What are but two votes? - An alternate Civil War

Alt History Buff

Ok, folks, I'm winding down my "Quasi-War" timeline and will do a short one here before I do a full "reboot".

I've had an idea about how just a shift of a state or two from slave to free early on would have broken a lot of those deadlocks from 1800 to 1860. I thought about it being Virginia, with Jefferson's attempts to slowly end the institution but think that, absent a major event, Virginia would never elect to do so pre-1860.

So I've settled on Delaware. Delaware, at Independence, was 15% slave. By 1810, 78% of the black population of Delaware was free and gaining fairly rapidly as plantations moved to less-intensive crops like wheat. By the Civil War, only a few thousands blacks in Delaware remained enslaved.

Bills to emancipate failed in 1792 and 1845. The closes was 1803, when a vote for "gradual emancipation" was tied in the Delaware House and the Speaker delivered the tie-breaker again. Though slavery was nominal within the state for the ensuing years, Delaware Senators often voted with the southern block.

This mini-TL is meant to change that.


Chapter 1: Mr. Washington goes to Smith.

Fall 1803

Delaware

Representative Washington was late. He knew he shouldn't have tarried at home for so long but his little plantation was dying. His attempt to ban importation of slaves into Delaware had faltered again in the face of the northern and western representatives whom claimed he only wanted to drive up the prices of his own human capital so he might bail himself out of his financial mess. The cost of reelection nearly bankrupted him. The poor harvest...

Well, he needed a good price for his twenty slaves. Far better to sell, return to solvency and hire some immigrant labor to till his wheatfields. Negroes just didn't pay anymore.

That being said, Washington didn't intend to ban the institution. As a southern (well, middle-state) gentleman, he intended to keep a few house slaves around for status. These damned Methodists and Quakers missed the point entirely. How they managed to wrangle up the votes, Washington would never know, but they forced a vote this morning on a gradual emancipation of slaves over the next 18 years that included a ban on all slaves to the south.

Washington could imagine the sight 18 years hence when his slave walked out of the fields (well, kitchen, anyway) to freedom without a dime of compensation.

The gentry-man spurred his horse forward. He was turning onto Smith Street when the beast skidded along a sudden patch of new tiles, that new stone road that had cost the state so much. Washington had nearly brought the steed under control when the horse overcompensated and reared backward, landing with full force upon his master. Washington's spine snapped at once. Some local residents carried him to a nearly home where the Representative died three hours later, in agonizing pain and incapable of speech.



The Speaker growled in fury as the votes were tabulated. Even the abolitionists appeared startled by their victory. One vote! How could this be?!

But the measure passed. Delaware was well on her way to joining the ranks of the "Free States".
 

Darth_Kiryan

Delaware. Always a key state Delaware.


Also:
Alt History Buff said:
I've had an idea about how just a shift of a state or two from slave to free early on would have broken a lot of those deadlocks from 1800 to 1860. I thought about it being Virginia, with Jefferson's attempts to slowly end the institution but think that, absent a major event, Virginia would never elect to do so pre-1860.
Click to expand...

Um, Didn't Virginia have a slavery debate in 1831-1832? I thought it was seriously considered that they would abolish slavery except the Nat Turner rebellion shelved that idea. And, if Delaware is abolishing slavery now, would it not influence Virginia as well?
 

Alt History Buff

Chapter 2: The Missouri-Arkansas Compromise

Washington DC, 1820

The Southern delegation was in an uproar. Outnumbered 13 "Free" states to 10 "Slave", they last thing the nation needed was yet another Free state. Already outnumbered, the southern states could only count upon the Arkansas and Florida territories as future slaves states. Perhaps not even them if Senator Tallmadge of New York got his way. He'd managed to get congressional approval to outlaw the further introduction of slaves in to Missouri the previous year. Now he was making noise about doing the same in the Arkansas Territory.

