Red State: A Confederate Timeline by Xanthoc
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Part #4: Where Cotton is King
Part #4: Where Cotton is King
“This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error.”
“December 20, 1860. February 8, 1861. October 14, 1865. November 11, 1865. These three dates all have something in common. Each was in consideration for date of Dixie Independence Day. 12/20 was the day South Carolina declared secession from the United States, triggering the beginning of what would be the Confederacy. On 2/8, the Confederacy was officially declared, and this date gained the most backing during the war. Even today, it remains the date of the Confederation Festival, a celebration of unity between all our sovereign states. 10/14 was the date of the ceasefire between the Union and the Confederacy, and some saw it as the de facto date of true independence. Furthermore, it being the fourteenth was evocative of July Fourth, American Independence Day.
However, the intense celebrations that ensued on 11/11,[2] following the signing and overnight telegrams announcing the Treaty of Lexington. The South was alight with jubilation, and it would be again the following year. It was a time of joy and victory, and a number of traditions were created in this first Sovereignty Day, as we shall explore:
1. Pumpkin Cracking. A pumpkin is tossed in the air and (often inebriated) men try to crack it open with a swing of a bat. A number of farms and families have claimed to have invented this tradition, but it was documented in several places in 1866 as being done as a recreation of festivities from 1865, either done on the farm or heard about from other families.
2. Midnight Kissing. Youths ranging from 13 to 17 are blindfolded and dance in cricked around in a tight group, one arm out and held up. When the music loops, they grab the first outreached hand they feel, partners then switching and reaching out the other arm. Growing dizzy and giddy, the music finally stops, blindfolds come off and partners must kiss, regardless of who it is. There is great hilarity when brothers bemoan their luck and have to share a fraternal peck, while others cheer as the fiddleplayer expertly waited until two lovebirds were paired. This event was documented as being invented on Thomas Abernathy’s farm in Georgia.
3. Powder Shoot. Other nations celebrate with fireworks, but by 11/11, the South had grown tired of cannons thundering. Instead, small sacks of colored powder are hurled into the sky with a sling, catapult, or arm, and a marksmen shoots to make it explode into a delightful cloud. This was invented at Fort Matthias on the Kentucky border, where soldiers used bags of dried spices, flour, and dirt.[3]
4. Star-racing: Negro slaves were always noted as having strong legs and a fast gait. Strong slaves ran along the perimeter of a large field, carrying small white stars. The finish line has a blue blanket that the slave would slap their star on, the ‘first star to hit the Bonnie Blue.’ After Abolition, the tradition remains, often done first by children and then by adults of any race. First recorded on Daniel Dew’s plantation, and the following year he invited neighbors.”[4]
“A young nation has a lot of things to consider upon independence. For the Confederacy, three things dominated the agenda: debt, agriculture, and bureaucracy.
Let’s start at the top and work our way down. Now, the Confederate States Congress was empowered to collect taxes for the payment of debts. The problem? The debtors weren’t a foreign power or bank, but instead the states and citizens. The common historiography of the Civil War is that it was easy. The Confederacy gained time to build troops thanks to the recognized tentativeness of the Northern armies, and soon the defensive line became a shield to hold up until the North broke down. But a more modern and increasingly accepted perspective is that the war was a game of poker. Both sides had no understanding of the other’s resources in totality. Certain moves elicited certain reaction, both sides trying to find tells.
We have to understand that the commanders on either side were West Point alumni and veterans of the Mexican-American War. They shared similar ideas of warfare, rooted in Napoleonic thought. Many innovations that military historians point to were outgrowths of this thinking, such as the trenches in Tennessee.[5] Both North and South were scared, playing against men who knew all their tricks. The difference between them was that the Confederates took risks faster than the Union. Had Sherman been allowed to take his bold actions sooner, the South may have fallen. But the gambles the South made were expensive. Lee’s Army of Appalachia had cost a fortune, and every new soldier meant another check to cut after the war. And then there was the famine relief, which owed farmers subsidies for growing corn. Thus we come to the debt.
The government owed soldiers their pay, they owed States for equipment, and they owed planters. Printing bills was considered, and we saw inflation rise dramatically post-war. But everyone knew this wasn’t a lasting solution. Taxes were also right out; taxing the soldiers and farmers to pay them would’ve caused absolute anarchy. The next solution was found in a war time slogan: King Cotton. Cotton exports were resumed to the world. Initially, sale was at a small loss, a ploy by the new Secretary of the Treasury John H. Reagan. Reagan corresponded with the British and French, and then reached out to the German Powers and the Russians. While the latter rejected his offer, the other world powers agreed to recognize the Confederacy rather quickly in exchange for cheap cotton. While this created a rift for the United States, the US had already been made to recognize the Confederacy.
Once trade in cotton was growing, Reagan began to raise the prices, just so slightly. At the same time, loans were now on offer by various countries. Using loans and US reparations, the planters were paid their subsidies, while the soldiers were given a portion of their pay with a compromise to either be paid in installments or to be supplemented by grain and cotton, or land in Arizona. The cotton trade, meanwhile, would help to raise money to pay those loans off.[6] Of course, taxes and inflation were both going on, but without these ideas they’d have been much worse.
“So next, agriculture. Someone needs to grow that cotton. But famine was still feared. The corn subsidy was lessened, but not ended. It was still believed that corn needed to be grown heavily, alongside wheat, to keep the nation fed and stable. Plus, cheap local goods would help ensure a positive trade deficit. This is the predecessor to Jackson’s Stronghold System. But cotton is still the cash crop. And so slavery was further cemented as necessity for Southern existence. Rewards for fulfilling cotton quotas were offered while laws on the treatment of slaves were encouraged to be repealed. Productivity on plantations soon rises by the next harvest.
So that takes us to bureaucracy. Hm. Maybe I should have started with this one. You see, the Confederate Constitution was lauded for its defense of state authority and property rights. But the war had demanded the approval of a number of emergency powers. Some thought they needed to be extended for several more years. Others wanted it ended immediately, and it was on this that Davis and Stephens would pull apart as enemies. Davis had come to believe that the emergency powers granted the government were just that; powers to handle any emergency. He wanted to build a large executive bureaucracy that would be powerless when not granted authority by the Congress, but nevertheless maintained and extant.
Stephens opposed this. He had become wary of the general trend of big government in the Confederacy. He took up the autonomy of states as a cause to champion. The emergency bureaucracy was unneeded and only a means of tempting the government with an easy use of powers it shouldn’t have. By this point, Davis was only in the second half of his presidency, and he had made numerous enemies. In the war, his own politicking and consolidation of power had drawn harsh criticism already. Despite his status as a ‘Founding Father,’ others of the same rank and seniority were ready and willing to toss out words like ‘tyrant’ and ‘King Jeff’.[7]
After a bit of debate, Davis finally decided this wasn’t the hill he planned to die on. Stephens and his faction won out. Now who was in that faction? He worked close with Robert Toombs, an old friend, and fellow-Georgian, and with Robert M.T. Hunter, a Virginian, both of whom were previously Secretary of State and loud critics of Davis. Already, looking down the syllabus, we can see the rifts in the Democratic Party. The trio was appealing to a rather grand and romanticized idea of what the Confederacy could be; decentralized, agrarian, and with a government incapable of even considering the infringement of property.
Davis, who was always a rather emotional man, began to take their attacks personally. He soon saw himself as a defender of the Confederacy, standing between it and anarchy. This quote from him, in response to if he supported the states, sums up his evolving stance; ‘The rights of states, yes. Their infidelity, never.’ He’d go on to compare the confederal government to a father and states as sons; let them grow, let them learn, and support their endeavors. But punish their sins and keep them righteous. This idea, of course, completely clashed with Stephens’ rhetoric. They drifted further apart and grew bitter. Davis called him a snake in his tent, and a wolf in his hen house.
And Stephens grew dynamic. Rather than let the President pro tempore, who was R.M.T. Hunter, his ally, Stephens, as Vice President, sat in on the Senate. He embraced his role as presiding officer and head of the Senate, taking a dynamic stance to help kill bills that didn’t fit with his vision. This would start to distinguish the CS government from the US quite radically.[8] Davis, meanwhile, had effectively lost control of his government. He gave up the emergency bureaucracy, and now focused on the matters of debt and economics, mostly because it was the only thing he could get past Stephens…”
“The CS Flag Referendums of 1865 and 1866 has often been denigrated as a mere quirk. A small affair the represented little beyond a cosmetic choice by a government that was settling all the minor details of being a proper state. But this view neglects to see how the referendum serves as a microcosm of contemporary issues and as a predictor of future issues amongst Dixie society…
...The first referendum reflect the aristocratic nature of the Confederacy and its politics. The government did not enjoy the Bonnie Blue, not the least because its hue evoked a connection to the blue of Union soldiers.[9] Stripes, however, were discounted due to the memorable confusion the Stars and Bars had created on the battle-field. Thus, when recalling the aforementioned star discussion and the ratio debate, we see that the concerns of warfare and diplomacy were widely on the mind. The Stainless Banner was cut from the referendum entirely due to angry remarks of Lee, despite Senator King’s impassioned defense of presenting the Confederacy as a nation of ‘morality, Whiteness, and peace.’
The flag options then had their parameters: (1) Minimize the usage of ‘Yankee Blue,’ (2) Avoid Union-esque Stripes, (3) Avoid confusion for any other flag, (4) To avoid a 10:19 ratio, (5) To display all State Stars equally…
The Flag Referendum of 1865 had the following options:
1. The Blood-Stained Banner: Bearing a 13 star all-red Southern Cross in the canton on a field of white, at a 2:1 ratio, with a red horizontal bar across the bottom.[10]
2. The Bonnie Burgundy: The Bonnie Blue, with 13 Stars at 3:2 ratio, blue rendered a dark red.
3. The Blood Stars: A white field in 2:1 ratio with 13 red stars in a circle in the canton, and a vertical red bar at the fly.
4. None of the Above
Each option was paired with a depiction of the flag design, which I have rendered in color here. The government was at the time still using the Stainless Banner and the Old Blood-Stained. The lack of any blue again shows the dominance of the government’s aversion to the color, and all the designs were made by Congressional committee. Each tells a different story about Congress...
...The Blood-Stained’s committee was chaired by C. J. Villeré, a proponent of the original Stainless. Under the belief that the blue on the Southern Cross would hurt their chances of victory in the referendum, the saltire was made red. The bottom stripe helped to ensure the surrender flag debacle would not be repeated. But there was almost no consideration of incorporating the wishes of the general public. They took the use of the Bonnie Blue as a sign of discontent with the current flag, not desire for that flag to replace it...
...The Bonnie Burgundy’s committee was chaired by Robert Toombs, who partly made the flag out of a lacking desire to waste much time on the matter. However, he was a populist who recognized that the Bonnie Blue was simply the most popular flag, flown at plantations across the South. Yankee Blue was still intolerable for a design within the committee, but the general design was kept with a change of color…
...The Blood Stars were designed by Alexander Bess, a junior Congressman who submitted the design on his own, but it was supported by President Davis himself, who believed it a brilliant design that incorporated all the rules outlined by the Congressional debates, and straddling the line between the present Stainless Banner and the star-centric dichromatic design of the Bonnie Blue. This in turn mirrored Davis’ attempt to rally against Stephens’ populism while still trying to be dynamic and forward thinking…
...With this overwhelming rejection that sparked far more backlash than anyone could have imagined, the Referendum of 1866 altered the rules. Blue was back and permitted, especially more vibrant and dynamic shades than the dark and dull blue of the Union flag. Another three proposals were submitted, each different than the last. The new flag options then had their new parameters: (1) Make usage of ‘Bonnie Blue’ as a color, (2) Avoid Union-esque Stripes, (3) Avoid confusion for any other flag, (4) To avoid a 10:19 ratio…
The Flag Referendum of 1866 had the following options:
1. The Southern Cross: Bearing a 13 star Rebel Red and Bonnie Blue Southern Cross that occupies ⅔ of the flag, at a 3:2 ratio, with a thin white vertical stripe and a Rebel Red fly occupying the final third.
2. The Blood-Stained Bonnie Blue: The Bonnie Blue, with 13 Stars in a circle, occupying ⅔ of the flag, at a 3:2 ratio, with a thin white vertical stripe and a Rebel Red fly occupying the final third.
3. The Bonnie Stars: A white field in 2:1 ratio with 13 white stars in a circle in a Bonnie Blue canton, and a vertical Rebel Red stripe at the fly.
