1789 Turn: The First Year

[Lumine]

1789: The First Year

May 15th to December 31st, 1789

In the News!

Madison takes office

The young First Secretary becomes head of the government, how will he perform?

A divided National Assembly?

With a Minority Government in place, many wonder what role will Hamilton and Jackson play

What shall be done about the Judiciary?

Many wonder which judicial system the government might consider to put in place

1.- Turn: This turn lasts from the middle of May to the end of December, 1789, our first full year on this game. The main purpose of this turn is of course to see how the Government develops and what the first debates on the National Assembly are, giving all of you significant autonomy on how you want to play the turn and what you wish to do with it (publish in the press, speak in the Assembly, build up or reinforce your faction, and so on). This turn starts with three events, and more may appear as the year develops.

[Lumine]

Debt and Deficit Crisis on the rise

First Secretary Madison faces tough decisions on the economy

PHILADELPHIA - One of the main issues which inspired the departure from the Articles of Confederation into the present United States of America was the lack of economic coordination among the states, with wildly different policies on debt, spending on tariffs which gave each colony a vastly different system than the others. As a result, stark regional differences can be seen as, for example, New England faces crippling amounts of debt despite a diversified trade system, whereas the less versailite South has nonetheless payed or dismissed more of its debt despite lacking the level of competitivity of their northern neighbors.

With such levels of domestic (particularly regarding the enormous debts to Revolutionary soldiers left without pay or compensation) and foreign debt, it will fall onto First Secretary Madison the hard task to design which shall be the main source of revenue for this new Federal Government, as well as to choose the appropiate method to tackle the huge amounts of debt among the states and in the Federal Government as well. It is believed the potential appointment of a minister or secretary responsible for some financial affairs will reveal much of Madison's intentions.

The government dilemma

Just how small should government be?

PHILADELPHIA - While given his limited duties President John Hancock has managed to perform his duties with a small group of secretaries and officers, the entrance into office of the new Madison government raises the necessary question on what the size of government should be. With the pro-larger government factions having failed to achieve a majority on the election it seems evident to many that the Democratic-Republican/Whig/Western government will necessarily have to fulfill its promises by keeping the size of government down to a minimum, although many wonder just how effective the new government will become them.

Indeed, many await with interest whether the Madison government will create some sort of government bureaucracy to ensure the Federal Government can enforce its powers when it comes to the individual states, or whether the new government will hold the line on dramatically limiting appointments at the risk of losing potential power right at the start of the new American Experiment.

Revolution in France!

National Constituent Assembly formed, rioters storm the Bastille in Paris

PARIS - Ongoing and stunning reports from France have shocked not only Europe but the United States itself as the risky gamble of Louis XVI has dramatically backfired on him. Having called the Estates General to avoid the opposition of local Parliaments and find a solution to the economy crisis the deputies of the Third Estate and a few men of the nobility of the clergy have turned on him, transforming the Estates General into a virtually permanent National Constituent Assembly whose attributions, power and dramatic measures grow stronger by the day.

Attempts by the King to revert the tide of revolution in France proved disastrous as the stationing of troops within Paris (many of them from Swiss or German descent) led to a popular uprising and the organization of Parisian citizens as the main force behind the revolutionary spirit. The Bastille, historic fortress and symbol of the "Ancient Regime" was stormed after a brief struggle and its Governor killed, an open act of defiance in which the city has triumphed against its increasingly agitated monarch. Many have taken the news in joy inside the United States, but there is no shortage of those who look at the situation with concern as to how far things might go.

[Lumine]

Women March on Versailles!

Royal power broken as Louis XVI is forced to relocate to Paris

PARIS - It there was any doubt to foreign observers than Louis XVI was rapidly losing control of the domestic situation in France as the National Constituent Assembly gained more and more steam on its radical, even revolutionary proposals was the fact that the old symbol of power created by Louis XIV became the next target of the Parisian citizens. A march of women set to protest the cost of bread and other problems quickly turned into an event that threatened to spiral out of control rapidly, Versailles almost stormed as only the rapid reaction of the Marquis deLalayette and the willingness of Louis and Marie Antoinette to play along calmed down the angry masses.

As a result of the event, however, the King suffered a dramatic blow as the citizens of Paris insisted on having their monarch near them, and as a result Louis and his family were transfered back to Paris to reside in the Tuileries. While officially Louis XVI still wields most of the power in practice it seems that royal authority has suffered another crippling blow, the King now isolated in the revolutionary city despite residing in confort and, nominally, in control. Just how the situation will continue to evolve in 1790 remains to be seen, but with a year which began with the King hoping to find a way to address the French financial situation and which ended with royal power shattered, 1789 may shape up as a crucial year in the history of France.

The Abolitionist Scare

Unease in the South, border states over slavery rhetoric, Patriots on the rise

BALTIMORE - One of the factors which surprised most observers regarding the 1789 Election was the rather open attacks on slavery performed by several factions, seemingly not constrained over potential backlash over adopting too radical a posture. Dulled in part by electoral dynamics and the frenzy climate surrounding the election itself, the first months of the National Assembly have seen further mentions of slavery in terms which, to the concern of many Americans, sound almost abolitionist in nature, a posture too radical for most of American society to embrace even among many who dislike slavery.

