We Refuse

[Red Wolfe]

The Philadelphia convention
“My political curiosity, exclusive of my anxious solicitude for the public welfare, leads me to ask who authorized them to speak the language of ‘We, the People,’ instead of ‘We, the States’?”
-Patrick Henry

PROLOGUE
On May 25th 1787 the great men from the various states of the United States met in the Philadelphia state house. They were there to discuses the writing of a new constitution for the whole nation. The 2 main plans that were proposed were the Virginia and New Jersey plans. The Virginia plan, created by James Madison, advocated for a strong national government were as the New Jersey plan was something more like the old articles of confederation. After a couple months a new plan, the Connecticut plan, was brought to the convention. This plan, despite being a blend of the previous two, was highly controversial among some for the amount of power vested in the president and the national government. The debate over this plan caused Gorge Washington to wait to back the plan until late September. So on the 17th of November the convention ended and the Constitution sent to the states. The first states to ratify the new construction were Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey all in December. Next in line was Georgia and Connecticut, both of which ratified in January. However even with the string of ratifications the anti-federalists were still as strong as ever. When it came time for the Massachusetts ratification convention 2 prominent anti federalists , John Handcock and Samuel Adams, proposed a compromise to the federalists. This compromise called for a set of amendments to be made that laid out the rights of the people and the states in exchange for Massachusetts ratifying. All though the federalist had no problems with the individual rights part, they absolutely hated the state right parts and they refused the offer thinking they would still be able to carry the state. This mind set was destroyed when on February 6th 1788 Massachusetts would refuse the Constitution. While Maryland, and South Carolina would still ratify others states like Virginia, North Carolina, and New York would not. Rhode Island even refused to consider the new Constitution. So when the ratification convention in New Hampshire was gathered all eyes were on it. And when the result was given it changed the history of the young nation. They refused.
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So for any one reading this is my first timeline so please give some criticism and tell me what you think.

 

[Red Wolfe]

Old city hall of New York city
CHAPTER 1:
When New Hampshire refused the new constitution the political scene of America was thrown into chaos. The federalists and anti-federalists started to do everything in there power to gain power over the one another. The Anti federalist called for a 2nd constructional convention in new York. But when they met on May 5th 1790 only delegates from 6 states showed up, as the federalists boycotted the convention. The stalemate was even apparent to the average citizen as it would be reported that some would have debates at the local taverns. When it reached George Washington himself he sent the a document now know as the State of The Nation to congress outlining his grievances with what was happening. Although this could of stopped the argument to really did nothing. The two sides were to far gone and not even the great George Washington could force them to compromise. This all came to a head when Vermont applied for statehood. To many this may seem like a stupid thing for Vermont to do, but you have to look at the situation at the time, you see the area of Vermont was claimed by two different states new York and new Hampshire. This state of being clamed by 2 states caused Vermont to side with the federalists, hoping that a strong government would protect them. When the application made it to congress, some argued that it was not the time to be accepting new states. But it still made it to vote were it was shot down by states voting in line with there "party". Mean while Kentucky rescinded there application to become a state and started looking at other options. To this end they called a yet another convention like those before but this one would be called the Danville congress by histories after the city they met in. They looked at many options, some wanted to wait for the government in new York to make up there mind, another option was to send the application to new York anyway, neither was very popular. Another option was presented by James Wilkinson independence. Although the idea was popular with a couple members of the Danville congress it quickly gained popularity when the Declaration of Sovereignty was written and presented by Wilkinson. Little did they know when they voted to adopt the declaration they would dramatically affect the history of America.