4. None of the Above…
...Even this was a close win. Many still wanted just the plain Bonnie Blue, but the Blood-Stained Bonnie drew people in, garnering it enough votes to defeat None of the Above with a 2% plurality. The win meant it was official, and the moment the tally came in, the new flag was hauled up the flagpole in Montgomery…”
“‘Its gotta have a moat, and its gotta have walls. A castle for King Cotton and his fair Queen Dixie. A fortress for our liberty.’ These words were spoken by President Jefferson Davis when he gathered the nation’s best architects to Montgomery. They entered the First Confederate Capitol, and Davis sat them down with a plethora of maps and land surveys. ‘Here, gentlemen,’ he said, ‘Here is where it shall be. And it will be your responsibility to design it.’
The men were more than a little uncertain. The task was not only difficult but as that first day went on, they realized just how much forethought they’d need to have when beginning the layout. How much space would be needed? Where should everything go? What of the shape? How far would the unwalled regions extend? What would go there as opposed to within the walls? What non-essentials deserved to fill the space?
But soon, it became an exciting challenge. Thompson, as described, was an innovator, who began to invigorate the others with his enthusiasm. It was contagious, as MacLaughlin put it. They soon fully understood just what an opportunity to have. To build the next great capital city. A city for all the world to see, to serve as a home for the government for generations to come…
...At last they came to an agreement on the layout. As in all other drafts, the Capitol was at the center of everything, a building that looked like the Pantheon of Rome, but massive, and flanked by two, long adjoined buildings; two levels of basement for clerical officers, the western and eastern wings for a Congressmen’s offices, a lower floor for public assembly, a second floor for the Lower House and Upper House to meet separate rooms, and a third floor opened for all of Congress to meet in, with double the seating needed in each legislative room to allow for the optimistic expansion of the country. With its position in the city, the common name for the Capitol appeared: Confederate Centre...
...The northern fifth of the city held all the buildings for the Executive departments, and at the center of that fifth was the Presidential Manor, commonly known as Rebel Manor. It was always meant to look like a plantation home, being two stories with a large inner-courtyard, and plenty of greenery surrounding it…
...This south-eastern fifth was for the Judiciary, the Supreme Court’s ‘Hall of Justice’ at it center. The name of course derives from the lengthy straight building that leads to the grand circular hall that holds the Court’s main chamber. This was not part of the original design. The main circular Courthouse was designed and built to have a long lawn that was to have numerous statues. Like everything else, the lawn ran towards the center of the city. During construction, Chief Justice Magrath felt that the proposed statues didn’t look right and asked they be redesigned. In the meantime, he also requested an extension to the building, along the lawn, for offices and clerks, removing any need for tedious travel between buildings.
This extension would then be extended yet again soon after, and the statues were never approved. Within two years, as the Supreme Court garnered more power and responsibilities and a more extensive bureaucracy, the building was extended again, until at last we have the long corridor of offices preceding the courthouse, hence its name the ‘Hall of Justice’. Statues were finally put in the place at the end of the now occupied lawn, just before the Hall’s entrance. One a winged blind woman being Lady Justice, holding a sword and scales, and the other being a blind man holding a shield and scales, known commonly as Lord Justice. One to represent the punishment of the wicked (the Lady) and the other the protection of the innocent. Interestingly, while his hair seems like that of George Washington and while his face is partially obscured by cloth around his eyes, the model for Lord Justice seems to have been African or of mixed race, though this an admittedly very modern speculation based on revisionism…
...Thus, while controversial, the situation of the Army and Navy’s headquarters to be in its own fifth, along with numerous lodgings for the Capital Guard, helped to round out the city. Rather than one central building, the Military Fifth holds a massive statue of George Washington on horseback, saber raised into the air, with the waters of the Delaware flowing at his horse’s feet in the form of the fountain at the base. This leads us into the Garden Fifth, the entire region of the city dedicated to parks, fountains, and in the future a number of small zoos and aquariums…
He would not get to properly move in and live in the city, but Jefferson Davis did have the privilege to officially declare construction complete and to call into order the first session of Congress in Confederate Centre. In a large celebration, the city was declared complete and recognized as the new capital, with Davis laying one last, final, golden brick into the archway of the Dixie Capital Wall. Equipped with a moat, steel drawbridges, a massive and thick city wall, and well-armed bastions, at last the Confederacy had its great, impenetrable city, within the newly declared Capital Enclave: Eden, C.E.”[11][12]
“The Election of 1867 was being watched carefully. It was the first peacetime election in Confederate history, and the first to be held with all states under non-provisional governments. Davis had made it clear he was through with the political scene,[13] though he was, of course, ineligible for reelection. However, some had tried to argue on his behalf that his election had been a mere confirmation of the provisional government, and as such he might be able to be seen as having not yet served a full non-provisional term.
But Davis silenced these voices immediately. He was done, and tired at that. The main group campaigning was known by everyone, even before the campaign had been officially declared; Alexander Stephens was running, with Robert Toombs as his running mate.[14] The pair were supposed to be unbeatable, especially once Toombs made a public declaration of his support for the early Temperance Movement, which had grown thanks to the alcoholism rampant amongst Southern veterans. He did not go so far as to say he’d illegalize drinking, but his approval acted to validate that he was no longer an alcoholic.
Few seemed properly poised to oppose them. Davis, for his part, certainly did, but had not yet found anyone to support. The dominance of Stephens and Toombs would seen John C. Breckenridge depart for Kentucky, where he would go on to become President and Chancellor.[15] But soon enough, a contender would emerge, driven by a dream many called prophetic, even to this day. A man hailed and hated in equal parts after his time, and one of the few Planterate leaders to be respected in the Proletariate: Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson…
...He claimed this had occurred after a particularly warm day in the field, in which he had become exhausted after rushing to stop an overly angry farmhand from beating a slave. Jackson had needed a rest, and he claimed that the moment his eyes shut, the following was seen:
‘Before me was a field. I saw in it cotton, ripe for picking, the stalks blowing in a gentle breeze. Above, there was only shadow. I walked forward, naked as a babe, and my hands caressed the cotton as I meandered toward the only stars in the sky, a ring of 13, nearly as bright as the sun. I heard in the distance the sound of thunder and gunfire, nigh inseparable from one another, the clap of sound coming in such rapid succession, it would require the whole of an arsenal, and every bolt at God’s command to be maintained. The stars began to grow dim, and my fingers grew wet. I stumbled, something catching my foot. I looked down, to see the my fingers stained red, and to see in the field around me a litany of corpses. All were emaciated, worked to the bone, bloody with shackles of gold that ate into their wrists, ankles, and necks. And I knew these pitiful dead, who were of all colors. I saw negroes of my flock and my plantation, and I knew that the bodies beside them were their children and their children’s children. But I saw red men too, and I knew them to be the kin and descendants of General Drew. And mixed amongst all of these were white men and women, and I saw my own family amongst them. All wore the same chains, bore the same wounds.
All around me, the cotton was red with blood.
As I fell back, I looked up to those fading stars. And now I could see who was sapping their brilliance, gorging the light like a calf takes milk. Two demons, who sneered at me, flesh pale and blue. One was fat and vulgar, and liquor oozed from his lips like puss from a wound. The other was thin and gnarled, but its face and manner was like a child, petulant and angry, wailing though I heard no sound. As the stars died, I heard a voice, neither man nor woman nor white nor black, speak to me the words of Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Then the stars went out, and all was dark, but I felt water pool up around me. But the warmth and thickness of this rising tide made me know it was blood, even before it consumed me and flooded my mouth.’
After this dream, Jackson claimed he awoke with a start, and meditated on its meaning. He understood it to be a warning, that if the wrong man took control of the South, ruin and death would follow. It was only once he read an editorial in the paper about Stephens and Toombs that he felt he understood. Toombs had been a drunkard, even if he claimed sobriety. And Stephens was, in that editorial, criticized as an overgrown child, having lost his parents as a boy and having never had a wife or son to temper him. Jackson saw then, that these men were the demons of his dream, and he readied himself for what he felt was a holy duty…”[16]
“This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error.”
- Alexander Stephens on “All men are created equal.”[1]
“December 20, 1860. February 8, 1861. October 14, 1865. November 11, 1865. These three dates all have something in common. Each was in consideration for date of Dixie Independence Day. 12/20 was the day South Carolina declared secession from the United States, triggering the beginning of what would be the Confederacy. On 2/8, the Confederacy was officially declared, and this date gained the most backing during the war. Even today, it remains the date of the Confederation Festival, a celebration of unity between all our sovereign states. 10/14 was the date of the ceasefire between the Union and the Confederacy, and some saw it as the de facto date of true independence. Furthermore, it being the fourteenth was evocative of July Fourth, American Independence Day.
However, the intense celebrations that ensued on 11/11,[2] following the signing and overnight telegrams announcing the Treaty of Lexington. The South was alight with jubilation, and it would be again the following year. It was a time of joy and victory, and a number of traditions were created in this first Sovereignty Day, as we shall explore:
1. Pumpkin Cracking. A pumpkin is tossed in the air and (often inebriated) men try to crack it open with a swing of a bat. A number of farms and families have claimed to have invented this tradition, but it was documented in several places in 1866 as being done as a recreation of festivities from 1865, either done on the farm or heard about from other families.
2. Midnight Kissing. Youths ranging from 13 to 17 are blindfolded and dance in cricked around in a tight group, one arm out and held up. When the music loops, they grab the first outreached hand they feel, partners then switching and reaching out the other arm. Growing dizzy and giddy, the music finally stops, blindfolds come off and partners must kiss, regardless of who it is. There is great hilarity when brothers bemoan their luck and have to share a fraternal peck, while others cheer as the fiddleplayer expertly waited until two lovebirds were paired. This event was documented as being invented on Thomas Abernathy’s farm in Georgia.
3. Powder Shoot. Other nations celebrate with fireworks, but by 11/11, the South had grown tired of cannons thundering. Instead, small sacks of colored powder are hurled into the sky with a sling, catapult, or arm, and a marksmen shoots to make it explode into a delightful cloud. This was invented at Fort Matthias on the Kentucky border, where soldiers used bags of dried spices, flour, and dirt.[3]
4. Star-racing: Negro slaves were always noted as having strong legs and a fast gait. Strong slaves ran along the perimeter of a large field, carrying small white stars. The finish line has a blue blanket that the slave would slap their star on, the ‘first star to hit the Bonnie Blue.’ After Abolition, the tradition remains, often done first by children and then by adults of any race. First recorded on Daniel Dew’s plantation, and the following year he invited neighbors.”[4]
- “National Holidays,” by Nathan Farbrook, in the Oklahoma Herald
[1] This is a real quote. Real stand up act, that Stephens.
[2] I was leaning towards one of the two, but decided to do something a bit more original.
[3] This may sound contradictory, but firing a rifle was a normal peacetime occurrence. Cannons were not.
[4] Sovereignty Day is usually celebrated as a huge community festival outside of the more disconnected areas. Like a huge county fair with all these events.
[2] I was leaning towards one of the two, but decided to do something a bit more original.
[3] This may sound contradictory, but firing a rifle was a normal peacetime occurrence. Cannons were not.
[4] Sovereignty Day is usually celebrated as a huge community festival outside of the more disconnected areas. Like a huge county fair with all these events.
“A young nation has a lot of things to consider upon independence. For the Confederacy, three things dominated the agenda: debt, agriculture, and bureaucracy.
Let’s start at the top and work our way down. Now, the Confederate States Congress was empowered to collect taxes for the payment of debts. The problem? The debtors weren’t a foreign power or bank, but instead the states and citizens. The common historiography of the Civil War is that it was easy. The Confederacy gained time to build troops thanks to the recognized tentativeness of the Northern armies, and soon the defensive line became a shield to hold up until the North broke down. But a more modern and increasingly accepted perspective is that the war was a game of poker. Both sides had no understanding of the other’s resources in totality. Certain moves elicited certain reaction, both sides trying to find tells.
We have to understand that the commanders on either side were West Point alumni and veterans of the Mexican-American War. They shared similar ideas of warfare, rooted in Napoleonic thought. Many innovations that military historians point to were outgrowths of this thinking, such as the trenches in Tennessee.[5] Both North and South were scared, playing against men who knew all their tricks. The difference between them was that the Confederates took risks faster than the Union. Had Sherman been allowed to take his bold actions sooner, the South may have fallen. But the gambles the South made were expensive. Lee’s Army of Appalachia had cost a fortune, and every new soldier meant another check to cut after the war. And then there was the famine relief, which owed farmers subsidies for growing corn. Thus we come to the debt.
