III: Remember New Hampshire!
John Adams
Second President of the United States Congress
Trouble at Home
Adams said:
For years we have lived under the guidance of a man that, though I admire his principles and none may question his loyalty, has done our country harm. Mister Franklin's constant tax and spend policy has left little money in the treasury, and with the current stress we place on our people we dare not ask for more. Today this ends. Today I will restore some sense of responsibility to fiscal policy.
Adams felt Franklin's work strengthening the confederation's tax system hurt merchants, and punitive tariffs on British goods meant to prevent Englishmen profiting at America's expense hurt shipping companies as well. Boston in particular was particularly hard hit, and Adams felt enormous pressure to change it. He only partially succeeded.
(I was minting like crazy for my collectors and governors. In the end it wasn't that bad a deal, as governors in EU1 take off a flat 1% Still a bad habit to be in, and with Adams' outlook I was going to slow down until events ran away from me.)
First, he planned to build the American army to a "respectable" level, one that would make enemies pause and thus ensure peace. In particular, while Adams was fully committed to American independence, he hoped to restore friendship with Britain. "We have more in common with each other than not. We can only profit from each other's ideas and goods."
The American question split British parliament roughly into two camps: The Whigs shared Adams' vision of friendship, while the Tories rallied around the cry of, "We whipped them once! We can do it again!" The British army's brilliant performance in 1773 paradoxically led to severe budget cuts for the North American station: the Whigs didn't want to antagonize potential friends, while the Tories didn't think the 'Colonials' could put up any kind of fight.
Further, Adams had a new problem. Baron von Steuben retired, heading home to Europe and Adams sent Nathaniel Greene to replace him. Meanwhile, open argument between Maryland and Virginia over their western borders escalated as partisans fought for control of the Shenandoah Valley. Both state governments condemned the attacks to no avail, so Adams reluctantly ordered General Arnold to deal with them in June.
Perhaps all this encouraged Frederick, Lord North, Prime Minister of Britain. On July 6, Britain declared war on France over privateering incidents in the Caribbean with a friendly note to Adams to, in effect, mind his own affairs.
Abandoning France would leave America alone, with a very powerful, hostile neighbor. Friendship might come with Britain, but in 1780 even Adams realized that was still years away. Nonetheless, he proposed a secret agreement with North: America would honor her commitments, then simply garrison the borders against overly eager British commanders.
Many liked this idea, though a vocal minority cried for New Hampshire's liberation. Then Adams' clerk 'accidentally' leaked North's letter. It's arrogant, domineering tone infuriated Congressional delegates and an embarassed Adams retracted his compromise. The United States would have their rematch.
(ENGLAND, Hannover, Portugal, Persia, Savoy vs. FRANCE, United States, Spain, Genoa, Baden)
Round Two
The war caught the American army out of position. General Arnold was still on his way to fight Maryland and Virginia partisans. Horatio Gates was more or less ready to go, but General Bridgewater in charge of recruiting near Boston found himself horribly below the twenty thousand men he wanted. Nathaniel Greene rushed southward to take over von Steuben's command, who under Colonel Malcolm Fremont struck south towards Mobile.
On July 30, Benedict Arnold shattered the Virginia partisans and threatened the same against Maryland supporters. Satisfied he had the situation stabilized, he rushed north in the general direction of the St. Lawrence River. His final destination would depend on General Gates.
Gates, meanwhile, coordinated closely with the Marquis de Lafayette. He split his army, moving to Fort Ticonderoga and the Marquis reclaimed New Hampshire. In early August Lafayette sieged Chantilly, while Gates fought his way past British allied Indians to Ottawa. There he detached two regimental commands to Generals Sandwich and Thaddeus Kosciuszko to take over the Canadian interior and thus force Britain to the table.
(Kosciuszko showed up in one of the detachments in January. Grr.)
Bridgewater fought his way through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. He dared not tackle Halifax though, perhaps the most heavily fortified city in the hemisphere, and instead detached troops to circle in back towards Quebec.
General Arnold's moves north were tentative at best. Mostly this was because of contradictory orders: So far British resistance amounted to one regiment, but this commander had not only destroyed Greene but now wreaked havoc through Virginia, Pennsylvania and into New York. Finally he decided Quebec could wait, and on January 14, 1781 smashed the interloper near Allentown, Pennsylvania.
By now Colonel Fremont's three regiments had worked their way back north and invaded British trading posts east of the Mississippi. He chose a different tactic from his Canadian counterparts and simply burned any British holdings down, sending civilians to the coast to await the end of the war so they could go back to England.
January 1781
Meanwhile in March 1781 the Maryland partisans Arnold hoped to intimidate rose into open rebellion ... against
Pennsylvania. On April 16 they demanded incorporation into Maryland. When the
Maryland Assembly told them to cease and desist, they declared themselves a new state: Victoria (for victory). No one ever acknowledged this, and the sole Victorian delegate to Congress was imprisoned for treason.
General Gates finally arrived in Montreal, Arnold in Quebec. Having taken Chantilly, Lafayette rushed back to New Hampshire and Massachusetts where two British regiments, having come ashore at Goshen (Portland, Maine), wreaked havoc. These too fell.
With British armed resistance nearly non-existent, Tories and Loyalists saw their chances for eventual repatriation vanishing. In June 1781 they seized Dover and Wilmington, Delaware and instantly seceded from the American alliance, asking for colonial status.
Even Britain didn't answer however. Most of their army continued to fight French, Dutch and Austrians around the world. They couldn't afford what Whigs openly called "a weeping sore." In a vote of no confidence, Lord North's government collapsed in July 1781. The new one immediately contacted America, offering Tuscarora, Tennessee and Fox (modern day Alabama, Tennesee, and Indiana/Illinois) for peace.
Adams replied that any peace MUST include New Hampshire. After a week of negotiations, America welcomed New Hampshire home, received eastern New York (Vermont), as well as Mobile for a gulf port. With France's defeating Austria the year before, America finally knew peace....unless you count the Indians, which Americans didn't.
(RPing here. The 'puter offered me 3. I wanted Sebago.)
Let's Kill Some Injuns
Thanks to Colonel Fremont's raids, more land on America's frontier opened to their influence.
First there were little problems at home. While Gates and Bridgewater retreated to the border, General Arnold rushed south and destroyed 'Victoria' as well as the Delaware loyalists. Continued influence by and coordination with the French and Spanish paid vast dividends: Artillery and fortification technology improved, and the Spanish gave America more accurate clocks, both for use on land and by ships at sea.
(Navy 34, Land 44-45)
Fremont and Arnold cleared the border lands of Indians, who fought bravely. They could not really harm the invading armies, but the natives proved effective at 'irregular' warfare, interrupting shipments, ambushing underprotected convoys, and generally proving a nuisance. Only a determined push led to Americans arriving at Lake Michigan. There they built a fortress to plan future operations.
(Jul 82: Colonize Hindua. Apr 83: Fortification Effort: +1, Hindua)
North America, 1783
As Adams' tenure came to an end, two things became abundantly clear:
First, American survival and expansion in these early years depended on the strength of her army. Thus, while Congressional/Army relations tended to be warm with the notable exception of Horatio Gates, it might be just as well to have someone experienced in military affairs as president.
Second, the incidents in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware showed obvious cracks in the Confederation. America would have to do better.
Fortunately, they had a new delegate who understood these matters, a former army general injured years past. Just as importantly, he was a Virginian. After two Pennsylvanians and Adams, the South began to mutter about representation.
The new president was George Washington.
(Whose presidency doesn't begin til '87. Ooh, the EU1 US monarch file is strange!)