Southern-Less USA 2.0: A Nation Torn Apart

Did someone kidnap the King, because it said "his abduction". Do you mean abdication?
Great chapter, though.
Yes, I meant abdication. Using abduction has unintentionally hilarious implications but nevertheless (which I do not condone), I just changed it so it's more serious. And thank you very much for your appreciation.
 
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Anyway, with my other two TLs update, it is now probable that this one will be updated before the end of 2021. This one will have a major turn of events, so stay tuned.
 
Alright, I have a solid direction with what I want to do with the next chapter, and there will also be another twist.
The presidency of George Washington may not have a happy ending.
 
Chapter Four: The End of The United States?
Chapter Four: The End of The United States?

640px-WhiskeyRebellion.jpg

After James McFarlane’s funeral on July 18, radical leaders like David Bradford emerged. A group he headed robbed the U.S. mail as it left Pittsburgh to find several letters condemning them. In response, he called for an assembly meeting on August 1 at Braddock's Field, about 8 miles east of Pittsburgh. About 7,000 people attended, primarily consisting of the poor and landless. Some radicals wanted to attack Pittsburgh directly, with there also being discussions of declaring independence from the United States and joining with Spain or Great Britain. Ultimately, what came of Pittsburgh was just the burning of Major Kirkpatrick’s barns. President Washington was confronted with armed insurrection all across Appalachia, but with the most intense activity in western Pennsylvania. While he wanted to maintain governmental authority, he did not want to alienate the public, thus he went to his cabinet for advice. Except for Edmund Randolph, the entire cabinet recommended using force, especially Alexander Hamilton. He thus did both. Aiming to set an example for all of Appalachia, he raised up a militia army and sent a number of commissioners to meet with the Western Pennsylvania rebels. Privately, however, Washington doubted that the commissioners would be able to accomplish much and believed that a military expedition was needed. A Supreme Court Justice was required, under the Militia Act of 1792, to certify this state of rebellion, which was done by Justice James Wilson on August 4.

Three days later, Washington regretfully announced that a militia would be called out to suppress the most intense rebellion and indirectly suppress the rest. On September 25, Washington issued a proclamation summoning the militias of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and Virginia. There were a few problems with that, though. Few men volunteered, so a draft was used to fill out the militia. Draft evasion was widespread in Appalachian states, even in areas east of the Mountains (including Philadelphia which was hurt by a lack of direct trade and shipping route to the Atlantic). Several counties in eastern Virginia saw armed resistance and there were anti-draft riots in western Maryland and many parts of New York. Second, George Washington had underestimated how widespread the Whiskey Rebellion was outside of western Pennsylvania, which naturally led to even fewer people accepting the draft. Third, the state government of Pennsylvania itself had other plans in store which required all the resources it could get. On September 30, Washington left the capital at Philadelphia to review the progress of the military expedition. He initially traveled to Reading. After that, he moved on to Womelsdorf, then Harrisburg, Bedford, and Fort Cumberland (in Maryland). It was in his travels when he realized he had underestimated how far the Whiskey Rebellion had reached. He feared that the rebellion may soon turn into civil war and break the fragile Union apart for good.

Unfortunately for Pennsylvania's government based out of Lancaster, it discovered there was so much discontent on both sides of the Appalachians that there would not be enough manpower to successfully carry out the plan to invade the Federation of Delaware Bay. The intended goal was to make Philadelphia have direct trade access to the sea again but doing so during the undeclared Whiskey War was later deemed too risky. At the time the federal army had reached western Pennsylvania, they had absorbed how widespread the rebellion was and how difficult it would be to put down. Then, the unthinkable happened. One of the rebels of western Pennsylvania shot and killed president George Washington in the heat of combat in October 1794. In his place came John Adams, who was sworn in at Philadelphia the next day. He was no friend of the Whiskey Rebellion, given his stronger stance on military action against the rebels, and even wanting to increase the tax. This only served to anger the opponents of the Whiskey Tax. Those who were simply political opponents soon took up arms. Resentment became aggression. By the end of the month, almost everywhere in Appalachia was in a full-scale rebellion. President Adams called upon residents in coastal areas to enlist in the Federal Army, especially those in New England. But even they weren’t fully content with the situation since no Delaware Bay meant lost shipping revenues for coastal regions. In Adam’s birthplace of New England, fewer enrolled than anticipated.