The government owed soldiers their pay, they owed States for equipment, and they owed planters. Printing bills was considered, and we saw inflation rise dramatically post-war. But everyone knew this wasn’t a lasting solution. Taxes were also right out; taxing the soldiers and farmers to pay them would’ve caused absolute anarchy. The next solution was found in a war time slogan: King Cotton. Cotton exports were resumed to the world. Initially, sale was at a small loss, a ploy by the new Secretary of the Treasury John H. Reagan. Reagan corresponded with the British and French, and then reached out to the German Powers and the Russians. While the latter rejected his offer, the other world powers agreed to recognize the Confederacy rather quickly in exchange for cheap cotton. While this created a rift for the United States, the US had already been made to recognize the Confederacy.
Once trade in cotton was growing, Reagan began to raise the prices, just so slightly. At the same time, loans were now on offer by various countries. Using loans and US reparations, the planters were paid their subsidies, while the soldiers were given a portion of their pay with a compromise to either be paid in installments or to be supplemented by grain and cotton, or land in Arizona. The cotton trade, meanwhile, would help to raise money to pay those loans off.[6] Of course, taxes and inflation were both going on, but without these ideas they’d have been much worse.
“So next, agriculture. Someone needs to grow that cotton. But famine was still feared. The corn subsidy was lessened, but not ended. It was still believed that corn needed to be grown heavily, alongside wheat, to keep the nation fed and stable. Plus, cheap local goods would help ensure a positive trade deficit. This is the predecessor to Jackson’s Stronghold System. But cotton is still the cash crop. And so slavery was further cemented as necessity for Southern existence. Rewards for fulfilling cotton quotas were offered while laws on the treatment of slaves were encouraged to be repealed. Productivity on plantations soon rises by the next harvest.
So that takes us to bureaucracy. Hm. Maybe I should have started with this one. You see, the Confederate Constitution was lauded for its defense of state authority and property rights. But the war had demanded the approval of a number of emergency powers. Some thought they needed to be extended for several more years. Others wanted it ended immediately, and it was on this that Davis and Stephens would pull apart as enemies. Davis had come to believe that the emergency powers granted the government were just that; powers to handle any emergency. He wanted to build a large executive bureaucracy that would be powerless when not granted authority by the Congress, but nevertheless maintained and extant.
Stephens opposed this. He had become wary of the general trend of big government in the Confederacy. He took up the autonomy of states as a cause to champion. The emergency bureaucracy was unneeded and only a means of tempting the government with an easy use of powers it shouldn’t have. By this point, Davis was only in the second half of his presidency, and he had made numerous enemies. In the war, his own politicking and consolidation of power had drawn harsh criticism already. Despite his status as a ‘Founding Father,’ others of the same rank and seniority were ready and willing to toss out words like ‘tyrant’ and ‘King Jeff’.[7]
After a bit of debate, Davis finally decided this wasn’t the hill he planned to die on. Stephens and his faction won out. Now who was in that faction? He worked close with Robert Toombs, an old friend, and fellow-Georgian, and with Robert M.T. Hunter, a Virginian, both of whom were previously Secretary of State and loud critics of Davis. Already, looking down the syllabus, we can see the rifts in the Democratic Party. The trio was appealing to a rather grand and romanticized idea of what the Confederacy could be; decentralized, agrarian, and with a government incapable of even considering the infringement of property.
Davis, who was always a rather emotional man, began to take their attacks personally. He soon saw himself as a defender of the Confederacy, standing between it and anarchy. This quote from him, in response to if he supported the states, sums up his evolving stance; ‘The rights of states, yes. Their infidelity, never.’ He’d go on to compare the confederal government to a father and states as sons; let them grow, let them learn, and support their endeavors. But punish their sins and keep them righteous. This idea, of course, completely clashed with Stephens’ rhetoric. They drifted further apart and grew bitter. Davis called him a snake in his tent, and a wolf in his hen house.
And Stephens grew dynamic. Rather than let the President pro tempore, who was R.M.T. Hunter, his ally, Stephens, as Vice President, sat in on the Senate. He embraced his role as presiding officer and head of the Senate, taking a dynamic stance to help kill bills that didn’t fit with his vision. This would start to distinguish the CS government from the US quite radically.[8] Davis, meanwhile, had effectively lost control of his government. He gave up the emergency bureaucracy, and now focused on the matters of debt and economics, mostly because it was the only thing he could get past Stephens…”
- Michael Warren, lecture on early Confederate History
[5] Tennessee was a major area of contestment in the later war ITTL. The fieldworks grew more elaborate and usage of things like gatling guns start to increase until it starts looking like proper trench warfare.
[6] Tying your entire economic stability plan to a single crop. What could go wrong?
[7] Davis and Stephens were often at odds. As you’ll see, this was provide the basis for the early divisions in Confederate politics.
[8] In theory any Vice President of the US could do this, but they don’t as not to cause tensions between the Executive and the Legislative Branches. But this is Stephens using his powers to help weaken the Executive, but inadvertently has set a precedent that strengthens the presidency.
[6] Tying your entire economic stability plan to a single crop. What could go wrong?
[7] Davis and Stephens were often at odds. As you’ll see, this was provide the basis for the early divisions in Confederate politics.
[8] In theory any Vice President of the US could do this, but they don’t as not to cause tensions between the Executive and the Legislative Branches. But this is Stephens using his powers to help weaken the Executive, but inadvertently has set a precedent that strengthens the presidency.
“The CS Flag Referendums of 1865 and 1866 has often been denigrated as a mere quirk. A small affair the represented little beyond a cosmetic choice by a government that was settling all the minor details of being a proper state. But this view neglects to see how the referendum serves as a microcosm of contemporary issues and as a predictor of future issues amongst Dixie society…
...The first referendum reflect the aristocratic nature of the Confederacy and its politics. The government did not enjoy the Bonnie Blue, not the least because its hue evoked a connection to the blue of Union soldiers.[9] Stripes, however, were discounted due to the memorable confusion the Stars and Bars had created on the battle-field. Thus, when recalling the aforementioned star discussion and the ratio debate, we see that the concerns of warfare and diplomacy were widely on the mind. The Stainless Banner was cut from the referendum entirely due to angry remarks of Lee, despite Senator King’s impassioned defense of presenting the Confederacy as a nation of ‘morality, Whiteness, and peace.’
The flag options then had their parameters: (1) Minimize the usage of ‘Yankee Blue,’ (2) Avoid Union-esque Stripes, (3) Avoid confusion for any other flag, (4) To avoid a 10:19 ratio, (5) To display all State Stars equally…
The Flag Referendum of 1865 had the following options:
1. The Blood-Stained Banner: Bearing a 13 star all-red Southern Cross in the canton on a field of white, at a 2:1 ratio, with a red horizontal bar across the bottom.[10]
2. The Bonnie Burgundy: The Bonnie Blue, with 13 Stars at 3:2 ratio, blue rendered a dark red.
3. The Blood Stars: A white field in 2:1 ratio with 13 red stars in a circle in the canton, and a vertical red bar at the fly.
4. None of the Above
Each option was paired with a depiction of the flag design, which I have rendered in color here. The government was at the time still using the Stainless Banner and the Old Blood-Stained. The lack of any blue again shows the dominance of the government’s aversion to the color, and all the designs were made by Congressional committee. Each tells a different story about Congress...
...The Blood-Stained’s committee was chaired by C. J. Villeré, a proponent of the original Stainless. Under the belief that the blue on the Southern Cross would hurt their chances of victory in the referendum, the saltire was made red. The bottom stripe helped to ensure the surrender flag debacle would not be repeated. But there was almost no consideration of incorporating the wishes of the general public. They took the use of the Bonnie Blue as a sign of discontent with the current flag, not desire for that flag to replace it...
...The Bonnie Burgundy’s committee was chaired by Robert Toombs, who partly made the flag out of a lacking desire to waste much time on the matter. However, he was a populist who recognized that the Bonnie Blue was simply the most popular flag, flown at plantations across the South. Yankee Blue was still intolerable for a design within the committee, but the general design was kept with a change of color…
...The Blood Stars were designed by Alexander Bess, a junior Congressman who submitted the design on his own, but it was supported by President Davis himself, who believed it a brilliant design that incorporated all the rules outlined by the Congressional debates, and straddling the line between the present Stainless Banner and the star-centric dichromatic design of the Bonnie Blue. This in turn mirrored Davis’ attempt to rally against Stephens’ populism while still trying to be dynamic and forward thinking…
...With this overwhelming rejection that sparked far more backlash than anyone could have imagined, the Referendum of 1866 altered the rules. Blue was back and permitted, especially more vibrant and dynamic shades than the dark and dull blue of the Union flag. Another three proposals were submitted, each different than the last. The new flag options then had their new parameters: (1) Make usage of ‘Bonnie Blue’ as a color, (2) Avoid Union-esque Stripes, (3) Avoid confusion for any other flag, (4) To avoid a 10:19 ratio…
The Flag Referendum of 1866 had the following options:
1. The Southern Cross: Bearing a 13 star Rebel Red and Bonnie Blue Southern Cross that occupies ⅔ of the flag, at a 3:2 ratio, with a thin white vertical stripe and a Rebel Red fly occupying the final third.
2. The Blood-Stained Bonnie Blue: The Bonnie Blue, with 13 Stars in a circle, occupying ⅔ of the flag, at a 3:2 ratio, with a thin white vertical stripe and a Rebel Red fly occupying the final third.
3. The Bonnie Stars: A white field in 2:1 ratio with 13 white stars in a circle in a Bonnie Blue canton, and a vertical Rebel Red stripe at the fly.
4. None of the Above…
...Even this was a close win. Many still wanted just the plain Bonnie Blue, but the Blood-Stained Bonnie drew people in, garnering it enough votes to defeat None of the Above with a 2% plurality. The win meant it was official, and the moment the tally came in, the new flag was hauled up the flagpole in Montgomery…”
- “The Political Relevance of the Flag Referendums of 1865 and 1866” by Richard Parker, Undergraduate thesis, Georgia State Institute of Humanities
[9] This dislike of blue was prevalent in OTL as well, when designing the Confederate flag.
[10] This was a proposal to fix the Stainless Banner in OTL. TTL, they never got around to making a new flag, what with the total loss of Richmond and Sherman stomping around in ‘64 and ‘65. All the generals were already using the Bonnie Blue alongside their regimental flags.
[10] This was a proposal to fix the Stainless Banner in OTL. TTL, they never got around to making a new flag, what with the total loss of Richmond and Sherman stomping around in ‘64 and ‘65. All the generals were already using the Bonnie Blue alongside their regimental flags.
“‘Its gotta have a moat, and its gotta have walls. A castle for King Cotton and his fair Queen Dixie. A fortress for our liberty.’ These words were spoken by President Jefferson Davis when he gathered the nation’s best architects to Montgomery. They entered the First Confederate Capitol, and Davis sat them down with a plethora of maps and land surveys. ‘Here, gentlemen,’ he said, ‘Here is where it shall be. And it will be your responsibility to design it.’
The men were more than a little uncertain. The task was not only difficult but as that first day went on, they realized just how much forethought they’d need to have when beginning the layout. How much space would be needed? Where should everything go? What of the shape? How far would the unwalled regions extend? What would go there as opposed to within the walls? What non-essentials deserved to fill the space?
But soon, it became an exciting challenge. Thompson, as described, was an innovator, who began to invigorate the others with his enthusiasm. It was contagious, as MacLaughlin put it. They soon fully understood just what an opportunity to have. To build the next great capital city. A city for all the world to see, to serve as a home for the government for generations to come…
...At last they came to an agreement on the layout. As in all other drafts, the Capitol was at the center of everything, a building that looked like the Pantheon of Rome, but massive, and flanked by two, long adjoined buildings; two levels of basement for clerical officers, the western and eastern wings for a Congressmen’s offices, a lower floor for public assembly, a second floor for the Lower House and Upper House to meet separate rooms, and a third floor opened for all of Congress to meet in, with double the seating needed in each legislative room to allow for the optimistic expansion of the country. With its position in the city, the common name for the Capitol appeared: Confederate Centre...
...The northern fifth of the city held all the buildings for the Executive departments, and at the center of that fifth was the Presidential Manor, commonly known as Rebel Manor. It was always meant to look like a plantation home, being two stories with a large inner-courtyard, and plenty of greenery surrounding it…
...This south-eastern fifth was for the Judiciary, the Supreme Court’s ‘Hall of Justice’ at it center. The name of course derives from the lengthy straight building that leads to the grand circular hall that holds the Court’s main chamber. This was not part of the original design. The main circular Courthouse was designed and built to have a long lawn that was to have numerous statues. Like everything else, the lawn ran towards the center of the city. During construction, Chief Justice Magrath felt that the proposed statues didn’t look right and asked they be redesigned. In the meantime, he also requested an extension to the building, along the lawn, for offices and clerks, removing any need for tedious travel between buildings.
