United States of the Americas and Oceania Version 2.0

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Eurofed

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This is a revision of my “United States of the Americas and Oceania” TL, done with the aim to correct some details that in a reexamination proved unrealistic or suboptimal for the scope of the story. The goal and main course of the story remains the same, some turns may differ. Since part of this revision was done as the result of developing a collaborative variant of the TL, attribution and credit for many ideas (e.g. Brant’s Dream and Hamilton's book) and their proper development has to go to Aranfan, my co-author for the other TL and priceless all-around advisor for the present one. Other credit goes to Helios-Ra, the official TL mapmaker. Yours truly remains, of course, the main culprit for the story hereby told.

Unless the TL specifically tells otherwise or is clearly incompatible, it may be assumed that major political, cultural, economic, and scientific events that are left unmentioned follow a course broadly similar to OTL.

1774: A minor protest about the Protestant Oath that government officers have to take occurs in Quebec, Governor Guy Carleton manages to resolve it peacefully. However, while he is negotiating, his house burns down. By the time news reaches London that it was an accident, a problem with his stove, the newspapers had already whipped the population, and the Parliament into a frenzy against "Popist terror", which further worsens the British mood against agitation in the American colonies at large. King George III, never one to cut much slack to Catholics or to rebellious subjects, exercises his considerable influence in the Commons to further enhance the mood shift towards an harsh treatment of the unruly colonies.

The Quebec Act that was being discussed loses all of its concessions, becoming in almost all respects an extension of the Irish-aimed Penal Laws to the Colonies, which burden Catholics with a crippling amount of legal penalties and discriminatory measures. Additionally, the territory that would have been annexed to Quebec, instead is awarded to the Hudson Bay Company. This act gets wrapped in a legislation package with the other “Intolerable Acts” aimed to the other American colonies.

The news of the legal restrictions being heaped on them whips the Canadian population into a massive outrage, much as the other Intolerable Acts do in the other 13 colonies. Carleton, seeing all his efforts to keep his colony quiet ruined by the British government's rashness, loses faith in the British political system and aligns with the Patriot movement. Quebec sends delegates to the First Continental Congress.

The annexation of everything between the Ohio River, Mississippi River, and Appalachian Mountains to the Hudson Bay Company greatly angers all of the North American colonies, generating much Patriot sympathy in Nova Scotia as well.

1775: Quebec and Nova Scotia join the thirteen colonies in the American Revolution. The Continental Army liberates most of Canada by spring of 1776. A lucky offensive lead by Jonathan Eddy secures most of Nova Scotia for the Patriots as well, although Halifax remains a British stronghold. Nova Scotia sends its delegates to the Continental Congress.

1776: The 15 colonies sign the Declaration of Independence. New York and Quebec City are captured by the British but the Americans stubbornly fight on. Joseph Brant, one of the leading chiefs of the Iroquois Confederation and previous staunch advocate of cooperation with Britain, has an epiphany in the form of a prophetic dream, which causes him to unexpectedly switch to a pro-Patriot stance, leading the Iroquois Confederacy to join the American Revolutionary War on the side of the Patriots. Iroquois support for the American Revolution shall greatly mold US culture towards an assimilationist acceptance in American society of "civilized" Indians and mixed-bloods that adopt European culture and lifestyle. Brant's Dream gradually becomes a rather popular component of US political mythology (as well as the inspiration for the US Great Seal), since it apparently foretold Patriot victory in the ARW and America's rise to continental hegemony.

Brant’s Dream: "Many nights ago, as I returned from London, God gave me a sign in a dream. I was walking by the seaside in the dawn, and a great Lion rose from the waves in the east, and a fierce Bald Eagle coalesced from the north and south, and they fought long and hard, and the earth trembled with their battle. And the Eagle stood, bloodied but victorious, and its cry of triumph pierced the sky, and the wounded Lion fled into the sea. And the Eagle took flight, and grew immense, and its wings spread from horizon to horizon. It seemed as if it carried fifteen arrows in its left talon, and an olive branch with fifteen leaves in its right talon. And I knew that the arrows meant destruction, and the branch prosperity. Suddenly, the Eagle locked eyes with me and spoke, 'It is upon you, Thayendanegea, which talon I grasp your people with. Remember when I fight the Lion.' Then I awoke, and over breakfast the Captain of the ship boasted that 'the British Lion will easily defeat the Colonial Eagle'

Often in the past I have advocated closer ties with Britain as a defense against the colonists. This must now stop, or our people will face sure destruction."

1777: France joins the American Revolutionary War. The Americans win great victories liberating Quebec City and besieging New York. Benedict Arnold dies a heroic death during the battle of Quebec City and becomes a patriotic icon for Canadians and Americans.

1778: Spain joins the ARW. The Americans and the French beat back British assaults on Georgia and Florida is captured by the French and the Spanish.

1779: New York is finally captured by the Continental Army, Howe flees to Halifax. The peace party seizes control of the British Parliament. Due to the contribution of the Canadians and the French to the liberation struggle, Alexander Hamilton later in life becomes an uncommitted pragmatist about American relationships with France and Britain.

1780: Benjamin Franklin goes to Paris to secure a peace treaty with the British. Negotiations begin with Britain. During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, Britain conquers Capetown.

1781: Britain agrees to a peace treaty with France, Spain, and the Americans. It recognizes the 15 colonies as free and sovereign States (Canada, Georgia, Nova Scotia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island) and cedes them the territory between Florida, the Mississippi river, and the Allegheny mountains. Florida is ceded to Spain. The treaty guarantees ownership of Rupert’s Land to the Hudson Bay Company for 99 years, the United States may buy it at a later date. The HBC cannot cede the area to the British Crown or any other foreign state without the assent of the United States. All British forts will be turned over to the Americans as of 1788. United States fishermen are granted fishing rights off the coast of Labrador territory and British fishermen across the Great Lakes. The United States shall allow access from Rupert’s Land to the Great Lakes for Britain's fur trapping and fishing. British may still use the Mississippi river for trading with Spanish Louisiana and Great Britain and the United States are each to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River. Prisoners of War on both sides are to be released and lawfully-contracted debts are recognized to be paid to creditors on either side. The Congress of the Confederation will 'earnestly recommend' to state legislatures to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to Loyalists to prevent future confiscations of property of Loyalists still within their boundaries. The latter provision shall never be acted upon, and the Loyalists begin an exodus from the United States. The Loyalists shall eventually settle in newly conquered South Africa mostly, and to a lesser degree Australia, southern South America (after the British conquest), and Ireland.

