Lone Star Republic
- Thread starter Kaiser Chris
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Pieman: I'm sure many would love to as well. Here's how I imagine it would go down.
Houston: My opponent is a racist bigot who has been working against the peace that I have maintained these past five years
Lamar: WRONG!
Herricks: Sorry to ruin your hopes. To be honest Lamar will not be that bad TTL as alot of the horrible stuff that went down in his presidency such as the Mexican invasions and the failed Santa Fe expedition won't happen due to the fact Texas is protected by France and New Mexico is already part of the Republic. You'll just have to wait and see though how good or bad of a president Lamar is. Truth be told I was extremely tempted giving Houston a three term presidency. However with the success Texas has been having being independent TTL I think the Nationalists would get alot more support.
Terranova: That's a really interesting question actually. Truth be told the entertainment industry isn't very big due to Texas's low population density and a permanent culture having not been created entirely yet. From what I can think of a celebration or gathering in Texas would consist of either a hoedown, rodeo, or fiesta. Music in Texas is sort of a mix or mariachi and southern country genres. There are some theaters but they are very small and only in cities like Galveston and San Antonio. I'll post an update on Texas culture sometime in the 1850's. Just know though that after the 1860's Texas will undergo a cultural renaissance with Southwestern culture being formed and TTL's version of Buffalo Bill's will become more popular.
As an heads up for future updates the next post I do will be something of a jump into the far future with a major historical event. I'll explain in that post but just know that Chapter 27 will come on Sunday or Monday. Thanks for the support and look forward to more comments in the future.
Lone Star Special: Texas and the Titanic
Texas and the Titanic
April 15th, 1897. RTS Galveston. North Atlantic. Midnight
Captain Andrew Alvarez was currently on the bridge of the pride of the Texas Navy, the battleship Galveston. The Galveston was a fine ship that was Texas's first official battleship of the current Galelveston-class battleships that would one day be in the forefront of Texan defense in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The reason for Galveston being so far away from home was that the ship had recently completed war games with both France and the United States a little over a week ago. While Galveston should've been home by now they had engine trouble as they were about to head to New York and thus they had to dock in Iceland for repairs. During the two week exercise the three fleets had gone over numerous engagements and the Texan fleet managed to have a successful ratio of 8 wins to 6 losses. Galveston performed particularly well as the ship did not sink at all during the entire war games and managed to achieve a remarkable 14 kills.
While Andrew was proud of the ship he knew the real reason why the war games had been done in the first place. Tensions had been recently rising between all three of the nations and Great Britain and her little entente. Some military members and politicians, Andrew being one of them, believed that a war in Europe was inevitable in the future and that the current technological advances would make it the largest and bloodiest one the world has ever seen. Andrew prayed to God that whatever happened Texas would never get involved in it. He knew Austin had been maintaining an official position of neutrality in European disputes but so many factors could happen for Texas to be pulled into a war. Whatever happened though Andrew knew that he would fight for his country. The Texas Navy had been ongoing a continuous armament policy since the Mexican War and they were now prepared to fight on both oceans and defend the interests of the Republic wherever they called her.
As Andrew was maintaining watch on the bridge his first officer Commander William Forrester entered the room. The man was the best sailor a captain could ask for as second in command and Andrew could always rely upon him when it came to consultation on important decisions regarding the ship.
"What are you doing up here so late skipper? You should be resting in your cabin and let the night shift take over."
"I could be saying the same thing for you Bill. Last I checked Lieutenant Gomez was in charge of the night shift." Andrew asked.
"Eh, I couldn't get enough sleep and the cabin is too damn cold so I decided to go for a walk. Care to share your reason?"
"Too be honest I like being up here this time of night. The waters are calm and the stars fill the sky. One of the benefits of joining the Navy, you get to see many parts of the world you could never find in Texas."
"That and you get to blow ships up." Both men shared a laugh at that comment. Though little did they now of the coming storm that would change the world in the next decade.
"So Captain what's our plan of action for the rest of the trip?"
"Well all we're going to do is simply head to New York for resupply then make a smooth trip around the east coast until we head back into the Gulf and secure port in Galveston. Hurricane season doesn't start for another month so the weather should be fine. Don't tell the crew but as a little reward for their performance during the games I'll give them 4 day liberty in port once we reach Texas."
"We did pretty all right if I do say myself. Though the fact that the President and the admiralty agreed to this exercise in the Atlantic worries me. If we start fighting a war I want to be protecting the Republic in the Gulf or in the Pacific Ocean. Anywhere around the Americas is fine but the North Atlantic is too damn far off. Do you really think we'll get wrapped up in that European nonsense?" William said.
"I don't know Bill. We're soldiers not politicians so we'll just follow orders. Trust me when I say I don't want to be involved in the the royal bickering that is Europe. But France is our ally and we must repay her one day for all she's done for the Republic. I mean this is the Navy. Did you expect it to be a gigantic cruise around the world?"
"I know this isn't the Titanic, Galveston's a finer ship than her. I just want to fight for a good cause when the time comes that's all."
It could be said that fate choose for Commander Forrester to say the name of the infamous ship. As just a moment later Petty officer second class Ryan Davidson entered the room bearing news of one of the greatest maritime tragedies in history.
"Lieutenant Gomez! We gotta wake up the captain and alert the ship IT"S A EMERGENCY! Oh Captain, There you are! Captain Alvarez a terrible tragedy is taking place as we speak!"
"Calm down Petty officer! Speak clearly and tell us what happened."
"It's the Titanic sir. We just received word in the radio room that she hit an iceberg and is currently starting to sink."
"Good God not her, they said that ship was unsinkable." exclaimed William
Both Captain Alvarez and Commander Forrester in reality knew that the claim was false. Any ship can strike tragedy on the seven seas. Such was the life of a sailor. 'But Good Lord, for a large ocean liner to sink on her maiden voyage. Just think of all the passengers'.
"Lieutenant Gomez!"
"Yes sir!"
"Wake up the crew and bring them to full alert. Tell them that the RMS Titanic has struck an iceberg and is currently sinking. Call for all crew to man their stations and ready all life boats to rescue the passengers. Petty officer lead us to the radio room."
Petty officer Davidson lead both Captain Alvarez and Commander Forrester to the Radio room as the crew members currently stationed their were in a frenzy trying to get a hold of the situation. They saluted the Captain as he entered but Alvarez eased them.
"Ensign Ross what is the current location of the Titanic?"
"The ship is 18 miles due northeast of our current location, sir. If we go at full speed we should reach the ship in a little over an hour sir."
'Shit! That's an hour too long. So many events can happen in such a short amount of time.' "Commander I want you to go to the bridge and tell the engine room to give it all they got. I want us to arrive as fast as possible and not a moment late."
"Yes Captain!"
"Ensign have we established communications with the Titanic?"
"We've just patched a connection now sir. The line is all yours."
Captain Alvarez sat down at the control station and silently prayed that Galveston could manage to save the ship in time. "Calling RMS Titanic. Calling RMS Titanic. This is Captain Andrew Alvarez of the RTS Galveston. We are an hour near your location and are en route to support. I repeat this is Captain Andrew Alvarez of the RTS Galveston..."
Captain Edward Smith stood in the bridge of the Titanic. Just minutes earlier the ship had collided with an iceberg and water had entered the lower decks. Smith and his men were gathered in the bridge with the ships architect Thomas Andrews, overlooking the ships schematics. There was a large tension within the air as virtually no one in the crew had anticipated this. 'This was all supposed to be a simple voyage. One that would make headlines across the world. It will still, but as a terrible tragedy.'
"So what your saying Mr. Andrews is that the hull cannot sustain the pressure and we will eventually sink?"
"I'm afraid your correct Captain. At best we got about two hours before we go under. We can get the lifeboats out but they'll only be able to support about 1/3rd of the passengers. Many of us won't make it alive."
"Well why the fuck didn't you design this ship to sustain an hit from an iceberg?! Your the bloody architect for Christ's sake!" shouted a member of the crew.
"And why in God's name do we not have enough lifeboats. That's sheer stupidity if I ever saw it." Said another.
Thomas Andrews held his head in shameful silence as the crew was entirely right. He was the designer of the ship so no matter what the cause the sinking of the Titanic was partly his to blame. 'The poor man will live with this guilt for the rest of his life if he makes it out.' "That's enough from the both of you. No matter what the cause it's our duty as the crew of this ship to see our passengers escape safely. You all have been trained in this before. Now use that to our current situation and get to work."
Andrews mouthed the Captain a silent thank you but they both understood what would happen. If this ship went down it was their jobs to go down with it. Suddenly First Office Murdoch entered the room with the only good news the crew would have in these moments.
"Sir, we just received a response in the radio room from a nearby ship who is on its way to help us."
That certainly lifted the spirits of those present.
"Really? Who is it, what's their location?"
"It's a Texas warship called the RTS Galveston. Don't frankly know what they're doing all the way out here but they're about an hour away from our current position. They say they're doing everything in their power to make it in time to rescue the ship."
'A Texas ship, strange. Thank God though that they're on their way. It's still an hour away but that's better than nothing at all.' "Thank you for the news Murdoch. Men you heard the news. We've got a nearby ship on the way but it'll be an hour before they can make it here. That's about half of the time we have left. In the meantime I want all the crew members to organize an evacuation. Good luck men and may God save our souls."
'Hell. Absolute Fucking Hell.' These were the thoughts of Captain Alvarez as he looked through his binoculars to see the Titanic in the distance. The Galveston had made the trip in just under 55 minutes and was within a short distance of the Titanic. From what the Captain saw though, it looked as if they were already late. From his limited sight he could see that the passengers were in an immense state of panic. There were many strange and dreadful things that he was seeing. All around people were pushing each other and scrambling in an emergency as the tried to reach the lifeboats. Some people were gathered around a man that he assumed was a priest, probably performing last rites as they believed they were on the verge of death. The crew was trying to install order but while some were doing a good job, others were clearly panicking as they were incompetent for the job. The oddest thing that he could not comprehend was the sight of an orchestra group playing while the panic was going on. 'I guess some men handle tragedy better than others.' What infuriated Alvarez the most was that he could see that the first class passengers were given preferential treatment in regards to the lifeboats. Sure women and children were allowed first from what he could gather but there were no men and women dressed in plain clothes and rags among the lifeboats. 'Honestly the whole world is going to hell and these people still think of social class first. Fucking British.'
Captain Alvarez then panicked as he suddenly heard gunfire coming from the ship. 'And the madmen are suddenly shooting the passengers. How the hell can these people call themselves sailors?'
Commander Forrester then walked up to him. "Sir, the boats are prepped and are ready for launch."
"Well what are you waiting for? DO IT!"
"Already did sir. Just wanted to inform you."
"Well use clearer context next time. Send flares out to alert the Titanic of our position. That shall hopefully calm down their nerves. Tell the remaining members of the crew on board to make room for the incoming survivors. I don't care what you have to do, use the rooms of the crew for the night including my personal cabin. I hope to have the ship be filled with hundreds of survivors by the time the Titanic goes down."
"So do I Captain. So do I."
Chief Petty officer Reggie Johnson was currently leading the rescue team that was making its way towards the Titanic. Reggie was an Afro-Texan who had joined the Navy to escape the social racism that still lingered in East Texas. While it was hard to become accepted at first, Reggie did eventually gain the respect and admiration of the crew through his hard work ethic and was one of the leading NCO's on the Galveston. He was honored that the Captain had given this important task but at the same time was immensely frightened. The lives of the passengers were in his hands and his actions would forever be remembered in history to come. Though Reggie would not falter, he knew the task that he was given and would do his duty to the end in order to make his family and the Navy proud. Reggie's boat was able to make contact with one of the lifeboats that was currently a half a mile from the Titanic's location. The officer who was in charge of the boat was shocked that Reggie was at the head of the helm.
"Are you bloody serious? They sent a jungle boy in charge to save us from this wreck."
Reggie was furious at this bigoted man's comment. And the men under his command knew that the idiot had just unleashed a wild fury. 'IS HE FOR REAL?!' "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW! I CAME OUT HERE ALL THE WAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GODDAMN FREEZING ATLANTIC TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS AND YOU DARE INSULT ME BECAUSE OF MY SKIN COLOR!! FOR THE SAKE OF THE WOMAN AND CHILDREN IN YOUR BOAT YOU BETTER SHUT THE FUCK UP, GIVE ME THE PASSENGERS TO TAKE BACK TO MY SHIP, GO BACK TO THE TITANIC AND DO YOUR FUCKING JOB! OR THIS "JUNGLE BOY" WILL TURN THIS BOAT AROUND AND LEAVE YOU HERE TO FIND YOUR OWN RESCUE."
That sure shut up the fool as he was visibly stunned by the man's outburst and his bluff about him and the boat. Then a large woman with a thick southern accent chose to speak up. "Sir I suggest that you kindly do as the man says or I'll kick you off this boat myself."
"Er um yes ma'am. All right everybody, do as the uh... sailor says and make your way onto the boat as it arrives."
"Thank you for your manners." replied Reggie coldly. "Now ladies, pardon for the foul language, but if you could carefully step onto the boat one by one in a safe and calm manner."
The women and the crew did as Reggie said and stepped onto the boat to be rescued. Reggie than turned back to the officer. "You there!"
"Uh, Yes!"
"Listen closely if you want to save more people. Go back to the Titanic and tell the crew to put more passengers on your ship at full capacity with this megaphone." Reggie tossed him the megaphone which the man nervously cached. "Tell them that more boats will be on the way and that they'll need to stay calm and wait for help."
"So you're coming back?"
"Son, do you REALLY want me to get started again..."
"Right, men move back to the Titanic."
