Amerika: The History of the Amerikaners

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And now another great TL is getting sticked.

[CatoMinor]

And now another great TL is getting sticked.

[LLR]

Congrats on a well-deserved spotlight, Jbrase! Whatever you do, don't stop updating.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

And now another great TL is getting sticked.

Mods are not always doing bad things.

[CatoMinor]

The Second Boer War Continued

August, 1836


By mid August 1836 the Amerikaners were struggling to push the Pennsylvanians out of their territory, fighting largely in communities that viewed the Pennsylvanian soldiers as liberators. The first phase of the war would be more or less a stalemate as Staatpresident Béliveau set out to create his vision for a "Grand Army of the Republic." While Béliveau oversaw the formation of his Grand Army he focused primarily of containing the Mormon threat and pushing them out of Amerikaans Republic territory. Soldiers under the command of Brigham Young tried piercing through to lake Erie, cutting the Amerikaners in half, however was turned back at the Battle of Erie. Young's failed campaign would be the high water mark for the Mormon's in the war. The winter would see a lull in fighting with skirmishes here and there, testing each others defenses. As March came Béliveau was ready to unleash his creation, The Grand Army of the Republic. The first phase of the war had been characterized as containment, the next would be extermination.

Without any hint of slowing down and with no mercy the Grand Army struck through the Pennsylvanian lines on multiple fronts, shattering the Mormon and Boer militias before them. Inside of a month the capitals of both the Pennsylvanian Republic and the Allegheny Free State had fallen. With little option left and refusing to surrender, Smith organized a guerilla resistance from the wooded mountains of Appalachia. To put pressure on the Mormon resistance to surrender the Amerikaners began rounding up entire communities and placing them in prison camps to starve. It wasn't until February 27, 1838 when in a skirmish a bullet found it's way into Joseph Smith's abdomen and Brigham Young took over as leader that Mormon's agreed to surrender.

Pennsylvania at Brigham Young's surrender.


Following the surrender the Amerikaans Republic formally annexed the region and exiled the survivors. Those who chose to remain faithful the to Mormon movement joined with Young and began a long journey out west to where Young declared God had promised them their paradise on Earth where they could start over. In all 7,059 men, 142 women, and 86 children left to journey out west where they would settle on the east bank of the Missouri River, founding the city of New Jerusalem. What was left behind was a poor and depopulated shadow of what Pennsylvania had been.

To be continued...

[CatoMinor]

The Trail of Tears

The Second Boer War left what was once William Penn's great legacy in ashes. Either by combat, starvation, or disease the war left over 285,000 dead. Many of the non-Mormon Pennsylvanian survivors left to seek refuge in Virginia. Many Mormons lost the faith during the war, but for those who remain loyal under Brigham young choose to follow him out west as they sought to distance themselves as much as they could from the devastation they had endured. By late September 1838, Young and his followers set out for the west.

Desiring to avoid Amerikaner and Native lands on their journey, Young took his followers south through Virginia. Among those on the journey were the six year old Joseph Smith III and his mother Emma Hale Smith. Originally anticipating 2-3 months of a journey, inclement weather and issues with Virginian authorities arose that would slow things down. As harassment and acts of violence against the Mormons grew, Young organized the Nashville Legion in order to protect the travelers. Finally reaching the Mississippi river on December 23, the Mormons set camp and began building small boats and barges to ferry them across into Upper Louisiana. On January 8, 1839 as the Mormons were half finished crossing, a mob of 200 anti-Mormon Virginians had organized into a militia and launched an attack hoping to drive the Mormons into the river. The Nashville legion, at half strength as the other 250 had crossed the river first to protect the travelers on the other side, sprung into action. After an hour of shooting the Virginians fell back having taken 86 casualties compared to 8 for the Mormons. Proclaiming that "God is with us!" Young moved the party onward.

By March the Mormons finally ended their Journey on the east bank of the Missouri River near what Young believed to be the sight of the Garden of Eden. The city of New Jerusalem was established as the capital for what he hoped to grow into a nation. The Mormon's called the land they settled Deseret, after what they believed to be a Jaredite term from their Book of Mormon meaning "honeybee". Separated from the major powers, Deseret would grow in isolation over the coming years as nominal subjects of France.
 

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Congrats on a well-deserved spotlight, Jbrase! Whatever you do, don't stop updating.

