Second Union

Second Union
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Troubled beginnings

The year is 1840. Mexico is in turmoil. At the ranch Oreveña near the town Laredo, the new Republic of the Rio Grande is declared with the support of the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. The three states convened to decide on the matter of a government for the new nation, with some favoring one of the current state governments and some arguing for a brand new election. All that would have to be postponed as not long afterwards, word arrived that the Mexican army was in the Rio Grande valley. Acting swiftly, the state armies fell upon the newly arrived Mexican force, winning a minor victory in the following battle, driving the army westwards out of the valley. The news where celebrated in the newly decided upon capital of Laredo, along with the news of inependent guerrilla forces now harassing the supply lines of the stalled Mexican army. It was at this point the new republic decided to send a delegation to neighboring Texas, which was greeted with mild fanfare. After a series of rapid negotiations, Texas decided to support the new republic with the formation of the volounteer Texan military corps, wich was soon sent to aid their souther brothers.

Help arrives
The newly arrived Texan corp, along with the now reorganized army of the Rio Grande and several guerilla units soon launched a second attack against the Mexican forces, driving them further west in the second battle of the Rio Grande. This battle would result in a major victory for the new republic, only strengthening the separatist sentiment in the area. The Mexicans under general Mariano Arista where finally forced to retreat towards central Mexico, giving the Riograndese and Texians some breathing room.

The long haul
What followed would become know as the north mexico war, pitting the Mexican nation towards the two secessionist Republics of Rio Grande and the now fully commited Texas. The war would last for three years, consisting mostly of a tug-of-war between the alliance and centralist forces, ending with the truce of Morelos in 1844.

As 1845 arrived, what few Texians still looked to the US got their hopes dashed when a bill that would allow the US to annex the republic was dropped by congress, causing the nation to consider it's future prospects. Seeing no other immediate option, the Texians and Riograndese met in Austin, uniting under the flag of the Republic of Rio Grande-Texas (The name was a work in progress).

Aaaand that's where I'll end it for today! I have loads more to write, so we'll see if I edit this post or make a new one entirely.

Flag for anyone interested: http://imgur.com/Y0EBk1K
 

Deleted member 97083

Texas, Rio Grande, and Yucatan all uniting against the Mexican Federal government? Interesting.
 
Oh sheesh, actual attention! Let's hope this is what keeps me from letting this Althist pass into obscurity (unlike other projects of mine...)

Anyways, second chapter of this is coming right up!
 
New arrivals
News of the union shook capitals all around the continents, but it perhaps shook the cities of Mérida and New Orleans most. The former was for now at least, the capital of an independent Yucatan and in desperate need of support. The nation had survived the 1842 invasion relatively unharmed, likely because of the added pressure on Mexico from the north. As these news reached Mérida, the idea of a three-state union was brought up and debated fiercely. Arguments like distance and the inevitable falling out between the english Texians and spanish Riograndese were brought up by the nay-sayers, while the optimist painted a union with Rio Grande-Texas as the only way for Yucatan to survive as an autonomous entity separate from Mexico. A delegation was sent to their northern neighbours in secret, a moment which would later be immortalized in the famous picture "Miguel Barbachano crosses the carribean". After a hasty welcome the delegation presented their case, which was eagerly accepted. The Republic decided to wait with any more name and flag changes however, as the decision was made to primarily focus on the war.

Watching the events unfold with interest was the tiny neighboring Republic of West Florida, which now contemplated joining their Texian brothers in this new union. The nation had managed to free itself of Spanish rule in 1810 with recongition and support from the United States. Many in the US congress had called for the forcible annexation of the territory, but where met with the argument that "The United States is not an opressor and will thus not lift the opression of the Spanish in West Florida only to replace it with it's own." The Republic had in the meantime expanded westwards, meeting the border the Mexico before expanding north. There where now factions in the New Orleans congress that called for either US statehood or entry into this new union. The debate ended in 1846 with a close vote in favour of joining the new Union. Among the arguments that tipped the scales in favor of Rio Grande-Texas where the potential benefits of living in a multilingual country for the cajun population, which feared getting marginalized in a country populated largely by english-speakers.

