The American Monarchy

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Magnificant update Lief. I'm glad that the War of Succession is over. Looking forward to the next update

[CultureKing]

Great job, this timeline has been a joy to read

Oh and I know how college applications can be stressful, I am going through them right now too.

[Person Man]

grind

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1880 - 1884

King Robert II called for a constitutional convention to be held in Washington during May 1880. He invited delegates from all the Northern states to attend, as well as Southern states that had formally pledged allegiance to King Robert II and abolished slavery (Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, Sonora, Hamilton and Virginia as of March when King Robert called for the convention). Each state sent three delegations: some including governors, others businessmen, others soldiers and officers, even labor leaders. Robert began the convention on May 2nd, 1880. Abraham Lincoln, the 71-year-old former Prime Minister and three-term governor of Illinois, was selected as President of the convention. The convention quickly passed the fourteenth amendment, formally banning slavery throughout the United States. Three weeks later, the fifteenth amendment was ratified, enshrining equal protection and due process into the constitution, and providing a broad definition of citizenship. King Robert II forced the sixteenth amendment through the convention, which increased the monarch’s and royal council’s power considerably by proclaiming the following:
1)   The monarch was given the final say in appointing sovereigns of royal dependencies.
2)   The monarch was given final consent regarding the Senate’s election of a Prime Minister.
3)   The Royal Council was given greater legislative power, with the ability to initiate non-spending bills. The Royal Council would also need only a simple majority vote to deny passage of bills (no longer 2/3s) and had to vote on all bills passed by the Senate.

The convention also established military governments in many Southern states, and temporarily removed their right to representation in the government.  West and East Florida were reorganized into the state of Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina into the state of Carolina and Alabama and Mississippi into the state of Mississippi, all in an attempt to dilute the “radical South’s” influence in Washington. Finally, at the close of the convention in late July, King Robert II set elections for the Senate in February 1881, giving politicians suitable time to organize into parties and write platforms and state legislatures and military governments time to prepare for an election.

The unity government that had governed the North for the duration of the war had been made up of a Whig-Liberty coalition. The two parties, perpetual coalition partners with similar policy planks, met in August 1880, and the smaller Whig party agreed to merge into the Liberty party. A convention was held in September of 1880, in the city of Pittsburgh. Large swaths of the city were still in ruin, and the Liberty convention was meant to be a reminder to all Americans of the sacrifices of war. John Bingham, of Ohio, who had served as Northern Prime Minister during the war, won an easy election as party leader, after war heroes James Garfield and William Sherman declined to be drafted or run for the Senate. The Constitution Party largely disappeared, seen as a traitorous and racist organization. The National Party took in many former Constitution senators, and held a convention in Richmond, Virginia, where after thirty ballots, Augustus Garland of Arkansas narrowly beat Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware. The National Party was unorganized and was unable to run candidates for many races. The Populist Party was also founded in the fall of 1880, courting farmers in the west, and led by James Weaver of Iowa.

As most Americans expected, the Liberty Party won a resounding victory in February of 1881. The National Party was disorganized and bankrupt, and much of its base in the Deep South had yet to be re-admitted. The Populist Party took advantage of the National’s disorganization, and ran as the sole alternative (often successfully) to the Liberty Party in western states. John Bingham was easily elected Prime Minister (this time of the entire United States) when the Senate convened in March.



