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Nice work.. it is impressive that such negotiations are happening so soon after the war with Mexico, which makes it all the more impressive. Keep up the good work! 
Nice AAR!
For a conservative majority state it's looking pretty liberal, healthcare, safety etc next you'll be teaching all that fancy modern nonsense about people being descended from apes and worse giving women the vote.
PS Shame about the Sioux AAR - it's still on my subscription list.
For a conservative majority state it's looking pretty liberal, healthcare, safety etc next you'll be teaching all that fancy modern nonsense about people being descended from apes and worse giving women the vote.
PS Shame about the Sioux AAR - it's still on my subscription list.
The incorporation of the new territories of Texas and their unification lead to more progressive policies by the Freedom Party to appease the brutal backlash it had received from their own supporters for negotiating for the lands of San Antonio, Corpus Christi and El Paso rather than going to war for them. The Mexican coup had not lead to a general disbelief that the Mexicans were now allies of the Republic, and as such their retention of territories Texas viewed as inherently Texan caused a large amount of dissent amongst jingoist Texans.
In 1844, in order to stem sentiment towards the Freedom Party in time for the Elections, President Austin passed the last of his progressive reforms. Working with the legislature, the President lobbied the Civil Services Committee to set a standard of wage to increase the standards of living for all Texans within the Republic. By June, the act had gone into effect and severely improved the conditions of living within Texas. In less than a decade following its independence, Texas had become a nation where its standards of health and living were unrivaled by any other country on the globe.
The Civil Services Committee passed its regulations on minimum wage.
Austin's efforts to garner more support for the conservative movement in Texas, however, had gone in vain. The President's deals with Mexico in his negotiations for Texan territory resulted in a sharp drop in approval ratings of the administration, and as the Election of 1845 drew near, the polls showed that the race would be very tight between both parties, even though only 4 years earlier the Freedom Party had completely destroyed the Democratic Party.
The polls pre-election day.
President Austin, as per the Texan Constitution, was no longer eligible for reelection, as he had served two terms. As the days of his presidency came to an end, the Freedom Party began to scramble for a candidate after Sam Houston refused nomination, and as consequence, the Freedom Party was unable to think of a viable candidate. They hastily nominated Thomas Jefferson Rusk, the famous Texan revolutionary and diplomat to the United States whom had negotiated recognition of Texan independence. The Democrats had deliberately put up a strong candidate, the governor of Lubbock and a survivor of the Battle of the Alamo, Alijo Perez.
Perez was notable because of his powerful rhetoric, his strong stance in lobbying for the Austin progressive reforms, and his ties with the Mexican government because of his obvious Tejano background. This immediately put him at the foreground of the race as the obvious liberal frontrunner. The Freedom Party's acknowledgment that they had made mistakes in negotiating with the Mexicans for southwest Texas only put them in a worse position. As the days towards election day decreased, the liberals began to narrow the Freedom Party lead.
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The last negotiation and major act of the Austin administration was, ultimately, the straw that broke the camel's back. In New Mexico, thousands of Tejanos were in open rebellion against the current Mexican administration, whom had effectively destroyed the Santa Anna government only a few years before. They called for immediate help from the Texan government, but when Austin refused and instead settled for negotiation with the Mexican government, the amount of backlash Austin received was now overwhelming.
Only a decade before, Austin had supported open rebellion in both Oklahoma and Colorado against the Mexican government during the War of Independence. The New Mexican Tejanos calling for Texan help, and Austin's subsequent refusal to do so, effectively destroyed any support the Freedom Party had left in terms of foreign affairs. Although the New Mexican provinces were ultimately seceded to Texas, Austin's inability to ride the winds of war when the public approved of it would lead to harsh consequences for the Freedom Party.
The secession of the New Mexican provinces after their rebellion required negotiation.
Throughout Austin's 8 years as President, he had effectively tripled the size of Texas, but his inability to do it through conflict when the public approved of it started to sink the conservative movement. Although the public still loved President Austin the same way Americans loved Washington, his policies shifted the public dislike to the conservative movement in general, instead of the president himself. Nonetheless, because Austin was now unable to run for President for a third term, his actions would affect the Freedom Party.
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I just finished reading Harry Turtledove's last book in his "Settling Accounts" series, so the Freedom Party as good guys is so tough
It looks like the power of Austin's pre-independence record has finally worn thin, let us see what the Democrats can put together.
It looks like the power of Austin's pre-independence record has finally worn thin, let us see what the Democrats can put together.
Well, I tried not to really make that the case. Austin's actions aren't directly affecting his reputation, they're affecting his party's. The people of Texas still love Austin because he is, quite frankly, the father of Texas. If he could run for a third term, the people would undoubtedly vote for him because they love him, even though he has made some mistakes, just as Washington did in the U.S. with the XYZ Affair and the banks. However, because Austin can't run for a third term, the blame is falling onto the next candidate or the leaders of the Freedom Party, but the criticism never really falls on Austin himself.