The offensive
Finally in 1846 began what became know as the final offensive of the independence war. Troops from Texas, Rio Grande and West Florida attacked in a wide sweep from the north, while the Yucatan forces advanced from the south, pinning the Mexicans in the middle of the country. But even this was not enough and the offensive was followed by a month-long stalemate, until the United States finally entered the war on the side of the Union, hoping it would serve as a good buffer against the unstable Mexico. In August 13th 1846 the Mexican government finally surrendered and in the treaty of Laredo, the Union and the states within it finally achieved inependence and recogniton from Mexico as the Union of Souther American States (USAS).

New name of course means new flag!: http://imgur.com/a/4Q5su

Also, Current map! (I don't care enough to recolor Alaska, look at all those islands.): http://imgur.com/a/IKVTJ
 
The US is allowing the loss of New Orleans?

Also you gave Vancouver island to America in that map.
Yeah, this is a less manifest destiny-heavy US, which may or may not have consequences further down the line. In regards to the map, I'll reveal a little secret. I'm Swedish, so american history and geography isn't my main area of interest. But I do love me some unrecognized states, and I'll be damned if I don't cram as many of them into this timeline as possible.
 
What's the status of slavery in the USAS? Because the parts north of the Rio were quite pro-slavery, whilst slavery had been abolished in the parts to the south for a couple of decades now.
 
What's the status of slavery in the USAS? Because the parts north of the Rio were quite pro-slavery, whilst slavery had been abolished in the parts to the south for a couple of decades now.
Slavery is still legal in Texas and West Florida while it's outlawed in Rio and it's western territories. The issue of slavery is still decided by individual states at this time, which will again cause issues during the American slavery debate. I'm planning on expanding on the internal workings of the USAS in my next big post.
 
An unwanted peace
In early 1846 as the provinces in the east rebelled, the citizens of the Mexican state of Alta California had openly begun discussing the possibility of revolt themselves. Some entertained the idea of independece as a fully sovereign republic, while others favoured statehood within the USA or USAS or even annexation by France or Britain. Arguments for statehood in the US where many, including distance from the USAS compared to the US and it's stronger military compared to the USAS. Arguments for union with the USAS where the region bilingual population, the reluctance of the US to annex Texas during their revolt, stronger regional laws and the use of Yucatan as an example of a long-distance state. As the course of the war shifted in the USAS favour during the summer of 1846, the "Bears" lead by American William B. Ide (His friends would later give him the nickname William bear hide) decided to finally revolt, taking up arms june 8th, wich put the USAS in a bit of an awkward situation as the mexican government capitulated just two months later. As the USAS had not claimed the state during their rebellion plus the fact that California had sent no delegation to apply for statehood or even to ally with them despite claiming to want to join the nation, they where forced to leave the territory in Mexican hands, along with the pressure from the US, which pressured them to leave it be as to not make them a serious competitor in north america along with preventing them from sezing a large portion of the west coast from them. However, the fact that the US had entered the war to support the establishment of the USAS and not to annex any Mexican territory meant that the peace they where left with was a peace nobody wanted.

The fate of California
Thus, it was no surprise that as soon as the peace treaty went in effect, all three nations began rapidly preparing themselvs for a conflict regarding the western frontier. Along with this was the US fear of rebellion in their indian territories, with the "Five Civilized tribes" discussing rebellion of the US in favour of USAS statehood, hoping to preserve their ways in the face of anglo-american cultural expansion. Meanwhile, the situation in Alta California had only grown more tense. While the US declined to annex the Texan Republic due to the issues of adding another slave state to the union, the abolishment of slavery in California had been enacted in the 1830s and the state was thus seen as much less troublesome. Due to these reasons, both the USAS and USA had begun immediately supporting the California rebels following the peace treaty, hoping they would manage to defeat the Mexican government on their own (and choose the "correct" nation to join afterwards). The rebellion consequently dragged on through the rest of 1846 and into 1847, with the Mexican government doggedly trying not to lose another province.