1784-85: At the end of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the peace treaty confirms British ownership of Capetown. London creates the Drake colony (so named to honor sir Francis Drake), to organize the territory which is getting quickly settled by exiled Loyalists.

Note: this is where the main divergence between the USAO TL and the “Vive La Revolution” TL happens. In this TL, Ben Franklin and young Napoleon Bonaparte never meet during the former’s sojourn to Paris as Ambassador, and Napoleon follows a course much similar to OTL in his later career. In the latter TL, they meet and befriend. Their conversations influence Napoleon to give his later empire a bent more akin to the American system, and the history of Europe is radically changed. In the present TL, events in Europe remain basically similar to OTL up to 1814, although they diverge radically in a different way out of cumulative butterflies afterwards. Events in the New World remain convergent in both TLs, however.

1786-87: The Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia. Jefferson becomes the new American ambassador to France, while Ben Franklin returns to America to attend the CC. The Constitution is mostly similar to OTL, with some important differences. Every state is guaranteed respect of its "domestic institutions". The Congress is forbidden to establish a national language. The President gets a line-item veto on appropriations and the explicit power to nominate and fire subordinate executive officers. Every law may relate to but one subject. The Congress is empowered to give subsidies to commerce. The Congress may acquire territories, set up territorial governments, and admit new states to the Union from territories and foreign republics alike. Copyright is given a maximum duration of fifty years and cannot infringe freedom of speech or scholarship. Former Presidents are granted a non-voting lifetime seat in Congress. Amendments to the Constitution are made by integral changes to the text. Copies of the Constitution text are drafted in English and French.

1787-88: Debate rages across the 15 states about the ratification of the Constitution. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay write the Federalist Papers. To win the ratification debate, the Federalist supporters of the Constitution make a pledge to have a set of Amendments ratified that safeguard basic liberties at the federal level, addressing the main objection of the Anti-Federalist opponents to the Constitution.

1789: All 15 states but Rhode Island, which joins the following year, have by now accepted the Constitution. George Washington is elected first President and inaugurated in New York with the first Congress.

1791: Kentucky joins the US as the 16th state. A set of Amendments to the Constitution, the so-called “Bill of Rights”, gets ratified, and it becomes a new Article in the Constitution. It is mostly similar to OTL, except for some changes that give increased protection of civil rights (explicit protection of privacy and freedom of conscience, forbiddance of disproportionate and inhuman punishments, protection from statements obtained by coercion) and make some of them enforceable against the states. A widespread slave revolt explodes in the French colony of Haiti.

1792: George Washington is reelected President. Vermont joins the Union as the 17th state. Black revolutionaries largely control Haiti. The French Legislative Assembly grants civil and political rights to the free men of color and dispatches a expeditionary corps to Haiti in an attempt to control the revolt. Such efforts turn largely unsuccessful.

1793: Washington declares US neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars. In Hispaniola a confused multi-way war ensues between the Black revolutionaries, France, Britain, and Spain, which controls the rest of the island.

1794: The Whiskey Rebellion occurs and is suppressed by federal troops without bloodshed. Jay’s treaty is signed between Britain and the USA. The British agree to vacate their forts in the Midwest and Northern territories outside of Rupert’s Land, provide compensation for US ships confiscated during 1793-94, and are granted freedom of navigation in St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. The Americans get the British West Indies reopened to their trade. The boundary between US territory and Rupert’s Land is established on the 51° parallel north. The British receive Most Favored Nation status. Debate about the ratification of the treaty, although eventually successful, helps structure the US First Party System in the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.

The French National Convention in order to forestall military disaster in Hispaniola, abolishes slavery and grants civil and political rights to all persons of color in the colony. One of the most successful Black revolutionary commanders, Toussaint Louverture, brings his forces over to the French side and begins to fight for the French Republic.

1795: On the example of Vermont and Kentucky, Canadian settlers decide to split off the territory of OTL southern Ontario. The territory joins the Union with the name of Arnold and becomes the 18th state, while the rest of Canada renames itself Quebec. In time, Canada becomes the name to indicate all the American states that lie above the Great Lakes. Arnold has a French-speaking majority and a large English-speaking minority, with most of the population made up by settlers from Quebec and New York, but like Quebec it also receives a sizable Catholic immigration from France (owing to the French Revolution), Scotland, and Ireland.

Hamilton retires from politics temporarily, having been seized by inspiration to write a book about Federalism. He manages to bring his partners Madison and Jay from the Federalist Papers to collaborate with him.

1796: George Washington declines serving a third term as President, quoting health reasons. He mostly retires to his farm, although he reluctantly accepts the lifetime non-voting seat in Congress granted to him by the Constitution, which he attends infrequently. By now the Federalists (led by Adams and Hamilton) and the Democratic-Republicans (led by Jefferson and Madison) are firmly established, despite Washington’s misgivings about a party system. The success of the federal government in its first years help former Vice-President Adams win the presidential election, with Thomas Jefferson as Vice-President. Tennessee joins the Union as the 19th state.

Madison and Jay bring Jefferson and Adams in on Hamilton’s book, although Adams is too busy as President to contribute equally. The book has grown to encompass more than just Federalism, to many of the questions facing the young republic.

In Haiti, Toussaint Louverture is largely successful in fighting off the British and the Spanish; he essentially restores nominal control of Haiti to France, although he begins to rule the country effectively as an autonomous entity.

1797: French seizure of American merchant ships turns US-French relations sour. The XYZ Affair occurs, setting off a firestorm of anti-French sentiment in the USA.

