A Destiny Made Manifest - Part 18: A Fragile Union

On November 21st, 1894, Congress declares war on the Republic of Deseret at the urging of President Harrison. While America is still a bit anemic, bashing in the heads of some Mormons shouldn't be all that hard, and it could give Harrison another popularity boost should he actually manage to do it.

All things considered, damage from our recent wars against the New American Alliance and the Confederacy isn't all that bad.

Somehow, in *this* American playthrough, we are shackled to an even more useless nation. Should've never intervened in your independence war like fifty years ago, Yucatan.

From Venezuela, we receive news that the Bourgeois Dictatorship there has been overthrown by a reactionary presidential dictatorship. Not *perfect*, but better. Fuck AnLibs forever.

In worrying news, New Minutemen have once again started rioting, this time in Pennsylvania. This wouldn't normally be a huge problem, but I think y'all might notice what's wrong here.

Our country is divided in half. The only troops I can raise are in the western half, and neither the NAA or the CSA are gonna let me walk through their stuff. I have no boats, and they aren't building when I attempt to queue them up. So *shrugs*

As the midterms come in, the Workingmen are stunned by a Republican-Populist plurality (Vice President James G. Weaver, of course, breaks the 18-18 tie). While the Workingmen's Party, led by Senator Reese Hamilton from Minnesota, attempt to win over the Populists, Weaver ensures his party remains loyal.

Meanwhile, in the Mormon War, Barnes decides to attempt to take the capital in Salt Lake City rather than attack the Mormon troops in mountainous Wyoming.

Good news from the Dakotas. While the Sioux had attempted to establish an independent nation in the wake of the chaos in America, they are soundly crushed by militia forces.

Meanwhile, on the Road to Freud...

Something about the Pope going bankrupt is deeply humorous to me.

We finish our siege of Salt Lake City, but *of course*, there is no surrender. President Gannon Randolph is nowhere to found.

Fuck. Also... no, did they take Philadelphia? GUYS THIS ISN'T GOOD

On July 2nd, 1895, a militia manages to drive the New Minutemen out of the state of Pennsylvania. In response, the Pennsylvania State Government convenes in Philadelphia, along with a handful of delegates from other states. On July 18th, 1895, Pennsylvania officially issues their Declaration of Independence, stating the Union cannot protect them, and that they are the true successors to the First Republic. They openly extend their offer to all of the remaining Northern States to join a new union that they call the "Free States of America."

Aaaaand the New Minutemen are being relocated to Maryland... where I can't fight them...

Also, the Free States are led by the former Governor of Pennsylvania, Daniel H. Hastings, and have a moderate Republican government. He styles himself as the 22nd President of the America, considering Harrison's government to have lost all its legitimacy. They adopt the US Constitution as their own governing document, but much of the progressive reforms of the last forty years and scrubbed out, including female suffrage.

As New Minutemen march on Washington for the one millionth time, the Workingmen's Party once again enters negotiations with them.

While the spread of the telephone has been slow, many Americans have the useful invention inside their homes by the 1890s.

American authors, composers, and other artists finally begin to move past realism and into impressionism. Perhaps shocked by the ugliness of a war-torn America, they begin to embrace the style of art championed by Europeans such as Claude Monet.

General Barnes find success in his siege of Cedar City, but the Mormons still hide in the Rockies. He considers just attacking them and destroying their manpower, but he holds off.

Meanwhile, a crisis has broken out between Italy and Britain over the colonization of something somewhere. Given the fact that Italy is even more feeble in this game than they were in real life, the conclusion seems foregone.

After months of waiting, we decide to attack the Mormons before winter sets in.

Early on, it becomes clear to all that the attack was a grave error. The Mormon troops were in an incredibly defensive position, and Edward Appleton was getting AAAAALL the dice rolls.

The Second Republic is soundly defeated in the Battle of Rock Springs. Thankfully, we can magic up another 20,000 men or so, so it's not all bad.

Oh. Oh God. Just a few weeks after the New Minutemen stood down, the Red Vanguard has risen from the grave in Maryland. Led by one of Quinlan's lackeys who escaped prison, Albert Kasprzak, the movement is a mere skeleton of its former self. Thanks to the fact that the armies in the West cannot stop the uprising, however, Washington finds itself in a very precarious position.

Meanwhile, General Barnes continues his war against the Mormons, who have moved to retake Salt Lake City. This time, the battle is much more lopsided in the Second Republic's favor.

