights! I built this country from the ground up against Santa Anna's tyranny and I will not see it become a shithole over the issue of slaves. America is going to a hell in a handbasket just because they can't solve a fucking yes or no question. Texas is different, we can do better."- President Mirabeau Lamar 1858
"While I am glad to see that Texas has started reforms on its abhorrent practice of slavery, reforms will only get you so far when men are still in chains. Freedom is the only path to take."- Fredrick Douglass 1858
"By electing Republican you will just the correct path which any rightful Texan should take, one that owes allegiance to the Republic. I am proud to call the Americanos who I fought besides me in the revolution as friends. I am forever grateful to Senor Crockett who saved my life at the Alamo. However, what Crockett and the Western Union are blind upon is that they treat Texas as a byproduct of America. The Republic is a unique nation among the west that isn't strictly Mexican or American, but rather a culture forged by hard working settlers immigrants, and Indians who want to share a common dream to make their own across the prairie. A vote for me as President is a vote for the independence of Texas."- Presidential Candidate Juan Seguin 1859
After the settling of the Mormon Rebellion and the Filibuster War the people of Texas at first went about their lives with a gleeful smile on their face. After all they just entered two major armed conflicts and emerged victorious just like they had twice against the Mexicans with the Revolution and the Border Wars. The economy was good and the land was plenty, what would there be to worry about. However the people of Texas started to take a look at themselves and then started to realize something, they lacked an identity, or rather they were only in the process of making one. In the first year of the Republic, Texas was considered by its citizens to be either an American or Mexican byproduct that had formed through a natural blend of the two cultures in the Revolution. Of course this can be considered true in many ways such as the important role of Austin's Colony and Tejanos throughout the revolution such as Seguin and de Zavala. Then the immigrant waves started to emerge, however people started to form that in mind with the American ideal of immigration and a nation of many peoples. Over time as the groups of Texans were getting diverse besides just Americans and Mexicans, the singular dual culture ceased to exist. Soon Texas started forming its own political ideologies, went through unique experiences such as the gold rush and life on the frontier, started introducing native ideas to their culture, were the first group to start integrating Chinese in the Americas, went through unique experiences such as the aforementioned Mormon Rebellion and Filibuster War; all of these events helping to distance themselves from both of their former countries. This process is what Texan historian Lamar Wright has called as "The process of nationalism" where from 1856 to roughly around 1870, Texan nationalism started emerging in the hearts of the Texan people and the Texan culture truly started to flourish. The process of Nationalism only later finalizing with the events of the Mexican War and the rejection of the Southern way with the Southern Exodus, post American Civil War. No where else would this start to become present than in the second and final term of Davy Crockett.
As mentioned above, American Texans were actively starting to form there own identities of the Texans, therefore subconsciously rejecting their old American heritage. Sometimes this was extremely prevalent in the ways of Lamar and Austin, and others it was more subdued with the mannerisms and personalities of Houston and Crockett indicating a greater sense of belonging in Texas. While it can be hard to rather pinpoint the exact start of this process, one ongoing event that most historians agreed was a major shift towards nationalism was the leadup to the Civil War. For years the American Texans had looked on at their former nation with a heavy amount of disgust due to the rampant buildup of tension and conflict over the question of slavery. While there were clearly two camps of Americans in Texas with support and abolition of slavery, for the most part the same process had not begun in Texas due to the fact that it was legal throughout the Republic and both sides had a relative ignoring of the other, each living within their own select regions of the nation. When Dred Scott came to pass in the United States was when those select Americans began to truly look back at their former nation and look on in disgust. What both sides had relatively come to a conclusion in Texas had at the same time been tearing apart the once strong Union. Many people questioned why their homeland had been so torn up about it. Then when they asked that question another sinister thought came to their minds, could it happen here? The slaveowners in the east of Texas began to wonder if they would truly fight for their right to slaves, while the other half of the coin began to wonder if the plantations in the East would resist if they did begin to enact change. In the middle of it were the non-Americans who did not like for the result to happen over either half. They had built new lives in a nation that had relatively so few of the problems that existed in the old country or what little would've lied for them in America, they did not want this to happen in Texas. For with the exception of Mormons and hostile Indians, every race and ethnicity had built a relatively uneasy coexistince where each side kept to each other and when they did cross paths would often have cordial dealings. With the question of the Mormons and the dangers of Filibusters settled the people of Texas looked to Austin to fix the problem so that they would not have to suffer America's problems. However wishing for a solution to come is easier said than done.