This extension would then be extended yet again soon after, and the statues were never approved. Within two years, as the Supreme Court garnered more power and responsibilities and a more extensive bureaucracy, the building was extended again, until at last we have the long corridor of offices preceding the courthouse, hence its name the ‘Hall of Justice’. Statues were finally put in the place at the end of the now occupied lawn, just before the Hall’s entrance. One a winged blind woman being Lady Justice, holding a sword and scales, and the other being a blind man holding a shield and scales, known commonly as Lord Justice. One to represent the punishment of the wicked (the Lady) and the other the protection of the innocent. Interestingly, while his hair seems like that of George Washington and while his face is partially obscured by cloth around his eyes, the model for Lord Justice seems to have been African or of mixed race, though this an admittedly very modern speculation based on revisionism…
...Thus, while controversial, the situation of the Army and Navy’s headquarters to be in its own fifth, along with numerous lodgings for the Capital Guard, helped to round out the city. Rather than one central building, the Military Fifth holds a massive statue of George Washington on horseback, saber raised into the air, with the waters of the Delaware flowing at his horse’s feet in the form of the fountain at the base. This leads us into the Garden Fifth, the entire region of the city dedicated to parks, fountains, and in the future a number of small zoos and aquariums…
He would not get to properly move in and live in the city, but Jefferson Davis did have the privilege to officially declare construction complete and to call into order the first session of Congress in Confederate Centre. In a large celebration, the city was declared complete and recognized as the new capital, with Davis laying one last, final, golden brick into the archway of the Dixie Capital Wall. Equipped with a moat, steel drawbridges, a massive and thick city wall, and well-armed bastions, at last the Confederacy had its great, impenetrable city, within the newly declared Capital Enclave: Eden, C.E.”[11][12]
- Building Eden by Jessica L. Hawthorne
[11] This is the fortress capital alluded to in the Burning of Richmond. Eden is a large star-shaped city with a surrounding ‘civilian’ town around it, with the government region having a wall, a moat, and cannons. It is located roughly in the area of OTL Birmingham, which was established after the Civil War in the 1870s.
[12] To clarify, it is called an enclave of the confederal government to denote that it is a region of civilization that stands out from the state of Alabama around it.
[12] To clarify, it is called an enclave of the confederal government to denote that it is a region of civilization that stands out from the state of Alabama around it.
“The Election of 1867 was being watched carefully. It was the first peacetime election in Confederate history, and the first to be held with all states under non-provisional governments. Davis had made it clear he was through with the political scene,[13] though he was, of course, ineligible for reelection. However, some had tried to argue on his behalf that his election had been a mere confirmation of the provisional government, and as such he might be able to be seen as having not yet served a full non-provisional term.
But Davis silenced these voices immediately. He was done, and tired at that. The main group campaigning was known by everyone, even before the campaign had been officially declared; Alexander Stephens was running, with Robert Toombs as his running mate.[14] The pair were supposed to be unbeatable, especially once Toombs made a public declaration of his support for the early Temperance Movement, which had grown thanks to the alcoholism rampant amongst Southern veterans. He did not go so far as to say he’d illegalize drinking, but his approval acted to validate that he was no longer an alcoholic.
Few seemed properly poised to oppose them. Davis, for his part, certainly did, but had not yet found anyone to support. The dominance of Stephens and Toombs would seen John C. Breckenridge depart for Kentucky, where he would go on to become President and Chancellor.[15] But soon enough, a contender would emerge, driven by a dream many called prophetic, even to this day. A man hailed and hated in equal parts after his time, and one of the few Planterate leaders to be respected in the Proletariate: Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson…
...He claimed this had occurred after a particularly warm day in the field, in which he had become exhausted after rushing to stop an overly angry farmhand from beating a slave. Jackson had needed a rest, and he claimed that the moment his eyes shut, the following was seen:
‘Before me was a field. I saw in it cotton, ripe for picking, the stalks blowing in a gentle breeze. Above, there was only shadow. I walked forward, naked as a babe, and my hands caressed the cotton as I meandered toward the only stars in the sky, a ring of 13, nearly as bright as the sun. I heard in the distance the sound of thunder and gunfire, nigh inseparable from one another, the clap of sound coming in such rapid succession, it would require the whole of an arsenal, and every bolt at God’s command to be maintained. The stars began to grow dim, and my fingers grew wet. I stumbled, something catching my foot. I looked down, to see the my fingers stained red, and to see in the field around me a litany of corpses. All were emaciated, worked to the bone, bloody with shackles of gold that ate into their wrists, ankles, and necks. And I knew these pitiful dead, who were of all colors. I saw negroes of my flock and my plantation, and I knew that the bodies beside them were their children and their children’s children. But I saw red men too, and I knew them to be the kin and descendants of General Drew. And mixed amongst all of these were white men and women, and I saw my own family amongst them. All wore the same chains, bore the same wounds.
All around me, the cotton was red with blood.
As I fell back, I looked up to those fading stars. And now I could see who was sapping their brilliance, gorging the light like a calf takes milk. Two demons, who sneered at me, flesh pale and blue. One was fat and vulgar, and liquor oozed from his lips like puss from a wound. The other was thin and gnarled, but its face and manner was like a child, petulant and angry, wailing though I heard no sound. As the stars died, I heard a voice, neither man nor woman nor white nor black, speak to me the words of Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Then the stars went out, and all was dark, but I felt water pool up around me. But the warmth and thickness of this rising tide made me know it was blood, even before it consumed me and flooded my mouth.’
After this dream, Jackson claimed he awoke with a start, and meditated on its meaning. He understood it to be a warning, that if the wrong man took control of the South, ruin and death would follow. It was only once he read an editorial in the paper about Stephens and Toombs that he felt he understood. Toombs had been a drunkard, even if he claimed sobriety. And Stephens was, in that editorial, criticized as an overgrown child, having lost his parents as a boy and having never had a wife or son to temper him. Jackson saw then, that these men were the demons of his dream, and he readied himself for what he felt was a holy duty…”[16]
- The Stonewall Presidency by Jupiter J. Spartacus
[13] Davis hated being President, and was somewhat reluctant when he found out he’d been selected by the CS provisional Congress. His wife described him as looking upset and troubled when he received the letter confirming he was President.
[14] Even before he claimed sobriety, Toombs was nearly CS President, having been the option if Davis declined the position, as well as just being the pick for those who disliked Davis at the time.
[15] Breckenridge was running against Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in the 1860 election of OTL and TTL. As in OTL, he commanded the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, and though for less time, he was still close with them. Given that numerous troops who remember him fondly have entered the government, he has little trouble assimilating into Kentucky, first becoming Chancellor (think Prime Minister) and then President. He was upset OTL at not being considered for the office of President of the CS, given how he was the South’s candidate in the US election.
[16] I’m a bit of a Stonewall apologist, I’ll admit. Though not too bad of one, don’t worry, his faults will be apparent. As for the dream, it’s possible it was to some capacity real, but likely Jackson added more and more detail with each retelling to help it fit his ambitions, and may have begun to remember the dream as having such details.
[14] Even before he claimed sobriety, Toombs was nearly CS President, having been the option if Davis declined the position, as well as just being the pick for those who disliked Davis at the time.
[15] Breckenridge was running against Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in the 1860 election of OTL and TTL. As in OTL, he commanded the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, and though for less time, he was still close with them. Given that numerous troops who remember him fondly have entered the government, he has little trouble assimilating into Kentucky, first becoming Chancellor (think Prime Minister) and then President. He was upset OTL at not being considered for the office of President of the CS, given how he was the South’s candidate in the US election.
[16] I’m a bit of a Stonewall apologist, I’ll admit. Though not too bad of one, don’t worry, his faults will be apparent. As for the dream, it’s possible it was to some capacity real, but likely Jackson added more and more detail with each retelling to help it fit his ambitions, and may have begun to remember the dream as having such details.
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The 'Capitol Hill' part is. It has six sections to it; a center where the Legislative Branch is headquartered, the Executive Fifth which has the Confederate White House and offices for the Departments, the Judicial Fifth that has the Supreme Court and offices, the Military Fifth that houses the HQ for the military, the Garden Fifth that has all bunch of parks, and the Residential Fifth where Congressmen live. Then a separate town within the state of Alabama surrounds the city, and the drawbridges are mostly down.
This thing cost them a fortune, but thankfully, the Cotton trade and support from the French and British (who wish to leverage the situation against the US), means that Davis is able to get the funds for it. Mind you, thats funding siphoned away from recovery. Even three years later, there are regions of the South where the Davis administration has yet to repair the scars of war, thanks largely to building Eden, CE.
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As a a Southerner I have some important questions for this new nation.
1. Which State has the best sweet tea?
2. Which State has the best barbecue?
1. Which State has the best sweet tea?
2. Which State has the best barbecue?
1. It'll be a contentious debate between Georgia Peach Tea (which has a bit of peach juice) and Floridian Sweet Tea (which has lemon juice).
2. Depends on if you prefer the sweet Tuscaloosa wet ribs, or spicy Arizona dry rub, though the Carolinas have the 'standard' and 'safe' kind of barbecue. Unfortunately, due to the lacking development thanks to the war, Tennessee won't develop much of a BBQ presence.
Richard Drummond
Banned
Just finished reading this and I must say, it is indeed an interesting TL and I look forward to what you have planned in the future.
I am seriously loving this timeline right now.
Quick question: Where is Eden S.C. located exactly?
Quick question: Where is Eden S.C. located exactly?
Eden, C.E. is roughly located at the site of OTL Birmingham, Alabama.
Well placed then, to take advantage of the post-war exploitation of the Alabama Coal fields then. Interesting. I wonder what the knock-offs will be of the Confederate capitol potentially becoming one of the largest Industrial hubs of a largely agrarian nation. Hmmmm.
Hmmm, indeed. Boy, I sure do hope that an industrial worker oriented radical movement never takes root, or they could be in a real pickle!
Part #5: Braving the Ballot Box
Part #5: Braving the Ballot Box
“Tell Stephens that Brutus, Judas, and I will set a spot at our table for him.”
“I never wanted any part of this…”
“Let me get this all written down…
On this side, we’ll put the Democrats, and on this side, the Republicans. They can be put into two factions each. The Copperheads are up here, and the War Democrats are down here. The Radicals are up here, and the Moderate Republicans are down here.”
“Now my placement is intentional. Anyone know why?”
“‘Sa way t’ ‘arties formed later, innit?”
“Can I get that answers from someone willing to enunciate with coherence? Oliver.”
“He said, ‘It’s the way the parties formed later, isn’t it?’”[1]
“‘Ucking prick…”
“Thank you, Oliver. That is correct. But we’ll get back to that in a second. Each faction had it’s own ideal candidate for the election. The Copperheads had good old Pendleton, who you should know well enough. Strengths? A nationally known name, experience in the executive branch, evaded all blame for any of McClellan’s scandals. Weaknesses? Well… He’s Pendleton. Weak-willed but stubborn, proud but cowardly.[2]
The War Democrats would put up Andrew Johnson, who was at this time widely known as the stubborn Tennessee Senator who had bravely gone to battle against the South. Strengths? A keen debater, respected for his service and ideals. Weaknesses? A southerner, too aggressive in his rhetoric against his opponents.[3] People wanted someone who could unite, not divide.
On the other side of the aisle we have Thaddeus Stephens for the Radical Republicans. Strengths? Dedicated to his values, skilled statesman. Weaknesses? He was too close to the O’Hara Conspiracy, having little national goodwill for him or his allies.
And then we have the Moderate Republicans, who put forward Schuyler Colfax. Strengths? One of the founders of the Republican Party, a staunch abolitionist, but a friendly face to everyone. And to boot a story had circulated during the demonization of John C. Frémont about Colfax giving Frémont and other generals sound tactical advice that had been ignored. That made Schuyler here sound like a guy who know how to lead and who had been at odds with the O’Hara Conspirators for years. Weaknesses? Well the biggest is that despite being so friendly that people called him ‘Smiler’, he didn’t have a presence, couldn’t command a room, and debates between him and Stephens usually went nowhere, even though Colfax had become less radical and more in-line with the more popular tenets of his party. And after a debate between him and Johnson, Colfax was described by a newspaper as ‘emasculated.’”