John Adams began encouraging European powers, most notably the British, to supply weapons and funds for the Federal Army. Many states considered this an overreach of federal authority. Protests and riots occurred across the Union as the British and New England continued to provide supplies. All in all, there were some 2,000 deaths that were linked to the undeclared Whiskey War, most of which were civilians. Come the 1796 presidential election, the popularity of incumbent president Adams was mixed, with the mercantile urban areas favoring Adams and the Federalist party while the agrarian rural Appalachians favored Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party. At first, it looked like Jefferson would win but Adams ultimately won in the Electoral College by just five votes. For many states, this was the last straw. Two states hit hardest by the Whiskey War, Kentucky and Virginia, announced they would not tolerate Adams overextending his power any longer and that the only remedy was to leave the Union. John Breckinridge of Kentucky and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia made declarations for their states in February and March 1797 respectively. Without a connection to the rest of the country and nothing legally preventing secession, North Carolina and newly-admitted Tennessee would soon exit that May. Pennsylvania then joined in that summer, using it as an excuse to invade and annex the Federation of Delaware Bay. The United States had only six states remaining.
 
After James McFarlane’s funeral on July 18, radical leaders like David Bradford emerged. A group he headed robbed the U.S. mail as it left Pittsburgh to find several letters condemning them. In response, he called for an assembly meeting on August 1 at Braddock's Field, about 8 miles east of Pittsburgh. About 7,000 people attended, primarily consisting of the poor and landless. Some radicals wanted to attack Pittsburgh directly, with there also being discussions of declaring independence from the United States and joining with Spain or Great Britain. Ultimately, what came of Pittsburgh was just the burning of Major Kirkpatrick’s barns. President Washington was confronted with armed insurrection all across Appalachia, but with the most intense activity in western Pennsylvania. While he wanted to maintain governmental authority, he did not want to alienate the public, thus he went to his cabinet for advice. Except for Edmund Randolph, the entire cabinet recommended using force, especially Alexander Hamilton. He thus did both. Aiming to set an example for all of Appalachia, he raised up a militia army and sent a number of commissioners to meet with the Western Pennsylvania rebels. Privately, however, Washington doubted that the commissioners would be able to accomplish much and believed that a military expedition was needed. A Supreme Court Justice was required, under the Militia Act of 1792, to certify this state of rebellion, which was done by Justice James Wilson on August 4.

Three days later, Washington regretfully announced that a militia would be called out to suppress the most intense rebellion and indirectly suppress the rest. On September 25, Washington issued a proclamation summoning the militias of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and Virginia. There were a few problems with that, though. Few men volunteered, so a draft was used to fill out the militia. Draft evasion was widespread in Appalachian states, even in areas east of the Mountains (including Philadelphia which was hurt by a lack of direct trade and shipping route to the Atlantic). Several counties in eastern Virginia saw armed resistance and there were anti-draft riots in western Maryland and many parts of New York. Second, George Washington had underestimated how widespread the Whiskey Rebellion was outside of western Pennsylvania, which naturally led to even fewer people accepting the draft. Third, the state government of Pennsylvania itself had other plans in store which required all the resources it could get. On September 30, Washington left the capital at Philadelphia to review the progress of the military expedition. He initially traveled to Reading. After that, he moved on to Womelsdorf, then Harrisburg, Bedford, and Fort Cumberland (in Maryland). It was in his travels when he realized he had underestimated how far the Whiskey Rebellion had reached. He feared that the rebellion may soon turn into civil war and break the fragile Union apart for good.