“Thoughts on the American Political Experiment” by Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and John Adams is published. Each of them wrote the main body of two chapters, except Adams who only wrote one, concerning a particular issue facing the republic, from Federalism and Constitutionalism, to States Rights and Foreign Policy, while the other authors commented on the chapter and each other’s comments in footnotes. All of the authors disagreed with each other on something, and some chapters ended with two of the authors at each other’s throat only for the next chapter to see the same arguing together against who had been with them previously. The book becomes another of the seminal texts of US political theory alongside the Federalist Papers and cements the authors’ positions alongside Washington and Franklin as Founding Fathers of America.

1798: Repeated French impressments of French-speaking Americans fans the flames of anti-French sentiment. The Congress declares war on France. The US Navy and Marines capture the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and forces under General Alexander Hamilton invade French Guiana. The British do not cooperate operationally with the Americans, but they do sell naval stores and munitions to the Americans from the Bahamas and their other Caribbean possessions. Washington, coming out of semi-retirement, delivers an impassionate speech from the floor about “American liberties”, and persuades Congress not to pass the Alien and Sedition Laws. Haiti defeats a British expeditionary force, putting an end to British involvement in the island.

1799: US Marines invade Guadalupe and Martinique, defeating the local French forces.

1800: The Mortefontaine peace treaty is signed between France and the United States. France cedes French Guiana, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Guadalupe and Martinique to the USA. America still recognizes Haiti as a nominal French territory. The Americans and French agree to free travel of all goods, save war provisions, stop impressments, and all French citizens who fled to the US are granted citizenship once they register. All prior agreements concerning alliance and mutual trade are rendered null and void. The Americans agree to return all prisoners of war to the French. Spain cedes Louisiana to France after the peace treaty between France and the USA. President John Adams, riding on a wave of popularity for the victory in the French-American War, easily wins re-election, with John Jay as Vice President. (Hamilton did not run because he was busy being in Guyana.)

1801: America starts the First Barbary War in response to Barbary pirates' demands of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean. The Federalist Congress and Administration use the French-American War and the First Barbary War as justification to pass a Naval Act and a Preparedness Act to enlarge and mandate proper training, funding, and equipment of the Army and the Navy.

Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture conquers Santo Domingo, and declares himself governor-for-life of the entire island of Hispaniola, abolishing slavery and instituting reforms. In retaliation, First Consul Napoleon sends a French expeditionary corps to Hispaniola and attempts to reinstate slavery to make the area profitable again. The island explodes in widespread rebellion. Still angry at France from the French-American War, the USA uneasily sides with Haiti, covertly providing food and arms to the Black revolutionaries.

1802: Uneasy US aid to the Haitian revolutionaries begins to dry up as fears of the precedent created by an independent nation founded by slave revolt grow among the slave-owning Southern elite and their representatives in the federal government. Nevertheless, the French expeditionary force faces mounting losses from the rebels and disease, and the Haitians feel considerable good will towards the US for aiding them at all. Toussaint Louverture is captured by the French and later dies in prison but the independence struggle carries on under the leadership Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

In response to French attempts to re-conquer Hispaniola, President Adams enounces the “Adams Doctrine”, by which further efforts by European countries to colonize land or interfere with independent states in the Americas would be viewed by the United States of America as acts of aggression requiring US intervention. Despite the controversial nature of American aid to Haiti, the Adams Doctrine in time acquires universal non-partisan consensus in the American public and becomes a cornerstone of US foreign policy.

Hamilton and John Adams have a falling out. This split threatens to tear the Federalist Party apart.

1803: Napoleon admits defeat and pulls out the expeditionary force. Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares the Republic of Haiti spanning the whole island and is elected as its first President, for a term of six years. America recognizes Haiti, although the treaty establishing relations only passes by one vote. Although poor and split linguistically, the island nation manages to attain a measure of stability.

Napoleon, seeing the course of things, decides to divest himself of the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Purchase, costing some $18 Million in money and debt cancellation combined, nearly doubles the size of the United States. The issue of Haiti shatters the strength of the Adams wing of the Federalist Party in the South. Ohio is admitted as the 20th state.

1804: The First Barbary War ends with a treaty between Tripoli and the US which frees American prisoners without ransom. Adams declines to run again, owing to the controversy over the Haiti issue. Thanks to faithless electors, a three way electoral tie occurs between Jefferson, Burr, and Hamilton. None have a majority, and the election is thrown to Congress. Jefferson and Hamilton become President and Vice President respectively on the 58th ballot in the House.

1805: In response to the flaws in the Presidential election system which surfaced in the election of 1804, as well as concerns about possible Presidential inability from past illness bouts of Washington and Adams, an Amendment to the Constitution is passed. It revises the Electoral College system for the election of President and Vice President, and regulates the cases of Presidential incapacitation and President-elect inability to qualify. Since it includes the Bill of Rights and the satisfying revision of the faulty original Presidential election system, it is passed within the lifetime of the Framers, and it stands unchanged till the Civil War, the 1805 version of the Constitution becomes what later Americans generally acknowledge and venerate as the “original” version of the US Constitution.
 
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Eurofed

Banned
Black text is OTL
Red text are changes devised by Zod and Nicomacheus
Brown text are changes taken from the Confederate Constitution
Blue text are changes taken from Madison's writings
Green text are changes introduced from OTL's 11-27th Amendments.
Violet are changes devised by Aranfan and Eurofed

Preamble

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article 1 - Legislature

Section 1

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

The manner of election of the Representatives of the people of the United States shall not violate fair and equitable practices nor the equal franchise of each elector and should in all cases endeavor to express the free choice of the respective community of electors.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.

The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of Quebec shall be entitled to chuse four, Nova Scotia one, New Hampshire three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section 3

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section 4

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday of December unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section 5

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section 6

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States, but no law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section 7

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. All bills for the approval of new states shall originate in the Senate; but the House of Representatives may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every law, or resolution having the force of law, shall relate to but one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

The President may approve any appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill. In such case he shall, in signing the bill, designate the appropriations disapproved; and shall return a copy of such appropriations, with his objections, to the House in which the bill shall have originated; and the same proceedings shall then be had as in case of other bills disapproved by the President.


