The American Monarchy

[Lief 🗽]

Thanks for the comments guys. This will probably be the last update until the weekend.

The American Monarchy: 1815 - 1819

Throughout the country in February of 1815 there was talk as to who the next Prime Minister would be. Since the ratification of the new constitution over twenty years earlier, there had never been a party without a majority (or at least a near majority) of seats in the Senate. As Americans were worrying about the possibility of a lack of government when the Senate convened for the first time in March, word from France arrived: Napoleon Bonaparte had escaped from Elba and taken control of France once again. Napoleon wrote George II a letter in March of 1815, asking for his son to be sent back to France. The letter never arrived in America, however, as it was intercepted by a British ship.

In March of 1815, the Senate met for the first time since the election in January. There had been talks between the parties of forming a coalition, but nothing substantial had come about. Thus, it was no surprise than on the first vote, the Senate was deadlocked.

First Ballot:
Henry Clay (N-KY): 69 votes
Aaron Burr (RW-NY): 63 votes
Rufus King (R-NY): 62 votes
Votes needed to win: 98

The second and third ballots were identical to the first, and the first day of the new Senate ended without a government in place. That night, James Monroe (RW-VA), Deputy Prime Minister, met with Aaron Burr and convinced him to step down. He argued that he could build consensus and convince enough Royalists and Nationals to split with their parties and form a shaky coalition.

James Monroe announced his candidacy for Prime Minister the next day.

Fourth Ballot:
James Monroe (WR-VA): 77 votes
Henry Clay (N-KY): 60 votes
Rufus King (R-NY): 57 votes
Votes needed to win: 98

Fifth Ballot:
James Monroe (WR-VA): 86 votes
Henry Clay (N-KY): 58 votes
Rufus King (R-NY): 50 votes
Votes needed to win: 98

On the sixth ballot, John Quincy Adams (R-MA), realizing that Monroe was gaining votes and unwilling to allow the Whig-Republicans to control a 4th straight government, broke with his party and threw his hat into the ring. Surprisingly, he picked up a majority of Royalist support, and put a dent in Monroe’s rising support.

Sixth Ballot:
James Monroe (WR-VA): 72 votes
Henry Clay (N-KY): 58 votes
John Q. Adams (R-MA): 39
Rufus King (R-NY): 25 votes
Votes needed to win: 98

On the seventh ballot, however, both Monroe and Adams stalled, and the Senate was adjourned for a second day.

Seventh Ballot:
James Monroe (WR-VA): 69 votes
Henry Clay (N-KY): 59 votes
John Q. Adams (R-MA): 51
Rufus King (R-NY): 15 votes
Votes needed to win: 98

That same night, Henry Clay met with John Quincy Adams, and suggested a coalition between their two parties. Adams would become Prime Minister, Clay would become Deputy Prime Minister, Clay would appoint a National party member to Secretary of State (as the National Party was the larger of the two coalition partners) and the rest of the cabinet posts and leadership positions would be divided equally. Clay would also get a say in the Prime Minister’s policy. With this agreement between the two parties, Rufus King took his name out of the running, and the next day the Royalist-National coalition was formed.¹

Eighth Ballot:
John Q. Adams (R-MA): 131 votes
James Monroe (WR-VA):  63 votes
Votes needed to win: 98


Prime Minister John Q. Adams

The coalition was very large, controlling over 2/3 of the seats in the Senate, and possessing a veto-proof majority. Their first act was to re-establish the Bank of the United States, whose charter had not been renewed since the close vote in 1810. The bank was established by a quick and over-whelming vote in April of 1815. In May, as Napoleon’s second reign continued and war once again ravaged the European continent, Whig-Republicans led by opposition leader James Monroe tried to pass the Neutrality Act, which recognized Napoleon as the ruler of France, but stated America’s neutrality towards wars in Europe. Despite some support from wavering Royalists, Adams and Clay worked to bring down the bill. While they supported de facto neutrality, at least until Britain became hostile towards the United States, they did not want to appear weak in the eyes of Americans or the world. The bill failed 79 to 114.

Adams passed a bill increasing the size of the United States Royal Navy in May of 1815. Speaking on the Senate floor, Prime Minister Adams stated that “our most pressing duty is the strengthening of the defenses of the Kingdom, lest the British replace our benevolent King George with that senile tyrant in London.” In June, word reached the United States that Napoleon had been defeated at a battle in Belgium and severely injured. Weeks later the Americans were shocked to hear that the Emperor of France had died from his injuries, while in a British prison. War, everyone assumed, was inevitable now, as the British would be able to fully focus on regaining Canada.

But in July, aware that his friend was finally defeated, and eager to save his nation from the British veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, George II began negotiations with the British, culminating in the Treaty of Quebec. George II agreed to pay the British heavy war reparations, as well as return the son of Napoleon to his mother in Austria. The United States would also surrender claims to Oregon Country above the 49th parallel (which would be extended west as the new boundary between American and British possessions), though Oregon Country south of the line would still be under “joint occupancy.” In return for all this, Britain would permanently cede Ontario and Quebec. The treaty was a relief to Americans (and war-weary British alike). The treaty was approved unanimously in the fall of 1815.