Reggie than turned back to his men and ordered them to row as fast as possible so that they could make another round. He looked in the faces of the women and children but instead of looks of hatred like he usually received he saw faces of gratitude and joy. He turned to the southern woman who had heckled the sailor. "That was mighty kind of you ma'am to tell that jackass off. Didn't know southern people had it in them like you."
"Please I never got into that whole bullcrap anyways. A man's a man no matter what race he is and I sure am thankful that you were there to save us. Name's Molly Brown by the way."
"Reggie Johnson, nice to meet you."
"Likewise." As they were steered towards the Galveston Reggie looked back at the ship. People were still moving in a frenzy onboard and the ship was getting closer to the bottom each minute. While he had saved a good number of people there were plenty more to go. 'Hopefully all of them but I know we'll never be that lucky.' Towards the back he heard some women crying about a person named Rose.
It was around 2:20 A.M when the Titanic finally sunk. Captain Alvarez watched in horror as the largest ocean liner in the world made her way to the bottom of the ocean floor. The Galveston had managed to save most of the on deck passengers and some of the men and women who were initially below deck but escaped upward. Still despite their efforts there were probably hundreds of people trapped on the ship or still left in the water as the ship collapsed and they couldn't reach the lifeboats. He could see the so many people floating on the freezing water as they were swimming about trying to survive the hypothermia. Alvarez signaled for all remaining boats to head out and search for survivors once they had unloaded passengers from the ships. Once everyone alive was rescued they would head back out and search for any corpses that were floating abound. 'It's the least they deserve. To be given a proper burial instead of left at the bottom of the ocean.'
A part of Alvarez's mind told him that this could be the fate of him and his crew one day if they were lost in battle. He tried not to think about it and instead focus on the survivors who made it onto the Galveston. He did keep his word about the quarters and gave his cabin to a family of Swedish immigrants. Ironically they were heading towards New York to make their way to immigrate towards Texas. He welcomed his future countrymen in open arms and assured them that they would find much happiness in the Republic. 'Whatever happens to them better be good after going through this disaster.' He saw Commander Forrester making his way towards him. The man looked tired and haggard, then again they all were with the enormous size of the situation at hand.
"You look like utter shit Captain."
"So do you Bill, hell even worse than me." Both men laughed for a moment, it was good that they still could after this dreadful ordeal. "Seriously Bill, We managed to save a multitude of people but there are still probably hundreds who died on the ship. Hundreds who we could have saved. Hundreds who went on this ship with a dream, now dead and waiting for the fish to get them."
"Your being too hard on yourself Andrew. Just thank God that we were in the right place at the right time. Had we not been here hundreds more would've gone under and the people in the lifeboats could've died also with no one nearby to rescue them. I think it was God's will that we were here at all. I mean think about it. Had we not had engine trouble after the war games then we would've been back in Texas while all this happened. All because of a simple malfunction were we here to save the lives of so many people. Your a hero Captain."
"I suppose your right. I don't at all regret being here at all. I just wish we could go on the voyage without any occurrence than being remembered as heroes who saved a sinking ship."
"You are right about that. Besides though I think it's the White Star Line that was mostly responsible."
"How could you possibly say that?"
"We'll I'm only saying this based on tidbits of what I heard from the passengers and crewmen who made it on board. Apparently the Titanic never had enough life boats to accommodate the entire ship. Only 1/3rd of the people! They claimed it was to save weight. When the ship saw the iceberg they stayed full speed ahead. FULL SPEED! The worst part is what I heard from the third-class survivors. Apparently as the ship was being evacuated these people were treated like animals and kept locked in the lower decks with guns pointed at them to wait their turn for the rich bastards to get off. Many had to fight to get on deck but most of the others were stuck due to their locations and inability to get onto the initial wave of the lifeboats. Even the lifeboats weren't fully boarded as they thought the extra people would sink the boats"
"JESUS CHRIST! How can these people possibly call themselves sailors? There a disgrace to the career entirely. Just please tell me that we managed to make contact with nearby ships. I'm more than happy to keep these people on board but the Galveston was never meant to be this crowded."
"Well sir we managed to contact two ships that have agreed to take some of the passengers to New York. One the SS Carpathia that was 50 miles away and is currently heading towards our location. The other the SS Oregonian was, get this Andrew, apparently 15 miles away from the Titanic the entire time. They had their radio turned off like idiots and were unaware of the ongoing crisis."
"Are you serious?!. You mean to tell me that this entire time we had a second ship that could've saved more lives but instead chose to sit on their asses and ignore the fucking flares! By God Bill, I intend to have a full inquiry conducted when we get back to shore and make sure everyone responsible for this affair is accounted for. Now please head with me to aft to meet the incoming boats."
"Yes sir!"
Both officers made their way to the side of the ship and saw Chief Johnson being the last to come on board with his few remaining passengers. A small group of 7 people with most notably a blond young man and a redheaded woman who were holding each other side by side during the ordeal. 'Must be lovers.' Upon seeing the boat Alvarez knew he made the right choice by picking Johnson to lead the rescue teams. The man was his most reliable NCO and had gone above and beyond the Call of Duty when rescuing the passengers. He and his men made a remarkable 5 trips to the Galveston and back, taking as many passengers as they could. Even when the Titanic sank Reggie was the first one to volunteer and head back in search of survivors. 'Don't know if they give out the Medal of Honor for peacetime actions but I'll do everything in my power to make sure this man is properly rewarded.'
When the two commanding officers came near Reggie promptly saluted but Alvarez called him down.
"At ease Chief. There's no need to stand at attention when your the real hero of the day. So tell me, is this the last of them?"
"Thank you sir. And yes this is the last of the survivors. We made sure to stay for several minutes but the rest of the bodies in the water are sadly perished. As soon as we upload these people I'll head back out and start collecting as many bodies as I can before they drop at the bottom of the Ocean." He looked back to the couple in each others arms. "Funny story about these two actually. When we passed by their bodies they were sitting on top of a large door but from the way they stayed still we were sure that they were goners. We picked up the other 5 and were about to head out when the redhead somehow grabbed hold of a whistle and blew as hard as she could to grab our attention. If it wasn't for her actions they would've both died by now of hypothermia."
"What a remarkable tale. Thanks once again Regg, you've done alot today and I can't stress how grateful we are that you still want to head out. As soon as we land in New York we're heading to the nearest bar where I've got a huge pint of beer with your name on it."
"Much obliged Captain."
Both Captain Alvarez and Commander Forrester where about to head back into the ship when they heard the woman wake up in a state of panic. Quickly both men rushed to her and tried to get her to calm down. "Ja-, Jac-, where is he? Sir please, there was a man with me around my height, same age and blond hair. Please for the love of God tell me you saved him!"
"Miss it's alright, your boyfriend is right next to you and from the looks of it he's alive. Just barely but he'll be alright once he says the doctor." Said Forrester. The woman cried tears of joy as she hugged the man next to her fiercely.
"Ma'am my name is Captain Andrew Alvarez, your currently on my ship the RTS Galveston. The Titanic went under but you two were able to make it out alright. Can you please tell me your names so that we can compose a survivor's list."
"Dawson. Jack and Rose Dawson."
A/N: OH MY GOD. That was the longest chapter I've ever had to write on my time as a member on the website. Now for those of you who may be wondering why I had the sudden urge to jump all the way from 1841 to the Titanic in my timeline, you see I just watched James Cameron's Titanic for the first time on Friday. The film was honestly one of the best ones I've seen, though the ending was depressing as hell. When I sat there at the ending credits a thought suddenly came to my mind. 'Wait a minute, this story takes place in 1912, right after my timeline starts. I CAN WRITE ABOUT THIS!' Thus my inspiration was born for Texas and the Titanic. I wanted to write this story as soon as possible so I couldn't possibly wait until the Titanic came TTL, which would be months away in IRL posts. I wanted to give the Titanic a better ending with Texas being involved but for a large tragedy to still take place. A lot of the writing was inspired by the first chapters of "Bismarck ISOT to Titanic." If your wondering between 1400-1500 people survived TTL. The reason for the year change is as you might've guessed, The Great War will be happening years earlier than OTL and conditions afterwords will prevent the Titanic from sailing in 1912. As you might've noticed I added elements of the film but that was honestly because I wanted our star couple to have a happy ending. I know it's shameful but I'm the author of this TL so if I say it happens, it happened. Please be sure to leave a like and some input on the chapter as it took 3 and 1/2 hours to write this entire thing down. For those concerned with the main story don't worry, Chapter 27 will most likely be posted on Monday and I'll have the 1846 Revolutions started next weekend. Thank you for your support and Long Live Texas!
April 15th, 1897. RTS Galveston. North Atlantic. Midnight
Captain Andrew Alvarez was currently on the bridge of the pride of the Texas Navy, the battleship Galveston. The Galveston was a fine ship that was Texas's first official battleship of the current Galelveston-class battleships that would one day be in the forefront of Texan defense in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The reason for Galveston being so far away from home was that the ship had recently completed war games with both France and the United States a little over a week ago. While Galveston should've been home by now they had engine trouble as they were about to head to New York and thus they had to dock in Iceland for repairs. During the two week exercise the three fleets had gone over numerous engagements and the Texan fleet managed to have a successful ratio of 8 wins to 6 losses. Galveston performed particularly well as the ship did not sink at all during the entire war games and managed to achieve a remarkable 14 kills.
While Andrew was proud of the ship he knew the real reason why the war games had been done in the first place. Tensions had been recently rising between all three of the nations and Great Britain and her little entente. Some military members and politicians, Andrew being one of them, believed that a war in Europe was inevitable in the future and that the current technological advances would make it the largest and bloodiest one the world has ever seen. Andrew prayed to God that whatever happened Texas would never get involved in it. He knew Austin had been maintaining an official position of neutrality in European disputes but so many factors could happen for Texas to be pulled into a war. Whatever happened though Andrew knew that he would fight for his country. The Texas Navy had been ongoing a continuous armament policy since the Mexican War and they were now prepared to fight on both oceans and defend the interests of the Republic wherever they called her.
As Andrew was maintaining watch on the bridge his first officer Commander William Forrester entered the room. The man was the best sailor a captain could ask for as second in command and Andrew could always rely upon him when it came to consultation on important decisions regarding the ship.
"What are you doing up here so late skipper? You should be resting in your cabin and let the night shift take over."
"I could be saying the same thing for you Bill. Last I checked Lieutenant Gomez was in charge of the night shift." Andrew asked.
"Eh, I couldn't get enough sleep and the cabin is too damn cold so I decided to go for a walk. Care to share your reason?"
"Too be honest I like being up here this time of night. The waters are calm and the stars fill the sky. One of the benefits of joining the Navy, you get to see many parts of the world you could never find in Texas."
"That and you get to blow ships up." Both men shared a laugh at that comment. Though little did they now of the coming storm that would change the world in the next decade.
"So Captain what's our plan of action for the rest of the trip?"
"Well all we're going to do is simply head to New York for resupply then make a smooth trip around the east coast until we head back into the Gulf and secure port in Galveston. Hurricane season doesn't start for another month so the weather should be fine. Don't tell the crew but as a little reward for their performance during the games I'll give them 4 day liberty in port once we reach Texas."
"We did pretty all right if I do say myself. Though the fact that the President and the admiralty agreed to this exercise in the Atlantic worries me. If we start fighting a war I want to be protecting the Republic in the Gulf or in the Pacific Ocean. Anywhere around the Americas is fine but the North Atlantic is too damn far off. Do you really think we'll get wrapped up in that European nonsense?" William said.
"I don't know Bill. We're soldiers not politicians so we'll just follow orders. Trust me when I say I don't want to be involved in the the royal bickering that is Europe. But France is our ally and we must repay her one day for all she's done for the Republic. I mean this is the Navy. Did you expect it to be a gigantic cruise around the world?"
"I know this isn't the Titanic, Galveston's a finer ship than her. I just want to fight for a good cause when the time comes that's all."
It could be said that fate choose for Commander Forrester to say the name of the infamous ship. As just a moment later Petty officer second class Ryan Davidson entered the room bearing news of one of the greatest maritime tragedies in history.
"Lieutenant Gomez! We gotta wake up the captain and alert the ship IT"S A EMERGENCY! Oh Captain, There you are! Captain Alvarez a terrible tragedy is taking place as we speak!"
"Calm down Petty officer! Speak clearly and tell us what happened."
"It's the Titanic sir. We just received word in the radio room that she hit an iceberg and is currently starting to sink."
"Good God not her, they said that ship was unsinkable." exclaimed William
Both Captain Alvarez and Commander Forrester in reality knew that the claim was false. Any ship can strike tragedy on the seven seas. Such was the life of a sailor. 'But Good Lord, for a large ocean liner to sink on her maiden voyage. Just think of all the passengers'.
"Lieutenant Gomez!"
"Yes sir!"
"Wake up the crew and bring them to full alert. Tell them that the RMS Titanic has struck an iceberg and is currently sinking. Call for all crew to man their stations and ready all life boats to rescue the passengers. Petty officer lead us to the radio room."
Petty officer Davidson lead both Captain Alvarez and Commander Forrester to the Radio room as the crew members currently stationed their were in a frenzy trying to get a hold of the situation. They saluted the Captain as he entered but Alvarez eased them.
"Ensign Ross what is the current location of the Titanic?"
"The ship is 18 miles due northeast of our current location, sir. If we go at full speed we should reach the ship in a little over an hour sir."
'Shit! That's an hour too long. So many events can happen in such a short amount of time.' "Commander I want you to go to the bridge and tell the engine room to give it all they got. I want us to arrive as fast as possible and not a moment late."
"Yes Captain!"
"Ensign have we established communications with the Titanic?"
"We've just patched a connection now sir. The line is all yours."
Captain Alvarez sat down at the control station and silently prayed that Galveston could manage to save the ship in time. "Calling RMS Titanic. Calling RMS Titanic. This is Captain Andrew Alvarez of the RTS Galveston. We are an hour near your location and are en route to support. I repeat this is Captain Andrew Alvarez of the RTS Galveston..."