The continued result of this has been a gradual growth in the South of unease regarding an early re-opening of the slave trade and slavery in genral as an issue for the debate in the Assembly, fear which has extended all the way from the South to the border states as far as Delaware itself, and even among the substantial groups in New York which still defend slavery (for it remains legal on the state). And as several citizens display their concern that the issue could rapidly led to serious rivalry between states the biggest losers have been both the Democratic Republicans and the Hamiltonians, losing ground across the South over their percieved moderation on the issue against James Jackson's Patriots, several local newspapers and groups of gentlemen expressing their agreement with the only party which appears willing to defend slavery in Congress Hall.

Three to four new states on the horizon

Vermont, Kentucky, Franklin and Westsylvania seem to desire statehood

PHILADELPHIA - Another curious factor which has taken a significant degree of relevance in the past few months has been the drive of territories, counties or technically sovereign states to become part of the United States, even against the opposition of others. There are at least four different areas trying to potentially become states under different circumstances, with various degrees of potential to succeed:

Franklin: Localed in the western areas of North Carolina, the attempt to form a state of Franklin had collapsed almost two years ago on account of heavy sabotage by North Carolina itself, and yet the population of the pro-Franklin counties has surprisingly managed to persevere (fact linked by some to the rise of the Western faction) and organize itself on an entity almost separate of North Carolina itself. It is believed Franklin itself may attempt to petition the National Assembly in 1790 or 1791 to become a state if granted permission by the North Carolina government.

Westsylvania: An attempt by western Pennsylvanians (and a handful of Virginians) to secede has already lead to great strife, to the point in which Pennsylvania passed a law ten years ago making talk of internal seccession treason (and therefore punishable by death). As a result and with the Radical faction holding significant influence over the state it is unlikely Westsylvania will ever become a reality without their support. In the meantime, a controversial compromise was passed as a result of the joint work of Radicals and Westerners to eventually change the capital of Pennsylvania to the town of Chambersburg within a decade, an enormously popular move in the west of the state but harshly criticized across the north and east.

Vermont: Officially a sovereign state as the Vermont Republic, Vermont aims to become the next northern state once it manages to solve a series of complex border disputes with the state of New York which have held back its integration into the union. With negotiations close to an eventual positive end, it is very likely Vermont will be in a position to petition the National Assembly for admittance as a new state.

Kentucky: Almost created a state before the push for the new Constitution, statehood for Kentucky was substantially delayed to the distate of many citizens in the area. But with the election over as the country trying to move towards a more stable government not much remains in the road of Kentucky to petition the National Assembly for statehood in a move which could come as early as the first months of 1790.

[Lumine]

Slavery debate causes defections in the Assembly!

Tory collapse as Gouverneur Morris defects, government left further beholden to Western faction

PHILADELPHIA - While it was expected by many Southerners that their ongoing lobby to stop the increasingly bold debate on slavery at the Nattional Assembly would yield results, their disappointment, anger and shock was multiplied when Tory Leader John Jay attempted to propose banning slavery on the debate over the Declaration of Rights Amendments, an extremely radical abolitionist measure which stunned deputies to their very core. Amidst chaotic shouting and large clamoring amongst deputies of several parties (including Northern ones) Mr. Jay was forced to abandon Congress Hall to decrease the tension, which only multipled as the reports of his stance and that of Leader of the Opposition Alexander Hamilton support for banning the slavery trade traveled across the nation.

As many citizens in the South angrily protested the unprecedented actions of Mr. Jay and several state governments passed resolutions condemning the Tories and by extension the Hamiltonians, the Tory faction virtually ceased to exist beyond a handful of diehard supporters, and Hamiltonian support in South Carolina, North Carolina and Maryland itself took a large blow. The results would be equally as dramatic in Philadelphia, as after a few weeks of frantic resolutions and angry letters by constituents the reopening of the debate on the Declaration of Rights Amendments was pre-empted by the decision of several deputies to change seats and sit alongside different factions.

The Tory faction virtually ceased to exist as an organized group as Mr. Gouverneur Morris (widely acknowledged to be the second most powerful Tory) crossed the floor to join the Hamiltonians, and on his action he was shortly after followed by the At-Large Tory deputy for Connecticut. The next day the At-Large Tory deputy for New Jersey crossed the floor towards Hamilton and Morris as well, leaving only Mr. Jay and the Tory Deputy for Maine as the survivors of the rump faction. The Hamiltonians themselves suffered losses of their own as well, as the Hamiltonian deputies in North and South Carolina promptly separated themselves from their colleagues as the first two independent deputies, and joining forces with the Hamiltonian deputy in Maryland all three warned that continued radical anti-slavery policies would lead to their full and permanent defection.

