TLIAW: Shuffling All The Decks

Last month, I made some posts in the List of Alternate Presidents and PMs thread. They showed the results of a spreadsheet I had made to randomly shuffle the "roles" that various American politicians had played, and the TLs that might result from them:

The first post, from 1960-

The second, with the same characters, which randed into Republican dominance


The third and final post, which expanded to 1900

Well, I decided it's time for the ultimate version. 1789 - 2017, 550 "characters" - the full timeline. Shuffling all the decks, if you will. What a dumb project. Obviously this is hella convergent and unrealistic. But here goes...
 
First President: John Langdon (Independent - New Hampshire)
1789 - 1797


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Vice President: Charles C. Pinckney (I-SC)​

1788 Candidates: Langdon, Pinckney, James Iredell (I-NC), Richard Henry Lee (I-VA)
1792 Candidates: Langdon, Pinckney, Samuel Adams (I-MA)

Speaker of the House: James Madison (I-VA) 1789 - 1795, Henry Knox (I-MA) 1795 -
Prominent Senators: John Adams (I-MA), Thomas Pinckney (I-SC)

Sec. of State: Thomas Jefferson (I-VA)
Sec. of Treasury: Elbridge Gerry (I-MA) 1789 - 1793, Alexander Hamilton (I-NY) 1793 - 1795, Frederick Muhlenberg (I-PA) 1795 - 1797
Sec. of War: William Paterson (I-NJ) 1789 - 1794, George Washington (I-VA) 1794 - 1797

Att. General: Philip Schuyler (I-NY) 1789 - 1793, Levi Lincoln (I-MA) 1793 - 1797

Supreme Court, full term: John Blair (CJ), George Clinton, James Wilson, Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum

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John Langdon was unusual among Presidents as having held another type of Presidency - he was President and Governor of New Hampshire during the Revolution, resigning the Governorship to take over as the first President of the United States. As a member of the Constitutional Convention, he impressed the other delegates with his leadership and knowledge of laws, and his executive experience was noted. When George Washington was taken ill in the spring of 1788, and it was realised that the presumptive choice for President would not be able to take office, Langdon emerged above John Adams and John Jay as the chosen candidate of the north, and took advantage of the divided south to win election, with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney taking the Vice Presidency as election runner-up.

While Langdon's first term went well, establishing many of the institutions and traditions that are now taken for granted, and he won re-election; opposition grew over the next four years. His Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, resigned in 1795, and anti-administration caucuses formed in both houses of Congress, as Langdon's ally James Madison - who had been the driving force behind the passage of the Bill of Rights - was ousted from the Speakership, while John Adams and Thomas Pinckney (the Vice President's brother) frustrated Langdon in the Senate, as they tried to encourage the President to take a more active hand in domestic affairs, compared to his more restrictive view of the federal government. The alliance between North and South against Langdon became known as the Federalists, and they attracted powerful interest groups in both sections of the country.

In 1794, Langdon was forced to call on George Washington to come out of retirement to serve as Secretary of War. Even removed from active service, Washington was still considered the preeminent authority on the military in the country, and so, when a wave of paranoia over British rearmament and the French Revolution swept over the country, Washington was called upon to replace the lackluster William Paterson. In 1796, Langdon opted not to run for a third term, citing fatigue from the demands of the presidency and the importance of regular rotation in office. However, many Federalists were less than sympathetic, claiming that Langdon was only "voluntarily" leaving office because he knew that he would be defeated by John Adams or one of the Pinckney brothers in the 1796 election.

While opinion on Langdon was mixed as he left office, he is remembered as the steady and responsible hand that was needed at the birth of the nation. While General Washington is thought of as "The Father of the Nation," Langdon is well regarded as the First President, who secured the Union, and established the United States as a stable democratic republic.
 
