Land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten

Johnrankins

"This is WXCH Chicago and you are on the air" says the sultry voice of Alice Johnson .A rough voice says "I am sick of all these Confederates coming up here and dragging down American wages. They do little more than get drunk on moonshine, sleep until noon and collect welfare checks while decent American taxpayers have to work for a living." Radio broadcast Nov 4, 2010


The CSA economy was in terrible shape after the War of Southern Independence being hip deep in debt at all levels with ruined infrastructure and a need for a large army both to keep an eye on the USA and to recapture escaped slaves. The Beauregard Administration had its hands full from the beginning of its term having to deal with a broke treasury , a very hostile US to the north and west and pariah status abroad. Although he certainly worked hard at it he was always a step behind.

The UK blockade and plantation raids after the CSA default on its debt didn't help. A deal was finally negotiated, after the British government was finally convinced that there was no way that the CSA could possibly pay back all its debt quickly, that for a 2% point increase in the interest rate all CSA debt would be extended 30 years.

To be fair it made a number of reforms. The price controls on rail shipping, various food items and salt were slowly lifted. This didn't save the railroads from bankruptcy but at least it made the new railroads worth something when they bought the tracks. He also pushed through an amendment to allow direct taxation so that the CSA could have some revenue as virtually all its tarrif revenue was being used to pay back the loans.

A History of the Confederacy John C. Washburn University of Virginia Press 1994
 
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benjamin

Nice start.

Not sure how believable direct taxation would be this close to the end of the war, but a regressive type of tax that exempt wealth held in slaves I'd doable. The vast majority of wealth for the sourhern upper class was in land and slaves. A property tax on land, buildings and businesses, can't leave urban merchants untaxed, that had a set maximum on taxable acreage might pass. Depending how this was enforced any number of knock on effects could occur.

Benjamin
 

Johnrankins

benjamin said:
Nice start.

Not sure how believable direct taxation would be this close to the end of the war, but a regressive type of tax that exempt wealth held in slaves I'd doable. The vast majority of wealth for the sourhern upper class was in land and slaves. A property tax on land, buildings and businesses, can't leave urban merchants untaxed, that had a set maximum on taxable acreage might pass. Depending how this was enforced any number of knock on effects could occur.

Benjamin
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Basically it was pushed through since even the planters realized the CSA navy couldn't break an RN blockade, that GB was its only major market , that it couldn't stop raids by British troops on its plantations. With all the tariff money going to pay back its loans some sort of revenue was needed to pay the army and other government expenses. Everyone was taxed under the reforms including the merchants. Some maximums per person were probably included.
 

Johnrankins

My biggest difficulty with dealing with the CSA is pretending their ambassador was anything more than a puppet of Washington, or perhaps more accurately, Wall Street. With almost everything of real importance owned by US corporations and CSA lasting only as long as Washington would allow it the real power was in New York.

Banks, refineries, textile mills, cigar and cigarette factories, coal mines, iron mines and steel mills all had Southern names but had the vast majority of its stock owned by people living in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. and Boston etc. Same thing with railroads, TV stations , radio stations and publishing houses.

Still with all that, diplomatic necessity demanded I speak to the CSA ambassador instead of the people actually in charge in Washington. This caused frustrating delays as when he had to get permission for something he would have to contact Richmond who then would have to call Washington or New York for instructions on anything that was truly important.

Albert C Stapleton Diary of an English Ambassador Oxford Publishing 2000


The Nathen Bedford Forrest presidency was an important one in history. He solidified the power of the presidency of the CSA. Forrest changed his residency from Tennessee to Mississippi after the war as the Treaty of Washington conceded Tennessee to the Union in 1866. He bought a big plantation house that was saved from Sherman's troops before it could be burned. However the crop wasn't saved and the owner slowly sank into bankruptcy.

Forrest adopted a populist message during his campaign stressing his rise from the bottom to the very top of Southern society. Due to the massive unrest since the War of Southern Independence he was able to convince the planters to have their taxes slightly to pay for somewhat higher army pensions and a tax break to small farmers. As he told them "Would you rather pay 15% more in taxes or risk losing it all?" This move greatly reduced the chances of a Communist Revolution that seemed so likely the previous two or three years. He also used the money to help tighten the borders.

