The War of Northern Independence

[Gass3268]

The Election of 1860

Americans from Cape Cod to San Francisco went to the polls on November 6th to elect the next president of the United States of America. They all realized their choice could affect the future of their nation. Yet in the end, the fears for many came true. After all of the votes were counted, no candidate received the 152 electoral votes necessary to win the election.

Lincoln/Clay (Repubilcan) – 82
Seward/Fremont (Federalist) – 76
Breckenridge/Lane (Southern Democrat) – 67
Bell/Everett (Constitutional Union) – 56
Douglas/Johnson (Northern Democrat) – 22

The race had essentially devolved into Lincoln versus Seward in the North and Breckenridge versus Bell in the South. Douglas played a spoiler in certain regions. Seward did the best in the Federalist stronghold of New England and he was able to use his own personal electoral machine to carry his home state of New York. Lincoln did his best in the Old Northwest, carrying the entire region with the exception of Illinois. Douglas won California, Illinois and New Jersey. Pennsylvania was the closest. Seward, Lincoln and Douglas all took a third of the electorate with Lincoln pulling out a microscopic victory.

In the South the race was between Breckinridge and Bell. Bell performed extremely well in the Upper South, as he was able to carry Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. Many believed he was the man that could save the Union while properly respecting Southern values and institutions. Breckinridge was able to win the rest of the Deep South, Delaware and thanks to his Vice Presidential Candidate, Oregon.

For the first time since 1824 the race would be thrown to the House of Representatives. Following the rules put forth in the Constitution only the top three candidates in the Electoral College vote were allowed to be candidates. That meant that the race would come down to Lincoln, Seward and Breckenridge. 

The Deal to Save the Union?

After the results of the 1860 election were finalized, Federalists and Republicans realized that the split in their party put them at a fundamental disadvantage. With the election now thrown to the House, Breckenridge would have a clear advantage with the anti-slavery forces split. A deal would need to be struck between the two sides. Fearing that the Federalist threats may actually come through if Seward is not elected President, the Republicans agreed to vote for Seward.  In exchange, they wanted Seward to appoint moderate Republicans, including Abraham Lincoln, to majority of the cabinet positions and Cassius Clay would be the united choice for Vice President. 

This deal was intended to be kept secret until after the election had been completed. However the Republicans and Federalists camps received word that most Northern Democrats were planning on voting for Lincoln in the House election. The anti-slavery side needed to win Northern states with Democratic majorities, like California and Indiana, in order to top the numerical advantages of the Solid South. Republicans approached a few select Democrats in these states informing them of their deal with the Federalists with the goal of trying to sway them to support Seward.

No one knows who exactly leaked the plans, but the deal was made public only two weeks before the contingent election. This enraged those moderates and conservatives who supported Lincoln in the election. Many Republican members in the House had to come out publicly against the deal and state they would vote for Lincoln in the election. Also many officials from Southern states stated that they would support the secession of their states if Seward was elected President.

[Gass3268]

The Contingent Election of 1861

The contingent election took place on February 13th, 1861 and it was held with the full House of Representatives of the 36th Congress. It would have been more beneficial for the Republicans and Federalists if the election would have been held by the new Congress, which was much friendlier to their cause as both factions did well in the Congressional elections. Yet, the Constitution required that the previous Congress take the vote.

The votes were to be done in alphabetical order by state, with each state getting one vote, which was to be decided by the majority of each states delegation. 17 votes were needed to win the Presidency. The election was to be run by the Speaker of the House William Pennington, a Republican from New Jersey. The first round of voting went as following:

