Washington's one term

[Captain Chaos]

The First Term of Winfield Scott

It's blank.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

What do you mean "Former President" Van Buren?

Also, wonder if Polk even survives his term.

[BritishDixie]

What do you mean "Former President" Van Buren?

Also, wonder if Polk even survives his term.

Where did I say that?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Ah sorry, misread.

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of James K. Polk

The Cabinet of James K. Polk
Treasury Secretary: James Buchanan
Secretary of State: Levi Woodbury
Secretary of War: William Orlando Butler
Attorney General: Jefferson Davis
Secretary of the Navy: James A. Bayard Jr

Polk made history by being the first President to appoint a former President to his cabinet, Levi Woodbury. Polk renewed the offensive on Mexico. Robert E. Lee succesfully destroyed the Mexican forces on the Rio Grande in an offensive of April 1849. These forces then cut a swathe through the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, before cutting into San Luis Potosi. With Mexican troops being withdrawn to defend their homeland, U.S troops now effectively controlled everything north of the Rio Grande. The death of Mexican President Santa Anna on June 19th 1849, of natural causes, saw a weak government installed in his place. A revolt due to rising food prices in the Yucatan led to the collapse of the rule of law across much of the country. Eventually in September 1849, the Mexican Government sued for peace. It agreed to abandon all territory north of the state of Sonora in return for a peace treaty. Secretary of State Levi Woodbury would sign a peace treaty with the Mexican Government on December 25th 1849.

These acquisitions dramatically increased Democratic-Republican popularity, so much so that the Party was able to pass a massive tariff reduction in February 1850, with bipartisan support, something unthinkable under previous conditions. Meanwhile, the National Party was disintegrating. Hopelessly split between its pro-slavery "accomodater" faction, and its "barnburner" anti-slavery faction, many anti-slavery Nationals left for the Liberty Party, which had 5 Representatives and 2 Senators at that point.

The shock that broke the Nationals came when in a referendum of slavery, California voted for it by a margin of 52%-48%. Many barnburners left the Nationals in outrage over the Party leadership's failure to protest. In the elections of 1850, the Nationals won only 61 seats, to the 34 taken by the Liberty Party. The Democratic-Republicans won 137 seats, a large majority. The Senate saw 30 Democrats elected to 22 Nationals and 10 Liberty Partiers. But on February 2nd 1851 came tragic news, that President Polk had died. Thus Vice President Lewis Cass, a man of great experience, ascended the Presidency.

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of Lewis Cass

The Cabinet of Lewis Cass
Treasury Secretary: James Buchanan
Secretary of State: John C. Calhoun
Secretary of War: William Orlando Butler
Attorney General: William R. King
Secretary of the Navy: James A. Bayard
Secretary of the Interior: James Guthrie

Cass appointed Attorney General and former Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis to be his Vice President. He also created the post of Secretary of the Interior. Cass also appointed Levi Woodbury as Chief Justice of the United States in 1851, following the death of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Meanwhile, Cass controversially admitted Texas to the United States in August 1851, and a slavery referendum there was successful by a margin of 76%-24%. This hastened the collapse of the National Party as more of its members defected to join the Liberty Party. The ailing Secretary of State, John C. Calhoun negotiated the treaty of Havana with the British, solving the Oregon boundary dispute, with the United States moving to take control of Oregon in February 1852. Calhoun died shortly afterwards on March 27th 1852.

1852
Lewis Cass and Jefferson Davis were easily nominated by the Democratic-Republicans in 1852. The National Party nominated unpopular former Vice-President Millard Fillmore for the Presidency, with Senator Robert Stockton of New Jersey as his running mate. The Liberty Party nominated Martin Van Buren for the Presidency once more, along with Representative Salmon P. Chase of Ohio as his running mate. The Liberty Party released its most detailed platform ever, expanding beyond just abolitionism, in favour higher tariffs, and help for western settlers. The Prohibition Party also made its first showing, nominating Neal S. Dow for President.

