alternatehistory.com

Fall of the Republic: 1783-1792

The Beginning
When President George Washington went to Newburgh he did so in hopes of saving the Republic which he had worked so hard to forge. However his speech at Newburgh was unable to rally enough support from the troops and one soldier shot the President. Washington fell to the ground and was attended to by the nearest Doctor. The soldier was killed and the Newburgh plotters swore allegiance to the President through thick and thin. The shooting of Washington led to a belief among the politicians of America that America’s Cincinnatus was unable to lead. Although he retained support from Federalists this was not enough and the Articles of Confederation were kept. This weak form of government and the lack of a leader led to a halt in the ceremonies at the Treaty of Paris. Eager as he was to save the Republic, Washington was in no condition to do any such thing. The bullet wound became infected an was a source of great pain to the President with no power. George became more and more friendly with Alexander Hamilton, his former under officer. Hamilton was eager to unite the States under a firm constitution and his chance came when Washington, after a feverish dream, believed it was their duty to save the Government. Although no one is sure what Washington saw in the dream, sources say that he saw Cincinnatus who told him his job was not yet done. So he ordered Hamilton to organize a National Army and force the Congress to sign the Constitution. The forced republic had begun.

American Civil War: 1784-1786

The American Civil War was the result of the dissenting congressmen. Several men who had initially supported the Federal Republic, like John Adams, were against the new forced republic, allied to long time supporters of a confederation style republic, like Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and Adams were caught by government supporters early on and asked to voice their public support for President Washington. They both said no and were executed on the same day in Phialdelphia. At this point all real power was in the hands of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton ordered the National Army to meet the rebel army which was being formed in New England.

This army, led by Samuel Adams, met the government forces at Albany, New York in the Battle of Albany. The government forces were able to defeat the rebels who backed off to the North in a retreat to the unrecognized Vermont Republic. To the south an army formed under Andrew Pickens defeated a government force led by Horatio Gates at the Battle of Charlotte in North Carolina. Pickens’s army advanced to Salem, North Carolina where Gates was able to halt the flow of the rebels. After the north was secured by Field Marshal Hamilton, leader of the National Armed Forces, a large force was sent to back up the weakend force led by Horatio Gates. Arriving in April of 1785 the reinforcements were able to defeat Pickens in the Battle of Salem and force the rebels southward. The rebel troops became more and more weary and derserters became more common. The last battle of the war was the Siege of the Mountains which lasted into February 1786. This siege was devastating on rebel moral and led to the surrender of rebel forces under Andrew Pickens on February 17th, 1786.

Vermont War: June, 1786-Febuary, 1787

After the defeat of the rebels in the south Hamilton turned the governments head torwards the Republic of Vermont, which remained a thorn in the side of the United States. Rebel leader Samuel Adams and the Army of Massachusetts had escaped to Vermont and continued to threaten the legitimacy to the Government of the United States. President Washington signed the War declaration and the Army inavded Vermont. The War was characterized by a long guerilla campaign against the American invaders leading to violent strikes by US Troops against the populace of Vermont. However the US could not find Samuel Adams and after a long Campaign retreated.

Consolidation: 1787-1793

After the wars it had endured the US sunk into a state of stability. The British finally signed the Treaty of Paris after a delayed period where in they hoped the US would collapse. However they forced the US to respect the territorial sovereignty of the Vermont Republic. The US begrudgingly accepted the terms. A huge blow to the US came when Founding Father Benjamin Franklin remained in France rather than return to the United States. He claimed that he no longer supported America as it was.

Hamilton using his now large influence forced Congress to accept his plan, where in the House of Representatives and Senate were under his specifications and completely subservient to the Federal Government led by President Washington. The first act of the new Senate was to give plots of land to all loyal soldiers who served in the Civil War in the Western Territories. This allowed the US to settle new territories with people who were friendly to the government. Another act of the government was the order to build a Capital City on the border between Virginia and Maryland on the Potomac River, Washington City. Designed to be a Neo-Classical monument to the United States it took quite some time to actually build the City with intial building beginning in 1789. With the addition of the Western Territories came the problem of the Native population already there. The Government became very split on the issue until they agreed that several of the strongest Natives would be given Sovereignty and would be independent of American law. The Creek, Cherokee and Mohawks were given independent Cheifdoms to control. The Mohawks were given land on the nothern part of the Michigan Peninsula. This compromise gave most of northern Georgia and northwest Georgia to the Cherokees and southern West Georgia to the Creek. All other Indians were forced to move West or North. The settlment of the US proceded without a hitch and the US was advancing until the next fever Dream.

OOC: Its a very rough time line and Im looking to give it some more flesh so these first updates will be very bare bones.
Top