The year 1816 saw the admittance of the state of Indiana to the United States (with one Senate seat), and War of 1807 hero William Henry Harrison was elected as the state’s first governor. Prime Minister Adams continued to work with his party and the National party to form policy. In 1817 and 1818 the Royalist-National coalition approved the building of numerous internal improvements, chief among them roads in the west and Ontario and Quebec. Henry Clay and John Calhoun (N-SC), also co-sponsored the Tariff of 1817, aimed at protecting American industry from cheap European competition. Mississippi was added as the 22nd state at the end of the year (with one Senate seat).

In 1818, George II had Prime Minister Adams send Secretary of State John Calhoun to negotiate with Spain over the acquisition of Florida territory. At the same time, a militia general by the name of Andrew Jackson had led Georgia and Tennessee into Florida on a chase after Seminole natives (he had originally been ordered by Adams to fight the Natives in Georgia, but had not been ordered to advance in Florida). Andrew Jackson was ordered to return immediately, as he seized a number of Spanish forts and had derailed negotiations. Prime Minister Adams pardoned Jackson of any wrong doing, however, and in December of 1818, a month before elections, the Calhoun-Onis Treaty was signed and ratified, formally ceding Florida to the United States and ending border disputes between Spain and the United States. However, the Spanish government had some qualms with the treaty, and negotiations continued. The year ended with the state of Illinois joining the Union (with one Senate seat).

The election of 1819 was a moderate victory for the Royalist and National parties, as their coalition had enjoyed a prosperous and successful four years. The National party gained all the newly created frontier seats. The Whig-Republicans were able to keep their losses low due to vote splitting in some districts between the Royalists and Nationals. Furthermore, the Nationals and Royalists had won 4 years before chiefly on their war policies, not necessarily their economic policies. With the specter of war with Britain gone, many voters switched back to the Whig-Republicans. This too helped stem Whig-Republican losses.

The Senate in 1818:
Royalist: 62 seats
Whig-Republican: 63 seats
National Party: 69 seats
Total: 194 Seats



The Election of 1819:
Royalist: 66 seats (+4)
Whig-Republican: 57 seats (-6)
National Party: 74 seats (+5)
Total: 197 Seats

¹ Some amateur historians wonder why Henry Clay, with the larger party, did not become coalition leader. The simple answer is that John Q. Adams was regarded as an established statesman, with the support of both Nationals and Royalists. Meanwhile, Clay was seen as rash and young, and many Royalists refused to support his premiership.

In the next update: a constitutional crisis!

[Erc]

Interesting...I wonder how the rest of British North America plays out...the Maritimes can stay precariously in British hands, barring another war...but the Prairies would be deserted and would probably become Americanized in the long run in the manner of Texas [the region between Ontario and the Rockies will have no good connections with anything but the United States until the railroad comes through, and even then the British wouldn't have much of an interest in building one except from a sovereignty standpoint].

[Verily]

There are other issues, too. As we move further and further west, it becomes less and less likely that states will be admitted as they were in real history. The Plains and Mountains were broken into small states purely for electoral advantage (initially for the Republicans, though those states have benefited both parties at various points in history). Similarly, there are problems such as what to do with West Florida (the coastline of MS and AL), which should at the time still be Spanish but was admitted to the Union as part of Mississippi in this timeline. (And I find it unlikely that MS and AL would be admitted as separate states without West Florida, though backtracking and calling MS and AL one state would work fine, I suppose.)

[Lief 🗽]

I figured that MS and AL would be added as separate states to increase the number of slave states. Remember that in this period, Ontario and Quebec are two extra free states putting the Union out of balance.

[Colin]

I figured that MS and AL would be added as separate states to increase the number of slave states. Remember that in this period, Ontario and Quebec are two extra free states putting the Union out of balance.

Well Verily's point about the gulf coast of MS, and AL when it forms, is still valid unless the US has annexed Florida and I didn't notice it.

[Lief 🗽]

Eh, that's true. I guess I could redraw the map for next update.

[Colin]

Eh, that's true. I guess I could redraw the map for next update.

This map might help you though. It shows which modern counties of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made up West Florida.

[Verily]

I figured that MS and AL would be added as separate states to increase the number of slave states. Remember that in this period, Ontario and Quebec are two extra free states putting the Union out of balance.

Given the more pressing external issues, it's not clear just how much slavery would have been an issue, especially as no one party in particular seems to be "the party of slaveowners". (The Nationals sort of, but they also have the most seats in free Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and New Hampshire) while apparently having few or no seats in slave Maryland and Delaware.

At this point, I don't see slavery being an issue simply because everyone is too focused on other issues for any abolition movement to exist.

This also assumes that slave and free states split as historically. It would have been entirely possible historically within the bounds of this alternate history for New Jersey to remain a slave state or North Carolina to become a free state, either of which would throw the whole idea of balance into chaos in the first place.