“Oof…”
“Oof is right. Now after a while, Thaddeus Stephens backed off. He and Colfax had an understanding, because for a lot of years Colfax was seen as a Radical. Johnson, of course, refused to bow out of the race against Pendleton. You might think at first that this would split the Democrat vote. But you’d be wrong. The Democrats were affiliated with the South, but McClellan had been one. The Republicans were the party of Lincoln and Unionism, but not only had they lost the war, but a prominent member had just been executed for being involved in a conspiracy that murdered the president.[4]
There was no faith in party. People looked for candidates they could agree with, looked for people who could entice their votes. Colfax couldn’t draw in enough people back after the O’Hara Conspiracy, and Johnson’s aggression spooked recently defecting Republicans. And so the winner was…”
“It must be understood just how divided the nation was. Looking at the electoral map, it is easy to just dismiss Pendleton’s victory as any kind of landslide. By the map, Johnson only won 3 states of the 25 states, and yet he garnered over a quarter of the popular vote.[5] It was a close race in a number of regions, and not just between both Democratic candidates, but between all three men. As scandalous and disastrous as appointing Wade and Frémont to the executive branch had been, only for Frémont to be proven a conspirator and effective murderer, Colfax represented the face of the Republicans. A founder of the party, likeable and honest, and having disavowed his peers.
This is very important when reviewing the Pendleton presidency. While he has often been derided by historians, he was a smart and intelligent politician, who was very much aware of the fact that his nation had not granted him any kind of mandate to act. Pendleton was a Democrat of the Old Jacksonian school, of reaching out to masses and being a tool for their will.[6] To be without true popular support was a blow to how he believed he should govern, and explains many of the failures of his administration. I contend that while there was failure, Pendleton’s actions were not those of a coward, a cretin, or an idiot, but a man bound to his ideals and struggling against a situation that could never be won, just lost the least…
…This brings us to the first major act of Pendleton’s presidency. The position of Secretary of State was given to Clement Vallandigham, a man court martialed and exiled to the Confederacy for opposing the war.[7] Vallandigham began to reach out to the Confederacy, creating an embassy in Philadelphia and one being built in kind in Eden.[8] Unfortunately, this was not the lauded act of a peacemaker Pendleton intended. Vallandigham was a divisive figure, and so Pendleton managed to drive a greater wedge between himself and the War Democrats, as they had hoped Pendleton would make overtures rather hand the reins of diplomacy to the most traitorous Copperhead known.
Certainly Pendleton should have considered offering the position to a War Democrat, a neutral figure, or even a Republican as a show of solidarity. From Pendleton’s own letters, we know he did consider these things. However, he believed that after first the election of McClellan and then himself, as well as a general “malaise of futility concerning the War With the South,” the President believed that the last thing the general will desired was tension with their new southern neighbor. Where he miscalculated was presuming that malaise over the war was equivalent with desiring reconciliation.[9]
There was a deeper wound, a wider divide between North and South than Pendleton realized. Perhaps he could be called naïve, but he was aware that he “may have misplaced optimism over the reconciliation of Americans.” This is why to call him an imbecile is false. Pendleton was self-aware, but believed his morals could be made real with diligence and commitment…
…With these bills it is clear that Pendleton had many high points of his presidency that simply took too long to bear fruit for him to receive due credit. The cornerstone of the modern role of the veteran is the Grand Army of the Union, and it was Pendleton who took the growing organization and grew it into a state-backed entity.[10] And it was Pendleton who approved and fostered the Union Postal Express Service (UPX) that so critically aided to maintain the razor thin connection between the Union and the Western Coast.[11]
Even one of his greatest so-called blunders was of great importance. The Adams-Lyons Treaty, negotiated by former Vice Presidential candidate Charles Francis Adams, Sr. and the Earl Lyons. That Adams, a Republican, first encouraged the treaty’s idea once it was offered by Lyons is often irrelevant to detractors of Pendleton. But his defenders are too quick to dismiss how carefully he considered the Treaty before dedicating his full support. The Treaty infamously alleviated American War debts by selling the Washington Territory norther of the 47th Parallel to Britain, for both an immediate bulk price and continuous payments for a minimum of 10 years, with a caveat that American settlers would keep their lands and be allowed to enter or leave the territory, though the recognition of Britain’s claim to the area would stand in perpetuity or renegotiation.[12]
The treaty was rammed past Congress, and clever delays and negotiations with Senators prevented the treaty from being rejected. The general public was appalled, however, as it was a “Spit in the Face to President Polk,” or so wrote one prominent Republican paper.[13] The territory was gone, and opponents of Pendleton began to spin the payments not as a boon to America, but as dependency on the British. Yet did not the lessening of debt become critical to the uplifting of the economy? Was not the dollar saved and the Panic ended by the ensuing closeness with British investors? And were not both of these things fundamental to the future investments and economic freedom of the Union?
Pendleton must be recognized as the man who bit the bullet and took the loss of prestige for a treaty that saved the economy. He also knew that losing more land would incense the public. But with the Sioux Alliance expanding and Mormon raiding growing more violent, there were barely any settlements growing in Washington, and even the state government of Oregon rarely had the ability to maintain communication with Washington’s territorial government. The British had been exerting greater influence and sending settlers since the war, reaching a zenith in the McClellan administration that rendered American ownership a shallow idea as it was.
Pendleton wrote that “so much land has been lost already… what’s a touch more for the good of national prosperity?” He believed that given time, public resentment would fade as the loss of Washington was tied part and parcel to the loss of the South, becoming one singular incident. He was not entirely wrong, but again he underestimated how long the grudge would endure, or perhaps how well his enemies would capitalize on it…
…If there are incidents that earn Pendleton full ire, it is these two. The Mormon War was truly needless. But Pendleton had felt pressure at the time, and needed a swift military victory to give him the appearance of strength. With another seven dead at the Colorado-Utah border, he gave Custer full permission to sweep in, and sent Burnside as a supporting force.
In choosing two ruthless commanders, Pendleton was practically asking for a massacre. It is difficult to fathom why he made the decision, or why he refused the delegation sent by the ‘Council of Deseret’. Perhaps the stresses were too great, or perhaps he felt that his reputation as a Confederate sympathizer could be abated if he showed zero tolerance to other separatists. Or perhaps he merely placed too much faith in the diplomatic abilities of the two generals, who admittedly were formally tasked with ‘ensuring a peaceable end to the insurrection in Utah if possible…’
…Leaving Custer retreating back towards the Rockies. And this was not the worst news to return from the ever lawless West. The Sioux were plainly aware of the lacking ability of the military. For all the bravado Pendleton offered in refusing any parlay with the indians on the basis that ‘the people of the Union shall not bend to savages,’ he did not have the military to counter them. Perhaps without the Mormon War, it could have been feasible, but enlistment for the military was abysmal, and morale remained low. Sherman, as Secretary of War, advised mild conscription from areas near the conflict, in order to drum up at least a force capable of hindering Sioux raids.[14]
But yet again Pendleton let his ideals stand firm. He had come to oppose conscription as a fundamentally tyrannical act, something which did garner him popularity once published in newspapers. And yet, it only left the Sioux and their allies to raid and even conquer territory. Any political boon gained in the taming of Colorado and the Arapaho Treaty dried up, leaving Pendleton once again at square one…”
“James, you have the power of choice. Your category?”
“‘National Parties’ for 4,000.”[15]
“Jenna, reveal the challenge… Ahem; Before 1867, this 19th Century political party held the same name as a major political party in the Union… James?”
“What is the Democratic Party.”
“That is correct. For your prize question: What name did the Democratic Party adopt?”
“The Southern Democratic Party.”
“One moment, the judges are conferring on that answer… I’m sorry, James, that’s been deemed incorrect. It was the Southern Democrat Party, not Democratic. Still, that’s 4,000 points added to your Triumph! And you maintain the power of choice. Your category?”[16]
“‘Mantle of Eatership’ for 1,000.”
“Jenna? ...This was Stonewall’s infamous treat, which he ate, rine and all, to help with indigestion.”
“...”
“James?”
“What are… oranges?”
“Incorrect. Rebecca?”
“Uhm… What are lemons?”[17]
“Correct! Prize question: What was Stonewall’s actual favorite snack?”
“Ah, Peaches!”
“Correct! Jenna, please reveal the Prize… And that’s another 1,000 points in addition to the 1,000 for the Challenge question, which brings your Triumph to 47,000. You now have the power of choice. Your category?”
“I would like to defer power to Emmett.”
“You would like to use your one time deferment, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. Emmett, you now have the power of choice. But remember that means that whatever you gain from the question, she will gain half of it if you cannot answer the question, in addition to the full amount if she answers the question rather than James or Argos. So choose wisely. Your category?”[18]
“‘National Parties’ for 100,000.”
“No hesitation, going right for the big win! Jenna? …This annual event first began as a political stunt by Robert Toombs in 1867 before ending in 1944. Oh, Rebecca!”
“What is the National Temperance Rally?”
“Incorrect. Emmett!”
“What is the Dixie Days Gala.”
“Correct! That is 100,000 in your pocket, for a total of 130,000, and Rebecca is down to -3,000. For your prize question: What political party did Robert Toombs help found at the very first Dixie Days Gala?”
“The Constitutionalist Party.”
“Correct! Oh, there’s the Lucky Bell! Your second prize question: What party convention did Toombs originally attend to run as a Vice Presidential candidate for in 1867?”
“Southern Democrat Party, John.”
“Correct. My, it seems 1867 was on our challenge teams’ minds. It’s now time for a word from our partners, but you’ll get to see more Knowhow after the break.”
“1867 was the single most important election in Dixie history. It set the country down a particular path, and had the potential to set it down a very, very different path if Jackson had lost…[20]
…When Jefferson Davis threw his weight behind Jackson, he likely didn’t expect the man to so fundamentally alter the identity of the Southern Democrats. The SDP, formerly the Democratic Party, was the only official political party at the start of 1867, and everyone expected Stephens to dominate the convention.
Instead, Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson started to oppose him, and Jefferson Davis was all too happy to name Stonewall as his champion against Stephens. And Stephens had been so sure of victory that he had burnt enough bridges that by the time of the party convention there were a number of party officials who were happy to screw him over. The SDP named Stonewall the candidate after a number of debates against Stephens, where Stonewall received thunderous applause.[21]
Stephens was mad. But he wasn’t alone. Some people saw Stonewall as a way for Davis to rule past his term, others were appalled at a ‘lesser’ candidate being set to win the presidency purely out of spite for Stephens. Robert Toombs, Stephens’ running mate, gathered these people at a massive party he called the Dixie Days Gala, and convinced Stephens that they needed to run anyway. Arguing that Stonewall’s presidency would see violations of the Confederate Constitution, the Constitutionalist Party had no choice but to hold up Stephens and Toombs as their leaders. For the past months, the two had been garnering national attention during their conflict with Stonewall and Graham, so it would have been a waste of time to try and field anyone else…
…Let’s imagine a timeline with Stephens’ victory. That means no Slave Code Reform Act, which means no restrictions on the treatment of slaves. In fact, Stephens would probably have sponsored and expanded chattel slavery and dehumanization methods.[22] This could mean earlier slave revolts, but that would make them smaller and less well prepared. And then with generations of dehumanization, it’s unlikely the slave class would have literacy or emboldened leadership.
A Stephens presidency also means no Stonewall Doctrine. President Stonewall famously said ‘The South shall stand on its own feet,’ when he signed the Second Industrial Investment Act, but its doubtful someone as agrarian focused as Stephens would have bothered to invest in growing Southern industry and cities. Even Stonewall wasn’t extremely supportive of shifting the Confederacy away from a ‘pious agrarian society’, but he had a strong belief that it would be necessary.[23]
If Stephens instead opted to consolidate the power of the Planters by keeping industry small, then not only would the Confederacy stagnate in the coming years, but the nation would have become dependent on French, British, or even Yankee industry. Even if Reconciliation would never happen, the Confederacy could have ended up a puppet of the Union anyways…
…And that is why President Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson was so important for Dixie agriculture too. Stephens opposed the subsidies Davis had created to combat famine, and likely would have ended them over time and let the Planters go back to growing cotton only. The Stonewall administration diversification policy was what kept trade going during the Indian Cotton Boom…
…So in short, Stephens would have meant a more decentralized, weaker Confederacy. We can even see this in the states that voted for him in 1867. Texas was a state with a shaky loyalty to the Confederacy, and voted against Stonewall purely because they wanted the Confederacy to weaken, for Davis’ expansions of power to get undone so they could be more independent again. Missouri and South Carolina were sold on the doctrine of the Constitutionalist, since Missouri had gone through a split of their state in the name of the Confederate dream, and South Carolina was the birthplace of the Confederacy. Georgia loved Stephens and Toombs as native sons, but Alabama and Arkansas voted for them because they were sold on allegations by Stephens that Stonewall was an abolitionist.
