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hey, all. as my last thread of 2013 (it's 10:55pm in my timezone when this was posted), i figured i'd start this up. i just recently got and completed the Tyranny of King Washington DLC for Assassin's Creed III and--all internal craziness concerning it aside--i've become unable to shake the idea of (trying to) writing a TL where the US does, indeed, become a monarchy with George Washington as its first King. however, i plan to make it far more divergent from the Tyranny setting, e.g., Washington doesn't really go mad. and before anyone says anything, i know this is a rather tired idea, and also UNMARKED POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD for anyone who hasn't played the Tyranny DLC

as for a POD, using the setting of Assassin's Creed for basis (but this is OTL i'm working from, so there's no Assassins, Templars, or First Civilization), i was thinking of 1781, with 1799 at the earliest being where it really starts diverging. potential content (all directly based on the DLC) includes:

  • the country is still called the United States of America
  • possibly, there's a continued rebel/revolutionary movement by figures such as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who are aligned to at least some Native American tribes
  • a pyramidal palace for the King is built, either in New York City or on the site of OTL's Washington DC; it resembles the pyramid on the Great Seal/dollar bill, but lacks the Great Eye at the top of it--symbolically, the King is the Great Eye; Benjamin Franklin plays a key role in the design of the palace
    • there's a menagerie in or around the palace, possibly TTL's version of the National Zoo
  • a scepter is the most important piece of regalia
  • Benedict Arnold does not betray the American Revolutionaries' cause, and in fact never goes to West Point at all
  • Washington's key secondary leaders are Benedict Arnold and Israel Putnam
  • Masonic imagery is prevalent in American nationalism
  • America has a standing army and navy from the beginning
  • beheading is an accepted form of execution, but is still reserved only for exceptional offenders
now, in addition to these, what does everyone think would be some plausible/interesting divergences from actual history to include in a monarchial United States and what from actual history would likely be inevitable, regardless? for the purposes of discussion, let's assume that the King doesn't have absolute power, and over time becomes a much more symbolic figure, and America is an elective monarchy. an official aristocracy is possible, but not absolutely necessary.
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