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Second President: Charles C. Pinckney (Federalist - South Carolina)
1797 - 1805

CharlesCPinckney.png


Vice President: Thomas Johnson (F-MD)
1796 Candidates: Pinckney, Johnson, James Madison (DR-VA), Nathaniel Macon (DR-NC)
1800 Candidates: Pinckney, Johnson, Madison, Samuel Smith (DR-MD)

Speaker of the House: Henry Knox (F-MA) 1797 - 1802, Caleb Strong (F-MA) 1802 -
Prominent Senators: John Adams (F-MA), Thomas Pinckney (F-SC), Samuel Smith (DR-MD), Joseph I. Anderson (DR-TN)

Sec. of State: John Jay (F-NY)
Sec. of Treasury: John Rutledge (F-SC) 1797 - 1799, Jonathan Trumbull (F-CT) 1799 - 1803, Alexander Hamilton (F-NY) 1803 - 1805
Sec. of War: Charles Lee (F-VA)

Postmaster Gen.: Timothy Pickering (F-MA) 1797 - 1801
Sec. of Navy: Samuel Dexter (F-MA) 1801 - 1805

Supreme Court, 1797: John Blair (CJ), George Clinton, James Wilson, Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum
1798: Wilson died, replaced by Robert Morris
1800: Blair died, replaced by Philip Schuyler (CJ)
1804: Schuyler died, replaced by Abraham Baldwin. Clinton becomes CJ
Supreme Court, 1805: George Clinton (CJ), Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum, Robert Morris, Abraham Baldwin

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Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was the first partisanly-elected President, as he defeated James Madison and Nathaniel Macon, the representatives of the so-called "Democratic-Republican" group in the election of 1796. The Federalists made great strides in Pinckney's presidency, promoting tariffs, establishing a National Bank, and continuing Washington's military reforms. Pinckney and John Jay, his Secretary of State, restored positive relations with both Britain and France, a major coup for the administration.

Pinckney defeated Madison again in 1800, with Johnson returning to the Vice Presidency. In the Senate, John Adams and Thomas Pinckney continued to work hard in support of Federalist policies, though Samuel Smith and Joseph Anderson came to lead a strong bloc in opposition. Meanwhile, Caleb Strong took over from the retiring Henry Knox as Speaker of the House, as the party retained its powerful grip over the federal government that would continue for the following decades.

The popular Pinckney upheld the Langdon practice of only serving two terms in office. While some people expected the leadership of the Federalists to pass to his brother Thomas, there was opposition to the idea of a dynasty, and especially one within a powerful Southern planter family. Thomas Johnson, the Vice President, a well-respected senior figure in the party, emerged as the leading candidate to take over the party mantle, and he was endorsed by Thomas Pinckney at the meeting of the party's congressional delegation to decide the 1804 nomination.

Pinckney was extremely well regarded upon leaving office, with it being widely understood that he would have won re-election had he chosen to run again. While, in more modern times, he has become a controversial figure due to his slaveholding, and his role in cementing the dominance of the planter aristocracy in South Carolina, he is still generally remembered as one of the nation's greatest presidents.
 
Third President: Thomas Johnson (Federalist - Maryland)
1805 - 1809


Thomas_Johnson_%28governor%29.jpeg


Vice President: Samuel Dexter (F-MA)​

1804 Candidates: Johnson, Dexter, Oliver Ellsworth (F-CT), Joseph I. Anderson (DR-TN), Henry B. Livingston (DR-NY)

Speaker of the House: Caleb Strong (F-MA)
Prominent Senators: Samuel Smith (DR-MD), Joseph I. Anderson (DR-TN), Jared Ingersoll (F-PA), Alfred Moore (F-NC)

Sec. of State: John Marshall (F-VA)
Sec. of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton (F-NY)
Sec. of War: Thomas Pinckney (F-SC)

Attorney Gen.: John Breckinridge (DR-KY) 1805 - 1806*, Samuel Chase (F-MD) 1806 - 1809

Supreme Court, 1805: George Clinton (CJ), Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum, Robert Morris, Abraham Baldwin
1806: Morris died, replaced by John Jay
1807: Baldwin died, replaced by John Howard
Supreme Court, 1809: George Clinton (CJ), Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum, John Jay, John Howard

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Thomas Johnson was the epitome of an elder statesman. Well-respected, well-read, and well-regarded, Johnson had undertaken a long career, including stints in the Continental Congress, two terms as the Governor of Maryland, and many judicial and legislative roles. In spite of having been involved in American politics for four decades, he had acquired few enemies and many friends, and rose towards the top of the Federalist Party, being elected Vice President in 1796 and 1800. He was propelled to victory in 1804 by the wake of the peace and prosperity of the Pinckney administration, as the Democratic-Republicans continued to struggle in federal politics.

