The Heartlands Revolution

The Heartlands Revolution
---------------


portrait_luke_day.jpg

Luke Day (1786 - 1786)
Leader of the Massachusetts Rebellion

It was the Autumn of 1786 and life in the newly free United States was not a harmonious one. Without the British to unite the States in hatred, old rivalries began to surface and the Annapolis Convention of 1876 proved to be an utter disaster. Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia had failed to take any real interest, while the commissioners from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island were delayed in their attempts to reach the convention. Only to find on arrival that it had ended and they convention had concluded its recommendations to Congress without even considering their proposals. There also quickly had begun to grow a fear that people like Washington, Pickney, Madison and Franklin would see power relocated to a central Government in either Virginia or Pennsylvania, and the disaster of the Annapolis Convention did nothing to sway those fears.

To make matters worse for those in the North of the newly formed country, the boom years had ended swiftly and a financial recession had hit the New England. In August 1786 a group of over 200 marched on the Massachusetts Governor's Mansion to demand that they be afford the war pensions promised to them for their service in the Continental Army, however the demands of the poor veterans was passed off by Governor James Bowdoin. He had ordered that the States Militia escort the farmers back to their lands. Many within the Militia were outraged at their orders but carried them out none the less. Luke Day, horrified at what he say that day went before the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati arguing that the actions of Governor Bowdoin were an affront to the ideals of the Revolution. William Eustis, Vice President of the Society, and former Governor John Hancock also were outraged, enough to publicly scold Governor Bowdoin on the Massachusetts state legislature.

Yet the outrage of the political elites did little to stop the Governor who pushed ahead with his policies of heavy debt and back tax collection. Even neighbouring states began to worry at the zeal with which Governor Bowdoin was collecting taxes. His policies would come to a head in Northampton on August 29th 1786, when Daniel Shays and a well organised group of protesters would storm the Court House and raid Treasury spreading about the town over a months worth of collected taxes. Governor Bowdoin was outraged and ordered the immediate capture and imprisonment of Daniel Shays and his fellow protesters. General William Shepard, was tasked with the command of the Governor's private militia to arrest Shays. On September 1st Shepard finally caught up with Shays and presented him with a warrant for his arrest. Shays and his men refused and what would ensue would later be know as "Shepard's Cataclysm". Shepard, determined to get Shays ordered his men to attempt an arrest at night, but instead of capturing Shays it turned into an all out brawl with the death of Shays and 8 of his fellow protesters. Shepard, unaware of the consequences of his actions, buried him in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and informed the Governor and the State Legislator of the outcome of his interaction with Shays.

In its majority the Legislator took little interest, however William Eustis was outraged. He declared the actions of the Governor and Shepard as criminal and fellow State Legislator William Hull called the actions "impeachable offences". The Legislators ordered the Governor to come before the house to explain his actions, he merely refused. Days later protests broke out across Massachusetts, ransacking Courthouses across the state. It was at this point that Luke Day became the head of this so-called "rebellion". He had led protesters in the sacking of the Springfield Armory, which quickly turned his rag tag band of protesters into a well armed militia. It was here that James Warren wrote to the Continental Congress that "We are now in a state of Anarchy and Confusion bordering on Civil War. New Hampshire, Maine Territory and Rhode Island are all seeing similar uprising. Our nation may well fall before it has even begun."

Warren's letter was concerning enough, but it was followed up by a request for Continental Troops in a letter from Governor Bowdoin on September 12th. Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, John Langdon and Caleb Strong all spoke out against the idea of sending troops to Massachusetts in fear that it could look like imposition on the people of the states. Despite this the Congress would vote to send troops to Boston to bring peace back to Massachusetts. Nathaniel Gorham, a friend and ally of Governor Bowdoin, did not what to see the state fall into anarchy and so worked to ensure the Congress backed interventionist action. Gorham would soon become seen as a villain throughout all of New England.

As Luke Day's new "Farmer's Militia" gathered more and more support throughout Massachusetts, what seemed like minor revolts in Rhode Island and Maine Territory a month ago now seemed like a pattern. Continental Troops would arrive in Boston on November 8th to a sense of almost foreign invaders. Rufus Putnam was given command of the 1,200 strong force, in the hope his roots in Massachusetts would garner the army some support, but it did not. By the time Putnam had arrived the Massachusetts Government was so reviled by the people that almost a quarter of the State's Legislator had resigned led by William Eustis, yet none of them did take up arms with Day's protesters. Their resignations had allowed Bowdoin and Samuel Adams to pass the "Riot Act" suspending habeas corpus . The move would only result as a rallying call for Day and his movement.