The campaign revolved around slavery. The Liberty Party ran on the slogan of "Free Soil and Free Men". Cass attacked it as being composed of dangerous radicals who would cause a civil war. The National Party ran a quiet campaign, emphasizing stability and consensus. However it undermined southern support by attacking the admission of Texas as a slave state. Van Buren went on a whirlwind speaking tour across the north, unusual for the time. The result was a landslide for Cass, due to vote splitting between the Liberty Party and the Nationals outside of the North-East. The Liberty Party won its first electoral votes, finishing second, although third in the popular vote. The election was disastrous for the Nationals, who would never recover.

Cass/Davis: Democratic-Republican: 210: 45.7%
Van Buren/Chase: Liberty: 57: 25.6%
Fillmore/Stockton: National: 29: 27.0
Dow/Gray: Prohibition: 0: 1.3%

[BritishDixie]

The Second Term of Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass began his second term well. He achieved a 10% reduction in the tariff, and appointed a new, pro-Democratic-Republican, chairman of the National Bank. However the slavery issue was now starting to boil over. The publication of "Aunt Sarah's Lodge" in 1853 by Representative Abraham Lincoln, exposing the supposed brutalities of slavery, inflamed the slavery debate. Several southern state legislatures, led by South Carolina and Georgia voted to ban the book. Attorney General Howell Cobb of Georgia actually led a legal challenge to Lincoln, in an attempt to ban the book, which failed by 6-2 in the Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Levi Woodbury being in the minority. The Liberty Party, with Martin Van Buren taking the lead, merged with anti-slavery Nationals in May 1854 to form the Republican Party. The disputed result of the referendum on Slavery in Kansas in August 1854, which produced a 53%-47% victory for slavery, was called into question as it was believed that there had been numerous cases of ballot stuffing by both sides, but especially the pro-slavery forces.
 
The attempts to resolve the dispute by Senator's John Tyler and Stephen Douglas only added to the tension. The Tyler plan would see Kansas admitted as a free state in return for stringent enforcement of a fugitive slave act, which would see help given to slave owners in order to help in the return of their slaves. The act passed the House by 129-105, and the Senate by 33-29 in September 1854. However, in a surprise use of the Nullification Act of 1834 by the Massachusetts legislature, the plan was struck down in Massachusetts in October. An enraged Vice President Davis denounced "this act of radical northern perfidy, designed to split the nation asunder". The Democratic-Republicans however were approaching levels of disastrous unpopularity in the North. In 1854, the Republicans won 115 seats in the House with the Democratic-Republicans reduced to 76. The Nationals fell to only 31 seats, although they held onto states that were turning into bastions for them, such as Maryland, Kentucky and Delaware. The Senate was transformed into a situation of 23 Republicans, 30 Democrats and 8 Nationals, with one so-called Constitution Party Senator being elected in Texas (Sam Houston).

The remainder of Cass's term was difficult to say the least. More states (New York, Ohio, Connecticut and Rhode Island) nullified the Tyler Plan. Cass almost lost his life due to an assassination attempt in June 1855. Meanwhile, stories of "bleeding Kansas" haunted his Presidency. Cass decided not to seek a third term in 1856, and thus the way opened up for his loyal, and as yet untainted Treasury Secretary, James Buchanan.

1856
The Democratic-Republican nomination devolved into a battle for the prize between 3 contenders. Chief Justice and former President Levi Woodbury attempted to win the nomination, talking up his experience and apparent moderation. However there was never any real enthusiasm for him as President. Vice President Jefferson Davis ran as the "candidate of the south". However there was little enthusiasm for him in the north, and also many did not think he could win a general election. Treasury Secretary James Buchanan seemed the strongest candidate, but no-one could reach the 2/3rds that was required for nomination. Woodbury withdrew and supported Buchanan, and Davis later decided he couldn't win and threw his delegates to Buchanan. The convention chose Senator William A. Graham of North Carolina to be Buchanan's running mate. Meanwhile the Republican Party easily nominated Governor John C. Fremont of California and Senator Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania as its ticket. The National Party nominated John Bell of Tennessee and Sam Houston of Texas as its ticket.