[Person Man]

It would be interesting if there was no war over slavery, but was one over the crown, but not over succession. Maybe there could be a civil war at a substantially later time - around the 1900 period over economic issues. ...it would also be interesting seeing eunuch intrigue in the royal court.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1819-1821

In February of 1819, a month after the election Sen. Henry Clay and Sen. Daniel Webster (representing the National Party) and Prime Minister John Quincy Adams and Sen. William H. Crawford of Georgia (representing the Royalists) met in New York City. They all agreed that the coalition had been successful, and consented to once again form a coalition in March. Adams would continue as Prime Minister, and the cabinet positions would remain largely unchanged.

The new senate convened on March 1st, 1819, and the vote for Prime Minister was unsurprising. John Quincy Adams easily gained his second term on the first ballot. James Monroe was still the leader of the Whig-Republicans, and put up his name, fully aware that he had no chance. A few National Party members voted for Henry Clay in protest, unsatisfied that their party was not coalition leader.

First ballot:
John Q. Adams (R-MA):  129
James Monroe (WR-VA): 57
Henry Clay (N-KY): 11
Needed to win: 99

Prime Minister Adams began his second term with widespread approval throughout the country, and a solid majority in the Senate. Later that year, the Royal Council approved the entry of Missouri and Alabama into the Union. Both of these states were slave states, but with their admittance the ratio of free to slave states was still 13 to 12. While some southern Senators saw a problem with uneven states, the majority raised no objection; the Royal Council, the body which directly represented states, had little real power, and senators saw themselves only beholden to their own districts.

The first few months of Adams’ term went well, with the passage of the Royal Flag Act of 1819, establishing the flag we are now familiar with. James Barbour (N-VA) and John Calhoun authored the Land Use and Settlement Act which passed in November of 1819. The act made land in the west cheaper, and encouraged further settlement of the western territories and states. While this act was passing however, a rapid succession of bank closures throughout the northeast occurred. It was at first waved off as an isolated incident, but by 1820, banks had closed throughout the United States. Unemployment and foreclosure rates skyrocketed, as both the industrial and agricultural sectors slumped¹.

At first, the Adams government decided to ignore the economic downturn, confident that it would be a short-term trend. The Whig-Republican opposition railed against the Royalist-National government for causing this crisis, with their high spending, their bank, and their tariff. Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, the economy had collapsed further by March 1820. Adams continued to refuse to do anything, however, and most of his Royalist senators backed him. At the same time, the Whig-Republicans were denouncing him for not repealing the tariffs and abolishing the national bank. Many Senators in the National party had also turned against their once-ally, denouncing Adams for not intervening in the economy through increased tariffs and public works proposals.

Finally, in June 1820, James Monroe called for a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Adams. No one was really sure what would happen if the vote passed: there was nothing about no-confidence votes in the constitution. There was also nothing in the constitution concerning the Senate dissolving before the end of its four-year term. The King was, however, constitutionally obligated to dissolve the Senate every four years for elections to take place. Before the vote could take place, however, John Quincy Adams resigned as Prime Minister on June 28th, 1820. He stated that, though his administration had been a prosperous and successful one, he did not have the strength to lead the nation in this period of crisis. The next day, Henry Clay announced that we would not be standing for election as Prime Minister, and advised his party to support William H. Crawford², the Secretary of the Treasury, and highest ranking Royalists after Adams. When the Senate reconvened on June 31st, the vote for Prime Minister was as follows³:

William H. Crawford (R-GA):  113
James Monroe (WR-VA): 57
Henry Clay (N-KY): 11
Abstain: 26
Needed to win: 99


Prime Minister William H. Crawford

Prime Minister Crawford, from the day he assumed the premiership, was attacked at every turn. As the former Secretary of the Treasury, the Whig-Republicans, and many Nationals, blamed Crawford for the crisis. He proposed a modest increase in the tariff in July, but the Whig-Republicans shot his plan down for doing too much and the Nationals denounced it for doing too little. In August, with the economy still in recession, Monroe pushed ahead with the no confidence resolution, this time against Crawford’s government. On August 3rd, Henry Clay, realizing that Crawford was done, as large blocs of his own party pledged to vote no confidence, officially broke with his coalition partner, and voiced his support of the resolution. When the senate convened on August 4th, 1820, there was little debate. The vote of no confidence passed overwhelmingly, 134 to 61. Crawford laughed the vote off as having little consequence; he had already been voted Prime Minister, and he argued that he should remain until George II dissolved the Senate in 1823. The Whig-Republicans and Nationals argued that the King had the authority to dissolve parliament, no matter the date.

King George II, after weighing his options for a few weeks, issued a royal decree dissolving the Senate and calling for elections in December, with the new Senate to convene in January 1821. The Royalists argued that he had over-stepped his constitutional boundaries; the Whig-Republicans and National Party largely praised his decision. Attorney-General William Wirt (R-MD) went the Supreme Court, to argue that the King’s action was unconstitutional. James Monroe, leader of the Whig-Republicans, responded in kind, arguing in the King’s favor before the Supreme Court. In the ruling of Wirt v. Monroe, the court stated in a short opinion that the King did have the authority to dissolve parliament in “crises such as those which currently assail our Union.” Defeated, the Royalists then turned to campaigning. Government business had stalled completely. Meanwhile, through the fall and winter of 1820, the economic crisis began to abate in some regions, and worsen in others.