[CatoMinor]

Aftermath of the Second Boer War

Feeling invincible politically following the surrender of the Mormon's, Staatpresident Béliveau began to implement sweeping changes. First was to reorganize the remains of the new territory acquired in the war into the new provinces of Sylvania and Allegheny. The Mormons had been been evicted and following the occupation a large portions of the remaining population chose self exile in Virginia. Those few who remained became isolated in small rural communities that would cling on to their English heritage for generations to come, known to the Afrikaners as "die Pennsylvanian-Engels." Many from the more crowded coastal cities took the opportunity to start over and moved to the new provinces, where they could claim abandoned farms and resettle the now ghost towns.

Lacking a unified vision or sense of direction the Demokratiese Partij formally disbanded in August 1839. Herman Jansen and his followers would create the Liberaal Partij, focused on promoting free markets and decentralized power. The wing of the Democrats who were ideologically the heirs of the Volks Partij, at least those who hadn't joined the Justitie Partij, reformed under the new Nationaal Party. The adoption of the "party" spelling over "partij" was a sign of their message of distancing themselves from their Dutch heritage, and that the Amerikaners had become not only superior to the Dutch, but different altogether. The Nationaals viewed Amerikaners more in terms of  the indigenous people than as decedents of European immigrants, going as far as to publicly denounce new immigration into the country and labeling themselves as "natives." In New Amsterdam in particular the Nationaals would promote violence against immigrants and Catholics, at one point prompting Béliveau to send in infantry and order martial law as rival gangs fought over neighborhoods.

Volksraag election of 1840: 192 seats
Justitie Partij - 111
Nationaal Party - 32
Liberaal Partij - 30
Native Alliance - 15
Independent - 4
 
The results of the Volksraag elections reflected both the changing times in Amerika and the popularity that Béliveau still possessed among the public. the Liberaals attacked the Staatpresident for going too far in the Second Boer War while the Nationaals branded him as a "papist" being under the control of the Pope. Neither argument seemed to stick however as Béliveau easily won re-election to another term in 1842.

Staatpresidential Election of 1842:
Erik Béliveau (JP)- 43%
Herman Jansen (LP) - 29%
Henrik van der Plaats (NP) - 25%
Paul Tenskatawa (NA) - 3%

[CatoMinor]

Part 6: I AM THE STATE

1843
Re-elected and having a his party still in control of the Volksraag, the first half of Béliveau's second term went relatively smooth. Relations with Virginia and Plymouth were improved, and off the coast of West Africa a small colony had been established for the decedents of freed slaves who wished to return. The experiment that was the colony of Liberia would be short lived however as most freed slaves and their decedents preferred to remain and of those who wanted to leave, many already had for French Canada in the years prior. The colony would eventually be sold to the Virginians who would have greater use for it. By early 1844 was confident that his Justitie Partij would keep control in the upcoming Volksraag elections.

Volksraag Election of 1844: 194 Seats
Justitie Partij - 110
Liberaal Partij - 36
Nationaal Party - 34
Native Alliance - 11
Independent - 3

By the late 1830's Europe's colonial hold in the New World had already been in decline. Mexico successfully won independence from Spain by 1836 and established the Mexican Empire. Carolina had been eating away at Spanish Florida for years, shifting their border farther south. Then in 1841 France was put to the test as French Canada began calling for independence. Reluctant at first, and even preparing to send soldiers to keep it by force, France agreed to a compromise that would allow for near complete autonomy and that would keep the French King as ceremonial head of state while a National Assembly would effectively run the country. In Louisiana the situation was less pleasant. Around the same time as Canada, Lower Louisiana declared their independence as a republic and seized control of French armories ready to defend themselves. The French force sent to retake New Orleans was decimated by the unfortunate timing of a hurricane that made landfall just as they were arriving. Without any reasonable way of maintaining control or even access to at this point, Upper Louisiana was abandoned as France had more pressing matters at home for focus on such as rising republicanism.

It wasn't long before Upper Louisiana became carved out. The Mormon's in the central region claimed a large swath as the nation of Deseret. Further north the Lakota peoples managed to fight back against claims from Canada and asserted their independence. On the western side of the northern Mississippi, Amerikaner settlers proclaimed the Republic of the Transmississippi. Virginians moved into the south and effectively doubled the size of their country.

