A Destiny Made Manifest - Part 17: The Second Republic

Democracy has arrived for what remains of the Union once again. The Second Republic declared, the Constitution reinstated, the 20th President sworn into office. Ambrose Halleck, a seventy-three year-old military man who early on declared that he was independent from party politics, will helm the nation for a year.

Across the nation, men celebrate. Parades such as this one take place from New York to Seattle.

The United States of America have found themselves rather divided. The nation is cut in half by the New American Alliance and the Confederacy, and the New Minutemen (the useless pricks) still operate in large swathes of the nation.

Halleck, a bit of an idealist, maintained the hope that some of the rebellious republics would petition for annexation now that the Second Republic was established.

As we restore the Constitution, women once again get the right to vote. Along with, you know, everyone.

New Minutemen, demonstrating in Washington, negotiate with Workingmen politicians to attempt to reach a compromise and unite the socialist movement once again.

The spirit of separatism slowly dissipates. Union back!

Jeffrey Chapman, who managed to survive the chaos of the reign of Quinlan, finally dies of old age. A great general, loyal to the end! A colossus of the battlefield! Hallock honors him with a lavish service.

*takes a shaky breath*

Fucking JUDASES allied with the Brits, our ancestral enemy! We will crush the Confederacy!

The government, in an attempt to further centralize its authority, appeases the Greenbacker movement (if you're unfamiliar with American history... it's complicated) by slowly integrating central money printing.

Thanks to brave negotiation by Workingmen politicians, the New Minutemen have laid down their arms. No rebels, no nothing! *Takes breath of fresh air* It's business time.

On January 4th, 1892, the Provisional Congress declares war on the New American Alliance. While we have nothing more against this nation than we do the others, they made the grave mistake of cutting my territory into two halves, and frankly, that's just not okay.

The conflict was, at the time, known as "The Chicago War," but modern historians agree that January 4th, 1892 is the starting date for the incredibly long and bloody Wars of American Unification.

An army of conscripts marches on Chicago, led by the ageless and immortal Adam Barnes. We are the true heirs of the Union! March, men!

I love these events so much. Just dunkin' on fools for no fucking reason.

A smashing victory is won in Chicago against the NAA Army. The rebellious fools are on the run.

Austria-Hungary manages to wreck Italy, and releases Sicily and a thicc Papal States into the world. This is not the end of Italy's borders getting worse and worse, this is merely the beginning.

Also, Ireland is doing that thing where they become a colonizer despite being a puppet of the British. Sure, you can do that, I guess.

Back on the Continent, we finally begin to modernize our rail system, which we are woefully behind on. Thanks to the rebellious states to our southwest, we no longer have a railroad connecting the east to the west, so improving our rail system is necessary.

After some weeks, Chicago is seized. While Halleck and the rest of the military command had hoped that this would lead to the surrender of the NAA, the government has fled the city.

In an effort to further pacify the socialist movement, the Workplace Practices Act of 1892 is signed by Halleck and the Provisional Congress. As people begin to look forward to the Elections of 1892, many wonder how prominent socialism should be in a nation recently overthrown by Communists.

In New York, excitement about the reestablishment of the republic leads to fuckin', which leads to a small baby boom across the state.

As the war on the New American Alliance continues, the Provisional Congress finally announces that elections will be held on December 10th, 1892. A truly 4-way battle is to take place in the remaining Union states. The electoral college, of course, will determine the winner.

The Republicans, still recovering a bit from the incredible blunder of nominating Robert Todd Lincoln twice, decide to go with Benjamin Harrison, a general during the Southern Rebellions, a former Congressmen, and a former Secretary of State. Reaction to the nomination can best be described as "tepid." Out of hopes that the party could ally in coalition with another in order to claim the presidency, a running mate for Harrison is not selected; the rest of the candidates follow suit.

He aligns himself with the progressives, attempting to appear as an enemy to big business to court socialist sentiment.

The Populists decide the renominate James G. Weaver. The People's Party hoped that the loss of New England and the South would lead to a bigger share of the pie for them, as much of the remaining Union were rural states. Weaver champions reforms for the common man.

The Democrats decide to go with what they know works: they nominate a former Governor of New York, David B. Hill. As the Confederacy is reborn, the Democrats no longer have their "Solid South" to rely on, so Hill leans on the anti-socialist Northeast for his voting base.

The Workingmen's Party nominates Charles H. Matchett, a former state assemblymen in New York. Since general opinion of socialism was not particularly high thanks to the Red Revolution, most of the higher-ups of the party refused to run for fear of assassination. Matchett doesn't find much success in the Northeast, but finds some in the Midwest.

Here's what the nation currently looks like, in case you forgot.

