The Price of Dreams

Lecture Notes Part 1
*There is a murmur as the audience settles into their seats. The murmur begins to die down as the professor emerges from the wings and lays his notes on the table. There is still the quiet murmur of some as he takes a long sip from his water bottle and finally sets it down. He reorganizes his notes and looks up at the audience and smiles. He taps his mike once and clears his throat. The murmur dies instantly.*


Thank you all for attending today. I know that to some of you this lecture is merely waning on past issues and more ‘what ifs’ than actual fact, but I assure you that this lecture may hopefully alleviate your fears of boredom. Today we are going to be studying that age old phrase that holds so much ire for modern young people. Of course most of you should know that I am referring to the scourge of the 1800’s, Manifest Destiny. That old belief of America’s right to the whole of the North American continent and the inherent right, well the near religious belief, that America was all of North America and not just one nation on the continent. We today know that we have paid the price for such foolishness and hubris on the part of our fellow man.

That being said, it is important we now look back on when this all began. Wa-a-y back in the 1840’s just before the Democratic National Convention leading up to the election of 1844…

-Excerpt “The Price of Dreams” lecture by Professor Abraham Blake, University of Salt Lake City-

May 26th 1844, Baltimore

Dear Mrs. Sarah Polk,

I regret to inform you of a terrible accident involving your husband a day previous. Your husband was riding to meet members of the Democratic Party for the convention when his horse was spooked from under him and he fell from it striking his head against the street. He did not awaken immediately after the accident nor did he respond to attempts to wake him. We immediately rushed him to the local doctor and attempted to have him revived. The doctor said that he may be dead. It was only after fitful stirrings a few minutes later that we were sure he was alive. At present I am unaware of how serious the condition is but I will continue to keep you informed.
Yours sincerely,

Andrew[1]


[1] This is a character completely of my own invention for the express purpose of writing this letter.
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Greetings! This is a TL that I was plugging away at recently when I began thinking about Manifest Destiny and some of the problems it might pose for the United States if it went too far shall we say. This is going to go into a different Mexican war and a much different Civil war for now which is what I am concentrating on. I may be slow updating due to other commitments but I hope I can have people enjoying this TL.

Any thoughts and comments are always welcome.
 
Democratic Convention of 1844

The Convention of 1844 was an interesting affair politically. The Democrats were increasingly split on issues that related to the North or to the South. Tensions remained high between the two sides of the Democratic power base as the ever divisive issue of slavery managed to boil to the top in some of the many intense debates. There were many who were arguing over the issue of expansion. Much of this focused on the question of Ohio or into Mexico. Many wanted to expand into Ohio and latch on to popular expansionist sentiment, others saw Ohio as not being ambitious enough. The popular opinion among the public was expansion into Mexico and many in the party agreed that this was the sentiment that could be used to bring them to victory. The only problem was, which candidate to choose?

The issue was narrowed after the runner, former governor of Tennessee James K. Polk, suffered a fall from his horse and would remain in a coma for two months. This left only six candidates:

Former President, Martin Van Bruen.

Senator Lewie Cass of Michigan

Former Vice President, Richard M. Johnson

Senator James Buchannan of Pennsylvania

Secretary of State, John C. Calhoun

Senator Levy Woodbury of New Hampshire

These six candidates were each different in their style of campaign and in their ideological goals. Calhoun was unabashedly pro-slave and the man advocating the goals of the South while Van Bruen was contrary to many popular sentiments as he was against the annexation of Texas and expansionist sympathies in general and was very apathetic on the issue of slavery. Lewie Cass however was extremely pro expansionist and played upon the popular sympathies of the public. Meanwhile James Buchannan toed the line but was an underwhelming speaker. There was a general deadlock between the candidates which continued for three days until finally votes were cast. The first six rounds were inconclusive with no candidate taking the lead. In the seventh and eight rounds Cass, who was seen as the most relatable and having the right charisma and views on current issues, was taking the clear lead. Finally in the tenth round of voting he had taken a solid lead and was nominated as the Democratic candidate. He appealed to Northern Democrats through his views on annexation and appealed to the South because of his lax opinion on slavery, preferring to allow others to vote on it.

