God Save that Yankee King: A Timeline by Spamage

[Spamage]

God Save that Yankee King
Part 9: The Politics of Expansion
1807-1808

Election day on Jenkins St was painted to represent the spike in electoral and political interest in the U.S. Notice the monster on the left eating the Courier de Bois, this symbolizes the annexation of Louisiana and its uncertain future.

“Hamilton works with his heart
Jefferson’s a Bonaparte
The Federalist Party
Mean A vote for you and a vote for me”

–Campaign poem circulated by the Federalists, author unknown

Following the war Prime Minister Hamilton enjoyed the highest approval in American history up until that point. America had doubled its size, took on one of the world’s superpowers and won, and lastly now held the all-important Mississippi River to the west. Jefferson on the other hand was vilified as a coward and a traitor. More and more Confederates jumped ship and became Federalists and in response Thomas Jefferson sent out a letter to every Confederate in Parliament announcing that he would serve out the remainder of his term in Parliament, but would not be a candidate for reelection. As his successor for leader of the Confederate Party, Jefferson chose James Madison, to whom there was little opposition. Madison hosted an impressive resume but was actually somewhat reluctant to succeed Jefferson, as it was clear the Confederate Party was in decline. Whether it was a permanent decline, or a temporary decline remained to be seen however. In a broad sense, Thomas Jefferson became the last casualty of the War of American Expansion.

Upon seeing how the military had worked in the war, Alexander Hamilton set out to streamline the entire system. The vast majority of the fighting had been done by National Soldiers instead of State Militia and because of this Hamilton proposed a bill to merge all state militias with the National Military. King John supported the measure, as did the Federalist Party, but it faced heavy opposition from the states, primarily those in the South. It was 1808, an election year, and many people thought it was a risky time for Hamilton to tackle the issue but he pushed forward regardless and the measure passed Parliament. Jefferson was furious, and grew fearful Hamilton and King John would abuse the power, but in reality the responsibility rested on Parliament as a whole, not on one man.

While the entire issue over state militias boiled in Parliament, another question arose; what was to be done with the vast land acquired to the west? While the Northwest Territory was full or clear and easy to follow divisions, the Louisiana territory was far too vast. Louisiana proper (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, etc.) was the correct size, but the residents in the urban areas were still bitter about being acquired by American. While these tensions were rooted in the sacking of Baton Rouge, other problems such as the government taking some property away, and occupation by American soldiers also contributed. Therefore, instead of acting on the problem, Parliament kicked the can down the road and announced in would wait until 1818 to admit the southern part of Louisiana as a state in order to both let tensions cool as well as allow for more Americans to move into there, and other locations in the vast territory.

Another issue which would affect the election was the fact that Parliament outlawed the importation of slaves, as was allowed in the Constitution. This was unpopular with the slave-owners and slave traders in the coastal South, many of whom blamed Jefferson for not arguing harder to prevent the passage of the Bill.

With all these issues swirling around, the campaign in 1808 was the most intense in the nation up until that point. Both parties worked to recruit new voters in poor regions of the cities and actively caused many voters to switch parties. King John’s eldest son, John Q. Adams campaigned for a seat in Massachusetts and enjoyed the support of his father, who would have a great deal of power on the decision. While Adams’ opponents branded him “The Prince of Braintree” he used his connections, which included Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist Newspapers, and the unpopularity of the Confederate Party to win the race in a landslide.

When all voting as concluded, the Federalists had greatly advanced their control of Parliament, with the strongest majority in American history.

Composition of Parliament (1809-1813) 260 Total
Federalist Party 203 Seats (+56)
Confederate Party 46 Seats (-53)
Liberty Party 11 Seats (+3)

Turnout was at a record high and with a mandate from the American people, Alexander Hamilton was to be Prime Minister again, for the third time. He viewed each vote as a mandate for his victory and not a vote against Jefferson, and for a large portion of the voters he was right. Another notable result of the election was the fact that for the first time in Parliament there would be no unaffiliated members. While 2 were reelected, they saw the large support of the Federalists and chose to join for political expediency.

The lame duck session passed relatively smoothly, with very little debated from the Federalists. The Confederates however, went out of their way to propose as many bills as possible, knowing that for the next 4 years America would still be a Federalist nation. This was viewed as distasteful, especially by King John, and it tainted the outgoing image to Thomas Jefferson.

In Europe the Napoleonic Wars, as the conflict was now called, were still raging. Napoleon still clung to the title of President but was the King of France in all but name. In Britain there was intense opposition the Bonaparte and he was soon nicknamed “the usurper”. Regardless, his victories were still quite substantial as he had forced Spain out or war against him and into war against his enemies. Even so, Prince Louis (the would be Louis XVII), the son of Louis XVI, had much of Europe fighting on his behalf, while he lived a quiet life near the Austrian Alps with his mother and sisters.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Awesome stuff bro. Quite the advancement from your debut (I assume it was your debut) "Ironclad Federalism". Loving this and feeling kinda inspire to revisit "Where've You Gone, General Washington?".

[Spamage]

Awesome stuff bro. Quite the advancement from your debut (I assume it was your debut) "Ironclad Federalism". Loving this and feeling kinda inspire to revisit "Where've You Gone, General Washington?".

Thanks, looking back at Ironclad Federalism and how inconsistent and unorganized it was i cringe, you should restart WHYGGW!

[Spamage]

God Save that Yankee King
Part 10: Far Reaching Federalism
1809-1811

Aaron Burr was punished for treason and the murder of Charles C. Pinckney in Alexander Hamilton’s 3rd term due to his diplomatic skills

“Hamilton has mastered Far Reaching Federalism. From the shores of France to the backwoods of Kentucky, the United States is growing on the world stage. The pull and power of the Hamiltonian government exemplifies this.”- John Q. Adams Journal Entry

Following the swearing in of the new Parliament Thomas Jefferson quietly left Columbia. He didn’t want to be present for the pomp of Alexander’s third term which was to be started by a carriage procession through Columbia alongside King John. Shortly following Jefferson’s departure the Prime Minister election was held, as was required, and Alexander Hamilton defeated James Madison in a landslide, as was expected. America was now under its third term of Hamilton


Majority of Votes for Prime Minister by State, 1808
Alexander Hamilton 204 (Federalist Party)
James Madison 45 (Confederate Party)
Benjamin Rush 11 (Liberty Party)

Hamilton had many goals for his third term in office. These ranged from economic to diplomatic. In Europe Napoleon had control of much of Spain, and had his brother crowned King, but seemed to be losing momentum. His victories, while still common, seemed to be filled with less precision, at least that was the perception, and Hamilton intended to take advantage of this.

Aaron Burr had fallen out of Napoleon’s favor following the French loss in the war of American Expansion and Napoleon blamed him for the diversion of resources, his empty treasury, and the revolution in Haiti. While Burr personally had little to do with these, he was shipped off to a small estate outside of Marseille where he could enjoy “retirement”. Hamilton wanted him back for execution however, and offered to have Parliament repeal the ban on French trading (written prior to the war) in exchange for the return of Burr, who Hamilton wanted to use to remind the American people about the dangers of the Confederate Party. Napoleon was only too happy to consent and Burr was shipped off, completely unaware of what was happening. He arrived in New York City to mobs of angry Federalists burning him in effigy and calling for his immediate execution. They didn’t attempt to seize him however, and the former Member of Parliament was sent to Columbia, the nearly completed Capitol City. Upon arriving he was executed by a firing squad with the entire incident open to the public. America received seemed to have quenched its thirst for blood and a short while later the incident was mostly forgotten. Burr was the equivalent of a second Benedict Arnold, but unlike Benedict, he was actually punished.

Britain was furious about the reopening of trade with France, as it had been profiting brilliantly on buying American goods for relatively cheap prices. The South however, was happy and the economy naturally began to improve somewhat since the ban had gone into effect under Thomas Jefferson in 1803. This was another event that weakened the Confederate Party, this time in its core region.