Alabama – 7 Breckenridge
Arkansas – 2 Breckenridge
California – 1 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Connecticut – 2 Lincoln 2 Seward
Delaware – 1 Breckenridge
Florida – 1 Breckenridge
Georgia – 8 Breckenridge
Illinois – 1 Breckenridge 6 Lincoln 2 Seward
Indiana – 1 Breckenridge 7 Lincoln 3 Seward
Iowa – 1 Lincoln 1 Seward
Kentucky – 9 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Louisiana – 4 Breckenridge
Maine – 6 Seward
Maryland – 6 Breckenridge 
Massachusetts – 11 Seward
Michigan – 2 Lincoln 2 Lincoln
Minnesota – 1 Lincoln 1 Seward
Mississippi – 5 Breckenridge
Missouri – 5 Breckenridge 2 Lincoln
New Hampshire – 3 Seward
New Jersey – 3 Lincoln 2 Seward
New York – 1 Breckenridge 11 Lincoln 21 Seward
North Carolina – 8 Breckenridge
Ohio – 1 Breckenridge 11 Lincoln 9 Seward
Oregon – 1 Breckenridge
Pennsylvania – 1Breckenridge 11 Lincoln 13 Seward
Rhode Island – 2 Seward
South Carolina – 6 Breckenridge
Tennessee – 9 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Texas – 2 Breckenridge
Vermont – 3 Seward
Virginia – 13 Breckenridge
Wisconsin – 2 Lincoln 1 Seward

First Round Totals: Breckinridge (Green) 16, Seward (Orange) 7, Lincoln (Blue) 5, Tied (Grey) 5

The Federalists and Republicans were extremely scared after the first round of voting. Breckinridge had swept the Solid South and was only one state away from winning the Presidency. The leadership of the two Northern factions met and reversed their prior decision, this time imploring their members to vote for Lincoln in order to prevent the South from seceding and that Lincoln would give major concessions to the Federalists in his administration in order to appease the New England area into not seceding.

At the same time, Southern Democrats also began pressuring Representative John C. Burch of California to vote for Breckinridge. They claimed that they would give the Representative a job in the next administration. If the anti-slavery factions could unite behind Lincoln the election would become tied at 16 apiece, with the entire election coming down to California. The other Representative Charles L Scott was from Virginia and an ardent Breckenridge supporter.

All Eyes on California

After a few hours were given for deliberation and discussion between the Representatives, Speaker Pennington commenced the second round of voting. Again this would be done in alphabetical order with each state having one vote to be decided by their delegation. The totals from the second round of voting were the following:

Alabama – 7 Breckenridge
Arkansas – 2 Breckenridge
California – 1 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Connecticut – 4 Lincoln
Delaware – 1 Breckenridge
Florida – 1 Breckenridge
Georgia – 8 Breckenridge
Illinois – 1 Breckenridge 8 Lincoln
Indiana – 1 Breckenridge 10 Lincoln
Iowa – 2 Lincoln
Kentucky – 9 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Louisiana – 4 Breckenridge
Maine – 5 Lincoln 1 Seward
Maryland – 6 Breckenridge
Massachusetts – 6 Lincoln 5 Seward
Michigan – 4 Lincoln
Minnesota – 2 Lincoln
Mississippi – 5 Breckenridge
Missouri – 5 Breckenridge 2 Lincoln
New Hampshire – 2 Lincoln 1 Seward
New Jersey – 5 Lincoln
New York – 1 Breckenridge 18 Lincoln 14 Seward 
North Carolina – 8 Breckenridge
Ohio – 1 Breckenridge 18 Lincoln 2 Seward
Oregon – 1 Breckenridge 13 Lincoln 11 Seward
Rhode Island – 2 Lincoln
South Carolina – 6 Breckenridge
Tennessee – 9 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Texas – 2 Breckenridge
Vermont – 2 Lincoln 1 Seward
Virginia – 13 Breckenridge
Wisconsin – 3 Lincoln

Second Round Totals: Breckinridge (Green) 16, Lincoln (Blue) 16, Tied (Grey) 1, Seward (Orange) 0

As expected, the deal between the Republicans and Federalists resulted in Lincoln sweeping all of the Northern States. California was still tied between its two members and with the election tied at 16 states apiece; the Golden State would most likely decide the election.

The anti-slavery side tried convincing the other California Representative, Charles L. Scott. Representative Scott though was unmovable on who we was going to vote for.  Born in Richmond, Virginia, Representative Scott was pro-South and pro-slavery. Slavery would have been expressly allowed in the California Constitution if he had his way. On the other side, The Southern Democrats continued to pressure Representative John C. Burch.