Winning this nomination Cass was assumed to be the man who would sweep a victory over the Whig Party in the coming election. The Democratic platform focused primarily on the popular sentiment of annexation and using Calhoun’s provocatory letter to Richard Pakenham regarding Texas as a rallying cry and justification for the expansionist agenda. Only time would tell whether this would prove to be enough to carry the election.
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Sorry if this post seems a bit dry :eek: I'm a little stumped when writing politics and I'm pretty sure it shows :p regardless I hope this is a passing explanation for how the election might develop.

Cass vs. Clay who will win?

Thoughts and comments are always welcome.
 
Lecture Notes 2
*Professor Blake continues after taking a long sip of water*

Of course the election of 1844 was essential to the development of future American politics. It was not simply some passing election that history should gloss over. When one examines the platforms and the politicians that each of these parties put forward we can see it as a very early indicator of things to come in America’s history. It is the trend of current historians to paint America’s past issues as a sort of ‘bolt from the blue’ as though our trials and tribulations were completely and utterly unexpected. I will be the first one to tell you that this is not the case. Indeed many contemporary scholars of the time would agree with this view.

But I get ahead of myself. Yes, the election of 1844 is a great example of the hubris of this way of thinking. On the side of the Democrats the slogan of the party was clear and simple. Manifest destiny was the norm! They firmly upheld the belief that America had the superior claim to all of the Oregon territory and that any British claim was irrelevant. They also upheld that the annexation of Texas was a just a legal action for the United States to follow. Indeed Cass was adamant that the United States proceed with the forthwith annexation of the territory consequences be damned. Then you have on the other side of the fence the Whig party. The Whigs were committed to slow and careful expansion and were against any outright policy of annexation. Imagine what the world might have been if Henry Clay had been elected? But sadly it was not to be. The only ammunition Clay has to throw at the pro-annexation Cass was charges of supporting the ever contentious issue of slavery. Cass managed to deflect these claims by backing the claim that the United States had the right to all of Oregon Territory and charged his opponents with being ‘slow and against the ideals of the people’.

I should make this clear, he says ‘against the ideals of the people’; think about that ladies and gentlemen. ‘Against the ideals of the people’ this is what a danger a tyranny of the majority can be. It was the regular American people, not some shadowy government conspiracy, nor a military agenda that was being followed, rather the whim of the majority of the voting electorate. It was the view of the mainly American populace that this was the right action! Do you think this would happen again today if the politicians were given the chance? You bet it would! But this is beside the point, I apologize for rambling.

In any event the people got what they wanted. The message of expansion and annexation proved to be so successful that Clay was forced to change his stance on the issue of Texas. This had the effect of losing a victory in Tennessee as he was seen as not decisive enough on the issue. The vote became divided between the Whigs as issues of ideology split them. This might have been a narrow victory for Clay otherwise which may have tipped the scales making it a closer election, instead it was an overwhelming victory for Cass. And so on March fifth eighteen-forty-five Lewie Cass was declared the eleventh president of the United States. Soon he would begin to push the issues that were demanded of the general public.

-Excerpt “The Price of Dreams” lecture by Professor Abraham Blake, University of Salt Lake City

Boston Herald, March 5th 1845

Lewie Cass Inaugurated as President!

In a solemn ceremony today formed Senator Lewie Cass was inaugurated as the President Elect of the United States of America. On the steps of the White House he took his solemn vows and promised he would move the country forward on its next great expansion. It was his aim, he said, to expand the country “from the Atlantic to the Pacific no matter the cost!” Then he proceeded to a luncheon with members of his cabinet.
Electoral College 1844 revised.png
Outcome of the 1844 election by state. Numbers represent #of votes in the electoral college

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Ok so here is the latest installment of my latest TL. A new and different president and some new actions by him will follow.


I promise there will be a bit on war and politics in the next couple posts. We are fast approaching the Mexican War :)


Until my next post, comments and criticism is encouraged.

Electoral College 1844 revised.png
 
Oh, excellent. I've always been angered by expansionist alt-USAs somehow faring perfectly. This should be refreshing, satisfying, and enjoyable. Please do continue and don't let this die.
 
Oh, excellent. I've always been angered by expansionist alt-USAs somehow faring perfectly. This should be refreshing, satisfying, and enjoyable. Please do continue and don't let this die.

Thank you :) I plan to keep this up but I will mostly going by incriments so It may be a little slow going :p

And if your sig is correct on flag making I may be asking for your expertise later on as this goes.
 