Of course, it did not stop there as on the next week a new series of defections took place across the South and in the state of Pennsylvania. With the Western faction gaining much support in the state on account of their support for statehood in the west corner of the state (Westsylvania), the Radicals lost the companion to leader Benjamin Franklin as the new Western deputy denounced any compromise as a "mere distraction" and vowed to see that the people in the west of the state would be heard at last. The Democratic-Republican government was then badly hit by the pro-Patriot frenzy and their percieved lack of a strong defense to slavery, as two of their deputies (one in Virginia, one in South Carolina) crossed the floor over to the Patriots.

Against the stunned look of government deputies the parliamentary arithmetic shifted thus:

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY:

Democratic Republican: 15 (-2)
Hamiltonian: 15 (+1)
Patriot: 11 (+2)
Whig: 9
Western: 7 (+1)
Radical: 4 (-1)
Tory: 2 (-3)
Independent: 2 (+2)

Following the defections and with 1789 nearing its end, the Government could now only muster 31 votes against 34 should the Opposition ever unite on a given topic.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

CALENDAR OF MR. SAMUEL ADAMS
FOR THE YEAR 1789 A.D.

Summer
Whilst not engaged in attending session of the National Assembly, Adams maintains a prolific correspondence with allies in all quarters of the country, and especially New England. While the Independent Courier remains the principal organ of the Whig interest in Massachusetts, with circulation throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic, Adams likewise encourages the formation of party organizations in the States north of the Mason-Dixon line, as well as Delaware. Surrogates see that the public remains informed of Adams' position on the questions facing the government and Adams himself keeps the papers well supplied with his speeches in the National Assembly. While in Philadelphia, he worships with several of the city's many denominations, including the Religious Society of Friends. The last week of July and the month of August he returns to Massachusetts, to attend to his affairs in Boston and his constituency of Middlesex.

Autumn
Adams continues his work in the National Assembly and assumes his new role as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet. Much of his time in this new role is spent in correspondence with the U.S. ambassadors to France and the Netherlands, regarding trade and the political situation in Paris. Allies continue the work of forming party organizations, while a small delegation of surrogates travel to the Republic of Vermont to discuss its admission to the Union (and build support for the Whig faction there).


[OOC: Not sure if this is the right place to post this . . .]

[terp40hitch]

Actives of James Gunn for 1789

Summer: During the early parts of the start of the national assembly, Gunn stayed near Philadelphia to discuss and work on bills. Gunn also meet with deputies, faction leaders and members of the new cabinet. While he wasn't in Philadelphia, he was mainly back in Augusta talking to voters and business owners. When Gunn was not in Augusta or Philadelphia, he was in Virginia/Kentucky talking with legislators and discussed creating Kentucky as a new state.

Autumn: At the begging of Autumn, Gunn was back in Augusta resting and visiting with the Governor and local legislatures. In the middle of Autumn, Gunn went back to Philadelphia to again vote on bills and amendments. Other than in Philidelphia and Augusta, Gunn went to Virginia/Kentucky again and he also went to Maryland. Gunn went to Maryland since Gunn believed that with Patriots strengths that they will be able to spread their support and he believes the greatest area they will be able to do that is in Maryland and Deleware.

[DKrol]

John Jay
Tory Leader

May 15, 1789 - Mr. Jay establishes residence in a local boarding house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to assume his duties as an elected Deputy in the National Assembly.

July 5, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs Philadelphia, Pennsylvania via stage coach.

July 7, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives at his home in Westchester County, New York. He spends the day resting.

July 8, 1789 - Mr. Jay meets with local businessmen and merchants in New York City.

July 14, 1789 - Mr. Jay meets with the local Tory Association in New York City to discuss the future of the Tories after the defections in Philadelphia.

July 17, 1789 - Mr. Jay delivers a speech to the local abolitionist society in New York City and pledges himself to their cause.

July 20, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs New York City, New York via stage coach.

July 24, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and resumes residence at the local boarding house.

October 5, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs Philadelphia, Pennsylvania via stage coach.

October 8, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives at his home in Westchester County, New York. He spends the day resting.

October 14, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs Westchester County, New York via stage coach.

October 20, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives in Portland, Maine. He spends the day resting at the home of the Tory Deputy for Maine.

October 21, 1789 - Mr. Jay and the Tory Deputy for Maine meet with local merchants in Portland, Maine.

October 26, 1789 - Mr. Jay and the Tory Deputy for Maine meet with former Loyalists now residing in Maine and promote the Tory Faction as the faction for reconciliation with Britain.

October 29, 1789 - Mr. Jay meets with local farmers near Portland, Maine and proposes that a national economic market would greatly assist local farmers in selling their excess product for a handsome profit.

October 30, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs Portland, Maine via stage coach.

November 4, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives at his home in Westchester County, New York. He spends the day resting and then several days tending to the affairs of his estate.

November 16, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs Westchester County, New York via stage coach.

November 18, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and resumes residence at the local boarding house.

December 20, 1789 - Mr. Jay departs Philadelphia, Pennsylvania via stage coach.

December 24, 1789 - Mr. Jay arrives at his home in Westchester County, New York. He spends the day resting.

December 25, 1789 - Mr. Jay celebrates Christmas with his wife, Sarah Livingston Jay, and their five children in New York City.