Captain Edward Smith stood in the bridge of the Titanic. Just minutes earlier the ship had collided with an iceberg and water had entered the lower decks. Smith and his men were gathered in the bridge with the ships architect Thomas Andrews, overlooking the ships schematics. There was a large tension within the air as virtually no one in the crew had anticipated this. 'This was all supposed to be a simple voyage. One that would make headlines across the world. It will still, but as a terrible tragedy.'
"So what your saying Mr. Andrews is that the hull cannot sustain the pressure and we will eventually sink?"
"I'm afraid your correct Captain. At best we got about two hours before we go under. We can get the lifeboats out but they'll only be able to support about 1/3rd of the passengers. Many of us won't make it alive."
"Well why the fuck didn't you design this ship to sustain an hit from an iceberg?! Your the bloody architect for Christ's sake!" shouted a member of the crew.
"And why in God's name do we not have enough lifeboats. That's sheer stupidity if I ever saw it." Said another.
Thomas Andrews held his head in shameful silence as the crew was entirely right. He was the designer of the ship so no matter what the cause the sinking of the Titanic was partly his to blame. 'The poor man will live with this guilt for the rest of his life if he makes it out.' "That's enough from the both of you. No matter what the cause it's our duty as the crew of this ship to see our passengers escape safely. You all have been trained in this before. Now use that to our current situation and get to work."
Andrews mouthed the Captain a silent thank you but they both understood what would happen. If this ship went down it was their jobs to go down with it. Suddenly First Office Murdoch entered the room with the only good news the crew would have in these moments.
"Sir, we just received a response in the radio room from a nearby ship who is on its way to help us."
That certainly lifted the spirits of those present.
"Really? Who is it, what's their location?"
"It's a Texas warship called the RTS Galveston. Don't frankly know what they're doing all the way out here but they're about an hour away from our current position. They say they're doing everything in their power to make it in time to rescue the ship."
'A Texas ship, strange. Thank God though that they're on their way. It's still an hour away but that's better than nothing at all.' "Thank you for the news Murdoch. Men you heard the news. We've got a nearby ship on the way but it'll be an hour before they can make it here. That's about half of the time we have left. In the meantime I want all the crew members to organize an evacuation. Good luck men and may God save our souls."
'Hell. Absolute Fucking Hell.' These were the thoughts of Captain Alvarez as he looked through his binoculars to see the Titanic in the distance. The Galveston had made the trip in just under 55 minutes and was within a short distance of the Titanic. From what the Captain saw though, it looked as if they were already late. From his limited sight he could see that the passengers were in an immense state of panic. There were many strange and dreadful things that he was seeing. All around people were pushing each other and scrambling in an emergency as the tried to reach the lifeboats. Some people were gathered around a man that he assumed was a priest, probably performing last rites as they believed they were on the verge of death. The crew was trying to install order but while some were doing a good job, others were clearly panicking as they were incompetent for the job. The oddest thing that he could not comprehend was the sight of an orchestra group playing while the panic was going on. 'I guess some men handle tragedy better than others.' What infuriated Alvarez the most was that he could see that the first class passengers were given preferential treatment in regards to the lifeboats. Sure women and children were allowed first from what he could gather but there were no men and women dressed in plain clothes and rags among the lifeboats. 'Honestly the whole world is going to hell and these people still think of social class first. Fucking British.'
Captain Alvarez then panicked as he suddenly heard gunfire coming from the ship. 'And the madmen are suddenly shooting the passengers. How the hell can these people call themselves sailors?'
Commander Forrester then walked up to him. "Sir, the boats are prepped and are ready for launch."
"Well what are you waiting for? DO IT!"
"Already did sir. Just wanted to inform you."
"Well use clearer context next time. Send flares out to alert the Titanic of our position. That shall hopefully calm down their nerves. Tell the remaining members of the crew on board to make room for the incoming survivors. I don't care what you have to do, use the rooms of the crew for the night including my personal cabin. I hope to have the ship be filled with hundreds of survivors by the time the Titanic goes down."
"So do I Captain. So do I."
Chief Petty officer Reggie Johnson was currently leading the rescue team that was making its way towards the Titanic. Reggie was an Afro-Texan who had joined the Navy to escape the social racism that still lingered in East Texas. While it was hard to become accepted at first, Reggie did eventually gain the respect and admiration of the crew through his hard work ethic and was one of the leading NCO's on the Galveston. He was honored that the Captain had given this important task but at the same time was immensely frightened. The lives of the passengers were in his hands and his actions would forever be remembered in history to come. Though Reggie would not falter, he knew the task that he was given and would do his duty to the end in order to make his family and the Navy proud. Reggie's boat was able to make contact with one of the lifeboats that was currently a half a mile from the Titanic's location. The officer who was in charge of the boat was shocked that Reggie was at the head of the helm.
"Are you bloody serious? They sent a jungle boy in charge to save us from this wreck."
Reggie was furious at this bigoted man's comment. And the men under his command knew that the idiot had just unleashed a wild fury. 'IS HE FOR REAL?!' "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW! I CAME OUT HERE ALL THE WAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GODDAMN FREEZING ATLANTIC TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS AND YOU DARE INSULT ME BECAUSE OF MY SKIN COLOR!! FOR THE SAKE OF THE WOMAN AND CHILDREN IN YOUR BOAT YOU BETTER SHUT THE FUCK UP, GIVE ME THE PASSENGERS TO TAKE BACK TO MY SHIP, GO BACK TO THE TITANIC AND DO YOUR FUCKING JOB! OR THIS "JUNGLE BOY" WILL TURN THIS BOAT AROUND AND LEAVE YOU HERE TO FIND YOUR OWN RESCUE."
That sure shut up the fool as he was visibly stunned by the man's outburst and his bluff about him and the boat. Then a large woman with a thick southern accent chose to speak up. "Sir I suggest that you kindly do as the man says or I'll kick you off this boat myself."
"Er um yes ma'am. All right everybody, do as the uh... sailor says and make your way onto the boat as it arrives."
"Thank you for your manners." replied Reggie coldly. "Now ladies, pardon for the foul language, but if you could carefully step onto the boat one by one in a safe and calm manner."
The women and the crew did as Reggie said and stepped onto the boat to be rescued. Reggie than turned back to the officer. "You there!"
"Uh, Yes!"
"Listen closely if you want to save more people. Go back to the Titanic and tell the crew to put more passengers on your ship at full capacity with this megaphone." Reggie tossed him the megaphone which the man nervously cached. "Tell them that more boats will be on the way and that they'll need to stay calm and wait for help."
"So you're coming back?"
"Son, do you REALLY want me to get started again..."
"Right, men move back to the Titanic."
Reggie than turned back to his men and ordered them to row as fast as possible so that they could make another round. He looked in the faces of the women and children but instead of looks of hatred like he usually received he saw faces of gratitude and joy. He turned to the southern woman who had heckled the sailor. "That was mighty kind of you ma'am to tell that jackass off. Didn't know southern people had it in them like you."
"Please I never got into that whole bullcrap anyways. A man's a man no matter what race he is and I sure am thankful that you were there to save us. Name's Molly Brown by the way."
"Reggie Johnson, nice to meet you."
"Likewise." As they were steered towards the Galveston Reggie looked back at the ship. People were still moving in a frenzy onboard and the ship was getting closer to the bottom each minute. While he had saved a good number of people there were plenty more to go. 'Hopefully all of them but I know we'll never be that lucky.' Towards the back he heard some women crying about a person named Rose.
It was around 2:20 A.M when the Titanic finally sunk. Captain Alvarez watched in horror as the largest ocean liner in the world made her way to the bottom of the ocean floor. The Galveston had managed to save most of the on deck passengers and some of the men and women who were initially below deck but escaped upward. Still despite their efforts there were probably hundreds of people trapped on the ship or still left in the water as the ship collapsed and they couldn't reach the lifeboats. He could see the so many people floating on the freezing water as they were swimming about trying to survive the hypothermia. Alvarez signaled for all remaining boats to head out and search for survivors once they had unloaded passengers from the ships. Once everyone alive was rescued they would head back out and search for any corpses that were floating abound. 'It's the least they deserve. To be given a proper burial instead of left at the bottom of the ocean.'
A part of Alvarez's mind told him that this could be the fate of him and his crew one day if they were lost in battle. He tried not to think about it and instead focus on the survivors who made it onto the Galveston. He did keep his word about the quarters and gave his cabin to a family of Swedish immigrants. Ironically they were heading towards New York to make their way to immigrate towards Texas. He welcomed his future countrymen in open arms and assured them that they would find much happiness in the Republic. 'Whatever happens to them better be good after going through this disaster.' He saw Commander Forrester making his way towards him. The man looked tired and haggard, then again they all were with the enormous size of the situation at hand.
"You look like utter shit Captain."
"So do you Bill, hell even worse than me." Both men laughed for a moment, it was good that they still could after this dreadful ordeal. "Seriously Bill, We managed to save a multitude of people but there are still probably hundreds who died on the ship. Hundreds who we could have saved. Hundreds who went on this ship with a dream, now dead and waiting for the fish to get them."
"Your being too hard on yourself Andrew. Just thank God that we were in the right place at the right time. Had we not been here hundreds more would've gone under and the people in the lifeboats could've died also with no one nearby to rescue them. I think it was God's will that we were here at all. I mean think about it. Had we not had engine trouble after the war games then we would've been back in Texas while all this happened. All because of a simple malfunction were we here to save the lives of so many people. Your a hero Captain."
"I suppose your right. I don't at all regret being here at all. I just wish we could go on the voyage without any occurrence than being remembered as heroes who saved a sinking ship."
"You are right about that. Besides though I think it's the White Star Line that was mostly responsible."
"How could you possibly say that?"
"We'll I'm only saying this based on tidbits of what I heard from the passengers and crewmen who made it on board. Apparently the Titanic never had enough life boats to accommodate the entire ship. Only 1/3rd of the people! They claimed it was to save weight. When the ship saw the iceberg they stayed full speed ahead. FULL SPEED! The worst part is what I heard from the third-class survivors. Apparently as the ship was being evacuated these people were treated like animals and kept locked in the lower decks with guns pointed at them to wait their turn for the rich bastards to get off. Many had to fight to get on deck but most of the others were stuck due to their locations and inability to get onto the initial wave of the lifeboats. Even the lifeboats weren't fully boarded as they thought the extra people would sink the boats"
"JESUS CHRIST! How can these people possibly call themselves sailors? There a disgrace to the career entirely. Just please tell me that we managed to make contact with nearby ships. I'm more than happy to keep these people on board but the Galveston was never meant to be this crowded."
"Well sir we managed to contact two ships that have agreed to take some of the passengers to New York. One the SS Carpathia that was 50 miles away and is currently heading towards our location. The other the SS Oregonian was, get this Andrew, apparently 15 miles away from the Titanic the entire time. They had their radio turned off like idiots and were unaware of the ongoing crisis."
"Are you serious?!. You mean to tell me that this entire time we had a second ship that could've saved more lives but instead chose to sit on their asses and ignore the fucking flares! By God Bill, I intend to have a full inquiry conducted when we get back to shore and make sure everyone responsible for this affair is accounted for. Now please head with me to aft to meet the incoming boats."
"Yes sir!"
Both officers made their way to the side of the ship and saw Chief Johnson being the last to come on board with his few remaining passengers. A small group of 7 people with most notably a blond young man and a redheaded woman who were holding each other side by side during the ordeal. 'Must be lovers.' Upon seeing the boat Alvarez knew he made the right choice by picking Johnson to lead the rescue teams. The man was his most reliable NCO and had gone above and beyond the Call of Duty when rescuing the passengers. He and his men made a remarkable 5 trips to the Galveston and back, taking as many passengers as they could. Even when the Titanic sank Reggie was the first one to volunteer and head back in search of survivors. 'Don't know if they give out the Medal of Honor for peacetime actions but I'll do everything in my power to make sure this man is properly rewarded.'
When the two commanding officers came near Reggie promptly saluted but Alvarez called him down.
"At ease Chief. There's no need to stand at attention when your the real hero of the day. So tell me, is this the last of them?"
"Thank you sir. And yes this is the last of the survivors. We made sure to stay for several minutes but the rest of the bodies in the water are sadly perished. As soon as we upload these people I'll head back out and start collecting as many bodies as I can before they drop at the bottom of the Ocean." He looked back to the couple in each others arms. "Funny story about these two actually. When we passed by their bodies they were sitting on top of a large door but from the way they stayed still we were sure that they were goners. We picked up the other 5 and were about to head out when the redhead somehow grabbed hold of a whistle and blew as hard as she could to grab our attention. If it wasn't for her actions they would've both died by now of hypothermia."
"What a remarkable tale. Thanks once again Regg, you've done alot today and I can't stress how grateful we are that you still want to head out. As soon as we land in New York we're heading to the nearest bar where I've got a huge pint of beer with your name on it."
"Much obliged Captain."
Both Captain Alvarez and Commander Forrester where about to head back into the ship when they heard the woman wake up in a state of panic. Quickly both men rushed to her and tried to get her to calm down. "Ja-, Jac-, where is he? Sir please, there was a man with me around my height, same age and blond hair. Please for the love of God tell me you saved him!"
"Miss it's alright, your boyfriend is right next to you and from the looks of it he's alive. Just barely but he'll be alright once he says the doctor." Said Forrester. The woman cried tears of joy as she hugged the man next to her fiercely.
"Ma'am my name is Captain Andrew Alvarez, your currently on my ship the RTS Galveston. The Titanic went under but you two were able to make it out alright. Can you please tell me your names so that we can compose a survivor's list."
"Dawson. Jack and Rose Dawson."
