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The Presidents: 1836-1936 - An Interactive US AAR

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President Williams address to the nation​

I wish to thank the American people for allowing me to continue to serve the nation as President. We have been through a very rough time recently but the rebels have surrendered and we can now all work together to rebuild the nation and our common future. We will never forget all who were lost and sacrifices made by all.

My first goal for this term is to rebuild the damaged areas of the country. Secretary Jamous will lead this effort. Another goal is to continue social reform by passing further health care reforms and establishing a pension system for the old and wounded.

America must be strong internationally. To achieve this we will expand the Navy and maintain a strong volunteer Army capable of meeting all threats. We will press Spain to extradite the fugitive members of the rebel government living in the Spanish colony of Cuba. We also must follow the advice of President Washington and avoid entangling foreign alliances.

I will follow President Washington's lead in not seeking another term as President.
 
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We have a military capable of matching and surpassing the Spanish in every way, except in willingness to fight. This nation has gone through what must undoubtedly be the bloodiest war in the history of humankind. To drag ourselves into military conflict with a European power over the issue of an impotent and unrecognized "government" on their shores would be most unwise. The people do not want war. They want the return of American prosperity.

Even if the American populace were ready for a new war, the Spanish are a proud people, who once held sway over the entire world. They will not give up their colonies unless our troops marched into Madrid itself.

Perhaps, in years to come we can liberate Cuba from Spanish oppression, but certainly not in this new decade. The nation should focus on securing what it has now and rebuilding.

Gen. Joshua Young, US Army.

((Young here is acting as your military advisor. A new war, so soon after 3.5% of Americans were killed in one, would not endear people to Washington. I say, try around 1880-1890, when the wounds have healed a bit)).
 
Gentlemen,

After this rough and turbulent war against the rebellion, I find it myself that I must now return to me ancestral home in Virginia out of respect for my father. As such, I will be resigning my post as Senator from Maryland in order to run, whenever Virginia be reunited into the Union, as a Virginian Senator - hopefully in the same seat once occupied by my father.

As for the issue of the body of General Davis, I say he be laid to rest in the family plot, but, given the fact Union Soldiers will be occupying these areas, it should make sense to have a small Union detachment to guard this location, as to make sure it is only visited by family and mourners alike.

Sam Hensdale
Ex-Senator from Maryland
 
Frymonmon said:
As for the issue of the body of General Davis, I say he be laid to rest in the family plot, but, given the fact Union Soldiers will be occupying these areas, it should make sense to have a small Union detachment to guard this location, as to make sure it is only visited by family and mourners alike.
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But with the war finally over, why would we need to continue to enforce military occupation within our own states? Let them be re-integrated and let the military stand down. We do not need to guard the bodies of those who have fallen, let the local police forces do their duty.

I look forward to serving along side you as Senators for Virginia though.
 
King50000 said:
But with the war finally over, why would we need to continue to enforce military occupation within our own states? Let them be re-integrated and let the military stand down. We do not need to guard the bodies of those who have fallen, let the local police forces do their duty.

I look forward to serving along side you as Senators for Virginia though.
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Yes, the war itself is over and while I do not support a full military occupation, Order MUST be restored to this part of the Nation. Maybe a period of a few years should do, and then the military should be withdrawn and scaled back. There should be no reason why the United States is harbouring such a large force in peacetime now.
 
I recently came upon this thread and I think its very interesting (I haven't read the entire thing yet). I was wondering to what extend are military characters allowed as far as rank?
 
Alpha2518 said:
I recently came upon this thread and I think its very interesting (I haven't read the entire thing yet). I was wondering to what extend are military characters allowed as far as rank?
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Basically anywhere. By the end of next update, Marshall Daub's character will command the entire Army.
 
Alright. BTW I'm having trouble keeping track of characters. Can we have a list of who's who so it's easy to keep track of for new people like me and so we don't forget?
 
Alpha2518 said:
Alright. BTW I'm having trouble keeping track of characters. Can we have a list of who's who so it's easy to keep track of for new people like me and so we don't forget?
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Hmm...

That's actually a pretty good idea. If somebody wants to volunteer to help me gather the list, send me a PM and we'll discuss how to do it.

UPDATE INCOMING.

PS. I have a world map that I can post if anyone's interested.
 