 

[Red Wolfe]

Kentucky war of independece reenactors

Chapter 2
The Kentucky war of independence*:
when Kentucky declare there independence in august 1792 Virginia immediately demanded that congress do something. However when they did they were told that nothing could be done, as they not only had no money to go to war . It was this that many say is what push Virginia to leave the USA on November 20th 1792. After this they began to raise an army over the winter months, and plan for the complete invasion of Kentucky. They formally invaded Kentucky on march 1st with a 4,200 man army. The plan was to slit up the army into 4 groups to take out the 4 main city's Danville, Louisville, Lexington, and Harrodtown. Many directing the war were expecting a easy war given the much smaller population but this war from the truth. While this planning and war preparation in Virginia was going on the Danville congress was reaching out to various powers and states for assistance. The first nation they contacted was Spain. Spain would agree to alliance and would send supplies to the fledgling nation. However the place that most directly help would be Pennsylvania. Not only would Pennsylvania allied and sent supplies to them but also began to raise there militia in case of Virginian retaliation to these polices. When the Virginias were making there way to their objectives they were harassed by frontiersmen and these attacks would reduce the Virginias moral. Once they got to their various city's the generals leading the army's were surprised to see some of the Kentuckians were armed with modern military weapons and even a couple of cannons. This did not deter them and they lunched attacks on there objectives. The most memorable battle being the 1st battle of Danville where the two armies fought to a stalemate. The other battles were not much batter, in Harrodtown and Lexington the Virginias also lost. They only managed to take Louisville which become the center for Virginian plans, which had to be changed. The new plan was to attack smaller towns and outposts to try and weaken the fledgling nation. How ever instead of the burning of there farms discerning the Kentuckians, it only further encouraged them to fight. This isn't to say that the Kentuckian forces were doing perfectly, because they weren't. While they had Pennsylvania and Spain as suppliers, the soldiers had no training. This would cause many mishapes,espesialy with the few cannon crews. But these accident would gradual decline over the course of the but, never completely go away. Needless to say the 2 sides were at a stalemate. It was in attempt to end this stalemate that George Weedon would try to take Danville again. So on May 1st 1794 Weedon Launch a 2nd attack on Danville. During the fighting that day Weedon would die** in the fighting allowing Daniel Boone to rout the Virginian forces. With out a major forces breathing down there backs they began to clean up the smaller armies. After that they marched to Lexington to end the siege there. After that they called on the Virginia to end the war. The Virginians agreed to a cease fire because over the last 2 years they had grown tired of the war. They agreed to have the treaty be negotiated in Lexington as the people representing the nations were already in the area. Virginia would send Heratio gates and Daniel Morgan to meet Daniel boon and Squire Boone. The Treaty would be approved by Virginia on December 1s 1794 and Kentucky on January 1st 1795. And with a whimper the Kentucky war was over. Treaty of Lexington leave the nation of Virginia bitter but happy. Bitter because Kentucky won there independence but happy that the war was over.



old congress hall Philadelphia
America:
Virginias secession sent ripples through the nation because it now signaled that others could leave. The 1st state to act on this idea was Rhode island which left on December 1st 1792. The next to leave was north Carolina on February 5th. It was because of these secessions that the federalists began to prepare for enough states to leave to have the construction come into effect. Cut off from the rest of America the states of south Carolina and Georgia seceded on April 15th and 20th respectively. With the c now having 2/3rds of the remaining states signed on the federalist called for the states to appoint senators for the new congress of the united states and started preparations for the election for president. Enraged by this the remaining anti-federalist states all left the union by September 1793. This was the states of New York, Massachusetts, And New Hampshire. Massachusetts and new Hampshire would from an alliance to together against American expansion. Connecticut despite being cut off by new York did not pull a South Carolina and stayed in the union. During this federalist leader Hamilton and the capitol itself moved to Philadelphia. Alexander Hamilton would be elected as president of the president of the United States on January 10 1794.
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* the next war I cover will have more depth
**no one knows how he died. Some say it was his old age, others say it was a stray bullet.

 

[Red Wolfe]

Chapter 3

Alexander Hamilton first president of the United States
Hamilton's first term:

