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The Presidents: 1836-1936 - An Interactive US AAR

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It is too late for such talks of opposition to it. It has received a majority within the President's Cabinet and from both Houses of Congress. The treaty between ourselves and the UK is finalized and signed by Diplomat Leo and myself, and our British counter-parts.
 
Callahan: Upturning the World​

Callahan was elected into office at the dawn of a new era, as the end of the 1870s proved to be one of the most tumultuous times in the history of the Western world. However, in being so unexpectedly violent, they also set up the conditions that created the prosperity that would define the decade after. The chain reaction of events that led to the uprooting of the old Balance of Power, and the planting of a new one, begun on February 22nd 1877.
The French Empire had conquered the Indian nations of Sindh and Panjab in 1869, during a time of expansion in French industry and military power [1]. Simultaneously, the small-scale resistance movements in India blossomed into a full-scale war for renewed independence. The French Army thus became bogged down in a long and pointless war overseas that sucked resources away from home.
Peace talks began after the Battle of Rahim Yar Kan in 1876, where 27,000 French soldiers were killed in a Panjabi-Sindh ambush. On February 22nd the next year, the last French regiment left Karachi, leaving France’s short-lived Indian Empire in shambles. The exponential growth of French power that had threatened the Balance of Power for most of the 1860s and 70s was over.

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1. Alphonse De Neuville’s portrait, “The lone survivor of Rahim Yar Kan”.​

The British, seeing a chance to consolidate their position as rulers of India, immediately declared war on the newly independent Panjab. This war would end in 1878, with the institution of a British puppet on the throne of a supposedly independent South Panjab. For Britain however, the most important actions of the 1870s would not concern India. Instead, Africa and the Americas would take center stage for the Empire.
The event that had the most benefits for the British in the long-run was the Buffalo Conference. In early 1878, Benjamin Disraeli, concerned about the troubles in France and what they meant for the Balance of Power, contacted president Callahan with an offer unlike anything seen before in Anglo-American relations. In the original offer, Disraeli promised an eventual British withdrawal from the Americas and support of the US in its continued feud with Spain, in return for a promise that the US would not annex any land outside of the Western hemisphere.
In a short correspondence via telegram during February 1878, Callahan and Disraeli eventually agreed on a joint Anglo-American conference, to be held in Buffalo, New York. For Disraeli, the purpose of the Buffalo Conference was to ensure that there would be no threat to the European Balance of Power from the United States, while for Callahan it was a chance to finally go through with the promise of the Monroe Doctrine. The Conference convened on September 12th 1878.

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2. A picture taken of the American delegation on September 13th.​

Initially, the offers had no mention of Anglo-American co-operation beyond Buffalo, but on September 23rd, James Harrison, working as a reporter for The New Yorker, reported of the British delegation’s intent to propose a “Commonwealth of British-American Nations”. The British delegation presented the Commonwealth of Nations in its counter-offer on September 24th. The American delegation accepted the idea of an organization dedicated to “promoting solidarity, free-trade, and resolving disputes between member nations” with open arms [2].
The Buffalo Accords and the Charter of the Commonwealth were eventually signed on October 12th 1878. They included such articles as extradition treaties between the US and Britain, promises of eventual independence for Canada, Quebec, Australia and New Zealand, and a promise of plebiscite in Cuba once it was under American control. However, Louis Napoleon of France, despite his nation’s internal troubles, continued his promise of defending Spain and its monarchy in case of a war over Cuba and the rebels Spain was hosting there. Unfortunately for Queen Isabella of Spain, Louis Napoleon would no longer be in a position to support her by the end of the year.
France had been driven into a recession by the retreat from India, both politically and economically. French goods had been in a very large bubble during the Paris Boom and Indian Empire [3]. After the end of both, the bubble burst spectacularly, with a large amount of French factory workers becoming unemployed. These factory workers then proceeded to demand rights similar to those enjoyed by their American compatriots, and French industrial output ground to a halt in the July Strike of 1878. Louis Napoleon sent in the army to quell unrest.
After the bad harvest of 1878, the army, now falling low on supplies as the French coffers emptied because of the financial crisis, deserted Louis Napoleon. When on December 3rd 1878, a particularly cold day of a particularly cold and early winter, a strike in Paris erupted into calls for a full-blown revolution; the army joined the strikers and stormed the palace of Versailles. Louis Napoleon was dragged out of the basement and into the snow-filled garden, dressed in full regalia, propped up against a wall, read an improvised list of his crimes towards the French people, and executed by a firing squad.