By 1845 Transmississippi was annexed into the Amerikaans Republic. Crisis came in 1846 however when electing a provincial government two sides both claimed victory in an election full of fraud where more ballots were cast than people actually living in Transmississippi. One government under a Nationaal-Justitie alliance ruled from Dubuque  while a Liberaal government established Bettendorf as their capital further down the river. The coming months would see a series of bloody skirmishes that wouldn't end until Staatpresident Béliveau decided to act.

To be continued...

[CatoMinor]

I AM THE STATE, continued

For months following the start of the Transmississippi crisis the Volksraag refused to recognize either provincial government until an agreement could be reached. During this period however the crisis escalated when supporters of the Dubuque government burned a farm and murdered 11 people in the ensuing shootout. In retaliation, on March 27, 1847 Bettendorf supporters waiting in the trees along a small country road outside of Dubuque ambushed and assassinated the governor of the rival government. Among those killed in the attack were the governor's wife and young son. Finally having enough the next month Staatpresident Béliveau marched into the province with 15,000 soldiers and declared Transmississippi to be under martial law. Wanting a swift end to the confusion, Béliveau declared the Dubuque government to be the legitimate one and any who opposed them to be guilty of treason. Upon returning to New Amsterdam Béliveau was summoned before the Volksraag to explain his actions as many belied he overstepped his authority by unilaterally choosing which provincial government to support and installing his own acting military governor until martial law would be lifted.

Entering the Volksraag to the cries of "tyrant!" and "dictator!" Béliveau calmly addressed the delegates and said:
The actions I made were a result of the inaction of this body. I will apologize for nothing. Twice now the people have seen fit to make me their Staatpresident. By the will of both God and the people I have been chosen to lead this nation of Amerikaners. Some of you here, even those who I believed to be my allies, have charged that I have overstepped my role within the state, but let me assure you I AM THE STATE.
Béliveau proceeded to walk out of the chamber that remained dead silent. This event would go on to give the Liberaals all they needed to campaign against Béliveau and the JP over the next year.

By early 1848 Béliveau decided against seeking a third term opting instead to allow his close ally Erwin Roemer, who had served as military governor and then eventualy elected governor of Sylvania, to be his successor. The Nationaals again nominated Henrik van der Plaats who promised a purer Amerika free from the immigrant "invasion." Despite his best efforts, Herman Jansen failed to be selected by the Liberaals, who instead chose to go with Maarten van Buren. Van Buren had been a member of the JP and delegate to the Volksraag representing his community around his home in Kinderhoek, however out of frustration with the Staatpresident's abuse of power he switched to the Liberaals.

The Elections of 1848

Volksraag: 200 seats
Liberal Partij - 79
Justitie Partij - 68
Nationaal Party - 42
Native Alliance - 8
Independent - 2

Staatpresident:


Maarten van Buren (LP) - 34%
Erwin Roemer (JP) - 31%
Henrik van der Plaats (NP) - 30%
John Catahecassa (NA) - 5%

Up next, Part 7: The Calm Before the Storm

[CatoMinor]

Part 7: The Calm Before the Storm

The time in office of Maarten van Buren could be characterized as being of being extremely hands off. Staatpresident Van Buren led with the philosophy that the less the state did the better and devoted more time to trying to block the Volksraag from passing what he considered bad law than actually pushing an agenda. Van Buren and many other Liberaals believed that most governing should be done from the provincial and local levels. Despite winning the largest bloc of seats in the Volksraag the Liberaal Partij would ultimately come in second as the Justitie and Nationaal parties formed a coalition to elect their own Chancellor, Gregory Vermeulen of the Justitie Partij. Vermeulen had hoped to achieve passing electoral reform such run-off elections should no-candidate for Staatpresident claim at least 50% of the vote.

Van Buren's first test came a year into his term in 1849 when his attempt at avoiding foreign entanglements was challenged by North African pirates attacking Amerikaner trade vessels when the Amerikaans Republic refused to pay tribute. Under pressure from the Volksraag and coastal Liberaals with ties to trade, Van Buren authorized a small fleet to eliminate the pirate threat in what would be known at the Barbary War. Aided by a coalition of French and Swedish ships, the fighting would bring about the collapse of the nominally independent Barbary states along the North-West African coast and would see the last of the Ottoman Empire's presence driven from the region.

