Deo Vindice: The Agrarian Empire and the Shadow of Slavery
Author's note: This AAR will attempt to roleplay a CSA that has completely rejected western ideals- there will be no factories or industry ever produced. The economy will be floated by force of arms- the demanding of indemnities from more prosperous neighbors. The nation will work like a 19th century North Korea, maintaining a vast army it can barely support. This is a collaborative AAR- wish us luck!
Chapter I. Antebellum
The Confederate states of America has been called the most conservative of revolutions, and justly so. In 1860 the south stood, unique among the civilized world, as a region dominated by cotton, the cross, and the sword of steel. Under the harsh beat of the southern sun, Dixieland was governed by an aristocratic oligarchy acting upon chivalric ideals and backward interests. Surpassed by the industry of the north, and under siege by a liberal movement of self-righteous enlightenment that sought to end chattel slavery across the American continent, and in so doing, make a pauper out of the region that had risen to its seat of power from such a rotten edifice. The south was attacked on all sides for its slave-based economy, and this took its toll on southern culture.
Always known for its charm, bravery and grace, the south turned into itself, exchanging the fashion of London and Paris for the palmetto hat and the homespun dress; Angry southern Baptists screamed upon the pulpit of the unspeakable evils of immigration, industry, and foreigners as a whole.
As Lincoln was elected in Washington DC, the south convulsed in anguish. Bitter fighting between the populace of a polarized nation spilled blood in Kansas, Missouri, Maryland, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and the north of Texas.
South Carolina, led by men such as Wade Hampton and carrying on the legacy of John Calhoun, would not long suffer Lincoln's rule. The Palmetto State dissolved all bonds with the union of states, and as the river of time flowed inexololerably onwards, was soon joined by Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Southerners are traditionally and as a matter of course rash people, and, left to their own devices, the grand temper tantrum of the land of cotton might well have waned. It was not to be, however, and in a political blunder, Lincoln demanded soldiers to squash the "rebellion" through force of arms- A move that would immediately alienate Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia into the open arms of Dixie. Kentucky and Missouri convulsed with a burning fire, luckless lands where north and south collide.
The south approached the war gaily, a chance for adventure and to lie low the northern foeman, and, of course, win the eye of the southern belle. Seizing federal arms, a long and perilous war lay ahead for the small nation-to-be, a war that, even should it be won, was fought for the most dubious of causes, that of enslaving fellow man. It must be wondered then, how Dixie managed such childlike eagerness for the roar of battle, an eagerness they maintained even after seeing the fires of war visited upon the home front.
On the political spectrum, many candidates emerged to be the president of the confederate states of America. From moderate Mississippi planter Jefferson Davis, to the extremist fire eaters such as Barnwell Rhett.
Ultimately, the presidency was to be claimed by self-made man and dark horse candidate Nathan Bedford Forrest. Preaching a message of hate, a message of force-of-arms, and closeness to god, the last being singularly odd for a man who had led by southern standards what must be seen as a secular life.
(Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first president of the CSA.)
(Leonadis Polk, the first vice president of the CSA)
Closeness to God it was, though, for his running mate, a sharp contrast to the angry man from Tennessee, Leonidas K Polk, Episcopalian bishop, soft spoken, high born and well-mannered, assumed the role of vice president. The "Planter and the Preacher", The odd couple would eventually form an unbeatable team deeply seated in a position of boundless power within their nation.
With a dedicated pair at the helm and a population enthralled by bloodlust, the "nation" entered the war for southern independence with vigor.
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