Arguments already begin in Ohio over economic policy. While Hill manages to win a few heads in the state, this is Harrison's home turf; he's got Ohio locked up.

After some months of establishing order, we make contact with our African brother republics. While the Republic of the Congo is more than willing to work with us, Biafra, refusing to turn against the Communism enforced on them by Quinlan, remains obstinate. Given our current situation, we're not gonna send troops to Africa, so we let them do Communism.

The United Kingdom, having taken over the breakaway Kingdom of Warri, looks poised to annex the Commune of Biafra. Our ancestral enemies will suffer one day at our hands!

In the rural middle states, Matchett attempts to make some ground amongst the Populist-faithful farmers. This is to little effect, as the Populists are fairly well dug-in.

S C I E N T I F I C M A N A G E M E N T

Surprisingly, there's little nativism in the post-Communism United States.

Back to the Wars of American Unification. The New American Army managed to escape to the south and take large swathes of Kentucky and Tennessee. After Barnes seized a few more towns in Illinois, he marched his patchwork army to Louisville to meet the rebels led by Alexander Bartlett.

The Second Republic is handed a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Louisville. While Generals Barnes and a small force were able to escape uninjured, almost the entire army was either killed or taken prisoner. The New American President, DeWitt Clinton Crieger, offers a white peace to President Halleck, which he enthusiastically rejects.

Look past the debate for a second to that little regiment in Seattle. The only provinces that provided troops for mobilization, for some reason, were a few in the states of Washington and Oregon, so when my army got wiped, I had to wait for these knuckleheads to walk all the way to Iowa to get back in the fight.

Just a year after improving safety regulations in the workplace, we do it again, because dear God look at that consciousness.

I took AP Microeconomics once, but I'm not gonna pretend like I understand any of this economic stuff soooo

As the winter nears, so does the election. The war against the NAA drags on at a stalemate, and the nation stands firmly divided politically. The Second Republic is fragile; the winner of this election will likely have the biggest single impact on the new republic than any other man.

As the electoral votes are tabulated, it becomes clear that no candidate managed to win a majority, meaning that the election will go to the House of Representatives, once Congress is assembled.

Already, the parties begins to wheel and deal. Where will coalitions form?

As Congressional votes are counted, the Workingmen's Party manages to claim a wide plurality. However, surprisingly, the Republicans capture 40% of the House, securing a Plurality there. Negotiations take place, backdoor compromises are agreed to. David B. Hill, Benjamin Harrison, and Charles Matchett all make overtures to James G. Weaver to drop his candidacy and endorse theirs.

(Note: I rolled all the minor parties into the big ones, because I can't imagine some dipshit voting for the Radical Party in this time of crisis)

After weeks of arguing and deal-making, a surprising agreement is reached between the Republican Party and the Populists. While many had expected Weaver to side with the Democrats or the Workingmen, he shocks many by pledging himself to Harrison, who quickly takes Weaver as his Vice Presidential candidate. This is enough to sway the Workingmen, and Benjamin Harrison is voted in as the 21st President of the United States.

I HATE HATE HATE HOW POPULISTS ARE CATEGORIZED AS LIBERALS IN THIS GAME. In real life, the Populists were subsumed into the DEMOCRATS, and the Dems even took William Jennings Bryan as their nominee in 1896! And heck, in this timeline, you could argue that they should side with the Workingmen, as they're both parties for the poor. The Republicans - the elitist industrialist party - should never ever coalition with the Populists. This is broken and bad and terrible. The Republicans should not be the winners of this.

*Takes death breath* anyway, we gather another army so we an finally crush the NAA and get on with reunification as Harrison assumes office.

This is a neat event, but nearly all of Geronimos's exploits took place in territory that is not currently owned by the Second Republic.

Immortal God Adam Barnes is attacked by the same New American Army that engaged him in Louisville all those months ago. Fortunately for the Second Republic, Barnes had more luck on his side this time.

Thanks to timely reinforcements, Bartlett is sent away with his tail between his legs. Unification is inevitable.

One of the members of the Free Republics of America (remember that thing? Wow), Argentina, is overthrown by a cabal of Communists. While we empathize with the Argentinian people, we certainly aren't in a position to intercede and reestablish democracy.

We crush the remnants of the rebel army. Now Barnes can march his men south and liberate the cities seized by these New American jerks. For the Second Republic!

Thanks to unpopular reception of the policy of penal colonies in Alaska, Congress abolishes them in the spring of 1893. The new policy is to... well, just put them in jail, you know?

we're quick quick quick train boys

Because we have no artillery, this is gonna take a lil bit

Bad news from Central America. Guatemala and Nicaragua have both been overthrown by Communist rebels. The one positive is that this reduces British influence in the region, but still, Harrison and his administration denounce the new regimes as illegitimate.