While 9,000 soldiers train in the Midwest, they have are very poorly organized and practically useless in a fight.

Thanks to superior numbers, Barnes is able to force a Mormon retreat from Salt Lake City. Appleton is on the run.

Despite the general disorder of the Second Republic, another election approaches. Benjamin Harrison, while exhausted, felt obliged to keep his position and see the nation through. Weaver agrees to stay on as his VP, and urges the Populist Party to not run a candidate and endorse Harrison instead. The party, originally intending to run a certain popular 36 year-old who made speeches about crosses and gold, eventually agrees.

Harrison's main campaign strategy was to argue for "strength through continuity," promising future success in military endeavors.

The Democrats, attempting to appeal to disaffected Populists, nominate Governor Claude Matthews of Indiana. Through the former farmer, the Dems hoped to recapture the middle states. His war policy was generally strong, arguing for the aggression reunification and the complete embargo of trade with the eight breakaway republics unless they petitioned for annexation.

The Workingmen's Party turns to a young union man and former Indiana State Senator, Eugene V. Debs. A skilled orator, Debs quickly became the face of the socialist movement in America.

He held with the general anti-war sentiment of his party, he believed that the nation should heal first before more war took place.

We continue to slowly whittle down the Mormon force in Utah.

Benjamin Harrison's more moderate policy on war is popular in Midwestern states. Thanks to his alliance with the Populists, he is firmly ahead of Debs and Matthews.

It's kind of hard to describe impressionist music, so here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41JaFnzacAo

G E T D U N K E D O N B R I T A I N

The state of the Mormon War, late summer 1896. Mormon Communists have risen against the Deseret government, but Barnes is hopeful that he can finish the war and then quickly move east (somehow) to crush the Red Vanguard.

A small force is sent to go and dismiss the Mormons' attempt to liberate their capital.

D U N K I N'

I haven't been showing any of these debate pop-ups because none of them seem relevant to the current goings-on, but hey, they're happening. Here is one, it's about trade in Ohio,

A small, poorly organized army is sent south from Indianapolis to deal with communists occupying settlements in Kentucky and Tennessee. They're led by Adam Fry, a young and ambitious man who also happens to be the son of the famous Ulysses Fry. He finds measured success on the campaign, but for some reason I took no battle screenshots. *Shakes fist at old self*

FREUD BOYS

As the election approaches, many Americans feel a general sense of unease. With the Red Vanguard operating in Maryland and the Mormon War dragging on inconclusively, the fragile Second Republic was wavering. Voter turn-out was low; many people in the Northeast fearing the worst flee to Pennsylvania.

As the results roll in, it shows that Harrison easily wins reelection, thanks to the Populist vote in the middle states. After the election, the Populist Party basically collapses and is absorbed into the Republican and Workingmen's Parties.

While Harrison offers relatively light peace terms to the President of Deseret, the crazed man rejects the diplomatic effort

Utah is fully secured before New Year's Day. We are close to finally bringing Deseret back under our yoke.

We hear absurd news from the Confederacy. Supposedly, the "Wright Brothers" have developed a motorized aircraft that can maintain flight in North Carolina. Harrison doubts the legitimacy of such rumors, but considering he was planning along with his government to seek asylum in another nation in the relatively near future, he has more pressing business to attend to.

Indeed, on February 2nd, 1897, Harrison and all the loyal men he can muster flee the capital for Virginia. Albert Kasprzak and his Red Vanguard seize the capital and raise the CPUSA flag once more above Washington.

In response to the Red Vanguard taking Washington, the New Minutemen decide to kick and scream for a little while. New York, already eager to sever ties with a possible restored Commune, sends delegates to Philadelphia.

On February 25th, 1897, New York is annexed into the Free States of America, whose new president, Democrat Robert E. Pattison, eagerly views opportunities to expand his influence.

Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey are cut off from the Midwestern states, which are cut off from the West. Administrating this nation is a total nightmare.

On March 23rd, 1897, Albert Kasprzak offically announces the recreation of the People's Republic of America. While the effective control of the Second Commune is very small, the overthrow of the Second Republic throws the somewhat restored order that Harrison brought with him right out the window.

Regardless, the Committee is reinstated, and Kasprzak has assumed absolute power.

Thanks for clicking! Next time, we'll examine the Second Commune and its attempts to bring order to what remains of the American nation!