Section 8

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, emit Bills of Credit, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times, not exceeding fifty years, to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries, providing for freedom of speech, of the press, scholarship, and similar Fair Use;
To promote Useful Enterprises, including Commerce, Manufacture, and Agriculture, by granting to them Bounties for limited Times; but all Bounties shall be awarded among eligible recipients throughout the United States according to fair and uniform criteria of merit and public usefulness;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section 9

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No National Language shall be established.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.


Article 2 - Executive

Section 1

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term.

Section 2

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted.

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, a quorum for this purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Representatives from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of the whole number from a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of the whole number from a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

Section 3

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. And no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section 4

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, heads of Agencies, Institutions, and Executive Departments, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Agencies, Institutions, or Departments, and establish fair, equitable, and reasonable criteria of merit for the selection of eligible candidates.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session; but no person rejected by the Senate shall be reappointed to the same office during their ensuing recess.

The principal officer in each of the Executive Departments, and all persons connected with the diplomatic service, may be removed from office at the pleasure of the President. All other officers of the Executive Departments may be removed at any time by the President, or other appointing power, when their services are unnecessary, or for dishonesty, incapacity, inefficiency, misconduct, or neglect of duty; and when so removed, the removal shall be reported to the Senate, together with the reasons therefor.

Section 5

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section 6

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Section 7 - Succession

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

In the Case of a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall appoint a Vice President in like manner as Ambassadors.

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

Section 8

Former Presidents, possessing great experience and insight into the workings of Government, shall be entitled a voice and seat on the floor of Congress, without the privilege of voting, unless they shall have been duly elected or appointed to the Legislature as provided in Article 1. Those Convicted on Charges of Impeachment shall be stripped of their entitlement to said seat.


Article 3 - Judiciary

Section 1

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section 2

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;-- between a State and Citizens of another State where the State is plaintiff;--between Citizens of different States;--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects; but no State shall be sued by a citizen or subject of any foreign state.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section 3

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, on Confession in open Court, or similarly irrefutable evidence.

The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.


Article 4 - The States

Section 1

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

The States shall be secure in their domestic institutions.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section 2

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Control of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Section 3

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section 4

The Congress shall have Power to acquire, dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States. The Congress shall also have power to provide a Republican form of government for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the United States, lying without the limits of the several States.

New States may be admitted to the Union by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress, either from the territory of the United States or by the inclusion, upon application, of foreign republics and parts thereof. The same vote shall also be sufficient to acquire any territory to be added to that of the United States.

No new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

Nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.


Article 5 – Amendments

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. Upon ratification of an Amendment to this Constitution, a revised version of the Constitution, incorporating the Amendment into its text, shall be published by the Congress.


Article 6 - Debts, Supremacy, and Oaths

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding; and no Act, or part thereof, which is irreconcilably repugnant to the Constitution shall have validity.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.


Article 7 – The Bill of Rights

Section 1

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or restricting the ability of the people freely to express themselves and their conscience short of violence; or denying the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Section 2

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Section 3

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Section 4

The right of the people to be secure in the privacy of their communications, persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Section 5

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense, or a Lesser offence connected to the First, to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor shall be coerced to make statements against himself or others, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Section 6

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses and other evidence against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses and other evidence in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Section 7

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Section 8

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel, excessive, or otherwise inhumane punishments inflicted.

Section 9

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Section 10

No State shall violate the equal rights of conscience, or the freedom of speech or of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases.


Article 8 – Ratification

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
 

Eurofed

Banned
1806: The British had long harbored ambitions in South America, considering the estuary of the Río de la Plata as the most favorable location for a British colony. British interest in the riches of the Rio de la Plata region had only heightened since the loss of British North America. The alliance between France and Spain gave Britain cause for military action against Spanish colonies. Britain judged it the right moment after the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. This battle gave the British complete naval supremacy, and forced Spain to lower the naval communications with its American colonies. Even so, the defense of Buenos Aires had been historically neglected by Spain, which preferred to send most of its troops and ships to Peru. A sizable British force is sent to occupy Buenos Aires. The Spanish colonial authorities fail to organize a valid defense of the colony, and although the wealthy strata of the Creole society choose collaboration with the British, the bulk of the population remains hostile, organizes militias and tries to liberate Buenos Aires. The British forces, however, prove numerous enough to defeat the Creole militias and Britain remains in control of Buenos Aires.

1807: Napoleon resorts to economic warfare against Britain. With the Continental System, it enacts a large-scale embargo of Europe against British trade. It forbids France and its vassals and allies from trading with the British. The UK retaliate with the Orders in Council of 1807 that forbid trade of the Napoleonic Empire with the UK, its allies or neutrals, and instructed the Royal Navy to blockade French and allied ports. Napoleon retaliates by declaring that all neutral shipping using British ports or paying British tariffs were to be regarded as British and seized. Napoleonic foreign policy becomes focused on making the continental embargo airtight by pressuring all European countries to comply with the CS.

In an ill-advised attempt to retaliate against UK impressments of American sailors, British and French seizure of American vessels, and prevent US involvement in the Napoleonic Wars, President Jefferson pressures Congress to enact the Embargo Act. This law, and subsequent related legislation, enacts an extensive shipping embargo of US trade with European nations. This legislation causes a large-scale curtailment of US foreign trade and severe economic damage (although it has the limited benefit of stimulating American manufacturing), and proves massively unpopular and openly flouted, despite Jefferson’s frantic and heavy-handed attempts at enforcement. The popularity of the Jefferson Administration suffers a severe downturn. Simon Bolivar returns from Europe to South America, by way of the USA. As he travels he firsthand witnesses the benefits that the American System provides to the young Republic and develops a strong admiration of it. A second British military expedition to South America conquers Montevideo and expands British control over the Viceroyalty of Rio de La Plata. The US Congress and the British Parliament pass legislation to forbid the Atlantic slave trade.

1808: Napoleon’s invasion of the Iberian Peninsula has profound effects on the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas. The court of Portugal flees with the fleet to Brazil; in order to secure British support it cedes the Rio Grande district to Britain, which is incorporated in the increasing British colonial holdings in South America. In the Spanish colonies, the Peninsular War and British invasion and conquest of Rio de la Plata cause the Creole elites to put their loyalty to Spain into question and independence movements begin to crop up.

