1794: The Rise of Kings

[President Mitt]

Let me tell you guys a story.

There once was a man named Giovanni,
who was born to a father and a mommy,
he had many cool TL possibilities
too many in fact, his readers finally just said "Geez!"

He rumuged through his files one morning,
he found one, he exclaimed "Hey This isn't boring!"
So here is another TL, about American Kings
please don't yell at me, and bother me with pesky things.

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1794: The Rise of the King

In 1794, tensions in the western United States were at an all time high with the Federal Government attempting to tax Whiskey, in order to pay off the National Debt from the American Revolutionary War. The West proved to be more troublesome than Alexander Hamilton, or his aides could have thought, which prompted President George Washington to call together an army of nearly 13, 000 men, larger than the entire Continental Army that President Washington led during the Revolution. Washington and Hamilton see this opportunity as one to showcase Federal power.

On October 14th, the army descended upon western Pennsylvania, the most violent and disobedient part of the Western "resistance."At first Washington found no rebels, and had the idea that the rebels had run away out of fear of Washington's massive army. This proved to be poor judgment, as a Rebel bullet slammed into the Nation's first President, and Hero. As George Washington was shot, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton was rumored to have shouted "Great God! Is there no decency," and had burst into tears. The shot had proved fatal, and the "Hero of the Revolution" and the Nation's 1st President, died on October 14th.

The enraged Alexander Hamilton personally took control of Washington's army and all but crushed the Rebellion, the army, under his leadership, capturing nearly thirty suspected rebels. All thirty men were given speedy (and some might suspect, sham) trials and twenty eight of the twenty nine captured rebels were put to death by hanging in December. Hamilton quickly became a National Hero, and with the Death of Washington, the Nation's foremost Military Hero, Hamilton was welcomed in the East as a Conquering Savior, even though the West still reviled at his name.



In Washington, Vice President John Adams is sworn in as President upon hearing the news that President Washington was dead. The Federalists now have total control over the Nation; even many Republicans are supportive of Hamilton and Adams merely out of patriotism. Hamilton introduces the idea of restructuring the Constitution to include an elective monarchy. Although the idea was thought of as ridiculous just seven years earlier, the death of President Washington had stunned the Nation, and Hamilton, who had gained much National support for his actions during the Whiskey Rebellion, pushes for the position, justifying that a completely republican form of government cannot be stable for long periods of time. President Adams supports this position, as Hamilton had offered that Adams be the Nation's first King.

Thomas Jefferson becomes the voice of opposition, declaring "I shall not allow this Republic to fall to tyranny," he and other Republicans announce their intentions to challenge Hamilton's attempt to reform the Constitution. "What is the point of having a constitution if you can merely change the rules?" asked the aging and ill Patrick Henry, another unyielding opponent of the Hamiltonian Constitution. Come late fall of 1795 many have switched to Hamilton's position and, in November of 1795, delegates meet in Philadelphia to rewrite the Constitution. Despite the strong opposition of many delegates from the South, the proposition narrowly passes and the United States now has an elective monarchy, which is appointed by the Electoral College, and serves for life. The new rewritten Constitution includes:

-   The Creation of an Elective Monarchy, who is appointed by the Electoral College, and serves for life. He has the power to sign and veto bills passed by the legislative branch. He also has the power to call for elections for the legislative branch. The King is also commander of the Military, and can ask Parliament to declare war.

-   Restructuring of the Legislative Branch was needed to gain some Southern support for the New Constitution; this restructuring gave the legislative branch more power. The Prime Minister, appointed by the legislature appoints men to cabinet positions, has the power of the floor, among other specified powers.

-   Although opposed by Hamilton, the Bill of Rights remains in effect. Pro-Hamilton delegates saw this as a necessary compromise to gain support among the Middle States (Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland)

The Electoral College convenes on December 5th to vote on who will be the first King of the United States, the only candidate, due to some Hamilton arm twisting, is Incumbent President Adams, who was also respected for being able to care take for the nation while the Country was in mourning. The only other person more respected than Adams, was Hamilton, who showed no interest in the job, but did show interest for being the Nation's First Prime Minister. With no other candidates, Adams was elected King with a large majority, with only a few votes from the South deciding to abstain. On January 1st, with Alexander Hamilton by his side, John Adams is coroneted as King John I of the United States on the steps of the White House, the first King of the new nation. Abigail Adams becomes the new and first Queen of the United States. Attendees of the event include many well respected Princes of Europe, who were glad to see the United States turning "a bit more in Europe's direction."



His Majesty, King John I of the United States

[President Mitt]

By the way, I hope this doesn't seem too much like Leif's, but have no fear, it will be very different from his.