By 1852 the alliance of the Justitie and Nationaals was proving to hurt the JP as the anti-catholic and anti-immigrant rhetoric of the NP began casting a negative shadow over Justitie whose coalition had traditionally included many Catholics. By this time the writings of Karl Marx had begun to spread among the working class and university students. The Liberaals had been making in-roads out west with their message of greater provincial autonomy as the western provinces felt little connection to the New Amsterdam government. In New Amsterdam, which had been a hot bed for nativist sentiment, was growing in population by the day with new waves of immigration from Germany and Irish fleeing the Great Famine. Most Irish migrants started moving to English speaking Plymouth and Virginia, however Plymouth soon placed a ban on Irish immigration forcing them to seek refuge in the Amerikaans Republic. While the Province of New Amsterdam was still largely dominated by the Nationaal Party, the city itself was beginning to see a shift in power as political machines began taking advantage in the shifting winds and organizing.

Volksraag Election of 1852: 200 Seats
Liberaal Partij - 89
Nationaal Party - 70
Justitie Partij - 33
Native Alliance - 7
Independent - 1  

Despite winning no seats, the various workers and labor movements which were beginning to organize won close to 1.5% of the vote. In New Amsterdam they came close to 20% in a couple districts. The Liberaals once again came just shy of a majority. The Justitie in the Volksraag began to split into two factions, those who would back a Liberaal government and those who wanted to keep their alliance with the Nationaals. When the time came to elect a new Chancellor the Liberaals had created a coalition of themselves, the Native Alliance, and 12 members of the Justitie Partij, giving them 108 votes and control of the Volksraag.

To be continued....

[LLR]

Bump

[CatoMinor]

Sorry, my lap top was broken for a while. Will update soon.

[CatoMinor]

Sorry for the long break. Had a ton of things come up over the summer but hopefully can get this going again. Anywho, here is a short aside.

Europe by 1850.

 
The Ottomans are receding back out of the Balkans. The Venetians had been leading coalitions of Greeks, Serbs, and Bulgarians in a series of wars against the Ottomans with the ultimate goal of taking back Constantinople eventually. For most it is about the Orthodox Christians winning their lands back, while the Venetians are motivated by the desire to remove the Ottomans as their main economic rivals. To the east The Russian Tsardom was also in decline with a series of defeats at the hand of the Swedes, who had in the most recent triumph under King Charles XV united the crowns of Norway and Denmark, creating the United Kingdom of Scandinavia. Taking advantage of Russia's losses the Cossacks rose in revolt, creating their own Cossack-Ukrainian state in 1843.

In central Europe the confederation of German states broke apart as power centralized around Vienna and Berlin. The protestant Prussian Kingdom is working to consolidate its power in the region while the catholic Austrians are determined to prevent a Prussian hegemony amongst the Germans. If neither side will back down war is on the horizon.

In the west the largest change was the beginning of labor movements that were mixing with the already radicalized republican. The Late 1840's saw a wave of anti-monarchy revolutionary sentiment that the powers of Europe were beginning to fear.

[wxtransit]

Interesting! Nice TL.

[CatoMinor]

Part 7 Continued

[/u]

As the election of 1854 came closer the Liberaals were confident that among divided opposition they would come out on top once more. However in late 1853 a financial panic had set in, causing economic hardship throughout much of the country. Capitalizing on this chance, the Nationaals struck hard against  Van Buren's apparent lack of leadership and against the Justitie Volksraag members propping up the Liberaal government. Seeing this as his best chance yet at victory yet, Henrik van der Plaats mounted another campaign for Staatpresident, with the Nationaals selecting him to challenge Van Buren at their New Amsterdam convention. As the election drew closer Van Buren seemed more and more like dead man. Feeling it was beneath him, he did little to no campaigning, while Van Der Plaats was setting the bar for how campaigning should be done, going town to town and church to church getting people riled up. The Liberaals finally saw a sliver of hope when the Native Alliance announced that in order to hopefully block the Nationaals, their party would throw its support behind Van Buren this once instead of fielding their own candidate. After this both the Nationaals and the Liberaals began courting the Justitie Partij, hoping they would do the same. After days of heated debate the Justitie Partij decided to go ahead and field their own candidate. Roemer was selected once
again, creating essentially a repeat of the previous election.

Staatpresident Election 1854

Maarten van Buren (LP)(i) 42.8%
Henrik van der Plaats (NP)41.9
Erwin Roemer (JP) 15.3%

Convinced that the system was rigged and that he should have won, while the Liberaals began planning their celebration festivities Van Der Plaats began assembling militias and preparing to march on New Amsterdam. The coming years would be some of the bloodiest in the history of North American, nearly dragging the entire continent into war.