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Williams: Recovery and Expansion​

With the end of the Civil War, Williams authorized Jamous to implement full-scale reconstruction. As Jamous set about this task, the president went into talks for the last time with the Russian Ambassador. On May 7th, the Secretary of the Treasury was informed that the amount of 7.2 million dollars would be transferred to the Russian government. Russian Alaska was now officially part of the United States.
The fact that Texas was no longer the largest administrative area in the Union reflected the fate that the South seemed to face. With only Virginia and Kentucky having been reintegrated into the Union by May, the states that had once had the rest of the Union tripping over itself to appease them were now relegated to a sideshow. Not even Jamous’ position in government could comfort the South now.
When the first trials for Confederate officers were held, they were small affairs, with only the immediate relatives of the accused arriving to see the event. Within months, the trials had become events for Southerners to come to in order to protest and voice their discontent at the new order. Former slave-owners and soldiers stood outside the courthouses, shouting insults at the mostly Northern judges and jury. Sometimes, the situation could escalate into full-blown violence.

reconstructionriot.jpg

1. A “Trial Riot”, from a newspaper in Alabama, 1861.​

The real problem however, was the conflict between the whites and the African-Americans of the South. As Jamous and his subordinates attempted to implement laws guaranteeing equal rights, and help the freed slaves register to vote, state governments stubbornly and with increasingly desperate measures prevented such action. In November 1861, Jamous combated this attitude by ordering investigations into the loyalty of members of each state’s government. The result was that more than 60% of the South’s elected officials were fired and replaced by people who supported the North during the war. This meant that a large portion of the South’s government positions were now held by African-Americans.
In response to the equal rights laws and initiatives these new governments implemented, the Ku Klux Klan was born. Created as a Southern version of the veterans’ organizations springing up in the North, the Klan’s more radical members soon began to see it as a continuation of the Confederate army. When the radicals began recruiting non-veterans to the cause, those who truly saw it as simply a veterans’ organization, including founder Nathan Bedford Forrest, left the organization.
The Klan soon turned to violence, burning the houses of people they disliked, mostly African-Americans and “Northern Sympathizers”, and even going so far as lynching political enemies and those unlucky enough to get in their way. By March 1862, the situation had become too bad to be ignored. Jamous gave General Mandrake, in command of the US Army since General Young’s resignation on May 12th 1861, permission to crack down on the Klan. Mandrake set to the task with relish.
Simultaneously, Jamous, furious and tired of the repeated opposition to even his more lenient version of reconstruction that had continued and gained strength since November, implemented more hard-line policies. States that had not yet ratified the full set of equal rights laws in effect in the North were barred from reintegration until they did so. Any states already reintegrated that had not ratified the laws were barred from voting in the senate and congress, including Jamous’ new home state of Virginia, which ratified the final law two weeks later.

radicalreconstruction.jpg

2. Jamous announces “Radical Reconstruction” to the gathered Congress and Senate.​

After the crackdown, opposition to reconstruction ceased to be a popular movement in the South. The state governments essentially did as Jamous told them, and the Klan, outlawed by federal order in April 1862, became an underground movement. The conflicts between the “Old” and “New” South persisted, but to take them out in the open had become a social death sentence.
While the South struggled to accept the post-war order, the rest of the United States recovered with relative ease and looked toward the future. On January 2nd 1862, President Williams signed into law The Homestead Act, which would give eligible applicants 160 acres of land in the West. In the eyes of the world, the act further cemented the United States’ reputation as a land of opportunity and new beginnings. Immigration in 1862 and ’63 however, was lessened slightly from what it could have been by the Great Flu of 1862.
The pandemic of influenza first showed up in the Carolinas and Virginia in 1861, as the ravaged area proved the perfect breeding ground for disease. By 1862, the pandemic had spread to the rest of the South. That same year, it made its way to the North along with demobilizing Northern volunteers and draftees. The pandemic disappeared as fast as it came, without a single case being reported by 1865, but it had already managed to kill at least 200,000 people and increased the already considerable wave of immigration to the unaffected West.
Despite the flu, the first years after the war were undoubtedly ones of progress. The absence of so many men from the farms during the war years had fueled the creation of technology that, by the end of the war, had significantly lessened the number of hands needed on farms. This meant that soldiers returning from the South now needed to find other jobs, a need that Northern industrialists were more than willing to fulfill. More than half of American millionaires in 1870 could trace the beginnings of their wealth to the factories they were able to build immediately after the Civil War.