A/N: OH MY GOD. That was the longest chapter I've ever had to write on my time as a member on the website. Now for those of you who may be wondering why I had the sudden urge to jump all the way from 1841 to the Titanic in my timeline, you see I just watched James Cameron's Titanic for the first time on Friday. The film was honestly one of the best ones I've seen, though the ending was depressing as hell. When I sat there at the ending credits a thought suddenly came to my mind. 'Wait a minute, this story takes place in 1912, right after my timeline starts. I CAN WRITE ABOUT THIS!' Thus my inspiration was born for Texas and the Titanic. I wanted to write this story as soon as possible so I couldn't possibly wait until the Titanic came TTL, which would be months away in IRL posts. I wanted to give the Titanic a better ending with Texas being involved but for a large tragedy to still take place. A lot of the writing was inspired by the first chapters of "Bismarck ISOT to Titanic." If your wondering between 1400-1500 people survived TTL. The reason for the year change is as you might've guessed, The Great War will be happening years earlier than OTL and conditions afterwords will prevent the Titanic from sailing in 1912. As you might've noticed I added elements of the film but that was honestly because I wanted our star couple to have a happy ending. I know it's shameful but I'm the author of this TL so if I say it happens, it happened. Please be sure to leave a like and some input on the chapter as it took 3 and 1/2 hours to write this entire thing down. For those concerned with the main story don't worry, Chapter 27 will most likely be posted on Monday and I'll have the 1846 Revolutions started next weekend. Thank you for your support and Long Live Texas!
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Fun fact, the Titanic and Olympic as they were originally degined by Alexander Carlisle had more lifeboats. Sixty four of them I believe. When White Star and Harland and Wolff cut it down to sixteen plus four collapsibles Carlisle left the company and they brought on Thomas Andrews to finish the project. After the Titanic sank they just tried to add more collapsibles to the Olympic but the crew pretty much rebelled and proper life boats were added.
Anywho, we learn a lot from this update. First the US, Texas, and France seem to be in an alliance against Britain and some of her allies. Second, racism is a thing in east Texas. Third, if the Titanic is the same ship she was OTL this world is a little ahead of us technologically (not much, Titanic had scale but wasn't cutting edge by 1912, but she may be just beyond the ability of 1897. So call it six-ish years). Fourth, if Cal can be kept at bay Jack and Rose get their happily ever after. Somehow I hope we see more of them. Anywho, I enjoyed that, and I await getting back to the 1840's to find out about how the world got to that point.
Oh, and if the Titanic bug has bitten you, you may enjoy this...
Anywho, we learn a lot from this update. First the US, Texas, and France seem to be in an alliance against Britain and some of her allies. Second, racism is a thing in east Texas. Third, if the Titanic is the same ship she was OTL this world is a little ahead of us technologically (not much, Titanic had scale but wasn't cutting edge by 1912, but she may be just beyond the ability of 1897. So call it six-ish years). Fourth, if Cal can be kept at bay Jack and Rose get their happily ever after. Somehow I hope we see more of them. Anywho, I enjoyed that, and I await getting back to the 1840's to find out about how the world got to that point.
Oh, and if the Titanic bug has bitten you, you may enjoy this...
The 6000 French forces stationed in Texas were split into six 1000 man battalions that were stationed at Nacogdoches, Austin, Santa Fe, San Antonio, San Diego, and Tucson.
Tucson isn't part of Texas. It's below the Gila River which means it's in the Mexican state of Sonora
Unknown: Thanks for the support.
Norwegian Mexican: Sorry about that. Entirely forgot about the Gadsen Purchase but I changed the location of the 6th battalion to Los Angeles.
Pieman: Interesting facts. I don't entirely believe Thomas Andrews was to blame for the whole mess as he was most likely ordered to do so by the White Star Line executives. Yes he should have used common sense and keep the lifeboats on but I feel like his death and actions during the sinking showed that he regretted the whole mess and really cared about the ship and its people. Since you were kind enough to notice the differences here are some explanations for the changes.
- In terms of alliances the world is heading ever closer to the Great War. You won't start to see permanent alliances form until the 1880's but we have entirely new players and the alliances are not close to the same as they were in OTL. In terms of the US-Texas-France alliance both the US and Texas have not signed any defensive pact with France, but they are anti-British with America and Britain not forming that "special relationship" due to the Oregon War and other reasons, Texas more because of its ties with France than any antagonism towards Britain.
- Racism is sadly a thing in East Texas (specifically east of the Nueces) due to the foreshadowed southern exodus and the difficult times with the abolition of slavery. The situation still though is nowhere near as bad as OTL with race relations being more liberal the farther west you go in Texas as well as no Jim Crow laws existing. One thing to note though is that its not a national situation as Texas has a Hispanic as the captain of its flagship (along with other offices like Lieutenant Gomez) and actively lets blacks join the armed services without segregation as seen in the case of Reggie Johnson.
- In terms of technology by the time we reach 2017 the world will be 1-2 decades ahead of us technologically. At the time of 1897 the difference is small and roughly around 5 years-ish. Though the changes will be noticeable as we move forward.
- Don't worry Jack and Rose will have a good long life together. I think that TTL's James Cameron could meet them as an old couple then make Titanic as a movie "based on a true story." If you want I can include more of them after Chapter 27 with a small epilogue of the new Mr. and Mrs. Dawson and also a testimony post/interview by Captain Alvarez on the Titanic. I will cover the Titanic's effects worldwide once I reach this point in my story. If you want I could include other historical films in my timeline such as Forrest Gump and Texanize the experience. I am currently planning for Jack to be making a small appearance in one of my historical posts when I talk about Texan art. Nice documentary by the way. Interesting to learn the story of the workers who put their heart and soul into making the Titanic.
Chapter 27 Lamar's First Term
Chapter 27 Lamar's first term
"Would you look at that. I've been in office one year and unlike what some of my opponents may have thought, our country still stands"- President Mirabeau B. Lamar 1842
"Look we did not steal our party name from the Texans. It's a total coincidence I swear."- Abraham Lincoln 1860
"In honor of our great President who is the father of education for all of Texas, I present to you Lamar University."- Dean Gerald Hawkins 1932
In the beginning of Lamar's first few months in office many in the Western Union Party assumed that he would use his control of congress to pass multiple legislation centralizing Texas as well as revoking the Indians of their appointed land. To their surprise Lamar was more restrained in his policies. While Lamar's memoirs showed that he had big plans for Texas including massive wars against the Indian tribes, turning her into a regional power with a national railroad and multiple pacific ports, and possible conquests of Mexico, Lamar fortunately knew that he would have to act in a realistic manner if he wanted to prove himself as President. While he had won the election the votes came to a small 151 man difference that could easily have gone the other direction. All Lamar needed was a major scandal or failure for 152 people to choose Houston next election. Even worse the currently popular Republican Party could lose congress to the Western Union Party if Lamar's popularity dropped, ruining all the work he had done in the legislative branch the past five years. So instead he decided on two primary goals for his first term, Economic prosperity and the creation of a national education system.
One of the main priorities of the Republican Party that had prompted them to national fame was their promises of economic success and high support of industrialization. When Lamar managed to gain California in the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo he never did it just for bragging rights. Rather, his primary goal was to use California to keep Texas independent by using access to the Pacific to trade with China and to use California's vast resources to Texas's use in the future, as the current lands of the state of Texas were at the time only good for farming and lumber (though they would know of the nation's vast oil reserves decades later). The main problem was that beyond the Arizona trail trade with California was at a minimum and the journey to the Pacific could take 2-3 months on horseback. So Lamar had to focus on securing Texas first and then using the rise in revenue to fully exploit California later. His first act was to create the National Bank of Texas in 1842. This piece of legislation was approved with immense bipartisan support as both Republicans and Western Unionists saw just how damaging the loss of a central bank was in relation to the United States and the Great Panic. Up until that point the Republic had largely relied on its loans from France as well as other loans from the United States. The Franc and the Dollar were primarily used in trading deals with the Redback only being worth $.10. With the founding of the First National Bank, the value of the redback had immediately doubled and Texas was able to gain more loans from European nations and establish a credit system for trade with Western Europe. Recognizing that cotton was Texas's chief cash crop, Lamar would use government funds to subsidize the founding of the nation's first textile mill in 1842. Lamar's logic for this decision is that while it was a payment of national taxes for private interests, the creation of the textile mill could add large amounts of profits to the Texas economy by producing high quality textile products to sell directly to Texans and other nations in Latin America for a handsome price instead of having to buy directly from the United States. The Brazos mill would be opened up on September 23rd and is located 20 miles north of the current city of Sugar Land. Lumber mills were also given the same treatment as they were found in high demand within the Midwest United States and Southwest America, while being a source of large material stock for the housing and shipping industry. The creation of these mills were primarily concentrated in Eastern Texas due to the large number and size of rivers that were used to power the first generation mils. In addition to the textile and lumber mills subsidies were spent on gunsmiths as the people of Texas were in large need of firearms for defense, sport, and hunting. When Samuel Colt came to Texas he surprisingly found hundreds of dollars in Texas funding along with private donations that would allow him to open his first gunworks in 1839 near the city of Houston. Lastly in need of direct funding was the shipbuilding industry. At the time New Orleans and Havana were the only serious competitors in the gulf when it came to quality ships and ports for trade. Lamar worked closely with Jose Navarro to turn Galveston into a sort of New York of the Gulf by expanding the city over the island and putting massive amounts of funding into the first shipyards and harbors. Immense help came in the form of Adelsverein as Lamar was able to work with Prince Carl to attract thousands of Germans from the Hanseatic cities to Galveston to work on the newly created shipyards. This policy would be of massive benefit for the Republican party in the long run as Galveston would later become a practical German island with the island remaining a bastion for the party well into the end of the century. At the time the Western Union party called these actions to be wasteful spending as they concentrated the precious loans and taxes into a few select businesses that would have little gain. History later proved these to be economically beneficial in the long run as by 1861 an estimated $ 70 million redbacks were added to the Texas GDP due to Lamar's policies. Half extra revenue brought by these economic growths would be spent on investment in California and the West were silver and iron mines in the future Deseret and Arizona commonwealths were being opened, with the coastal cities of San Francisco, Las Angeles, San Diego, and Monterrey, beginning the process of being turned into large trade cities that would dominate North America later in the 19th century. Lastly of note is the development of Texas's first railroads. Lamar was introduced to the concept in 1843 by an English immigrant named Thomas Percival. Thomas had worked on the birth of the first railways around London and wanted to introduce him to Texas so that he could make a name for himself by introducing the innovative system to Texas. Lamar was intrigued to the concept as he foresaw the enormous benefits this would have for the Republic by connecting Texas and California while transporting its people across the hundreds of miles of land. While he could not fully realize these goals during his presidency, Lamar gave the go ahead for the first railroad in Texas to be built between Houston and Galveston.
The Textile Mill and the Railroad. The two leading factors of Texas Industrialization. Modern Day Galveston Shipyard.
What surprised many of Lamar's political opponents, and the people of Texas in general, was the man's passion for education. As a child Lamar grew up with his father giving him unlimited access to books and setting him with some of the best tutors in Georgia. From these sessions Lamar became somewhat of an intellectual and was even accepted to Princeton University, an offer he surprisingly refused. He had an immense passion for reading and knowledge and wanted all children of Texas to be given the same opportunity. Lamar saw this as one of his best platforms to rely on in the beginning as it would raise the literacy rate and work efficiency of Texas overall. It was also something Western Unionists could hardly oppose as saying that, "Spending on education is a bad thing", was not something that helped you to win votes. Lamar passed the National Education Act in 1842 which created the Department of Education, whose position of secretary was given to Anson Jones to give the Western Union a small concession without a large amount of political power. The law also enacted a universal public education system that mandated all children to at least graduate elementary before they could enter the workforce. Through his connections with Seguin, Lamar worked closely with the Catholic Church and gave them a large amount of autonomy in the education system in order to maintain their missions to educate the Tejano population as well as civilizing the Indian population. In regards to the Indians while citizens technically had the same right to education funding was mostly steered towards white schoolhouses and thus Indian children were forced to rely on their tribal communities or Christian missionaries that would often visit the tribal territories. Lamar is also remembered for setting up large amounts of land to be used for future universities with the two most notable cases being the future University of Texas and University of Texas A&M.
Universities of Texas A&M and Texas. The two top public universities in Texas.
The most controversial part of Lamar's presidency is his policies and stances towards Indians. Documents and personal journals recovered by Texas historians revealed that Lamar had a high amount of hate for the Indian man and believed that their "total extinction" was necessary in order to expand the lands of Texas to the white population. It is unknown what was the cause of this hatred as Lamar grew up in an area of Georgia well away from Cherokee lands and had suffered no personal tragedies at the hand of any Indian tribes. Regardless he still maintained a strong hatred that only slightly lessened once he was out of office. Had Lamar been able to gain power in 1836 then he might've been able to see these plans come to and would have found a large amount of support. Fortunately, after five years of relative peace with the Indian tribes and the overall success of the Indian Citizenship Initiative, Lamar knew that any implementation of these plans would only ruin his reputation and result in a complete landslide victory against him come 1844. Thus he withheld his hand and chose to wait for the right opportunities to strike. Lamar chose to completely ignore the new tribes who had become citizens, and instead directed his focus towards the Comanche, the most hated enemies of Texas. While he never fully ordered for an outright war to commence, Lamar called for a policy of total retaliation where any attack against a Texas settlement would result in the Army and Texas Rangers being sent out to completely annihilate the aggressor tribe in response. These actions would be the first battles of the Indian Wars of Texas that would continue until the mid 1880's. While attacks against the hostile native tribes were often successful they developed into a pretty mixed bag of results. The primary negative effect was the continued hostile raids by Comanche and Apache in response to the attacks, resulting in the emergence of the first warbands directed against Texas. The most powerful groups of the Comanche and Apache still kept to themselves as little direct territorial expansion had commenced unto their lands, though a hostile somewhat cold war setting began on the frontier between these two groups and Texas. Lamar's frontier battles also earned the ire of the Eastern Indians who joined the Western Union Party en masse, Lamar justified these actions though as he only retaliated after being attacked on and did not direct use of the army towards citizens. Still, Lamar gained many benefits from these campaigns such as increasing support from the Tejanos, who had long since despised the frontier Indians and found new land open for their settlement as well as the whites. New lands were being opened for settlement (though they wouldn't be fullly exploited yet) and in the course of a few years rouge Indian attacks against settlements and farms ceased with only attacks by large and united tribal parties remaining. Finally Lamar managed to gain the political support of both the Army and Texas Rangers who both saw extensive funding to protect the frontier and were in their views being unleashed against the true enemy without any restraints, something Houston had not done during his two terms. As for the average Indian in Texas only time would tell of their status. Some thrived while others fought in resistance to protect their people and culture, dying in vain to see the southwest lost to the white man.