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3. A drawing of the dead king, with the artist having removed all signs of violence.​

The royal family was allowed to leave for England via Calais, although none of Louis Napoleon’s children would die natural deaths [4]. In Paris, the 3rd French Republic was proclaimed by a young firebrand called Georges Clemenceau. The Republic, which banned the conservative parties Louis Napoleon had supported, was made official two days later.
It was the banning of the conservatives that took France from revolution to civil war, as the army, controlled largely by conservative generals who had wanted Napoleon deposed for their own reasons, split in half. The royal family was met on the Atlantic coast by loyalist elements that used French military vessels to escort them to London. Clemenceau, as the first president of the republic, ordered the Revolutionary Army to clear the coast.
In March of 1879, when the battles near Calais and Le Havre were reaching their height, Otto Von Bismarck decided that it was time for Germany to take advantage of the disarray in France. Of 19th century wars, the Franco-German war would prove to be second in casualties only to the American Civil War. On April 1st, Britain declared war on France, citing the alliance with Germany, and the first of Bismarck’s soldiers made their way into Alsace-Lorraine.
Across the Atlantic, the most pressing element of France’s Second Great Revolution was the severing of ties with Spain. Clemenceau sent a letter in February 1879 to Queen Isabella, demanding that she recognize the French government as Louis Napoleon’s legitimate successor. Isabella responded by cutting off all ties to the 3rd Republic, a move that left Spain all alone in its diplomatic battle with the United States [5].
On April 18th 1879, the USS Maine was docked in Havana, Cuba, on a mission to promote American prosperity to the rest of the Americas. It had on board more than 1,000 sailors at the time of the explosion, while the politicians and entertainers had all been out on the town. The cause of the explosion is still unknown, but US papers blamed it on the Confederates, who had supposedly been supported by Spain. Every last sailor on the Maine was killed in the explosion.

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4. An illustration of the destruction of the USS Maine.​

Spain denied any allegations of supporting the rebels, and the rebels denied allegations of causing the explosion. For Americans, none of it mattered, the damage was done, and on April 29th 1879, President Callahan went to congress asking for a declaration of war. Three hours later, the United States was at war with Spain.

[1] – Panjab was partitioned between the French and British in the Treaty of Delhi.

[2] – The Buffalo Conference would eventually become known in official documents as the First Commonwealth Conference.

[3] – The Paris Boom was a period of high growth in French industry and finance from around 1863-75.

[4] – It is often speculated that the British worked in tandem with the 3rd Republic to assassinate the last remnants of the French Bonapartes.

[5] – Mere days earlier, Isabella had officially rejected the US offer to buy Spain’s overseas colonies. She had said that the colonies were, and always would be, the sovereign territory of Spain.

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Exceptional Situation(s):

So, this update is split into two parts for stylistic reasons, and to avoid it being too long. I learned my lesson after the ACW updates, which are 8 pages minimum on my Word Doc.
 
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Those Spanish cads! Good luck to our men fighting to defend our honor!
 
Due to the commonwealth agreements I cannot be in Cuba fighting the good fight for fear of my own safety but I wish all our sailors luck in the coming conflict
 
The Spanish-American War​

The war against Spain is sometimes called “The Adventurers’ War”, as the majority of the fighting on land was not done by the United States Armed Forces. The adventurers in question were the two volunteer formations that were created in May 1879. The first, and larger of the two, was the Rough Riders. They were a force of men from the east coast who had answered James Harrison’s call to arms.
Harrison quit his job in the New Yorker the day war was declared. The next week he spent gathering a small group of friends from Philadelphia and New York to act as his lieutenants. On May 5th, he finally sent out a general call to arms through newspapers from Concord to Miami. 24,000 young men signed up between May and July 1879. Meanwhile, on May 12th, Christopher Burke, a policeman from San Francisco had been inspired by Harrison.
Burke’s group took longer to form, but by August 1879, the San Francisco Devils would have 21,000 men under its banner, eager to take part in the Philippine Campaign. Despite their relatively quick formation, for the first five months of the war, the volunteer formations would be a running joke for army officers and enlisted men. The war had begun while Harrison and Burke were still looking for men with newspaper announcements.