These states, from conservative bastions to hardliner idealists to states that wanted near independence, were who wanted Stephens. Stonewall’s promises of a better, fairer Confederacy, and a nation run by ‘Christian compassion and Stoic resolve’ appealed to places in need like Tennessee and Florida and Oklahoma. Not every state voted because of that. Virginia loved Stonewall, and North Carolina was loyal to Graham, even though both states were not in as much need of the economic and social policies Stonewall was speaking for. Mississippi voted Southern Democrat because of Davis’ support for Jackson, but they were one of the states still recovering from famine too, as was Louisiana. What this tells us is that Stonewall primarily drew in states that had desire or were willing to allow a stronger Confederacy with stronger federal standards for states in exchange for more support in their times of need…[24]
…This is what makes the 1867 Presidency so critical to the future of the Confederacy.”
“Tell Stephens that Brutus, Judas, and I will set a spot at our table for him.”
- Jefferson Davis, last words to his friends
“I never wanted any part of this…”
- Jefferson Davis, last words to Franklin Pierce
“Let me get this all written down…
On this side, we’ll put the Democrats, and on this side, the Republicans. They can be put into two factions each. The Copperheads are up here, and the War Democrats are down here. The Radicals are up here, and the Moderate Republicans are down here.”
D | R |
Copperheads - George Pendleton | Radical Republicans - Thaddeus Stephens |
War Democrats - Andrew Johnson | Moderates - Schuyler Colfax |
“Now my placement is intentional. Anyone know why?”
“‘Sa way t’ ‘arties formed later, innit?”
“Can I get that answers from someone willing to enunciate with coherence? Oliver.”
“He said, ‘It’s the way the parties formed later, isn’t it?’”[1]
“‘Ucking prick…”
“Thank you, Oliver. That is correct. But we’ll get back to that in a second. Each faction had it’s own ideal candidate for the election. The Copperheads had good old Pendleton, who you should know well enough. Strengths? A nationally known name, experience in the executive branch, evaded all blame for any of McClellan’s scandals. Weaknesses? Well… He’s Pendleton. Weak-willed but stubborn, proud but cowardly.[2]
The War Democrats would put up Andrew Johnson, who was at this time widely known as the stubborn Tennessee Senator who had bravely gone to battle against the South. Strengths? A keen debater, respected for his service and ideals. Weaknesses? A southerner, too aggressive in his rhetoric against his opponents.[3] People wanted someone who could unite, not divide.
On the other side of the aisle we have Thaddeus Stephens for the Radical Republicans. Strengths? Dedicated to his values, skilled statesman. Weaknesses? He was too close to the O’Hara Conspiracy, having little national goodwill for him or his allies.
And then we have the Moderate Republicans, who put forward Schuyler Colfax. Strengths? One of the founders of the Republican Party, a staunch abolitionist, but a friendly face to everyone. And to boot a story had circulated during the demonization of John C. Frémont about Colfax giving Frémont and other generals sound tactical advice that had been ignored. That made Schuyler here sound like a guy who know how to lead and who had been at odds with the O’Hara Conspirators for years. Weaknesses? Well the biggest is that despite being so friendly that people called him ‘Smiler’, he didn’t have a presence, couldn’t command a room, and debates between him and Stephens usually went nowhere, even though Colfax had become less radical and more in-line with the more popular tenets of his party. And after a debate between him and Johnson, Colfax was described by a newspaper as ‘emasculated.’”
“Oof…”
“Oof is right. Now after a while, Thaddeus Stephens backed off. He and Colfax had an understanding, because for a lot of years Colfax was seen as a Radical. Johnson, of course, refused to bow out of the race against Pendleton. You might think at first that this would split the Democrat vote. But you’d be wrong. The Democrats were affiliated with the South, but McClellan had been one. The Republicans were the party of Lincoln and Unionism, but not only had they lost the war, but a prominent member had just been executed for being involved in a conspiracy that murdered the president.[4]
There was no faith in party. People looked for candidates they could agree with, looked for people who could entice their votes. Colfax couldn’t draw in enough people back after the O’Hara Conspiracy, and Johnson’s aggression spooked recently defecting Republicans. And so the winner was…”
- Dr. Thomas Brooks, Union Political History course, Rothschild University
[1] This will be explained later. But if it wasn’t clear, the implication is that future parties will see Copperheads and Radicals working together and War Dems and Moderates working together. How? Why? Well you’ll just have to wait.
[2] The speaker is clearly biased against Pendleton and teaching his students a standard narrative.
[3] Johnson was infamous for his aggressive debate style and trying to debate nearly anyone. Often he was more focused on ‘winning’ against a perceived opponent rather than doing the smartest thing politically.
[4] There is no evidence by this point that Frémont was framed. Also, the Republicans aren’t a dead party because they completely disavowed the O’Hara Conspiracy by acting so quickly and harshly.
[2] The speaker is clearly biased against Pendleton and teaching his students a standard narrative.
[3] Johnson was infamous for his aggressive debate style and trying to debate nearly anyone. Often he was more focused on ‘winning’ against a perceived opponent rather than doing the smartest thing politically.
[4] There is no evidence by this point that Frémont was framed. Also, the Republicans aren’t a dead party because they completely disavowed the O’Hara Conspiracy by acting so quickly and harshly.
“It must be understood just how divided the nation was. Looking at the electoral map, it is easy to just dismiss Pendleton’s victory as any kind of landslide. By the map, Johnson only won 3 states of the 25 states, and yet he garnered over a quarter of the popular vote.[5] It was a close race in a number of regions, and not just between both Democratic candidates, but between all three men. As scandalous and disastrous as appointing Wade and Frémont to the executive branch had been, only for Frémont to be proven a conspirator and effective murderer, Colfax represented the face of the Republicans. A founder of the party, likeable and honest, and having disavowed his peers.
This is very important when reviewing the Pendleton presidency. While he has often been derided by historians, he was a smart and intelligent politician, who was very much aware of the fact that his nation had not granted him any kind of mandate to act. Pendleton was a Democrat of the Old Jacksonian school, of reaching out to masses and being a tool for their will.[6] To be without true popular support was a blow to how he believed he should govern, and explains many of the failures of his administration. I contend that while there was failure, Pendleton’s actions were not those of a coward, a cretin, or an idiot, but a man bound to his ideals and struggling against a situation that could never be won, just lost the least…
…This brings us to the first major act of Pendleton’s presidency. The position of Secretary of State was given to Clement Vallandigham, a man court martialed and exiled to the Confederacy for opposing the war.[7] Vallandigham began to reach out to the Confederacy, creating an embassy in Philadelphia and one being built in kind in Eden.[8] Unfortunately, this was not the lauded act of a peacemaker Pendleton intended. Vallandigham was a divisive figure, and so Pendleton managed to drive a greater wedge between himself and the War Democrats, as they had hoped Pendleton would make overtures rather hand the reins of diplomacy to the most traitorous Copperhead known.
Certainly Pendleton should have considered offering the position to a War Democrat, a neutral figure, or even a Republican as a show of solidarity. From Pendleton’s own letters, we know he did consider these things. However, he believed that after first the election of McClellan and then himself, as well as a general “malaise of futility concerning the War With the South,” the President believed that the last thing the general will desired was tension with their new southern neighbor. Where he miscalculated was presuming that malaise over the war was equivalent with desiring reconciliation.[9]
There was a deeper wound, a wider divide between North and South than Pendleton realized. Perhaps he could be called naïve, but he was aware that he “may have misplaced optimism over the reconciliation of Americans.” This is why to call him an imbecile is false. Pendleton was self-aware, but believed his morals could be made real with diligence and commitment…
…With these bills it is clear that Pendleton had many high points of his presidency that simply took too long to bear fruit for him to receive due credit. The cornerstone of the modern role of the veteran is the Grand Army of the Union, and it was Pendleton who took the growing organization and grew it into a state-backed entity.[10] And it was Pendleton who approved and fostered the Union Postal Express Service (UPX) that so critically aided to maintain the razor thin connection between the Union and the Western Coast.[11]
Even one of his greatest so-called blunders was of great importance. The Adams-Lyons Treaty, negotiated by former Vice Presidential candidate Charles Francis Adams, Sr. and the Earl Lyons. That Adams, a Republican, first encouraged the treaty’s idea once it was offered by Lyons is often irrelevant to detractors of Pendleton. But his defenders are too quick to dismiss how carefully he considered the Treaty before dedicating his full support. The Treaty infamously alleviated American War debts by selling the Washington Territory norther of the 47th Parallel to Britain, for both an immediate bulk price and continuous payments for a minimum of 10 years, with a caveat that American settlers would keep their lands and be allowed to enter or leave the territory, though the recognition of Britain’s claim to the area would stand in perpetuity or renegotiation.[12]
The treaty was rammed past Congress, and clever delays and negotiations with Senators prevented the treaty from being rejected. The general public was appalled, however, as it was a “Spit in the Face to President Polk,” or so wrote one prominent Republican paper.[13] The territory was gone, and opponents of Pendleton began to spin the payments not as a boon to America, but as dependency on the British. Yet did not the lessening of debt become critical to the uplifting of the economy? Was not the dollar saved and the Panic ended by the ensuing closeness with British investors? And were not both of these things fundamental to the future investments and economic freedom of the Union?
Pendleton must be recognized as the man who bit the bullet and took the loss of prestige for a treaty that saved the economy. He also knew that losing more land would incense the public. But with the Sioux Alliance expanding and Mormon raiding growing more violent, there were barely any settlements growing in Washington, and even the state government of Oregon rarely had the ability to maintain communication with Washington’s territorial government. The British had been exerting greater influence and sending settlers since the war, reaching a zenith in the McClellan administration that rendered American ownership a shallow idea as it was.
Pendleton wrote that “so much land has been lost already… what’s a touch more for the good of national prosperity?” He believed that given time, public resentment would fade as the loss of Washington was tied part and parcel to the loss of the South, becoming one singular incident. He was not entirely wrong, but again he underestimated how long the grudge would endure, or perhaps how well his enemies would capitalize on it…
…If there are incidents that earn Pendleton full ire, it is these two. The Mormon War was truly needless. But Pendleton had felt pressure at the time, and needed a swift military victory to give him the appearance of strength. With another seven dead at the Colorado-Utah border, he gave Custer full permission to sweep in, and sent Burnside as a supporting force.
In choosing two ruthless commanders, Pendleton was practically asking for a massacre. It is difficult to fathom why he made the decision, or why he refused the delegation sent by the ‘Council of Deseret’. Perhaps the stresses were too great, or perhaps he felt that his reputation as a Confederate sympathizer could be abated if he showed zero tolerance to other separatists. Or perhaps he merely placed too much faith in the diplomatic abilities of the two generals, who admittedly were formally tasked with ‘ensuring a peaceable end to the insurrection in Utah if possible…’
…Leaving Custer retreating back towards the Rockies. And this was not the worst news to return from the ever lawless West. The Sioux were plainly aware of the lacking ability of the military. For all the bravado Pendleton offered in refusing any parlay with the indians on the basis that ‘the people of the Union shall not bend to savages,’ he did not have the military to counter them. Perhaps without the Mormon War, it could have been feasible, but enlistment for the military was abysmal, and morale remained low. Sherman, as Secretary of War, advised mild conscription from areas near the conflict, in order to drum up at least a force capable of hindering Sioux raids.[14]
But yet again Pendleton let his ideals stand firm. He had come to oppose conscription as a fundamentally tyrannical act, something which did garner him popularity once published in newspapers. And yet, it only left the Sioux and their allies to raid and even conquer territory. Any political boon gained in the taming of Colorado and the Arapaho Treaty dried up, leaving Pendleton once again at square one…”
- In Defense of President Pendleton, by Archie M. Wheeler
[5] The states he won were Maryland, Missouri, and Nevada, states that felt themselves to be ‘border’ states and the most jingoistic.
[6] This is taken from historians’ review of Pendleton as a politician. He was a true believer in Jacksonian populism and anti-elitism.
[7] This actually happened. Lincoln wanted to have Vallandigham arrested but didn’t want him made into a martyr. So instead the man was made to move past enemy lines and then was court-martialed, leaving him stranded in the Confederacy, where he was taken as a prisoner of war voluntarily.