When the elections came around in 1844 the Western Party was shocked when Sam Houston chose not to run, as he still had one more term left under the constitution. Houston's reasoning was that while he still despised Lamar, he recognized that their was a high chance of losing for a second time as Lamar's only major downsides were the rise in national debt and hostility against Indians. Both of these could be dismissed as the spending was used mainly for the military, economic development, and education system; while the Indian attacks were targeting solely hostile Comanche tribes, something even the most liberal of Texans would not disagree against. The Western Union Party instead chose Anson Jones as he was somewhat of a rising star in Texas politics being one of the nation's chief medical experts as well as a primary founder of the party. Lamar of course chose to run again and also kept Burnett as his running mate, who was an immense help in the legislative branch. The course of the campaign was rather calm as Lamar still traveled around the country but mostly to the large frontier settlements and big cities as he had to focus on the presidency. Anson Jones primarily worked his campaign off of supporters in the East where the party was trying to consolidate its base in order to capture congress and build a bastion for future presidential elections. In the spirit of the previous election another Presidential debate was held in San Antonio where over 2500 people had gathered to watch. This time the debates were more even as Anson Jones was able to successfully promote the Western Union's platform while Lamar maintained the success that he had created in his presidency. Neither side was successful in attacking the other but most witnesses agreed that Lamar held a slight edge when it came to confrontations about policy. In the end Lamar had won a victory with a close but respectable 60% majority vote. The Western Union Party was at least successful in congressional elections where they were able to reduce the gap to 25(W)-35(R) in the house and 11(W)-14(R) in the senate.
1844 Texas Presidential Elections
Lamar/Burnett (R): 10,243 60.4%
Jones/Anderson (W): 6,815 39.6%
"Would you look at that. I've been in office one year and unlike what some of my opponents may have thought, our country still stands"- President Mirabeau B. Lamar 1842
"Look we did not steal our party name from the Texans. It's a total coincidence I swear."- Abraham Lincoln 1860
"In honor of our great President who is the father of education for all of Texas, I present to you Lamar University."- Dean Gerald Hawkins 1932
In the beginning of Lamar's first few months in office many in the Western Union Party assumed that he would use his control of congress to pass multiple legislation centralizing Texas as well as revoking the Indians of their appointed land. To their surprise Lamar was more restrained in his policies. While Lamar's memoirs showed that he had big plans for Texas including massive wars against the Indian tribes, turning her into a regional power with a national railroad and multiple pacific ports, and possible conquests of Mexico, Lamar fortunately knew that he would have to act in a realistic manner if he wanted to prove himself as President. While he had won the election the votes came to a small 151 man difference that could easily have gone the other direction. All Lamar needed was a major scandal or failure for 152 people to choose Houston next election. Even worse the currently popular Republican Party could lose congress to the Western Union Party if Lamar's popularity dropped, ruining all the work he had done in the legislative branch the past five years. So instead he decided on two primary goals for his first term, Economic prosperity and the creation of a national education system.
One of the main priorities of the Republican Party that had prompted them to national fame was their promises of economic success and high support of industrialization. When Lamar managed to gain California in the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo he never did it just for bragging rights. Rather, his primary goal was to use California to keep Texas independent by using access to the Pacific to trade with China and to use California's vast resources to Texas's use in the future, as the current lands of the state of Texas were at the time only good for farming and lumber (though they would know of the nation's vast oil reserves decades later). The main problem was that beyond the Arizona trail trade with California was at a minimum and the journey to the Pacific could take 2-3 months on horseback. So Lamar had to focus on securing Texas first and then using the rise in revenue to fully exploit California later. His first act was to create the National Bank of Texas in 1842. This piece of legislation was approved with immense bipartisan support as both Republicans and Western Unionists saw just how damaging the loss of a central bank was in relation to the United States and the Great Panic. Up until that point the Republic had largely relied on its loans from France as well as other loans from the United States. The Franc and the Dollar were primarily used in trading deals with the Redback only being worth $.10. With the founding of the First National Bank, the value of the redback had immediately doubled and Texas was able to gain more loans from European nations and establish a credit system for trade with Western Europe. Recognizing that cotton was Texas's chief cash crop, Lamar would use government funds to subsidize the founding of the nation's first textile mill in 1842. Lamar's logic for this decision is that while it was a payment of national taxes for private interests, the creation of the textile mill could add large amounts of profits to the Texas economy by producing high quality textile products to sell directly to Texans and other nations in Latin America for a handsome price instead of having to buy directly from the United States. The Brazos mill would be opened up on September 23rd and is located 20 miles north of the current city of Sugar Land. Lumber mills were also given the same treatment as they were found in high demand within the Midwest United States and Southwest America, while being a source of large material stock for the housing and shipping industry. The creation of these mills were primarily concentrated in Eastern Texas due to the large number and size of rivers that were used to power the first generation mils. In addition to the textile and lumber mills subsidies were spent on gunsmiths as the people of Texas were in large need of firearms for defense, sport, and hunting. When Samuel Colt came to Texas he surprisingly found hundreds of dollars in Texas funding along with private donations that would allow him to open his first gunworks in 1839 near the city of Houston. Lastly in need of direct funding was the shipbuilding industry. At the time New Orleans and Havana were the only serious competitors in the gulf when it came to quality ships and ports for trade. Lamar worked closely with Jose Navarro to turn Galveston into a sort of New York of the Gulf by expanding the city over the island and putting massive amounts of funding into the first shipyards and harbors. Immense help came in the form of Adelsverein as Lamar was able to work with Prince Carl to attract thousands of Germans from the Hanseatic cities to Galveston to work on the newly created shipyards. This policy would be of massive benefit for the Republican party in the long run as Galveston would later become a practical German island with the island remaining a bastion for the party well into the end of the century. At the time the Western Union party called these actions to be wasteful spending as they concentrated the precious loans and taxes into a few select businesses that would have little gain. History later proved these to be economically beneficial in the long run as by 1861 an estimated $ 70 million redbacks were added to the Texas GDP due to Lamar's policies. Half extra revenue brought by these economic growths would be spent on investment in California and the West were silver and iron mines in the future Deseret and Arizona commonwealths were being opened, with the coastal cities of San Francisco, Las Angeles, San Diego, and Monterrey, beginning the process of being turned into large trade cities that would dominate North America later in the 19th century. Lastly of note is the development of Texas's first railroads. Lamar was introduced to the concept in 1843 by an English immigrant named Thomas Percival. Thomas had worked on the birth of the first railways around London and wanted to introduce him to Texas so that he could make a name for himself by introducing the innovative system to Texas. Lamar was intrigued to the concept as he foresaw the enormous benefits this would have for the Republic by connecting Texas and California while transporting its people across the hundreds of miles of land. While he could not fully realize these goals during his presidency, Lamar gave the go ahead for the first railroad in Texas to be built between Houston and Galveston.
The Textile Mill and the Railroad. The two leading factors of Texas Industrialization. Modern Day Galveston Shipyard.
What surprised many of Lamar's political opponents, and the people of Texas in general, was the man's passion for education. As a child Lamar grew up with his father giving him unlimited access to books and setting him with some of the best tutors in Georgia. From these sessions Lamar became somewhat of an intellectual and was even accepted to Princeton University, an offer he surprisingly refused. He had an immense passion for reading and knowledge and wanted all children of Texas to be given the same opportunity. Lamar saw this as one of his best platforms to rely on in the beginning as it would raise the literacy rate and work efficiency of Texas overall. It was also something Western Unionists could hardly oppose as saying that, "Spending on education is a bad thing", was not something that helped you to win votes. Lamar passed the National Education Act in 1842 which created the Department of Education, whose position of secretary was given to Anson Jones to give the Western Union a small concession without a large amount of political power. The law also enacted a universal public education system that mandated all children to at least graduate elementary before they could enter the workforce. Through his connections with Seguin, Lamar worked closely with the Catholic Church and gave them a large amount of autonomy in the education system in order to maintain their missions to educate the Tejano population as well as civilizing the Indian population. In regards to the Indians while citizens technically had the same right to education funding was mostly steered towards white schoolhouses and thus Indian children were forced to rely on their tribal communities or Christian missionaries that would often visit the tribal territories. Lamar is also remembered for setting up large amounts of land to be used for future universities with the two most notable cases being the future University of Texas and University of Texas A&M.
Universities of Texas A&M and Texas. The two top public universities in Texas.
The most controversial part of Lamar's presidency is his policies and stances towards Indians. Documents and personal journals recovered by Texas historians revealed that Lamar had a high amount of hate for the Indian man and believed that their "total extinction" was necessary in order to expand the lands of Texas to the white population. It is unknown what was the cause of this hatred as Lamar grew up in an area of Georgia well away from Cherokee lands and had suffered no personal tragedies at the hand of any Indian tribes. Regardless he still maintained a strong hatred that only slightly lessened once he was out of office. Had Lamar been able to gain power in 1836 then he might've been able to see these plans come to and would have found a large amount of support. Fortunately, after five years of relative peace with the Indian tribes and the overall success of the Indian Citizenship Initiative, Lamar knew that any implementation of these plans would only ruin his reputation and result in a complete landslide victory against him come 1844. Thus he withheld his hand and chose to wait for the right opportunities to strike. Lamar chose to completely ignore the new tribes who had become citizens, and instead directed his focus towards the Comanche, the most hated enemies of Texas. While he never fully ordered for an outright war to commence, Lamar called for a policy of total retaliation where any attack against a Texas settlement would result in the Army and Texas Rangers being sent out to completely annihilate the aggressor tribe in response. These actions would be the first battles of the Indian Wars of Texas that would continue until the mid 1880's. While attacks against the hostile native tribes were often successful they developed into a pretty mixed bag of results. The primary negative effect was the continued hostile raids by Comanche and Apache in response to the attacks, resulting in the emergence of the first warbands directed against Texas. The most powerful groups of the Comanche and Apache still kept to themselves as little direct territorial expansion had commenced unto their lands, though a hostile somewhat cold war setting began on the frontier between these two groups and Texas. Lamar's frontier battles also earned the ire of the Eastern Indians who joined the Western Union Party en masse, Lamar justified these actions though as he only retaliated after being attacked on and did not direct use of the army towards citizens. Still, Lamar gained many benefits from these campaigns such as increasing support from the Tejanos, who had long since despised the frontier Indians and found new land open for their settlement as well as the whites. New lands were being opened for settlement (though they wouldn't be fullly exploited yet) and in the course of a few years rouge Indian attacks against settlements and farms ceased with only attacks by large and united tribal parties remaining. Finally Lamar managed to gain the political support of both the Army and Texas Rangers who both saw extensive funding to protect the frontier and were in their views being unleashed against the true enemy without any restraints, something Houston had not done during his two terms. As for the average Indian in Texas only time would tell of their status. Some thrived while others fought in resistance to protect their people and culture, dying in vain to see the southwest lost to the white man.
When the elections came around in 1844 the Western Party was shocked when Sam Houston chose not to run, as he still had one more term left under the constitution. Houston's reasoning was that while he still despised Lamar, he recognized that their was a high chance of losing for a second time as Lamar's only major downsides were the rise in national debt and hostility against Indians. Both of these could be dismissed as the spending was used mainly for the military, economic development, and education system; while the Indian attacks were targeting solely hostile Comanche tribes, something even the most liberal of Texans would not disagree against. The Western Union Party instead chose Anson Jones as he was somewhat of a rising star in Texas politics being one of the nation's chief medical experts as well as a primary founder of the party. Lamar of course chose to run again and also kept Burnett as his running mate, who was an immense help in the legislative branch. The course of the campaign was rather calm as Lamar still traveled around the country but mostly to the large frontier settlements and big cities as he had to focus on the presidency. Anson Jones primarily worked his campaign off of supporters in the East where the party was trying to consolidate its base in order to capture congress and build a bastion for future presidential elections. In the spirit of the previous election another Presidential debate was held in San Antonio where over 2500 people had gathered to watch. This time the debates were more even as Anson Jones was able to successfully promote the Western Union's platform while Lamar maintained the success that he had created in his presidency. Neither side was successful in attacking the other but most witnesses agreed that Lamar held a slight edge when it came to confrontations about policy. In the end Lamar had won a victory with a close but respectable 60% majority vote. The Western Union Party was at least successful in congressional elections where they were able to reduce the gap to 25(W)-35(R) in the house and 11(W)-14(R) in the senate.
1844 Texas Presidential Elections
Lamar/Burnett (R): 10,243 60.4%
Jones/Anderson (W): 6,815 39.6%
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*Snicker*
In response to your response to me, what Thomas Andrews and White Star are most guilty of is being men of their time, as the prevailing thought seemed to be (and that the RTS Galveston almost proved) was that in the North Atlantic their would always be a ship close enough to save everyone. Now it should have been obvious that wasn't true, but it is amazing what arrogance can do. Hopefully the actions of the Galveston don't hold back the needed reforms in lifeboat quantity and drills, but I have no doubt there will be people in the British, American, and Texian governments who will argue there is no need for it. I'm sure though Captain Alvarez and any ranking members of the Titanic's crew will have choice words for them.