The Senate following the Election of 1881:
Liberty Party: 155 seats
National Party: 63 seats
Populist Party: 26 seats
Total: 244 seats

The Government as of March 1881:
Prime Minister: John Bingham (L-OH)
Deputy Prime Minister: Benjamin Butler (L-MA)
Majority Whip: Rutherford B. Hayes (L-OH)
Secretary of State: Robert Todd Lincoln (L-IL)
Secretary of the Treasury: George F. Edmunds (L-VT)
Secretary of War: John Pope (L-OH)
Attorney General: Charles Devens (L-MA)
Secretary of the Interior:  Samuel J. Kirkwood (L-IA)


Prime Minister John A. Bingham

Prime Minister Bingham quickly lead his party in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1881, which served to counter-act the Black Codes that had been passed in a number of Southern states. The Reconstruction Act was also passed, funding the military governments in Southern states and setting asides millions of dollars in aid to the war-torn regions of the country. Most of the money was spent in the Ohio River valley, and focused on investments in urban and industrial infrastructure. The Populist Party lobbied heavily for relief for farmers in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Dakota Territory, areas that had been ravaged by pillaging and scorched earth tactics, but eastern industrial interests defeated the Populists’ proposition.

The Gold Coinage Act was debated and eventually passed in 1882. It called for the phasing out of “greenback” paper money that had been printed on both sides during the war, a return to the gold standard, and the demonetization of silver. Again, the Populist Party, representing western miners and farmers, came out vehemently against the proposal, but they held little sway. The National Party, seeking to gain the favor of rich bankers and industrialists in the Mid-Atlantic States came out in favor of the proposal, and it passed overwhelmingly, by a vote of 192 to 44. The Royal Council passed the bill unanimously. Also in 1882, King Robert II married Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, the 30-year-old daughter of prominent businessman William H. Vanderbilt. The couple’s first child, Crown Prince George Henry Lee, was born in 1883.

The Royal Council, by 1883, had admitted the state of Colorado. The Royal Council had also admitted New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as crown dependencies. The issue of admitting Deseret as a crown dependency, as had been promised during the war, was not settled so quickly. There were many in the royal council who were wary of giving the Mormons greater autonomy, worried that they would set up an independent theocracy. To settle these fears, the Senate passed a series of bills in 1883 outlawing bigamy in the crown dependency of Deseret, shrinking its area significantly from that originally proposed, and outlawing dual office holding within the LDS church and the government of Deseret. With the passage of these bills, the Royal Council narrowly voted to declare Deseret a crown dependency, by a vote of 15 to 11.

By 1884 violence and voter-intimidation had become a problem in the South, as states tried to hold elections to the state legislatures. Military Governors William Sherman, James Garfield, and John C. Fremont were authorized in the Voting Rights Act of 1884 to use federal soldiers to prevent voter intimidation and combat guerilla organizations in the South. In many states habeas corpus was temporarily suspended, but Prime Minister Bingham made it clear that his administration saw the protection of voting rights as one of the most important goals of Southern reconstruction. Pursuant to this aim, the Senate passed the 17th Amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote, regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. While a handful of Northern Liberty senators, who supported the old party plank of universal suffrage, pushed for the inclusion of gender in the amendment, John Bingham did not want to jeopardize the amendments passage. The amendment passed 175 to 67 in the Senate and 25 to 2 in the Royal Council. The subsequent Re-Admission Act required that re-admitted Southern states ratify the 17th amendment.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Yet another fabulous update Lief. Like many I am really enjoying this timeline. May I ask what is James G. Blaine doing in this TL? I hope he isn't going to make an entrance in this timeline anytime soon. Continue the GREAT work.

[Lief 🗽]

James G. Blaine is a Liberty backbencher from the state of Maine.

[Josh/Devilman88]

MORE MORE I NEED MORE!

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Good as always, though I have a few minor quibbles with how you decided to change the borders in the south.  West Florida would more properly go with the combined Mississippi-Alabama  (or at least the portion in those states in OTL).  Also, moving the western portion of North Carolina that is part of the Tennessee Valley into the state of Tennessee would help give Tennessee more of a non-pro-slavery population.  (At the county level, this would include all the counties on the border, plus Buncombe and Henderson and all counties west of that, and Allegheny County.)

[Хahar 🤔]

You're pretty picky, aren't you Ernest. Not that I have any problem with it.