Putnam's forces alongside, William Shepard and the Governor's Militia met at Taunton, where Day's forces had effective control over the town. On November 14th, Putnam tried to treat with Day and offered him and his fellow leaders amnesty on the condition they laid down their weapons. There was some prepared to accept a deal with Putnam, however any chance of it was ended when some of the Governor's militia attempted to break into the city and set it alight on the 16th of November. The orders had come directly from Shepard without the authority of Putnam, but Day and his men could not be convinced of Putnam's good faith. On 18th of November Putnam had considered pulling back from Taunton to regroup and re-consider their position. However Shepard demanded that Putnam march his troops into the city and fulfill the duty he was assigned to do. Reluctantly Putnam did march on the city, a move that left Day no choice but to open fire on the approaching army. The battle would last little over an hour, Day's troops were no match for the well train forces of Putnam. The event would become known as the "Massacre of Taunton", despite only 28 deaths and just over 100 wounded. The Massacre referred to the complete destruction of what seemed like another "people's rebellion". Day was killed during the fight and saw many of his fellow revolutionaries fled to the territory of Vermont. Putnam would write to Gorham in the coming days that he felt he had committed "acts so un-American in nature he did not deserve his rank or authority". Putnam would resign his commission and move to upper Maine Territory within a month. The actions of Putnam, Gorham, Bowdoin and Shepard would scare the State of Massachusetts and the ideals of the American Revolution throughout New England for years to come.

------------------------​

I haven't tended to do TL's more just stuff in Shared World. My First TL in a while, so we'll see how this goes hopefully well. It's based on a movement towards an Independent New England. Feel free to chip in with comment, criticisms, advice, general praise on the sheer awesomeness that it is..... really whatever. But i would prefer the later.
 
Last edited:
E3vQC70m.jpg

John Langdon (1787 - 1788)
Leader of the New England Secessionists


Across the States of New England and the Northeast, horror and dismay was expressed the actions of the Continental Congress, Rufus Putnam and Governor Bowdoin. Much of Massachusetts's political establishment was up in arms at outcome, of what was now being referred to as "Day's Rebellion". While the social unrest in Maine Territory, Vermont and New Hampshire had begun to calm, Massachusetts was still a powder keg waiting to explode. James Warren wrote to President Gorham that "New England's states, could well be in the eye of the storm. Calm for now but the destructive future is yet ahead for us." Gorham was alarmed by Warren's recounts of events in the Northeast, but was still occupied with trying to find ways to fund the tragically weak Central Government, and deal with many of the inter-state issues that were quickly emerging. Finally he decided to call a national convention in Philadelphia for the Spring of 1787, his hope was that the States could come together to amend the Articles of Confederation and begin to form what he wrote as a "more perfect union".

All States agreed to send delegates to the Philadelphia Convention in May, however before that occurred key political players in New England met in Concord New Hampshire to discuss the issues at play. Attending the meeting were representatives from the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. The meeting would become known as the "Concord Gathering". The meeting was organised by former New Hampshire Governor John Langdon, in response to fears that the Philadelphia Convention could potentially exacerbate the on-going unrest in the North East. Twenty-Six men attended in total, with key figures of the Revolution like Alexander Hamilton even present. Langdon's goal at the start of the gathering was to convince his fellow patriots that "the rights of the Northern States, had to be respected" against the views of the Slave states in the south. Many at the meeting agreed the Southern States had become too influential and the actions of Gorham was a violate of the Articles of the Confederation. William Eustis, surprised many at the Gathering when he openly spoke of secession, a view that had some level of support from other Massachusetts representatives. Alexander Hamilton argued against the folly of separation following a long war against the British State. Hamilton's State of New York had no suffered at all from the social unrest felt in recent months and was still strongly infavour of a strong Central US Government. However his fellow New York representative, John Lansing, Jr, was far more sympathetic to the ideals of Independent States inside a Union but stopped short of supporting Eustis's beliefs in secession. The "Concord Gathering" ended with nothing substantial agreed, while there was a clear majority for a weak central Government from the representatives neither could be convinces to fully support Hamilton or Eustis.