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1. The San Francisco Devils practice with their rifles at Camp Williams, California.​

The first engagement of the war was off the coast of Hawaii on June 19th. A Spanish raiding force from the Philippines had decided to try and force Hawaii to surrender by blockading and bombarding Honolulu. However, Commodore De Vega had not counted on the US Hawaiian Task force, led by Admiral William Wallace.
Wallace left port the moment reports of the Spanish fleet reached him. In his command he had 11 Cameron-Class battleships, which were much more heavily armed and better protected than the Spanish frigates. The battle was short-lived, with Wallace’s force catching De Vega off-guard. The fleets traded fire for about fifteen minutes before more than half of the Spanish fleet was sinking or incapacitated. De Vega attempted to flee, but could not outrun the US ships.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, the US Marine Expeditionary Force landed in Cuba at the Bay of San Pedro. The Marines quickly split into three smaller units to meet up with Cuban rebels and secure control of the island east of Cienfuegos. Havana they would advance on once the rest of Cuba was secure. Simultaneously, a smaller contingent of marines landed in Puerto Rico, where they were greeted with open arms by the local populace.
The next month was rather silent, with US forces in the west preparing for the invasion of the Philippines, and the Spanish staying in their positions in the Caribbean and Pacific. The USMC also declined to move for Havana, as they feared moving too fast might destabilize the governmental systems they were setting up in Cuba. Then in August the US Pacific Fleet and the Second Marine Expeditionary Force set out for the Philippines.

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2. Marines during embarkation procedures at Los Angeles.​

The Pacific Fleet arrived in the Gulf of Leyte on September 1st. Jose Malcampo, Governor-General of the Philippines then ordered the Spanish Philippine Fleet to engage the Pacific Fleet, drastically underestimating the Cameron-Class battleship as De Vega had in June. The Philippines Fleet came into contact with Admiral Wallace, promoted to command of the Pacific Fleet after Honolulu, six miles of the coast of Iloilo.
The first broadside was in the Philippine Fleet’s favor, as the numerous small islands in the area still hid them partially in the first six minutes of combat. After that, the battle swung decisively in the Americans’ favor. The first proper broadside from the Cameron-Class cruisers smashed the hulls of a third of the Philippines Fleet. Gaspar Villar, commander of the Spanish force, panicked and ordered a general retreat.
The battle thus deteriorated into a frantic chase through the islands in the gulf. During that chase, the Spanish managed to ambush the USS Caroline, crippling her in a five against one battle, which ended in the complete destruction of the Spanish ships as reinforcements arrived. The USS Caroline thus became the second Cameron-Class Battleship after the Maine to be damaged beyond repair.
Yet despite this minor setback, by the morning of September 5th, the Philippine Fleet had been obliterated. Some 123 US sailors had died, and most of the USS Caroline’s crew was wounded, but the sea was clear of threat to US naval supremacy [1]. The 2nd Marine Expeditionary thus landed on the island of Mindanao. The jungle and disease however, would stretch the campaign in the Southern Philippines well into 1880, as the Spanish refused to surrender while they still had land in their colonies under the control of the Spanish military.

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3. A painting of the Battle of the Leyte Gulf.​

The great story of 1879 for most Americans however, was not the navy’s finest hour of the century, but the actions of the Rough Riders in Cuba. Harrison’s volunteers set out in a privately funded fleet, with the approval of army officials, in August 1879, eager for action. They were told to land at Santa Marta, well in US controlled territory. Instead, Harrison ordered the commander of the fleet, whose salary he paid, to head straight for Playa Jibacoa, a mere 20 miles from Havana.
The Rough Riders landed in Playa Jibacoa on August 16th, and headed straight for the capital of the island. The Spanish force of 12,000 well-trained men immediately moved to stop Harrison, and the two forces met outside Campo Florido. The Spanish force, led by Arsenio Linares, set itself up on the high ground, believing he faced a force of professional European soldiers who would not try to assault up a hill. Unfortunately, the Rough Riders were neither professional nor European, and Harrison ordered a straightforward assault.
The Spanish were caught off guard by this, and in a battle lasting two days, the Rough Riders not only took the high ground, but killed 4,956 Spanish soldiers and forced the remaining men to surrender. As soon as news reached the marines that Harrison had not only arrived, but had beaten the Spanish and was miles from Havana, he became a national hero.