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1794 Legislative Elections

The First Act of John Adams as King was to call for legislative elections, which he deemed was necessary to get the new government under control. Alexander Hamilton viewed this as an opportunity to become the nation's second most powerful (some might argue MOST powerful) position of Prime Minister. There were at the time two established political parties, the Federalists, who for the large majority, supported the new constitution and wanted to expand the powers of the monarchy. Thomas Jefferson's Republicans not only opposed increasing the power of the monarchy, they opposed the institution of the Monarchy altogether. For the most part, the public was divided. The Northeastern sectors of the United States (which held the most power) supported the Revised Constitution, and the Federalist Party. The South and West supported the new Constitution to a much lesser degree, and supported Thomas Jefferson's Republicans.

The election would be a judgment by the public to continue policies in favor of the monarchy, or to continue with more Republican policies. The Republicans attempted to forge a link between the hated King George III and the newly created American Monarchy. This actually helped the Federalist Party, as many Middle States and Northeastern states were insulted at any attempt to link the popular John Adams to King George III. When the election results came out, the Republicans swept the Southern States, while the Federalists swept everywhere else, including the vital Middle States (viewed as the "swing" region in the 1794 elections).



Federalist Party    59 (+12)
Republican Party   47 (-12)

The Federalists ended up winning the most seats in parliament, and had a pretty good sized majority going into selecting a prime minister. Alexander Hamilton was the party leader of the winning Federalists, and announced his name for the first round of balloting. Thomas Jefferson knew he would not be able to steal enough Federalist votes, but felt he had a duty to oppose Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton ended up winning on the 1st ballot on an entirely Party line vote.

First Ballot:

Alexander Hamilton (F- NY): 59
Thomas Jefferson (R- VA): 47

Alexander Hamilton became the first Prime Minister of the United States, and the second most powerful man in the United States, only overanked by the King himself. Some radical members of the Republican Party begin talk of secession and rebellion, but Thomas Jefferson would have none of it. He addresses the Republican Members of the legislature, urging not to take the "battle for Republican values" to the streets with violence, and urging them to "continue their fight democratically." Hamilton addresses his supporters eagerly announcing his agenda, including strengthening the army, strengthening industry, and warmer relations with Europe.
Following Hamilton's victory, violence levels begin to increase in anti Federalist areas in the west, including Western Pennsylvania, Western Georgia, and Kentucky. King John sends troops in to keep the order, not wanting another Whiskey Rebellion. Violence soon is quelled and few arrests are made.

[President Mitt]

The Alexander Hamilton Government (1795- 1800)



Prime Minister Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of State: Timothy Pickering (F- MA)
Secretary of the Treasury: Oliver Wolcott (F- CT)
Secretary of War: James McHenry (F- MD)
Attorney General: Charles Lee (F- VA)
Secretary of the Navy: Benjamin Stoddert (F- MD)

Parliament convened for the first time on January 1st, 1795, when Prime Minister Hamilton officially called the legislature into secession. The First thing on the Hamilton Government's agenda was to pass the Hamilton Economic Plan through Parliament. The Hamilton Economic Plan would build on several proposals that Hamilton created under President Washington. Hamilton wanted a National Tariff and several Government subsidies for Industry. Hamilton declared that the plan would boost American Industry, and decrease American reliability on British Made goods. Since this was one of the first debates in Parliament, it was particularly harsh.  There was even some worry that MP Aaron Burr (R- NY) and John Jay (F- NY) might break out into physical violence. Jefferson took a more civil tone and criticized the government intervention into the economy in several speeches to his constituents. Northern Americans supported the Economic Agenda, while Southerners were more likely to be against it. Southern planters in particular were against establishing a large tariff. Nonetheless, with Federalist control in the legislature, the Hamilton Economic Plan passed the Senate on February 2nd in a close 56- 50 vote, and the King signed the bill the next day.

In April, Aaron Burr leads a motion in the Republican Party to change the name from "Republican" to "Democratic." Burr reasons that since the United States has a monarchy, it makes no sense to have a "Republican" Party, Jefferson shows some resistance to the name change, arguing that the United States was still a Republic, but finally gave in. On March 10th, the Republican Party officially becomes the Democratic Party of the United States.

Alexander Hamilton proved to be a very partisan Prime Minister. He refuses to confer with the Democratic Party on any decisions that his Government makes. Hamilton refuses to compromise with the Democrats, leaving King John, a Federalist himself to say, "Everyday that pompous is in power, he grows more and more arrogant."  Thomas Jefferson criticizes Hamilton's governing style very frequently; Jefferson endorses more "transparent" governing. People were frequently thrown out of the Prime Ministers' office. Even some Federalists such as John Jay and James Madison found Hamilton's abrasive behavior a negative for the Federalist Party. "Minister Hamilton might want to watch out with his language," said Jay, "or it may be Mr. Jefferson occupying that podium in 1800."