The Forrest Presidency William Hanson II Virginia University Press

Since the beginning of the war there was an increase in the number of escaped slaves. Small numbers at first but quickly rising with each success of the North the number of escaped slaves rose quickly. The Fugitive Slave Law was repealed in 1866 as the new Republican majority passed it.

President Pendleton became one of the most hated presidents in US History after he ended the war after McClellan's death. Since Sherman reached the Atlantic Ocean just days before McClellan's death it seemed to everyone that Pendleton , in the words of the Republican Party of the time, "He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory." It looked like the war might be renewed when the Republicans came back to office but there was a war scare with GB when President Hooker was elected (Most think that Grant would have been elected if it weren't his untimely death when he died in a stagecoach accident in early 1866.) by the time that blew over the momentum was lost and Hooker never was abled to restart the war.

The aftermath of the War of Southern Rebellion Smithers Books 1925
 
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Johnrankins

The CSA has voted to finally end the Albert Laws (Think Apartheid) today bowing to international pressure and rioting Blacks. The agreement reached guarantees the validity of private property and limits to taxation. Hopefully this will bring about a new era for the Confederacy.

WMXT New York television broadcast Jan 6, 1999

The were high hopes for the Lee presidency. George Washington Custis Lee being the eldest son of Robert E Lee was elected in a landslide.

Sadly for him cotton prices were on the slide and GB increased pressure on the CSA to end slavery. Meanwhile trade with the US was almost completely cut off for half his presidency as punishing the South was the order of the day for the USA.

He finally got trade opened up with the United States in 1883. Trade was restricted strictly raw cotton and foodstuffs at the time. The US allowed banks to legally loan money to CSA residents (A lot of illegal loans were made previous to the legalization however) but they could not accept slaves as collateral. It became increasingly common for planters to deal with two banks , a CSA one which could accept slaves as collateral and a US one for cheaper loans backed by land and cotton.

However this failed to save the Custis presidency from being perceived failure, partly due to the high hopes given to it by virtue of his being the son of Robert E Lee. This book tries to show that this a bit unfair. Although Lee made his share of mistakes he inherited a situation fraught with difficulties

The Presidency of Custis Lee by Albert Stuart Birmingham University Press 1928
 
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Johnrankins

zert said:
Yeap it does seem to be that way.

I wonder if in time the CSA might default and merge bacl with the Union.
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Well it is a US colony in all but name by the '90s at the latest. I am thinking of making this a mild Mexico-wank. It still wouldn't be able to compete with the "Big boys" such as the US, Russia, Germany or China but it would be better off than OTL.
 

Not Henry G.

Johnrankins said:
Well it is a US colony in all but name by the '90s at the latest. I am thinking of making this a mild Mexico-wank. It still wouldn't be able to compete with the "Big boys" such as the US, Russia, Germany or China but it would be better off than OTL.
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Go for it, we don't have enough Mexicowanks, or Mexico-does-okays, here
 

Johnrankins

The Hampton Presidency was fraught with difficulty. It started well as the restart of trade started a mini-boom in the CSA. Then in 1887 a bill passed parliament to cut off trade with the CSA until it outlawed slavery. This coupled with the introduction of the boll weevil devastated the CSA economy.

However neither the US nor Mexico cut off trade with the CSA and both bought cotton. Both then re-exported most of the cotton to England taking the "middleman's cut" in the process. With the depressed prices of CSA assets the US and , to a lesser extent, Mexico started snapping up CSA property.

This caused a mini-boom in Mexico as profits from the cotton trade helped the Mexican economy. Warehouses were built, the railroads were improved and small textile factories were built.


The depression of 1887 Jl Ustus Arlington Books 1915

Presidential candidate's AK Rowling's candidacy has been badly hurt by pictures of him and his Black mistress , Alice Hawking, were shown in the NY Times. He was the leading candidate who called for restrictions on US investments. This station feels this is to be expected from a Socialist like AK Rowling.

