Trial, Perseverance, and Glory: A Brief History of the United States of America

[DKrol]

Trial, Perseverance, and Glory:
A Brief History of the United States of America 1789-2025
A DKrol TL

Chapter I: The Foundational Years

Introduction

America is one of the greatest nations on the face of the Earth. For centuries, America has been a leading force in global affairs - economics, diplomacy, security, and culture. It was not always that way, however. Early on in its history, the established powers of the world laughed at the fledgling republic. Thanks to strong leadership, an aggressive foreign policy, and a dedicated citizenry, the new nation flourished and became the dominant power in North America and, over time, the world. It was not smooth sailing from there on out. Two bloody civil wars and many international wars nearly destroyed the hard work that the Founders risked their lives to establish. Every time, light finally broke through the dark clouds of doubt, fear, and anger. This is the story of the United States of America - Trial, Perseverance, and Glory.


This TL will be in the style of an American history textbook, with each update covering a singular era, presidency, or event. As always, feel free to ask questions at any point.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Pumped!

[The Govanah Jake]

Excited!

[DKrol]

The American Revolution

In the early days of the 17th Century, Englishmen had begun landing on the Atlantic seaboard of the North American continent. Rapidly, the number of colonists arriving, the amount of money invested, and the importance of the Colonies exploded. It was not always a peaceful settlement process, as conflicts with both the native populations and other competing colonial powers abounded. For the most part, however, the 13 Colonies, as they became known, were lands of great opportunity and success, compared to the tired establishment of the European continent.

The land of opportunity found itself contained rather quickly. In order to appease the native tribes, the British King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, which limited colonial expansion westward, preserving those lands for the natives. This was the beginning of the end of British colonial domination of North America. It was followed with a series of tax increases on colonists from the British Parliament, where the colonists had no representation, and a significant reduction in the colonists’ right to self-government. By 1774, tensions had reached the boiling point.

The American Revolution began in the spring of 1774 when, in contradiction to British colonial decrees, representatives from the 13 Colonies met in Philadelphia and formed the Continental Congress, the first national government of the united 13 Colonies. The Congress chose planter George Washington of Virginia as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, gave him a budget, raised him an army, and tasked him with removing the British from the colonies. After some initial successes, the Continental Congress formally declared independence in 1776. In an effort to dash the colonial domination of their British enemies, the Kingdoms of France and Spain not only acknowledged the newly independent North American colonies, they joined in the military battle against the British.

With the Spanish harrying English ships as they attempted to sail to North America and the French maintaining a protective blockade of the North American coast, Washington declared victory in 1783 and sent the brightest colonial minds (Patrick Henry, John Jay, James Madison, and Ben Franklin, among others) to Paris to negotiate a formal peace treaty. In September of 1783, King George III formally acknowledged the independence of his former colonies.

[Kingpoleon]

Interesting... Do Prince Henry and General Von Steuben have more or less men/training sent and done ITTL relative to our own?