The strong unpopularity of the Jeffersonian Embargo secures a comfortable victory to Federalist Presidential candidate Hamilton. He stands for abolition of the Embargo and a return to the traditional Federalist program of a “sound” tariff, stimulus to US economy and internal development, military preparedness, as well as a pragmatic foreign policy of cooperation with whichever European belligerent agrees to recognize the rights of American neutral trade. The US law goes into force that bans the importation of slaves in the United States, according to the threshold defined in the Constitution.

1809: The Royalist juntas in Spain sign an alliance with Britain; in order to secure British support against Napoleon, they sign a treaty which recognizes British ownership of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata to Britain. British South America is created. The treaty’s wording creates an ambiguity about Upper Peru, which is incorporated in British South America, according to British interpretation, or is left to Spain and is joined with the Viceroyalty of Peru, according to Spanish interpretation. Many Spanish residents of BSA refuse to acknowledge the cession and oppose British conquest. In the other Spanish colonies, the cession further increases resentment against Spanish colonial control.

President Hamilton has the Embargo legislation repealed, however the increasing use of blockade as an economic weapon by France and Britain alike still causes serious damage to US trade. An act is passed by which if either one of the two countries stopped attacks upon American shipping, the United States would cease trade with the other, unless that country agreed to recognize the rights of the neutral American ships as well. Napoleon, wishing to lure America into compliance of the Continental System, and mindful of US strength thanks to the Franco-American War, offers the USA to recognize the rights of the American merchant ships as neutral carriers. Napoleon is only partially sincere about his offer, however he does implement some concessions to US traders and promises for more. Britain is still highly offended by the agreement and threatens force, refusing to make concessions to America. The diplomatic stalemate also involves the ongoing British practice of impressing English-speaking sailors, which greatly annoys the American public. British colonial expansion in South America represents another cause of friction between the USA and Britain, since many Americans fear the resurgence of aggressive British colonialism in the Americas. Anglo-American relations gradually worsen as a result, and the Congress passes second Naval and Preparedness acts in response.

1810: In the Americas, the ongoing Peninsular War and British colonial expansion in South America sets off a wave of political instability in the Spanish colonial empire. A patchwork of juntas are set up with conflicting claims and political fault lines appear between proponents of independence on the US model (which call themselves Patriots), and supporters of continued ties with Spain, split between liberals and absolutist conservatives. Renewed clashes occur between British authorities and Creole militias in British South America. Britain starts an undeclared war against the Spanish settlers of the Rio de la Plata. British troops storm the former Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, ruthlessly putting down the resistance of Spanish settlers. The fighting spills over in Chile, where the insurgents had been gathering support. British forces invade the Captaincy General of Chile and clash with local militias which form to oppose the invasion. A confusing diplomatic mess ensues, by which Britain is simultaneously an ally of the Royalist Juntas in mainland Spain against Napoleon, and is fighting the Spanish colonial authorities in South America. The British Navy also captures the Falklands, sinking the Spanish ships of the region. British aggressive expansion tends to alienate the Creole elites of the Spanish colonies more and more against the nominal alliance between Britain and royalist Spain, and support grows for the independence movement, which increasingly turns to the USA as a model. Pro-independence secret societies and militias form across Spanish America.

Increasing tensions between USA and UK over the issues of impressments and trade blockade lead to clashes about the rights of American settlers and traders in Rupert’s Land. The two countries fail to agree on a mutually accepted interpretation of the respective rights of British subjects and American citizens in the area according to the treaties of 1781 and 1794. This further increases the growing Anglo-American antagonism.

1811: Spain and Britain sign a treaty that cedes Chile and the Falkland Islands to British South America and grants favorable terms to British trade in the Spanish colonies, while Britain pledges to support Spanish rule in the rest of Spanish America. Spanish-speaking inhabitants are allowed to move from British territory. Most remain, but a sizable minority emigrates to other parts of Spanish America or to the USA. America strongly protests the treaty as a violation of the Adams Doctrine. Spanish settlers rise up again in British South America, in the former Buenos Aires area from the countryside. British Marines quell the rebellions after several days of harsh combat and hang hundreds of Spaniards. American pamphlets are found in possession of some rebels, leading British colonial authorities to suspect American involvement in the issue. Creole resistance is also harshly suppressed in newly annexed Chile. Widely-publicized news of British repression travels in the Spanish colonies, fueling the appeal of the pro-independence movement. Abortive insurrection attempts by Patriot militias occur in New Grenada, Venezuela, New Spain, Guatemala, Cuba, and Peru, which the royalist authorities are able to suppress, sometimes, as in Upper Peru, with the support of British troops. A minor exodus of many patriot leaders and activists occurs to the US as a result.

Renewed US diplomatic talks with Britain and France lead to Napoleon making further minor concessions about the neutral rights of US merchant shipping. Although President Hamilton finds them still unsatisfactory, they mollify US public opinion towards France, but make Britain intransigent. No satisfactory compromise can be found about the issues of UK impressments of American sailors, British seizure of US merchant vessels, and the rights of US traders and settlers in Rupert’s Land. American public opinion increasingly turns hostile against Britain.

The actions of the British and the Spanish Royalists in South America also draw the sympathies of the American public for the cause of Spanish American independence. A grassroots Pan-American movement, the “Sons of the Eagle”, takes shape and reaps a widespread following; it supports the liberation of the Americas from colonial rule, and their unity under the US model. As tensions with Britain build up, the movement takes an increasingly militant stance in favor of war against Britain and Spain. Growing amounts of US money, weapons, supplies, and volunteers are raised by the Sons of the Eagle for the Latin American patriots. Such support, as well as, in several cases, their witnessing firsthand the freedom and prosperity that US citizens enjoy, turns many Spanish American Patriot leaders into strong supporters of the American Experiment. An influential faction takes shape in the Congress, the “War Hawks”, that espouses the cause of war. Owing to the diplomatic stalemate with Britain, the Hamilton Administration too gradually shifts to a pro-war stance. The Congress passes third Naval and Preparedness acts, as war fever gradually builds up in America, and renews the charter of the Bank of the United States for 20 years. The colony of Florida rises up, expels Spanish forces with the help of Sons of the Eagle militias, and petitions for annexation to the USA.