The campaign was ugly. Fremont denounced Buchanan, Cass, and Vice President Davis as the "triumvirate of traitors" saying that the Democratic-Republicans were planning to extend slavery across the whole country. Buchanan attacked Fremont as "sowing the seeds of discord amongst men who were once brothers in arms" suggesting that a Republican victory would lead to civil war. The National Party meanwhile had refashioned itself as "the party of consensus", with Bell campaigning for a return to "brotherhood" with Bell decrying the others parties as purely sectional ones. In the end however, Buchanan was able to prevail. However, his victory was narrow, and showcased the Republican Party as being the wave of the future.

Buchanan/Graham: Democratic-Republican: 155: 41.2%
Fremont/Cameron: Republican: 123: 37.3%
Bell/Houston: National: 18: 20.4%
Gray/Clark: Prohibition: 0: 1.9%

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of James Buchanan

The Cabinet of James Buchanan
Treasury Secretary: William L. Marcy
Secretary of State: Jefferson Davis
Secretary of War: James A. Bayard
Attorney General: Howell Cobb
Secretary of the Navy: Herschel V. Johnson
Secretary of the Interior: John C. Breckinridge

James Buchanan's term was miserable. Split's over slavery increased, and his cabinet was derided as a "southern cabal" despite the presence of anti-slavery William L. Marcy of New York. A state of virtual civil war was in existance in Kansas. A minor recession that ocurred in 1858 which led to rising unemployment amongst northern workers heightened anti-slavery feelings. War almost occurred when Secretary of State Jefferson Davis threatened to impound a British Ship that was carrying escaped slaves in October 1858. Although the incident was resolved, this increased the feeling amongst northerners that the Buchanan administration was in the pocket of the southern slave owning elite.

Then came the fateful decision of Chief Justice Levi Woodbury to retire from the Supreme Court in January 1859. Eager to get Davis out of the State Department, Buchanan appointed him to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice. It would have fateful consequences.

In April 1859 came the case of Banana Jackson. Jackson, possessing the unfortunate name of Banana, had escaped from his master all the way to Massachusetts, where the Tyler Plan to return fugitive slaves had been nullified. Her owner, Virginia Slave holder Robert Shaw, took the case to the Supreme Court demanding that he be returned to him. Chief Justice Davis, and the 4 other Southern Justices, voted for an order demanding that Jackson be returned to Shaw. This partisan order outraged Northern opinion, and Davis only narrowly survived a bomb attack upon him on July 23rd 1859. With the Supreme Court having struck down a nullification, the Nullification Act of 1834 was in essence dead. With Buchanan's failure to do anything about it, the Republican controlled House of Representatives moved to impeach Buchanan in November 1859.

The impeachment passed the House by a vote of 123-115. However it was struck down in the Senate by a margin of 40-26. But Buchanan's narrow avoidance of impeachment would be used against his party in the fall of 1860.

1860
Buchanan, now in failing health declined renomination. Chief Justice Jefferson Davis attempted to win the nomination, however he had no support amongst Northern delegations. Instead the Northern delegations turned to Senator Joseph A. Wright of Indiana. After several dozen ballots, the convention broke up without a nominee. The Northern Democratic-Republicans reconvened in Chicago, where they nominated Wright, and Governor Stephen Douglas of Illinois. The Southern Democratic-Republicans nominated Jefferson Davis for President, with Senator Robert Hunter as his running mate. The Republican Party nominated Senator Abraham Lincoln and Senator William Seward as his running mate. This was done as it was thought that Seward would be able to fire up the abolitionist base, whilst Lincoln could reel in westerners and supporters of the tariff. The National Party nominated Governor Sam Houston of Texas as its nominee, with former President and Chief Justice Levi Woodbury as his running mate. They campaigned on a platform of national unity.

[BritishDixie]

Comments? Questions?