Hamilton also moved to make the American Royal Bank and institution in his third term. While his economic plans had gone largely uninterrupted since he was John Adams’ Secretary of the Treasury early in the Nation’s history, he wanted to ensure his system lasted much longer. He managed to push Parliament in institutionalizing the American Bank, which could only be removed in 100 years, or in the even 2/3rd of Parliament voted to get rid of it. Of course, this required Hamilton to get 2/3rd of Parliament at present to vote to institutionalize it. This wasn’t a challenge however, due to the formidable majority of the Federalist Party.

Following America’s reopening of trade with France, in what is often called the Burr Exchange; Britain had begun to impress American sailors yet again. While this nuisance had ceased under previous Prime Ministers, due to the fact America wasn’t trading with France or was at war with France, Britain now viewed American ships as open game. The public was furious, but not bloodthirsty and there were mild calls for restriction on British shipping. While Hamilton was reluctant, he had always favored Britain; he also remembered the troubles Jefferson had faced in the exact opposite situation 5 years prior. Also, under closer examination, those calling for war were primarily members of the Confederate Party, a dying political institution. He proved to be much more effect than Jefferson in handling the situation however, and sent away John Quincy Adams, a member of his inner circle, as well as several other Federalists to London to negotiate terms. While Britain wouldn’t barter (they viewed the people they were impressing as British citizens) Hamilton still got to put forward the principle of attempting to negotiate.

Another issue facing the nation was the threat of Spain and its colonies. While Napoleon fought in the Iberian Peninsula, Mexico and South America could do little to assist Ferdinand in the fight against him. While plans were hatched for the monarchy to flee unrest began to brew. Hamilton wanted to take advantage of this however, and eyed Florida longingly. A plan was hatched to acquire the state, with Hamilton using the War of American Expansion Andrew Jackson as an adviser, and both men agreed an invasion of some kind would have to occur. While America had just won a war against a major power, that was due to the fact that France was greatly distracted by matters in Europe, as they should’ve been, but Spain had plenty of colonists who would fight for the status quo in the New World. While Florida had few people, Mexico and Cuba had many more, as well as armies that could potentially attack American soil. Hamilton therefore had to wait, but kept yearning for Florida.

[Gass3268]

Update?

[Spamage]

God Save that Yankee King
Part 11: The Murder and its Aftermath
1812-1813

Hamilton being shot

“Alexander Hamilton was one of the most influential men we may ever have in this glorious Kingdom. His systems, left for future generations, will leave many to true glory as America, the greatest kingdom on Earth, mourns his sudden loss at the hands of a true scoundrel.”- Prime Minister Henry Marshall in his acceptance speech

America, a nation just recovering from the War of American Expansion, would ace one of its greatest challenges almost immediately. Following one of the daily sessions of Parliament in the Capitol, Prime Minister Hamilton decided to stay late and work in his office. He wrote several letters to allies across the nation, primarily focusing on his want for Florida, and then exited the building. He was with several other MPs, all Federalists, when he left the building. Suddenly a shot rang out and Hamilton collapsed, bloody. A man ran off, leaving his gun behind, in an attempt to flee but Andrew Jackson, the Tennessee General in Columbia to meet with both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison tackled him. Hamilton was dead, having been shot in the chest, and the man was revealed to be Jean DuBois, a mentally disturbed Frenchman who had lost his property during one of the all too common surveying scandals which were racking the Louisiana Territory. Jean had spent what little money he had left coming to Columbia to meet and plead with Hamilton, but was not to be admitted to the office, instead he was turned away. Angry, he went to a local pub, drank himself into a fury, and returned to the Capitol where he promptly shot the Prime Minister. America was outraged, King John himself pushed for the execution of the “madman” and he was put to trial, convicted, and hung in July 1812. Following his death, politics would run rampant.

Hamilton’s death shocked the world. In London the bells of Westminster Abbey were rung, although this was largely an attempt to get America back into the pro-Britain column. Mrs. Hamilton saw to it that her husband was laid in state in the Capitol before the body was transferred in a funeral procession to New York City. Even Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton’s biggest rival in life, attended the funeral and said several complementary things about the murdered leader.

Parliament was forced to reconvene within 14 days of Hamilton’s murder, as was required by the Constitution, in order to choose a new Prime Minister. Humphrey Marshall, Hamilton’s former Secretary of War, announced his intention to run, but was joined by members of his own party, all seeking the same office. Oliver Wolcott Jr. Henry Clay, and James Madison all announced their intentions to seek the office in speeches on Parliament’s floor. All of them, with the exception of James Madison, pledged to continue Hamilton’s policies and continue to increase the strength of the American Government.

Humphrey Marshall narrowly won the vote. His rival and fellow Federalist, Henry Clay was furious and gave several eloquent speeches outside Parliament firing up the American people to dislike Prime Minister Marshall, Clay’s rival. The Prime Minister tried to stay above the fray, but upon shuffling up Hamilton’s cabinet he was forced to delve into the rough rhetoric being used by Clay. Clay called Marshall “a straw man” and a “Trojan Horse” in favor of the Confederates, Marshall on the other hand used his supporters to point out Clay had once been a member of the Confederate Party, while Marshall had always been a Federalist.

Majority of Votes of Prime Minister by State, 1812 (Special Election) 260 Total
Humphrey Marshall 139 (Federalist Party)
Henry Clay 77 (Federalist Party)
James Madison 42 (Confederate Party)
Oliver Wolcott Jr. 2 (Federalist Party)

The term Marshall won was to be short. Hamilton had been assassinated at the end of his third term, and therefore the “Period of Uneasiness” in Parliament was relatively short. The Period of Uneasiness was a term used by many newspapers of the day to describe Marshall’s period as Prime Minister and in many ways it was quite uneasy.

Clay and his followers, primarily Federalists from the Western and Southern States, as well as Prominent Federalists such as John Q. Adams and King John himself were cold to the new Prime Minister and on one occasion the King refused to meet with Marshall. In return the “Marshall-ites” pushed back with an uneasy attitude. John Marshall, a cousin of the Prime Minister and Chief Justice (appointed by King John) quit correspondence with the monarch and Marshall’s supporters likewise followed.

The Federalist Party was close to rupturing, yet the Confederates couldn’t take advantage of this. Their opposition to the War of American Expansion and the National Bank greatly tainted their brand and they had no real figurehead to unite around. While James Madison was their leader, many believed him to be both too old and too uninspiring. They were on their last leg and many Confederates knew this. Therefore in 1812 James Madison announced his retirement and the Party voted in a new, younger leader, John C. Calhoun from South Carolina. This was mostly symbolic because many knew that the second Madison retired the Party was dead, and it was. On July 5th, 1812 John C. Calhoun opened a vote to disband the Party, it passed with unanimity.

While the Federalists spewed hot rhetoric both sides of the debate knew that they couldn’t exist without each other. The Parliamentary Election was held on schedule and the Federalists completely dominated Parliament, with the exception of the Liberty Party and a few other unaffiliated former Confederates. The remainder of Marshall’s term passed with relative ease, and it was soon time for the Prime Minister Election. Parliament was sworn in and people all over the city of Columbia gathered outside of Columbia to hear the voting.

Composition of Parliament (1813-1817)
Federalist Party 220 Seats (+27)
Unaffiliated 25 Seats (+25)
Liberty Party 15 Seats (+4)

Clay won in a landslide, as he had used his rough tactics to push in sympathetic Federalists over older, colder incumbents. As there was no primary system Clay succeeded in many cases while Marshall had been completely ignorant of the practice and hadn’t shot for any of Clay’s seats. The “Period of Uneasiness” was at an end as, following his defeat, former Prime Minister Marshall resigned his seat and returned to Kentucky. The Federalists were unified once again.

Majority of Votes for Prime Minister by State, 1812
Henry Clay 172 (Federalist Party)
Humphrey Marshall 49 (Federalist Party)
John C. Calhoun 22 (Unaffiliated)
Benjamin Rush 17 (Liberty Party)[/color]

[Heptahedron]

Wonderful TL! This is the first that I think I have seen with an elected American monarch.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Great job, bro. I figure when I pass on, I can leave my tl empire to you.

[Gass3268]

Yay its back!

[Spamage]

Bringing this back.