In November of 1820, the Whig-Republicans were rewarded with the largest electoral victory in history. The Royalist party was crushed throughout the country, losing a majority of their seats to both National and Whig-Republican candidates. They were relegated to a handful of seats in their traditional stronghold of New England. The National Party also lost an incredible number of seats throughout the nation. Pickups of Royalist seats helped to stem their losses somewhat, though their former coalition partner party all but collapsed in the process.

The Senate before the Election:
Royalist: 66 seats
Whig-Republican: 57 seats
National Party: 74 seats
Total: 197 Seats


Delegations of the states following the election of 1820

The Election of 1820:
National Party: 63 seats (-11)
Whig-Republican: 112 seats (+55)
Royalist: 24 seats (-42)
Total: 199 Seats

King George II ordered the Senate to convene and create a government as soon as possible, so on December 2nd, 1820, 199 senators met in the capital city to cast a single ballot for Prime Minister. James Monroe, long-time leader of the Whig-Republican party, had announced his plans to serve as Prime Minister days earlier and won with unanimous support from his own party. Meanwhile, the Royalist leadership structure had been shattered, with most of the former government’s cabinet members having resigned or been defeated. With no clear leader, the Royalists split. Half their number backed James Monroe, hoping for a spot in the government, while the other half flocked to their former coalition partner, Henry Clay.


Prime Minister James Monroe

First Ballot:
James Monroe (WR-VA): 124 votes
Henry Clay (N-KY): 75 votes
Needed to win: 100 votes

After the vote, the Senate immediately recessed for the winter. When the Senate met again in February 1821, Madison summarized his plans for the next four years, promising that his party would repeal the majority of the tariffs, defund and abolish the national bank, end investments in many of the internal improvements throughout the country, and pass a constitutional amendment giving the King the unquestionable power to dissolve the Senate after a no confidence vote, all by the end of the year 1822.

¹ The economic incident, and the ensuing constitutional struggle, would come to be known as the Crisis of 1820.
² Most historians suspect that Henry Clay, ever the power-seeking politician, refused to assume the mantle of Prime Minister after Adams resigned for fear that the continuing economic crisis would permanently end his career, as is had Adams’.
³ Thirty-seven National Party members did not listen to their party leader’s advice: some voted for Henry Clay, while others abstained from the vote altogether.

[Person Man]

It would be neat to annex Florida soon and start seeing how far northwest the Kingdom will go in Louisana.

[Lief 🗽]

List of American Prime Ministers:
Alexander Hamilton (R-NY): 1791-1803
James Madison (WR-VA): 1803-1811
Aaron Burr (WR-NY): 1811-1815
John Q. Adams (R-MA): 1815-1820
William H. Crawford (R-GA): 1820
James Monroe (WR-VA): 1820-

List of Opposition Leaders:
Thomas Jefferson (WR-VA): 1791-1799
Aaron Burr (WR-NY): 1799-1803
George Clinton (R-NY): 1803-1805
John Q. Adams (R-MA): 1805-1811
DeWitt Clinton (R-NY): 1811-1812
Rufus King (R-NY): 1812-1815
James Monroe (WR-VA): 1815-1820
Henry Clay (N-KY): 1820-

List of American Monarchs:
King George I: 1791-1799
King George II: 1799-

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I wonder if the 39 year old Philip Hamilton (assuming his death at age 19 in an 1801 duel has been butterflied away) is ready to take his place on the national stage, either to revive the Royalists or to finish them off once and for all.

[Lief 🗽]

Heh, I had never heard that Hamilton's oldest son was killed in a duel only three years before his father. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Verily]

It would be neat to annex Florida soon and start seeing how far northwest the Kingdom will go in Louisana.

With Ontario in the country, I think Michigan is the most likely next state, and I think the inclination would be to expand in the northwest (eventually seizing the British territories there).

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1821-1826

The Government as of 1821:
Prime Minister: James Monroe (WR-VA)
Deputy Prime Minister: Daniel D. Tompkins (WR-NY)
Majority Whip: Aaron Burr (WR-NY)
Secretary of State: Presley O’Bannon (WR-KY)
Secretary of the Treasury: Richard Rush (WR-PA)
Secretary of War: Andrew Jackson (WR-TN)
Attorney General: Roger B. Taney (WR-MD)

James Monroe picked a cabinet with a number of newly-elected Senators. Andrew Jackson, hero of the Seminole Wars, and Presley O’Bannon, marine hero of the Barbary Wars, had both been recruited to run in 1820, and were given the honor of cabinet positions in Monroe’s government. Aaron Burr, respected former Prime Minister, had come out of retirement to run in 1820, and was rewarded with the position of Majority Whip.