When Hamilton was inaugurated president in march 1794 he had a lot to deal with. Not only did he have to organize the new government but had to deal with the new nations that were bordering America, and British and native clams on the western territories. But he had a massive advantage, his party controlled almost all of government. Although there was opposition in the form of Republican party, they held no major seats of government and had no seats in congress. Utilizing this he set up an all federalist cabinet consisting of Oliver Wolcott jr as secretary of treasury, Richard Butler as secretary of war, William Paterson as secretary of state and Thomas Mifflin as vice president[1]. He also began to build up the military and claimed that the former American states had left illegally. To this point he allied with Vermont. This alliance was not recognized by the New England collation do to the fact that they did not recognized Vermont as an independent republic. He also began to set up the economy[2]. He also establish the dollar as the new national currency, set up the United states bank and mint. He also establish a series of taxes to fund this new army. One of the most controversial taxes was the one on Distilled spirits. The reason this was the most controversial because distilled spirits were used as a medium of exchange in western America. The people in the region of western Pennsylvania had started to refuse to pay this tax. It got to the point where some were planning of taking over Pittsburgh. Once Hamilton heard of this he sent in a part of the new army to put down and discourage talks of rebellion. This rebellion would help prove the power and authority on the new government by quickly putting down the rebellion. He also establish a series of tariffs on his neighbors farther angering them. In 1798 he would be Elected again. All in all his first term is seen as the formation of a stable government and as a build up to the war of 1800.

George Clinton first president of New York
New England and New York:

When the states of New England seceded they had they also had numerous problems. The major one was the military of the United States. To solve this the problem the State of New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts allied with each other, but they knew that they alone could not stop the United States. So they started to look for other potential allies which they found in the British Empire. As mention the British held clams over the Ohio country but they also held claims over territories that Massachusetts claimed in the north. So Samuel Adams, John Taylor Gilman, and representatives of the British met in Boston to hash out the terms of the alliance. They came to the agreement that the region that Britain claims would be given up by Massachusetts for Britain recognizing New Hampshire's claim over Vermont and for an alliance with them. Britain also managed to convince them to stop paying their debt to France[3]. The new nations also had to deal with Governmental stuff. Although Massachusetts and New Hampshire had elected to keep their constitutions, they also had the federalist in their nations to worry about. These federalist groups made new parties to oppose the existing governments. John Adams of Massachusetts formed the liberty party and John Sullivan of New Hampshire formed the national party. Meanwhile in New York they, unlike their neighbors to the north (and Rhode Island), had decided to form a new constitution based around anti federalist ideals. So meeting in Albany, the various representatives from around new York being to write up the new constitution. The first thing they discussed the Legislator , which they decided to base off the one in Massachusetts. The national legislature would be split between a house of representatives(with representatives serving for 3 years) and a senate (with senators serving for 6 years) where only half are elected at one time. But the aspect they spent the most time discussion was the leader of the republic. Over the next few weeks they made various compromises and agreements and came up with the following system. The president would be the head of state, and commander in chief being elected by the people. They are also in charge of national security and would serve for a single 6 year term. The archon would be the head of government and have the power to form a cabinet. They would be elected by but not responsible to the house of representatives. The Judges serving on the Supreme court would be nominated by the archon and approved by the senate. They also added a list of rights and the begin of the constitution .After the convention George Clinton would be elected the first president of the Republic of New York, and Jeremiah Van Rensselaer as the first archon by April 1796.

ship docked at Charleston
Spain and France:

As America was breaking up the nations of Spain, France, and Britain jumped at the opportunity to set up new spheres of influence. And while Britain was busy in the north, France and Spain where working down south. France set up free trade treaty's with north Carolina and Virginia in exchange for the easing of there debt to France. Spain allied with Georgia and south Carolina( which was kept even after there united to form Freedonia). Georgia also got a loan from Spain to secure some money. Spain also ended the argument over Georgia's western territories with them getting it[4]. They tried to take North Carolinas western territories but they refused to give it up (Spain would ignore them by building forts in the region)
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[1]Hamilton ran unopposed so he got to pick his
[2] This included taking the states debts
[3]They did this to try and weaken France by cutting off a source of revenue
[4] They took the territory by being granted it for forgiveness of loan debt

 

[Red Wolfe]