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Damn jingoists, i would be pleased with these results, and i hope that the rest of new Mexico can be liberated in the same way.
Austin's efforts to salvage the reputation of his Party had thoroughly failed. By election day, it was clear that the Democrats would gain the Presidency and majorities in the legislature, but to what extent they would was unclear. Regardless, the liberals began to rejoice, and championed their new leader, Alijo Perez, who campaigned to stop the negotiations with the Mexican government for land that was rightfully Texan.
On May 2nd, the voters spoke. The Democrats had won the election by 30 points, destroying the conservative majority in the legislature and more importantly winning the executive branch of the Texan government. Even more curiously, however, the New Texas Party, an anarcho-liberal wing of the Democratic Party, had garnered some support amongst the extreme left liberals, mostly those who had voted against Austin in the Election of 1840.
The results of the election.
Democratic Party - 62% of Vote
279 Commons seats, 62 Senate seats, 1 Presidential seat
Freedom Party - 37% of Vote
167 Commons seats, 37 Senate seats
New Texas Party - 1% of Vote
4 Commons seats, 1 Senate seat
Those who felt strongly that the election had gone in a positive way were, in particular, the military officers and soldiers of the Republic. The Texan sphere of influence that included all of the American southwest was, with the help of the jingoist wing of the Democratic Party, now going to be put into immediate effect and asserted amongst Texas's neighbors. Just like their American brothers, whom had expanded westward to Oregon on the basis of Manifest Destiny, the Texans were now too about to have their own westward expansion.
Some of these military officers included the graduates from the MIRT, which had only been established a decade before. Their influence and prestige greatly effected the public perception of Texas's right to expand westward, and amongst the officers and soldiers who supported this expansion was their perceived leader, General Benjamin McCulloch of Tennessee, who was the lead scholar and teacher at the MIRT. As a prominent soldier during the Texan Revolution and a commander of an artillery battery during the War of Independence, he received a high amount of respect and as a result portrayed an abnormal amount of influence in shaping military policies for the Republic.
General Benjamin McCulloch was a staunch jingoist.
Nonetheless, the Democratic Party's election to the presidency, which had campaigned on a basis that they were going to expand Texan territory through warfare, had not yet declared open warfare, although many Texans had hoped for an immediate declaration following the election. Instead, the liberals ballooned a strong national defense and military to prepare for war against foreign threats, as if hiding behind a facade of promises.
Behind the scenes, Perez's election would have dyer consequences for Texas. Unknown to everyone except Perez, a greater play had just been conducted. With the Democratic Party in control of Texas, the insiders of the young Mexican government rejoiced. Some would find it odd that the government was cheering at the threat of losing more land, but in fact, they had pulled off one of the greatest conspiracies in the history of the world. The Silent Coup had worked. Alijo Perez had long been in allegiance with the Mexican government, and now, with control of the Texan government, began to secretly organize efforts to reincorporate the Republic back into Mexico. His promises of military intervention and war had fueled the masses with nationalist fervor, and now, with the most powerful position in the Texan government, he could begin to destroy the Republic from the inside.
Alijo Perez had successfully betrayed his own country.
But with no intervention on the part of the Democratic Party following their election, the public began to grow weary of the Liberal policies and cried for the immediate war that the Democrats had promised. Under these pretenses, Perez hastily began to claim vast amounts of land of the American southwest that were still under Mexican control. Amongst these included Tuscon and San Diego. The claiming of these territories would result in a Texas that stretched from the port city of Houston in the Atlantic to the Pacific, which would appease the jingoists for some time, and in 1847, two years after Democratic victory, both territories were demanded from Mexico on threat of war, with San Diego being a free city that Mexico could use to move supplies from Loreto and El Rosario to northern California and the other provinces they still held in the southwest. Gladly, the puppet masters of Alijo Perez conformed to stem the outcry of Texans.
The demand for San Diego and Tuscon and the staged Mexican acceptance stemmed the jingoist cries of Texas long enough for Perez to continue his efforts to dismantle the Republic.
Texas following the incorporation of San Diego and Tuscon.
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A serious conspiracy, but I wonder if the Democrats will be able to maintain control without fulfilling their Jingoistic promises.
Oh my, this could have some interesting consequences if uncovered, Civil War, persecution of the Mexicans, even loss of Mexican as an accepted culture.
Perez's efforts to reclaim Texas for Mexico had not gone as easily as he had planned. First, because he had no co-conspirators, he found it increasingly difficult to negotiate with his own party without notifying them of his alternate motives, and because he refused to harm Mexico with war, he could not satisfy the leftist urge for warfare. Even members within his own party were starting to become dissatisfied with the results of Alijo Perez's leadership, but none went as far as to question the President's alternative motives, that is even if he had any.