[CatoMinor]

Part 8: The Amerikaner Civil War

May 29, 1854

In the days following the election Henrik van der Plaats set out to enact a contingency plan created in the weeks prior should he have the election stolen from him as he believed it had. In the early morning hours before dawn, Van Der Plaats had assembled a militia of nearly 7,000 men, 400 cavalry, and 2,000 regular army soldiers who supported the Nationaals. A little after five in the morning Van Der Plaats led this force across the Kruger Bridge into New Amsterdam. By sunrise nearly all government buildings in the city had been seized and officials not willing to swear allegiance were arrested. Outside the capital the commander of Fort Rensselaer, outside the nearby city of Breuckelen, declared his allegiance to Van Der Plaats and the Nationaals, turning over his garrison. Likewise across the country cities, ports, and important rail centers were being seized Nationaal supporting militias and regulars. The Provinces of Iroquois and Shawnee were largely untouched as their large native populations had little support for the Nationaals. Likewise those loyal to the elected government were able to fend off the Nationaals and kept control of Rensselaerwyk, New Sweden, large swaths of Ohio, and much of the north country near the Canadian border.

Van Buren was able to avoid capture by choosing to spend the week at his home in Kinderhoek. When the coup started Van Buren's personal guard as well as near by soldiers who were loyal were able to fend off the Nationaal militia sent to arrest the Staatpresident. Swearing to defend the republic from the Nationaals Van Buren set out to organize what was left of the military that was loyal and prepare for what was shaping up to be civil war.


The Nationaal Government
The Liberaal Government

[CatoMinor]

The Amerikaner Civil War Continued...

The Early Stages

By July, 1854 the conflict began escalating as small skermishes began to arise across Ohio as control of the province was crucial for both sides. The Liberaals under Van Buren moved the seat of their government to Herkimer in the north and began appealing to other nations for aid. The Army had split with roughly a third remaining loyal to the Liberaal government and the rest joining behind Van Der Plaats. The Navy however remained far more loyal, helping to protect the isolated New Sweden province from the Nationaals. Pockets of anti-Nationaal militias began to appear in the Appalachian mountains. Meanwhile in New Amsterdam the Nationaal's interim government swore in Henrik van der Plaats as the Staatpresident, declaring that once the crisis had passed there would be elections for a new government.

 The first significant battle of the war took place on August 1, outside the town of Elmira in the Province of Steuben. A division of 6,000 Nationaals were heading east to join into a larger effort to secure the Hudson river when in the early afternoon nearly 4,000 Liberaals hit them hard by surprise. After 4 hours of intense fighting the Nationaals were routed having suffered 508 deaths and another 700 wounded. the Liberaal force by comparison had only 200 combined casualties. While the Battle of Elmira boosted the moral of the Liberaals, it was not sign of things to come. By December the Nationaals had pushed further up the Hudson and even seized Van Buren's family home, eventually burning it down. The Liberaals in Ohio and Transmississippi were losing ground each week. Van Buren faced a new low when in February, 1855 the Province of Shawnee announced their independence as the Shawnee Republic. Their declaration was almost instantly condemned by both factions as the war devolved into now a 3 way conflict. Like a fire, the war would soon spread as foreign powers began to pick sides, looking to expand their influence. The coming phases of the war would later be defined by period of foreign involvement, the Canadians taking their turn first.

Early 1855


Next: The Amerikaner Civil War Continued, The Canadian Intervention.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Great work!

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Great work!

[CatoMinor]

The Amerikaner Civil War Continued

The Canadian Intervention

September, 1855

In the months following the Battle of Elmira the Nationaals went on the offensiv. The Liberaals continued to lose ground further south in Ohio while the Nationaals soundly defeated the Shawnee in the Ohio River Campaign. While many looked upon the Ohio River Campaign with disgust and the needless destruction and death caused by Nationaal forces razing entire communities of natives. By the end of September Van Buren's situation turned desperate when in a bizarre twist of fate a Nationaal army of 23,000 led by the young General Gert van der Donck began to lay siege to Fort Orange commanded by the young Colonel Boudewijn Stuyvesant and his 1,150 men. Van Der Donck grew up resenting his heritage, associating it with weakness that softened his people, and joined the Nationaal's cause to rebrand his family name with the imagery of heroism and tradition.  Stuyvesant on the other hand had no love for Maarten van Buren or his Liberaal government, but felt a deep patriotic duty to defend his country from those who he believed were selfishly seizing power illegally. If Ft. Orange fell the North Country would be left defenseless and the Liberaal government would have to relocate.