Over the decades of teaching Texas history a common misconception has arose where the Republicans were the party of abolition like their American counterparts, while the Western Union were supporters of slavery. The truth is that this was far more complicated. The main reason for the emergence of this scenario could be said to lie mostly with the demographics of party lines, Republicans tended to have a diverse array of ethnicities who were opposed to slavery along with Americans in the west who did not use the practice, meanwhile the Western Union tended to draw upon the plantations of the east for a large amount of financial and voter support. In Austin and the other commonwealth capitols the composition of legislators who did and did not practice slavery was 50/50 with most being nonchalant on the topic. After Dred Scott came the grand realization that the problem needed to be addressed immediately rather than simply waiting out for years as the American Founding Fathers chose to do so after the Constitution. The start of the initiative to enact slavery reforms was rather a surprise to the Texas congressmen as it came from both Presidents Houston and Lamar, two men who were Texas' equivalent of Jefferson and Adams. Over the latter course of 1857 both men approached supporters in their respective parties and called for both sides to come to an agreement regarding the issue before it was too late. Adding to the two men were President Burnett who supported Lamar and President Crockett who spoke rather in a couple of sessions in congress for a call of bipartisan work to create a bill to solve the slavery issue. Both sides came together and started on the date of September 25th, 1857, to try and come up with a solution through the rest of the fall session of Congress to decide which path to take. Upon beginning the session the talk soon spiraled into an endless series of debates and mindless spillovers into various other issues of the day. The problem of emancipation of the day was that it was either enacted through orders of authoritarian monarchs or done in the aftermath of revolutions with the goal of emancipation in mind such as those of Latin America. There had never before been a relatively voluntary transition from being a country reliant on slavery to that of a free one. Many of those congressmen who did own slaves argued that slavery was a part of the constitution and to change such a clause would be entirely wrong, they argued of the economic necessity of slavery and how it helped the nation with the cotton plantations in the east. Others, primarily men who were from the commonwealths, argued that slavery was a dying economic practice that could easily be fixed with cheap labor. Yet while arguments were made for each path there was no bringing up of a general solution. Pro-slavery supporters could not come up with a plan that could somehow keep slavery for the forseeable future, while Anti-slavery supporters could not at the same time come up with a concrete idea for emancipation. The only thing that they could agree upon was the goal of not becoming like America. This deadlock went on for quite a few weeks as the halls of Congress were filled with spectators who were interested on the future of the nation being discussed. It also didn't help that both sides were starting rally's and propaganda across the nation to advocate their position to the largely uncaring masses. Finally in early November, a few weeks before the start of winter break, a coalition of congressmen led by Senator Constantine Badouin of the Western Union and Representative Felipe Chavez of the Republicans. These two men led a group of congress on both sides who advocated not for either extreme to happen, but rather for a general reform to take place. There was a general agreement among those present that America was the cause for all this, so why not wait it out and see how they would react? There was a large and rather sound argument from this coalition that no matter what they would do, America would be the deciding factor. If the United States decided to keep slavery then so would Texas. If they decided to do away with the practice then so would Texas as retaining it would make it a pariah and rather unstable in the western world (no one had any idea that the Civil War was coming). So in the end the general agreement was that a draft of reforms would be enacted so that the abolitionists would be pleased, and yet slavery would not be abolished so as not to ruin the whole system without a full strategy. The planning took several weeks and lapsed into the spring session, however by the end Texas came up with its first step towards full civil rights. These reforms are:
- An amendment to the Constitution where freed people within the borders of the Republic did not have to receive a grant of residency directly from Congress but could apply for citizenship in the regular process.
