SFN - The American Haiti - The First 100 Years of Freedom

The Society of Free Nations SFN

The following post contains excerpts from the textbook from another timeline, a brief history of American Nations, and it's chapters dealing with SFN. Edited with readers from OTL in mind.
Along with a curated and simplified brief timeline of the first 100 years of that beleaguered nation.

In a world where a haiti-esque revolution shook the United States and won forging a new nation built on the principal of freedom from slavery and white owners. Like Haiti it is isolated from the rest of the world and must struggle to find itself without aid or trade and from a foundation of ruined cities and burnt plantations with the ever present fear of war with their former masters in the north.

after the successes of the slave revolts (1831-32) as discussed in early chapters, as a consequence of the failed and brutal indiscriminate reprisals carried out against 'loyal' slaves not associated with the ongoing revolts the uprising of 1833 proved a turning point in the plantation rebellion.

The uprising is generally considered to have been spontaneous although some historians still argue it came about from a conspiracy, was a wave of revolts across the former union south as slaves defected to the surviving revolts on mass, declaring themselves free and taking up arms against their owners. Effectively turning the guerilla campaign of the earlier revolts into a true rebellion.

On top of this, the indian nations of the seminole, creek, chickasaw, choctaw and a year later, the cherokee, though lacking the chief common cause with the rebels joined their war as a result of Unionist mishandling of their forced removal to the proposed indian territories (comprised of the now state of Jackson and the free nation of Telemaque), giving the rebellion strength and legitimacy abroad.

The details of the war, the burning of High Point, the Seminole Campaign, the Blood and Chains and the Bleeding of the Appalachians are dealt with in detail later in the book so need not be worried about here.

In overview, as the war dragged down one side fighting to survive and wear down the enemy, small in numbers and unconventional tactics and the other fighting for the absolute destruction of the first, superior in every sense but for carrying out the war rigidly traditionally and refusing to take the enemy or the threat it posed truly seriously. The slaves eventually gained the covert support of Mexico and Britain, neither supporting its cause or expecting them to win but quietly providing arms to drag out the united states distress, the UK in particularly profited both from Union industries new reliance on British indian cotton following the loss of the southern cotton fields and the union taking up it's extravagantly high interest loans during the revolt-caused recessions of the 1830s.
Other international support was provided in small though notable brigades of volunteers from Haiti and the free blacks of the northern union.

Eventually in 1847 the United States defaulting on it's wartime debts to the United Kingdom, popular support turning against the war after high losses and abolitionism, a cease-fire was agreed by the Union with the rebellion.

By 1847 three nations proclaimed by the rebel forces had come to the forefront, throughout the war these self appointed governments worked in coalition but as the war ended the quest of who and what had been won arose.

In cease-fire of May 9th 1847 was signed by General Tom Freeman of the Horonya Republic, John Horse of the Black-Seminoles and Elijah of the Congregation of the Liberation (Turnerites).

A new nation was born, or rather a new union. Despite attempts to distance and reject the trappings of the Union, the decentralized nature of the war and lack of central leadership along with the USA being the only example of a nation most of the rebels knew, lead to the new state developing mirror structure for the new state.

The Society of Free Nations, known in the Union as the 'Black Republic' was established in late July 1847 following a long series of meetings and compromises between the three powers.
Structurally the Free Nations was a federal government over # states, called nations.

For the legislative branch, was the Congregation, analogous to the lower house, the Convocation comprised of one Representative from each nation, and the Trinity, which took of the role of executive and was initially composed of the three signatories of the cease fire but later would be comprised of one chair held by the leader of the party with a majority in the Congregation, one appointed by the Convocation and the last held by the General of the Army.

All non-white inhabitants of the Free Nations had the right to vote, initially through spoken votes given to electoral officers but after the Turnerites literacy campaigns of the 1860s, through a written vote. Universal Suffrage extended to women and many women who had fought in the war were present in the first government.

What constitution there was, which strictly related to the structure, appointment and form of the government and the absolute abolition of all forms of slavery, was called the Scripture of the Nation. the word constitution having pro-slavery connotations.

The main challenge of the new state was to rebuild a devastated economy and infrastructure. The war had let little standing and what had existed had been dependent on now abolished slavery, the cut off north or international trade, all of which had been cut off as the Free Nations found itself alongside Haiti alone, under near global embargo.

This poverty combined with the constant threat of Union aggression made reconstruction a long and often futile task that some historians would argue has still not completed to this day.

The three major parties that developed from the committees and meetings of 1847
The Abolitionists under General Tom Freeman (a genius of tactics who's military mind was seen by many as the sole reason for the rebellions success, who in OTL died unknown under the name Tom Cotton at the hands of a plantation driver), were those did not believe the Unionists of the north would honour the cease fire and were initially primarily concerned with military primacy and readiness, along with maintaining pay and pensions for soldiers. Later on they developed into the part of the well off farmers and conservatives, while always remaining primarily the party of the military. Their leader was always the General of the Army and so they maintain a permanent seat on the Trinity. As such whenever they won a majority in the Congregation two chairs were held by the same individual.

The Turnerites, named after Nat Turner (OTL person), the leader of a suppressed revolt shortly before the Rebellion who inspired and enflamed the religious rebel leaders who later united into the Congregation of the Liberation under Brother Elijah, formed into staunchly religious political party that sought to represent God in politics and build a christian nation. Through the years they varied between christian populism and hardline liberational baptism. Their support largely came from churches and the rural poor although their drive to educate all Free men and women to be literate enough to read the bible saw them establish the education system as under their control.