Realizing they needed to look at another state for the 17th vote. Their first choice was William G. Whiteley of Delaware. Representative Whiteley had been defeated in the November election and this would be one of the last votes he would have to make in Congress. Yet Representative Whiteley declined their various offers as he still had a desire to engage in Delaware politics in the future

They did get someone to bite out of the state of Oregon. Lansing Stout was supported by the pro-slavery wing of Democratic Party in Oregon led by the Vice Presidential nominee Joseph Lane. Yet he desired to break free of that faction of the Oregon Democratic Party and he saw this moment as this chance. Republicans offered him a job in Washington that he could not refuse. Everything looked good, until word leaked out to the Southern Democrats about the plan.

The 3rd Ballot…

Alabama – 7 Breckenridge
Arkansas – 2 Breckenridge
California – 2 Breckenridge
Connecticut – 4 Lincoln
Delaware – 1 Breckenridge
Florida – 1 Breckenridge
Georgia – 8 Breckenridge
Illinois – 1 Breckenridge 8 Lincoln
Indiana – 1 Breckenridge 10 Lincoln
Iowa – 2 Lincoln
Kentucky – 9 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Louisiana – 4 Breckenridge
Maine – 5 Lincoln 1 Seward
Maryland – 6 Breckenridge
Massachusetts – 6 Lincoln 5 Seward
Michigan – 4 Lincoln
Minnesota – 2 Lincoln
Mississippi – 5 Breckenridge
Missouri – 5 Breckenridge 2 Lincoln
New Hampshire – 2 Lincoln 1 Seward
New Jersey – 5 Lincoln
New York – 1 Breckenridge 18 Lincoln 14 Seward 
North Carolina – 8 Breckenridge
Ohio – 1 Breckenridge 18 Lincoln 2 Seward
Oregon – 1 Breckenridge
Rhode Island – No vote
South Carolina – 6 Breckenridge
Tennessee – 9 Breckenridge 1 Lincoln
Texas – 2 Breckenridge
Vermont – No vote
Virginia – 13 Breckenridge
Wisconsin – 1 Lincoln

Second Round Totals: Breckinridge (Green) 17, Lincoln (Blue) 14, No vote (Red) 2, Seward 0

The Republicans and Federalists were stunned when Representative Lansing Stout of Oregon did not change his vote. Once the Southern Democrats learned of the deal, they informed Stout that he would have no political future if he voted for Lincoln and that even his life could be in danger. Due to California going to the Southern Democrats earlier in the vote, Vice President John C. Breckenridge would become the 16th President of the United States of America.

After Representative Stout casted his vote for Breckenridge the Federalists, led by their House leader Thaddeus Stevens, began to walk out chamber before the voting had ended in a similar nature to aftermath of the failure of the Douglas-Pennington Amendment and the disruptive Republican National Convention. The Federalists from Rhode Island and Vermont did not care if they voted or not because they knew that the election was over.

But this time the walk out was different. As they left the chamber, they walked out in silence, staring at the Southern Democrats on the other side of the isle. Most did not see those on the other side as fellow countrymen anymore. Also shocking to many was that almost all of the moderate Republican Party followed right behind them. For most it would be their last time leaving the chamber of the House of Representatives of the United States of America. 

[Gass3268]

The Vice Presidential Election

After the election of Vice President John C. Breckenridge as President of the United States of America there still was the necessity to elect the new Vice President. This would be done in the Senate, but unlike the vote for President, it would only take a simple majority of Senators to elect the next Vice President. After the walkout of a majority of Federalists and Republicans in the House, most of the Senators of those same two parties failed to show up the next day for the vote. The race was between Republican Cassius Clay of Kentucky, Federalist Former Senator John C. Fremont of California and Democratic Senator Joseph Lane of Oregon. The vote for Vice President went as following:

