He’s saying that the planters have never known of toil, not the slaves.
The slaves WERE farmers—well, most of them. Not only were they the ones growing the cotton, but often they would also have their own gardens where they would grow much of the food they ate. This is land reform, not back-to-the-landism; redistributing the means of production to those who use it, not randos off the street.
But that delay could buy Maximillian time to solidify his regime. The US is unlikely to do more than give Juarez guns and money, after all. And given that Max was liberal, and seems to have genuinely come to care about Mexico, he could turn on his French patrons if he can bring enough liberals into the fold there in Mexico.
The irony of a class of people who formed an entire country to fight for their 'rights' (to own people) and 'liberty' (from a government that might want them to stop owning people,) being baffled that other people might be willing to suffer for the pursuit of dignity.
Read that passage again, as workable goblin noted.
Again echoing Workable Goblin here. I know at least the practice on Saint-Domingue (The Spanish and then French Colony that would become Haiti) was to give slaves their own small plots. It was held to be cheaper than buying in food for the slaves. It also gave the Slaves the ability to accumulate a little cash via the selling of any surplus they might be able to produce. This allowed self-emancipation, buying oneself from your master, to exist as at least theoritically viable prospect. (And of course, do you think you'd be allowed to do that if you were unruly or impertinent? No no no. If you're good and obedient and just work hard enough then maybe, maybe, you'll have a chance.)
It wouldn't be too hard for them to get together after accepting the divisions. All they would have to do is come up with some sort of a land trust model where everyone pools the combined assets and Promises to distribute to those who are struggling more. So let's say one of the freedmen has a sick wife and must tend to her and doesn't have as much time to plant, others would pitch in and provide help. They might also start the idea that, why should one person have to raise up his or her own Barn when the community can all get together and have a barn raising or something like that. They might then become like the Amish who also do that. Just everyone helping everyone else.
he had to pay a surveyor to find the stone and eventually got it measured much more reasonably.Now, this is a fairly significant change from OTL. To this day, unless the US President calls for their service, the National Guard of a state is the state's militia, governed by the laws of the state. It would certainly be an acceleration, given that the National Guard was only federalized in 1916 and required further amendments in 1933. Given their roots as a gendarmerie, I assume that the vast majority of National Guardsmen would be Southern blacks and white Unionists.
To this end, I suspect that Lincoln would much prefer it if the Confederate leaders just slipped away into self-imposed exile. Trial of Confederate generals and politicians will always run into the treason issue. There was the fear that Confederate sympathizers would get in the jury and refuse to convict their former leaders, providing a backdoor vindication of the right of secession. At the same time, some Radicals thought that vindicating secession would be helpful for Reconstruction - by acknowledging that the South had seceded, the occupied South could then be reconsidered as a conquered nation and the US would be free to implant laws as they saw fit. IIRC Breckinridge actually made it to Cuba by travelling from Georgia to Florida and then finally Cuba.
Yeah, that's the guy that returns as Governor-General of the Philippines in my story.
Have in mind that the main reason the monarchist government lose legitimacy was because both Liberals and Conservatives didn't liked Maximilian; the former ones because Mexican Liberalism was influenced by the American and French revolutions, which included Republicanism; the latter ones because Maximilian was a liberal.
Ngl to you, I'm not particularly a fan of monarchies, but the possibility of the Second Empire winning is not necessarily bad. Still, I have to make the clarification that, yes, Díaz managed to basically enforce order and progress in the country, but at what cost? If, hypothetically, Maximilian manages to slowly win, he will be forced to commit some punishments and atrocities to enforce law and order in the country. The question of the indigenous peoples depends on if their lands and way of life are preserved or not, but I remember that several decrees were published in Nahuatl, not as a recognition of the language as co-official with Spanish but as a means of political strategy.
I didn't know we were having a discussion about what was best for Mexico though? Diaz was a pretty terrible guy. And an imposed monarchy, even if it ends up manging to lose the need of their foreign backers, isn't good for Mexico either, really. My point wasn't that he was good, but that he was able to force both conservatives and liberals into alignment with one another once in power. He was able to pull a coalition of both sides. Max could very well try that.
The problem with puppet states is that they would eventually go down the drain once the puppeteers leave, almost every single time.
This. Maximilian was too conservative for liberals and was too liberal for conservatives. Plus, Mexican Conservatives did not really have majority support - hence they had to ask the French for military intervention, while most Liberals still supported Juarez.
That's why this whole idea relies on the prospect, slim though it may be, that Maximillian could conceivably cobble something together domestically because he's able to survive a bit longer because the US is in less of a position to help Benito Juarez quite as much.
He couldn't be the first foreign puppet in history to both go native and go rogue.
Pulling a Lodewijk I, eh?
He couldn't, because he was entirely dependent on the French and time was running out. He also kinda lacked the needed political skills. Note that he was essentially duped by Mexican conservatives and Napoleon III into accepting this deal (who gave false evidence that Maximilian had overwhelming popular support).
The problem is that, unlike Lodewijk I, Max had a native enemy who was the legitimate Mexican Head of State with obviously more than sufficient popular support. Worse, the patron of his enemy is right next door. After the ACW, we would see not only American arms/funding but also American volunteers (both were OTL) moving into Mexico to strengthen the Mexican Liberals. In the end, American support would be far more decisive than any forms of French assistance.Pulling a Lodewijk I, eh?
Louis Bonaparte - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
At least his patron's far enough to not just immediately take over should he dislike his puppet for going too native unlike the above, though the lack of a patron leaves him vulnerable likewise - and with urgent need to establish his own power base... as has already been previously discussed at length.
You clearly weren't paying attention to the earlier conversation, where the prospect of the US being unable to provide the same level of support to Juarez as OTL is the foundation of the entire discussion.
I hope he doesn't get killed just sent packing but you know how things go.