[Lief 🗽]

Thanks for all the comments guys, and thanks to Ernest for the helpful suggestions.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1885-1889

By 1885, all Southern states had been re-admitted into the Union, though race relations in Southern states remained tense. Though the economy was weak, the Liberty Party was popular throughout the North and Midwest and amongst Southern blacks, and in the summer of 1885, John Bingham dissolved the Senate and called for elections. At the Liberty Party convention, held in Cleveland, John Bingham declined to run for a second term, citing his age and health. Rutherford B. Hayes and Robert Todd Lincoln threw their hats in the ring, but many delegates felt that a stronger candidate was needed. Eventually, James Garfield, after heavy lobbying, agreed to run for his old Ohio Senate seat and assume leadership of the party. The war hero was immensely popular, perhaps one of the most popular people in the country. At the National Convention, there was again a struggle between Northern interests and Southern interests. After a record 83 ballots, Thomas F. Bayard (N-DE), secured victory. Many southern delegates threatened to walk out, but after a stirring speech, Bayard was able to unify most of his party. He was a strong supporter of laissez-faire governance and the gold standard, and believed that federal troops should leave the Southern states to govern themselves. Ultimately, Senator-turned-General-turned-Senator James Garfield led his party to victory in November of 1885, and was elected as Prime Minister in January 1886. While the National Party had seen gains in the North, distrust of Bayard and his pro-business policies led the Populist Party to pick up the votes of many Southern whites.

The Senate before the Election of 1885:
Liberty Party: 155 seats
National Party: 63 seats
Populist Party: 26 seats
Total: 244 seats



The Senate following the Election of 1885:
Liberty Party: 171 seats (+16)
National Party: 84 seats (+21)
Populist Party: 50 seats (+24)
Total: 305 seats

The Government as of January 1886:
Prime Minister: James Garfield (L-OH)
Deputy Prime Minister: Robert Todd Lincoln (L-IL)
Majority Whip: Rutherford B. Hayes (L-OH)
Secretary of State: Robert Todd Lincoln (L-IL)
Secretary of the Treasury: John Sherman (L-OH)
Secretary of War: William E. Chandler (L-NH)
Attorney General: Charles Devens (L-MA)
Secretary of the Interior:  Samuel J. Kirkwood (L-IA)


Prime Minister James Garfield

In the early months of Garfield’s first term, a depression hit much of the United States, termed the Panic of 1886. Railroad companies that had expanded rapidly since the late 1860s and through the 1870s due to heavy government funding during the war, declared bankruptcy across the country, and banks in the Northeast began to fail. Coupled with poor economic conditions in Europe, unemployment sky-rocketed to 11% by the end of 1886. The passage of the Gold Coinage Act in 1882 that had returned the country to a gold standard was also blamed. There was heavy lobbying by sections of the Liberty and National Parties and most of the Populist Party to embrace bimetallism or a silver standard in response to the economic depression, but Prime Minister Garfield and Opposition Leader Bayard were both strong supporters of the gold. In the South, the depression destroyed the struggling factory economy that was developing, and there was a resurgence of agriculture and share-cropping. Strikes brought the railroad industry in the Midwest and the Northeast to its knees. King Robert II was apprehensive at first about using government intervention to end the strikes, but as the shutdown of railroads and factories caused the depression to worsen, he reluctantly called in federal troops. The large Midwestern cities of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Cleveland, among others, were shut down for days and weeks as mobs of striking workers and federal and state troops clashed. By the end of 1887, the majority of strikes had ended, but the economy had still not rebounded.

As federal troops returned to the North to break up strikes and the nation’s treasury dwindled, Garfield and Robert II were forced to abandon much of the Southern Reconstruction. By 1888, federal troops had been pulled out of Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Virginia and parts of Carolina. A combination of worsening economic conditions and the end of Northern protection meant that many of the social and economic freedoms blacks had gained in the South began to disappear in the Upper South. Garfield was adamant that federal troops remain the Deep South, to protect the black voting blocs that largely supported his party. In many counties and cities, black voter intimidation returned and Jim Crow laws were passed. In an attempt to further protect civil rights in the South, the Liberty Party passed the Civil Rights Act of 1888, guaranteeing blacks the same treatment as whites in public places and criminalizing poll taxes and literacy tests. The Civil Rights Act passed overwhelmingly in the House, and narrowly in the Senate by a vote of 19 to 15.