Alabama: 2 Lane 
Arkansas: 2 Lane
California: 1 Clay 1 Lane
Connecticut: No vote
Delaware: 2 Lane
Florida: 2 Lane
Georgia: 2 Lane
Illinois: 1 Clay
Indiana: 1 Clay 1 Lane
Iowa: 1 Clay
Kentucky – 2 Lane
Louisiana – 2 Lane
Maine: No vote
Maryland: 2 Lane
Massachusetts: No vote
Michigan: No vote
Minnesota: 2 Clay
Mississippi: 2 Lane
Missouri: 2 Lane
New Hampshire: No Vote
New Jersey: 1 Clay
New York: No Vote
North Carolina: 2 Lane
Ohio: 1 Clay
Oregon: 1 Lane
Pennsylvania: 1 Lane
Rhode Island: No vote
South Carolina: 2 Lane
Tennessee: 2 Lane
Texas: 2 Lane
Vermont: No vote
Virginia: 2 Lane
Wisconsin: 1 Clay

Totals: Lane 34, Clay 9

Lane was overwhelmingly elected to become Vice President. Now the eyes of the nation focused on the upcoming inauguration. 

The Inauguration of 1861

John C. Breckenridge took the oath of office to become the sixteenth President of the United States of America on March 4, 1861. In his speech addressed to the nation, President Breckenridge emphasized the following points:

1. The ability to own a slave is a fundamental American right endowed by the Creator, put into law in both the Bible and the Constitution. He thanks Chief Justice Roger Taney for finally extending this right to all Americans.
2. Asserts that he has the legal power under the Constitution “to preserve, protect, and defend the United States Constitution” and he will make sure that all laws are upheld in all states.
3. Yet he also states that he has no desire to use force against his fellow Americans, but he will do so if necessary in order to fulfill his obligations to “hold, occupy, and posses the property and places” that are owned by the Federal Government and collect duties and imposts.
4. Makes it clear that if the North chooses to take up arms against the United States, the rebellion will be met with a firm, forceful and swift response. 
5. He calls on the Republicans and even the Federalists to come back to Washington in order to move on and deal with other issues like tariffs, rail infrastructure and other issues of the day.
6. He ends his address by stating, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”

Breckenridge would have been shocked to know that by April, ten states would have already seceded from the Union.

Massachusetts Secession Ordinance

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The Dominos Begin to Fall

The secession of Massachusetts on March 20th was only the tip of the iceberg. Vermont and Maine fallowed suit on March 30th and March 31st respectively. It was expected that the New England states would secede, but Michigan’s ordinance of secession on April 1st came as a surprise to many. It had proved that the Federalist movement had successfully spread out of the Northeast and into the Upper Old Northwest. New Hampshire and Rhode Island were next as they both seceded on April 9th. Minnesota again proved that secession could happen anywhere on April 16th. Connecticut followed five days later on April 21st and then Wisconsin April 23rd. The biggest domino to fall came on April 25th, as New York became the tenth state to depart the Union. Governor William Seward, now officially a Federalist, was able to use his personal power and influence in the state to force a narrow victory in the state legislature for secession.

There were attempts in the other former free states to secede from the United States, but in all cases there were enough conservative Republicans and Democrats to block these efforts during the early part of 1861. It should be noted that in the four years since the Dred Scott case many slave owners and their slaves had moved into many of the Lower North and Western states. Their political influence in those states also began to increase as the years past since Dred Scott.

A convention to establish a new government was set for May 6th in Boston Massachusetts. The convention would be tasked with the job of drafting a provisional constitution, electing a provisional government, organizing a military and begin the starting phases of creating a new nation. One of the biggest questions of the day was what would this new nation be called? 

The United States Of America
Seceded States   

[Gass3268]

The Boston Convention

On May 6th, 1861 representatives from all of the secessionist states met in Boston, Massachusetts to start the process of creating a provisional government. There were even many people there from states that had yet to secede, but they would not have voting privileges and would be referred to as delegates. The political makeup of the convention was about 65% Federalists, 30% Republicans and about 5% mix of Democrats and Independents.   