[BritishDixie]

The election campaign was fought almost entirely over the question of national survival. William Seward famously declared "We are al faced with a choice, will we bend and break under the crushing burden of slavery, or will we break free from these chains and walk openly into the light of freedom". Both the northern and southern Democratic Republicans labeled the Republicans as being extremists whose election would lead to a civil war. Davis memorably commented "if the black Republicans are elected, America shall fall into the thralldom of Negro rule, and every white man shall henceforth be his slave". Wright campaigned on "maintaining the balance" in order to avoid civil war. The result was highly sectional when it came. The Republicans won most of the north, the Southern Democratic-Republicans won much of the south, whilst the Natinals picked up a variety of states, mostly along the border between north and south. The Northern Democratic-Republicans won only Indiana, a disastrous performance.

Lincoln/Seward: Republican: 159: 38.7%
Davis/Hunter: Democratic-Republican: 97: 21.0%
Houston/Woodbury: National: 34: 17.6%
Wright/Douglas: Northern Democratic-Republican: 13: 21.3%
Dow/Clark: Prohibition: 0: 0.7%

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of Abraham Lincoln

The Cabinet of Abraham Lincoln
Treasury Secretary: Salmon P. Chase
Secretary of State: Edward Bates
Secretary of War: John C. Fremont
Attorney General: Frederick A. Conkling
Secretary of the Navy: Hannibal Hamlin
Secretary of the Interior: Nathaniel P. Banks

Following the election of 1860, a plot was drawn up between some southern politicians to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, in order to effectively hand the Presidency to President Pro-Tempore Benjamin Fitzpatrick of Alabama. However the plot collapsed following the accidental assassination of Senator Charles Sumner who was speaking to Lincoln whilst Lincoln was watching a play. Lincoln was inaugurated as planned on March 4th 1861. This led to Governor Preston Brooks of South Carolina issuing a declaration of secession from the Union on March 5th 1861. Similar declarations were soon issued by Alabama, then Georgia, followed by Florida, and then Mississippi and Louisiana in a joint statement. Governor Sam Houston of Texas was able to prevent the state's seccession by arresting the main conspirators. He declared that Texas was now in a state of neutrality.

Following secession, Lincoln declared that it was unconstitutional, and that the United States would not tolerate "Rebellion". As men began to join the Union Army, more states (Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas) seceded. A state of war existed by June. There were several disastrous reverses in the first part of the war. Maryland's state government attempted to secede in January 1862, but Lincoln sent troops to try and arrest them. A firefight broke out between state militia and federal troops, and eventually the federal troops torched the Maryland State House. The Maryland Massacre, as it became known, was a disastrous blunder for Lincoln.

The 1862 congressional elections registered disastrous losses for the Republican Party. High taxes, the Conkling scandal, where the Attorney General resigned for taking Bribes, and reverses in the war, such as at Shiloh, led to the Republicans fallin to only 66 seats, down from 121. The Democrats now held 102. The National Party managed to win 14 seats, largely in New Jersey and Kentucky.

Following victory at the Battle of Harrisburg in April 1863, Lincoln's popularity improved sharply, and he attempted to get a law passed in congress to allow for the emancipation of the slaves. He felt this would be a more proper and constitutional way to do things. However, to the horror of many Republicans, it failed in the house by 98-87, with most Democrats opposing it. Democratic congressional leader, Representative Charles O'Conor of New York, called it "the first step on the road to negro voting". A frustrated Lincoln then decided to use his executive powers to issue an "emancipation proclamation" which extended not only to the Confederate States, but to all slave holding states. He issued it on July 23rd 1863 This outraged many Democrats, and even some Republicans, like Secretary  of State Edward Bates, who resigned from Lincoln's cabinet on August 1st 1863.

By 1864, the war was again going badly. A virtual civil war in itself now existed in many states, including California, Missouri, Maryland and Delaware, over the issue of remaining loyal to the union. In Kentucky, the pro-Confederates had the upper hand and the Confederate Army was able to march through Kentucky to attack Illinois, drawing away crucial Union Troops from the East. Lincoln's popularity was now at an all time low.

