A Nation, Divided:
The Price of War And Freedom, or
How I Learned to Love the Secession(and Cotton!).
The Price of War And Freedom, or
How I Learned to Love the Secession(and Cotton!).
Chapter 1-A Different Election. Part 1-Rivalry between Founders.
...It is often said that a single vote, a single controversy, or single line in a campaign speech can have the potential to change the history of an entire nation, and perhaps eventually, even the world.
The Election of 1796 was the first election in which two opposing parties seriously competed with one another, and it was saddled with its share of controversies when it was occurring and is still viewed one of the most peculiar elections of all time in the United States. One of the first significant events of note was when Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton both decided to run for office on Apr. 12, 1796[1], which had been the first instance of competition within a party. Between the 26th and 29th of that same month, a vote was held to decide who would be the candidate for the newly-created Democratic-Republican party. However, though, the electors had come to a deadlock so a tiebreaker vote had to be held on the afternoon of the 29th; That vote went to Jefferson, who was now the candidate of choice for that party. The Federalists, who had quickly caught word of the Dem-Rep campaign, began to contemplate fielding their own favored candidates; a contest between John Adams and Aaron Burr was held in a similar fashion, with Adams winning by several percent ahead of Burr in early June[2].
On the 4th of July, President Washington announced that he would not be seeking a third term in office, in newspapers across the nation. That, in the eyes of some historians, caused both parties to ramp up their rhetoric. An unfortunate side effect was that what we'd call 'dirty tricks' began to be utilized by both sides. One of the nastiest of these dirty tricks, was the publication of series of documents in late September purporting to be, amongst other things, John Adams' correspondences with the British government promising to declare war on Napoleon in exchange for parts of the Canadas, and a liaison with an English noblewoman. Though there was much misinformation, some perhaps obvious to more astute observers, it mattered little[3]; in November, Thomas Jefferson was elected second President of the United States, with George Clinton as his Vice-President, with 41,562 votes to Adams' 30,489.
Not long after being sworn in on March 4th, 1797, Jefferson's first act was to sign a 10-year peace treaty with France, in exchange for trading rights in French territories, eventually including, most notably, the area of Nouvelle-Orleans; this was to arouse the ire of the Spanish after the area's loss to pro-French insurgents after the successful Rebellion of 1797[4], and soon began to set the stage for things to come.........
[1]This is the first initial POD, as deliberations didn't start until sometime in the summer IOTL.
[2]Burr himself had his share of fans.
[3]Some truth here; Adams, ITTL, had considered negotiating a more steady peace with Britain. Much of it, however, was B.S.
[4]Basically a repeat of the one in 1768, although it takes nearly two years to succeed.
...It is often said that a single vote, a single controversy, or single line in a campaign speech can have the potential to change the history of an entire nation, and perhaps eventually, even the world.
The Election of 1796 was the first election in which two opposing parties seriously competed with one another, and it was saddled with its share of controversies when it was occurring and is still viewed one of the most peculiar elections of all time in the United States. One of the first significant events of note was when Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton both decided to run for office on Apr. 12, 1796[1], which had been the first instance of competition within a party. Between the 26th and 29th of that same month, a vote was held to decide who would be the candidate for the newly-created Democratic-Republican party. However, though, the electors had come to a deadlock so a tiebreaker vote had to be held on the afternoon of the 29th; That vote went to Jefferson, who was now the candidate of choice for that party. The Federalists, who had quickly caught word of the Dem-Rep campaign, began to contemplate fielding their own favored candidates; a contest between John Adams and Aaron Burr was held in a similar fashion, with Adams winning by several percent ahead of Burr in early June[2].
On the 4th of July, President Washington announced that he would not be seeking a third term in office, in newspapers across the nation. That, in the eyes of some historians, caused both parties to ramp up their rhetoric. An unfortunate side effect was that what we'd call 'dirty tricks' began to be utilized by both sides. One of the nastiest of these dirty tricks, was the publication of series of documents in late September purporting to be, amongst other things, John Adams' correspondences with the British government promising to declare war on Napoleon in exchange for parts of the Canadas, and a liaison with an English noblewoman. Though there was much misinformation, some perhaps obvious to more astute observers, it mattered little[3]; in November, Thomas Jefferson was elected second President of the United States, with George Clinton as his Vice-President, with 41,562 votes to Adams' 30,489.
Not long after being sworn in on March 4th, 1797, Jefferson's first act was to sign a 10-year peace treaty with France, in exchange for trading rights in French territories, eventually including, most notably, the area of Nouvelle-Orleans; this was to arouse the ire of the Spanish after the area's loss to pro-French insurgents after the successful Rebellion of 1797[4], and soon began to set the stage for things to come.........
[1]This is the first initial POD, as deliberations didn't start until sometime in the summer IOTL.
[2]Burr himself had his share of fans.
[3]Some truth here; Adams, ITTL, had considered negotiating a more steady peace with Britain. Much of it, however, was B.S.