Prime Minister Monroe’s three-point economic plan was simple and supported by the vast majority of his party. Even a few Royalists supported his economic plans. By September of 1821, the National Bank had been defunded and its charter suspended (by a vote of 122 to 73), the tariff had been cut across the country (by a vote of 130 to 68), and a comprehensive act defunding a number of canals, roads and schools in frontier territories and states was passed (by a vote of 110 to 81). Monroe had to grudgingly suspend the passage of his constitutional amendment until the next year, but when the Senate adjourned in October 1821, the Whig-Republicans were still feeling incredibly successful. The economic crisis had mostly subsided throughout the United States, and there was a feeling that the Kingdom was returning to a state of normality¹.

When the Senate reconvened in 1822, Prime Minister Monroe brought up the Elections Amendment of 1822. It explicitly gave the monarch the power to dissolve the parliament following a successful no-confidence resolution or at the request of the Prime Minister. The term of a Senate (before the monarch was forced to dissolve it) was also increased from four to five years. In the Senate, the amendment passed rather easily. The National Party was mostly for the resolution, and the Royalists, despite having been on the wrong end of such an action the year earlier, supported the expansion of the monarch’s power. While some older Whig-Republicans opposed the amendment, the majority saw that it was necessary. The amendment passed by a vote of 179 to 18. The amendment was then sent to the Royal Council, 23 to 1. Councilor Thomas Jefferson ² was the lone dissenter, calling the bill the first step on a slippery slope towards turning the monarch into a tyrant.

As the year 1823 began, 10 of the required 19 states had ratified the amendment. The Whig-Republican government ratified the O’Bannon-Otis Treaty (the renamed and renegotiated Calhoun-Onis Treaty of 1819) in the summer of that year, which would cede East and West Florida to the United States. Monroe had publicly stated that he was against further expansion of the United States, as it had lead to financial ruin only years before, but he made sure to finish the negotiations the previous government had started. Monroe’s government also officially recognized Agustín de Iturbide’s government in Mexico in early 1823. Iturbide, after being rebuked by European powers, had asked the Americans to install a member of the House of Washington in Mexico, but Monroe flat out refused. Unfortunately, before word could reach Iturbide that the United States had recognized his government, it was overthrown in March of 1823.

As the year of 1824 began, Monroe’s amendment was nearing ratification. In June, with the vote of Ontario’s legislature, the 12th Amendment was finally ratified. In 1824, talk throughout the capital focused not on the new amendment, but of rumors that Princess Maria, George II’s 17-year-old daughter, was engaged in a tryst with freshman Senator Sam Houston (WR-TN). Meanwhile, George II had been engaged with Ellen Wayles Randolph, granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson, since 1822. In 1824, he proposed marriage to Ms. Randolph, and King George II and Queen Consort Eleanora married on July 4th, 1824 at the royal palace, Arlington Palace.


Queen Consort Eleanora

With a successful term behind him, James Monroe requested George II dissolve the Senate in time for elections in January 1825. Monroe was able to increase his majorities, especially in the South. Andrew Jackson, popular former governor and Senator of Tennessee, was credited with campaigning for weeks on end for his party in the state, allowing them to take a majority of seats in the Tennessee delegation. The Royalist party continued to decline, and the few surviving Royalists privately admitted after the election that the party was by that point no more than a collection of extra votes for Henry Clay’s party.

The Senate before the Election:
 Whig-Republican: 112 seats
National Party: 63 seats
Royalist: 24 seats
Total: 199 Seats


State delegations after the election of 1825

The Election of 1825:
Whig-Republican: 135 seats (+23)
National Party: 71 seats (+8)
Royalist: 17 seats (-7)
Total: 223 Seats <sup>3

1</sup>Economists disagreed (and still do to this day) over what exactly ended the Crisis of 1820. Some would argue that Monroe’s policies contributed, while others would argue that the crisis was just a natural market fluctuation. Still others argue that if Clay’s plans had to come to fruition (increasing the tariff, further investing in the economy and infrastructure) the crisis would have ended a full year earlier.
²George II had taken to appointing elder statesmen retired from politics to the Royal Council, as a tribute to their years of public service. Notable figures in this “upper house” in 1822 included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and DeWitt Clinton.
³The Senate had grown to 223 seats after redistricting in 1821 following the 1820 census.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1821 - 1826 Continued

The new Senate met for the first time in March of 1825. James Monroe’s health was failing, after nearly twenty years in the Senate, five grueling years as opposition leader, and another four as Prime Minister. Nevertheless, he put his name up for Prime Minister and won easily. The Royalists and Nationals supported Henry Clay for Prime Minister, and after the vote, Clay once again took on the mantle of Opposition Leader.