On April 17th, 1864, Lincoln was walking in the White House Gardens with his wife. Then suddenly, a deranged ex-slave, Tobias Slett, ran up to him and stabbed both Lincoln and his wife. Lincoln was stabbed 6 times. Slett escaped, but was caught and hanged a few days later in Virginia by Confederate soldiers. Lincolns body was only found the next day. His Vice President, William Seward thus became the next President of the United States.

[BritishDixie]

Comments?, Questions?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Dystopia!

[BritishDixie]

Dystopia!

Don't worry, everything will turn out all right in the end.

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of William Seward

The Cabinet of William Seward
Treasury Secretary: Hannibal Hamlin
Secretary of State: Montgomery Blair
Secretary of War: Schuyler Colfax
Attorney General: David Davis
Secretary of the Navy: Simon Cameron
Secretary of the Interior: Nathaniel P. Banks

William Seward's term was fraught with difficulty. Following an editorial criticising the conduct of the war, written by former President James Buchanan, in May 1864, Seward invoked the war powers act to arrest Buchanan. This was expanded to include a number of other arrests including those of Edward Bates, Levi Woodbury, Clement Vallandigham and Charles O'Conor. Of these, both Buchanan and O'Conor were hanged for treason. This outraged the Democratic-Republicans, who launched a bid to impeach Seward.

The impeachment passed the House by a vote 0f 104-81. However it failed in the Senate by 29-19, with every Senate Republican, and 3 of the 6 Nationals, voting to acquit Seward.

There were more disasters in the war. Confederate Troops captured Annapolis in September, and by the end of the year, Seward seemed certain to lose his re-election bid.

1864
The Republicans nominated Seward, and Secretary of War Schuyler Colfax, to be their ticket. However this was only after a strong challenge to him by former Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase. The Democrats (dropping the name Democratic-Republican, which had too many negative connotations) meanwhile nominated General George B. McClellan, or the "Hero of Bowie" (after the battle of Bowie in 1863, where McClellan had defeated a Confederate force threatening Washington). They also nominated Governor Horatio Seymour of New York to be his running mate. The National Party did not make a nomination and endorsed the McClellan ticket.

McClellan embarked on an unusual whistle stop tour of many northern states. He derided the "Republican dictatorship" and "Seward, that weak and foolish man, surrounded by his corrupt henchmen, Hamlin, Colfax and Banks". The Democrats promised to either "win or negotiate" with the south. They also promised to end the economic hardship that had become widespread under Republican rule. The Seward campaign was a disaster, his surrogates often had rotten fruit and other produce thrown at them. Seward himself narrowly avoided a lynching, whilst leaving a theatre in Washington. In the end, Seward was heavily defeated, and the Republican experiment was at an end.

McClellan/Seymour: Democratic: 158: 55.2%
Seward/Colfax: Republican: 75: 43.0%
Dow/Johnson: Prohibition: 0: 1.4%

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of George McClellan

The Cabinet of George McClellan
Treasury Secretary: Asa Packer
Secretary of State: James A. Bayard Jr
Secretary of War: Clement Vallandigham
Attorney General: George H. Pendleton
Secretary of the Navy: Francis P. Blair
Secretary of the Interior: James R. Doolittle

McClellan came into office determined to resolve the war once and for all. He was helped in this by the victory of General Ulysses S. Grant at the battle of Tipping Ridge in September 1865. Having cleared away the forces of General James Longstreet, he was now in a position to threaten Richmond itself. Confederate President, Preston Brooks of South Carolina, realized that the Confederacy simply couldn't win. Food and munitions shortages were now common in the south, and the currency had lost all value. Therefore, he agreed to an unprecedented peace conference with McClellan in November 1865, on the banks of the Potomac near Washington D.C.