Unfortunately for Pennsylvania's government based out of Lancaster, it discovered there was so much discontent on both sides of the Appalachians that there would not be enough manpower to successfully carry out the plan to invade the Federation of Delaware Bay. The intended goal was to make Philadelphia have direct trade access to the sea again but doing so during the undeclared Whiskey War was later deemed too risky. At the time the federal army had reached western Pennsylvania, they had absorbed how widespread the rebellion was and how difficult it would be to put down. Then, the unthinkable happened. One of the rebels of western Pennsylvania shot and killed president George Washington in the heat of combat in October 1794. In his place came John Adams, who was sworn in at Philadelphia the next day. He was no friend of the Whiskey Rebellion, given his stronger stance on military action against the rebels, and even wanting to increase the tax. This only served to anger the opponents of the Whiskey Tax. Those who were simply political opponents soon took up arms. Resentment became aggression. By the end of the month, almost everywhere in Appalachia was in a full-scale rebellion. President Adams called upon residents in coastal areas to enlist in the Federal Army, especially those in New England. But even they weren’t fully content with the situation since no Delaware Bay meant lost shipping revenues for coastal regions. In Adam’s birthplace of New England, fewer enrolled than anticipated.

John Adams began encouraging European powers, most notably the British, to supply weapons and funds for the Federal Army. Many states considered this an overreach of federal authority. Protests and riots occurred across the Union as the British and New England continued to provide supplies. All in all, there were some 2,000 deaths that were linked to the undeclared Whiskey War, most of which were civilians. Come the 1796 presidential election, the popularity of incumbent president Adams was mixed, with the mercantile urban areas favoring Adams and the Federalist party while the agrarian rural Appalachians favored Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party. At first, it looked like Jefferson would win but Adams ultimately won in the Electoral College by just five votes. For many states, this was the last straw. Two states hit hardest by the Whiskey War, Kentucky and Virginia, announced they would not tolerate Adams overextending his power any longer and that the only remedy was to leave the Union. John Breckinridge of Kentucky and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia made declarations for their states in February and March 1797 respectively. Without a connection to the rest of the country and nothing legally preventing secession, North Carolina and newly-admitted Tennessee would soon exit that May. Pennsylvania then joined in that summer, using it as an excuse to invade and annex the Federation of Delaware Bay. The United States had only six states remaining.
Good update, but I do have one question. With the United States being, from my understanding, now only relegated to New England and New York, who is controlling the Northwestern Territory since the nation is now cut off from it?
 
Good update, but I do have one question. With the United States being, from my understanding, now only relegated to New England and New York, who is controlling the Northwestern Territory since the nation is now cut off from it?
There are quite a few forts in the territory. What if the local American forces were forced to work with the local settlers and declare independence? I like the idea of a rough frontier "Republic of the Ohio/Ohio Confederation" being forged in that territory And it could continue independence by the simple fact that Virginia and Delaware Bay, and to a lesser extent weakened America, all have a claim on the land. Independence for the land would mean that nobody else gets it.
 
There are quite a few forts in the territory. What if the local American forces were forced to work with the local settlers and declare independence? I like the idea of a rough frontier "Republic of the Ohio/Ohio Confederation" being forged in that territory And it could continue independence by the simple fact that Virginia and Delaware Bay, and to a lesser extent weakened America, all have a claim on the land. Independence for the land would mean that nobody else gets it.
I wonder if New England would restart their claim on the Northwestern territories, or at least Michigan (which was mostly settled by New Englanders), since it still had access to the Great Lakes via New York.
 
Good update, but I do have one question. With the United States being, from my understanding, now only relegated to New England and New York, who is controlling the Northwestern Territory since the nation is now cut off from it?
Don't the British still occupy a bunch of the forts in the region? Northwest Territory may end up under de facto British control.
 
Good update, but I do have one question. With the United States being, from my understanding, now only relegated to New England and New York, who is controlling the Northwestern Territory since the nation is now cut off from it?
I will get to that in either the next update or the update after that one. It’s on my agenda.
 
Here is an early Christmas present and I promise I will be back in 2022 to continue this TL. In the meantime, here is a little survey I have completed since we're at a critical turning point.

Sadly, this is one vote I will have to abstain on, since I don't know enough about early US history to comment.

My only contribution is "please sir, may I have some more (TL)?"
 
I'm having trouble deciding what to do with a couple of states since they could really go either way, so here is a second poll within 24 hours.
I voted for independence not for any logical reason, but just because as an east Tennesseean, I feel NC-TN should be united, and I also think we’d make for a fascinating country. It’s up to the vote though.

That said I have waited a long time for a Tennessee wank of sorts.
 
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