Two months after Monroe’s second term began, the Battle of Lake Nipigon took place in Canada. Lake Nipigon lay a few miles west of the Ontario state border, in land belonging to the Hudson’s Bay Company. About 500 American settlers from Ontario and Michigan territory had crossed the border into the area around Lake Nipigon in April of 1825. As they had begun to set up trade posts and cabins, they were attacked by Ojibwe Indians and Hudson’s Bay Co. troops. In the ensuing battle, fifty American settlers and 89 of the attackers were killed. Monroe was wary of extending further into Canada (despite the calls of many Nationals), and ordered all the surviving settlers arrested for invading British territory. Henry Clay called Monroe a traitor, and said that the arrested American settlers were “heroes, truly embodying the spirit of Americanism.” The settlers resisted their arrest, killing and capturing the small military detachment sent to take them. Hearing this news, Monroe was furious. He ordered two-thousand troops sent across the border to bring the settlers to justice. Days after making this order, he suffered a stroke on the Senate floor. He was rushed to a hospital, but on October 7th, 1825, Prime Minister James Monroe died in the Royal District of Washington.


Prime Minister Daniel D. Tompkins

Daniel D. Tompkins, as Deputy Prime Minister, immediately became acting Prime Minister, and on October 8th, the Senate confirmed him as Prime Minister. But Tompkin’s health was also poor, and it was well known that he was an alcoholic. Tompkin’s, aware of this (and not fully wanting the job of Prime Minister anyway), to only serve as long as he needed to end the situation in Canada. On January 7th, 1826, while the Senate was still in recess, the incident at Lake Nipigon had been completely settled. Fifteen Americans would be sentenced to death for murder; another fifty would go to jail. When the Senate reconvened in March, Tompkins resigned. Andrew Jackson and Presley O’Bannon both made it clear that they would stand for Prime Minister. Both men were popular and charismatic, and both had large followings in the chamber. O’Bannon represented the moderate wing of the Whig-Republican party: he favored a low tariff, a halt on westward expansion, and was not completely opposed to some government intervention in the economy. Andrew Jackson was a hardline Whig-Republican: he was against the majority of tariffs, called for further expansion west, into the Louisiana Purchase territory, sparely populated Tejas, and Rupert’s Land, and supported a complete laissez-faire system. Henry Clay was supported by the National Party and the Royalist Party.

First Ballot:
Henry Clay (N-KY): 88 votes
Andrew Jackson (WR-KY): 70 votes
Presley O’Bannon (WR-KY): 65 votes
Votes needed: 112

Balloting similar to the first occurred for five straight days, and on the 28th ballot, neither of the three candidates were willing to budge. Over the weekend, O’Bannon met with Clay, and asked him for National and Royalist support. Clay had to refuse O’Bannon’s offer, worried that his party propping up another party once again would only hurt the Nationals in the next election. Aaron Burr, former Prime Minister and the respected elder “leader” of the Whig-Republicans, met with Jackson and O’Bannon before the 29th ballot. Burr told the two that, for the sake of party unity, he would run for Prime Minister. Jackson and O’Bannon, unwilling to continue the deadlock, agreed with Burr’s plan, and Aaron Burr began his second term the next day, twenty-three years after the end of his first.

Twenty-Ninth Ballot:
Aaron Burr (WR-NY): 135 votes
Henry Clay (N-KY): 88 votes


Prime Minister Aaron Burr

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1826-1829

Prime Minister Aaron Burr stated from the beginning of the term that he would work to bring both factions of the Whig-Republican party together. But the older Aaron Burr had moderated many of his older positions, and there was already some mumbling from Jacksonians within the party that they had voted for a Prime Minister with the same views as O’Bannon. The first thing Aaron Burr did as Prime Minister was to approve the sending of a ten-man delegation to the Congress of Panama, organized by Simon Bolivar. The republics of North, Central and South American would meet that summer to discuss forming a league of friendship. Andrew Jackson and many southern Nationals were against American participation in the Congress, as the Latin American countries attending the Congress had all outlawed slavery.

The participation of the United States, a revolutionary Republic that had survived for nearly half a century by that point, gave the Congress a degree of credibility. The United States was able to sign trade deals with Gran Colombia, Peru, the United Provinces of Central America, and Mexico. The Treaty of American Union and Federation was drafted during the Congress, calling for a military defense pact between the nations and recognizing the need for all American republics to defend the hemisphere from European, colonial interests. Bolivar had envisioned the creation of supranational legislature and military, but the United States delegation had refused.

The treaty returned to the United States for ratification. Aaron Burr (and Presley O’Bannon) supported the treaty; Jackson alleged that it surrendered the American people’s sovereignty. Henry Clay came out in support of the treaty, while Royalists were soundly against diluting George II’s power. Debate raged for months, culminating in a vote in late November of 1826. The National party voted nearly unanimously for the treaty. The Royalist party was wholly against it. Aaron Burr saw 73 of his party support the treaty, while Jackson led the remaining 62 Whig-Republicans to vote against the treaty. In the end, the treaty passed 144-79. Aaron Burr presented the bill to George II for the King’s signature, and the Senate then adjourned for the winter, confident that the monarch would sign the treaty before they returned.