With regards to Jack, Rose, and splicing other films into this world, I would like to see that epilogue about them, but I'll leave things like adding in Forrest Gump to your discretion.
Moving down the line, it is good to know that even if Texas has issues with race in the 1890's that it is no where as bad as OTL. I can hold out a little hope that that same attitude has bled over into the US states bordering Texas (and maybe the US south as a whole), but I'll just wait and see. Now on the technology front Lamar's education policies are definitely going to help get that tech jump in timeline. Might not be much now, but once universal elementary education proves its worth in Texas it shouldn't be long before most of the major countries hope on the band wagon (although I bet you dollars to doughnuts that it is a state by state thing in the US). So good for Texas being what I hope is a trend setter.
Anywho, good update.
Herricks: I sincerely apologize to any Raiders that may be raiding the story. The main reason why UT and A&M get the spotlight though is because this was something Lamar did OTL that resulted in these two colleges getting created decades later. No offense but nobody wants to found a university in the middle of nowhere that was also filled with Comanches in the 1840's.
Pieman: Don't worry Titanic will more or less have the same changes in naval codes as it did OTL, but like I said before I won't be discussing the full effects until we get to 1897 ITL. I'm pretty sure though since most of the rich and high class passengers survived this time around that they'll add alot of weight to the testimonies in addition to those of the Galveston crew.
In regards to further stories on the Titanic I will post an little epilogue chapter for Rose and Jack tomorrow and also either Thursday or Friday include a little interview that Alvarez has in the aftermath, revealing his take on the events and the poor planning that went into the ship. Once I move forward in the storyline I'll take my time and see which fictional narratives would most fit in the TL.
Don't worry we'll start getting into the race issues fully once the American Civil War ends. Will it be better or worse than OTL, who knows? I feel that Texas would be the first to start this as Lamar OTL did dedicate alot of his time to education during his term and due to Texas's low population, universal education won't cost so much at the beginning. Sure everyone is not getting a high school diploma but baby steps take time. We'll start to see Texas form its own technologies post 1860's and I have an idea for a few TL versions of famous inventors and scientists, including a certain Serbian electrician.
By the way for everyone reading this post could you please vote on my thread "which thread should I do? [poll]" on ASB forum. It's a bunch of ideas I've been thinking about for my first ASB thread so I would sure appreciate your opinion on them. Thanks for reading and look forward to more input in the future.
How did sports evolve ITTL? Do they like to play some good old fashion football?
Mac Gregor: Thanks for your support!
Unknown: This is something I have been thinking about since I started the timeline on what to do with the Great Storm. As far as I can tell alternatehistory doesn't force you to replay the same natural disasters but you are right about it being inevetable to Galveston. I'll try and think of a scenario that would be different for Galveston to stay strong in the 20th century. I'll handle that post when the end of the century comes around.
Terranova: I won't reveal much yet since I'm not going to tackle sports until the 1880's. But as a little spoiler American Football will become much more popular ITTL and will become an Olympic sport. Soccer still holds number one in the world but Football isn't just an American only sport. Will later do a future post on Texan teams in the NFL.
I'll be posting a Titanic epilogue post later in the day then get work started on Chapter 28 The Harrison Years. Revolution will definitely get started on Monday so be prepared next week cause we are about to enter the point of no return for divergances.
Lone Star Special: The Dawson Family
April 10th, 1900. Santa Monica, California
"As you can see Mrs. Dawson we here at Bayside Apartments only offer the best residences that money can buy on this side of the Pacific. For an affordable price you can live out the rest of your days here to your hearts content."
"Why thank you Mr. Chang. From what I've seen so far it certainly looks like a good community that me and my husband might be interested in."
Rose Dawson (formerly Dewitt Bukater) was currently on a real estate search to find a permanent home for her and her husband. They had just arrived at Santa Monica a few months ago and after Jack managed to get a job at the local art gallery thanks to an old patron of his, while she had manage to find a job working at the hotel desk for the local beachside resort. 'Oh Jack.' They were supposed to go looking for their new home together but he apparently bailed out on the last minute, saying that he was needed for an emergency at the gala right away. She could not stay mad at him though. He did try their best to provide for the two of them, Rose was always afraid though that he felt some sort of sense of responsibility to try and make her happy and comfortable since he wasn't some rich millionaire like all the other men that had proposed to her in the past. 'You don't understand Jack, I choose you and I would do it again in a heartbeat, every single time.' Come to think of it, today was the third year anniversary since the fateful day that the Titanic set sail, to never make it to shore again. And in those five days she would find the love of her life and go through one of the most horrific maritime tragedies of all time. Somehow even after Cal framing Jack and them being stuck in the lower decks they had made it out alive and started a new life together. With today being another step in that new life.
"Now Mrs. Dawson if you come with me I believe we have the perfect apartment for both you and your husband. It's room 212 up on the second floor and has an amazing view of the oceanside, with plenty of room for living space."
"Well why don't we go there right now and see if this is the one." She smiled as Mr. Chang lead her up the second story to the apartment open for rent. She wanted to move to Santa Monica to live there with Jack after hearing all of the wonderful stories from him of his adventures in California. From his years traveling he certainly had alot of stories from wherever he went to but he certainly held a clear favoritism for the commonwealth. It was a little bit dificult to find a house as real estate prices had gone up since Jack left with all of the new immigrants coming from Asia and the economic boom that California was going through with new trade. After weeks of searching they finally found a place near the coast that was within their savings range and had a good reputation from its tenets. Mr. Chang had seemed like a nice enough man from when they had first met, Rose only hoped that the quality of the rooms would be the same as it was promised.
"Alright here is room 212. Now if you could please follow me and step inside ma'am."
Rose walked in and was presently surprised by the room. It was a spacious complex around 2000 sq ft with plenty of open room for future furniture. There was a workable kitchen along with one small bathroom, a small living space, and two bedrooms. It was far beyond the quality of life that she had grown up in but it was more than enough for her and Jack. "This room looks very lovely Mr. Chang. It looks like the good word of your residences was true after all."
"Why thank you Mrs. Dawson. My family and I have always strived to maintain the highest quality care for our tenants here at bayside. It took my family around forty years to achieve this after my grandfather arrived to work in the gold mines. He was lucky to have struck gold during the last months of the rush and managed to create our family restaurant downtown, Golden Dragon. My own father was never that good of a cook so he wanted to build his own business in real estate near the beach. Grandfather said it was foolish and that he wouldn't succeed but the recent boom to Santa Monica has proven him to be more than wrong. Now enough rambling of my family history. If you and could come by with your husband I am sure he would be more than satisfied with the room. The starting rent is 10 redbacks with payment due on the first Monday of every month."
"Really? We'll that sounds like a pretty good deal to me." Rose turned around and saw the love of her life standing at the door. Jack Dawson.
"Oh, Mr. Dawson so glad of you to join us. I was just finished showing your wife the apartment. If you would like I can give another tour to yourself but Ms. Rose here seemed very taken with the place."
"Well if Rose is happy with the apartment then that's good enough for me."
"Yes Jack I would love for us to be here."
"Excellent, excellent, a very wise choice indeed. If you two don't mind I'll go down to the office and grab the land contract so that everything will be in order. I'll leave you two here so that you can become aquainted with your new home." With that Mr. Chang left the apartment and the two lovebirds alone together. Jack made his way to Rose and they both kissed each other.
"Jack where were you? I though you said you couldn't make it today?"
"Well it turned out that what I needed to do didn't take so long and since we are about to buy our new home I figured that I should this anyways since it's the reason why I stayed behind." Jack then got onto one knee and pulled out a ring from his pocket, shocking Rose's eyes. "Rose Dewitt Bukater will you marry me?"
Rose was shocked beyond all belief as she didn't understand why Jack was doing this. "Jack we're already married." She said while showing her wedding ring.
"Don't remind me. Almost five years ago and I wake up from one of the greatest ship sinkings in history to find out I was married against my consent to the most beautiful yet crazy redhead I ever met."
Rose chuckled at Jack's joke. She knew it was a little bit rash of her to proclaim that she was Jack's wife to the Captain, yet when she had first called herself Rose Dawson it had felt strange yet so right. She already made her mind when jumping back on the Titanic that she would stay by his side for the rest of their lives, as the both liked to say 'You jump, I jump.' When Jack woke up hours later he was shocked to not only found out they both survived but that he was apparently Rose's husband. Jack was also happy at the same time though as now he could finally grow old together with Rose just like he wanted. It was tough trying to maintain their secrecy on the cramped battleship from the first day as Rose Bukater was supposed to be dead. They even had a close encounter with Cal but were saved by that nice black sailor who had rescued them from the water after getting him to listen to their story. They managed to get into the clear as soon as Cal and Rose's mother transferred to the Carpathia and the new Dawson couple arrived in New York. There they managed to hook up with Fabrizio and Tommy who also managed to survive the sinking. They went their separate ways after a few days with Tommy and Fabrizio both staying in New York. They agreed to exchange letters and as of right now Tommy was working with a good job at the shipyard while Fabrizio had founded his own restaurant in Brooklyn, inventing a new popular Italian food named after his home city of Pisa. Jack and Rose then traveled to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin where Jack decided to get into touch with his family. The months they stayed there were some of the happiest in Rose's life as Jack's parents were loving and accepting of their marriage when they first arrived, becoming the parents Rose never had. She also loved meeting Jack's many brothers and sisters and remembered fondly both hers and Jack's days helping out the family on the farm. After staying a few months both her and Jack agreed to move to California in Texas like they always wanted. Jack's parents were sad to see their boy off again but were more than happy for the couple to find their own happiness, just making them promise to visit every now and then.
"Rose I know we're married but one thing I've always regretted is that we never had a proper wedding. Now that we've got our lives settled here in California I think it's more than the perfect time as it's been long overdue. We can have a small wedding in a few months after getting settled here and can invite the whole family for the celebration. Afterwords we can go on a honeymoon just you and me up in North California, Then we can truly start our lives together as the Dawsons. So what do you say?
Rose tried to hold back tears as she listened to Jack's argument. She was so happy for going on the Titanic, for while it had brought much sadness and tragedy it had brought them together. "Yes Jack, I'd love to have a wedding."
Jack then kissed Rose and carried her in arms bridal style. There was alot of sadness going on in the world but no one could deny this couple's happiness. "Jack, if you're going to plan a date for the wedding you should probably start soon though or at the very least wait a year."
"And why is that?"
"Well, it's because I'm pregnant."
A/N: Sorry for the wait in the past few days. Here is the epilogue to the movie's events in the TL thanks to Pieman's request.We still have one more post on Alvarez and then I'll wrap things up on the Titanic where we'll get back to the main story. For those of you waiting for an official timeline update don't worry as the next post I do will be Chapter 28. Be prepared for the 1846 hype!
"As you can see Mrs. Dawson we here at Bayside Apartments only offer the best residences that money can buy on this side of the Pacific. For an affordable price you can live out the rest of your days here to your hearts content."
"Why thank you Mr. Chang. From what I've seen so far it certainly looks like a good community that me and my husband might be interested in."
Rose Dawson (formerly Dewitt Bukater) was currently on a real estate search to find a permanent home for her and her husband. They had just arrived at Santa Monica a few months ago and after Jack managed to get a job at the local art gallery thanks to an old patron of his, while she had manage to find a job working at the hotel desk for the local beachside resort. 'Oh Jack.' They were supposed to go looking for their new home together but he apparently bailed out on the last minute, saying that he was needed for an emergency at the gala right away. She could not stay mad at him though. He did try their best to provide for the two of them, Rose was always afraid though that he felt some sort of sense of responsibility to try and make her happy and comfortable since he wasn't some rich millionaire like all the other men that had proposed to her in the past. 'You don't understand Jack, I choose you and I would do it again in a heartbeat, every single time.' Come to think of it, today was the third year anniversary since the fateful day that the Titanic set sail, to never make it to shore again. And in those five days she would find the love of her life and go through one of the most horrific maritime tragedies of all time. Somehow even after Cal framing Jack and them being stuck in the lower decks they had made it out alive and started a new life together. With today being another step in that new life.
"Now Mrs. Dawson if you come with me I believe we have the perfect apartment for both you and your husband. It's room 212 up on the second floor and has an amazing view of the oceanside, with plenty of room for living space."
"Well why don't we go there right now and see if this is the one." She smiled as Mr. Chang lead her up the second story to the apartment open for rent. She wanted to move to Santa Monica to live there with Jack after hearing all of the wonderful stories from him of his adventures in California. From his years traveling he certainly had alot of stories from wherever he went to but he certainly held a clear favoritism for the commonwealth. It was a little bit dificult to find a house as real estate prices had gone up since Jack left with all of the new immigrants coming from Asia and the economic boom that California was going through with new trade. After weeks of searching they finally found a place near the coast that was within their savings range and had a good reputation from its tenets. Mr. Chang had seemed like a nice enough man from when they had first met, Rose only hoped that the quality of the rooms would be the same as it was promised.
"Alright here is room 212. Now if you could please follow me and step inside ma'am."
Rose walked in and was presently surprised by the room. It was a spacious complex around 2000 sq ft with plenty of open room for future furniture. There was a workable kitchen along with one small bathroom, a small living space, and two bedrooms. It was far beyond the quality of life that she had grown up in but it was more than enough for her and Jack. "This room looks very lovely Mr. Chang. It looks like the good word of your residences was true after all."