As the rebellion progeressed towards the end of 1847 with no major action save for a few skirmishes along the Californian border to the rest of Mexico (much to the frustration of everyone involved) the United States finally decided to act. With the term of democratic James K. Polk slowly stretching towards its end the president decided to act, proclaiming "I let the Texians slip, but I'll be damned if I lose California too." With the declaration of war, US troops entered the territory, but was soon faced with oppositon from the local residents, which at this point had many supporters of USAS statehood. This finally prompted the USAS to act as well, encouraging rebellion in the indian territories and sending their army in between the US forces and the rebellious Californians. The trapped US forces tried unsucessfully to escape in what came to be know as "The California march", but with their supply routes back east mostly cut off and with the rest constantly harrased and sabotaged by Californian militas the US forces under the command of US general Stephen W. Kearny where forced to capitulate, much to the humiliation of the Washington government back home. This also caused outrage among the American population, with some calling for the impeachment of James Polk for his faliures in the war.

Meanwhile, the Mexican government was still wraught with political instability and in no shape to respond to the war. Several attempts where made by Mexico to assert their control over the area, but faced with US declaration of war the Mexican government finally gave in to the Californians demands, rescinding control over the territory but not recongizing them as a nation either. At this point, the California area had, in the words of William B. Ide turned into "A damned free for all" with Californian Rebels, renegade US military units and USAS regulars all squabbling over control of their respective territories. In the US, the situation was growing more desperate. The military units sent to the Californian territory had been "Stabbed in the back" by the USAS attack on their rear, the southern states where calling for an end to the war and refusing to send troops to neighboring West Florida, as they refused to fight their "southern brothers across the border" especially as the cause of the war was regarding a far-flung anti-slavery terriory. The US was finally forced to accept defeat and ceded the territory of Alta Californa and the Indian Territory to the Victorious USAS in the 1848 treaty of Austin.

Oh my, everything seems be going just dandy for the USAS boys in Yellow, huh? This may be the last time I post before I go on a two-week vacation to Italy with my family, so be prepared for that.

Map!: http://imgur.com/a/1hsS1

Flag! (Sorry for the blurriness, I don't know what's up with that.): http://imgur.com/a/liVY3

Okay, so with (Most of) the warring over (for the moment) I hope I'll be able to go more in-depth regarding domestic politics in all of the three nations next time. They'll be chummy with each other, I'm sure.
 
Nice to see a timeline about the American West and Mexican North together, two areas that share some interesting cultural linkages. I must say though, for the US to allow any American territory to just take off and join another nation would be extraordinary. For them to allow a strategic and commercial choke-point like New Orleans to do so is quite a proposition.
 
Nice to see a timeline about the American West and Mexican North together, two areas that share some interesting cultural linkages. I must say though, for the US to allow any American territory to just take off and join another nation would be extraordinary. For them to allow a strategic and commercial choke-point like New Orleans to do so is quite a proposition.
Thanks. I know it's not the most realistic of timelines, but this is basically me trying to make mashing all of the different unrecongnized states of north america into one nation (most of which are connected to american expansionism) seem as realistic as possible, mainly by giving the USAS the appeal of extensive state's rights. Up next are these two little scoundrels, by the way:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Baja_California

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Sonora

It's safe to say the USAS won't fail to capitalize on this lovely opportunity to connect their borders.
 
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We're back, by jingo! Sorry to keep you guys waiting like this, but I hope you've been able to bear with me.