factry.jpg

3. American factory workers, c. 1864.​

For American workers, they situation was also improved by the Work Safety laws passed by the Libertarians and New Democrats, with the occasional Republican support. By the end of Williams’ second term, the United States had a level of work safety it would take Europeans decades to catch up to. Yet even this was not enough to stop the birth of radical socialist movements in America.
Marxism landed on American shores as early as the 1850s, but it never managed to catch on in the same way it had in Europe. In the United States, it was merged with Vinogradism, which was less about revolution and more about workers’ rights. The former Libertarian presidential candidate Eric Vandrove became the heart of the Marxist-Vinogradist movement. Espousing revolution, he and his supporters were driven out of the Libertarian Party in 1863.
Vandrove attempted to then start his own party, but the Vinogradist Party of America was outlawed as an organization that sought to overthrow the US Federal Government and Constitution. Marxist-Vinogradism would never really catch on with the majority of the population, for its central tenet of armed revolution did not appeal to the American worker, who had already seen what great industrial armies were like in the Civil War. Yet throughout the following decades, with further industrialization, the idea of a workers revolution attracted more and more radical thinkers.
The other “revolutionary ideology” of the post-war years was decidedly American. Christopher Bryan, a former Confederate soldier, came up with National Vinogradism while lying in a hospital bed in 1861. National Vinogradism did not believe in a classless society. Bryan believed in a society where classes were not defined by their wealth, but were made as equal as possible. Bryan spooked the capitalists with stock reform and class reform, and the average worker with the possibility that it might have to be achieved through force of arms. He was driven out of mainstream politics, but National Vinogradism too slowly gained support as the years wore on.

vandrovebryan.jpg

4. Vandrove (left) and Bryan (right), “The Revolutionaries”.​

On the international stage, the United States began to live up to the promise of the Monroe Doctrine and Treaty of Nicaragua. Between 1861 and 1864, Williams signed alliances with, and guaranteed the independence of, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. Williams also followed in the footsteps of Walsh by presiding over the peace talks that ended the Peruvian Wars.
He was criticized by the Peruvian government for letting Chile and Ecuador essentially disembowel the nation, ceding Ica to Ecuador and Arequipa to Chile, but is today accepted as having saved the nation from complete annihilation and occupation. Williams also approved the beginning of a massive government initiative to expand the capabilities of the US Navy. Dozens of government contracts were handed out to expand naval yards on the east and west coasts, which were followed by more contracts to build ships for the Navy.
The greatest foreign policy problem of Williams’ term was Cuba. With the Confederate government in Havana, Williams and the American Ambassador to Spain, Charles Hayworth, spent at least one day every month in talks with the Spanish, demanding extradition. The Spanish stubbornly refused, determined to show that they did not have to bow down to anybody. The most radical of politicians called for war, but Williams and the politicians who asked the man on the street knew that the common man was not willing to go to war again.
On November 3rd 1864, Williams announced that he would not seek reelection. So, as the three parties gathered once more to choose their candidates in December, the president who had led the nation though the Civil War sat comfortably in his office, enjoying the sight of the first snow.

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Exceptional Situation(s):

It’s primary time again. As you can see, the more radical views are not accepted by the three parties (Republican, New Democratic and Libertarian). However, all three parties have moved slightly more toward “socialism” in order to discourage workers from joining Bryan or Vandrove.

Projekt, Cesar, you can both run, but if you do, do it so that you’re coming into the Convention and saying you’ve “seen the error of your ways” and want to run on a severely toned down version of your ideologies.
 
A long time ago my father decided to run as a Candidate for the presidency of the United States of America. His campaign was short and died fast, however his campaign was one for eradication of slavery and a more progressive America. He was of course ahead of his time. However his ideas were not unsound. As a humble servant of our United States I, Jonathan Nightmore will run for the presidency of these United States. It's time to make the Libertarian party a force in this nation. It's time for progressive ideas to flourish. Only a strong progressive nation can battle these new Vinogradist ideas succesfully. These ideas really defile the name of the Great National Hero Vinograd. We should not be afraid of increasing social reforms in this country. We should not be afraid of preogressive taxation, and allow the rich to pay for the progress of our nation.

We must isolate Spain for their criminal behaviour, and thus force them to hand over these criminals that hide on Cuba. And we should look to the West. My father had a dream and that was in the Pacific. Hawaii is a good starting point for a effort of civilizing the greatest ocean in the World. We should harbor good relations with the civilized nations of Europe; France, Britain and the Germanies. We should continue building good relations with Latin America.