[badgate]

*happy dance*

[Spamage]

God Save That Yankee King
Part 12: Diplomatic Decisiveness
1813-1814

Signing of the Treaty of New Beginnings

“The People of the United Kingdom of America shall hereby take control of the Spanish colony of West Florida on January 1st, 1814. America may also purchase East Florida from Spain following a 5 year waiting period upon ratification of this treaty…”- Treaty of New Beginnings excerpt

Following taking office as Prime Minister, Henry Clay knew that although Humphrey Marshall was no longer a problem, he had set a precedent. Sitting Prime Ministers were now open game, and in order to avoid another challenge, and prevent a rupture in the Federalist Party, he needed to gain more support and popularity. He resolved to do this by continuing on with Hamilton’s greatest design, Florida.

While Hamilton had deeply wanted Florida, he was too cautious to act upon his urges; Clay on the other hand was not. He sent John Quincy Adams, his Secretary of State, to Spain to negotiate a deal for the acquisition of West Florida. Spain, still fighting the Napoleonic wars in Europe which seemed to be a bloody stalemate, needed finances and was willing to make the deal, although reluctantly. While the price was steep, Clay was eager and a deal was struck. Also in the treaty, America and Spain settled the immediate border dispute to the west following the Louisiana Purchase. America was to be given a stretch of land which extended Louisiana, but the rest of America’s claim in Texas was ceded to Spain. The question then arose whether or not the transaction of land was constitutional. Thomas Jefferson began voicing his opinion in retirement with a series of letters to former Confederates which were then read aloud on the Parliament floor. While it was almost guaranteed the “Treaty of New Beginnings” would pass, the opposition soon spread to the Liberty Party which voiced the concerns of much of the Northeast about the prospect of another Slave state, which would tilt the balance to the South.

In order to keep both sides happy, Prime Minister Clay announced that every time states joined the Union, there would be one free to one slave. This satisfied the Liberty Party, which would soon receive a big blow to its morale. Shortly after the slavery compromise was resolved Benjamin Rush, the only party founder still in office, died suddenly while Parliament was in session. Some took it as an omen of the prospect of what the nation was about to undergo and the Liberty Party now lacked a leader. The party replaced him with a freshman member of Parliament Daniel Webster, who was deemed brilliant by Rush while he had been the leader of the Party.

The Compromise of 1813 meant that the Treaty passed Parliament almost unanimously, and boasted the support of King John. On January 1st, 1814 West Florida was to be admitted a new state, the question then became which Northern State would join to balance the power. It was agreed it would be part of the vast Illinois Territory to the west of Ohio, but the question then arose on how to divide it. Eventually another deal was struck and the entire territory would enter as 2 free states, and Louisiana would join West Florida as a slave state.

The 2 states carved out of the Illinois territory were christened Hamilton (the northern part) and Washington (the southern part) in honor of the 2 fallen American leaders. While there was some noise made by the New England delegation, the vast majority of Americans approved of the Compromise and Clay saw his experiment as a success.

America following the Compromise, now with 22 States

The remainder of the Northwest Territory was divided into 3 pieces. Thomas Jefferson, the former Prime Minister, returned to Columbia at the request of Clay to help divide the land cohesively. The three territories which were eventually settled upon (shown above) were Michigan, Illinois, and Superior. If these were to be admitted as states however, 3 new slave territories would be required.

While the nation now appeared unified, it had just begun one of the greatest struggles in its history, slavery. The Liberty Party, seeing the potential expansion of slavery soon came to regret the Compromise and gradually tension reentered Parliament. The Federalists were not to be the sole party for very long due to sectionalism, jealousy, and personal conflicts which would explode onto the national stage.

[Gass3268]

Yay!

Is what will be Chicago in Illinois Territory? Also I don't think that would be the name of that Territory as the Illinois River is in both Hamilton and Washington. Some suggestions:

- Des Plaines
- Jolliet
- Marquette
- Menomonee/Menominee
- Milwaukee
- Winnebago

[Spamage]

Yay!

Is what will be Chicago in Illinois Territory? Also I don't think that would be the name of that Territory as the Illinois River is in both Hamilton and Washington. Some suggestions:

- Des Plaines
- Jolliet
- Marquette
- Menomonee/Menominee
- Milwaukee
- Winnebago

OTL Chicago would be in Hamilton, but close to the border.

The Illinois territory is the leftovers of the states of Hamilton and Washington, and is called such for organization purposes. Its name will be changes when it is granted statehood.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

So Indiana has been split?

[Gass3268]

Yay!

Is what will be Chicago in Illinois Territory? Also I don't think that would be the name of that Territory as the Illinois River is in both Hamilton and Washington. Some suggestions:

- Des Plaines
- Jolliet
- Marquette
- Menomonee/Menominee
- Milwaukee
- Winnebago

OTL Chicago would be in Hamilton, but close to the border.

The Illinois territory is the leftovers of the states of Hamilton and Washington, and is called such for organization purposes. Its name will be changes when it is granted statehood.

Ah okay, then you might want to move the line up  bit for the next update because it looks like it ends at the southern tip of Lake Michigan.

[Spamage]

God Save that Yankee King
Part 13: End of the One Party System
1814-1817

William Crawford, along with his political allies, was instrumental forming the American Party

“These men would have us believe they are not the Confederates resurrected? How would they account for the fact that Confederates are their greatest membership then? Or the fact they were formed by the last Confederate chairman?”- Henry Clay voicing opposition to the American Party

While Henry Clay’s acquisition of Florida and settlement of the Texas border dispute made him popular, some of his domestic ideas did not. Clay continued Hamilton’s bank and infrastructure policies but announced he was taking it a step further in 1814, by adding a tariff. This of course was highly opposed by the South which viewed it as dangerous to business in the South, while beneficial to business in the North. Many of these men opposing this bill were former Confederates, but other were disenchanted Federalists, tired of the Party’s catering to its diverse coalition of voters. These men were primarily from the South and included William Crawford, John C. Calhoun, and Andrew Jackson.

The group of men opposed to the tariff met in secrecy in the early stages of the Bill, but as it became clear the measure would pass unless there was vocal opposition they went public. They announced the formation of a new Party, the American Party. Composed primarily of concerned Southern and Western members of Parliament, it tore a large part of the Federalist Party away. Members from those regions felt the pressure to leave the party they had adopted (many for political purposes following the fall of the Confederates) and drafted a platform that was anti-tariff, anti-bank, and anti-abolitionism. It was essentially the Confederate Party minus that baggage and this was indicated by Thomas Jefferson’s and James Madison’s support for the party during retirement.

Composition of Parliament (1814-1817) 260 Total
Federalist Party 127 Seats (-93)
American Party 118 Seats (+118)
Liberty Party 15 Seats (+0)

American had only lasted 2 years under essential 1 party rule, and Americans showed a renewed interest in politics. Clay had clearly taken a step too far, and had he not introduced the “Federalist System” into Parliament he likely wouldn’t have faced such vocal opposition and wouldn’t have had 1/3rd of his party “stolen “by those whom he had offended.

While Parliament was technically hung, the Liberty Party pledged to form a coalition government with Clay in order to prevent the “Slavery Party” from gaining power. While they refused to merge with the Federalists, due to the differing positions on slavery (neutral vs. against) they viewed an alliance as essential and for the first time since the 1700’s they actually held true power and influence, with both sides often attempting to earn their vote.

As the Tariff issue reentered conversation following the formation of the American Party, it seemed the vote would be close. The American Party-ites gave several passionate speeches on the floor of Parliament however, with the most notable being one by John C. Calhoun which pointed out the flaws in the Bill. The Federalists responded in full force however, and letters from King John and Humphrey Marshall, and speeches by Henry Clay and DeWitt Clinton being given. As the vote began it still looked inconclusive but the Federalists soon celebrated as the Liberty Party fell in line and the Tariff of 1814 passed by 3 votes.