Lecture Notes 3
Now war did not immediately break out over the Mexican territories it is not that simple of a jump to make. First president Cass was inaugurated, he picked his cabinet and it would be many months until any actual fighting started.

It is important to note however, that before the war itself began there had been a number of covert attempts by America to buy the territory it had been seeking. In June of 1845 Cass has sent a representative to attempt to purchase Texas, as well as Neuvo Mexico and Alta California for a staggering twenty five million dollars! That is a lot of money my friends! However, Mexico was unwilling to pay for such a thing as it was considered an insult to national pride. Nor would it be feasible for the very unstable government of Mexico to do so. This is a country that was in its infancy of democracy, there were coups, counter-coups, revolutions and assassination. The very definition of near anarchy. There may not have been an extremely stable government in Mexico but there was at least a sense that Mexico was itself a nation state, which was pivotal to the country’s survival.

In the meantime as negotiations floundered, the Mexican government grew evermore unstable and the tensions rose, there was yet another issue hounding President Cass’s administration. The Oregon border dispute was still in full effect and with American posturing in Texas the British were negotiating hard. Since 1818 the region had been jointly administered, but the real power in the region lay with the British fur trappers who were making a booming business, a business so good that some American settlers began to settle in what was firmly British territory. Though the area was being slowly settled some said it was only a matter of time before American settlers simply outnumbered the British enough to outright annex it. This was in fact, exactly what Cass believed. He had no great desire to go to war over that far northern territory and nor did the British. Cass was content to let negotiations continue but as tensions with Mexico mounted it was a sure thing that he would have to do something about it, sooner or later. Then with the acceptance of Texas to the Union in December Cass’s attention was again turned south.

The annexation of Texas caused a national uproar in Mexico especially as the government demanded the Rio Grande border be included in the new state. There were grumblings and threats of war but not much could be done until a more stable government could be formed. This would occur over the winter of 45-46, but in that time another boiling point appeared. This time in California. The Mexican presence there was mostly through the eight thousand Californios and allied Indian tribes. There had been a steady stream of American settlers coming into the territory and that winter an enterprising young explorer appeared in California with a number of armed Americans, alarmed the local authorities called for reinforcements from Mexico. What is remarkable is that the Mexican government actually did manage to send nearly four hundred troops to California, but they would not arrive until the war proper had begun. In the meanwhile these Americans were ordered to leave but instead built a fort and raised the American flag. The local garrison leader Jose Castro, in direct violation of the governors orders, surrounded the fort and demanded the Americans surrender. In a perilous position and surrounded by hostile forces, the plucky American adventurers were forced to surrender and were arrested and taken to Yerba Buena (what to modern listeners is San Jose).

Word of this would not reach the US government until war proper but it would have an impact. Meanwhile the winter came and went and in eighteen forty-six tensions came to a head. The US has sent over three thousand soldiers to the border under General Zachary Taylor to defend it against a Mexican attack and were actively intruding in Mexican territory. The current government was a military one, run by the often at odds generals. When Zachary Taylor lead a one hundred man patrol into the region to scout locations for a new temporary outpost, he was ambushed by over two thousand Mexican men. It is now known that they had been ordered into the territory earlier in order to-


*the Professor coughs and holds up a hand. He adjusts his glasses and takes a sip of water then moves a page on his notes. After a moment he continues.*

Yes, um, these two thousand men had been ordered into the territory to monitor American movements and to curtail any attempts to advance past their current positions. Seeing a troop of over one hundred men and a ranking officer was too much for them to pass up[1]. In the short sharp skirmish, seventy Americans were killed including General Taylor. In panic the remaining troops fled to Fort Texas and dispersed the charging troops with their guns. This gave Mexico no choice but to declare war on the United States[2]. In the week after the battle a further thirty-six hundred men were dispatched to besiege Fort Texas. Taylor’s death left Major John Brown as the ranking officer at Fort Texas while Taylor’s second in command, Colonel David E. Twiggs scrambled to organize his forces.

Word reached Cass of the incident he received near unanimous support from Congress to declare war on Mexico. The nation seeing it as an attack on American sovereign soil rallied around the cause and began to mobilize itself for war. In Mexico similar actions were underway. Each side geared itself for war, and what we now know as the Mexican American War began.