The Depression crushed the National Party in the South, where poor, angry white farmers turned to the Populist Party, which blamed Northern business and freedmen for the economic situation. Populists took control of governorships and state legislatures and took five National Party seats in by elections during 1888. While free blacks rallied around the Liberty Party, Populists in the South increasingly used racist rhetoric to gain voters. In the Senate in Washington, Prime Minister Garfield came under constant attack for his inability to solve the economic crisis. Another series of strikes had broken out across the country and there were calls for a no confidence vote against Garfield. Garfield’s whip, Rutherford B. Hayes, reported to the Prime Minister in October 1888 that the Populists and Nationals would be able to siphon enough support from angry Liberty Senators to narrowly bring down the government. In an effort to satisfy Populists, Garfield had Secretary of State Robert T. Lincoln negotiate the purchase of land east of the Snake River from the British. Garfield also lobbied the Royal Council for the admission of 4 new states in the west: Montana, Wyoming, Dakota and Lakota. With the western faction of the Populist Party temporarily satisfied, Garfield avoided a no confidence vote.

The economy began to rebound in late 1888, and Garfield was ready to dissolve the Senate and call a snap election when the body reconvened that March. But in January 1889, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the newly created American Federation of Railroad Workers (AFRW) ¹ called a strike. The economy plummeted again, and the Populists again called for a no confidence vote. Before the vote could even be held, James Garfield was injured in an explosion on April 17th, 1889 in Washington. The explosion was blamed on anarchists, and a number of anarchists and immigrants accused of being anarchists were rounded up, arrested, and convicted. Garfield survived the explosion, but resigned as Prime Minister and Senator on May 28th, 1889, stating that he was unable to lead the country in his  condition. Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State Robert T. Lincoln became Prime Minister the next day. He reigned over the Senate for only a week, as a no confidence motion was passed against his government on June 4th, 1889, by a vote of 147 to 141. King Robert II set the election for September.


Prime Minister Robert T. Lincoln

¹ The AFRW had been founded two years earlier by Eugene V. Debs a veteran of the American War of Succession and a hero of numerous battles in Indiana and Ohio. Eugene Debs (often called “Sergeant Debs” by his supporters) had built up quite a bit of notoriety during the war. He later wrote that we was originally a pacifist, but had been drafted and fought for his country regardless. During the war he had come into contact with German immigrants who had been drafted by the North, who introduced him to the writings of Marx and Engels.

[Josh/Devilman88]

Great update!

[HappyWarrior]

Great update, only questions are where would the Snake River and Lakota be?  Also what happened to Custer since the war ended?

[Lief 🗽]

Snake River is the river comprising the western border of our Idaho. Lakota was the name chosen for what we call Idaho, in commemoration of Lakota leader Sitting Bull.

General Custer remains an important general. While he was approached by some National supporters to run for the Senate or a Governorship, he had little interest for politics.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Yet another great update Lief. I think this has to be one of the best ever TL's on the Atlas forum. Keep up the awesome work

[TomC]

I hadn't been following this. INteresting stuff.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Did the Snake River purchase go through or did only negotiations begin?  Given the Panic of 1886, I figure the British will want to be paid in gold which the government will be a bit short of.

Same with the four new states, did the Senate approve Robert II's proposals?

[Person Man]

Did the Snake River purchase go through or did only negotiations begin?  Given the Panic of 1886, I figure the British will want to be paid in gold which the government will be a bit short of.

Same with the four new states, did the Senate approve Robert II's proposals?