After 4 days of talks, the conference produced a solution. The south agreed to end secesion and rejoin the Union. In return the south got a period of 99 years in which to retain slavery, before a date of abolition, which would be agreed 99 years later in 1965. It also got slaves being counted as one whole person, as opposed to 3/5ths, in the electoral college. Brooks and the Confederate Government agreed to this, with the only dissenter being Confederate Secretary of State Jefferson Davis.

A peace treaty was signed on January 1st 1866. McClellan was trumpeted as "the man who won the war". However abolitionist opinion was outraged. Senator Roscoe Conkling, brother of the former Attorney General, decried "the corrupt bargain" that had been struck by McClellan and Brooks. However the Democrats made gains in the fall elections, with the support of the South, now back in the Union. The Party won 159 seats out of 243 in the House, and won 45 out of 72 seats in the Senate.

McClellan also promised to reduce taxes, but with the economic situation being precarious, only the tariff was cut. This angered manufacturing interests, who had previously supported McClellan's bid for election. McClellan also failed to end the income tax. By 1868, his position was looking more precarious than it had been previously.

[BritishDixie]

1868
The Democrats easily renominated George McClellan and Horatio Seymour in 1868. The Republicans needed a popular and non-divisive figure to run for President. Former President William Seward, Senators Roscoe Conkling and Hannibal Hamlin, and former Secretary of War John C. Fremont all ran for the nomination, but all were thought to be too divisive to win the election. Senator Hamlin led through the first few ballots, but his lead was small. After 8 ballots, the convention turned to former General and recently elected Senator Ulysses S. Grant of Ohio. Grant forces stormed the convention, and he was nominated by the 10th ballot. The convention selected Hannibal Hamlin to be his running mate.

The campaign was close fought. Republicans attacked the "corrupt bargain with that cur Brooks", and said that McClellan was pro-slavery. Meanwhile, the "Battler for the Union" Grant, was highly popular and the slogan "Vote for God, goodness and Grant" was highly popular. Meanwhile, McClellan's previous popularity had faded, and his campaign was sluggish. Despite the "New" Liberty Party's appearence, running former Attorney General Frederick A. Conkling, and former General William Rosecrans, Grant still emerged victorious, although narrowly.

Grant/Hamlin: Republican: 198: 48.8%
McClellan/Seymour: Democratic: 154: 45.3%
Conkling/Rosecrans: New Liberty: 0: 4.0%
Johnson/Baker: Prohibition: 0: 0.5%

[BritishDixie]

The First Term of Ulysses S. Grant

The Cabinet of Ulysses S. Grant
Treasury Secretary: Hugh McCulloch
Secretary of State: Schuyler Colfax
Secretary of War: William Wheeler
Attorney General: Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
Secretary of the Navy: Joseph R. Hawley
Secretary of the Interior: Nathaniel P. Banks

Grant raised the tariff in September 1869, with a bill sponsored by Representative James G. Blaine. However, he also raised the income tax, an unpopular move, in order to help pay down war debts from the civil war. However, his most key decision was yet to come. Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Edward Bates (appointed by McClellan in 1866) in March 1870, Grant appointed Former President William Seward to the Supreme Court. It was around this time that anti-slavery campaigner, Senator John P. Hale of New Hampshire, decided to launch a challenge to the terms of the Peace Treaty of 1866. With a Northern, Anti-Slavery majority now on the Supreme Court, it voted, 5-3 to throw out the "99 year agreement" over slavery. An outraged Governor Preston Brooks of South Carolina announced "once more, the north has usurped the constitution for malevolent purposes. Therefore, the existing state of the Union is incompatible with the wishes of the State of South Carolina. South Carolina shall now make moves towards severing its bonds with the Union".

The South Carolina legislature voted to secede from the Union in August 1870. Grant declared the actions unlawful, and invoked the war powers act. The Union Army began to mobilize, in order to put down secession.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

FYI, you don't need to use two maps. Just post the popular vote map.

[BritishDixie]

FYI, you don't need to use two maps. Just post the popular vote map.

I like it. Although using the P.V Map is good, I like to have a plain representation of states won as well, as I think it looks better.