In an unbiased manner, however, many were convinced that Perez's leadership had given a positive outcome in terms of standards of living inside the Republic. The criticism he received, they thought, was part of the Freedom Party's last ditch effort to regain a majority in the legislature and regain the presidential seat in the upcoming elections of 1850. Even the militant New Texas Party saw some of the efforts Perez had made to improve living in the same manner Austin had with a positive light, but little of them understood it was actually one of Perez's many efforts to gain the support of the Texans and hopefully conduct his deliberate espionage of the Republic.
Amongst these efforts was the government sponsored promotion of wealth in certain territories across Texas. For the first time, Texas began to see middle and upper class families take form throughout the Republic.
One of Perez's few accomplishments included diminishing the gap between middle and lower class in many provinces of Texas.
However, to continue passively promoting many lower class individuals to middle class systems of labor inside of Texas, Perez needed funds, funds of which Texas was unable to acquire. The closest ally of the Republic, America, had long been a "secondary bank" of Texas, and in order to not only continue to improve his public perception but to also increase the relations between the Americans and his nation, Perez felt an obligation to begin trading with the Americans for money to continue his spree of progressive reform.
The rapid increase of money into the Texan treasury was another one of Perez's little known accomplishments.
The resulting influx in the Texan government budget lead to a sharp decrease in the gap between lower and higher class, and as a result Texas saw its first large boom of capitalists that included the famous entrepreneur John James Hagerman. This inclusion of capitalists would ultimately lead to the introduction of the First Texan Railroad Line.
The rapid increase of government money allowed for the introduction of Texan capitalists.
Perez's best efforts, however, did not prove to be enough to bring back Texas into Mexico. He could not quell the nationalism and imperialism that so many Texans held as their most important issue, and decided that he would run for another term and hopefully start a reign of Democratic presidents whom would ultimately position Texas to be reabsorbed into the Greater Republic of Mexico.
As the election of 1850 grew nearer, Perez positioned himself nearer and nearer to a second term, until the Democratic Party heard the news that Sam Houston had accepted the Freedom Party nomination. Still, the promises of jingoism and intervention ran high in the Democratic Party's ranks, and although the heroic Houston was now running for Presidency, a catastrophic event would have to occur in order to shift the public approval away from the Democratic Party and lessen the odds of the liberals.
The elections of 1850 and the estimated voter outcome.
And as the election grew closer, the Perez scandal slowly began to unravel. General Benjamin McCulloch, whom had by now been promoted as Supreme Commander of the Armies of Texas, had uncovered several documents provided by the Republic of Mexico that showed President Perez was in allegiance with the government and was attempting to overthrow Texas. In November of 1849, the Texan legislature voted to hear McCulloch's testimony and plea for a trial against the President. In a unanimous decision that was decided in January of 1850, the bi-partisan legislature voted to impeach President Perez on charges of treason against the Republic of Texas, and as February neared, the race that had been predicted as very close only 9 months before had transformed into an estimated landslide victory for Houston and the Freedom Party.
The treason of Perez and the Democratic Party's false promises lead to the utter failure of the attempted Mexican Coup in Texas, and as a result the Democratic Party was splintered and destroyed from within, some followers even siding amongst the New Texas and Socialist Parties rather than being labeled as a follower of a party whom had nominated a traitor to Texas. In the end, the election of 1850 would ultimately decide the future for at least one party in the Republic - the Democratic Party would never again be voted into the presidency.
The outcome of the election of 1850.
Freedom Party - 79% of Vote
356 Commons seats, 79 Senate seats, 1 Presidential seat
Democratic Party - 18% of Vote
81 Commons seats, 18 Senate seats
New Texas Party - 2% of Vote
9 Commons seats, 2 Senate seats
Socialist Party - 1% of Vote
4 Commons seats, 1 Senate seat
As Houston took office, Perez was ultimately charged with treason by the now Freedom Party majority legislature. Houston, however, gave the former president pardon on the negotiation that he would never again run for public office in any way, shape or form. Perez agreed, as his other choice was death by rifle, and he lived out the rest of his life in private solitude, heartbroken and penniless.
The regressive policies of Perez and the Democratic Party furthermore lead to a vast accumulation of immigrants in Texas, the most distinguished of which were the Irish, who were fleeing the Emerald Isle en masse to escape starvation and poverty by the hands of neglect from their British overlords. The Democratic Party's policy that there should be no room for open assimilation lead to a large Irish minority population in Texas. Even the Freedom Party's stance on immigration, in that the promotion of open assimilation was the key to further advancement, could not cause the Irish to assimilate to the mainstream "Texan" culture.
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Lucky break - or did you not fancy wrecking Texas?