On October 5, 1855, convinced by the atrocities of the Ohio River Campaign, Canada came to the aid of the Liberaals. Attacking on multiple front the Canadians poured across the border into the Province of Stueben near Niagra, and at various places along the Great Lakes. Within days the Canadian Navy asserted a strong dominance across the lakes culminating in the Battle of Mackinac where the remains of the Nationaal's Great Lakes Fleet were sunk or captured. Inspired by the Canadian successes and their extreme opposition to Henrik van der Plaats, the High Council and President Young in New Jerusalem authorized an invasion into Transmississippi to help the Canadians drive out the Nationaals. While most of the Liberaals veiwed the Canadians as God-sent saviors, the Desseretite forces were met with a luke warm response. By mid-October, with Canadian aid, the Siege of Fort Orange came to an end. As fighting began to die down for the approaching winter, the Nationaals began reaching out for help themselves. South in Virginia Amerikaner diplomats on behalf of Van Der Plaats began courting the Virginian government with promises of ceding some land and Amerikaner support for a Virginian invasion and annexation of Desseret.

November, 1855
 
Liberaal Coalition
Nationaals

Next the Amerikaner Civil War continued, The Virginian Intervention.

[CatoMinor]

The Amerikaner Civil War Continued

The Virginian Intervention

Spring 1856,

By Spring the joint efforts of the Canadians and Desseretites began to pay off as the Nationaals were facing collapse on all fronts. The Desseretites were in command of over half of Transmississipi, the Canadians were now unchallenged along the Great Lakes, the Liberaals were inching their way down the Hudson back to New Amsterdam, and in the provinces of Allegheny and Sylvania the guerrilla warfare in the mountains spilled over into a popular uprising that allowed the Liberaals to move in. For a moment it seemed as if the bloody conflict could be over by summer's end. That notion quickly died when on May 10, 1856 Virginia declared war on Canada, Desseret, and formally recognized Van Der Plaats' government as the legitimate of the two. Swiftly the tide of war turned as by the end of the May over 90,000 Virginians began to reach the various fronts. Within weeks the remainder of New Sweden fell and the last of the Shawnee resistance was crushed. A talented young colonel by the name of Christiaan Botha would become famous among Nationaals for his part in the Shawnee and Ohio River Campaigns, and would go down among Shawnee survivors as "The Butcher". The Shawnee theater alone would be responsible for over 150,000 deaths, many of which civilians.

The Liberaal Government, wanting to send a message to their rivals chose to hold the Volksraag elections in spite of the ongoing war. Any affiliation with the Nationaal Party was banned and people living in provinces that had backed the Nationaals had to sign an oath of loyalty in order to participate. With the Liberaals being the only real option for most, the race was more a measure of strength for the two competing factions within the LP, the Oorlag (war) Liberaals and the Vrede (peace) Liberaals. The Native Alliance chose to temporarily merge with the Liberaals in a show of unity, and backed the Oorlag faction.  

Volksraad Results 1856 65 Seats
Oorlog Liberaals - 39
Vrede Liberaals - 23
Independents - 3

Out West in Desseret the Virginians made their advance on New Jerusalem, burning Desseretite famrs and villages along the way and leaving signs that read "The fate of all who choose to blaspheme." On August 15, 1856, outside New Jerusalem the fate of the Mormon faith would be decided once and for all. For hours the outnumbered Desseretites held off waves of Virginians. By 4:00pm the exhausted Temple Guard, the most elite division the Desseretites had, were about about to break when reinforcements called back and force marched from Transmississipi arrived. In a final charge the fanatical Desseretites drove the Virginians back, crying "God is with us!", as they drove many Virginians into a watery grave in the Missouri River. Meanwhile in the East arose the largest and bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of the Four Armies.  Late in August a force of 30,000 Liberaals and 78,000 Canadians set out to make an attempt at seizing Baltimore and cutting the New Amsterdam off from Virginian support. Halfway through their push they were met by 45,000 Nationaals and another 62,000 Virginians outside the small community of Gettysberge. For three days both sides fought bitterly over the ridges and fields outside of town. Finally on the third day the stalemate broke when a regiment of Nationaals drove Canadian defenders off a hill known as Little Round Top, this allowed  for the Nationaals and Virginians the swing around and outflank their opponents. The result was a mass route that shattered the Liberaal/Canadian forces and sent them fleeing. The aftermath of this battle was devastating for the Liberaals. With their main armies shattered the Nationaals had a free hand to push north and by October force the Liberaals to surrender.