Missouri's territorial government had officially requested statehood and had passed legislation, really a notice of intent, to emancipate the relative handful of slaves in the Territory over a five year period (naturally, they could not be sold south, only emancipated). The boundless Northwest Territory (potentially being broken into several states, naturally free) that had been acquired in 1803 via the Louisiana Purchase was unlikely to be any more suited for large-scale plantation crops than much of the industrializing north. The previous term, a duel was fought between the Senators from Massachusetts and South Carolina. Evidently, the southern Senator somehow acquired a proposed map that would breakup the Northwest Territory into as many as twelve states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Dakota and other unpronounceable names included). Accusing the southern man of theft, it took the direct intervention of the President to halt the duel (fortunately neither fellow was a decent shot and three rounds had hit only trees. One congressman serving as a witness acerbically recommended a distance of one pace to ensure some bloodshed).

Even without such measures, soon enough, two-thirds of the Senate could be "Free" with some advocates for emancipation even showing up in Kentucky or Maryland(not that anyone gave credence to such radical thoughts). Even the House of Representatives continued to tilt in that direction as the northern states were receiving a disproportionate portion of the immigrants from Europe.

And it was no secret that the North continued to look upon British Canada with covetous eyes. That could potentially add four or five more "Free" states.

The day may come when the northern states may simply determine that the southern tradition die, by arms, if necessary!

The old practice of filibustering in Congress and threatening to halt Presidential appointments wasn't working as it once was. Monroe was a quiet supporter of Jefferson's policy of slavery's containment, meaning an opposition to expansion. Many northerners, even some southerners, had opposed expansion into Alabama and Mississippi, prime cotton lands! Where the hell did the north think the cotton they processed and shipped was coming from?!!! The hypocrites!!

However, it became apparent to Sam Calhoun that the Missouri Legislation would pass along sectional lines and President Monroe was not intent on vetoing Missouri's admission as a Free state. However, the south had one asset: the ambition of the Kentuckian Henry Clay. He knew he required southern support for President in 1824 (Monroe hinted he would follow in Washington's steps and retire after two terms).

The Missouri-Arkansas Compromise ended the deadlock in Washington, much to the President's relief. The southern delegation would halt their attempts to reopen slavery in Missouri while their northern counterparts would not attempt to extend the Tallmadge Act to Arkansas. It was quietly hinted that this would also extend to Florida when the lightly populated Territory reached adequate scope for statehood.

With luck, Clay's Legislation would keep the peace for a generation. The Florida and Northwest Territories were not likely to be adequately settled for statehood anytime soon. In a way, this was correct.

However, the Congressman would discover he'd only made enemies in both camps, not allies, for his mediation.

With the admission of Missouri in 1821 (following Alabama and Maine in 1819), the quantity of free to slave states reached 14 to 10. Quietly, many southern politicians advocated wide migration from the south into both Arkansas and Florida territories, hoping to bring them into the fold earlier than later. Other quietly investigated alternate methods of expansion, gazing covetously south to Cuba or west to the war-ravaged New Spain. Some even pointed out that the French claim to the province of Tejas was part of the Louisiana Purchase and that territory already belonged to the United States.

The "Era of Good Feelings" would continue for several more years, allowing Monroe to conclude his well-received Presidency in moderate domestic peace.

It would not last forever.
 

Alt History Buff

Darth_Kiryan said:
Delaware. Always a key state Delaware.


Also:


Um, Didn't Virginia have a slavery debate in 1831-1832? I thought it was seriously considered that they would abolish slavery except the Nat Turner rebellion shelved that idea. And, if Delaware is abolishing slavery now, would it not influence Virginia as well?
Click to expand...


I've always felt that the assorted slavery debates in Virginia never had the slightest chance of abolition. IMO, they were overstated historically.

I don't think Virginia would care at all about what Delaware did. Only that two more Senators (in the long run) would be "Free".
 

Darth_Kiryan

Alt History Buff said:
I've always felt that the assorted slavery debates in Virginia never had the slightest chance of abolition. IMO, they were overstated historically.