May came and delegates gathered for the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. All States invited had arrived in Philadelphia by May 25th, with the exception of New Hampshire. William Eustis, one of the Massachusetts delegates, argued for an adjournment until New Hampshire's arrival with the support of both New York and Connecticut's delegates, but the congress voted by majority to start proceedings despite all of New Hampshire's surrounding states voting for adjournment. This decision riled many of the New England delegates, with even Alexander Hamilton expressing his annoyance. One vote that did go Eustis's way however was the acceptance of Rhode Island's delegates. Neither their Legislature or Governor had appointed delegates, however Samuel Ward, Jr. and Edward Manton (Rhode Island's two representative's to the "Concord Gathering") arrived claiming to represent the votes of Rhode Island. They were allowed to participate with a slim majority of congress voting for it.

The Convention began with the election of a President, which George Washington was elected to unanimously. It then moved onto the discussion of "State Construction" and the methods that a new political structure would take. James Madison, the Virginia lead delegate, presented a plan advocating what would be known as "big state government". Smaller states found themselves rallying against the plans with New York's Robert Yates calling Madison's plan the "Tyranny of the South", this despite the fact that it would likely give New York State reasonable power. The Northeastern states rallied against the Madison plan for days, while the Southern and Central states argued its merits. The state of Delaware was the odd sheep in the pack as it consistently supported the Madison plan, despite its relative small size and population. Eventually William Paterson of New Jersey presented his own version of politically reconstruction, which began known as the "small state government". James Madison called the plans ludicrous and sought to gain the support of swing delegates in the Northeast that might back his own plan. Madison targeted Alexander Hamilton he having always favoured a strong central government that the Madison Plan could provide, and also Nathaniel Gorham and William Shepard of Massachusetts. William Eustis was fervently against the Madison Plan and in favour of the Paterson Plan, knowing Gorham and Shepard's distaste for Eustis he used it to convince them to vote for his plan.

For the next week the Congress debated the Madison and Paterson Plans, but the real debate was not to the Congress floor but in the backrooms. Madison had spent much of the week suring up support for his plan with the Southern Delegate and the few break-away New England delegates. On June 18th, Madison rose to the floor of the Congress and motioned for a vote on his and Paterson's plan. Paterson's plan easily fell to a defeat with all states South of New York and New Jersey voting against the plan. Then came the vote on Madison plan, it was carried by the congress delegates 30-24 with one abstention from Alexander Hamilton. Madison claimed this vote would act as a basis for a new Federal Government and be a "fair settlement for our United States of America". The north eastern states were outraged, not only had to vote been carried out without the say of New Hampshire's delegates, the majority of delegates from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey had all voted against this plan. Uproar started across the Congress and in New England, when word reached Governor George Clinton of New York he declared his state "would never sign a treaty that subdued the authority of the States", and former Governor John Hancock described Madison's plan as "a weight around New England's neck". Madison had hoped that some of the Northern States would fall in line as they moved to enhance his plan, but it only caused more anger. Even more so when Alexander Hamilton announced he had been lied to by Madison, claiming he was promised the plan would be amended to give the Executive more independence from the Legislative branch, and there would be a move towards a economic role for the Executive. Neither proposals emerged from Madison and Alexander swiftly turned his support to Eustis and the now growing discontent amongst the New England delegates.

Eventually on June 28th the New Hampshire delegates arrived, and with it came the strong voice of John Langdon. He had been kept up to date with the goings on at the Congress while the delegate traveled and arrived to make a speech condemning Madison and demanding a revote on the plan. Washington relinquished and ordered that a revote occur on the Madison plan. This time, it was a complete whitewash. Many of the Southern state delegates had become so outraged at the actions of Hamilton, Eustis and now Langdon that they voted for the Madison plan rather than place their name beside theirs. Every delegate from the states of New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with the exception of Shepard and Gorham who voted for Madison's Plan, vote against Madison. The vote ended 39 - 18 in favour of Madison plan with only one delegate from Delaware voting against the plan outside of the Northeastern States. That night Langdon hosted a caucus of all the Northeastern Delegates, Langdon announced to the group that he had changed his stance on New England secession. He now agreed with Eustis that it was likely the only option for the states. The 17 other delegates concurred with Langdon and that night departed for their respective states, intent on convincing other of secession. The next morning the only delegate remaining was Langdon, it has been agreed that Eustis and Hamilton were to divisive figures to be the face of the secessionist movement and it was decided that Langdon would deliver the Delegates response to the congress. Langdon announced to the congress that even though "all New England and all State owe their freedom to President Washington, that they will not remain in a confederation that seeks to impose the Tyranny of Madison upon the people of our great States." Langdon announced that the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut would be withdrawing from the Convention and would seek to gain popular support for withdrawal from the Articles of the Confederation.