-Excerpt “The Price of Dreams” lecture by Professor Abraham Blake, University of Salt Lake City

[1] ITTL the Mexican troops attacked Taylor on April 29th before he departed Fort Texas. Though as IOTL the Mexican soldiers were a little to jumpy and jumped the gun by attacking US forces.

[2] This is merely a modern perception by modern American historians, the details leading up to the attack and declaration are much more complicated, especially from the chaotic point of view of the Mexican government, but more on that in the next post.

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So here is the latest post and probably the only one for the next few days as I get busy on some homework. I hope my format of a professor's lecture isn't too confusing and I hope that this provides a good read for people here :) And as promised the war has begun and will be expanded upon more as it continues.

Comments and criticism is welcome of course. Enjoy!
 
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Foreshadowing an Oregon war I suppose?

Anyway,it will be really interesting to see a weaker US in a timeline that doesn't revolve around the CSA, can't wait for the next update!
 
Some amount of plausibility is appreciated, yeah :p

But with a POD this late, I'm really curious how you're going to manage to crush the American sense of Manifest Destiny.

TTL is not so much about crushing the sense of Manifest destiny as it is showing the unfortunate implications that pursuing that kind of policy this might have had in the long run for the United States especially with the American political climate being what it was at the time.

They were a young country and let us just say that Imperial Over Reaching doesn't need to come from a well established empire...
 
The local garrison leader Jose Castro, in direct violation of the governors orders, surrounded the fort and demanded the Americans surrender. In a perilous position and surrounded by hostile forces, the plucky American adventurers were forced to surrender and were arrested and taken to Yerba Buena (what to modern listeners is San Castro).
The Pope made Castro a saint? ???? Even if that WERE the case, it's be San Jose, not San Castro.
 
Small nitpick about that electoral map.

Tennessee was one of the safest Whig states in the country. Even Polk, a Tennessean himself, narrowly lost it, and in 1852 it was one of only four states carried by Winfield Scott. No way is Cass going to carry it.
 
The Pope made Castro a saint? ???? Even if that WERE the case, it's be San Jose, not San Castro.

No he isn't officially a Saint in the Church :p It is more of a local nickname that stuck, I will be explaining that later. Thank you for your correction though I'll fix that.

Small nitpick about that electoral map.

Tennessee was one of the safest Whig states in the country. Even Polk, a Tennessean himself, narrowly lost it, and in 1852 it was one of only four states carried by Winfield Scott. No way is Cass going to carry it.

I was thinking that since it was lost by such a narrow margin it could possibly go the other way (especially with the annexation issue being divisive). Though if that isn't realistic I would like to hear what you think would be a better state for Cass to carry. I am trying to map out the next two elections and I was planning on it returning to Whig status in those two but having the Whigs lose Kentucky in '52.
 
The Mexican declaration of war on the United States was not, as many American academics are overenthusiastic to declare, an act of aggression. In reality the information that had worked its way back to Mexico City was only fragmentary and (in this author’s opinion) a face saving measure by the commander of the troops to ensure he did not face reprimand for being unable to control his troops. Thus the group of generals currently in control of Mexico City knew only some very contradictory information. They were informed an American force had engaged the local commander and had been routed. Pursuing those soldiers he was fired upon by fortifications illegally erected in Mexican territory. The local commander thus assumed this was an act of provocation and proceeded to surround the enemy fortification and demand their surrender. So, to the Mexican authorities, they believed they had been attacked, and in accordance with Mexican policy at the time, declared war.

This can be seen as woeful ignorance on the part of the Mexican government at the time. Firstly they believed they had just cause for the war (they did not) they also believed they could easily repel the Americans as they outnumbered them (this is true, at the time they did outnumber the Americans but the generals had failed to realize that the Americans had the ability to funnel more troops to the area) and finally they believed that they would simply require a quick offensive to force the Americans from their territory.

Unfortunately they could not have been more wrong.

-excerpt from “Mexico’s Sorrow: The Mexican-American War” by Miguel Salazar

Lecture Notes 4

Some modern historians like to portray the war as having come unexpectedly. This was the prevailing view for many years, however, some now say that President Cass was looking for a reason to go to war. His posturing in the over the border and blatant incursions into Mexican territory can be seen as nothing but an attempt to coerce Mexico into war. Despite what apologists from latter years have said, I am of the personal opinion that without American expansionist tendencies, and more importantly the election of President Cass, there would never have been an Mexican-American war.