Surprising to all, however, was George II’s veto in December. His letter to the Senate stated that he did not believe it would be prudent to surrender the United State’s sovereign authority to a collection of revolutionary, Spanish-speaking governments. When the Senate reconvened in March of 1827, Aaron Burr made it clear that he would work to over-turn the King’s veto. Aaron Burr, the compromise candidate who many thought would lead five quiet and non-confrontational years, surprised much of the nation when he rallied his party and the National party to support the veto-overturn. Burr stated that it was the United State’s destiny to cooperate with the republics of the hemisphere to extend to all peoples “liberty, justice and freedom.” Andrew Jackson took to the floor after Burr and remarked that the treaty would do no more than “surrender the American crown to Simon Bolivar and the lands of the Mississippi to the faux Emperor in Mexico!” To over-turn the treaty, Burr needed just five more votes. As the Senators cast their votes, it became clear that it would be close. In the end though, Andrew Jackson and George II preserved the veto, by a vote of 147 to 76.

Andrew Jackson called for Aaron Burr to resign after the treaty had been defeated, as his government had been struck a major blow. Jackson also resigned as Secretary of War. When Aaron Burr refused to resign, Andrew Jackson threatened a vote of no confidence. On the advice of George II, however, Jackson decided against it. The King argued that yet another Prime Minister in the decade (a decade which had already seen five Prime Ministers) would just serve to destabilize the country. When the treaty failed in the United States, the Mexican and Gran Colombian legislatures also voted against it, dashing Bolivar’s hopes of a united Americas.

Aaron Burr’s shaky government regained partial command of the Senate after the failure of the treaty, though Andrew Jackson’s supporters voted down nearly everything Burr tried to pass. By the beginning of 1828, the Senate was deadlocked and Burr’s government had collapsed in all but name. Finally, in September 1828, in an historic speech, Aaron Burr took to the floor of the Senate and announced that he would be requesting King George II dissolve the Senate. “I am an old man,” Burr began, “and at the age of 72, I fear that I no longer have use in this Senate. Nor am I able to successfully command it. If that stubborn Jackson wants my office, then he can win it with the people’s ballots. My choice, of course, is Mr. Presley [O’Bannon].” Hearing this news, an outraged Jackson formally split from the Whig-Republicans, and hastily formed the Jacksonian party. In December of 1828, two months before the election, the Whig-Republicans held the first ever political convention. They wrote and voted on a platform, elected Presley O’Bannon as leader of the party, formally expelled Jackson and his supporters from the party, and renamed themselves the Whig party. All four parties campaigned throughout the United States. Jackson focused his efforts throughout the South; the National Party campaigned from Louisiana in the South to Quebec in the North; O’Bannon’s Whigs conceded many of their turn-coat Southern seats to Jackson, but campaigned throughout the country nonetheless; and even the Royalists, relegated to New England for the past few election cycles, ran candidates throughout the country (popular New York Governor, Philip Hamilton, campaigned endlessly for the Royalist party in his state).

In February of 1829, the National Party saw a surprising victory throughout the country. Many Americans had grown tired of the squabbling between Jackson and O’Bannon and went with Henry Clay, the “third option.”

The Senate in 1828:
Whig Party: 79 Seats
Jacksonian Party: 56 Seats
National Party: 71 Seats
Royalist Party: 17 Seats
Total Seats: 223


State delegations after the election of 1829

The Senate after the Election of 1829:
Whig Party: 39 Seats (-40)
Jacksonian Party: 44 Seats (-12)
National Party: 103 Seats (+32)
Royalist Party: 37 Seats (+20)
Total Seats: 223

The Senate met again in April 1829. Henry Clay’s National Party, while hugely successful, had failed by nine seats to gain an out-right majority. Clay, aware of this, had met with the Royalists in July, and formed another coalition. Henry Clay would achieve his lifelong dream of becoming Prime Minister and appoint his own Deputy Prime Minister, Whip and Secretary of State. The Royalists would gain a say in the government, and Josiah Quincy (R-MA), Royalist leader, would become Secretary of the Treasury. A Royalist would also become Attorney General. Henry Clay became Prime Minister on the first ballot, with the support of the entire National and Royalist parties. O’Bannon and Jackson received the votes of the Whig and Jacksonian parties, respectively.


Prime Minister Henry Clay

The Government as of April 1829:
Prime Minister: Henry Clay (N-KY)
Deputy Prime Minister: Daniel Webster (N-MA)
Majority Whip:  John Sergeant (N-PA)
Secretary of State: John C. Calhoun (N-SC)
Secretary of the Treasury: Josiah Quincy III (R-MA)
Secretary of War: William H. Harrison (N-IN)
Attorney General: Richard Rush (R-PA)

In the next update: a royal marriage, an heir to the throne, and more...

[HappyWarrior]

I love this TL!  I hope it can go all the way to the modern day!  That would be amazing.

[Lief 🗽]

That's what I hope to do. I already have a couple of ideas in my head about how the history of this timeline would play out. Hopefully I'm able to finish it all the way through.

[CultureKing]

this is great!, Keep it up.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I'm disappointed that the Anti-Masonic Party or whatever this timeline's equivalent is does not get to claim the honor of holding the first national convention.  Still, the Whigs are the best choice for the honor.