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4. The Rough Riders at Campo Florido.​

Havana fell to Harrison and his men on August 21st, and the Confederate government, having not been informed of the Spanish defeat at Campo Florido until that day, was captured as it tried to escape. The marines arrived two days later to the sight of the American and Cuban flags waving all over the city, with the occasional chant of “Hooray for Harrison and his Rough Riders!” For reasons best left unmentioned, the United States Marine Corps does not commemorate the Cuban Campaign much.
The following months returned to the sort of silence after the battle off the coast of Hawaii. It wasn’t until the San Francisco Devils finally left port in July 1880 that the public had something to read about apart from news of the marines having reached another Philippine settlement in the long trek through the jungle. With the departure of Burke’s volunteers, the US Marines decided to step up their speed to avoid another Cuba, landing in multiple locations in Luzon and Tacloban.
The San Francisco Devils were denied the honor of capturing Manila, which went to the 2nd Marines in August 1880, but the Philippine campaign would still be best remembered for the contribution of the volunteers in the fighting for Tacloban. The Spanish Philippine Army of 48,000 men decided to take the easy target first, going for the smaller US Marine force of 6,000 men in Tacloban before attempting to recapture Manila. The initial battles were victories, with the marines, so greatly outnumbered, being pushed back to Borongan City. Then Burke’s men docked in the port.
The first battle for Borongan City between September 27th and 30th ended in a stunning victory for the marines and the Devils [2]. The marines in Luzon immediately moved to help Burke and Fallon, the marine commander. However, in the month it took for the marines to get through the jungle, the Spanish and the volunteers fought many more battles in the area. When the reinforcements arrived, 9,000 volunteers, 1,000 marines and more than 20,000 Spanish soldiers had been killed in the jungle, and the Spanish surrendered the first chance they got.

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5. A painting of the Battle of Dead Man’s Bridge on October 3rd 1880.​

With the Americans’ utter victory on land and sea, the Spanish were forced to accept defeat. The Treaty of Havana, signed on December 3rd 1880, exactly two years after the deposition of Louis Napoleon in France set off the isolation of Spain that enabled the war, ceded all of Spain’s Caribbean and Pacific possessions to the United States. In the Philippines, a temporary government was set up until a time in which a plebiscite to determine whether the islands became independent could be held.
Cuba however, was much less clear-cut. In the Commonwealth Conference of 1880, the United Kingdom had demanded an immediate and island-wide plebiscite, which Callahan had vetoed without hesitation. The President set up a Cuban “government-in-exile” in November 1880, comprised of Cuban-Americans heavily in favor of statehood, and promised an eventual popular vote. Cubans, having dreamed so long of independence, were disappointed and angry at the measure, as were a significant part of Cuban-Americans.
The legitimacy of “The Cuban Republic of Callahan” was thus a burning question for many in the National Conventions of 1880. The Federals and Democrats even cited it as one of the prime reasons for the end of the Federal-Democratic alliance that had controlled Congress between 1877 and August 1879. Yet despite this, the next decade promised to be one in which American prosperity reached new heights, and indeed, by 1890, America would be called by many in Europe “A Sleeping Giant”.

[1] - The Battle of the Leyte Gulf is still commemorated every five years by the US Navy as one of its greatest victories.

[2] – By the end of the campaign, the marine units in Tacloban would be formed into their own force, and called the Devils of Tacloban, in tribute to the volunteers who fought with them.

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Exceptional Situation(s):

Primaries.

Parties are: Federal, Democratic and Republican.

PS. ACAs guys! General Discussion Forum, Round 3, go vote!
 
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((The Battle of Leyte Gulf, A very sly reference to the RL Leyte Gulf. Nice work there))
 
((Must say I'm loving the idea of Cameron Class Battleships))

Once again I shall be running for the Federal ticket, I think that our temporary alliance was most beneficial for all, including our party, and having proved ourselves in government, holding some of the most important posts, it is time for us to take the White House by ourselves. The country knows the greatness of the people of our party, and I hope again to lead them.
 
((Ah yes, the Spanish Navy. I have fond memories of them from playing the U.S. in the demo. They would win all my wars for me by doing things like taking the large Army of Luzon out of the Philippines and landing them in Maine where I could easily face them, or trying to move the daunting Army of Cuba through my blockade with no defenses, thus allowing me to sink 90,000 soldiers and land in Cuba unopposed.