1812: Luddite uprisings begin in northern England and in the midlands. The majority of the Luddites are deported: some to Australia, some to South Africa, and some to British South America. Some Loyalists that had settled in South Africa after the Peace of Paris get resettled in BSA.

Florida is admitted as a US territory, and Louisiana becomes the 21st state and the 3rd French-speaking one. The rest of the Louisiana Purchase is renamed the Missouri Territory. President Alexander Hamilton asks the US Congress to declare war on Britain and Spain, in retaliation for British blockade, impressments, violation of treaty terms in the Midwest and Northern territory, and of the Adams Doctrine in South America. The Congress, driven by the War Hawks, eagerly delivers it. President Hamilton wins an easy re-election thanks to the war fever and “rally round the flag” feeling that is gripping the United States.

The war with Britain and Spain begins. The conflict gets several names in American history: War of 1812, Anglo-Spanish-American War, Second American Revolutionary War. Many modern Americans simply get to see the whole 1775-1816 period as the real course of the American Revolution, with the 1st ARW, the Franco-American War, and the 2nd ARW/War of 1812 as different phases of the same conflict where America affirmed its freedom and independence against the European colonial powers. Many other modern Americans otherwise agree, but they deem the First Great War as the fulfillment and completion, or “last battle”, of the American Revolution in a broader sense, when America affirmed its unity against the rebels and the European powers that were trying to break it apart, and the truest values (the “rebirth in freedom”) of its Revolution by purging itself from the blight of slavery.

Despite the impressive power of Britain in this period, America starts the conflict in a favorable standing: the British have most of their resources tied down in the Napoleonic wars, mainland Spain is fighting Napoleonic occupation and can only rely on the Royalist militias and the forces present in the Americas since before the Peninsular War, Spanish America is rife with revolutionary unrest, while the USA control settled Canada, and spent the last two decades building up the size and efficiency of its regular Army, the militias, and the Navy. Thanks to the SoE efforts, the conflict is popular across the United States, and the US have built a network of contacts with revolutionaries in many areas of Spanish America, especially in Cuba, New Grenada, and Venezuela. The assimilationist policy of the US makes several tribes in the American territories favorable to America or neutral in the conflict, allowing the US to concentrate its resources on fighting the British and the pro-British tribes.

British troops invade Arnold and the Ohio valley territory using their as-of-yet still occupied forts (in violation of the treaties) within the Midwest and Northern Territories and river boats from their Rupert’s Land territories, which were still allowed to the Great Lakes by the 1781 Treaty of Paris for their fur trappers. Prompt reaction by the US Army and state-territorial militias, raised to good efficiency by a decade of development, defeat the invasion. The young but efficient US Navy wins several victories against the Royal Navy and the Spanish Navy, allowing the US to land mixed expeditionary corps of regular US troops, SoE militias, and Spanish American revolutionaries in Cuba, New Grenada and in Venezuela. These landings cause local Patriots to rise up again in rebellion against Spanish colonial rule. New revolts against Spanish colonial rule flare up in New Spain as well.

1813: Most of Cuba and New Grenada/Venezuela is seized by Patriot and US forces. The republic of Gran Colombia, encompassing New Grenada and Venezuela, is proclaimed with Simon Bolivar as its first president. It signs a treaty of “friendship, alliance, protection, and association” with the USA, and becomes a US protectorate. Cuban juntas petition for annexation to the USA. A Patriot uprising takes place in Peru, and the revolutionary junta proclaims the independence of Peru from Spain. They are however hard-pressed by Royalist forces, and by British troops that enter Peru, so they petition Gran Colombia and the USA for aid.

British forces make headway through the unorganized American Territories, heading for Arnold and Quebec, but they are again repulsed by US regular forces and militias. American forces, supported by pro-US Indian tribes, crush pro-British tribes in the Midwest and Northern territories, seizing the British forts in the area. US landing attempts in Jamaica and Trinidad are defeated by the Royal Navy, but the Americans and their allies expand their control in Cuba and Gran Colombia. A Spanish attack on Louisiana is defeated. A large US expeditionary corps lands in Gran Colombia and in American Guyana and prepares to attack British and Spanish forces in Peru and British Guyana. British raids on New England, New York, the Carolinas, and Quebec inflict significant damage. British attacks on New York, Charleston, Montreal, and Arnold City (OTL Toronto) are however repulsed. Despite the economic hardship inflicted by the war and the damage wrought by British raids, American morale and consensus for the war remains high thanks to victories in several theaters.

1814: Americans route the British and Spanish out of Gran Colombia, Cuba, and British Guyana. After the US victory in the Battle of Santiago, the Spanish army in Cuba surrenders. A two-pronged US and Gran Colombian offensive on British Guyana from Venezuela and American Guyana encircles and defeats British forces in the Battle of Essequibo. New British offensives towards Arnold and Quebec temporarily occupy Arnold City and Montreal, but fail to conquer Quebec City. A later American counteroffensive liberates the cities and pushes the British completely out of Arnold and Quebec. The US decide to engage in an all-out effort to expel the British out of Rupert’s Land. British troops again launch unsuccessful attacks on Charleston and Wilmington, and land near Washington, DC. The attack on the US capital is repulsed after two days of battle (the famed “Last Stand on the Potomac”) by US regular troops and militias, led by president Hamilton. The fight in the sight of the Capitol inspires the poet Francis Scott Key, a militiaman in the battle, to write “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

An American attempt to invade Texas is defeated when British forces join Spanish troops to defend northern Mexico. The British pressure Brazil to join the conflict. Brazilian forces attack Guyana, perceiving it to be an easy target, but are repelled by the US garrison, and a bombardment by a squadron anchored at port. US forces chases the retreating Brazilians, and chases them to the Amazon River, claiming it as the new border for Gran Colombia and Guyana. The dubious claim is made semi-legitimate when the US commander forces the Brazilian general to sign a document handing the land to America. The Brazilian general’s authority to do so is questionable at best, but the Americans shall later use the document to enforce their claim at the peace table. US-Gran Colombian forces storm Peru to relieve their Patriot Peruvian allies, and defeat British and Spanish troops in the battle of Ayachuco.