Chapter 3

American troops in Ohio
Start of the War of 1800:
On march 10th 1800 a small new Hampshire force of 400 headed into the Vermont wilderness. They were heading out to establish an outpost on lake Groton[1]. As they made their way to the lake they were attacked by a group of green mountain boys[2]. While they skirmish only killed a few people, the survivors of the original group made there way back. When the government in concord heard about the attack they sent a much larger to take Windsor. The war of 1800 had begun. And while it is debated if the war of 1800 is part of a the coalition wars what is certain is what happened next, new York joined into the fight. See when the government in Albany heard about the occupation of Windsor they declared war on New Hampshire believing that they were invading their territory. With that New Hampshire called in the rest of the new England coalition[3]. With Massachusetts and Britain in the fight there, but 2 more nations were fated to join America, and Virginia. When the United States learned of the war happening in Vermont they declared war on the participants under the pretense of defending Vermont( though there real plans were to bring the nations north of them in to there nation as new states). When America had entered the war the one of the first discussions they made was to march an army into the Ohio country to secure there claims to the area. This caused Virginia to enter the war because they believed that America had invaded land that rightfully belonged to them. And with their entry a small skirmish in Vermont turned into a multisided war.

flag of Freedonia

Freedonia:
Ever since South Carolina and Georgia had gained their independence from America they were in talks to form a united country. The reasons for these talks mostly came from Georgia. Since they were the least populated of the newly independent states they gravitate to there neighbor to the north. They would eventually ally to each other and this alliance would (do to them being former federalist states) soon turn into ideas of union. It was not until April 2nd however that these talks were put into action. It was on this date that the 2 countries would meet in savannah to work out a constitution. Most of the basics were based on the US one. It had three branches an executive, legislative, and judicial. There were however differences in the two. For the executive branch the president served a single 6 year term and the was no vice president only a President of the Senate. For congress the House of Representatives was renamed the House of Delegates and the whole of congress was Proportioned on population. The president would be elected by the people and not an electoral collage. Delegates and senators also serve for longer, with delegates serving for 3 years and senators for 9(only a third of them would be up for election at one time). Senators would also be elected by the people. The major difference in the judicial branch was the fact that it was called the Constitutional court and there was a set number (6). They eventually came to a problem, what to name this country. The first 2 two suggestions were to name the country Carolina or Columbia. Carolina was unfavorable because it favored South Carolina, and the delegates wanted to build a new nation and felt that Columbia was too attached to America. So they invented a new name Freedonia representing the free nature of the nation. The final part they incorporated in the constitution was a select number of what they called vital libraries. This was the right to free speech, free press, free religion, petition, and assembly. After the convention ended it was quickly ratified and nominees for president came forth. How ever out of them all one clear winner came forth Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. So on in November 1800 Pinckney would be inaugurated as the first president in the temporary capital of Charleston[4].
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[1] Vermont had allowed this to happen mostly so they are not invaded by much bigger armies
[2] It is uncertain weather or not there were really affiliated or if the troops had mistakenly reported so
[3] Britain would not enter until America did
[4] The constitution called for a capital territory to be created

 

[Red Wolfe]

fighting in Maryland
War of 1800 part 1 :

when New York first entered the war there first attack happened on Castleton, Vermont. The town was rather easy to take to the surprise of many. This easy victory was do to Vermont's battle strategy, retreat into the mountains and perform mountain warfare[1]. But unlike Kentucky, which not only would ambush the Virginias and fight them on the battlefield, Vermont had almost no major towns. The major towns that did exist were along the borders with new York and New Hampshire, which is another major difference between Vermont and Kentucky. Vermont had 2 nations to worry about. And will Vermont was being reduced to a small mountainous, and empty area in the middle of the "nation". But like Kentucky they had a major ally America. America was helping by invading New York with the first battle in the invasion being in Corbettsville and it was a victory for the American army. And while that advanced would be stopped at port Dickson but in other places the New Yorkers weren't as lucky. Further south the American army took west point and entrenched themselves on the banks of the Hudson. And not only were they being pushed by America in the south but also by the Massachusetts and Britain in the north. America was not doing perfect though as they were also being invaded by Massachusetts in Connecticut. This invasion began with the capture of Windsor Locks from the Connecticut militia on November 3rd. They would not say there for long as they would begin the siege of Hartford on November 11th. America's first battle in Ohio was at Zanesville against the Virginias in November 1800. Although it was a stalemate the Americans keep marching west eventually stopping when they had taken what is modern state of Eire[2]. They also pushed into the peninsula of Michigan but the pushed was stopped at grass lake. But it was not the British or Virginian armies that was the main concern of the American army but the natives. The main leader of the natives in Ohio ,Tecumseh, had formed a confederation of a bunch of tribes which had backing from Britain. The confederation lead to most of the fighting in the Ohio front early in the war being bands of troops fighting and burning villages. And while America was mostly dominating in the north and Ohio they were losing in the south. A joint Virginian and British effort set about trying to take Philadelphia. They knew that the cities around Philadelphia would be heavily defended(namely Wilmington) so they tried to push through Maryland. The first land battle in Maryland(Georgetown) would be a Virginian victory on march 28 1801, and many of the naval battles in the Chesapeake being British victories. The city of Annapolis would fall and the state of Maryland's capital would move to Baltimore and most of southwest Maryland would be occupied.