The African Brotherhood came from a minor faction during the war, lead mainly by men who had been free blacks before the war. The Brotherhood was the party of the Intellectuals and eventually once there was one, of the middle class. They likely would have faded and been forgotten in the early days if it wasn't for their leader [Unreadable]* chief role during the committees to form the government, and their new nationalist vision for the nation winning over many across all demographics who were looking forward towards the dream of a free great nation rather than at the problems of the present, becoming the established party of the middle in the early days.
In the late 1800s a new socialist intellectually undercurrent would split the party, followed by a further anti-socialist split in the 1900s.

In periods of crisis or instability, the army would cease power, but maintain the parties and structure of government under them, just leaving it powerless.

Continuity of Government is considered unbroken throughout despite coups. Military governments are considered legitimate in the records.

Brief Post-Liberation Timeline of governments and major events of the first 100 years.

1847-1853 Nation building.
1847-1853 First Triumvirate
-1847-1850 (1st Brotherhood-Abolitionist government)
-1850-1853 (2nd Brotherhood-Abolitionist government)
-1853-1855 (1st Turnerites-Brotherhood government) (also known as The Last Founders Government)
-September 1855 - collapse of the Turner-Brotherhood coalition 'September Crisis'
1855-1858 first dictatorship
-1855-1858 (1st Abolitionist)(Gen. Tom Freeman)
1858-1865 second triumvirate
-1858-1861 (1st Turnerite)
-1861-1864 (1st African brotherhood)
-1865 (may)-1865 (august) (turnerites)
1865-1866 second war (series of border classes escalated into a short war, many deaths in a few months for a status quo cease-fire)
1865-1869 second dictatorship
-1865-1868 (2nd Abolitionists)(Gen. William Cairo)
-17th Feb. 1868 - 'Millers Coup' Gen. Mill arrests Gen. Cairo his supporters siezes power but is unable to unite the government under him so is in power for a year of inaction and infighting before being ousted bloodlessly.
-1868-1869 (3rd Abolitionists) (Gen. Enoch Mill)
1869-1876 third triumvirate
-1869-1872 (2nd Turnerite)
-1872-1875 (4th Abolitionist)
-1875-1876 (2nd Brotherhood)
1876 - Third War (A border guard shooting escalates, briefly settled though raids devaste townships on both sides)
1876-1876 - Third Dictatorship
-1876 - (5th Abolitionist)
1876-1897 - fourth triumvirate
-1876-1878 (2nd Brotherhood - resumed)
-1878-1881 (2nd Brotherhood - re-elected)
-1881-1884 (2nd Brotherhood - re-elected (New chair))
-1884-1887 (6th Abolitionist)
-1887-1890 (3rd Brotherhood)
-1890-1891 (3rd Brotherhood) (Brotherhood Split into African Brotherhood and the New African Brotherhood, the New African Brotherhood are the party establishment despite the name, the faction who wrests party control is socialist leaning)
-1891-1893 (New Brotherhood (minority government) (no new election))
-1893-1896 (3rd Turnerite)(also known as the last turnerite government) (minority government)
-1896-1897 (7th Abolitionist)
1897-1903 The Fourth War (Unionist invasion, pushes far south with early victories but loses to a sustained harassment campaign carried out by Gen. Julius Ghana against Unionist forces eventually driving them back to a status quo, this war also saw extensive naval warfare for the first time in conflicts between the Free Nations and the United States)
1897-1909 Fourth Dictatorship
-1897-1902 (7th Abolitionist)(Gen. Jesse Roscoe)(palace coup)
-1903-1909 (7th Abolitionist)(Gen. Julius Ghana)(pressured to resign)
1909-1942
-1909-1912 (7th Abolitionist)(Gen. Liberty Freeman)(great-grandson of Tom Freeman)
-1912-1915 (2nd New Brotherhood)
-1915-1918 (8th Abolitionist)
-1918-1921 (3rd New Brotherhood)
-1921-1924 (3rd New Brotherhood - re-elected)
-1924-1925 (4th African Brotherhood)(1st Socialist)
-1925-1927 (4th African Brotherhood - re-elected)
-1927-1930 (4th African Brotherhood - re-elected)
-1930-1933 (4th New Brotherhood)
-1933-1934 (4th New Brotherhood - re-elected but then collapsed over leadership debate after Chair Issac Bellows dies of stroke into New Brother (classical liberals) and the New Society Party (right wing anti-socialists))
-1934-1935 (9th Abolitionist (minority)(unelected, largest party left after 2nd NB schism))
-1935-1937 (5th African Brotherhood)
-1937-1940 (10th Abolitionist) (neutral in WW2)
-1940-1942 (6th African Brotherhood) (elected on promise to join Allies WW2)(USA which in this timeline is a small angry northern revanchfull country that hates the UK, joined axis in 1939)
1942-1948 SFN joined WW2, fighting almost entirely on the Americas Front alongside Canada, Columbia and British California against the United States.
1942-1948 (National Government, All Parties Co-alition under Abolitionist Dictator, not a dictatorship because it didn't call itself that)


OOC-

*(maybe Martin Delany? or Frederick Douglas?(OTL persons) the time line is to bit too early?)

Also, thoughts?

I'm not actually certain myself where the borders of the SFN-Union would be.
I'm thinking, Everything south of the Carolina-Virginia border? but not quite any actual state lines as its defined by who was holding what at the end of the war not state alliegances, so it might stretch up in the mountains and cut south elsewhere or etc?

Also, not covered in this blurb, because the US's troubles, it never expands west, Mexico retains some of its norther territories, Britain expands south along the west coast, eventually forming OTL BC. Alberta, Washington and northern Oregon into the Dominion of Columbia and Southern Oregon, Nevada and California into British California.
Probably Britain,or else France would take OTL's American pacific territories as well.
Without America to exist as a world power and monroe doctrine as well, the european powers mess with Latin America more than in OTL.

I wanted the title to be the first 100 Years of a Free Nation but I felt that was too long.
 
Top