Note: up to this point, butterflies concerning European history, albeit manifesting in several minor ways, did not substantially change the course of the French Revolution and of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Now, however, their cumulative effect begins to manifest and makes European history diverge substantially.

The Congress of Vienna breaks down when Britain, Austria, and Bourbon France refuse to go along with the Poland-Saxony plan supported by Prussia and Russia, and the latter powers refuse to back down. Britain and Austria declare war on Prussia and Russia. Talleyrand persuades Louis XVIII to make France join Britain and Austria, even if as this war makes the already rather unpopular restored Bourbon monarchy even more so within war-weary France. Joachim Murat, King of Naples, already rightfully suspicious that Austria plots to have him deposed and the Bourbon restored in Naples to affirm its control Italy, makes an alliance with the Russo-Prussians and declares war on Austria, in an attempt to save his throne, sparking the Neapolitan War.

1815: the Americans invade Rupert’s Land to route the British out of mainland North America. The US Navy destroys several British ships in the Great Lakes. Two US offensive probes from Arnold and Quebec and from Ohio and the Michigan Territory start a difficult but successful march across Rupert’s land, defeating British forces in several battles and seizing several forts and trading posts. They are aimed towards York Factory, the HBC headquarters and linchpin of the British presence in North America. American forces in Louisiana under General Andrew Jackson win a decisive battle and defeat a British-Spanish attack in the Battle of New Orleans. This success and the Last Stand on the Potomac become the iconic American victories in the war.

Brazil signs the Treaty of Macapa, which largely recognizes the Amazon River as the new border between Brazil, Gran Colombia, and American territories, although some conflicting claims remain due to bad maps. The US march across Rupert’s Land successfully concludes with the Battle of York Factory, where the American forces seize the HBC headquarters and sever the main logistic link of British forces with their country. The retreating British Army, exhausted and short of supplies, is soon forced to surrender. The terms of surrender cede Rupert’s Land to the American government. US-Gran Colombian and Peruvian forces defeat the British and route Royalist forces in the Battle of La Paz, seizing control of Upper Peru.

In Europe, Algiers' renewed requests of tribute from American merchant shipping results in the Second Barbary War. Napoleon escapes Elbe and returns to France. The French Army, already making a lackluster performance fighting for an unpopular regime, and the French populace, already disgusted by the Bourbon monarchy and its ham-fisted attempts to restore the Ancient Regime, quickly switch their allegiance to him en masse. Napoleon enters Paris, beginning his "Two Hundred Days" rule. The return of Napoleon turns the European war in a three-way conflict, as Britain and Austria fight Prussia and Russia, and both sides fight Napoleonic France. The sudden lack of Frenchs support dooms the war effort of the Anglo-Austrians on the continent, since the Prussian Army makes a good performance thanks to its recent reforms and the Russian Army deploys overwhelming numbers.

The Prussians overrun Saxony and decisively defeat the Austrians and the Saxons in the Battle of Sadowa, while the Russians do so as well in the Battle of Vilagos. The Kingdom of Naples defeats the Austrians in the Battle of Tolentino and chases the Austrians out of Italy. Vienna and Budapest are occupied by the Russo-Prussians and Austria is forced to beg for peace. Russo-Prussian armies defeat British-Hanoverian forces at the Battle of Langensalza and overrun Hanover. At the Battle of Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, Napoleon inflicts a crushing defeat to the British and their Dutch and Belgian allies and occupies Belgium. Mounting defeats in Europe and the Americas and economic hardship trigger widespread Luddite riots in Britain that are barely suppressed. The pro-war Tory government collapses and a Whig government takes over; it promises economic and political reforms, and makes a bid for peace with Russia, Prussia, and America. Napoleon skilfully evades numerically superior Russo-Prussian armies for several months and inflicts them several indecisive defeats but eventually suffers a decisive defeat due to overwhelming enemy numbers at the battle of Sedan. The Crown Prince of Prussia, Frederick William, takes part in the battle and gains an enduring sense of Romantic loyalty to the cause of German nationalism. Napoleon is forced to ask for peace, but he keeps sufficient intact French forces to allow him to negotiate; the Russo-Prussians, spread thin to occupy large tracts of Austria, Germany, and France, accept to negotiate a compromise peace.

In America, some argue for a continuation of the war, the conquest of Texas, and the liberation of Mexico, which remains under the control of Royalist forces, but many Americans are beginning to tire out of the long and hard, albeit victorious, war, and the American government accepts to start peace talks. Spain, where the restoration of Ferdinand VII is quickly turning to harsh disillusionment and alienation in the face of the autocratic and harsh behaviour of the king, is war-torn by the Peninsular War and hard-pressed to continue the war without British support, so it accepts to join peace talks, despite the misgivings of the king.

1816: the Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812. The USA annex Rupert’s Land, the North-Western Territory, Labrador, Cuba, Puerto Rico, British Guiana (which includes OTL Dutch Guiana), the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Britain and Spain recognize US suzerainty over Florida and the independence of Gran Colombia and Peru as US protectorates, and the USA recognize British suzerainty over Rio de la Plata and Chile, although conflicting claims linger between Peru (later the USA) and British South America about Upper Peru, which however remains under Peruvian control. US diplomats fail to win Newfoundland, the rest of the British West Indies, or the independence of New Spain at the treaty table. Conflicting US and Spanish claims remain over Texas and New Spain’s status, but the treaty settles the previously disputed border of the Louisiana purchase with Spanish colonies as follows: the Sabine River north from the Gulf of Mexico to the 32nd parallel north, then due north to the Red River, west along the Red River to the 100th meridian west, due north to the Arkansas River, west to its headwaters, north to the 42nd parallel north, and finally west along that parallel to the Pacific Ocean. USA and Britain agree to “joint occupancy” of Pacific Northwest (Oregon Country and Columbia District) and Spain renounces its claims on the area. The three powers restore normal trade relations. Britain pledges to end all impressments of US citizens.