The officials meeting in the Massachusetts State House building debated whether it would be better to create a provisional constitution or go ahead a draft the permanent constitution. They quickly came to the conclusion that it would be best draft a provisional constitution and was essentially a copy of the United States Constitution with some key changes. Slavery was explicitly banned, the term length for President would be extended to 6 years along with a 1-term limit and a clause that a convention would be called to establish an permanent as soon as the war was over.   

Another debate at the convention was what they would call their new nation. There were many ideas proposed such as the Northern States of America, Unified States of America, Republican States of America and the Federalist States of America. Yet the most popular choice and the one ultimately chosen was the Free States of America.

After the vote on the provisional constitution, the convention determined that there would be a provisional Presidency and Congress until new elections could take place throughout the country on November 6th, 1861. All former members of the United States Congress that declared their allegiance to the FSA would make up the provisional Congress, while the Boston Convention would elect the provisional President and Vice President. Each state delegation would get one vote. The obvious choice was William H. Seward, who all felt had the United States Presidency stolen from. He won unanimously 10-0. It was realized that Vice-President had to be a moderate Republican in order to balance out the ticket. Some suggested Abraham Lincoln, but he was still against secession and he was from a state that had yet to secede. So Hannibal Hamlin of Main, a Republican that had some Federalist leanings, was elected 7-3 over Senator James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin. The three western states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin wanted regional balance on the ticket, but they didn’t get it.   

As the convention, there was an excitement in the air as the attendees realized they had just created a new nation. There was still much work to be done and war loomed on the horizon. Yet almost a month after the end of the convention an event would occur about 7 miles from the Massachusetts State House that make all Northerners excited. 

Battle of Fort Warren

Fort Warren was just completed after the secession of Massachusetts in early April of 1861. Fort Warren, which started construction in 1833, is situated at the entrance of Boston Harbor on the 28-acre Georges Island. After a last second peace effort failed in Washington DC in mid May, Fort Warren was the sight of the first battle of the war.   

Due to the rising tensions in Boston, Major Robert Anderson of the 1st U.S. Artillery had been appointed to command the Boston garrison. Originally stationed in Fort Independence, after Massachusetts succeeded from the Union, Major Anderson realized that Fort Independence would be indefensible to an attack. A week later on March 27th, under the cover of darkness, Major Anderson moved his command to the more defensible Fort Warren. Officials in Massachusetts took this as a breach of good faith and sign that the United States was planning on striking first.

As secession spread throughout the North, states with the help of local militias seized Union property as soon as left. This too took place in Massachusetts as Governor John Andrew ordered that all Federal positions in Boston Harbor confiscated. After William Seward was named the provisional President of the Federalist States of America, he gave Joseph Hooker the specific task of seizing the fort. 

After the inauguration of President John C. Breckenridge informed Governor John Andrew that he would be sending a relief expedition to Fort Warren to provide much needed food and suppliesa to the Fort. President Seward, wanting to seize the fort before the supplies arrived, ordered General Hooker to demand the surrender of Fort Warren and to destroy the fort if refused. Major Anderson, by order of President John C. Breckenridge, refused the demand.

General Hooker placed batteries on surrounding islands and landmasses aimed at Fort Warren. At 4:30am on June 8th, General Hooker ordered the bombardment of the fort. Major Anderson waited until daylight until firing back and he tried to avoid casualties where possible. There were attempts to bring in relief supplies, but the weather and bombardment made this impossible. By June 10th Major Anderson offered to surrender to the Federalist troops.

Fallowing the surrender of Fort Warren there was a swelling of support for the Union and President Breckenridge in the South. Feeling this support, President Breckenridge on June 12th called on states to provide seventy-five thousands militiamen to regain Federal property and to quell the rebellion. Yet this support was not universal throughout the Union and for some states the idea of taking up arms against fellow Northerners was the final straw. Ohio voted to secede and join the FSA on June 14th. 

[Gass3268]

Just posted a bunch of revisions and additions. Hoping to have some updates for this timeline coming soon as I know kind of have an outline for what I want to do here. Enjoy!

[Gass3268]

Any thoughts? I'd love some comments!

[Cranberry]

I have just now discovered this timeline, but it's great! Keep up the good work!