[4]Basically a repeat of the one in 1768, although it takes nearly two years to succeed.
–
Chapter 1-A Different Election.
Part 2: Tax Issues.
The following is from “Taxes and Tariffs”, by Allan Frankel[1].
Goldman Press, Chicago, IL, United States, 1971.
...One of the first issues Jefferson had to deal with as President was the problem of tax revolts. This wasn't exactly a brand-new controversy, however: Alexander Hamilton, during his time as Secretary of the Treasury, recognized that America's debt had become a serious problem In 1790, he proposed a program which would consolidate state and national debts into a single deficit and that would be paid off with excise taxes, particularly on goods such as distilled alcohol. While it seemed like a feasible idea at the time, there were many who were critical of these taxes, such as Appalachian whiskey farmers who feared that the Whiskey Tax would make it harder for them to compete with East Coast merchants. The most fervent opposition to these taxes was in the Western part of Penn., where a number of extralegal(though not unlawful) conventions were held to gather support for the repeal of the law. In the Territory of Kentucky, taxes often went completely collected for fear of greatly upsetting those locals who had engaged in alcohol production, and the situation became so problematic in North Carolina that Hamilton had, at one point, advocated military intervention. This did not occur, but it did, however, bolster the proponents of the Militia Act of 1792, which gave the President authority to call up militias for the defense of the several states, for various reasons such as the boosting of national defense, or if federal laws needed to be reinforced. This would soon prove to be useful, because in 1798, the U.S. went through the largest tax revolt it had yet faced in its 2 decade history.
In January of 1798, the National House Tax was signed into law by the U.S. Congress. This law basically levied a direct $2 million tax on homes, private land such as crops or grazing fields, and slaves; the state of Pennsylvania was asked to contribute $251,000[2] to the payment of said tax. Few slaves were still held in the Keystone State at that time, so the state efforts of taxing directed from Harrisburg we
One particular individual who found himself on the anti-tax side was re mainly aimed towards farmsteads and homes, depending on their overall size and proportions. Many people, however, opposed it not only because they saw this as an invasion of privacy but also because it could be argued that certain rules were unconstitutional because of the fact that population statistics were not taken into account.
One particular individual who found himself on the anti-tax side was a man by the name of John Fries. Fries, a Pennsylvania native of German extraction, had been somewhat well-known in his hometown of Charlestown(now Trumbauer[3]) during his lifetime; he was most regarded for having helped defeat a British foraging raid during the Revolutionary War. Ironically enough, he had actually helped the government suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. What exactly caused Fries to change his perspective on the issue is still not known to this day but it is generally accepted that he began to attend anti-taxing protests sometime in 1796, based on accounts from family members and associates[4], and that he eventually became a hardcore opponent of the proposed Housing Tax. By March of 1798 Fries had begun to organize a militia, and tax collectors soon found themselves on the receiving end of some rather nasty resistance indeed, quickly requiring the attention of the new President, Thomas Jefferson......
**
Philadelphia, Penn.
April 26, 1798
Thomas Jefferson had been rather tired this morning; he had been awake well into the night the previous evening trying to figure out a solution to the most recent problems concerning the tax revolts. The now Senator from Virginia, Alexander Hamilton was now regularly advocating the use of the military to put down these protests, with many Federalists concurring with this. On the other hand, a number of the Democratic-Republicans were accusing the pro-tax side of the issue as being tyrants of a sort. The President himself, faced a conflict he faced between duty & ideology. He did greatly sympathize with the cause of John Fries and other such men, and wished not to cause them legal harm[5]. On the other hand, though, these men were still breaking the laws of the United States and there had to be consequences for such. In any case, he felt as if he was being figuratively torn apart by such a dilemma.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and opened it.
It was his private secretary. “Hello, Mr. President, sir. Do you mind?”
“No, I don't. Is there something you need to tell me?” said the President.
“Yes, sir, I have this letter from the Treasury Department. I'm afraid it's not good news, either.”, replied the secretary. He quickly handed the latter to Jefferson.
Jefferson took the letter and read it, twice. “Not good news, indeed. These tax revolts, it seems, have done much to hamper our ability to pay our debts. Perhaps it may be time to make it known that such insurrection cannot stand against our nation's government.”, said the President.
“Your orders, sir?”, asked the secretary.
“I'll be writing my response to the Treasury Department's findings shortly, as well as authorization for limited militia deployment. It seems the matter has gotten out of control, and I only hope we can appease these men before they wreck the very nation we fought for.”, said the President.
“Will do sir. Anything else?”, the Secretary replied.
“No, that'll be all.”
“Alright then. Goodbye, sir.”
**
[1]Frankel is an American economics expert who is best described as leaning towards a mix of what we'd call Rothbardian and Friedmanite economic theory.
[2]This was somewhat higher than the OTL total of $238,000
[3]Trumbauersville OTL.
[4]John Fries would remain obscure ITTL for several decades after the incident.