[8] Eden, C.E. has been completed, but the US is still figuring out what to do as Washington, D.C. is still being rebuilt and is now on a fairly hostile border. For now, Philadelphia is the de facto capital.
[9] Union citizens don’t want peace, they don’t want war. Mostly they’re just done with the South. F*ck ‘em is the general mindset.
[10] This is the GAR but more like the American Legion and eventually becoming a state sponsored/funded veterans organization. Couldn’t have negative ramifications, right?
[11] The USPS meets the Pony Express, meets the Mojave Express. Guns, adventure, excitement, crossing the lawless West! Definitely a gold mine for films in the future.
[12] British encroachment was mentioned earlier, and the American economy is in shambles from the Panic that triggered after the war. War reparations are expensive too.
[13] President Polk ran on a slogan of “Fifty-four forty or fight!” meaning to push for as much of the Cascadian region as possible.
[14] If it wasn’t obvious, Sherman was appointed, but his ‘mad dog’ reputation means that Pendleton micromanages and goes over his head on everything. The appointment was meant to counteract appointing Vallandigham as Secretary of State. But since most people expected Sherman to serve in a position like that, it didn’t earn Pendleton any brownie points.
[6] This is taken from historians’ review of Pendleton as a politician. He was a true believer in Jacksonian populism and anti-elitism.
[7] This actually happened. Lincoln wanted to have Vallandigham arrested but didn’t want him made into a martyr. So instead the man was made to move past enemy lines and then was court-martialed, leaving him stranded in the Confederacy, where he was taken as a prisoner of war voluntarily.
[8] Eden, C.E. has been completed, but the US is still figuring out what to do as Washington, D.C. is still being rebuilt and is now on a fairly hostile border. For now, Philadelphia is the de facto capital.
[9] Union citizens don’t want peace, they don’t want war. Mostly they’re just done with the South. F*ck ‘em is the general mindset.
[10] This is the GAR but more like the American Legion and eventually becoming a state sponsored/funded veterans organization. Couldn’t have negative ramifications, right?
[11] The USPS meets the Pony Express, meets the Mojave Express. Guns, adventure, excitement, crossing the lawless West! Definitely a gold mine for films in the future.
[12] British encroachment was mentioned earlier, and the American economy is in shambles from the Panic that triggered after the war. War reparations are expensive too.
[13] President Polk ran on a slogan of “Fifty-four forty or fight!” meaning to push for as much of the Cascadian region as possible.
[14] If it wasn’t obvious, Sherman was appointed, but his ‘mad dog’ reputation means that Pendleton micromanages and goes over his head on everything. The appointment was meant to counteract appointing Vallandigham as Secretary of State. But since most people expected Sherman to serve in a position like that, it didn’t earn Pendleton any brownie points.
“James, you have the power of choice. Your category?”
“‘National Parties’ for 4,000.”[15]
“Jenna, reveal the challenge… Ahem; Before 1867, this 19th Century political party held the same name as a major political party in the Union… James?”
“What is the Democratic Party.”
“That is correct. For your prize question: What name did the Democratic Party adopt?”
“The Southern Democratic Party.”
“One moment, the judges are conferring on that answer… I’m sorry, James, that’s been deemed incorrect. It was the Southern Democrat Party, not Democratic. Still, that’s 4,000 points added to your Triumph! And you maintain the power of choice. Your category?”[16]
“‘Mantle of Eatership’ for 1,000.”
“Jenna? ...This was Stonewall’s infamous treat, which he ate, rine and all, to help with indigestion.”
“...”
“James?”
“What are… oranges?”
“Incorrect. Rebecca?”
“Uhm… What are lemons?”[17]
“Correct! Prize question: What was Stonewall’s actual favorite snack?”
“Ah, Peaches!”
“Correct! Jenna, please reveal the Prize… And that’s another 1,000 points in addition to the 1,000 for the Challenge question, which brings your Triumph to 47,000. You now have the power of choice. Your category?”
“I would like to defer power to Emmett.”
“You would like to use your one time deferment, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. Emmett, you now have the power of choice. But remember that means that whatever you gain from the question, she will gain half of it if you cannot answer the question, in addition to the full amount if she answers the question rather than James or Argos. So choose wisely. Your category?”[18]
“‘National Parties’ for 100,000.”
“No hesitation, going right for the big win! Jenna? …This annual event first began as a political stunt by Robert Toombs in 1867 before ending in 1944. Oh, Rebecca!”
“What is the National Temperance Rally?”
“Incorrect. Emmett!”
“What is the Dixie Days Gala.”
“Correct! That is 100,000 in your pocket, for a total of 130,000, and Rebecca is down to -3,000. For your prize question: What political party did Robert Toombs help found at the very first Dixie Days Gala?”
“The Constitutionalist Party.”
“Correct! Oh, there’s the Lucky Bell! Your second prize question: What party convention did Toombs originally attend to run as a Vice Presidential candidate for in 1867?”
“Southern Democrat Party, John.”
“Correct. My, it seems 1867 was on our challenge teams’ minds. It’s now time for a word from our partners, but you’ll get to see more Knowhow after the break.”
- Knowhow, Collection 14, Installment 6, SA game show[19]
[15] At the time this is broadcasted, gameshows don’t measure victory by dollars...
[16] The way this game works is that, like Jeopardy, you pick a category and answer a question based on who buzzes in. But if you’re correct, there’s follow-up questions for bonus points. They don’t use the ‘what is the question’ format for those, and a panel of judges is available to make decisions on the answers.
[17] Just a reminder than Stonewall ate lemons like apples like an utter madman.
[18] Deferring choice can be done once an episode by each contestant. It lets someone else pick the question category. In exchange, you get 1.5x the points if you answer the question correctly, and are guaranteed half of the points if someone other than the category-picker answers the question.
[19] I’ve stated before that collection is a season/series. Installments are episodes.
[16] The way this game works is that, like Jeopardy, you pick a category and answer a question based on who buzzes in. But if you’re correct, there’s follow-up questions for bonus points. They don’t use the ‘what is the question’ format for those, and a panel of judges is available to make decisions on the answers.
[17] Just a reminder than Stonewall ate lemons like apples like an utter madman.
[18] Deferring choice can be done once an episode by each contestant. It lets someone else pick the question category. In exchange, you get 1.5x the points if you answer the question correctly, and are guaranteed half of the points if someone other than the category-picker answers the question.
[19] I’ve stated before that collection is a season/series. Installments are episodes.
“1867 was the single most important election in Dixie history. It set the country down a particular path, and had the potential to set it down a very, very different path if Jackson had lost…[20]
…When Jefferson Davis threw his weight behind Jackson, he likely didn’t expect the man to so fundamentally alter the identity of the Southern Democrats. The SDP, formerly the Democratic Party, was the only official political party at the start of 1867, and everyone expected Stephens to dominate the convention.
Instead, Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson started to oppose him, and Jefferson Davis was all too happy to name Stonewall as his champion against Stephens. And Stephens had been so sure of victory that he had burnt enough bridges that by the time of the party convention there were a number of party officials who were happy to screw him over. The SDP named Stonewall the candidate after a number of debates against Stephens, where Stonewall received thunderous applause.[21]
Stephens was mad. But he wasn’t alone. Some people saw Stonewall as a way for Davis to rule past his term, others were appalled at a ‘lesser’ candidate being set to win the presidency purely out of spite for Stephens. Robert Toombs, Stephens’ running mate, gathered these people at a massive party he called the Dixie Days Gala, and convinced Stephens that they needed to run anyway. Arguing that Stonewall’s presidency would see violations of the Confederate Constitution, the Constitutionalist Party had no choice but to hold up Stephens and Toombs as their leaders. For the past months, the two had been garnering national attention during their conflict with Stonewall and Graham, so it would have been a waste of time to try and field anyone else…
…Let’s imagine a timeline with Stephens’ victory. That means no Slave Code Reform Act, which means no restrictions on the treatment of slaves. In fact, Stephens would probably have sponsored and expanded chattel slavery and dehumanization methods.[22] This could mean earlier slave revolts, but that would make them smaller and less well prepared. And then with generations of dehumanization, it’s unlikely the slave class would have literacy or emboldened leadership.
A Stephens presidency also means no Stonewall Doctrine. President Stonewall famously said ‘The South shall stand on its own feet,’ when he signed the Second Industrial Investment Act, but its doubtful someone as agrarian focused as Stephens would have bothered to invest in growing Southern industry and cities. Even Stonewall wasn’t extremely supportive of shifting the Confederacy away from a ‘pious agrarian society’, but he had a strong belief that it would be necessary.[23]
If Stephens instead opted to consolidate the power of the Planters by keeping industry small, then not only would the Confederacy stagnate in the coming years, but the nation would have become dependent on French, British, or even Yankee industry. Even if Reconciliation would never happen, the Confederacy could have ended up a puppet of the Union anyways…
…And that is why President Thomas J. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson was so important for Dixie agriculture too. Stephens opposed the subsidies Davis had created to combat famine, and likely would have ended them over time and let the Planters go back to growing cotton only. The Stonewall administration diversification policy was what kept trade going during the Indian Cotton Boom…
…So in short, Stephens would have meant a more decentralized, weaker Confederacy. We can even see this in the states that voted for him in 1867. Texas was a state with a shaky loyalty to the Confederacy, and voted against Stonewall purely because they wanted the Confederacy to weaken, for Davis’ expansions of power to get undone so they could be more independent again. Missouri and South Carolina were sold on the doctrine of the Constitutionalist, since Missouri had gone through a split of their state in the name of the Confederate dream, and South Carolina was the birthplace of the Confederacy. Georgia loved Stephens and Toombs as native sons, but Alabama and Arkansas voted for them because they were sold on allegations by Stephens that Stonewall was an abolitionist.
These states, from conservative bastions to hardliner idealists to states that wanted near independence, were who wanted Stephens. Stonewall’s promises of a better, fairer Confederacy, and a nation run by ‘Christian compassion and Stoic resolve’ appealed to places in need like Tennessee and Florida and Oklahoma. Not every state voted because of that. Virginia loved Stonewall, and North Carolina was loyal to Graham, even though both states were not in as much need of the economic and social policies Stonewall was speaking for. Mississippi voted Southern Democrat because of Davis’ support for Jackson, but they were one of the states still recovering from famine too, as was Louisiana. What this tells us is that Stonewall primarily drew in states that had desire or were willing to allow a stronger Confederacy with stronger federal standards for states in exchange for more support in their times of need…[24]
…This is what makes the 1867 Presidency so critical to the future of the Confederacy.”
- Tessa Vanderlin, Essay for Confederate History 102, Marks: 3.1/5.0
Comments: Tessa, please see me in my office hours if you want to makeup points. Signed, Prof. Regina Looker
Comments: Tessa, please see me in my office hours if you want to makeup points. Signed, Prof. Regina Looker
[20] This is a student writing, so expect odd logic and connections within this section because it’s a student who slapped their final paper together last minute.
[21]...And numerous political deals to ensure Stephens would not be chosen. Jackson only ran alongside William Graham because Graham was a more trusted member of the party. Recall that the VP in the Confederacy has more power, so balancing the ticket is far more important.
[22] Stonewall was not a fan of slavery. He was a racist believer in a White Man’s Burden to Civilize, but he wanted slaves literate and treated kindly. We’ll get into the weeds of his reforms next time.
[23] Stonewall Doctrine = Trying to achieve autarky by subsidizing industry.
[24] This is the first true election. At the moment Confederate politics are heavily based on personalities like Davis and voting for the guy from your area above all. That will change overtime as local party politics evolve. As a final note, Oklahoma, as a Dependent Autonomy, gets to have electors in the college, as many as they would have if they were a state, but to be clear they have only one non-voting representative in either house of government. And yes, this was an amendment to their Constitution that the Confederacy passed under Davis.
[21]...And numerous political deals to ensure Stephens would not be chosen. Jackson only ran alongside William Graham because Graham was a more trusted member of the party. Recall that the VP in the Confederacy has more power, so balancing the ticket is far more important.
[22] Stonewall was not a fan of slavery. He was a racist believer in a White Man’s Burden to Civilize, but he wanted slaves literate and treated kindly. We’ll get into the weeds of his reforms next time.
[23] Stonewall Doctrine = Trying to achieve autarky by subsidizing industry.
[24] This is the first true election. At the moment Confederate politics are heavily based on personalities like Davis and voting for the guy from your area above all. That will change overtime as local party politics evolve. As a final note, Oklahoma, as a Dependent Autonomy, gets to have electors in the college, as many as they would have if they were a state, but to be clear they have only one non-voting representative in either house of government. And yes, this was an amendment to their Constitution that the Confederacy passed under Davis.
