Hail, Columbia! (The Election of 1832)

[Cranberry]

The election of Samuel Southard returned a Continental President to Franklin, but his position was no easy one - the Whigs controlled both houses of Congress by large margins, a remnant of Blanchet's popularity in the early stages of the war. The first year of Southard's presidency thus was not much more but constant infighting with Congress. His Continental Party thus put all of their hopes into the congressional elections of 1829, in order to finally get through with the president's legislative agenda. Their hopes were met in the House - while not capturing an outright majority, the Continentals could rely on the Liberal Party's support on key issues; but the Senate returned an, albeit slimmer, Whig majority.

Congress in 1829: (16th Congress)

House of Commons: (182 members)
Continental Party - 90 (+24)
Whig Party - 75 (-27)
Liberal Party - 17 (+3)

Senate: (31 members)
Whig Party - 16 (-5)
Continental Party - 13 (+5)
Liberal Party - 2 (nc)

Nevertheless, the President's position went out of the election far stronger than it had been before, and Southard lost not much time to advance his agenda through Congress. After a narrow fight in the Senate, the second National Bank was created in 1830, against an uproar in the frontier provinces. Similarly, the granting of Congressional representation to the Indian territory (2 members of the Commons and 1 Senator), passed the Senate just with one abstention from a Whig member and the Vice President's tie-breaking vote; however, a proposal to grant it statute as a province - and the right to elect the President - failed.  Thirdly, Southard introduced legislation that would strengthen the nation's navy, which were passed with bipartisan support. Southard furthermore continued the policy of many of his predecessors, and issued land grants to western frontier settlers, which led to a quick population growth in these areas.

To the surprise of many, Southard announced in 1831 that he would not run for reelection, instead opting for retirement. In his stead, the following three candidates are running:


Secretary of State Henry Clay of Kentucky [Continental]
The popular politician from Kentucky, an unusual place for a Continental politician, is the top advocate for the measures commonly referred to as the "Continental System" - high protective tariffs for the industry, a strong national bank, investions in infrastructure to promote commerce, and non-intervention in foreign affairs.


Member of the Commons Andrew Stevenson of Virginia [Whig]
An influential Whig Member of the Commons from Virginia, Andrew Stevenson is running a campaign in the mould of the ever-popular President Blanchet. He calls for a destruction of the new national bank, for a decomission of the Indian Territory and relocation of the Indians into the west, and for a gradual end to the tariffs. He sees himself as a "champion of the people", and is a heavy supporter for the introduction of a nationwide popular vote for President.


Former Governor Jeremiah Smith of New Hampshire [Liberal]
Already having been the Liberal candidate a few years ago, Jeremiah Smith is known nationwide as the chief bannerman for the Liberal party, seeking to be a counter-balance to the two major parties. Originating from the abolitionist movement, the party has not lost its roots, and advocates for an abolition of slavery, but also the admission of the Indian Territory as a province, the strengthening of the National Bank, and a national popular vote.

3 days

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Extremely enthusiastic Smith vote.

[Zioneer]

Now Smith has an excellent platform, let's go with him.

[Kingpoleon]

Smith!!!

[Mr. Smith]

Smith...never vote for Clay.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

Smith!!!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

All the way with Henry Clay!

[TDAS04]

Smith

[Maxwell]

All the way with Henry Clay!

[Supersonic]

All the way with Henry Clay!

[Intell]

Smith!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Holy cow...

[Cassius]

Atlas has a tradition of basing its votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

[Goldwater]

I feel very alone in voting for Stevenson.

[Mr. Smith]

Atlas has a tradition of basing it's votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

Nah, I just really dislike Clay and probably would've crossed to Stevenson if not for Smith.

[Zioneer]

Atlas has a tradition of basing its votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

That's true, although I also like Smith's other policy planks. I also want a third party to win, and am not very keen on either Henry Clay (though he would be my second choice) or Andrew Stevenson.

[Cassius]

Atlas has a tradition of basing it's votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

Nah, I just really dislike Clay and probably would've crossed to Stevenson if not for Smith.

Atlas has a tradition of basing its votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

That's true, although I also like Smith's other policy planks. I also want a third party to win, and am not very keen on either Henry Clay (though he would be my second choice) or Andrew Stevenson.

Sorry if I put that comment in a rather patronising tone; I just have noticed that whenever a solidly anti -slavery candidate appears in these elections they always far and away exceed any real life perform that they might have had (for obvious reasons).

[Zioneer]

Atlas has a tradition of basing it's votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

Nah, I just really dislike Clay and probably would've crossed to Stevenson if not for Smith.

Atlas has a tradition of basing its votes almost solely upon the slavery issue in any election games set prior to 1860 (or whenever slavery ends in said game), so this isn't that surprising.

That's true, although I also like Smith's other policy planks. I also want a third party to win, and am not very keen on either Henry Clay (though he would be my second choice) or Andrew Stevenson.

Sorry if I put that comment in a rather patronising tone; I just have noticed that whenever a solidly anti -slavery candidate appears in these elections they always far and away exceed any real life perform that they might have had (for obvious reasons).

To be fair, abolitionism seems to be a lot stronger in this timeline than in real life, especially with the much larger electoral map that includes many real-life anti-slavery areas. So it at least makes a little more sense here.

[tmthforu94]

I like the name Jeremiah, so option 3.

[Cranberry]

The Electoral Council after the 1830 Census
Changes per province in bold

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

Size: 81 (+1)

The changes in the 1830 Census showed very much the direction the nation was heading demographically - while growth in the southwest had slowed down, the frontier provinces and the southeast saw intensified growth. The nation as a whole become less Spanish and more English and French-speaking. The national population as a whole reached 26 million, about half a million of which were slaves, and Mexico province alone approached the 1 million mark, while New York as second in population peaked at around 750'000.

[Cranberry]

The results of the 1832 election came as a shock to many. Jeremiah Smith, the decidely abolitionist, Northeastern "radical" candidate came along and won a resounding victory in the provinces that had impelemented a popular vote for the presidency. Together with his Liberal party, he was able to gain inroads in the Spaniard South, the "Middle Provinces" along the Atlantic Seaboard, and the decidely populist and abolitionist forntier provinces. While this was not enough to capture a majority of the Electoral Council in the first round, the direction the nation was set seemed crystal clear.

 

Former Governor Jeremiah Smith of New Hampshire [Liberal] - 34 Electors
Secretary of State Henry Clay of Kentucky [Continental] - 33 Electors
Member of the Commons Andrew Stevenson of Virginia [Whig] - 14 Electors