I had originally posted this in the Writer's Forum to get some advice on my writing and to ask whether or not it would generate any interest. It has not received much reaction in that forum (I tell myself that this is because of the low foot traffic there), so I thought I'd try it here and see what folks in this forum think about it.
I have included, in addition to the original post, my rough draft of the presidents of this timeline up to the point of the prologue.
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So, I have no idea whether this is something I'm going to do or not. I've been working on this timeline for awhile (for those who have read the "TL Ideas You Have, but Lack the Wherewithal to Execute" thread, this is mine), but I haven't had the guts to post any part of it yet. So this is here to see what you, other writers, like and don't like about it, and also to see if there would be any interest at all in such a TL. I do have more to post if this generates any interest at all.
Without further ado, I present the teaser trailer for No Compromise: The World Without Henry Clay:
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“The death of President Adams is many things. It is a misfortune for his family and his country; it is untimely as we must continue to make preparations for war even with a new Commander in Chief of our armies, whose devotion to waging said war wavers even as I write; it is brutal as I hope will be the punishment dealt to this traitor Brown whose name ought be forgotten, but whose deeds have earned him a place among the likes of Brutus and Iscariot; most importantly, however, it is a catalyst for change.
“Always have I believed in my heart and preached with my words that the states which comprise our union, as well as our experiment in democracy and liberty that is linked to them inextricably, will fail if we do not cling to one another. There must be no issue which we let tear us asunder. However, the death of our President has made clear that the question of slavery will do just that if we do not find an answer for it. Around me I witness the angry and extreme words of men stoking the fires of discord that temper the swords of civil war. From the northern states I hear rhetoric from the so-called abolitionists who would free our slaves through means of instigating violent revolution. In my south, meanwhile, a new generation of men is rising, and these grand-children of the revolution believe that slavery is not a peculiar institution or a necessary evil which must be remedied; indeed they preach it as a positive good! How long this nation can stand peaceful while threats and insults are cast as casually as a fishing line into a calm lake is unclear.
What the murder of President Adams has made clear to me is this: that unless some person is willing and able to solve the riddle of slavery soon, more Americans from every section and state will be joining the martyred president who sits now at the right hand of God Almighty. I have resolved that I shall be the man to carry that burden.”
The Diary of John C. Calhoun March 12, 1837
Presidents of the United States of America:
1789 - 1797: George Washington
1797 - 1801: John Adams
1801 - 1809: Thomas Jefferson
1809 - 1817: James Madison
1817 - 1825: James Monroe
1825 - 1829: Andrew Jackson
1829 - 1837: John Quincy Adams
1837 - 1839: Richard Rush