What were once nonissues rose to prominence as the 2 parties squabbled over everything from Indian Affairs to Relations with Britain. While Clay and the Federalists wished to leave the Indians as-was, or at least involve them as little as possible conflicts, Crawford and the American Party wanted them gone. This idea stemmed primarily from Andrew Jackson, one of the most prominent American Party members, who had an intense dislike for the Indians, whom he had been fighting for many years. The Liberty Party, led by Daniel Webster, called for Indian rights and the treatment of them with “respect”. Both other parties called this a radical position.

The Election of 1816 soon approached and Americans flocked to the polls. In the majority of the rural south, neighbors pressured each other into voting American while in New England vicious attacks against James Monroe and the local candidates were given by Federalists, angered by the sudden change of their party’s fortune. Slavery, the Tariff, and Clay’s “Federalist System” were the voter’s primary concerns.

The results soon showed that William Crawford and the American Party had bested the Federalists, though it was not by the margin they had wished for. Clay’s strategy of primarying more established Federalists in 1812 backfired as voters were more comfortable with getting rid of incumbents with less of tenure and many of Clay’s men had only been in office for 4 years. Rhode Island dumped its entirely Federalist delegation for Americans and rekindled its Independent attitude which had largely disappeared since the early days of the Kingdom.

Composition of Parliament (1817-1821) 260 Total
American Party 133 Seats (+15)
Federalist Party 109 Seats (-18)
Liberty Party 18 Seats (+3)

Henry Clay would soon bring even further controversy on him name as in the lame duck period he began an intense letter writing campaign to many incoming American members of Parliament. He campaigned intensely for their votes in the Prime Minister Election, but the vast majority remained loyal and leaked the stories to American leaning newspapers (many of which popped up in the previous 2 years). Federalists called in a nonissue but members of the American Party called in a scandal. It still wasn’t enough to shift Webster and the Liberty Party away from backing the Federalists however, and they continued to spew anti-American Party rhetoric on the issue of slavery. While this type of campaigning against the American Party caught on in the Northeast, it semi-backfired in Delaware, the Party’s home state, and the Liberty Party missed having the majority in the delegation by 1 seat.

The Prime Minister Election occurred as was planned, and it turned out to be the closest in American history, Crawford won with a majority of 2 votes. For the first time since 1805 the Federalists no longer held the majority of seats in Parliament. King John, a Federalist sympathizer, was openly disappointed and was initially cold to the new Prime Minister. They became closer however, when William Crawford announced John Quincy Adams, the King’s son, would stay on as the Secretary of State. Crawford knew removing him would’ve been a liability as he was extremely popular among the American people for his handling of Florida and his continued standing up for America in world affairs. Napoleon still had power in Europe, which was getting quite sick of the continued wars as well as Marie Antoinette’s insistence on her son being crowned.

Majority of Votes for Prime Minister by State, 1816
William Crawford 132 (American Party)
Henry Clay 128 (Federalist Party)

Europe was a bloody mess. Napoleon’s continued fighting was keeping his enemies (primarily Austria, Britain, and Russia) at bay, but he was not gaining any land. It was a stalemate of sorts and the longer it continued the more in debt Europe became. Crawford continued Clay’s stance of Neutrality In the now nearly 20 year old conflict, and called for a peace conference in Europe. His calls seemed to fall on deaf ears however, as France and its allies (led by “President” Napoleon) continued to face the Coalition. Due to this Spain was eager to finance its continued war effort and made several offers to Crawford. While he viewed the entire land acquisition by sale unconstitutional, he held his nose and accepted (largely due to the urging of John Quincy Adams). Technically the “Treaty of New Beginnings wouldn’t be violated, as the land would be turned over on January 1st, 1819. Spain was given 2 years to remove its essentials out of the territory, out of respect for the fact that it had held the land for about 400 years.

[Spamage]

God Save That Yankee King
Part 14: A Shift in Direction
1817-1819

A Fight between Tariff groups in Philadelphia, 1817

“If the Lord would grant me the ability to strike down one man, it would be Henry Clay.”
-William Crawford following the announcement of King John’s veto of the Tariff removal

As had been the case for Humphrey Marshall, the brief Prime Minister, Crawford would find Henry Clay a formidable opponent. The two men disagreed on many things including the Tariff, power of the Federal Government, and foreign policy. Therefore when the American Party did call for the repeal of the Tariff of 1814, largely due to William Crawford and John C. Calhoun’s urgings, Clay attempted to sway voters by using any means possible. Bribes were attempted, threats were made, and scandals were concocted but he still fell short and the Bill passed. Willing to use any means possible, Clay then went before King John and urged him to consider vetoing the Bill, which was believed by many to favor the South while throwing Northern industry aside. The King didn’t want to break Washington’s precedent of no involvement, but was soon swayed by Clay to veto the abolition of the Tariff, much to Crawford’s dismay. King John was very popular, so for that matter was Henry Clay and Crawford opposing them gradually eroded his popularity. Despite gaining many friends in the South it was clear that in the Election of 1820 Vermont, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania probably wouldn’t have American majorities.

While many thought the tense atmosphere over the divisive Tariff issue was bad in Columbia, it was much worse outside the city and in the states. Cities with members of both groups (pro- and anti-Tariff) such as Philadelphia and Baltimore saw intense rioting and in some cases clashes between the respective groups. Factory workers burned several farms and for the first time in American History, industry and agriculture were pitted against one another with formidable men on each side of the issue.

Since Clay had only lost the previous Prime Minister Election by 4 votes, he began scheming with several American members of Parliaments to call for a vote of no confidence. He brought the motion to the floor a week later on January 18th, 1818 and there was loud protest from the American camp while the Federalist camp pressed on with confidence. There were multiple attempts a filibustering, to no avail, and the vote was held on January 24th. By a margin on 1 ballot Parliament was dissolved and elections were to be held in November. Not only did this cause an actual fight to break out on the floor of Parliament between the two parties, but it also brought great stress on King John who grew ill and weak. Many people thought the King was recovering in March until his wife Abigail caught typhoid fever, which is believed to have been transported into the Palace by a servant. She died a week later and within 8 hours following the loss of Queen Abigail, King John closed his eyes for the last time.

To many, the Tariff issue suddenly seemed insignificant as Parliament entered its 14 day mourning period. King John’s funeral was held with his former rival Thomas Jefferson in attendance. Jefferson’s arrival in Columbia raised a few eyebrows ,as it was believed he was planning on being elected King, but when asked on his intentions he grew angry and stated that he was there in remembrance of his friend and ally during the Revolution, despite their differing positions on many issues, and would never, ever consider taking the throne, which he had always been opposed to.

A lavish funeral procession laid the King and Queen to rest inside the new Capitol Building alongside the remains of King George and Queen Martha. The death of the man who had steered the country in the right direction since the early days of the Revolution calmed many tensions and the two dominant American fields of labor made peace, or more realistically, a ceasefire. John was greatly mourned and even William Crawford, a man who was greatly disappointed with the King over the veto, lauded him at his funeral. The outpouring of sympathy was immense following the death of King John, and many were surprised to see this. John had been an average monarch, certainly nowhere nearly as highly viewed as George I, but the previous King had died during a time of war when supplies were scarce and hard to come by.

Parliament entered conclave shortly following the funeral, with many moderate Americans eyeing who the Federalists were going to put forward as it not only would be a fitting tribute to King John I, but it also would advance their careers as they would be viewed with more esteem should they be seen supporting a popular cause. This annoyed Prime Minister Crawford to no end, and within minutes of the starts of the conclave he remained in meetings with his closest political allies attempting to urge them to remain with the American Party. Some took his words to heart while others did not. Regardless voting got underway the following evening.

Black smoke was ejected after the 1st round which mainly served to see who was in the running for King. John Marshall, a quiet yet devoted Federalist who had been a large asset to every administration (with the lone exception of Crawford’), was the primary Federalist contender while the Americans put forward John C. Calhoun. This would backfire tremendously as Calhoun was viewed by many as much too young and inexperienced while also radical. The American moderates bolted from the Party by the third ballot and white smoke rose above the Capitol, much to the joy of the crowd around the city. People poured into the Square around the building and began to cheer upon seeing John Marshall arrive on the balcony. John II had begun his reign.