Yet more states
As the dust settled and the north american continent entered a period of relative calm, the government of the USAS finally got time to focus on more internal matters. The territories claimed by Rio Grade where finally integrated into the rest of the Republic, which aroused a slight alarm from the Texians. Nevertheless, the establishing of new states continued, resulting in the formation of the states Grand California and Remote. The first of these consisted of the majority of the coastal land gained in the treaty of Austin, as well as being the land de facto controlled by the former California Republic. The state of Remote was as the name indicates, made out of the more remote parts of the aquired territory which was now opened for immigrations, gaining the attention of the Mormons in particular. However, the post-war adventures of the USAS didn't end there. As politicians and members of the USAS military looked over their newly written maps, they both came to the same conclusion: The country was dangerously splintered, separated into the heartland comprising of Texas, West Florida and Rio Grande, the exclaved Yucatan peninsula and the newly aquired Californian states. Crossing the border between the heartland and the pacific states had been no large issue during the wars, but while people and goods still moved with relative ease, the armies of the republic could not.

This situation remained for a few years until in 1853, when the ambitious William Walker approached the USAS government with a to them delicious proposition: The formation of a new republic stretching Baja California and Sonora, uniting the heartland with the coast. William Walker was granted plenty of funding, supplies and training, as well as promise of military aid should the threat of the Mexicans taking back their land grow too big. After succesfully capturing La Paz he declared the independence of the Republic of Sonora on October 15 1853, much to the dismay of the Mexican government. Despite his position on the central authority over state authority, Benito Juárez, the then current president of Mexico decided to grant Sonora independence in exchange for around 9,000,000 UD (The USAS Dollar, which at the time of the purchase was worth around two thirds of the same amount of the then current USD). The new republic soon swarmed with settlers from the southern states and slavery was instituted, causing no small amount of cornern for the state of Rio Grande, as it was now surrounded by slave states. However, the purchase was generally received positively, with some even proposing taking the east coast of Mexico or even going so far as to wanting to annex the entire nation.

Other concerns soon took over the nation, as many expressed dismay at what they saw as a still all too gaudy national flag. A government comittee was formed as to settle the matter permanently, and the new flag was adopted along with the Sonoran declaration of statehood on December 25th 1853, an event which has been affectionally called "The national christmas gift" ever since. All was not good in the United States of Southern America though. The democratic, pro-expansionist Franklin Pierce had been elected in the United States, which still simmered with rage following the 1848 war and with many calling for the reconquest of the "lost territories". Inside the country things where not much better, with the slavery issue more prominently debated in the United States slowly creeping into USAS politics as well. The nation evidently stood at the door to trying times. The question was if it could weather them.

Well gee whizz, does't that just sound delightfully omnious? Next time, we'll learn what the USAS's whacky eastern neigbor is up to, if I'm gonna stop changing the design of my flags (probalby not) and just what happens when a decentralized, multilingual nation tries to hold on to an obscene amount of territory.

Some people do drugs, I design new flags:

(Yet another) National flag!: http://imgur.com/a/a6045

Flag of Grand California!: http://imgur.com/a/1zyDM

Remote (Gee whiz, I wonder what this flag was inspired by): http://imgur.com/a/cWt9n

And finally, the map of the ever expanding, never receding(?) USAS!: http://imgur.com/a/4q9L5

Ah. I can already feel the apprechiation radiating from the two people still reading this timeline.
 
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How can a small nation on northern Mexico become like this in 2 decades ? The overextension is too great I Belive they will probably collapse later if we aren't talking about a flawless nation.
 
I understand this is a USA less focused on Manifest Destiny in this timeline, but there's no chance the states would've given up Louisiana. It's been a state for about thirty years at the start of this, and includes the port of New Orleans, which was invaluable to control trade along and from the Mississippi.

If the USAS decided to claim this sovereign member of the Union, their neck would be promptly stomped on by the Americans, with them likely taking what bits of this USAS they desire while leaving the rest to be reclaimed by Mexico.
 
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