Constructive criticism, (or at least my best attempt), I feel there's a little too much foreshadowing in the last post - too detailed about the length of the Freedom Party ascendancy and possibly also about the non-integration of Irish pops.
Both things are definitely worth mentioning but possibly in fuzzier terms - something that suggests this is where we are now and this is probably a long term thing.
It sort of takes the edge off future updates knowing that for example Texas doesn't go Communist or some other similar twist of fate especially when you've just shown a dramatic change in the Republic's political makeup.
Constructive criticism, (or at least my best attempt), I feel there's a little too much foreshadowing in the last post - too detailed about the length of the Freedom Party ascendancy and possibly also about the non-integration of Irish pops.
Both things are definitely worth mentioning but possibly in fuzzier terms - something that suggests this is where we are now and this is probably a long term thing.
It sort of takes the edge off future updates knowing that for example Texas doesn't go Communist or some other similar twist of fate especially when you've just shown a dramatic change in the Republic's political makeup.
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The Freedom party ascends once more. Given who they ran, its not surprising, even without the Perez betrayal, that they won.
With the conservatives retaking the legislature and the presidency, Houston's first dilemma as president came upon the issue of slavery. Only the Republic, the United States, and Brazil currently allowed slaves within their territories, and with two of Texas's closest allies, Britain and France, outlawing slavery decades before, even the far right were convinced outlawing the institution of slavery was ultimately necessary.
Texas's diplomatic situation also suffered as part of their inclusion of slavery. The promise of being a free land for all based on merit was true only for those who were not bounded by the unlawful practice of slavery. Britain, France, Russia and the Great Powers of Europe all refused to guarantee any independence that the Republic exhibited until they emancipated their slaves, and the Texan refusal to do so lead to diplomatic isolation from Europe.
Even America seemed to show some forms of emancipation. The Compromise of 1850, as it was called, was legislature designed by the American Congress to decide the future of slavery in any further inclusion of new states, particularly in Kansas, Washington and Oregon, who were all undergoing settlement between abolitionists and slave holders alike.
The Compromise of 1850 let the majority of the southern states keep their slaves, while it abolished slavery in the new territories of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Dakota.
The emancipation of slaves in the Republic began to receive lobbying and support from all sides of the government; from the New Texas anarchists to the harsh right reaction parties. The northern American Whigs, who were notoriously abolitionist in their policies, proposed a treaty to the American Congress to take advantage of this spread of Texan abolitionism. As news of the treaty neared Texas, Houston and the rest of the pro-slavery counterparts began to jump on board the abolitionist bandwagon, and by the end of 1850, even the far right had claimed a stance that favored emancipation. The pro-slavery followers were effectively extinct in the politics of the Republic in little more than 9 months.
Using the proposed emancipation as a bargaining chip. The treaty proposed by the Americans required a prerequisite from the Texans to abolish their practice of slavery. In return, the Americans would renounce their claims on the American Southwest and the current lands of Texas, effectively giving the Texans freedom to expand from Muskogee to Eureka, from sea to shining sea, free of any American intervention. The signing of the bill would give a huge blow to the institution of slavery in the New World, and when the American Congress passed the bill into effect by only one vote, both the Republic and the Land of the Free were certain the Texan legislature would pass the treaty as well.
On April 2nd, 1851, President Houston signed the treaty, effectively ending slavery in Texas and delivering a harsh blow to the pro-slavery southern United States.
The treaty, known as the Austin Compromise, delivered a huge blow to the pro-slavery South.
With the Texans passing the Compromise, they were now free to assert their claims to the entire southwestern North American continent, something the conservative Texans had been planning to do since the nation's conception.
The claims of the Republic.
Shortly after the Republic had claimed the Southwest, America, as promised, renounced hers.
America renounced her claims to the American Southwest.
Not all of the claims the Texans had made, however, had gone over well with the population. The claims of El Rosario and Loreto, in particular, won over a great amount of dissent from the Tejanos of Texas, who viewed it as Texan imperialism over their Mexican brothers. The Texan refusal to renounce the claims on Baja California lead to a gigantic rise in militancy of the Tejanos, and in August of 1851, the Tejanos of Austin, Corpus Christi and Houston marched on the capital building, prohibiting open travel in the city for the better part of a week.
When President Houston again refused to compromised, the Tejanos began to grow even more militant, and when they refused to disperse because they caused a threat to the city's security, Houston ordered an entire brigade of the Army of Texas to deal with the Tejanos in any way that they deemed fit to quell the uprising. The Tejano resistance to the Texans was light, and the Texans received no casualties, but the Tejano Riots of 1851 would have a dire consequence for the Mexican culture in Texas.
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I do like this AAR - that's why my comments were prefaced with constructive criticism, no offense was meant, simply my take on how it read.
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