In many ways John II was a very good choice for King. Not only did he bring many southerners into the fold as he was a Virginian, but he was also a staunch, yet quiet Federalist. In his coronation speech the King highlighted the upcoming elections as an example of how divided the nation truly was, and he vowed to fix it. The speech criticized the hyper partisan attitude in Columbia and stated, “We may have different views, but we are all in this for the good of our country”. This line was used by many American Party Newspapers as a sign that even John Marshall was upset with Clay’s actions while the Federalists fought back saying such thoughts were mere conjecture.

In reality, John II did oppose the dissolving of Parliament and believed that it was an abuse of power by Clay. The Party was on the verge of rupturing yet again, as it had done when the Clay-Marshall feud was underway several years prior, and the Americans, unlike the Confederates before them, fully intended to take advantage of it. Political operatives of Crawford worked to get moderate Federalists on the ballot, who would be more likely to back his proposals, while Clay instead rallied behind the staunch Federalists. This in turn made King John II reluctant to campaign for the Federalists and for the first time since the death of King George I many years prior, the monarch did not make his views known on the election. John II knew America would not remain united if the monarchy became a political position and by taking a nonpartisan route, he believed the Federal government would be able to maintain its composure indefinitely. Clay was naturally furious, but resolved to win the election without the King’s vocal support.

The Special Election of 1818 featured the largest turnout yet and this Is largely credited to the hyper partisan atmosphere. The Federalist Party had the most seats, but it lacked a majority due to inroads made by the Liberty Party, which siphoned away staunch Federalists who otherwise would’ve backed Clay’s candidates. In the days following the election Clay and Webster, who was the head of the Liberty Party, agreed yet again to form a coalition government. Webster and his fellow Libertines believed that slavery was morally evil and preferred to work with a party that was quiet on the issue than one that was vocally in favor of it.

The results largely corresponded with the view of the Tariff around the nation. All the New England states had either majority Federalist of Liberty delegations while the American Party ended Federalism in Mississippi and West Florida but surprisingly not Kentucky or Louisiana. The former Northwest Territory remained divided, and believed that neither Party truly represented its interests. Regardless, Clay had won but unlike Humphrey Marshall, Crawford resolved to fight on for State’s Rights.

Composition of Parliament (1819-1821) 260 Total
Federalist Party 116 Seats (+7)
American Party 118 Seats (-15)
Liberty Party 26 (+8)

[Spamage]

God Save That Yankee King
The French Revolution
1787-1800

The Storming of the National Assembly

“I am accused of being a scoundrel, a devil, a tyrant, and a Nero, but I say to you that I die an innocent man with a clean conscience and a fervor for France stronger than any of my predecessors or my future successors.”- King Louis XVI shortly before his execution

Following the American Revolution, the Seven Years War, and the extravagant spending of Louis XIV, France found itself bankrupt and near economic misery in the year 1792. Dissent built against the monarchy as more and more farmers went hungry while the nobility remained well to do. This anger was tempered however, by the fact that there was no clear alternative to the government of King Louis XVI. Republicanism had failed in America, a nation newly created, so what were the odds of it succeeding in France? After a bad harvest in the Autumn of 1792, this didn’t matter and the people knew action had to be taken.

It was December 5th, 1793 when a group of young radicals in Paris formed a private organization entitled the “Brotherhood of Liberty”. It was, to an extent, modeled after the “Sons of Liberty” organization which had existed prior to the American Revolution. The Brotherhood attracted much of the attention of the lower classes, while remaining right under the nobility’s nose for quite some time. In Paris, the home city of the movement, the second meeting attracted well over 200 people who all crammed into a small, old house and signed a “An Intercession for the Freedom of the People of France”. This document requested the formation of a National Assembly and a limitation to the power of the King, which based its ideas and principles on the British and American models. While many agreed the document contained many common sense solutions, the King and his advisers (whom it was sent to) did not concur.

Louis resented his, as well as his wife’s, high unpopularity yet he was largely out of touch with the common people, who were suffering from famine and disease on his own doorstep. The King organized a division of men to patrol Paris and prevent any of the “radicals” from sowing dissent. Needless to say, the Brotherhood was greatly disappointed when it not only did not receive a response, but found an increased military presence in the city the following month, January 1793. The men then focused their efforts on recruiting members of the Brotherhood outside Paris itself in other cities such as Orleans, Marseille, and Lyon, an endeavor in which they were highly successful. Membership swelled when women too were allowed to join, growing over 5,500 by March. While the citizens came from many different walks of life (there were even noble sympathizer), they all agreed something had to be done about the government before it was too late. A series of rallies across the nation were organized for August 23rd, 1793 and initially went as planned. The protest in front of Tullieres Palace in Paris soon swelled into the thousands as people poured in from the country as well as the impoverished areas of the city. The garrison of the city ordered the protest to disperse, fearing violence, rioting, and the destruction of the Palace. Naturally the Brotherhood refused to allow the rally to end and the argument got heated, to the point where the French soldiers fired upon the crowd, killing several in the first volley. This in turn led to chaos as the protesters stormed the troops, some of whom were sympathetic to the ideas of the Brotherhood and joined their side. Others however, were killed and the protest morphed into a riot. The angered mob moved throughout Paris killing soldiers, those who would not join them (which were very few people), and any opposition they faced. The French Military regrouped following heavy losses due to desertion and massacres and faced off against the rebels in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, where the bishops gave residence to many injured rebels and refused to allow for them to be removed by the soldiers on the grounds they were under Church protection. Outside the Cathedral a vicious battle raged as people poured in fighting for both sides. The military was better trained however, and despite the numerous turncoats, it forced the Brotherhood, now rebels, to disperse. Chaos ensued throughout the next 3 days as accused members of the riot were hunted down by the Royalists in the military and were massacred. The city was in anarchy, and Notre Dame was soon overtaken by overzealous royalists who killed all the wounded rebels inside its walls and ransacked much of the sacred Cathedral.
News of the events in Paris spread quickly across France and Europe.

In Versailles when the King learned of how big the rebellion had grown, he grew alarmed and issued a Royal Order banning the Brotherhood of Liberty in France and sentencing all captured members to death. This backfired tremendously as the Brotherhood held much more support than the King. Numerous solidarity riots arose in Orleans, Marseille, and Lyon. Although the ones in Lyon and Orleans were put down, just as Paris’ had been, Marseille was controlled by the rebels. Pamphlets were distributed throughout the nation decrying the Second St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, and this was further verified in the eyes of the rebels when many of their capture comrades were executed on the orders of the military.

Reactions across Europe were mixed to the events in France. The Papacy was furious about the Royalist attack on Notre Dame and began to consider using excommunication to advance their agenda. The Pope declared his support for the rebellion as it not only would give more representation to the common people, but it would also curb Louis XVI’s clout in Church affairs. This announcement shocked much of Europe and surprised even the Brotherhood, who believed the Pope would back the King. Upon hearing the news that the Church had officially taken a side in the dispute, Louis’ generals allowed further looting of famous, and widely considered sacred, Cathedrals around the country. Avignon was taken by the French Army in the South and much of the riches within its walls were sent to Paris to either finance the war effort or fill the halls of Versailles, so too was Chartres ransacked and its riches smuggled to Paris. These attacks on the churches mobilized many of the Conservatives, who feared an open assault on Catholicism and Louis dug himself into an even deeper hole.

As stated earlier, Louis’ outlawing of the Brotherhood backfired tremendously as the organization not only got more publicity, but it also spiked in members. Some officers and soldier in the military were even a part of the movement and a young Corsican officer named Napoleon Buonaparte organized a mass desertion on the evening of December 23rd, 1793. Generals alongside common soldiers left their barracks and the army was practically split into two. The rebels were now just as armed as the royalists and intended to take full advantage of this.