I don't think Virginia would care at all about what Delaware did. Only that two more Senators (in the long run) would be "Free".
Click to expand...

I'm just saying that it would probably add pressure. Its a southern state which voted for abolition. Granted, it is a minor/smaller state in comparison....
 

Alt History Buff

Free states in 1821 or on the path to emancipation:
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Vermont
Maine
Pennsylvania
New York
New Jersey
Delaware
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Missouri


Slave states:
Maryland
Virginia
Kentucky
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
 

Alt History Buff

Chapter 3: Bleeding Texas

1835 - immigrant Americans, predominantly southern, emerge independent from Mexico. While it is assumed that Texas will eventually join the Union, the discussion of slavery continues to drive debate.

A mix of Anglos and Mexicans, the new country accepts slavery as legal. However, the increasing power of the anti-slavery movement does not intend to allow Texan admission as a free state. Southerners and slaves enter slowly. Cunning northern abolitionists gather funds to send abolitionist settlers to Texas as well. Another northern Congressman urges the large number of German settlers arriving in America to turn towards Texas instead. Unfamiliar with the institution, these two groups quietly encourage slaves to run away from their masters. This was a devastating economic loss to owners, threatening to bankrupt thousands. Opinions hardened.

The southern cause is further harmed by their lack of foresight. Seeing northern Mexico as potential slave states, southern filibuster (the invading kind, not the Congressional kind) to incite civil war in parts of Mexico, setting one region against the other. As the deathtoll rose in the late 1830's and early 1840's, more and more Mexicans crossed into newly independent Texas. If the Germans were opposed to slavery, the Mexicans downright loathed it. By 1845, Texas was considered 35% Mexican, 15% German or assorted European-born, 35% American-born (predominantly Anglo) and 15% slave (this largely being focused in East Texas along the Louisiana border where the cotton lands existed).

As the northern abolitionists began to caucus with the Mexicans and Germans, it became apparent that Texas may eventually emancipate. Outraged, the south-born began to burn out the homesteads of known abolitionists, whom then retaliated. Hundreds were killed and newspapers began to refer to the nation as "Bleeding Texas".

Finally bringing their own country to order, the Mexican government dispatched General Santa Anna to Texas, intending to bring the now-failed and dysfunctional state back to Mexican control.
 
Grimbald

Grimbald

Monthly Donor
Personal opinion---ITT the South leaves the Union in 1820 and the North lacks the military and industrial strength to compel it to remain.
 

Alt History Buff

Chapter 4: Albatross about the neck

Republic of Texas

Just how the hell more and more people kept showing up in Texas, Sam Houston could not comprehend. Was the wide-spread violence he heard about in Germany and Mexico really so bad that Texas was preferable?!!!!

The nation, if one could call the utterly dysfunctional state as such, was a bloody mess. The central government had long since collapsed as slave versus free brigands tore up the countryside. Mexican refugees poured in from the south and Germans arrived via the ports. As the abolitionists and state-rights groups clashed, more and more people were dragged into the conflict. While Houston was supportive of expanding slavery into the fine cotton fields of east Texas, this madness could not be justified by any means. Despite calls to arms, Houston remained on his farmstead. His five slaves had run off months ago anyway and someone needed to watch the place.

With so many abolitionists about, it was estimated that over half the slaves in eastern Texas had escaped to the west or north, either on their own or with aid from the abolitionists. This proved an effective strategy. A prime field hand cost over $150 as opposed to less than $1 for an acre of prime land. Hundreds of plantation owners had been bankrupted overnight when their slaves fled. No plantation owner would dare import any quantity for fear their huge investment, usually dwarfing the purchase of land, could dissipate into the night. As such, the number of slaves in the fields plummeted as they escaped or their owners grudgingly shipped them east into Louisiana or parts further.