Thie year, this election will be the rise of the Libertarian Party. And it will be the start of a progressive era for our United States.
 
((I will not run, and go with the original plan.))

"Workers Pride"- Eric J. Vandrove, sent from an undisclosed location, circulating throughout major cities in the Union.

Workers, hear me! This government has for too long oppressed your freedoms, been forced to accept the burden of wage slavery! Throw off the shackles of oppression, the shackles keeping you starving. These "Safety Regulations" are not nearly enough to provide a suitable environment for the common proletarian, where you still breath the toxic fumes of the machines. As well, you are forced to abide by a government run by aristocrats and capitalists, which only seek to keep you down in order to flaunt a bigger profit! Workers of America, Workers of the World, UNITE!
 
How time flys....
Anyway I would like to announce my purchase of The Atlantic trade Co from William VIII ((he has agreed as he can no longer post)). I will also be expanding my textile operations in New England as well as creating Elipious Industries, an arms manufacturer. This will create employment for thousands.

I will not be standing for president this term. Good luck to any New Democrat candidates.

Thomas Howard
Senator of Massachusetts
Defender of Equality and the freedom of choice
 
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I, Michael Jamous, will hereby announce candidacy for the New Democrat nomination. These four years have taken their toll on me, but I do believe that I will be able to continue the reforms that we have seen made possible during President Williams' term.
 
((I Will not run, I Think I'll just try to infuence legislation until more socialists Arise.))
 
I would like to know where those have announced, or plan to announce, their candidacy for President of our United States stand on the Cuban Issue.

-James Anderson
Senator from Hawaii

((Seeing the world map would be great for perspective.))
 
Alright here is my character

Colonel William Turner, United States Marines 1st Brigade (5000 men strong.)

History: Born in Philidelphia to a military family Turners lineage stretches back all the way to the American Revolution where the U.S Marines (The Continental Marines at the time) stormed the beaches of the Bahamas destroying Royal Navy supply stores before retreating. His family has served in all brances of the United States military in every single conflict from the Revolution till to the Civil War. Turner feels the need to carry on this proud tradition and thus is a disciplined man in all forms. He would miss the Mexican War due to studies at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis where he would earn his commisson as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marines. Soon after his commission he would marry a lady of the South, a southern belle and have four chilldren, two sons and two daughters. Turner would serve both at sea and on land during his intial service serving on both the large flagships of the United States to the small and humble frigates who screen them. Since he had attended the academy this aided in his promotion through the ranks. Before the Civil War he would attain the rank of Major. However clouds were brewing over the Union as the house would soon be divided.

Turner would be able to get his first taste and battle and war. Something he had wanted when he attended the academy. and the Civil War offered just that. Immeadiatly at the start of the war Major Turner and his company of Marines number 225 men were assigned to the Army of the Potomac with the rest of the 1st Brigade of the US Marines. Turner would wait impaitently for battle but he kept his men busy with constant bayonet drills as well as musket drills and the never ending uniform inspections to make sure his marines discipline exceeded that of the armies. Some army officers and enlisted called Turner a extreamist, he took it as unintended compliment when he finally learned about it. After all a pint of sweat saves a gallon of blood. After months of inaction the Army of the Potomac finally moved to occupy Staunton in Virginia and to engage the rebels at Mannassas where he was among the first into battle with the Marines suffering some losses.

Turner respected his commanding officer of the Army who was General Kuhr. A aggressive man who would boldly engage the rebel armies when they would not expect him and General Mandrake for his mandate of seizing everything from the locals. Turner believed the war needed to be harsh for the confederacy for they were rebels and seccession is inherently illegal and should be treated harshly. The rebels could expect no compassion from Turner or his men. However Turner would tolerate any violence against the women or any other violations against them as he is a gentlemen and his wife was a southern belle when they married. Meanwhile the war marched on as he continued to fight in other engagements such as 2nd Mannassass, 4th Mannassas and all other engagements. During these engagements Turners Company would become known as Hells Company for their ferocity in battle and the speed with which they would take up positions in battle and reload. It was to be noted by one confederate "The Marines came at us like demons from the depths of hell after three volleys. They bayoneted us like mad dogs and men focused only on our destruction with our only salvation being surrender or retreat." It was finally with the end of the 6th Fredricksburge where he was finally promoted to full Colonel to be placed in charge of the 1st Brigade US Marines after the commanding officer was killed in the first volley before bayonets and swords took over..

