Washington Dies, Military Coup

What if prior to the Constitutional Convention during the period when the Military was most dissatisfied with Congress for lack of pay, Washington dies and someone else steps into place to become military dictator/king? Who could that be? Gates? Hamilton? etc.
 
I doubt the militia men who had rebelled because their local assemblies where being overruled would institute some kind of centralized dictatorship. The militia men where angry over not being paid what they where promised and they may just hold congress at gun point and force them to arrange a way where they are paid what is owed to them. Course the military stepping up and forcing congress to do things is in itself a really bad precident but I find outright dictatorship unlikely. (and why does everyone say someone stepping up as king as an option, I see no Potential Iturbides among the any of the notable figures dictators maybe but there's a reason almost none of the newly independent countries in America became monarchies)
 
I doubt the militia men who had rebelled because their local assemblies where being overruled would institute some kind of centralized dictatorship. The militia men where angry over not being paid what they where promised and they may just hold congress at gun point and force them to arrange a way where they are paid what is owed to them. Course the military stepping up and forcing congress to do things is in itself a really bad precident but I find outright dictatorship unlikely. (and why does everyone say someone stepping up as king as an option, I see no Potential Iturbides among the any of the notable figures dictators maybe but there's a reason almost none of the newly independent countries in America became monarchies)
If the Army coerced Congress into paying them, Congress would have to do it in worthless continental dollars, and the the army would have to threaten eg the individual states, or towns, or merchants. Id guess you might rather end up with a Junta rather than a single dictator, but you could end up with Heinleinesque goverment where only soldiers/vets can vote. Or you get several warlord states...
 
The real question here is, could they even do so, afterall, before WWI the U.S. Military overall was always small and the Army even more so, furthermore at this time period they'd also be poorly equipped and would've at this time not been a single entity as much as they were several groups working under a Unified Command.
 
If the Army coerced Congress into paying them, Congress would have to do it in worthless continental dollars, and the the army would have to threaten eg the individual states, or towns, or merchants. Id guess you might rather end up with a Junta rather than a single dictator, but you could end up with Heinleinesque goverment where only soldiers/vets can vote. Or you get several warlord states...

I think it wouldn't be long (like, less than a year) before some individual would rise up, seize control, and restore order, violently if necessary. This would be bad news for the newly formed US, but still quite a ways away from warlord states/chaos type scenarios. The early US really has pretty good underlying governmental structures at the state and local level, it would take something like mass starvation in order for them to just melt.

Now, what the new government would look like is anyone's guess.
 
Having spent years fighting, and a lot of blood and treasure to throw off one tyrant, I do not see the American people embracing another tyrant. At best you have a much more influential military integrated into the government and at worst you have years of resistance and internal strife.
 

mowque

Banned
I figure the Congress bows to Army demands, which the public would see as fair and right. They pay as best they can. Most of the militia men go home, the angry fringe try to rile up trouble but get little support.

As said, this is a bad precedent which would have big effects but I don't see a rapid fundamental change to the USA. Too many of the men, even if unpaid, just wanted to go home. They'd leave at the first half-way decent deal.
 
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