In the meantime, tens of thousands of Mexicans from the south and Germans from abroad continued to show up. Unaccustomed to the practice, few had any interest in expanding slavery. In desperation, the pro-slavery faction had announced that "foreigners" would not be allowed to vote as would any that discouraged the institution. That effectively eliminated 80% of the adult male population of Texas. Unsurprisingly, these "laws" were generally passed by about 20 drunk men standing around some dirt-water town square, not anything resembling an elected body.

Never able to miss a beat, counter "Parliaments" and "Congresses" expanded full suffrage to all adult males, ensuring a healthier following.

Disgusted with them all, Sam Houston refused to participate in any such shams and considered returning to Tennessee, perhaps to his Indian friends.

That is, of course, until the Mexican Army made its belated crossing of the Nueces River.


Captain Robert E. Lee of the United States Army had questioned the wisdom of this "friendly force intended to keep the peace" with Texas. Two hundred US soldiers had accompanied a group of negotiators dispatched from America in hopes of enticing the dysfunctional Republic into the United States. He knew some of his southern brethren desired Texas as a slave state but Lee could live without the headache. It was obvious that most of the white (and Mexican) population was against the institution and it would simply be better for slavery to be banned rather than risk such loathsome civil war to extend to America.

Already, slaves were fleeing from Arkansas and Louisiana to Texas, where it was unlikely they would be returned. Killed, perhaps. Not returned. Even Lee admitted that most slaves that flee north were eventually returned to their masters. This sort of chaos could spell doom for America. Texas needed to be brought under control.

As Austin, the nominal capital, was largely in the hands of the Abolitionists. The American delegation was trying to find a "neutral" location to work out the matter. In the meantime, Lee was dispatched to the Nueces to "get the lay of the land", whatever that meant, and to try to reason with any combative bands he may come across. The whole situation appeared a disaster but orders were orders.

Gazing south across the Nueces, he knew that the situation was even worse. His southern brethren had been launching filibusters for years, hoping to take over parts of Mexico. Money was sent to insurgents. Naturally, if the land was truly democratic, perhaps they would find no purchase. However, the constant "revolutions" usually ended with new dictators. The mestizo majority remained unrepresented. Regional rebellions remained the norm. Indeed, this may have saved Texas as the Mexican government(s) had repeated dispatched armies to reconquered Texas only to be forced to fight battles closer to home.

Leading his mount south, Lee skirted the mighty, entering an expansive canyon. He noticed odd billows of smoke to the west. He pointed them out to his adjutant and nodded, "There are no major settlements around here. Must be those Apache or Comanche that they are so frightful of in these parts. By all accounts, they are mighty...."

It was at this point that the Mexican sharpshooters at the head of the ravine opened fire.
 

Alt History Buff

Chapter 5: Expansion and Controversy

The United States-Mexico War of 1846 to 1848 was considered an oddity to historians. Technically, Mexico never directly attached American soil. The intended "reconquest of Texas" was halted almost before it began as the forces marching north under Santa Anna were diverted to halt local rebellions on Coahuila an Nuevo Leon. Rebellions continued in Sonora, Chihuahua and the Yucatan, as they had formented for years. Indeed, over the course of the American counter-invasion, there were at least three coup-d'états in Mexico City as generals vied for control.

When the slaughter of Captain Lee and most of his command by Mexican troops sent forth as scouts from Santa Anna's distracted northern army reached the United States, dozens of Senators and Congressmen immediately clamored for war, even as several like Abraham Lincoln, recommended diplomacy to resolve the issue. President Polk, never one to miss a beat, immediately demanded recompense and apology, the former taking the form of the sale of Nuevo Mexico and California to the United States (at a fair fee, Polk would complain). The assorted President's, politicians and Generals fighting the Mexican Civil War all refused, then went back to their fighting. After all, America's army was tiny and far away. Her navy was irrelevant Mexico only had one real port (Veracruz) anyway along the Caribbean. What could America do?