The Convention floor exploded with outrage, William Shepard and Nathaniel Gorham announced that Massachusetts would never leave the Confederation, but others declared they could leave it they so wished and "whither on the vine". Madison remained quiet, while he had no wish to see the State leave the Confederation, in truth he was more concerned with the passage of his own plan. As the weeks went by word began to spread of the outcome of the Philadelphia Convention. Madison's plan was passed once again by the remaining states at the Convention. Nathaniel Gorham proposed that the Continental Army begin to prepare to potentially quell rebelling states, however George Washington was outraged at the idea that under his watch Americans would war with other Americans. The convention then fell into a debate over how the southern states would handle the secessionist plans of Langdon and his allies. The debate would have little chance to gain real traction as by July 11th the New York State Legislature, with the support of George Clinton declared its independence from the Articles of the Confederation and issued a rallying cry to all surrounding states to join with New York in freeing themselves from the "Tyranny of Madison". By the end of July, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey all declared their own Independence, while Rhode Island under the Governorship of John Collins issued a Declaration reaffirming its Independence saying "never once did we cede our hard fought free to Philadelphia or Richmond."

Massachusetts by August was the only Northeastern state to not have declared it's Independence. William Eustis, with will the support of William Hull, Caleb Strong and Elbridge Gerry convinced the State Legislative to declare Independence but Governor Bowdoin refused to allow the Declaration. He claimed that Massachusetts had signed the new Constitution of the United States of America, and that it was the 4th state to do so. In reality it was only Governor Bowdoin's signature that was on the Massachusetts document and therefore had not authority without the agreement of the State's Legislature. Every came to a head on August 3rd when Governor Bowdoin's private militia led by William Shepard broke down the doors of the State Legislature and took captive all secession supporting representatives. At this point the Governor had stepped to far, George Washington declared that only if Massachusetts vote for it, would it be allowed entry into the US Constitution. Governor Bowdoin was humiliated across the States and fled with Shepard and Gorham for Delaware believe they would find safe harbor their. The Massachusetts Legislature voted to make William Eustis the "acting Governor of Massachusetts" and voted for secession from the Articles of the Confederation.

On August 15th John Langdon called for a convention to take place in Albany, New York, to discuss the future of the Six newly independent states. In the South, Madison and Washington continued to purse the aim of ratifying to new US Constitution in all the remain states, hoping that once a formal Government could be established that it could convince the seceding states to return. In Albany on the 28th of August the Governor's of the newly independent state meet along with 3 representatives from each state. Also in attendance was representative's from the Vermont and Maine territories that were demanding recognition as independent states themselves. John Landgon was elected as the President of the Albany Convention unanimously, and quickly presented the idea of a newly created Union consisting of the six states and two territories. Vermont and Maine were defiant on the belief that they should gain statehood to any newly formed Union, in fear of the territories joining with the Madison Union, as it had now become known in the north, using the Treaty of Hartford as a basis New York, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts were able to agree a temporary agreement on boarders to be reviewed in Three Years time, when a more stable political environment would exist.

An agreement forged by Roger Sherman of Connecticut, William Paterson of New Jersey and John Langdon, molding the ideals of Hamilton and Paterson together to create a structure for a new Union. There would be a Bicameral system of Government, a Lower House where the Representatives would be elected by popular mandate and each state apportioned representative's by population size, and an upper house where each state would gain 3 representatives regardless of size appointed from the State's Legislature by the State Governor. Both houses would have the power to legislate on economic and trade laws as well as force the collection of taxes. A executive branch would be created, to be elected by electors from each state and each state apportioned electors by population size. However a majority of State Governor's could veto the election of any executive. Lastly an independent judiciary would also be created that would serve for life, to be appointed by the executive and approved by the State Legislatures. Come November the Albany Convention would be concluded and the State Legislatures around this soon to be created Union would vote on the agreement reached. By this point Madison and Washington had all but given up on the idea that the Northern States would rejoin the Union and instead started preparing for what might come. By June of 1788 all States in the South and signed the United States Constitution and in the North all State had signed the Commonwealth's Articles of Union. Now was born the two nations of the American Revolution, the United States of America and the Commonwealth of New England.

 
Last edited:
Top