Following the series of uprisings the previous summer, the royalists had been timid to retake the city of Marseille, fearing it would cause further uprisings. By February 1794 however, it was decided by the King and his generals that actions had to be taken. The remaining loyalists within the army following the mass desertion began to siege the city on the 14th of February. Louis, hoping to win back support, departed from Versailles intending to boost the morale of his men but by mere chance he encountered a group of impoverished farmers sympathetic to the rebellion who informed the Brotherhood of the King’s whereabouts. The rebels laid a trap on the road, surprised the King’s guards and took Louis XVI prisoner of February 18th, 1794. The King was taken to the small town of Gienne where he was held as prisoner in the hut of Brotherhood peasants. By the end of the week the Brotherhood had organized an attack on Paris using the men and supplies gathered from Buonaparte’s desertion. As second large rally was held in front of Tulliries, only this time when the troops gathered to disperse the “rabble” they encountered disguised soldiers alongside the peasants. The men, led by the Corsican Buonoparte multiplied as common citizens joined in on the assault. The garrison was completely unprepared, with many of the loyalists having left to help siege Marseille, and so by late evening on February 28th, 1794 Paris was taken by the Brotherhood of Liberty.

The King was returned to Paris, where his capture was announced publicly for the first time. Panic spread throughout the loyalist ranks when this was heard, and Marie Antionette took the couple’s 2 children north to the Austrian Netherlands, where her family ruled, while Versailles fell to anarchy as hordes of peasants streamed out of Paris heading for the palace. The nobles departed in a hurry, valuables were taken, paintings were rolled up, and fires were set in order to deter the peasants from controlling the most famous symbol of the French monarchy. Their efforts were in vain however, as the Swiss Guard defending the palace was overwhelmed within hours by the rebels. In the course of a month the Brotherhood had gained the upper hand.

With the King in captivity, and his children in a foreign country, there was no real figurehead for the royalists to unite around, and so the movement gradually began to lose steam as the Brotherhood seized Orleans in July 1794, Lyons in December, and so by the dawn of 1795, the only two major cities in the hands of the royalists were Nantes and Toulouse. This frightened Spain and Austria into action. Spain sent troops north to defend Toulouse alongside the Royalists and Austria threatened war upon the brotherhood should anything befall the King. Both countries feared the spread of dissent and rebellion into their borders and they desperately wanted France to stabilize.

Their efforts would be in vain however, as Louis XVI issued a proclamation from Tulliries Palace, where he was being held, announcing a Constitutional Convention which would be held in Paris on March 5th, 1795. He had just heard news of a royalist defeat at Limoges and so he was forced, in his view, to end the fighting. He pleaded with the royalists to put down arms and many did, despite disappointment. Spain removed her troops reluctantly in May, and the nation gradually began to rebuild itself heading into the July Convention.

[Spamage]

When the Delegates for the July Convention gathered, the city of Paris was filled with intense tension. Half the citizens of France, as well as the King, believed a Constitution to be against the God given rights of the monarch, while the Brotherhood believed they had conceded too much by allowing Royalists to be represented in any way the at Convention.

Louis XVI himself opened the proceedings (despite his wishes otherwise he was pressured into doing so by his “guards”, many of whom were veterans of the Civil War on the side of the Libertines). France was greatly unstable and despite their intense hatred of one another, both sides knew this. It took several months, but with the backing of the Church and the middle class, the Brotherhood succeeded in its goals to create a National Assembly, but the Royalists had a small victory in the form of a royal veto which could be used by the King as well as the right of Louis XVI to appoint the Prime Minister of the Assembly. The end result matched very nearly the system in use in the United Kingdom of America as well as Great Britain. Elections were held in November 1795, just 2 months after the conclusion of the July Convention, and while political parties were outlawed in the Constitution, covert ones did form on both sides.

The elected assemblymen came from all walks of life. One of Corsica’s districts was represented by the war hero Buonoparte and Charles (the younger brother of the King) represented the “district” composed of Versailles. Louis decided to appoint Charles as the Prime Minister of the First Assembly Session, which was viewed as a slap in the face by the Brotherhood which believed the act of nepotism meant that the people were still under the yoke of the King. The Assembly was roughly equally composed of Royalists and Constitutionalists (what the Brotherhood adopted for their name) therefore little was done. During the first 6 months only 11 new laws were passed and many of the peasants in the Brotherhood grew restless. People were still starving, famine was still present, and little was being done to help the plight of the common people who though they had won by creating a National Assembly. The Brotherhood resumed its covert activities on April 15th, 1796, just a year after the First French Civil War had ended. While it initially pushed for an end to gridlock in Paris through peaceful means such as letter chains and prayer, people soon looked towards more violent methods. A riot broke out in Orleans on September 16th, 1796 which left 4 soldiers and 16 citizens dead. While the tensions increased however, the Assembly still remained heavily gridlocked. The Royalists were clinging to their rights while the Constitutionalists were pulling just as hard to take them away. Polarization increased across the country and the riots sponsored by the Brotherhood increased, but so too did pro-Louis XVI rallies among the conservative peasants. Europe could only watch in horror as conditions in France continued to decline. There was no clear leader for the nation, with Louis XVI being seen as weak and having his power muddled, while the Brotherhood had no sole leader.
After months of gradually increasing tensions, a new civil was broke out when hordes of angry, frustrated, and starving peasants seized control of the city of Dijon and proclaimed the “Republique Dijon” seeking to rid themselves of the heavy burned on the National Assembly. The Assembly narrowly voted to send a detachment of soldiers to deal with the rebels, led by Buonoparte (who had now begun to occasionally write his name Bonaparte). In the ultimate act of intrigue however, the French general ordered his men to join the rebels, not to kill them. With the authority of Paris so low that a seemingly loyal general would join the cause of the rebels, many other cities joined in to forge their own independence. Marseilles, Lyon, and Bordeaux joined the side of the independence faction while Orleans, Rennes, and Caen remained relatively loyal to the Assembly. Paris would become a staging point for both sides however.

There were no major engagements until late Summer 1797 when a mob of rebels assembled in Paris to protest the Assembly’s intransigence. While it was initially peaceful, a similarly sized crowd of Royalists formed and fighting in from of Tuileries, where the Assembly was located, soon turned bloody. The royalists were cut down by the rebels who then turned their fury towards the Assembly which was in session. Guards attempted to barricade the Palace but the rebels were too many. The doors were broken through and thousands of rebels stormed into the building. The Assembly itself was raided while in session. Assemblymen were dragged from their seats into the streets, while the Prime Minister, the brother of the King, was beat until dead on the spot. Those rioting then set the Palace aflame declaring an end to the Kingdom of France and the start of the Republic.

While Louis and the Assembly were unpopular, this did not mean that they were without support, both foreign and domestic. Republican sentiments frightened both Spain and Austria and caused Britain, and early supporter of the Revolution, to condemn how extreme it was drifting. The Austrian Netherlands began to supply the King of France with troops to fight alongside the French forces while Spain began to raid across the Pyrenees. The Austrian-Royalist army fought against Bonaparte several times. At the Battle of Nancy the Royalists were routed by the Corsican leader who chased the retreating army throughout the following week until their surrender at Metz on October 16th, 1797. Following the unexpected, yet necessary victory Napoleon was proclaimed head of the Republic of Dijon (which now claimed all of France). France was now divided into 5 major factions, 1 Kingdom and 3 Republics.

Bonaparte proved himself to be an exceptional general, and he pushed the Austrians back into the Austrian Netherlands. Instead of stopping there and continuing to fight in the Civil War however, he continued to push in and slammed through the Austrian Army there, conquering the lower Austrian Netherlands for France, one goal of the people which had been sidelined for so long was now fulfilled.

Bonaparte soon became a figure the Republicans could rally around, and he was proclaimed President, with the Brotherhood’s backing, by the people of Paris, Bourdeaux, and Marseille. The French Republicans now had a leader and no longer was half the country in anarchy.
Austria was embarrassed by its large defeat the hands of the French “President” and sought peace, which Bonaparte was only too happy to accept. All the lands occupied by the French were to be kept and in return the Republic of France, newly declared following the union of the various factions within the Republicans, was to make a small payment. For his partial conquest of the Austrian Netherlands, Napoleon was lauded and more people flocked to the Republican cause. In was January 1799 when France and Austria officially made peace.