Naturally, Polk played up the peremptory language of the Mexican response and managed to pass a surprisingly close declaration of war through Congress. Still divided, America's military "might" moved ponderously southward. Given the vast distances involved, several fronts were required, partially or entirely supplied by sea. As the nation was involved in numerous civil wars (many Mexican states had already declared independence), the generals opted to use America's advantage at sea.

Generals Fremont and Lane would march westward with a few thousand men and seize control of California and New Mexico and, if possible, Chihuahua and Sonora. Given that the latter two were in rebellion already, it was unlikely they would meet much opposition.

General Zachary Taylor would take the northernly route via the coastal town of Matamoros and seize the contested city of Monterrey, where Santa Anna and his main army were attempting to break the northeastern rebels and eventually reconquer Texas.

Sam Houston, the hero of Texas Independence, was granted an American Army commission and would gather up his forces in Texas that were sailing down the Mississippi. His first act was to bring peace to Texas, no matter the means, then march southward where General Wool was already marching for Saltillo, less than 100 miles west of Monterrey. If possible, he was to ally with the northeastern Mexicans, then march in support of Taylor.

General Kearny would seize the port of Tampico, which dominated the best easterly rivers of Mexico that flowed into the Caribbean.

Finally, General Scott would sail directly for the great port of Veracruz, from which the near entirety of Mexico trade was exported to the world. Commanded by a mighty fortress in the harbor, the American Navy would send their most powerful ships to silence the Mexican guns.

No one knew exactly what to expect. The Mexican Army had been fighting for years and were considered tough and experienced. However, the internal politics of the nation was poisonous. While politicking between egos and party affiliation in the American Army was common enough, the Mexicans took it to an extreme. Barely two decades from independence, not a single President since the inaugural one had managed to complete a term without a military coup.

President Polk, while not impressed with his own forces, at least knew that his enemy was a basket case. More importantly, however, was the potential for foreign invasion. Some whispered that Spain may attempt, perhaps by invitation, to retake a Mexico whom feared American conquest more than imperial rule. France was rumored to be renewing interest in colonialism beyond Algeria. Most of all, Polk was worried about Britain.

For years, the "problem" of the Maine border, Oregon Territory and the Great Plains of North America had vexed both nations.
Americans had been streaming into the contested "British" Territory of Rupartsland along the plains for years. While it seemed odd that Britain would be so intent on maintaining such a far-flung domain, the two countries had kept the rival claims to dialogue rather than war. They "jointly oversaw" the Oregon Territory. Naturally, over 20 times as many Americans migrated into the territory as Britons. Polk was happy enough with the British offer to divide these lands once and for all. However, it was the southerners that had waylaid the treaty in Congress. The last thing the south wanted was more northern land which may eventually become a state. It was obvious that several more state of the plains and the Great Lakes would enter the union in the next few years. They didn't want Oregon to be another. By combining with some particularly jingoistic expansionists whom wanted "popular sovereignty" (ironically) and allow the residents of Oregon to vote. Some even whispered America should have taken as side in the Canadian Rebellions a few years ago and ejected Britain from American soil altogether.

The Prime Minister, insulted that America's Congress rejected the Webster-Ashburn Treaty of 1842 he'd thought was a done deal, was livid. Relations chilled even as more and more Americans moved into "Ruportsland" and Oregon. Even more so, he'd been embarrassed when Denmark chose to sell the Danish Virgin Islands to America rather than Britain (that nation never really forgiving Britain for their unprovoked attacks in the Napoleonic wars). With so many more Americans present than Britons, the demographics looked bad. still, Britain defeated Napoleon. Their backward former colonists would best watch their steps.

Polk was aware of all this even as the warships and transports (virtually the entire American Navy and much of the flower of her merchant fleet) sailed southwards. He even dispatched yet another emissary to Britain in hopes of placating Britain's latest complaints. Perhaps some boon might be offered, though Polk knew not what.
 
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Wertmon505

Quite the interesting update. It seems there are more PODs than first indicated if the Sepoy rebellion and Crimean war happened a decade earlier.
 
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