one of the alien and sedation acts
Federalist consolidation of power:

When the war of 1800 had started the federalists held every position of importance and they took advantage of it. During the war they past the alien and sedition acts under the guise of protecting the nation. In reality the acts were used to keep the federalists in power. They began to arrest any who openly disagreed with their policies. This did the opposite of what they hoped and only increased support for the republican party. The economy was also collapsing as they were blockaded by there numerous enemies further angering the populace. Even with that that federalists held almost complete power making their leader and the America president a virtual dictator.

freedonian executive mansion
Freedonia's territories:

When Freedonia first united they held their government in Charleston. But when the first congress convened they went about choosing the permanent capital. They first considered both savannah and the option of making Charleston the permanent but both were shot down quickly. Savannah because that was the capital of Georgia and Charleston because Georgia worried about South Carolinian domination. So in the search for a neutral city they found Augusta. It was the perfect location do to it being on the savannah river and the border between Georgia and Charleston. After an attempt to rename the city failed the capital district of Augusta was created in 1801. The government would move into the city in 1809 during the William Few administration. The first president inaugurated in Augusta would be pierce butler.
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[1] Guerrilla warfare
[2] northern otl Ohio

 

[Red Wolfe]

chapter 6

fighting in Ohio
War of 1800 part 2:

Connecticut was doing incredibly poorly, the army of Massachusetts had taken their capital and most of their territory. America had all but abandoned the state to focus on the Ohio, southern, and new York front. The state militia was fighting tooth and nail to protect Connecticut. But despite this new haven would fall in November 1800. America was doing much better in the republic of new York. With their navy held up in the Chesapeake they opted for the army in west point to march up the Hudson to capture Albany. The new Yorker army failed to stopped the Americans at Poughkeepsie leading to a major blow do it being a major city and one of the old capitals. The next major city to fall was Kingston, after which the army marching toward Albany would stop to regroup. Another smaller American army would meet up and merge with them. After which the marched to Albany which despite resistance fell. After Albany fell new York became desperate. Most of the most important cities were occupied and its army and government was in taters. This situation lead new York and the new England coalition to meet in Castleton. It was here that it was agreed that new York would cease their claims to Vermont for new England coalition helping retake occupied new York. Thanks to this shaky alliance the 2nd battle of Albany was a successes and new York retake there territory back. In the Ohio the fighting had become more and more centralized. Tecumseh had managed to create a centralized army out of the many tribes. This centralization and help from Britain helped fight off the American armies leading to a stalemate with the area split between 3 countries. But while losing there gains in new York and stalling in Ohio they were doing better. The worst lose was the fall of Baltimore to the encroaching armies. The failure for Britain and Virginia was at Wilmington were America held off a joint attack. This attack and a failure to push Britain out would lead to America to sue for peace. The nations would meet in providence Rhode island.

old state of Rhode Island meeting place of the treaty of Providence

Treaty of Providence:


The first item on the agenda for the conference was forcing the USA to recognize New York, the new England nations, and Virginia as independent. Next came the splitting of Ohio. It was agreed to split it into the various occupation zones with the north going to Britain, the east to America and the western area becoming a new nation for the natives. Virginia got some land around the Potomac river and Maryland's panhandle. When it came to Connecticut it was agreed after a long debate that Massachusetts. Also a part of the treaty was the honoring of the Castleton agreement. The treaty would be sent to the various governments involved and all parties would end up signing it by 1804
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a/n:
1) map will come soon.
2) chapter updates will be put on hold so I can do research for Europe, but updates will come out.