During the early months of 1798 the last Royalist strongholds in the south were purged, despite the Royalists having Spanish monetary backing, and Louis XVI’s brother Louis, the Count of Provence, fled into exile in Spain. With 2 of his brothers gone (one dead and the other abroad) Louis knew the war was lost. He wrote to his wife Marie Antoinette informing her he was to stay in France, despite her pleas he flee to Austria, and just 2 weeks later Versailles was officially invaded by President Bonaparte himself. Louis was placed in prison in Bastille, and the royalist movement began to collapse like a house of cards. By February 1800, the British had entered the fray against Bonaparte and landed a joint army with Spain in Normandy. They did Battle with Napoleon at Caen and were routed after a little more than five hours. Seeking to regroup the dual force fled to the town of Rouen, where they were killed by French cavalrymen before they could even think of reorganizing. The defeat was humiliating and Britain and Spain agreed reluctantly to make White peace with France. While this was good for Bonaparte, it was fatal for King Louis XVI. On the morning of July 6th,1800 he had a meeting with President Bonaparte, it is not known what they said to one another, but the following day Louis XVI was mysteriously dead, and Napoleon had his body privately interred at the Cathedral of St. Denis, which had surprisingly been largely unscathed by the Revolution, save a few grave robbers who attempted to exhume Louis XIV, Catherine de Medici, and Clovis but they were unsuccessful. France was now in a state of tension with the rest of Europe and peace was surely not to last as Bonaparte has grand schemes for his Republic, which was finally free of royalists.

[Spamage]

God Save that Yankee King
War of the Second Coalition
1800-1804

The Battle of Turin

“Will God not spare me some of my lands?”
-Francis II upon hearing of the capture of Milan

Once peace was declared, and the First Coalition (consisting of Spain, Austria, Great Britain, and the Royalists) was defeated, Napoleon began to enact a wide range of reforms in order to stabilize France and prepare her for the future conflicts which would undoubtedly follow the tense peace. While he was the “president” of a “republic” he held as much, if not more power than Louis XVI did prior to the Revolution, and unlike Louis XVI he was actually popular. The Second National Assembly, which had been called following the Victories of Caen and Rouen, was dissolved by voting its power to the President, who was given a term of life. Despite the fact these reforms put one man back in charge, much of the uneducated peasants didn’t know that the power was vested in one man and thought of Napoleon as the greater among equals.

In order to appease the Catholic Church Bonaparte had all of the ransacked golds and riches returned to the various Cathedrals throughout the country. Following this, his second act was to abolish the nobility, confiscate their lands, and distribute their riches into the national treasury. Versailles, Tuillieres, and many other famous buildings and noble residences repayed of much of the debt procured under the previous government, and also allowed the President to distribute lands to loyalists and the public, while greatly decreasing the power of those who would seek to oppose him. Only the nobles who had supported the Revolution (and there were few) were able to keep their estates but they too lost their titles which were deemed meaningless by the Republic. By the time the Republic had finished the redistribution and confiscation of the lands, it was November 1802.
Other countries were appalled at the treatment of the French nobles and almost as soon as they had left the peace table Spain, Austria, Britain, and several minor German States agreed something needed to be done. With the Church refusing to punish Napoleon and the Royalists extremely weak in France, they resolved to sign a secret treaty pledging that all of the other countries would come to the aid if any of them were attacked by France. French spies informed Napoleon of this however, and he began to send diplomats to far away powers in an attempt to counter balance the Second Coalition secretly forming. Russia and the Ottoman Empire both agreed to not attack France and would consider aiding it, America refused (as it was preparing to launch an invasion of French Louisiana in the War of American Expansion), and Denmark, Sweden, and Prussia kicked the can down the road. Prussia was focusing on internal developments and the Scandinavian nations feared British power and viewed themselves as too far away to be of any real aid.
Seeing his diplomatic attempts as a failure (although he truly hadn’t expected success) Napoleon began to build up his armies and improve the equipment of his men. The French President also welcomed Aaron Burr, and American widely viewed as a traitor, with open arms and met with him several times personally. Burr advised the President often on issues involving the United Kingdom of America.

President Bonaparte wanted to strike the Coalition before it struck him, and so he moved his men quietly north to the border of the remaining Austrian Netherlands. By May 1802 the preparations were complete and Bonaparte began his march into the Austrian lands. The small army stationed there was soon overwhelmed just outside of Brussels and within 4 weeks the entirety of the land was in Bonaparte’s hands. Austria had been expecting a campaign through Italy, and was therefore caught off guard. The Emperor Francis II ordered his men in Northern Italy to march east and attack France, thereby antagonizing many North Italian states. Bonaparte moved south, seeking to meet the Austrians closer to Dijon then Marseille. He was correct in his estimate and he and the Austrians did Battle just outside the town of Saint-Claude. The French routed the Austrians, who had underestimated the organization of Napoleon’s men who were led by the President himself.

Following the repulsion of the First Austrian Army, Napoleon also had to worry about the incoming Spanish forces to the South and numerous other Austrian forces crossing into France from Italy. Bonaparte decided that soundly defeating the Austrians would pay off much better than trekking across much of southern France to face an enemy near their homeland. The Austrians who had survived the Battle of Saint Claude were forced under to torture to give Bonaparte and the French high command the location of the other armies and also which other nations had sided against France. The Dutch, a Republic themselves, joined the War of the Second Coalition shortly after the French President had left the Austrian Netherlands and defeated the French Army at Antwerp 2 days after the French victory at Saint Claude. Unlike Bonaparte however, the Dutch were too confident and pressed further than they should have. French reinforcements cut off their supply lines and Calvary raids forced them to abandon their artillery. The two armies did battle neat the town of Eksaarde just a few days later and the Dutch were massacred. Among the dead was the heir to the Stadtholdership, William, the son of William V. Following the defeat of the Dutch Army, the French legions began to cross into the Netherlands in the early winter of 1802. Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Arnhem were all occupied as William V personally regrouped his army, intending to counter attack with all the conscripted men he could find.

Bonaparte crossed into Savoy in February 1803 despite urges otherwise by his generals. While the weather was miserable, and his men’s morale was low, by crossing he forced the fighting out of Eastern France and into Northern Italy and eventually, he hoped, Austria. He retreated instead of facing a joint Savoyard-Austrian force at Chivasso by crossing the Po river and taking the city of Turin while the enemy scoured to the east looking for an army which had occupied their base. Upon arriving the stunned Austrians were overwhelmed and what few survivors remained following their defeat were sent south to flee for sanctuary in Genoa, which reluctantly allowed them refuge.

The defeat of the Austrians at Saint Claude and then again at Turin embarrassed the nation and forced Emperor Francis II to reorganize his armies and bide his time. He stationed men in Milan and in Austrian Italy, hoping to make a buffer the French would be unable to get through. By abandoning Savoy however, Francis gave the Savoyards incentive to make peace with Napoleon, which they did with the Treaty of Turin, signed in April 1802 which switched Savoy’s side in the war and withdrew the Duchy from the Holy Roman Empire and transformed it into a Republic of which Bonaparte was to be President. This in turn prompted much backlash. Francis II was outraged and immediately had his cousin Louis, the son of Louis XVI, crowned Louis XVII in Vienna. This was a very public affair, and drew much of Europe’s attention. Within a month every member of the Second Coalition had recognized the young pretender as the King of France. Louis was then married to the 14 year old Spanish Princess Maria Isabella, who had previously been betrothed to the Prince of Naples but the deal was cut off due to the French situation and the need for a wife for Louis XVII. While Charles IV was eager for the marriage, Maria Isabella herself was somewhat against it. She was coaxed down the aisle however, by the fact that she may one day be the French Queen. She and her mother-in-law, Marie Antoinette, did not take well to each other, as the Queen mother viewed her to be a brat. Politics aside however, the Spanish princess was clearly pregnant by late 1803 with what many hoped would be the future King of France following her husband.