In 1797, Alexander Hamilton agreed with Thomas Jefferson to send a diplomatic team to France to attempt to cool political tensions. The Diplomatic team consisted of Charles Pinckney, John Marshall, and James Madison. The team arrived in Paris to meet with French negotiators who turned out to be agents of France, who demanded a 12$million dollar loan to France, an apology for the heated comments made by Prime Minister Hamilton, and a 250, 000 dollar bribe to the French Foreign Minister. The team left France in disgust, and when Hamilton learned of the events, he yelled at James Madison "Not one sixpence!"

Alexander Hamilton and his Federalists quickly passed a resolution condemning France. Hamilton then sent Pinckney to Britain to closen relations with the British as to counterbalance the French. Thomas Jefferson rejected both the resolution and closening ties with England as "traitorous." Aaron Burr yelled across Parliament calling Hamilton a "British Lapdog," and promptly walking out of the Parliament building. French attacks against American shipping increased, which actually strengthened the Anti- French resentment in the United States. Alexander Hamilton asked King Adams for a declaration of war against France, which the King reluctantly refused. Hamilton was furious, and realized he would have to go around the King to get his way.

So in the period of 1798- 1799, Prime Minister Hamilton and his Anti-French Federalist Party stomps around the country giving speeches in favor of War with the French. Due to the "rally around the flag" effect, public support for Hamilton's Government skyrockets. Aaron Burr takes up the leadership of rebutting Hamilton and the Federalists. Everywhere Hamilton went, Burr went to give a response, which in some instances started fights between Federalists and Democrats in the crowd. As public support for war increased, Jefferson and the Democrats watched in horror as the key issue in the 1799 Legislative Elections was of course, War with France. Hamilton wanted a Federalist majority big enough to bypass any Adams veto, so he could declare war as he pleased. Kind Adams reluctantly dissolved Parliament to prepare for the elections.

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So Who's up for a war with France? Not me.

I'm trying to get in a lot of updates so that my interest doesn't die out. I figure if I burn this project into my head, I won't quit it.

[President Mitt]

1799 Elections

With the public squarely around Prime Minister Alexander Hamilton and his foreign policy, Hamilton and his party win a smashing victory in the 1799 Legislative elections. The Federalists are able to position the Democrats as the unpatriotic party, which loses the Democrats considerable support among Middle Staters. The Democrats are all but wiped out in the North, and the Federalists are able to consolidate large support in the west by pushing for war in French North America. Only the south remains a bastion of Jeffersonian Republicanism represented by the Democratic Party.



Federalist Party    69 (+10)

Democratic Party   44 (-10)

Thomas Jefferson announces, after the pitiful performance of the Democratic Party in the 1799 Elections, he would step down from his leadership role of the Democratic Party, even though he was reelected by a large margin in his own seat. He also announces his name will not be put forward for the Prime Minister vote in January. The Democratic Party quickly calls a small meeting in Charleston, South Carolina to find a new leader. The position was originally offered to the aging Samuel Adams, who politely refused the offer. The second choice was New York Governor George Clinton, who accepted, and became the second Opposition leader in Parliament.

King John I still attempted to diffuse Anti-French tensions in the United States. He cited that American Interests are better kept at home rather than intertwining with European affairs, but this will not convince the Prime Minister, who had already heard word from Ambassador Pinckney in Britain that England could make some sort of agreement with the United States. Hamilton, now having a large anti-French majority in Parliament, the support of the British, and the public's backing, seemed perfectly able to get his way.

But first, the legislature had to select the Prime Minister, as rules regulated. Prime Minister Hamilton was easily selected to another term on a strictly Party-line vote. Even though Jefferson had not put his name into consideration, some Democrats still vote for Jefferson.

First Ballot:

Alexander Hamilton (F- NY): 69

George Clinton (D- NY): 39

Thomas Jefferson (D- VA): 5

Alexander Hamilton was easily voted in for another term of office as Prime Minister on the first ballot. In his victory speech, he pledged to continue Government Investment projects, to expand the Military Power of the United States, and to "defend the nation from Tyranny," and every MP with sympathies for France knew what that meant.

[President Mitt]

Suggestions, Piffy Comments, Critisisms?

[President Mitt]

I'm almost done with my trial, So I'll have more time to work on this.