Can we finish sweeping into Oregon? I really want Brittish animosity to end lest the bomb gets dropped on London. I mean, they are occupying American Territory. That hasn't happened in the real world.

[HappyWarrior]

I'm hoping there will be overseas expansion before long.  After all the Monarchy is more expansive than our democracy.  States of Belize and Jamaica anyone? :-D

[Person Man]

I'm hoping there will be overseas expansion before long.  After all the Monarchy is more expansive than our democracy.  States of Belize and Jamaica anyone? :-D

America will become opened wide.

[HappyWarrior]

When will you update again?

[Bacon King]

I'm hoping there will be overseas expansion before long.  After all the Monarchy is more expansive than our democracy.  States of Belize and Jamaica anyone? :-D

America will become opened wide.

oh, enough of your goatse references

[Lief 🗽]

Secretary of State Robert Todd Lincoln was able to negotiate the purchase of the Snake River territory in exchange for ending the small reparation payments Great Britain had promised the United States following their intervention in the war of succession. The British had barely settled the area, and American settlers had had de facto control of the territory since the end of the war.

The Royal Council approved the entry of the four new states with little debate.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1889 - 1894

Both the National and Liberty Parties held their conventions in New York City. At the National Convention, Thomas F. Bayard narrowly won re-election on the first ballot, with heavy backing from Northern Nationals, as Southern nationals, due to the railroad strike, were largely unable to attend. Robert Lincoln, as the current Prime Minister, won re-election on the first ballot. Most Liberty Party supporters knew that they had no chance of retaining a majority and anticipated a colossal defeat. While Nationals were slightly more optimistic, their pro-business platform and policies had alienated Southern whites and westerners, and most Northerners still considered them the party of the South. The Populist Party held their convention in New Orleans, where a bitter battle was fought between the Western and Southern wings of the party. James Weaver (P-IA), Benjamin F. Shively (P-IN), and Thomas E. Watson (P-GA) all fought for the nomination. Weaver represented Western interests, while Shively gained the support of Midwestern labor unions, and Thomas E. Watson gained the support of Southern delegates. After a day of speeches, Watson gained control of the party on the first ballot, and Weaver and Shively made speeches stressing party unity. The Populist Party went on to win a crushing landslide victory in September, nearly wiping out the Liberty and National Parties. State legislatures and governorships throughout the country also fell to the Populists. The party was truly a big tent party, comprising Western ranchers, miners, unions, socialists, communists, poor immigrants, Southern whites, and even middle-class voters tired of the faltering economy. At 33, Thomas Watson was the youngest Prime Minister ever and commanded a majority nine seats short of a 2/3 majority.

The Senate before the Election of 1889:
Liberty Party: 170 seats
National Party: 75 seats
Populist Party: 60 seats
Total: 305 seats



The Senate following the Election of 1889:
Liberty Party: 68 seats (-102)
National Party: 43 seats (-32)
Populist Party: 198 seats (+138)
Total: 309 seats

The Government as of November 1889:
Prime Minister: Thomas Watson (P-GA)
Deputy Prime Minister: James Weaver (P-IA)
Majority Whip: Ignatius L. Donnelly (P-WI)
Secretary of State: James Weaver (P-IA)
Secretary of the Treasury: Benjamin F. Shively (P-IN)
Secretary of War: James H. Kyle (P-DA)
Attorney General: Bernard Reyes (P-HM)
Secretary of the Interior: Henry Heitfeld (P-LK)