Napoleon was angered by the marriage of Prince Louis, and took further actions against Austria following it. French scouts were sent into Milan and spies were placed in a variety of places around Europe including Vienna, Madrid, and London. The French Army in the Netherlands was ordered by Bonaparte to march north towards Amsterdam where it met a half supplied and untrained army led by William V, the ruler of the Netherlands. Following the defeat of his son, and his subsequent death at the hands of the French, the Dutch leader had been openly calling for British land support, not just naval, but little arrived and for this reason he was soundly defeated at the Battle of Amsterdam which saw the basic end to the Dutch State which had existed for many years. The citizens of the Netherlands had no time to be sentimental however, as the French armies began raiding the countryside in an attempt to root out traitors and former Dutch government officials in hiding. Along the way parishes were ransacked, citizens beaten, raped, or killed, and buildings set aflame. For these actions the French would be unpopular in the Netherlands and it would one day cost them.

[Spamage]

As Spring began Napoleon continued his advance in Northern Italy by moving his armies towards Milan, which had officially entered the Coalition against him following the defeat of Savoy. While the government supported the Austrian-led Coalition, the people did not. The ideas of liberty were still reverberating throughout much of Europe following the mess that had been the French Revolution, and Napoleon used the citizens to his advantage. There were numerous altercations between peasants and the Austrian Army present in the city, leading to several violent clashes. Needless to say, the Austrians soon grew tired of the Milanese and decided to camp outside of the city instead of occupying it. This mistake proved fatal as 3 nights later Bonaparte’s army arrived and simultaneously the city went into a state of revolt. The Austrian and Milanese troops had rebellious citizens on one side and the French Army on the other. The Battle of Milan then occurred which saw the outnumbered French plow through the ill prepared Austrian-Milanese force which retreated into an army of angry citizens, giving them further losses. Francis II was burned in effigy by his former subjects and Milan was declared an Independent Republic. Its first action was to elect Bonaparte President and declare union with France alongside Savoy. Instead of returning to Southern France to fight the Spanish, who were facing somewhat of a stalemate against French forces just north of the Pyrenees, Bonaparte instead began to ready his armies for yet another attack, this South towards the Duchy of Parma, which was yet another Italian city held by the Austrians. Francis was no imbecile however, and the garrison in the city retreated to the Northeast where it merged with an army of Austrians led by the Holy Roman Emperor Himself accompanied by his cousin, Louis Bourbon. It was there that they surprised Bonaparte’s advancing army and in a vicious sea-saw of a Battle the Austrians won, but at a heavy cost. While Napoleon retreated from Parma (for the time being) the Austrians had encountered extremely heavy losses and were now demoralized, weak, and small. Francis left his men the following week, taking his cousin with him, and returned to Vienna where the Emperor ordered conscription to begin on a wide scale, despite urges otherwise by many of his advisers.

The Austrian conscription was initially successful, as many native Austrians were eager to fight. Hungarians and Bohemians were not so eager however, and following the forcing of several men into the army against their own will revolts began to break out. Szolnok, a town in the middle of Hungary, filled with protestors, emboldened by the ideas of the French and even American Revolutions who called for the end of Hungarian union with Austria as well as a new government formed with a limited monarchy. Several attempts were made to silence the movement, but these ultimately failed as many of the soldiers in the Austrian army in the area were native Hungarians, and therefore sympathetic to the ideas of the movement. As word spread, the number of copycat and solidarity rebellions increased and Austria gradually began to destabilize. The nation was forced to divert part of its large force from northern Italy to deal with the increasing calls for Revolution in the southern half. When this proved ineffective (nearly all of the Hungarians were intent on shielding the rebels) more men were conscripted into fighting in Bohemia and this in turn led to an increase in calls fort Bohemian independence. While this movement was much smaller, and was actually suppressed quite easily, it prevented Austria from solving the Hungarian situation and put them in even more of a conundrum as they had Napoleon’s advancing army coming from one way and Hungarian nationalists from the other. The only wholly loyal area was Austria proper, which was disappointed itself with tax increases which were made to pay for the war. By early 1804 Austria was falling in on itself.

Seeing the disorder only bolstered Napoleon’s resolve. The French President ordered his men to once again march on Parma in February 1804, months after his surprise defeat by Francis II which had shown that the French General was not as immune to defeat as it had first appeared. On February 15th the Austrians were crushed and the city was captured. Instead of being created a Napoleonic Republic as Savoy and Milan had, Parma was split between the 2 with Parma proper joining the Republic of Savoy. In the meantime Bonaparte moved on the Republic of Venice, which was unable to defend itself and had fallen behind many other European powers through gradual decay and decline. The Austrian legions in the Republic had been withdrawn to fight the Hungarian uprising which was tearing one of Europe’s most prestigious Empires apart. The Hungarians did not control Budapest, but much of the countryside was sympathetic and even several other ethnic groups were calling for liberation and liberty for the Hungarian people and themselves as well. Austria went from being their ruler to a foreign occupier in the minds of the common people and this image did not help Francis II who was now seeing his domains torn to pieces. The Austrian Netherlands had been taken by the French followed by Milan, Parma, and now Hungary. The Holy Roman Emperor desperately needed a solution; his allies were ineffective with the Netherlands collapsing, Spain fumbling, and Britain watching the loss of Europe from afar without doing much more than attempting to blockade French ports. When news arrived in Vienna that Venice had been taken, Francis reluctantly sent ambassadors under a flag of truce to Napoleon, who was eager to make terms so he could face the remaining members of the Second Coalition.

Venice served as the backdrop for peace talks, with the city having surrendered to France with minimal bloodshed. The Republican government of Venice has been shaken up and the system reformed to match the French model. Napoleon did not want to be the head of another Republic yet however, as he knew controlling too much land by himself would serve to alienate his subjects in his various domains ranging from the Alps to the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean to the English Channel.

Francis knew he had lost, but he hoped to maintain dignity in his defeat, Napoleon however wanted the opposite. The Pope arrived at Venice to observe the talks and reportedly praised the French Victory, much to the humiliation of the Austrians. All of the parties present were surprised when Dutch ambassadors arrived in Venice in order to negotiate peace for their country as well. After brief formalities it was agreed that France would gain all of the Austrian Netherlands, Liege, Holland, the Venetian possession on the Adriatic. Venice was to be dissolved, the Netherlands were to become a Republic with William V being granted the title of President in return for his loyalty to Bonaparte who would provide for his estates financially. While France wanted to push for Hungarian independence, the movement had not yet expelled the Austrians from the country and so the parties signed the Treaty of Venice and went their separate ways.

Spain and Britain were not consulted on the Austrian withdrawal but they knew they would be unable to effectively hold off Bonaparte should they go on. Bonaparte welcomed the British ambassadors but refused the Spanish as he moved his sizeable force in their direction. Britain then abandoned Spain by signing the brief but effective treaty of Rouen which was signed in Normandy just 1 week following their landing with representatives from the French government.

Prior to Bonaparte’s arrival he sent ahead several spies to stir up chaos as much as possible in the aged Kingdom by using the ideas of liberty in the French Revolution as well as the new ethnic-centric ideas expressed in the ongoing Hungarian rebellion which began to spike in strength as the Ottoman Empire began to covertly financially back them.
It was August 1804 when Napoleon’s primary army joined his forces present in Southern France. Instead of attacking from Rousillon, where the French had already begun to make raids into Spain, he instead attacked closer to Navarre, a former French Kingdom. The Spaniards had been successful during the past 2 years there, but upon facing the French under Bonaparte in Battle it was soon clear that they had been deployed far too long. Many of the troops surrendered after a few hours of skirmishing on the field, much to the embarrassment and anger of their officers who proved to be ineffective in commanding them. Spain was repelled and Napoleon decided not to march further as winter was coming. He then accepted the ambassadors of Charles IV, who now saw themselves in an even worse position. Madrid ordered them to make peace as soon as possible and to give as many concessions as needed in order to prevent a French invasion of Spain.

The final treaty, which was named the Treaty of Aquitaine, saw no land exchanged. Instead Spain was to become a basic satellite and ally of France. Charles IV forced to make monetary concessions for such a light treaty, but the Spanish government was grateful for French leniency. The War of the Second Coalition had ended with a French landslide victory.

[Spamage]

Any thoughts?

[Sec. of State Superique]

Any thoughts?

You have done a great job. Very interesting. However, I cannot comment things so much because I know very few things of the United States in its first years.