Hail, Columbia! (The Election of 1824)

By later historians, the election of 1820 would be considered as the first election of a new period in the history of the Commonwealth, the first of the so-called "watershed" elections. François Blanchet and his new Whig party managed for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth to break the near absolute dominion the Continental Party had held in its early days - not only was he the second opposition candidate in a row to be elected President, his Whig Party was able to, in the simultaneously held Congressional elections, capture majorities in both houses.

Congress in 1820:

House of Commons: (182 members)
Whig Party - 103
Continental Party - 73
Liberal Party - 6

Senate: (31 members)
Whig Party - 16
Continental Party - 14
Liberal Party - 1

With such majorities on his side, President Blanchet would waste not much time and dwell into his political agenda. With his Whig Party being mainly opposed to the Continentals on the issue of protectionism and free trade, his early policies included many measures reducing protective tariffs and allowing cheap produce from Europe to reach the American market. He furthermore instructed his ambassadors to many European capitals in order to negotiate faboruable treaties of commerce and trade, most prominent among which were treaties with the French Republic¹ in 1821 and Spain in 1822. No such treaty however was ratified with Great Britain, the main trade partner of many New England provinces, to the anger of many voices both in London and Boston.

Blanchet would furthemore be remembered for the wide measures of building projects in Franklin, the national capital, that would be commissioned during his term. The Presidential Mansion, later receiving the name Maison Blanchet - or simply Le Maison - was finished in 1823, and Blanchet would be the first of many Presidents to reside in the pompous, neo-classical palace on top of a hill overlooking Mobile Bay.

In the fall of 1823 however, occurences beyond anyone's control were to change the spirit of François Blanchet's presidency fundamentally. A war in Europe had broken out, between a British-Prussian-Austrian alliance on one side and France and the Netherlands on the other. While this would not affect the Commonwealth in the beginning, the marine theatre was extended during the second year of the war, when the British marine started to attack French trade ships heading for and away of America. This led to the infamous "Massachusetts Bay incident" in November 1823, when a British flotilla sank three French and five American trade ships just thirty naval miles from Boston, possibly mistaking the Americans for French ships. Relations between America and Great Britain had been cold before already, but this was slight noone could ignore. The President and Congress, inlfuenced by strong anti-Britis sentiment within the general populace - demanded an official apology and retribution in such high sums that Britain could not possibly pay. When no answer came from London, Congress on the 7th of January 1824 declared war on the United Kingdom. The American and British marines would lead fights in the Western Atlantic, and a huge army of volunteers was ready and prepared to attack the remaining British footholds in America - Rupert's Land in the far north, Jamaica, British Honduras, and a dozen of islands in the Caribbean. The nation was in its first war.

In this heated climate now falls the presidential election of 1824. The immensly popular Blanchet is running for reelection, and has only one Continental opponnent. No new provinces were admitted in the time period, however, the census of 1820 had slightly changed the composition of the Electoral Council, increasing its size by three - the candidates now looked to win over at least 40 of the 79 electors.

The Electoral College after the 1820 Census:

7 Electors (Mexico)
6 Electors (New York, Nuevo Leon)
5 Electors (Yucatan, Massachussetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania (+1))
4 Electors (Texas)
3 Electors (Quebec, North Carolina, New Jersey)
2 Electors (Acadia, Louisiana, Connecticut, West Florida, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky (+1), South Carolina (+1))
1 Elector (East Florida, Georgia, Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Niagara, Ohio, Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Illinois)

President François Blanchet of Quebec [Whig]
The very popular incumbent is running on a wartime platform, promising Americans to "throw the manacles of the British crown off the continent wherever they still are found". He is supported by a Whig majority in congress that was increased in 1823, and plans to escalate the so far only marine conflict by letting troops march into British Honduras in the south and to the Hudson Bay Company's trade posts in the north.

Former Governor John Brooks of Massachusetts [Continental]
Seen as largely without chances against the popular Blanchet, John Brooks is an elder statesman who is running against the war efforts and for a peace and reconciliation with Great Britain. He is coming out of New England, where the war is unpopular, but sees little support from outside this Continental stronghold.

3 days

¹Due to ITL different chains of reactions regarding the French Revolution, Napoleon never rose to power, and the Revolutionary Wars lead to no Borboun Restauration, leaving France as a Republic in the early 19th century.

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