"Why thank you Mrs. Dawson. My family and I have always strived to maintain the highest quality care for our tenants here at bayside. It took my family around forty years to achieve this after my grandfather arrived to work in the gold mines. He was lucky to have struck gold during the last months of the rush and managed to create our family restaurant downtown, Golden Dragon. My own father was never that good of a cook so he wanted to build his own business in real estate near the beach. Grandfather said it was foolish and that he wouldn't succeed but the recent boom to Santa Monica has proven him to be more than wrong. Now enough rambling of my family history. If you and could come by with your husband I am sure he would be more than satisfied with the room. The starting rent is 10 redbacks with payment due on the first Monday of every month."
"Really? We'll that sounds like a pretty good deal to me." Rose turned around and saw the love of her life standing at the door. Jack Dawson.
"Oh, Mr. Dawson so glad of you to join us. I was just finished showing your wife the apartment. If you would like I can give another tour to yourself but Ms. Rose here seemed very taken with the place."
"Well if Rose is happy with the apartment then that's good enough for me."
"Yes Jack I would love for us to be here."
"Excellent, excellent, a very wise choice indeed. If you two don't mind I'll go down to the office and grab the land contract so that everything will be in order. I'll leave you two here so that you can become aquainted with your new home." With that Mr. Chang left the apartment and the two lovebirds alone together. Jack made his way to Rose and they both kissed each other.
"Jack where were you? I though you said you couldn't make it today?"
"Well it turned out that what I needed to do didn't take so long and since we are about to buy our new home I figured that I should this anyways since it's the reason why I stayed behind." Jack then got onto one knee and pulled out a ring from his pocket, shocking Rose's eyes. "Rose Dewitt Bukater will you marry me?"
Rose was shocked beyond all belief as she didn't understand why Jack was doing this. "Jack we're already married." She said while showing her wedding ring.
"Don't remind me. Almost five years ago and I wake up from one of the greatest ship sinkings in history to find out I was married against my consent to the most beautiful yet crazy redhead I ever met."
Rose chuckled at Jack's joke. She knew it was a little bit rash of her to proclaim that she was Jack's wife to the Captain, yet when she had first called herself Rose Dawson it had felt strange yet so right. She already made her mind when jumping back on the Titanic that she would stay by his side for the rest of their lives, as the both liked to say 'You jump, I jump.' When Jack woke up hours later he was shocked to not only found out they both survived but that he was apparently Rose's husband. Jack was also happy at the same time though as now he could finally grow old together with Rose just like he wanted. It was tough trying to maintain their secrecy on the cramped battleship from the first day as Rose Bukater was supposed to be dead. They even had a close encounter with Cal but were saved by that nice black sailor who had rescued them from the water after getting him to listen to their story. They managed to get into the clear as soon as Cal and Rose's mother transferred to the Carpathia and the new Dawson couple arrived in New York. There they managed to hook up with Fabrizio and Tommy who also managed to survive the sinking. They went their separate ways after a few days with Tommy and Fabrizio both staying in New York. They agreed to exchange letters and as of right now Tommy was working with a good job at the shipyard while Fabrizio had founded his own restaurant in Brooklyn, inventing a new popular Italian food named after his home city of Pisa. Jack and Rose then traveled to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin where Jack decided to get into touch with his family. The months they stayed there were some of the happiest in Rose's life as Jack's parents were loving and accepting of their marriage when they first arrived, becoming the parents Rose never had. She also loved meeting Jack's many brothers and sisters and remembered fondly both hers and Jack's days helping out the family on the farm. After staying a few months both her and Jack agreed to move to California in Texas like they always wanted. Jack's parents were sad to see their boy off again but were more than happy for the couple to find their own happiness, just making them promise to visit every now and then.
"Rose I know we're married but one thing I've always regretted is that we never had a proper wedding. Now that we've got our lives settled here in California I think it's more than the perfect time as it's been long overdue. We can have a small wedding in a few months after getting settled here and can invite the whole family for the celebration. Afterwords we can go on a honeymoon just you and me up in North California, Then we can truly start our lives together as the Dawsons. So what do you say?
Rose tried to hold back tears as she listened to Jack's argument. She was so happy for going on the Titanic, for while it had brought much sadness and tragedy it had brought them together. "Yes Jack, I'd love to have a wedding."
Jack then kissed Rose and carried her in arms bridal style. There was alot of sadness going on in the world but no one could deny this couple's happiness. "Jack, if you're going to plan a date for the wedding you should probably start soon though or at the very least wait a year."
"And why is that?"
"Well, it's because I'm pregnant."
A/N: Sorry for the wait in the past few days. Here is the epilogue to the movie's events in the TL thanks to Pieman's request.We still have one more post on Alvarez and then I'll wrap things up on the Titanic where we'll get back to the main story. For those of you waiting for an official timeline update don't worry as the next post I do will be Chapter 28. Be prepared for the 1846 hype!
Chapter 28 The Harrison Years
Chapter 28 The Harrison Years
"I don't care if that man was the first of our party to enter the White House. It's not worth a piece of dirt if that damn fool doesn't listen to a thing I say."- Senator Henry Clay 1842
"We may have solved the issue of slavery thanks to Florida, for now. However, I'm afraid that if we keep on expanding west then the south will one day rise up in defense of their perceived rights and representation."- President William Harrison 1844
"It doesn't matter if Oregon is full of nothing but trees and beavers, we cannot give up an inch of land to the Americans. Our country has been humiliated twice in the past by our former colonies and I intend for it to not happen for a third time." Queen Victoria 1845
For the second time in the United States history political power had been peacefully transferred from one party to another with the election of William Henry Harrison to the Presidency. The Whig Party was America's fourth political party that was founded in 1829 in response to the election of Andrew Jackson and the implementation of his controversial policies. The Whigs saw themselves as the main opposition party that fought for increased legislative power and for the United States to enter the global economy with increased industrialization and the creation of a strong economy. The main issue that the Whigs faced was their lack of a majority support among the masses as their political base tended to be among the rich and high society of the United States; your bankers, capitalists, aristocrats, industrialists, doctors, lawyers, etc. This grew to be a major hindrance for the party as the Democrats could always find large support among the common masses and the new immigrant groups that were coming to America such as the Irish and Germans. With Whigs finding electoral success only in the aftermath of the devastating Great Panic. The Whig Party also suffered extensively from internal factionalism that would come to destroy the party in the 1850's with the rise of the slavery issue. Still, 1841-1853 is remembered by many in the United States as the Whig Era where the party would come to take charge and introduce their ideology to the United States, being able to get extensive legislative action from their time in control of the Legislative and Executive branch. William Harrison's Presidency is also credited by many historians as laying the foundations for the early Republican Party (U.S), from which Abraham Lincoln would become President and lead the country through the trials and tribulations of the Civil War.
William Henry Harrison, the man who would come to define the Whig Party in its brief existence.
In his inaugural address, President Harrison promised to enact several vast reforms while in power. These included policies as redounding the national bank, destroying the spoils systems of Jackson, and enacting the American system of economics. As a last minute addition Harrison also mentioned the need to settle Oregon in order to placate the desires of the expansionist faction, an issue that would rise in the coming years. Harrison's first issue that he tackled was the spoils system, which President Jackson had abused by appointing various political allies and friends to office instead of those based off merit. True to his word Harrison strove to maintain a professional system of appointments and primarily sought men to fill the bureaucracy that would most fit their positions and suit their talents. This practice was unpopular with Henry Clay as while being hypocritical of his platform, Clay had wanted Harrison's election to appoint several Whigs to power and further the influence of his allies. This was the beginning of the feud between Harrison and Clay with Harrison firmly refusing every single one of Clay's advances, firmly stating, "Mr. Clay you forget that I am the President." Unknown to many the feud was also an extension of the bitter rivalry that had been ongoing for years between Vice President Daniel Webster and Clay, who both represented competing factions of the Whig Party. Thankfully a civil war within the party was prevented early on as Clay also kept his promise of following the Whig's economic policies. The founding of the Third National Bank was met with success as this time the Whigs had firm control of both the House and the Senate, ratifying the banks charter in only three months thereafter Harrison approved the founding. This time the Third National Bank would remain and has since become an important staple of the Department of the Treasury to this very day. Finally the American system was fully implemented with much success. The American system was an idea that was developed by Henry Clay, calling for increased industrialization, extensive funding for infrastructure, centralization of federal revenue from public lands, and increased tariffs. Most of these plans could be successfully implemented with a Whig congress as the bank was already approved. The legislative branch soon set up large subsidies to be directed towards the increase of factories, shipyards, and railroads within the United States. A large majority of these funds went to the northern region, particularly New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, where there was already a good amount of industrialization to build upon. The southern politicians were laregly opposed to this plan and called it as a system of favoritism towards the North that would see economic growth happen in only their region. They made these criticisms despite extensive attempts for Harrison to extend the programs to the south as the southern region was focused on their agricultural economy and refuse to direct these efforts to industrialization, a practice that would later come to haunt them in the Civil War. Still the industrialization was an overall success with an 15% increase of factory growth by 1846 and 100 new miles of railroad being laid out in that time. The lands in the western territories were also coming under federal control as their profits in taxes were being directed towards the state so that they would be able to alleviate the still lingering economic recession and continue the policy of infrastructure building. The one are that the Whigs found much difficulty in was the increase of tariffs. The full effects of the Great Panic would not be dropped until 1844 and with the closing or financial difficulty of the northern industry, the people of the United States instead chose to buy cheap products directly from Europe who were still on continuous economic growth. Southerners on both sides of the political spectrum were unilaterally in opposition to the increase of tariffs and many Northern Whigs, even from New England, were afraid to call for new tariffs as their was a high probability that it would result in them losing their seats come next election. Harrison and Clay backed down from calls of increase with both men only agreeing to not lower the current rates, as they did not want another nullification crisis on their hands. It wasn't until the mid1850's that calls for tariffs would once again rise. Lastly of note in Harrison's first term was the admittance of two states to the union; Florida and Iowa. The south had been calling for another slave state to enter the Union as the efforts of the Texas annexation had largely failed, in order to appease them and not cause a divide Harrison supported the entrance of Florida and was able to receive their admission in early 1844. Local southern organizations had managed to support large migration efforts to fill the new state and thus despite the ongoing Seminole Wars, Florida had the required population to enter the Union once a constitution was ratified. In order to keep the balance Wisconsin was also given support in a similar manner by western and northern politicians, gaining entrance latter that same year around October, right before election time. Once Florida had entered the union though, it would be the last slave state according to the Missouri compromise. Unless Texas was willing to sell territory (which President Lamar would rather shoot himself before that happened) every other territory belonging to the United States would become a free state. The Democrats and southerners set their sights on Haiti and Cuba, seeking to go around the compromise by expanding to the Caribbean, while Vice President Webster managed to get Harrison to agree to the admittance of Wisconsin should they win reelection. The country was still united but the seeds of division were slowly being implemented within America that would one day lead to the battlefields of Dixie.
Third Bank of the United States 2016. New England Textile Mill in the 1840's. 28 Star U.S flag after the admission of Florida and Wisconsin.
When it came to foreign relations for the first term of Harrison's presidency, there was little to take action upon except for one issue that was becoming increasingly prominent within American society, Oregon. For the British obtaining the territory was a mere matter of pride as it would add hundreds of miles of land to their growing empire and connect Canada to the northwest. For the Americans, it was a matter of survival. With California in the hands of Texas Oregon was the only remaining gateway to the Pacific, one that America absolutely refused to yield a single inch of territory to her former colonial overlords. With the creation of the Oregon trail thousands of American settlers were traveling to Oregon country and the federal government was doing everything in its power to support these measures to 'Americanize' the territory as much as possible before a single drop of Canadian blood set foot upon the land. Many colonization societies were being created in the same manner as the Liberian society, huge amounts of funding was given by the federal government for any American to be attracted to the new land. With money and the promises of free and spacious lands the amount of Americans traveling west would increase every year. President Harrison knew however that it would take alot more than a high amount of American population to back up these claims. Americans had largely filled up the Ontario territory but that hadn't helped them when it came to the Treaty of Ghent in the War of 1812. The Harrison administration was doing its best to negotiate a peaceful settlement with some offers reaching as high as $50,000,000 for the whole of Oregon. Deep down William Harrison knew that the British would never relent so easily to their requests. Britain was beginning to build their world Empire and would not lose face to any upstart nation. Being the former soldier that he was, Harrison knew that war was a certain possibility that was growing every day. So Harrison would do his best to prepare the military for the coming fight and make sure that they would win in the third fight. You see back then the United States was nowhere near its current level of military projection that it has today as a superpower. The Army only consisted of 10,000 regulars with defense of the nation in the frontier being reliant on local militias, while the Navy only consisted of near 30 ships, nowhere near the strength of the invincible British Armada. With extensive support from the military such as Commodore Perry and General Winfield Scott, Harrison set out to give the United States a fighting chance against the most powerful nation in the world. Legislation was passed in congress that would increase the size of the regular army to 30,000 men, nowhere near the necessary levels but a good start considering the economy. Generals Scott and Taylor were put in charge of bringing the men to combat ready operations and ensuring each one would be of high quality once the battle lines were drawn. Among these new recruits were the West Point graduates of the 1840's who would all play prominent roles as leaders of the Civil War. On the Navy side Harrison knew that the United States could never outright defeat the British Navy, his plan was to merely protect the American coast and any trade that could be captured at sea. The Navy was given authorization to increase to 75 ships at sea with the New England shipyards being put to heavy work on construction of the latest vessels, these ships would be of immense benefit to the American Navy as the would complete construction by the time the war broke out and could at least help the United States prevent another burning of Washington from happening. Extensive support was also given to the construction of a Great Lakes fleet where there was expected to be an intense naval campaign from both sides in order to allow naval superiority in the Ohio region and support either side in an invasion. Oliver Hazard Perry had proven in the war of 1812 that victory in this area was at the very least achievable. Lastly plans were being drawn by the chiefs of staff for new invasion plans of Canada and any possible invasion by the British, while new forts were being constructed in the Oregon territory and the Ohio region. The British during all this did not sit idle. Queen Victoria sent 10,000 regulars to Canada in order to increase the nation's defenses, especially after the Quebec rebellions. British citizens were encouraged to immigrate to Oregon and the Royal Navy increased its patrols near the American coast. Unfortunately for the proponents of peace War would come in 1846 where both nations would meet on the field of battle, for the third consecutive generation in eighty years. The United States should count itself lucky though that war had commenced on the onset of the 1846 revolutions, forcing Britain to divide its attention between two continents.