[5]Including the possibility of jail time, or even being tried for treason.
**
Part 2: Tax Issues.
The following is from “Taxes and Tariffs”, by Allan Frankel[1].
Goldman Press, Chicago, IL, United States, 1971.
...One of the first issues Jefferson had to deal with as President was the problem of tax revolts. This wasn't exactly a brand-new controversy, however: Alexander Hamilton, during his time as Secretary of the Treasury, recognized that America's debt had become a serious problem In 1790, he proposed a program which would consolidate state and national debts into a single deficit and that would be paid off with excise taxes, particularly on goods such as distilled alcohol. While it seemed like a feasible idea at the time, there were many who were critical of these taxes, such as Appalachian whiskey farmers who feared that the Whiskey Tax would make it harder for them to compete with East Coast merchants. The most fervent opposition to these taxes was in the Western part of Penn., where a number of extralegal(though not unlawful) conventions were held to gather support for the repeal of the law. In the Territory of Kentucky, taxes often went completely collected for fear of greatly upsetting those locals who had engaged in alcohol production, and the situation became so problematic in North Carolina that Hamilton had, at one point, advocated military intervention. This did not occur, but it did, however, bolster the proponents of the Militia Act of 1792, which gave the President authority to call up militias for the defense of the several states, for various reasons such as the boosting of national defense, or if federal laws needed to be reinforced. This would soon prove to be useful, because in 1798, the U.S. went through the largest tax revolt it had yet faced in its 2 decade history.
In January of 1798, the National House Tax was signed into law by the U.S. Congress. This law basically levied a direct $2 million tax on homes, private land such as crops or grazing fields, and slaves; the state of Pennsylvania was asked to contribute $251,000[2] to the payment of said tax. Few slaves were still held in the Keystone State at that time, so the state efforts of taxing directed from Harrisburg we
One particular individual who found himself on the anti-tax side was re mainly aimed towards farmsteads and homes, depending on their overall size and proportions. Many people, however, opposed it not only because they saw this as an invasion of privacy but also because it could be argued that certain rules were unconstitutional because of the fact that population statistics were not taken into account.
One particular individual who found himself on the anti-tax side was a man by the name of John Fries. Fries, a Pennsylvania native of German extraction, had been somewhat well-known in his hometown of Charlestown(now Trumbauer[3]) during his lifetime; he was most regarded for having helped defeat a British foraging raid during the Revolutionary War. Ironically enough, he had actually helped the government suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. What exactly caused Fries to change his perspective on the issue is still not known to this day but it is generally accepted that he began to attend anti-taxing protests sometime in 1796, based on accounts from family members and associates[4], and that he eventually became a hardcore opponent of the proposed Housing Tax. By March of 1798 Fries had begun to organize a militia, and tax collectors soon found themselves on the receiving end of some rather nasty resistance indeed, quickly requiring the attention of the new President, Thomas Jefferson......
**
Philadelphia, Penn.
April 26, 1798
Thomas Jefferson had been rather tired this morning; he had been awake well into the night the previous evening trying to figure out a solution to the most recent problems concerning the tax revolts. The now Senator from Virginia, Alexander Hamilton was now regularly advocating the use of the military to put down these protests, with many Federalists concurring with this. On the other hand, a number of the Democratic-Republicans were accusing the pro-tax side of the issue as being tyrants of a sort. The President himself, faced a conflict he faced between duty & ideology. He did greatly sympathize with the cause of John Fries and other such men, and wished not to cause them legal harm[5]. On the other hand, though, these men were still breaking the laws of the United States and there had to be consequences for such. In any case, he felt as if he was being figuratively torn apart by such a dilemma.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and opened it.
It was his private secretary. “Hello, Mr. President, sir. Do you mind?”
“No, I don't. Is there something you need to tell me?” said the President.
“Yes, sir, I have this letter from the Treasury Department. I'm afraid it's not good news, either.”, replied the secretary. He quickly handed the latter to Jefferson.
Jefferson took the letter and read it, twice. “Not good news, indeed. These tax revolts, it seems, have done much to hamper our ability to pay our debts. Perhaps it may be time to make it known that such insurrection cannot stand against our nation's government.”, said the President.
“Your orders, sir?”, asked the secretary.
“I'll be writing my response to the Treasury Department's findings shortly, as well as authorization for limited militia deployment. It seems the matter has gotten out of control, and I only hope we can appease these men before they wreck the very nation we fought for.”, said the President.
“Will do sir. Anything else?”, the Secretary replied.
“No, that'll be all.”
“Alright then. Goodbye, sir.”
**
[1]Frankel is an American economics expert who is best described as leaning towards a mix of what we'd call Rothbardian and Friedmanite economic theory.
[2]This was somewhat higher than the OTL total of $238,000
[3]Trumbauersville OTL.
[4]John Fries would remain obscure ITTL for several decades after the incident.
[5]Including the possibility of jail time, or even being tried for treason.
**
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