[Del Tachi]

This a very good TL.

I wish the FSA would lose though.  It would be interesting to see how "Reconstruction" would happen in the North.

[Gass3268]

This a very good TL.

I wish the FSA would lose though.  It would be interesting to see how "Reconstruction" would happen in the North.

That would be fascinating, maybe for a future timeline. I hoping for new update over the weekend.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

This a very good TL.

I wish the FSA would lose though.  It would be interesting to see how "Reconstruction" would happen in the North.

That would be fascinating, maybe for a future timeline. I hoping for new update over the weekend.

Hope the FSA curb stomps and retakes the name USA. They are clearly the side of angels. Slavery is an abomination.

[Del Tachi]

Hmm...I hope that there are some loyalist rumblings in New York City.

The city was not a fan of the Civil War IRL, and I doubt the Big Apple would take keenly to New York seceding from the United States.

In fact, the more I think about it - the secession of New York under a scenario such as this seems to be incredibly unlikely to say the very least.  Secessionist sentiment would probably be constrained to New England.

Or, let me rephrase - I don't think New York state would secede until the FSA demonstrated it had an upper-hand in the war and even then New York City would probably be reluctant to go along.   

[Gass3268]

Hmm...I hope that there are some loyalist rumblings in New York City.

The city was not a fan of the Civil War IRL, and I doubt the Big Apple would take keenly to New York seceding from the United States.

In fact, the more I think about it - the secession of New York under a scenario such as this seems to be incredibly unlikely to say the very least.  Secessionist sentiment would probably be constrained to New England.

Or, let me rephrase - I don't think New York state would secede until the FSA demonstrated it had an upper-hand in the war and even then New York City would probably be reluctant to go along.   

It is true that New York City was very Democratic during this time and not a huge fan of OTL Civl War. However at the time, New York City was only about 1/5 of the population of the State of New York. The rest of the state was very much a Republican strong hold. New York City alone could not carry the entire state like it can now. New York City will be very reluctant to go along as will other parts of the North and they will act upon it, but we are not there yet. 

[Gass3268]

The FSA Grows

President Breckenridge’s call for troops to put down the rebellion in the North and regain Federal property ended up being the first of many unintended blunders by the President during the War of Northern Independence. The call for troops was almost universally applauded and positively responded to south of the Mason-Dixon line. However, north of the line it finally caused those still undecided on the ideas of Federalism and secession to finally make a choice.  They could choose to remain loyal to the United States of America, but they would have to go against fellow Northerners. On the other side they could support and join the Free States of America, but be forced to renounce the United States.

A majority of Northerners choose the later. These folks were obviously the Federalists but also most of the moderate Republicans, many conservative Republicans and even some Democrats. During the war these were almost referred to as Federalists. The opposition minority consisted primarily of Democrats and the remainder of conservative Republicans. During the war they would be referred to as Loyalists.

The first state to react after President Breckenridge’s proclamation was Ohio. The Buckeye State secession convention formally approved the secession on June 14th, 1861. Iowa followed two weeks later on June 28th. Pennsylvania’s secession came 6 days later on July 4th, the timing was intentional. Indiana left the Union on July 9th.

For a brief period of time it appeared that Illinois was going to reject secession during their statewide convention. The Loyalists had a slight advantage over the Federalists. However this alliance was broken when word reached that convention that Abraham Lincoln had come out in favor of the Free States of America. He too made the hard decision that he would rather support a Free North than a slaveholding United States of America. This news resulted in most of the Republican Loyalists joining the Federalists in voting for secession on July 15th.

New Jersey also struggled with their decision as their convention was split between Federalists and Loyalists. Yet after the secession of Pennsylvania, a majority at the convention realized that they had to succeed as they were now surrounded by the FSA. They formally seceded on July 21st. There were attempts in California, Missouri and Oregon to secede as well, but Loyalists in each state were able to defeat those tries. Federalists in these states and other border states would continue to be a problem for the United States for the duration of the war. 

The United States Of America
Free States of America   
Failed Secession Attempts