Trouble in the Territories - A More Bloody Toledo War

This is my long-planned reboot of my first attempt at timeline making, The Third Pistol. This timeline will cover a similar concept - that of an Independent State of Michigan - but will possess a radically different point of departure and will attempt to be generally more well polished and thought-out. Will I succeed? Only time will tell...

Synopsis/Teaser

Future territorial Governor Stephens T. Mason has a falling out with his family in his early teens over the death of his mother, and later adopts the territory of Michigan as his home much faster and more enthusiastically than in OTL. When Mason's father is later appointed territorial secretary of Michigan territory, he is soon politically outmaneuvered into giving his job to the young, politically savvy Stephens. On the whole, this causes Mason to act even more aggressively in the Toledo War, rendering the situation unsalvageable.

All in all, it should be an interesting TL.
 
“The Wild East”

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If one looks into the early history of America's move westward, one will find many conflicts similar to the Toledo War. They can be seen, perhaps, as growing pains of a nation acquiring land fast than it could properly settle and integrate it. Today, the phenomenon of the chaotic frontier are remembered best through tales of the “Wild West”, stories of settlers and sheriffs, of deputies and desperadoes.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]So memorable are those stories that over the years they have come to completely overshadow the memory of an earlier Wild West. A semi-lawless frontier of scheming politicians and feuding families that could be found half a century earlier and half a continent eastward. I am speaking, of course, of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Following their victory in the Revolutionary War, the United States were left with a vast, unsettled, and largely ungoverned frontier West of the Appalachian Mountains. At first, the original 13 states attempted to carve up the territory amongst themselves, but various troubles soon made it clear to most that that would not work. Within years of Independence, the States had ceded their various claims in the region to the central government. The territory was soon organized as the Northwest Territory, with the intention of being carved up into new states as it was settled.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]However, as settlers began to move West, the federal government would find that this plan was easier said than done. Low population densities combined with growing regional identities meant that the movement of a single family across a territorial border could result in a total demographic flip in the region.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This created a situation where if the family that identified as Ohioan were to move across the border into Indiana and settle, the region would suddenly be majority-Ohioan, and may pressure the territorial authorities to change the border to better reflect the demographic reality. Problems such as these were compounded by a general lack of knowledge of the region in Washington (most borders were very poorly surveyed, if at all) as well as long travel times to and from the capital.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Despite these challenges, the United States' Constitution generally served them well. Hundreds of such disputes, perhaps most notably the so-called “Honey War” between Iowa and Missouri, were settled peacefully by the Supreme Court, or through other political means. It was only in very few cases, though, when the collision of strong beliefs and stronger personalities turned these otherwise peaceful conflicts into a perfect storm from mayhem.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]To find an example of such an event, one need look no farther than the Toledo War.[/FONT]
 
I'm happy to see you reworking the Third Pistol TL. I look forward to more of your writing!
 
Is that first article in character?

Yes, it is. Unless otherwise specified, assume that each of the articles is written from an ATL point of view.

Interesting in seeing this get off the ground. Do you plan to make more updates?

Yes, I will be posting more updates. I don't write these things very quickly and my classes and personal life have sort of been getting in the way of me getting this off the ground.

With that said, I'll post the second part pretty soon.
 
"Robert Lucas"

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Two figures are central to the beginning and escalation of the Toledo War; Stephens T. Mason of Michigan Territorial, and Robert Lucas of Ohio. As mentioned in the previous chapter, these two powerful and motivated personalities would eventually collide to create the third great national crisis for the United States in barely as many generations.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]At the time of the Toledo War, Robert Lucas had had Ohio under total political lockdown for the better part of two decades. Born to a wealthy slave-holding Virginian family, Lucas moved into Ohio with enough wealth to carve out a little fiefdom for himself in modern-day Richland County. Lucas joined the US Army around the Summer of 1802, and through much political maneuverings managed to weasel his way up to the rank of Brigadier General within 8 years.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After serving with some distinction in the War of 1812, Lucas returned home to his burgeoning political career. In the following fifteen years he went on to serve multiple terms in Ohio's state legislatures, and became the de-facto leader of the State's Democratic Party. He even rises to significant nation political prominence within the Democratic Party, even going so far as to serve as the President of the Democratic Party's first Nation Convention in 1832, where he ingratiated himself with future President Martin Van Buren.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Lucas' political career reached its zenith in 1832, when he finally won the Governorship of Ohio after a particularly dynamic campaign. He would win a second term in 1836, smack-dab in the middle of the crisis of his own creation. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The defining feature of both of his gubernatorial terms would be his State's claim on the territory around the mouth of the Maumee River, the Toledo Strip.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Strip of territory along the Michigan-Ohio border was an ideal location for a future canal, and its principle town was poised to become a substantial center of commerce on Lake Erie. As such, it represented an huge chance at economic expansion for Ohio, as well as a good way to for Lucas to enhance his own political prestige. Claiming the Toledo Strip for Ohio seemed to be just what Lucas would need for his career to climb another rung higher.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]There was only one problem. The Toledo Strip was not part of the State of Ohio, it was part of the Territory of Michigan. Michigan was obviously unwilling to relinquish their claims to the promising region, and continued to resist despite pressure from the far more powerful Ohioans.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This boundary dispute would put Robert Lucas into direct conflict with the region's other primary political figure; Stephens Mason.[/FONT]
 
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good to see an update! I enjoyed the third pistol and this is looking to be just a promising!
 
Just read through the original TL, and it was great to see an independent Mitten. Can't wait for the next update on the reboot!
 
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