Interlude
From: Notes on Governments – A Study of 18th Century Republics
Following the collapse of the First Republic 3 regional republics emerged, in roughly the north, middle, and south of the old country. These were: the Republic of New England, the United States of America (the 2nd Republic), and the Confederation of the Carolinas (popularly called just Carolina). There were also states that went independent (some temporarily), but it is the 3 new confederations that are of most interest to us right now. First, a brief overview.
Carolina
The Confederation of the Carolinas was the successor confederation to lest modify the failed Articles of Confederation. This was to prove less than completely satisfactory in the long run.
Carolina consisted of the states: North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They drew together as a way to help counter balance Virginia, as well as due to Georgia’s desperate concern for assistance in combating the Creeks, and of course, geography. Apparently thinking that the Articles of Confederation were not fatally flawed, but rather that a similar government could work if it involved a smaller number of states with more in common, Carolina made only a few (but significant) changes to the AoC.
The biggest change was undoubtedly that the Confederation Congress was given the power of taxation, that is to set obligatory taxes, and not just request money from the states. The taxes would still be actually collected by agents chosen and paid by the states however, which left some question to how effective this would be.
Members to the Confederation Congress would still be appointed by the state legislatures, with each state getting 5 to 8 members based upon their population (both free and slave) – a compromise between state equality and representation based solely on population. Members could serve for no more than 3 years out of six, and were always subject to recall by their state legislatures. The first session saw 5 representatives from Georgia, 6 from South Carolina, and 8 from North Carolina. A further improvement over the AoC government was that it only took a majority of Congress to pass legislation.
The Carolina government retained some of the serious flaws of the AoC however. Notably, the absence of a national executive or judiciary. In addition, western land claims, including South Carolina's negotiated from Georgia, were retained by the states, demonstrating the clear desire for East Coast interests to stay in domination of the Confederation. There would be no national capital, but Congress would vote on where the next session would meet.
New England
The Republic of New England was the successor confederation in the northeast section of the former country. Consisting originally of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, New England's new government made a much farther break from the old AoC than Carolina. It was a block based on largely similar economies, mutual protection, shared tradition of Congregationalism, and as always, geography. In addition, Massachusetts agreed to split Maine off as its own state in the formation of the new confederation.
The Federal Congress was divided into two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The senate had equal representation for every state (4) appointed by state legislatures, whereas in the House of Representatives the states would have one representative for every 40,000 (or part thereof) free people, with the exception that no state could have 50% of the seats. This saw the first House with 10 representatives from Massachusetts, 6 from Connecticut, 4 from New Hampshire, and 3 from Maine. Representatives would serve two years terms, and Senators would serve 5 year terms and could not serve consecutive terms.
A bare majority of both Houses would be needed to pass bills. Congress had the power to impose taxes, and the national government actually had the ability to collect them through an executive branch.
The Chief Executive was to be nominated by the House of Representatives and confirmed by the Senate. He would be responsible for overseeing the implementing of Congress' directives. The Chief Executive would not have a veto over legislation. He would serve a 2 year term, subject to removal by a majority of both Houses.
The New England national government also instituted a federal court, consisting of 7 judges, for the purposes of settling disputes between the states and between states and the national government. Judges were appointed for a 10 year term by the state supreme courts, with states taking turns in appointment by population (therefore the first court had 2 judges from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and 1 from Maine).
The meeting place for Congress, and thus the default national capital, would rotate between the state capitals until other plans were made.
United States
The successor confederation in the middle part of the country retained the name United States of America. It consisted of initially of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. In addition, the new state of Westsylvania was created from Pennsylvania and the Old Northwest. The states were those that did not defect from the old union, and shared geographical proximity and religious pluralism, and not necessarily much else. Although Pennsylvania was the dominate force in the group, Delaware and New Jersey needed the union as they were not particularity viable as independents, and Maryland's only other real option was subservience to Virginia.
Like the New England Congress, the USA Congress was divided into two houses and had the power to impose taxes. The Senate was the upper house, consisting of 3 members from each state, serving 4 year terms, with their method of appointment or election left up to their states. The lower house was the House of Representatives and had one member for every 30,000 free people (agreed to over Maryland's objection) or part thereof. Each state was guaranteed 3 representatives in the House, and a single state was linted to one-third of the total (a measure to blunt Pennsylvania’s dominance that they hoped would prove irrelevant as new states joined from the Old Northwest). The first House would see 3 representatives from Westsylvania and Delaware, 6 from New Jersey, 8 from Maryland, and 10 from Pennsylvania. A majority in each House would be necessary to pass bills.
The USA executive branch was to be headed by a 3 man executive council. The first member of which was elected by means of an electoral college where each state selects electors to cast votes for an executive. Each state retained the right to determine the method of choosing electors and each state had the right to select a number equal to their number of representatives in the Senate plus the number of representatives in the House of Representatives (or the number they would be if there were no cap on the number of reps in the House, if higher). The second member of the executive panel would then be selected by the House of Representatives with the provision that he must be a citizen of a different state than the first. The final member would then be appointed by the Senate with the provision that he must be a citizen of a state differing from the first two. All executive panel members would serve four year terms. The executive panel would oversee the implementation of Congress' bills and could veto legislation if all 3 members agreed.
A national court was also set up, similar to New England's, with 9 members who would be nominated by the Senate and confirmed by the Executive council (2 of 3 necessary) and would serve for life.
Philadelphia would serve as the national capital until plans could be determined to build a new capital district.