Now with teh end of the war in sight Turner would partipate in the final death woes of the confederacy at Charleston leading his brigade into the streets of Charleston where he would turn his soldier loose. Charleston was the Jewl of the South much like India being the Jewl of the British Empire. As the fanatical resistance waned whereever the Marines passed Turner ordered the stores be destroyed and burned intending to punish the rebels as much as he could for their succession. When the time came to storm Fort Sumter the Marines being a amphabious force storming the beaches of the Bahamas in the Revolution and fighting the Barbary pirates were perfect for the job. Turner was the first on the beaches of Sumter as the rest his 5000 men followed capturing the fort.

However upon learning teh confederate goverment escaped Turner was extreamly angry at the fact the admiral had let them slipped through. One of his aids noted that threw everything off the desk in extream anger at this. That the rebel goverment had escaped all because a "A weak, feable, and cowardly admiral" has let them escape because he did not want to risk civillian casualties. What Turner believed should have happened was to board the vessels. The civillian were not a concern to him as to him they were rebels and nothing more. Even if the majority of the civllians had died he believed such a action would have been justified as he does no care for enemy civllians unless they are occupied. The burning of the Charleston stores is a exception to this.

Political Views: Born into a family of abolitionists Turner believes the slaves should be freed but recognizes that they are in a transition period "The Afro-Americans are in a transition state in this period that we live in. While they seem to want freedom they don't really seem to know what it means either. However every attempt should be made to integrate them into our society as freemmen free from the shackles of slavery." He is a republican and believes in a Laizess fair economy believing the goverment should not interfere in economic affairs other then to stop unfair practices such as insider stock trading.

He believes like the founding fathers that foreign entanglments should be avoided as to quote Washington "The interests of Europe are foreign to our own." and like Jefferson "Commerce with all, alliances with none." He maintains Jeffersons attitude on banking as well "I believe that central banking is more dangerous then standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banking institutions to control issue of their currency first by inflation, and then by deflation, the banks and corportions that will grow around will deprieve the people of property untill our children wake up homeless on the continenant their fathers conquered." He is a constitutionalist believing that the goverment should strictly follow the constituion as it limits the goverment as the founding fathers intended.

He is for the military believing that the military should always be expanded and funded should there be money available for it. When it comes to Welfare he is against every form of it at the federal level knowing it will bankrupt them like the romans (Meaning hes anti-socialist/communist). He believes in the founding fathers belief in Divine Providence which is teh belief that you live your life as best as you can and god will help you in little small ways. God also have a purpose for you but you must figure that out. Turner has somewhat figured it out believing that God ment for him to be in the military but does not know if they is anything more.

((I hope you guys don't mind my little tid bits of small scale glory n fame I just wanted to try and give him more depth.))
 
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King50000 said:
I, Michael Jamous, will hereby announce candidacy for the New Democrat nomination. These four years have taken their toll on me, but I do believe that I will be able to continue the reforms that we have seen made possible during President Williams' term.
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Will you still advocate the same reconstruction without a punishment policy that you did last time you ran?
 
wolfcity said:
Will you still advocate the same reconstruction without a punishment policy that you did last time you ran?
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These last four years as Secretary for the South's Reconstruction have shown me that even the best of intentions will be overlooked by those blinding themselves. I will continue with my policy of Radical Reconstruction until the South is back up to its pre-war standards and above. Though I will allow private business to develop just as it has in the North.

DaEvilNome said:
I would like to know where those have announced, or plan to announce, their candidacy for President of our United States stand on the Cuban Issue.

-James Anderson
Senator from Hawaii
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My stance would be to continue diplomatic talks with the Spanish. They are a proud people and will not easily bow to the wims of others, as President Williams' stance has shown, though eventually they will conceed, or we will be forced to use the might of the U.S.M.C. and Colonel Turner to bring back our citizens and bring justice to the traitors.

((I too would like to see a world map, let me know when I can stop typing Prussia/NGF ;)))
 
I would gladly lead our men to seize the traitors. However the Cuban people should be freed and left to govern themselves with us as their guide. The same should be applied to the Phillipines. While I would like to seize the traitors quickly we must weigh our nations wounds and people in the process of making the decission unless we can wage a lighting war that can end quickly. Such a war would have to be no more then a year long at best or shorter.

-Colonel Turner
U.S Marines 1st Brigade
 
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