- The teaching of literacy to slaves would no longer be considered a criminal act in a law that would legalize it throughout Texas.
- A law which would outline specifically the process of slave incomes through hiring out and how a slave could legally buy its freedom.
- A special law which stated that a slave and its immediate family could not be separated in an auction, though legal proof has to be created to show that said grouping is an actual family.
- Admittance to slaves in regular religious gatherings under the supervision of their masters. Slaves could also perform their own legal religious gatherings under supervision
- Abolishing the slave trade across with nations across the Americas.
Slaves being lead to an auction in Texas (Left) Political Rally of an anti-slavery movement in Lamar (Right)
Outside of the issue of the slave question the rest of Texas in Crockett's second term was rather quiet. In Deseret there had been a process of reconstruction going on since the end of the rebellion and while there was some animosity left over the loss and concessions, no large unrest had happened besides a few minor fights in the settlements. California was still on an economic boom with trade increasing and the last of the gold recoveries being spent on investment and the creation of businesses. The main problem with that commonwealth at the time was the arrival of increasing waves of Chinese but while that had been an hot issue for a time with calls for an immigration ban, the issue soon died down as the slavery question rose up and the Chinese Texans were left to their own devices in their communities in cities such as San Francisco and Sacramento. In Arizona the main issue of the day was the railroad growth. This commonwealth had been targeted by both corporate investors in Texas and California and the government as it was the setting of a critical route to connect the nation's two oceans. One main issue that arose at the time and began to impede growth was that of the Apache. While the Apache had largely ignored the Texans early on, their annexation of Rio Grande New Mexico and the building of the railroads caused what was seen as an intrusion unto Apache territory that these desert warriors did not take lightly. Raids increased tenfold throughout the 1850's while whole battles would take place on the rails or in the settlements. While local Pueblo Indians had taken to joining the ICI, they were largely outnumbered by the hostile Apache who did not have a single tribe become integrated. This was the start of the rather irregular Apache Wars which was a series of conflicts that lasted until the 1870's involving regular battles between the Texas Army/Rangers and the Apache. Within Texas itself trade had been reestablished with Rio Grande and Nicaragua while economic and social developments had been following the same pace as before, though there was an ever present increase of immigrants arriving in the state. On the field of foreign affairs, much like America there was little else of notability. After the Filibuster War relations with Central America was strengthened with new deals, most importantly Texas getting favorable status with Nicaragua. Relations with Quebec were strengthened with regular trade while greater contact with South America and Asia was beginning to development. One great happening of notice was a large cozying to Emperor Napoleon. With the United States going increasingly unstable, President Crockett was generally unsure if their relationship could continue so he ordered Secretary-Prince Carl to being visiting Paris reguarly and having talks with Napoleon to strengthen ties. Luckily for the Secretary-Prince, Napoleon was welcoming to the ideas of stronger ties as he now saw a path open to building a French block of nations in Latin America with Texas as its head. Military cooperation and trade began to strengthen under Napoleon with the Emperor's enthusiastic love for Texas later being extended to future Emperor Napoleon IV. Unknown to Crockett at the time due to Secretary-Prince Carl acting of his own initiative, the man used State department resources to also seek out further ties with Germany. Adelsverien had been actively helping in the immigration of tens of thousands of Germans in the decade and new favorable trade was seen as valuable with Germany due to it becoming the new economic powerhouse on the continent. Leading to several conflicts of France and German ties to the Great War. Though while Prince Carl could be praised for his current efforts, there was one key detail that he severely missed at the time, the rise of Mexico.