The United States Army and Navy circa 1845
When the time came for the 1844 elections the Whigs were near unanimous in choosing Harrison. Despite personal objections from Clay, the man was at the height of his popularity with a 65% estimated support form the American populace. The economy had fully recovered by that point, the Whigs had been able to achieve near every single one of their platforms, war hawks for Oregon were increasing, and during all this President Harrison had maintained an image of honor and credibility that had been lost by the past three presidents. Against these odds the Democrats were unable to compete and chose James Polk as his opponent. Polk was very popular in the south and was an highly skilled legislator from his time as House Speaker. The man was also chosen for his supportive stance on Oregon. The main problem was that Polk's reputation was still hurt in the North with his increased insistence that Texas should've become part of the Union. Besides his support for Oregon there was little that the dark horse Candidate of Polk could entice the public as Harrison's domestic policies had been immensely successful. Indeed when the first Presidential debate was set up in Philadelphia in copy of Texas's creation of the practice, Polk found himself increasingly under fire from Harrison for not having a strong solution to the country's domestic issues and relying on a bandwagon of support for Oregon to his campaign. To be quite honest even if Andrew Jackson rose up from the dead to challenge Harrison, he still wouldn't have won against the popular incumbent. In the end Harrison came out with another resounding victory with 208 electoral votes compared to Polk's 74. Harrison also won in the popular vote with a significant near 56% majority. The Whigs had at long last found the one man who they could rally their party towards. What remained to be seen was how well Harrison's leadership skills would be put to the test when the Oregon War finally came.
1844 United States Presidential Elections
Harrison/Webster (Whig): 1,523,478 Votes,55.9%. 208 Electoral votes
Polk/Taylor (Democrat): 1,200,005 Votes, 44.1%. 74 Electoral Votes.
"I don't care if that man was the first of our party to enter the White House. It's not worth a piece of dirt if that damn fool doesn't listen to a thing I say."- Senator Henry Clay 1842
"We may have solved the issue of slavery thanks to Florida, for now. However, I'm afraid that if we keep on expanding west then the south will one day rise up in defense of their perceived rights and representation."- President William Harrison 1844
"It doesn't matter if Oregon is full of nothing but trees and beavers, we cannot give up an inch of land to the Americans. Our country has been humiliated twice in the past by our former colonies and I intend for it to not happen for a third time." Queen Victoria 1845
For the second time in the United States history political power had been peacefully transferred from one party to another with the election of William Henry Harrison to the Presidency. The Whig Party was America's fourth political party that was founded in 1829 in response to the election of Andrew Jackson and the implementation of his controversial policies. The Whigs saw themselves as the main opposition party that fought for increased legislative power and for the United States to enter the global economy with increased industrialization and the creation of a strong economy. The main issue that the Whigs faced was their lack of a majority support among the masses as their political base tended to be among the rich and high society of the United States; your bankers, capitalists, aristocrats, industrialists, doctors, lawyers, etc. This grew to be a major hindrance for the party as the Democrats could always find large support among the common masses and the new immigrant groups that were coming to America such as the Irish and Germans. With Whigs finding electoral success only in the aftermath of the devastating Great Panic. The Whig Party also suffered extensively from internal factionalism that would come to destroy the party in the 1850's with the rise of the slavery issue. Still, 1841-1853 is remembered by many in the United States as the Whig Era where the party would come to take charge and introduce their ideology to the United States, being able to get extensive legislative action from their time in control of the Legislative and Executive branch. William Harrison's Presidency is also credited by many historians as laying the foundations for the early Republican Party (U.S), from which Abraham Lincoln would become President and lead the country through the trials and tribulations of the Civil War.
William Henry Harrison, the man who would come to define the Whig Party in its brief existence.
In his inaugural address, President Harrison promised to enact several vast reforms while in power. These included policies as redounding the national bank, destroying the spoils systems of Jackson, and enacting the American system of economics. As a last minute addition Harrison also mentioned the need to settle Oregon in order to placate the desires of the expansionist faction, an issue that would rise in the coming years. Harrison's first issue that he tackled was the spoils system, which President Jackson had abused by appointing various political allies and friends to office instead of those based off merit. True to his word Harrison strove to maintain a professional system of appointments and primarily sought men to fill the bureaucracy that would most fit their positions and suit their talents. This practice was unpopular with Henry Clay as while being hypocritical of his platform, Clay had wanted Harrison's election to appoint several Whigs to power and further the influence of his allies. This was the beginning of the feud between Harrison and Clay with Harrison firmly refusing every single one of Clay's advances, firmly stating, "Mr. Clay you forget that I am the President." Unknown to many the feud was also an extension of the bitter rivalry that had been ongoing for years between Vice President Daniel Webster and Clay, who both represented competing factions of the Whig Party. Thankfully a civil war within the party was prevented early on as Clay also kept his promise of following the Whig's economic policies. The founding of the Third National Bank was met with success as this time the Whigs had firm control of both the House and the Senate, ratifying the banks charter in only three months thereafter Harrison approved the founding. This time the Third National Bank would remain and has since become an important staple of the Department of the Treasury to this very day. Finally the American system was fully implemented with much success. The American system was an idea that was developed by Henry Clay, calling for increased industrialization, extensive funding for infrastructure, centralization of federal revenue from public lands, and increased tariffs. Most of these plans could be successfully implemented with a Whig congress as the bank was already approved. The legislative branch soon set up large subsidies to be directed towards the increase of factories, shipyards, and railroads within the United States. A large majority of these funds went to the northern region, particularly New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, where there was already a good amount of industrialization to build upon. The southern politicians were laregly opposed to this plan and called it as a system of favoritism towards the North that would see economic growth happen in only their region. They made these criticisms despite extensive attempts for Harrison to extend the programs to the south as the southern region was focused on their agricultural economy and refuse to direct these efforts to industrialization, a practice that would later come to haunt them in the Civil War. Still the industrialization was an overall success with an 15% increase of factory growth by 1846 and 100 new miles of railroad being laid out in that time. The lands in the western territories were also coming under federal control as their profits in taxes were being directed towards the state so that they would be able to alleviate the still lingering economic recession and continue the policy of infrastructure building. The one are that the Whigs found much difficulty in was the increase of tariffs. The full effects of the Great Panic would not be dropped until 1844 and with the closing or financial difficulty of the northern industry, the people of the United States instead chose to buy cheap products directly from Europe who were still on continuous economic growth. Southerners on both sides of the political spectrum were unilaterally in opposition to the increase of tariffs and many Northern Whigs, even from New England, were afraid to call for new tariffs as their was a high probability that it would result in them losing their seats come next election. Harrison and Clay backed down from calls of increase with both men only agreeing to not lower the current rates, as they did not want another nullification crisis on their hands. It wasn't until the mid1850's that calls for tariffs would once again rise. Lastly of note in Harrison's first term was the admittance of two states to the union; Florida and Iowa. The south had been calling for another slave state to enter the Union as the efforts of the Texas annexation had largely failed, in order to appease them and not cause a divide Harrison supported the entrance of Florida and was able to receive their admission in early 1844. Local southern organizations had managed to support large migration efforts to fill the new state and thus despite the ongoing Seminole Wars, Florida had the required population to enter the Union once a constitution was ratified. In order to keep the balance Wisconsin was also given support in a similar manner by western and northern politicians, gaining entrance latter that same year around October, right before election time. Once Florida had entered the union though, it would be the last slave state according to the Missouri compromise. Unless Texas was willing to sell territory (which President Lamar would rather shoot himself before that happened) every other territory belonging to the United States would become a free state. The Democrats and southerners set their sights on Haiti and Cuba, seeking to go around the compromise by expanding to the Caribbean, while Vice President Webster managed to get Harrison to agree to the admittance of Wisconsin should they win reelection. The country was still united but the seeds of division were slowly being implemented within America that would one day lead to the battlefields of Dixie.
Third Bank of the United States 2016. New England Textile Mill in the 1840's. 28 Star U.S flag after the admission of Florida and Wisconsin.
When it came to foreign relations for the first term of Harrison's presidency, there was little to take action upon except for one issue that was becoming increasingly prominent within American society, Oregon. For the British obtaining the territory was a mere matter of pride as it would add hundreds of miles of land to their growing empire and connect Canada to the northwest. For the Americans, it was a matter of survival. With California in the hands of Texas Oregon was the only remaining gateway to the Pacific, one that America absolutely refused to yield a single inch of territory to her former colonial overlords. With the creation of the Oregon trail thousands of American settlers were traveling to Oregon country and the federal government was doing everything in its power to support these measures to 'Americanize' the territory as much as possible before a single drop of Canadian blood set foot upon the land. Many colonization societies were being created in the same manner as the Liberian society, huge amounts of funding was given by the federal government for any American to be attracted to the new land. With money and the promises of free and spacious lands the amount of Americans traveling west would increase every year. President Harrison knew however that it would take alot more than a high amount of American population to back up these claims. Americans had largely filled up the Ontario territory but that hadn't helped them when it came to the Treaty of Ghent in the War of 1812. The Harrison administration was doing its best to negotiate a peaceful settlement with some offers reaching as high as $50,000,000 for the whole of Oregon. Deep down William Harrison knew that the British would never relent so easily to their requests. Britain was beginning to build their world Empire and would not lose face to any upstart nation. Being the former soldier that he was, Harrison knew that war was a certain possibility that was growing every day. So Harrison would do his best to prepare the military for the coming fight and make sure that they would win in the third fight. You see back then the United States was nowhere near its current level of military projection that it has today as a superpower. The Army only consisted of 10,000 regulars with defense of the nation in the frontier being reliant on local militias, while the Navy only consisted of near 30 ships, nowhere near the strength of the invincible British Armada. With extensive support from the military such as Commodore Perry and General Winfield Scott, Harrison set out to give the United States a fighting chance against the most powerful nation in the world. Legislation was passed in congress that would increase the size of the regular army to 30,000 men, nowhere near the necessary levels but a good start considering the economy. Generals Scott and Taylor were put in charge of bringing the men to combat ready operations and ensuring each one would be of high quality once the battle lines were drawn. Among these new recruits were the West Point graduates of the 1840's who would all play prominent roles as leaders of the Civil War. On the Navy side Harrison knew that the United States could never outright defeat the British Navy, his plan was to merely protect the American coast and any trade that could be captured at sea. The Navy was given authorization to increase to 75 ships at sea with the New England shipyards being put to heavy work on construction of the latest vessels, these ships would be of immense benefit to the American Navy as the would complete construction by the time the war broke out and could at least help the United States prevent another burning of Washington from happening. Extensive support was also given to the construction of a Great Lakes fleet where there was expected to be an intense naval campaign from both sides in order to allow naval superiority in the Ohio region and support either side in an invasion. Oliver Hazard Perry had proven in the war of 1812 that victory in this area was at the very least achievable. Lastly plans were being drawn by the chiefs of staff for new invasion plans of Canada and any possible invasion by the British, while new forts were being constructed in the Oregon territory and the Ohio region. The British during all this did not sit idle. Queen Victoria sent 10,000 regulars to Canada in order to increase the nation's defenses, especially after the Quebec rebellions. British citizens were encouraged to immigrate to Oregon and the Royal Navy increased its patrols near the American coast. Unfortunately for the proponents of peace War would come in 1846 where both nations would meet on the field of battle, for the third consecutive generation in eighty years. The United States should count itself lucky though that war had commenced on the onset of the 1846 revolutions, forcing Britain to divide its attention between two continents.
The United States Army and Navy circa 1845
When the time came for the 1844 elections the Whigs were near unanimous in choosing Harrison. Despite personal objections from Clay, the man was at the height of his popularity with a 65% estimated support form the American populace. The economy had fully recovered by that point, the Whigs had been able to achieve near every single one of their platforms, war hawks for Oregon were increasing, and during all this President Harrison had maintained an image of honor and credibility that had been lost by the past three presidents. Against these odds the Democrats were unable to compete and chose James Polk as his opponent. Polk was very popular in the south and was an highly skilled legislator from his time as House Speaker. The man was also chosen for his supportive stance on Oregon. The main problem was that Polk's reputation was still hurt in the North with his increased insistence that Texas should've become part of the Union. Besides his support for Oregon there was little that the dark horse Candidate of Polk could entice the public as Harrison's domestic policies had been immensely successful. Indeed when the first Presidential debate was set up in Philadelphia in copy of Texas's creation of the practice, Polk found himself increasingly under fire from Harrison for not having a strong solution to the country's domestic issues and relying on a bandwagon of support for Oregon to his campaign. To be quite honest even if Andrew Jackson rose up from the dead to challenge Harrison, he still wouldn't have won against the popular incumbent. In the end Harrison came out with another resounding victory with 208 electoral votes compared to Polk's 74. Harrison also won in the popular vote with a significant near 56% majority. The Whigs had at long last found the one man who they could rally their party towards. What remained to be seen was how well Harrison's leadership skills would be put to the test when the Oregon War finally came.
1844 United States Presidential Elections
Harrison/Webster (Whig): 1,523,478 Votes,55.9%. 208 Electoral votes
Polk/Taylor (Democrat): 1,200,005 Votes, 44.1%. 74 Electoral Votes.
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