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Oh hell yeah, another chapter in this timeline has finally been posted... happy it's still alive!
Map of the former United States - 1868
Map of the former United States - 1868
"Following the civil war, Kentucky was less of a nation and more of a demilitarized zone. The people of the state were more angry than patriotic, full of spite toward either side of the war. The Union government was in control, but the military keeping the peace was lead predominantly by the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, a Confederate force. And though officially the Treaty of Lexington granted Kentucky independence for 10 years, the instability of the situation resulted in the 1867 Referendum, not even 2 years after the end of the war. ..
...Generally, most of the Kentucky was sympathetic to the Union, but the utter chaos of the O'Hara Conspiracy and the 4 presidencies that occurred within the year made many hesitant. As for the Confederacy, Kentucky's people were not a fan of Alexander Stephens, who most expected to win the presidency even after Stonewall Jackson secured the Southern Democrat nomination away from him. The referendum, held in October and finalized in December, had the following question: Should Kentucky be admitted as a state of the United States of America or the Confederate States of Amerian? The result was overwhelming in favor of 'Neither', which resulted in waiting the next referendum until 1887, an agreement made binding by the small but vocal number of Kentucky nationalists...
...As a charming anecdote, this is when the Kentucky flag was created. At the time, there was not a set flag for the country. The government had developed a new seal, fusing the Union sigil of a frontiersman and statesman shaking hands with the Confederate motto of 'voce populi'. Theoretically, cities could have used this seal on a banner, as many Union states did. However, in the aftermath of the war, the new Free Kentucky Army was vital to maintaining order. From most forts and towns flew the flag of the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, a red cross with 11 stars on a blue banner. The reason for this was initially practicality; the Orphan Brigade had a number of regimental flags that they place at various major forts to show it was under their control, whereas any flag using the new seal or a different army would require time and resources to make the flag, whereas the Orphan Brigade already had by chance a surplus of their banner. From here, the government decided to formalize the banner as the flag of the entire army. Then, for ease of creation, the stars were striped away in favor of a white outline. Records show this was proposed half-heartedly as a joke by a statesmen who felt the entire discussion was a waste of time, and yet he inadvertently designed his country's flag. For as the years went on, the flag of the army was recognized as a symbol of Kentucky, and after the 1887 referendum was again for independence, the flag was formalized by the government as the flag of the Independent Republic of Kentucky."
"Wrong! The so-called 'occupation' was in fact a lawful purchase. The area was militarily occupied, but that was during the war!"
"Then why was the Eastern Shore not returned after the fact?"
"It was legally under Virginian control! However, the local governments had no connection to Virginia due to damage to the infrastructure and ports. And ensuing treaties over control of the Chesapeake Bay made it so that more Union ships went by than Confederate!"
"That does not give the Union the right to lay claim to the area."
"That is true, but that is not the case for the Maryland government. The State of Maryland offered aid to people in the Eastern Shore, and numerous people left the area, with Union citizens taking residence with the consent of the locals."
"Ah, so she admits to the utter imperialist colonization plot of the Yankee occupiers!"
"What I admit to is that the State of Maryland sent a purchase agreement to State of Virginia, an agreement both states agreed to!"
"But not one either the Union or Confederate governments recognized!"
"Just because they were not aware of it for 5 years does not mean it wasn't recognized. And by then it could not be undone."
"That's utterly ridiculous. I have already claimed in the last round that it was a travesty for the Confederate government to abandon its people, but that does not automatically give the Union claim to the land."
"The Union recognized the claim of the Confederate government to the State of Virginia, and I quote 'as it stands along recognized lines of the armistice'. While this was meant to refer to West Virginia, it was argued, successfully, by the towns of the so-called Eastern Shore, that they were included since the military occupation of the region was not ended by the Union nor demanded by the Confederacy during the armistice."
"That... is true. But the region was still a legal part of Virginia, and the Treaty of Lexington clearly states that 'the admittance of the State of Virginia, barring the territory of the State of West Virginia, into the Confederacy is legally recognized.' See?"
"That section clearly was meant to recognize that West Virginia could never be legally counted as being part of the Confederacy. That section does not actually describe strict territorial borders. Whereas the section I was referring to was explicitly parts used to define legal borders for the country."
The reason was simple; Pendleton's design was the only one to remove not just stars, but stripes from the flag. The Radicals were convinced not to take this as appeasement to the Confederates, but a rejection of the traitors. 'Let us tear not just their stars from our sky, but rip away their traitorous stripes, for the states of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia do not deserve to be honored anymore! Fie on the 4 who broke the covenant they helped to forge! Who pissed on their blood oaths! And glory be to the 9 founding states that remained steadfast to this, our perpetual Union!'
This speech did not sit well with the Copperheads, but given the overall minor importance of the issue, they saw no need to argue semantics when they had the votes for their President's flag design. Thus was born the Copperhead flag. 9 stripes of red and white, and 25 stars in a canton of blue, removing the stars of the lost Confederacy but adding the stars of Nevada and Nebraska."
"Following the civil war, Kentucky was less of a nation and more of a demilitarized zone. The people of the state were more angry than patriotic, full of spite toward either side of the war. The Union government was in control, but the military keeping the peace was lead predominantly by the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, a Confederate force. And though officially the Treaty of Lexington granted Kentucky independence for 10 years, the instability of the situation resulted in the 1867 Referendum, not even 2 years after the end of the war. ..
...Generally, most of the Kentucky was sympathetic to the Union, but the utter chaos of the O'Hara Conspiracy and the 4 presidencies that occurred within the year made many hesitant. As for the Confederacy, Kentucky's people were not a fan of Alexander Stephens, who most expected to win the presidency even after Stonewall Jackson secured the Southern Democrat nomination away from him. The referendum, held in October and finalized in December, had the following question: Should Kentucky be admitted as a state of the United States of America or the Confederate States of Amerian? The result was overwhelming in favor of 'Neither', which resulted in waiting the next referendum until 1887, an agreement made binding by the small but vocal number of Kentucky nationalists...
...As a charming anecdote, this is when the Kentucky flag was created. At the time, there was not a set flag for the country. The government had developed a new seal, fusing the Union sigil of a frontiersman and statesman shaking hands with the Confederate motto of 'voce populi'. Theoretically, cities could have used this seal on a banner, as many Union states did. However, in the aftermath of the war, the new Free Kentucky Army was vital to maintaining order. From most forts and towns flew the flag of the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, a red cross with 11 stars on a blue banner. The reason for this was initially practicality; the Orphan Brigade had a number of regimental flags that they place at various major forts to show it was under their control, whereas any flag using the new seal or a different army would require time and resources to make the flag, whereas the Orphan Brigade already had by chance a surplus of their banner. From here, the government decided to formalize the banner as the flag of the entire army. Then, for ease of creation, the stars were striped away in favor of a white outline. Records show this was proposed half-heartedly as a joke by a statesmen who felt the entire discussion was a waste of time, and yet he inadvertently designed his country's flag. For as the years went on, the flag of the army was recognized as a symbol of Kentucky, and after the 1887 referendum was again for independence, the flag was formalized by the government as the flag of the Independent Republic of Kentucky."
My Heart for Kentucky: A History by Canaan J. Walker
"The Marylander Occupation of the Eastern Shore is a travesty that endures to this day! It has no legal basis whatsoever."
"Wrong! The so-called 'occupation' was in fact a lawful purchase. The area was militarily occupied, but that was during the war!"
"Then why was the Eastern Shore not returned after the fact?"
"It was legally under Virginian control! However, the local governments had no connection to Virginia due to damage to the infrastructure and ports. And ensuing treaties over control of the Chesapeake Bay made it so that more Union ships went by than Confederate!"
"That does not give the Union the right to lay claim to the area."
"That is true, but that is not the case for the Maryland government. The State of Maryland offered aid to people in the Eastern Shore, and numerous people left the area, with Union citizens taking residence with the consent of the locals."
"Ah, so she admits to the utter imperialist colonization plot of the Yankee occupiers!"
"What I admit to is that the State of Maryland sent a purchase agreement to State of Virginia, an agreement both states agreed to!"
"But not one either the Union or Confederate governments recognized!"
"Just because they were not aware of it for 5 years does not mean it wasn't recognized. And by then it could not be undone."
"That's utterly ridiculous. I have already claimed in the last round that it was a travesty for the Confederate government to abandon its people, but that does not automatically give the Union claim to the land."
"The Union recognized the claim of the Confederate government to the State of Virginia, and I quote 'as it stands along recognized lines of the armistice'. While this was meant to refer to West Virginia, it was argued, successfully, by the towns of the so-called Eastern Shore, that they were included since the military occupation of the region was not ended by the Union nor demanded by the Confederacy during the armistice."
"That... is true. But the region was still a legal part of Virginia, and the Treaty of Lexington clearly states that 'the admittance of the State of Virginia, barring the territory of the State of West Virginia, into the Confederacy is legally recognized.' See?"
"That section clearly was meant to recognize that West Virginia could never be legally counted as being part of the Confederacy. That section does not actually describe strict territorial borders. Whereas the section I was referring to was explicitly parts used to define legal borders for the country."
- Burnside High School Debate tournament, Open Forum semi-finals, Rachel Fahrenbach v. Adam Brookes
"The Copperhead Flag, as some refer to this iteration of the United States flag, was introduced by President George Pendleton. As a firm Copperhead, he felt a change of the flag would firmly show the Union's recognition of the Confederate States. His proposal eventually won out over 6 others, mostly due to the Radical Republicans having their first moment of solidarity with the Copperheads. After a fiery oration by elder statesman Thaddeus Stephens, the Radical Republicans of the were pushed into voting for Pendleton's design.
The reason was simple; Pendleton's design was the only one to remove not just stars, but stripes from the flag. The Radicals were convinced not to take this as appeasement to the Confederates, but a rejection of the traitors. 'Let us tear not just their stars from our sky, but rip away their traitorous stripes, for the states of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia do not deserve to be honored anymore! Fie on the 4 who broke the covenant they helped to forge! Who pissed on their blood oaths! And glory be to the 9 founding states that remained steadfast to this, our perpetual Union!'
This speech did not sit well with the Copperheads, but given the overall minor importance of the issue, they saw no need to argue semantics when they had the votes for their President's flag design. Thus was born the Copperhead flag. 9 stripes of red and white, and 25 stars in a canton of blue, removing the stars of the lost Confederacy but adding the stars of Nevada and Nebraska."
- The Not-so-Little Book of Flags: North American Edition
"Territories? It's a hellscape, sir. What I propose is a means for order. Erase the borders that don't exist, and give me and my men the ability to actually try and push back the indians. Or contain them, at least, if you're so damn set on not letting me off my leash."
- Secretary of War William T. Sherman to President George Pendleton, proposing the creation of Dakota-Idaho Military District
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Nice to see this thing updated again.
lol imagine being a kentucky nationalist
Seriously though, seems like the prevailing attitude is just "screw both sides", which doesn't exactly sound like much of a national identity to me. I mean, it's a start, but it doesn't take you all the way. What's the rhetoric of these Kentucky Nationalists like?
I know this is a shaky essay (if anything it's probably foreshadowing for future Texas secession), but is there truth in Texas wanting more autonomy at this point? Was this anywhere near a thing OTL during their time in the Confederacy?
Seriously though, seems like the prevailing attitude is just "screw both sides", which doesn't exactly sound like much of a national identity to me. I mean, it's a start, but it doesn't take you all the way. What's the rhetoric of these Kentucky Nationalists like?
The essay is colored by the writer's knowledge of the future. However, Texas was indeed split between Confederate sympathizers and people who wanted to restore the Republic of Texas, and the divide remained, though not very strong. Several prominent historians have written on this, with a key point being that Texans were more ambivalent about supporting their fellow rebel states, vocal about the Confederate government's seizures of power during the war.
You're correct, it's not much of a national identity, though recall that in this time many people had a strong attachment to their home state. Also to make it more clear that passage just means some vocal guys demanded that if the state does pass a referendum ahead of the 10 year timer, then they had to agree that if it failed the next referendum had to be 10 years later and no sooner. Otherwise you could just vote every year until your desired outcome occurs. Said nationalist also realize that 10 years gives them time to build a national identity.
Really these "nationalists" are just ambitious Kentuckians that see opportunity for profit by playing both sides. That or they're bitter survivors of the war who have no trust for either North or South, and now cling to the idea of making Kentucky a nation separate from both places because they honestly just don't want to imagine a future of having to listen to either Philadelphia or Eden.
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