Apache's planning a raid on a Texas convoy
Come the 1859 Presidential Elections the Republicans had found a new opening to regain the presidency. While they were far from the situation of the American Federalists, the Republicans held a general mentality similar to that of the American First Party system due to the constant feeling of having to eliminate the opposition. While Crockett had lost some points with the population due to Deseret and slavery, he was still generally well liked among the Texas population. Therefore the Republicans had to find someone equally charismatic and of similar renown to challenge the presidency, enter Juan Seguin. In the revolution Juan had served valiantly in both the Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, two key battles where the Republic saw its independence. In the aftermath Juan became Senator of San Antonio, serving with a reputation comparable to Henry Clay due to his key role in leading the Senate and drafting multiple legislation over the years. Seguin also held high esteem in the party due to his role in founding the Republican Party and status as leader of the Tejano population of Texas. While all of these natural qualities should've put Seguin on the nomination earlier, the party had been holding back due to a belief that nominating an non-white Catholic candidate could be damaging to their chances of election. Now the situation had changed immensely due to the fact that the traditional American electorate were now a minority in Texas and the Tejanos were currently about a fifth of the population. Add into that the dissatisfaction with Crockett and Seguin's nearly unblemished record produced a rather convincing case for the presidency. While the 1859 election was a calmer affair than some previous ones, there were still periods of conflict as some white radicals seeked to organize a mass opposition to deny Seguin purely on his Tejano ethnicity. Thankfully the Texas Rangers were able to deal with most of these gangs and the threat of racial war with the large Tejano population prevented any mass action from being taken. Throughout the nation the Republicans had taken massive organization efforts with smear campaigns on Crockett's inability to decisively solve slavery and the situation which led to the Mormon Rebellion, something that the Western Union happily retorted back that both situations were largely caused by Republicans. Throughout the campaign Seguin created a platform of Texas first, whereby his administration and a Republican led-congress would enact laws that would meet the needs of Texas first and seek to make the nation a great power that could stand on its own two feet and not have to rely on the mother country as the Western Union did so with America. This showed a stark abandonment within the Tejano community of their Mexican roots and a move towards the Texan identity. At the presidential debate in San Antionio (a poor choice due to being Seguin's hometown advantage) Seguin was on the constant attack on Crockett for the rise in Indian attacks, the Rio Grande intervention leading to zero stabilization for their southern neighbor, failure to meet fiscal platforms and the rather slow growth in recent years thanks to the Panic, and how a plan for emancipation needed to be created for the indefinite future. Crockett was able to fire back at the Republicans for their faults however he was mainly on the defensive for most of the time and could not find an opening to attack Seguin, leading to a situation where a slight majority found Seguin to be the victor of the debates. Sectional lines were drawn as East Texas was turning out in large support for Crockett along with the French, Northern California, and Deseret. While the Tejanos, Germans, West Texans, and Arizona was proving to be in strong support for Seguin. In the final return for the elections which were called in October, Seguin was found to be the winner with a close difference of less than 2,00 votes. The overall deciding factor for Seguin's victory being the high turnout in total Tejano support and the introduction of the Chinese votes for the Republicans due to their plans to draw votes in a support system. Thankfully Crockett ceded the race rather elegantly as he and Seguin still maintained a close friendship even after their attacks on the campaign trail. In his farewell address Crockett called for all Texans to come together in the coming years so that they may face whatever challenges coming head on and so that no matter what issue may come, the Lone Star Republic may never be divided. Two years later this message would come to be necessary with the beginning of the fateful Mexican War.
1859 Presidential Elections
Seguin/Pease (R): 52,345 Votes 50.78%
Crockett/ Van Zandt (W): 50,743 Votes 49.22%
Juan Seguin (Left) Davy Crockett (Right)
Attention everyone, the Turtledoves have only one day left in voting. We are currently in 1st place with five votes ahead but we'll need more in order to secure victory. It's important to remember that every vote counts so we'll need your support now more than ever. If we manage to climb all the way to the top I'll do a special request chapter on anything you guys will want (it will be important to remember though that some areas of the future will be off limits in order to limit spoilers and future developments). If you'd like to see the epic struggle that is the Mexican War, Morgan Freeman becoming President, Fascist Britain, and much much more then go out and vote today. Long Live the Republic!