Neoclassical Theory begins to be developed, which (as I understand it) basically means that we're making all those fun graphs that we learned in high school econ.

While the war against the NAA rages, skirmishes take place in the Dakotas as settlers flee into the area.

These provinces will likely not siege for awhile. Get your decks of cards, boys!

Disaster strikes on September 26th, 1893. A declaration of war from the Confederacy arrives, announcing its intention to retake its rightful state of Tennessee. While we argue that their whole territory is rightful *ours*, they cite the treaty that Quinlan signed with them as the renunciation of any Union claim to the South that exist.

Thinking ahead to striking the South, however, is about ten steps too far. Harrison knew he had to guide America through this war without losing another inch of the Second Republic's already meager holdings.

While the American people generally don't like it and Harrison himself hates it, he realizes the necessity of a truce with the NAA during the fight. Harrison agrees to a white peace. Celebrations erupt in Chicago, and the New American regime takes this as an admission of their legitimacy as a nation by Harrison.

While the American people are tired of bleeding, President Harrison attempts to care for his people as Winfield Scott and Augustus Beatty did - by showering them with affection. Still, the lost war exhaustion is not enough.

A good piece of news has come across the wire for once! The Panama Canal has officially opened. While we currently have no standing navy, this will be a boon... one day? Many years from now, probably.

alright guys this sounds crazy but i have an idea that could win us this war

Against our better judgement, we fully open trade unions to everyone who may want to join.

So, you can see here that the Confederacy basically outnumbers us 2-1, and I think they might have another army kicking around somewhere. I can't raise any more troops, so I'm basically stuck here. I tried to temporary ally with one of my other little breakaway republics, but they all hate me.

CHRIST, SOMEONE GET STEVE A SHIRT

The Cubans manage to land a mere three regiments in Florida thanks to their small naval size. While they have numbers that could crush the South, the problem is getting those numbers onto the mainland and willing to bum-rush the Confederates (with my support, of course!).

The marvels of electricity begin to be researched and put into practice across the more industrialized areas of the Second Republic.

Another three, but disaster strikes! The Confederate Navy have attacked the Cubans! Pray for our good good Cuba boys!

Meanwhile, the Confederates continue to slowly "liberate" Tennessee. An offer comes across the wire from Richmond that proposes Union surrender Tennessee in exchange for the end of the war. Harrison vehemently rejects, stating that the war is "all but won."

Unfortunately, Richmond counted out the Cubans! They beat the Southern Fleet! Advance, good allies and friends!

Barnes decides to march his army and have the sit on Richmond because why not?

ALL ABOARD THE CUBA TRAIN

CHOO CHOO

The Cuban Army, working with American officers, parks itself in Chattanooga. The Confederates bear down on them; Barnes immediately moves to reinforce them.

While the Cuban force is mostly infantry, the Confederate force is similarly unbalanced; the Cuban General Fidel Cisneros, a mastermind, digs in his forces and uses the terrain to his advantage. Even before the American reinforcements arrive, the battle is going swimmingly.

When Barnes arrives, however, it becomes a slaughter.

The Battle of Chattanooga is won decisively by the allied forces. The American soldiers all salute Cisneros, who is terribly embarrassed by all the attention.

This battle effectively breaks the back of the Confederacy, which was dealing with massive questions about race in the nation. I'd kind of love to have continued this AAR as the Confederacy, but spoilers: I don't do that.

We decide to call in the Yucatan Republic as well, for pretty much no reason because they have one regiment.

Up until this point, there were some restrictions on voting in order to ensure that everything would proceed slowly. In the run-up to the 1894 Midterms, these are all lifted. All citizens over the age of 21 can vote.

Time for another episode of "Philosophy with a dumb bitch," read what I copy/pasted from wikipedia.

Phenomenalism is the view that physical objects cannot justifiably be said to exist in themselves, but only as perceptual phenomena or sensory stimuli (e.g. redness, hardness, softness, sweetness, etc.) situated in time and in space. In particular, some forms of phenomenalism reduce talk about physical objects in the external world to talk about bundles of sense-data.

Great success! The Confederates, after several weeks, have agreed to a white peace. The rebels will bleed one day, but that day is not today. Before the Cuban Army returns back home, President Harrison insists that they visit Washington, and dines Fidel Cisneros in the White House. Eventually, the two men retreat to a secluded balcony and smoke Cuban cigars.

"What is your plan, President Harrison? I cannot pledge my army to yours in another conflict. While we hate the South, we cannot justify another expedition."

"We will reunite the Republic, of course, but the East is not where we begin, I believe."

"Where, then?"

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