Anyway, with the war over and the socialist and reactionary movements calmed down or evolving into other movements, it is time for a new character:))

I will be running for the Federal party nomination. As the governor has said, the coalition government and the war has shown how the party and Western politicians are ready to lead.

- Commodore Daniel Vallejo (from California)
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Born: 1844
Party: Federal
Daniel was named after his grandfather, the Whig Statesman Daniel Gallatin, at the insistence of his mother (his father, Ignacio Vallejo, originally wished to name him Roberto). Leaving the family estates and properties to his younger siblings, Daniel sought out his future in the developing U.S. navy. He rose to prominence in the Spanish American war as a commodore in the Pacific fleet. The image of Vallejo standing calmly at the helm of the crippled USS Caroline became the national image of the naval war in the Philippines.

Major Issues: Naval power, universal public education, the FBI and law enforcement in the West, and minimum wage.
 
Indeed, welcome.

I would also like the announce my candidacy once more for the Federals nomination for the Presidency of these United States.

I reaffirm my commitment and that of the party to the Commonwealth Doctrine of 1877 and hope to bring these commitments to the Commonwealth of nations we have formed with Great Britain, swearing to:
- Always uphold universal franchise and equality before the law
- Unfailingly defend the popular sovereignty of the states and the municipalities within
- Be ever faithful to direct democracy, and the power of the people to hold referendums on public policy at a local and state level and to recall their elected officials at any time
- Be a constant ally of free speech, free assembly, and free inquiry; and constant foes to partisanship, censorship, and biased journalism
- Pursue and encourage a cooperative commonwealth where the economy serves the community

Let this Great Machine, as Jefferson called American democracy, never falter and to drive forward into a new century of progress.
 
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I will announce my bid for President; this shall be my last attempt, should I fail. While I feel fit and able, I am aware that my age, and experience, is a liability.



JARVIS 1880
PEACE. PROSPERITY. NORMALCY.
​
 
It saddens me that war did come, even with the hard work put forth to prevent it. I would like to personally congratulate the US Marines, who took such harsh casualties to liberate the people of Cuba and the Philippines, your dead and deeds will not be forgotten next in this useless war. I will not be able to run for the Federalist Primary this season, as I will be traveling to the Philippines to aid them in establishing a democracy, and I shall travel to Cuba, to see for myself the place where the USS Maine went bellow with its men and Captain, my father Captain Victor Khur. I cannot figure out what I should feel right now: saddness at my father's death, patriotic for this victory for America, or hatred for the actions President Callahan has taken to prevent a true Cuban Independence. I hope that those who do run for the Federalist Primary will remember what Callahan has done, and seek to establish a true Cuba.

-Secretary of State Roderick Khur

((I can't run for the primary anyways, so this gave me a better excuse.))
 
On the issue of the territories acquired from Spain I shall stay true to my word and have a truly free referendum, without our interference, on whether Cuba should become a state, autonomy, or fully independent. The Cuban people and nation deserve no less.
 
I am sorry for your family, Mr. Khur; my sympathy and prayers go with you.

We all know the horrors of war, the violence, the fear, the hate, and the bloodletting... I do not wish to see more in my lifetime, and I certainly do not wish it to come the future generations. Let us return to peace, to progress, to prosperity...
 
This is why the Federalists are running for office separately this year; because of the turn Callaghan took against the cause of Cuban freedom. If I am elected president I will dismantle the Cuban government in exile that Callaghan has set up and will hold an immediate island-wide plebiscite on the future of Cuba; per our agreement with Britain.

In addition, my administration will offer to the Cuban people a choice not just between statehood or independence, but also having the options for close association with the U.S. or to at least allow us to sponsor their entry into the Commonwealth of nations for the purposes of free trade and amity.
 
Thank you Mr Jarvis, though all of our prayers should go to every family that has seen a loved one die as a result of, or before, this war, every man in the Navy and Marines are a hero in my book.
 
Because the coomonwealth agreements prevent my character from being in the US ima create a new one

Phill O'freily

Phill works for the often crisized for being biased Rox news network. He writes a daily colum called the O'freily factor. He is and always will be a staunch republican and as far as he is concerned the rest of the media is controlled by the other partys
 
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