Best Colonization and Revolutions Timeline at https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...-colonialism-revolutions-era-timeline.409386/
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Will we see European industry and capital move towards Texas to escape American instability?
Yes and no. As of right now while America is unstable it hasn't gone to the point where their economy has become seriously jacked up. Most American industry is located in New England or parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio that aren't really affected by the ongoing slave riots as they are far from the south and contain few freemen. So until the Civil War happens trade with America is still going, it's just less than it could fully be. As of right now though some European nations are deciding to take the time to invest in Texas, primarily those of France and Germany. Even when the Civil War still happens it will be a little bit hard for full on investment to happen as Texas will be in the middle of the Mexican War. The Post-Mexican War growth will help with some investment from Europe, and we'll start to see European investment really kick off with the oil boom after Spindletop. That's when Texas will start to become a global economic power.
Great news guys. WE WON THE TURTLEDOVES!!!!
I'd like to thank everyone who has ever read, liked, posted, or voted for Lone Star Republic. As someone who has only been on the website for half a year it is an extreme honor to have been able to win this prestigious award with my first timeline. Now the glorious Republic of Texas can finally be able to achieve first in something. I hope to continue this TL for the rest of the year and hopefully if things go well then by next year we'll have either finished the Great War or get to Texas' centennial. As a little reward I'll be posting multiple chapters this week after I update Gihren's Glory. The general goal is by the end of the month to have started the Mexican War. As I promised before I will write a chapter on anything you guys wish me to write about Texas or anything else in Lone Star Republic. For those few like MagicalPhantom who want me to write about Rooster Teeth, don't worry guys, I have an update planned for a special day involving them (though a general update on the company history is allowed).
It truly is amazing to see the fact that I managed to get 65 Votes in the entire poll since I only thought that maybe 10 or 12 people were reading this at the most. It's also a huge suprise that I was able to get this far as the first few days I thought that I would do in the bottom bracket with the standings. Thanks to you guys we were able to close the gap of a huge 15 vote deficit to a astonishing 7 vote lead. Before I go I'd like to congratulate my opponents on a job well done. Each of you guys had amazing timelines and were more than worthy of taking the timeline for me, truly excellent competition to run up against. Here's to a great rest of the year and an even more promising 2018. If all goes well as planned then we might be able to see Lone Star Republic nominated for even more awards such as some Best Characters or Best Quotes. Thank you guys for being such great readers and stay tuned for the next update of Lone Star Republic. Long Live Texas!
I'd like to thank everyone who has ever read, liked, posted, or voted for Lone Star Republic. As someone who has only been on the website for half a year it is an extreme honor to have been able to win this prestigious award with my first timeline. Now the glorious Republic of Texas can finally be able to achieve first in something. I hope to continue this TL for the rest of the year and hopefully if things go well then by next year we'll have either finished the Great War or get to Texas' centennial. As a little reward I'll be posting multiple chapters this week after I update Gihren's Glory. The general goal is by the end of the month to have started the Mexican War. As I promised before I will write a chapter on anything you guys wish me to write about Texas or anything else in Lone Star Republic. For those few like MagicalPhantom who want me to write about Rooster Teeth, don't worry guys, I have an update planned for a special day involving them (though a general update on the company history is allowed).
It truly is amazing to see the fact that I managed to get 65 Votes in the entire poll since I only thought that maybe 10 or 12 people were reading this at the most. It's also a huge suprise that I was able to get this far as the first few days I thought that I would do in the bottom bracket with the standings. Thanks to you guys we were able to close the gap of a huge 15 vote deficit to a astonishing 7 vote lead. Before I go I'd like to congratulate my opponents on a job well done. Each of you guys had amazing timelines and were more than worthy of taking the timeline for me, truly excellent competition to run up against. Here's to a great rest of the year and an even more promising 2018. If all goes well as planned then we might be able to see Lone Star Republic nominated for even more awards such as some Best Characters or Best Quotes. Thank you guys for being such great readers and stay tuned for the next update of Lone Star Republic. Long Live Texas!
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