Indiana is admitted as the 22nd state of the Union and Cuba, Puerto Rico, Rupert’s Land, the North-Western Territory, Labrador, Guiana, the Bahamas, and Bermuda become US territories. Peru signs a treaty of “friendship, alliance, protection, and association” with the USA, and becomes a US protectorate. An American naval squadron defeats Algiers' forces. The Treaty of Algiers ends the Second Barbary War: it frees American and European captives, indemnifies the US for seized shipping, guarantees no further tributes and grants the United States full shipping rights.

Enthusiasm from victories in the war with Britain and Spain results in a new victory for the Federalist Party in the 1816 election as Charles Pinckney is elected as President with Pierre Duval as VP, the first French-speaking American to become so. President Hamilton, feeling tired by the sheer effort or leading the country during the conflict, decides to follow Washington’s precedent and declines to run for a third term despite his very high popularity.

The Congress of Vienna reconvenes, with victorious Russia and Prussia as the dominant parties and their Naples ally in tow. Russia annexes Finland, the Duchy of Warsaw, the Grand Duchy of Posen, Galicia, Bukovina, Moldavia (Bessarabia had been already annexed in 1812 after a Russo-Turkish War) and Wallachia. The latter two areas are nominally Ottoman vassal states, but the Russians affirm they shall proceed to evict the Ottomans in no time, and the other powers acquiesce to coming Russian expansion in the Balkans. Prussia keeps West Prussia and annexes Rhineland-Westphalia, Hanover, Saxony, and Bohemia-Moravia. Prussia becomes the president of the German Confederation and the dominant power among its 37 members.

A compromise about France is reached by which Napoleon agrees to relinquish the throne of France but is allowed an honorable exile in America and his son keeps the throne with a reaffirmation of the liberal 1815 Napoleonic constitution. The Russo-Prussians are satisfied to evict Napoleon from France but they have grown quite disillusioned with the Bourbon dynasty after it went to went to war with them and later lost again the throne. They are unwilling to undergo another difficult military campaign to restore an unpopular and untrustworthy regime. However, France has to pay a price for its defiance and relapse to Napoleon, and gets an harsher peace than was initially stipulated in 1814. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are carved out to re-create the Kingdom of Burgundy which is given to the former King of Saxony. Corsica is ceded to Sardinia-Piedmont.

A strong Kingdom of Netherlands is set up under the House of Orange and includes the Seven United Netherlands, Austrian Netherlands, and Limburg. Since the Duchy of Luxemburg is deemed to be a German land and is part of the German Confederation, it is set up under the joint rule of Netherlands and Prussia.

Murat gets richly rewarded for being a good ally against Austria (not that much trustworthy against Napoleon, but he didn't do anything really significant to help him, either), and his kingdom becomes the most powerful Italian state. The Russo-Prussians do not have a detailed plan for Italy, but they do not want it to become an Austrian or French playground. So apart from strengthening their Neapolitan ally, they decide to build a few strong Italian states, diminishing the political fragmentation.

Joachim Murat keeps the throne of Naples (although Sicily remains a separate kingdom under the Bourbon dynasty) and gains Lombardy and Veneto. Tuscany, Parma, and Modena are united as the Kingdom of Etruria under the Bourbon-Parma dynasty. Savoy-Piedmont gets to include Nice, Savoy, Piedmont, Corsica, and Sardinia as the Kingdom of Sardinia. Since Orthodox Russia and Protestant Prussia do not really care much about the territorial integrity of the Papal States, Ferrara and Bologna are given to Etruria and Ravenna, while Romagna and Marche are given to Murat to build a land connection between his northern and southern possessions. The Pope is allowed to keep Umbria and Latium.

Austria is forced to renounce its Imperial title and becomes the Kingdom of Austria and Hungary. It loses Bohemia-Moravia, Galicia, Bukovina, and Lombardy-Veneto, but keeps the rest.

Napoleon leaves France for America with a sizable cadre of followers, although many others stay back to form the backbone of the Regency for young Napoleon II, in a power-sharing compromise with the moderate supporters of the old dynasty led by the duke of Orleans.
 
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Eurofed

Banned
1808 map, created by Helios-Ra, revised by me.

2q3y9l3.png
 
I like the original, you know.

What are you planning to change?

The one complaint I really have with the original is that the expansion against Brazil seemed a little unusual, geographically - especially after the 1860s war. And Russia's direct annexations from Turkey after the last war were a little unusual, too - they made neither geographic nor ethnographic sense.

In general though, IDK that your changed have to be too radical. But maybe the new one will be even better, looking forward!
 
Possible typo detected at time index 1795. New state of Arnold (OTL Upper Canada) is referred to as Franklin in the same paragraph (e.g. "Franklin has a French-speaking majority").

I'll start a new version of my clickable maps to account for this revised TL shortly.

 
I love this TL man! I'm a big fan of Big Tex's Ameriwank, but I also love this more realistic and non-ASB ameriwank. I like the revisions you made and the detail that went into TTL's changes to the U.S. Constitution and the maps. Anyway, great work and I look forward to the rest of the TL being updated and eventually carried into the future.
 
Spent some idle time at work reading this :) I like the flow of it, but one question I've got is why did Sweden get Norway? Did Sweden join the war on Prussia & Russia's side? Seems unlikely given that Russia just grabbed the eastern 3rd of the kingdom...
 

Eurofed

Banned
I like this TL:). But can you please change the name of southern Ontario back to Franklin.

I reasoned out that since TTL Arnold dies an heroic death defending Quebec, he may be better suited than Franklin to name OTL Southern Ontario. But don't worry, Franklin does get his namesake state just the same, in a few decades. He gets one of the future free states.
 
Dang I thought the Hamilton Doctrine had a better ring to it. Shame. I guess I'll have to get used to the Adams Doctrine now
 

Eurofed

Banned
Dang I thought the Hamilton Doctrine had a better ring to it. Shame. I guess I'll have to get used to the Adams Doctrine now

A necessary side effect of setting up a more plausible outcome for Haiti. But as you can see, I made a very positive outcome for Hamilton, he goes in TTL history books as one of the greatest US Presidents.
 
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