[Lief 🗽]

The American Monarchy: 1829 - 1833

Henry Clay had been after the position of Prime Minister for twenty-one years, and when he finally attained it, he wasted no time in enacting policies. He sent John Calhoun to Mexico City to negotiate the purchase of Texas for $2 million. Calhoun was to also secretly meet with Stephen F. Austin, a leader of many American settlers in Texas, and promise Austin arms and money if the American settlers fought for independence. Calhoun returned to the United States in 1830, with news that both the Mexicans and Texians had rebuked Clay’s offers. Henry Clay sent Calhoun back to Mexico again with an offer of $10 million, but the Mexicans once again refused.

Determined to pass the three tenets of his “National Plan”, Clay and his party re-chartered the National bank in mid-1829, raised the tariff to pre-Monroe levels in early 1830, and passed a flurry of bills in early 1831 funding internal improvements. The bulk of these improvements were focused on states and territories in the northwest, especially to strengthen developing industry and trade around the Great Lakes. Another bill was passed funding internal improvements in Arkansas territory and western Louisiana, specifically roads and forts. The bill was intended to make it easier for settlers to settle this sparsely populated region, as well as increase immigration rates into Tejas. Clay believed that if the Mexicans were unwilling to sell him Tejas, he could gain the territory within ten to twenty years by filling it with Anglo, protestant, slave-owning Americans.

The remaining years of Clay’s term were very successful. In 1832, support grew in Maine for statehood, independent from Massachusetts. Jacksonians and a number of southern Nationals were against the addition of Maine, another free state. They worried that political and economic power was being strengthened in the North and around the Great Lakes. Many southerners feared that the country would continue to expand north, into Canada, eventually completely marginalizing the South. Despite this, Clay passed a resolution in 1832 allowing Maine to vote, through a plebiscite, on its statehood. The plebiscite passed in November of 1832 by 81% to 19%. With the approval of Maine’s populace, the Royal Council approved Maine’s entry into the Union, 17 to 8, with only the councilors of the deep southern states and Massachusetts dissenting.

In 1825, George II had funded Robert Lee’s education in the United States Royal Military Academy at Westpoint. George II had met the young man through his sister’s (Princess Eleanor) husband (William Fitzhugh). Robert Lee and Princess Maria, George II’s daughter, had been childhood companions and good friends. When Lee graduated from the Royal Academy in 1829, first in his class, George II suggested that Lee ask his daughter’s hand in marriage. Princess Maria happily accepted Lee’s offer of marriage when he returned to Virginia. In April of 1830, Princess Maria Rachel Custis Washington and Prince Robert Edward Lee were wed at Arlington palace. While Queen Consort Eleanor, George II’s wife, had given him two daughters (Ellen Paulina Custis Washington, b. 1825 and Martha Parke Custis Washington, b. 1828), George II still had no male heirs and, as he was by this point 49 years old, decided that it would be prudent to adopt Robert Lee as heir. In early 1831, he officially declared Lee heir apparent, and Lee was thereafter known as Prince Robert.


Prince Robert Edward Lee-Washington in 1833, at age 26

When the Senate recessed in the fall of 1832, Henry Clay called for elections in the spring of 1833. Following the Whig party’s lead, the four political parties held conventions in the months before the election (with the Royalists and Nationals holding a joint convention). The Whig and Jacksonian conventions were uneventful, with O’Bannon and Jackson winning re-election as party leader and platforms largely unchanged (though the Jacksonians did strengthen their stance against tariffs and added a plank in support of Indian removal in the South). The Royalists and Nationals, however, decided to merge their two parties into a combined National Party. Henry Clay was re-elected unanimously as leader of the now-colossal party. After the election in March of 1833, the National Party saw modest gains throughout the United States, mostly at the Whig’s expense. The Whigs picked up a few seats in the middle-Atlantic States and Canadian states, off-setting their losses slightly. Jackson’s party strengthened their hold on the south, mostly due to Clay’s tariffs which were unpopular in the region.²

The Senate before the Election of 1833:
Whig Party: 39 Seats
Jacksonian Party: 44 Seats
National Party: 140 Seats
Total Seats: 223


State Delegations after the Election of 1833

The Senate after the Election of 1833:
Whig Party: 46 Seats (+7)
Jacksonian Party: 52 Seats (+8)
National Party: 161 Seats (+21)
Total Seats: 259<sup>1

1</sup>The size of the Senate was increased to 259 after the 1830 census.
²Historians and political scientists mark this election as the end of the First Party System, a period dominated by the Royalist and Whig-Republican parties. Indeed, the election of 1833 was the first in the nation's history without any of the two parties (though they were represented in spirit by the successor parties of the Nationals and Whigs).

[Person Man]

So, will there then be the push into the North and Southwest and the subsequent break up of the national party afterwards next?

[CultureKing]

With a monarchy I could see America play a much larger role as an imperial power, it would be interesting to see where in the World the US colonizes...