Napoleonrules
Banned
POD- On his way to Philadelphia Convention, George Washington fell off his horse and died.
The Convention, despite the best efforts of Benjamin Franklin, was unable to work out a presiding officer that everyone could respect. Regional and philosophical disputes preclude any compromising; any idea of a strong executive from Madison and Hamilton are seen as those individual's personal hopes to one day hold such an office.
As the Convention drags on with more and more arguments daily and Hamilton writing scathing broadsides, Franklin the oldest member there and the last one still respected for truly caring about a United single nation with no future aspirations for himself... dies from the stress. This is the last straw for most states, Rhode Island was already not attending and now the legislature declares it is withdrawing from the USA Articles of Convention. Virginia goes next. By September both the Constitutional Convention had disbanded and the Congress under the Articles of Confederation had failed to work together to pass a Northwest Territory organizing bill in July.
The disputes between NY and Massachusetts and Connecticut and Pennsylvania had been resolved only the year before, in 1786; CT and MA both pass laws acknowledging the earlier resolutions and compromises along with MA's 1785 passing of their NW Territory claims and CT's 1786 agreement to the same. CT still retains claim over the northeastern strip in the Ohio Country along Lake Erie that they had not given up (and in OTL wouldn't until 1800). New England states (now independent nations) seem to be at peace regarding borders... except Vermont, which New Hampshire and New York regard as theirs and for the most part Vermonters see as their own. But this won't get much attention as there are more important matters for the new nations to attend to.
New York and PA continued to dispute the "Erie Triangle", MA and CT both gave up their claims, with MA in favor of NY and CT in favor of PA. Virginia, hoping to have fewer nations on the Great Lakes as possible given its own claims favors NY over PA, especially given VA's own previous disputes with PA and future possible PA settlers spilling into the Ohio Country "illegally".
Slightly to the south things get more complicated. Maryland and Virginia's ongoing dispute over the Potomac (one of the many disputes that had led to the decision on a new Constitutional Convention) becomes more heated and leads to light fighting among rednecks in the western part of Maryland/Virginia over which fork of the Potomac was the "main" branch". Maryland makes a declaration that Delaware "rightfully belongs to Maryland" and makes a claim that previous decisions by the British crown are not binding in this new age. Pennsylvania makes a claim based on Delaware and PA sharing a governor until 1776 that DE is a "Pennsylvania dependency" and that PA will resort to force should any interference from outside sources. Georgia receives notice from Spanish authorities in Mexico City what the Spanish believe is the boundary, of course GA disagrees with their interpretation and believes Spain is too weak to do anything, and plans to eventually sell land in the Yazoo River basin proceed.
SC having never ceded their claims to the western extension find themselves in dispute with GA. Knowing GA will have its hands full with the Spanish in Florida and to the west, SC sees no reason to relinquish its claims despite geographical issues to ever being able to develop it on its own.
NC in order to promote western expansion and bolster its land claims carve Tennessee into 2 counties with representation in the legislature.
Despite Kentucky having at least 3 years in a row of having constantly petitioning VA legislature for separation the Virginia government (led by Thomas Jefferson now with the title of President) makes it clear any more petitions will not be accepted or considered and the legislature at Jefferson's insistence revokes the 1784 renouncing of claims to the NW Territory. Jefferson puts forth a plan for several new counties, but for now it is organized as one- the Illinois County with appropriate representation in the legislature.
So ends 1787/88 in the eastern seaboard of North America with 14 (including Vermont) new nations trying to figure out their identities. I hope to post more soon and go into more in-depth on what individuals such as Hamilton, Burr, and Madison are up to now that they're relegated to their home states.
The Convention, despite the best efforts of Benjamin Franklin, was unable to work out a presiding officer that everyone could respect. Regional and philosophical disputes preclude any compromising; any idea of a strong executive from Madison and Hamilton are seen as those individual's personal hopes to one day hold such an office.
As the Convention drags on with more and more arguments daily and Hamilton writing scathing broadsides, Franklin the oldest member there and the last one still respected for truly caring about a United single nation with no future aspirations for himself... dies from the stress. This is the last straw for most states, Rhode Island was already not attending and now the legislature declares it is withdrawing from the USA Articles of Convention. Virginia goes next. By September both the Constitutional Convention had disbanded and the Congress under the Articles of Confederation had failed to work together to pass a Northwest Territory organizing bill in July.
The disputes between NY and Massachusetts and Connecticut and Pennsylvania had been resolved only the year before, in 1786; CT and MA both pass laws acknowledging the earlier resolutions and compromises along with MA's 1785 passing of their NW Territory claims and CT's 1786 agreement to the same. CT still retains claim over the northeastern strip in the Ohio Country along Lake Erie that they had not given up (and in OTL wouldn't until 1800). New England states (now independent nations) seem to be at peace regarding borders... except Vermont, which New Hampshire and New York regard as theirs and for the most part Vermonters see as their own. But this won't get much attention as there are more important matters for the new nations to attend to.
New York and PA continued to dispute the "Erie Triangle", MA and CT both gave up their claims, with MA in favor of NY and CT in favor of PA. Virginia, hoping to have fewer nations on the Great Lakes as possible given its own claims favors NY over PA, especially given VA's own previous disputes with PA and future possible PA settlers spilling into the Ohio Country "illegally".
Slightly to the south things get more complicated. Maryland and Virginia's ongoing dispute over the Potomac (one of the many disputes that had led to the decision on a new Constitutional Convention) becomes more heated and leads to light fighting among rednecks in the western part of Maryland/Virginia over which fork of the Potomac was the "main" branch". Maryland makes a declaration that Delaware "rightfully belongs to Maryland" and makes a claim that previous decisions by the British crown are not binding in this new age. Pennsylvania makes a claim based on Delaware and PA sharing a governor until 1776 that DE is a "Pennsylvania dependency" and that PA will resort to force should any interference from outside sources. Georgia receives notice from Spanish authorities in Mexico City what the Spanish believe is the boundary, of course GA disagrees with their interpretation and believes Spain is too weak to do anything, and plans to eventually sell land in the Yazoo River basin proceed.
SC having never ceded their claims to the western extension find themselves in dispute with GA. Knowing GA will have its hands full with the Spanish in Florida and to the west, SC sees no reason to relinquish its claims despite geographical issues to ever being able to develop it on its own.
NC in order to promote western expansion and bolster its land claims carve Tennessee into 2 counties with representation in the legislature.
Despite Kentucky having at least 3 years in a row of having constantly petitioning VA legislature for separation the Virginia government (led by Thomas Jefferson now with the title of President) makes it clear any more petitions will not be accepted or considered and the legislature at Jefferson's insistence revokes the 1784 renouncing of claims to the NW Territory. Jefferson puts forth a plan for several new counties, but for now it is organized as one- the Illinois County with appropriate representation in the legislature.
So ends 1787/88 in the eastern seaboard of North America with 14 (including Vermont) new nations trying to figure out their identities. I hope to post more soon and go into more in-depth on what individuals such as Hamilton, Burr, and Madison are up to now that they're relegated to their home states.