Prime Minister Thomas Edward Watson

The Populist Government of Prime Minister Watson immediately set about to reform the American economy. Watson pushed the Barker Fair Labor Act through the Senate with little debate. The law mandated an 8-hour work day in most industries, and passed by a vote of 197 to 105. When it was sent to the Royal Council, the bill failed by a vote of 14 to 29. Decrying the Royal Council as a “body beholden to the banking interests and against the common man”, Watson pushed forward with legislation meant to reinvigorate the economy. The Free Silver Act passed in March 1890, allowed the coinage of silver at a 16:1 ratio to gold. The Populist party was wildly pro-silver, and with the pro-gold National and Liberty voting blocs reduced to just over 1/3 of the Senate, the Free Silver Act passed overwhelmingly, by a vote of 201 to 97. Once again, the Royal Council blocked the bill, which was seen as too radical, by a vote of 19 to 23. Unable to influence the economy, Watson then turned to another of his party’s central policy planks: direction election of Royal Councilors. Working for weeks to lobby Senators from the Liberty and National parties, Watson scheduled the vote for August 20th, 1890. As voting closed, enough Liberty and National Senators had crossed over for the amendment to pass, by a vote of 203 to 96. It was then sent to the state legislatures, most of which were Populist-controlled. Elections for the Royal Council would be held every four years, starting in November 1894.

By 1891, the economy had begun to improve, and the frequency of strikes died down rapidly as Unions and businesses successfully negotiated higher wages and shorter work days. Faced with a conservative Royal Council, Prime Minister Watson was forced to abandon many of his proposed economic reforms and instead concentrate on governmental reforms. In 1891, his government focused on passing a number of civil service reform laws. Elsewhere in the country, state governments controlled by the Populists passed laws mandating secret ballots and establishing referendums, recalls and initiatives. While Watson had pushed for nationalization of railroads during his election campaign, he understood by 1891 that the Royal Council would be ardently against such a plan. Instead, he passed the Interstate Railroad Regulation Act, establishing a commission to regulate the railroad industry to ensure fair rates, among other things. The act passed in the Royal Council with little opposition.

As the Senate convened in March 1892, Watson gave a speech outlining his goals for the year. He argued that with the economy now back on its feet, it was time to go ahead with many of his party’s economic reforms. By the time the Senate had recessed for the summer, Watson had passed two important economic bills: the Coxey Anti-Trust Act, which limited trusts, cartels and monopolies, and the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed at the behest of unions, which halted Chinese immigration. Both acts garnered nearly unanimous support in both the Senate and Royal Council.

In 1893, Watson attempted to pass child labor laws, but the Royal Council made it clear that they would block any attempts at a federal child labor law. With his economic plans once again denied by the Royal Council, Watson led his party in over-turning the Civil Rights Act of 1888, by a vote of 157 to 148, with many Western and Midwestern Populists voting against the Prime Minister. The Royal Council also narrowly over-turned the Civil Rights Act, but King Robert II vetoed the bill, and Watson lacked the votes to over-ride the king’s veto. The split in his party over the act evidenced the first strains in his huge coalition of different interests. As 1893 came to a close, Watson tried to pass an amendment to the constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote, but it fell 10 votes short of the necessary 2/3 margin. At the start of the 1894 term, Prime Minister Watson passed the Railroad Workers Compensation Act, an attempt to protect and compensate railroad workers injured on the job. A month later, a similar act, protecting miners, was passed. In May, Prime Minister Watson attended, with King Robert II, the first game of the American Football League, in New York City. Brooklyn F.C. would win a close game against Boston F.C., with a final score of 4-3¹. Watson revealed to King Robert II that he planned to dissolve the Senate the next day and asked for August elections.

¹The American Football League was founded in 1894 by nouveau riche businessmen in the Northeast. Based on the rules established in England, football (or soccer in the vernacular), had become prominent at many Northeastern universities and was actively promoted by King Robert II, a fan of the game. The rules of the game had been codified in 1873, but it had remained a college game during the war period and the immediate post-war period. By 1894, it had grown in popularity and a professional national league was created. For the next few decades, football and baseball would compete for the title of national pastime.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Surely a rugby style football of some sort (even if not the same as OTL American football) would be preferable to most Americans over the effete soccer style?   In any case, whatever football code is adopted in this timeline, I can't see it becoming a serious competitor to base any earlier than whenever the Great European War starts.