While the war was over for the main actors, the Dessertites and Virginians would continue their war for another year before peace could be reached. The Treaty of Richmond, signed on March 1, 1857, decided the following.
1. An official end to the war.
2. Liberaal leaders and soldiers could choose either an oath of loyalty, exile, or execution.
3. the Amerikaners would cede small parts of their country to Virginia as payment.
4. Canada would pay reparations to the Virginians and Amerikaners.
5. portions of the Great Lakes would remain demilitarized.

 Henrik van der Plaats wasted no time in re-shaping the Amerikaans Republic into his own image, consolidating power around himself. The Volksraag was abolished and replaced with Hoeraag, and the office of Staatpresident was to be replaced with Hoe Leider. The Hoeraag was a legislative council consisting of 2 councilors from each Province, one elected and one appointed by the governor of the Province. The Hoe Leider would be appointed by the hoeraag for a life term unless recalled by 3/4's of the Hoeraag. The Amerika of old was dead.

Up Next Part 9: Empire

[CatoMinor]

Languages of North America, 1858



Amerikaans
English
French
Spanish
Indigenous

[CatoMinor]

Religion in North America, 1858



Roman Catholics
Amerikaans Reformed Church & Lutheran Churchs
Baptists
Methodists
Anglicans and Congregationalists
Latter Day Saints (Mormons)
Native Religions

[CatoMinor]

Part 9: Empire

Spring, 1858

The months following the Nationaal victory saw sweeping changes in Amerika. The provisional Hoeraag, under the instruction of Hoeleider, Amerikaans was to be the only language taught in schools and the sole language of government administration at the the national and provincial levels. Amerikaans was also declared to be formally recognized as not a dialect of Dutch but a distinct language, regulated by a new Academy of the Amerikaans Language. For a period it seemed as if Hoeleider Van Der Plaats' vision of Amerika was truly coming to fruition.

On March 12, 1858 the Provisional Hoeraag ceased as the new members were selected and the first formal Hoeraag met in New Amsterdam. Henrik van der Plaats eagerly awaited in the seat of the Hoeleider that overlooked the Hoeraag chamber, for the vote to formally affirm him as their leader. His eagerness quickly turned to rage when before the vote a member stood and nominated Col. Christiaan Botha for Hoeleider. After the motion was seconded, and the cries of "Traitor!" died down the vote commenced.

Hoeleider Election of 1858
Christiaan Botha (NP) - 27
Henrik van der Plaats (NP) (i) - 20
Abstain - 1

To the complete horror of Van Der Plaats, while he was busy establishing a new government, Botha was busy quietly influencing who would be selected to the first Hoeraag. Van Der Plaats recovering from the shock of the results arose and shouted that he refused to accept these results and that clearly the Hoeraag had been compromised by outside forced. Implying that he would start another civil war if he had to, Van Der PLaats and 16 of his followers in the Hoeraag stormed out in protest only to be met outside by Col. Botha and his soldiers. After arresting Henrik and his followers, Christiaan Botha triumphantly marched with his soldiers into the Hoeraag where he accepted the results and was declared Hoeleider.

The 28 year old Christiaan Botha was someone who had grown up in a fervently Nationaal family, and had been a great admirer of Van Der Plaats. As the Civil War reached it's end however Botha became annoyed at what he deemed Van Der Plaats' lack of vision for the Amerikaner peoples. Where Van Der Plaats called for the supremacy of Amerikaner culture in their country, Botha saw greater potential for Amerikaner supremacy on the continent. Because of settlers from early days of the Republic large swaths of the Virginia and Carolina coasts lines, the southern tip of Spanish Florida, parts of southern Canada, and across Lakota were thousands of Amerikaners living outside the Amerikaans Republic. Setting his eyes on Lakota, Botha made his first priority to change this. On May 1st, 1858 Botha announced that in order to guarantee the rights and protection of Amerikaner settlers, the Lakota Republic was to be absorbed into the Amerikaans Republic as unincorporated territory until future provinces could be organized. Thus began the Sioux Wars, which would drag on and off for the next 15 years as they would be forced further and further west.

Next, Empire Continued