Johnson was significantly older than his two predecessors, and suffered from ill health while President. Critics claimed that the Johnson administration was run more by three leading members of the Cabinet - John Marshall, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Pinckney - as well as by Vice President Samuel Dexter, rather than by Johnson himself. Indeed the two major achievements of the administration - the Marshall Purchase, which brought much of the Great Plains and Mountain West into the United States, and the Hamilton System, to reform the American economy - were each named after the relevant Secretary, rather than Johnson.

Johnson, in his 70s, announced that he would not run for a second term in office in 1808. This set off a scramble of candidates in both parties, each of whom was hoping to become the next Charles Pinckney, rather than the next Thomas Johnson...
 
Fourth President: William Eustis (Democratic-Republican - Massachusetts)
1809 - 1813


William_Eustis.jpg


Vice President: Bushrod Washington (F-VA)​


1808 Candidates: Eustis, Washington, Alexander Hamilton (F-NY), Joseph I. Anderson (DR-TN), William Cushing (F-MA), Samuel Chase (F-MD)

Speaker of the House: Caleb Strong (F-MA)
Prominent Senators: Joseph I. Anderson (DR-TN), Alfred Moore (F-NC), Henry B. Livingston (DR-NY), James McHenry (F-MD)

Sec. of State: Paul Hamilton (DR-SC)
Sec. of Treasury: Gabriel Duvall (DR-MD) 1809 - 1811, George W. Campbell (DR-TN) 1811 - 1813
Sec. of War: Henry Dearborn (DR-MA)

Att. General: Alexander J. Dallas (DR-PA)

Supreme Court, 1809: George Clinton (CJ), Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum, John Jay, John Howard
1811: Clinton retired, replaced by Smith Thompson. Howard becomes CJ.
Supreme Court, 1813: John Howard (CJ), Benjamin Stoddert, Pierce Butler, Joseph Varnum, John Jay, Smith Thompson

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William Eustis was known as the "Doctor-President;" before entering politics he had worked as a physician and a surgeon, serving at the Battle of Bunker Hill in the Revolutionary War. He came to prominence in politics with stints in the House of Representatives and in the Massachusetts Governor's Mansion, where he was one of the few bright spots in New England for the Democratic-Republicans.

Eustis was elected in the chaotic election of 1808. Following William Johnson's announcement that he would not run for a second term, the Federalist congressional caucus selected Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Governor of Virginia Bushrod Washington as their nominees. While Washington was popular, Hamilton was a more divisive figure - both because of his controversial economic policies and because of his sometimes disagreeable personality. While it was widely accepted that he was exceptionally quick and hard-working, he had also gathered a lot of enemies. Almost as soon as Hamilton was announced as the nominee, movements were started to draft William Cushing and Samuel Chase into the Presidential race as Federalist alternatives. As the electoral votes were counted, it became clear that Eustis had secured enough votes to become President, while the Federalist Washington - rather than Hamilton, or Joseph Anderson - would become Vice President.

Eustis' administration was troubled from the start - in spite of his election win, Federalists still controlled both houses of Congress, and, in spite of divides between their three main factions (supporters of Hamilton, Washington, and the Pinckneys, respectively,) they still managed to successfully slow much of the agenda of Eustis and the Democratic-Republicans. Eustis and his Secretary of State, Paul Hamilton, successfully negotiated the end of the Wars in Europe, but was unable to achieve any other major accomplishments, and was unable to win re-election after the Federalists managed to re-group in 1812.
 
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