Now, as to the war itself, despite each side declaring war at the onset only Mexico was in the position to fully prosecute in in May 1846. Will a full five thousand troops in the region they outnumbered the American forces, and after a short siege captured the American Fort Texas on May 7th. This was a major blow to American morale in the region, almost as bad as the death of General Taylor. Taylor’s death had led to a near vacuum at the top of the command structure of the so-called “Army of Observation”. The ranking officer of course being Colonel Twiggs. He was waiting for forces that were being hastily organized under William Worth. Meanwhile American forces retreated up the coast as the Mexican forces gave chase.

The Mexican General, Mariano Arista, advanced past the now Mexican occupied Fort Texas leaving several hundred men behind to guard the American prisoners and man the fortifications. He pursued Twiggs battered force and managed to catch them at Palo Alto[1]. There the Mexican forces dealt a decisive blow to the battered and demoralized Americans putting them to route and taking over several hundred prisoners. Three hundred Americans were killed and four hundred wounded. This sent shockwaves throughout the American Public. It was decided that General Scott should then land behind the Mexican lines and besiege Fort Texas to draw the Mexican forces south again. Colonel Twiggs was instructed to take his forces to the coast and await Naval assistance. Meanwhile Scott landed twenty-four hundred troops and advanced inland to besiege fort Texas.

Understandably this caused alarm in the Mexican command and Arista was paralyzed with indecision. He knew that he had defeated the fleeing American troops but he did not want them reorganizing and threatening his rear. He waited a crucial two days before marching south to attack Scott. During this time the Second siege of Fort Texas had begun. The several hundred Mexican troops in the fort managed to repel Scott’s first attack but found themselves surrounded. For two days Scott’s artillery pounded the fort, which by this time was running low on ammunition and found itself in a precarious situation. When Arista arrived he immediately began shelling Scott’s positions. The forts gunners, encouraged by his arrival, proceeded to waste the remainder of their shot on Scott’s stretched forces. While this caused some casualties it gave Scott the advantage of having no dangerous guns to his rear.

It was not until the morning of May 19th that the Second Siege of Fort Texas would end. Despite some initial skirmishing Scott had not yet committed his forces and Arista was attempting to set up a better battle line. On that morning Scott’s cavalry flanked wide around the Mexican line while Scott’s vastly more mobile artillery was used to harass the Mexican movement. The battle may have ended earlier had it not been for a sortie from the forts soldiers. Scott was forced to deploy men who might have been used in a bayonet charge to deal with the incursion. After two hours of brutal hand to hand combat the forts garrison retreated behind its diminished walls. It was around one when Scott’s cavalry finally descended on the Mexican rear. The bulky Mexican artillery was captured and its crews chased off. Meanwhile Arista’s forces were lacking in cohesion and his attempts to form a long battle line hampered his own reaction to the American cavalry charge. With the Mexican lines in disarray Scott ordered his forces to advance. It was near sunset that the last phase of the battle would take place.

With Scott’s cavalry still raising hell along the Mexican rear Arista was attempting to form his forces once more when Scott’s infantry finally rushed his lines. It was only the coming of night that ended the battle as Mexican forces retreated. The Mexican right flank collapsed and Arista was forced to move his exhausted soldiers back across the Rio Grande. It is estimated that Mexico lost several hundred soldiers that day, and one hundred more drowned while attempting to swim across the river in darkness. The next day on May 20th Fort Texas surrendered to General Scott.

The next day Arista was again defeated and forced to march South while Scott waited for reinforcements. This would mark the end of the Texas campaign and start the advance into Mexico proper.

-Excerpt “The Price of Dreams” lecture by Professor Abraham Blake, University of Salt Lake City

[1] I admit this name is based on the fact that I've poured over maps in military books I own and can't find a better name to use for the battle, where I envisioned Twiggs men being caught is very close to where OTL's battle took place.

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Ok here is the latest update. The war has started and we have suffered a few reversals thanks to some disarray caused by the death of Taylor. Next update will be answering the Oregon question and focusing on the Nuevo Mexico march.

Comments, criticism and suggestions are welcome :)
 
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