WGHT Houston TV Broadcast. 1991



List of CS Presidents
Jefferson Davis 1861-1866
P.T Beauregard 1867-1872
Nathen Bedford Forrest 1873-1878
George Washington Custis Lee 1879-1884
Wade Hampton 1885-1890
 

Johnrankins

Hood actually attacks Sherman as ordered during the Battle of Cassville and it is a CSA victory. Johnston by no means destroys Sherman but Sherman does take more casualties and is much more cautious and takes much longer to get to Atlanta. Atlanta doesn't fall until after the election and Little Mac wins. The Union Army does worse than OTL Although Sherman does eventually reach the sea it is too late. Little Mac becomes president and three days later is killed in a stagecoach accident and Pendleton becomes president ending the war.

Since most thought he "snatched defeat from the jaws of victory" the Democratic Party is creamed in the next election. The US Democratic Party dissolves and is replaced with a Farm and Union Party which is a mix of War Democrats and what would become the Granger Movement in OTL.


In the South the Democratic Party continues onward but by the 1868 election a Whig Party is reformed in the South with Alexander Stephans the party leader. It is the second party of the south but a solid second by 1872 when Stephans goes against Forrest and loses.
 

Johnrankins

"The Yankees seem to run everything down here. They own the factories, the railroads, the banks and the media. What have we got left? Our homes , our farms and our forests. We need to grab control of them" says a loud voice. "It seems that we have a free loving, godless Socialist on our hands. He'll probably get back to burning churches and having children in sin" says the anchor.

ZCCV Atlanta Radio Broadcast owned by American Broadcast Media based in New York Nov5, 1989


The Hooker Presidency was one of the better ones in US history. Recovering from the recession after the war, with Republican control of both houses and the opening of new lands out west it must be admitted he did so under favorable circumstances.

President Hooker instituted a number of reforms in the US military. He strengthened the US Army's intelligence capabilities and started modernizing the USN.

The latter surprised people but he was convinced the rushed nature of building a navy necessitated by the War of Southern Independence left meant a lot of the ships were poorly built and other obsolete and the navy would have a role in the future of American wars He scrapped a large number of old navy vessels, which upset their captains, and built a more modern ones , most being ironclads and seaworthy.

This alarmed the British which turned a minor incident in Canada where the US cavalry crossed the Canadian border 20 miles in pursuit of a Comanche war band , led to a major diplomatic dispute. President Hooker called up 60,000 US troops, mainly Irishmen from New York, and put them on the Canadian border. Alarmed the British sent 30,000 troops to Canada. Hooker then 30,000 more at which point the British decided to go for a diplomatic solution. The US government issued a formal apology and sent the unit in question to the southwest.

Winfield Scott Hancock was made superintend of West Point and was ordered to revamp the entire curriculum using the lessons learned during the war. A reform was made to the US Army requiring 3 months of training before a man was allowed onto the field. Army pay was also raised significantly.

The Negro Relocation Bill was also passed at this time sending newly freed slaves out west. At first they were shipped mainly to NM and CO close to the CSA border. 1/4 of the men were given Spencer Rifles to form a territorial militia.

The Hooker Presidency Albert T Jenkins Wallard Publishing New York 1903
 

Johnrankins

zert said:
Hooker as a reformist? Interesting tidbit.
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He was a bit of a military reformist OTL, he got rid of Pinkerton who wasn't capable of military intelligence and replaced it with a professional service that got better the longer the war got on and he was the one who reformed the cavalry that got more and more elan as the war progressed.
 

Johnrankins

"AS Langstom of Raleigh, North Carolina completed his purchase of the Lion Brand line from American Tobacco for the sum of $20 billion ($1 US = $1000 CS) from American Tobacco based in Chicago. This is continuing the trend of independent luxury brands of tobacco owned by Southerners. " says a deep voice

ZWRA Atlanta TV Broadcast Mar 23, 1985

The 1874 election saw the rise of the Farm and Unity Party that arose from the ashes of the Democratic Party which weakened somewhat the Second Hooker Administration. Its Platform included
1) Strict restrictions where Blacks would be settled under the Negro Relocation Bill making sure all but the worst land was reserved for the White Man.
2) Strict racial segregation in public facilities
3) Restrictions on Black occupations
4) Banning all immigration from Non-European Countries
5) Increasing the size of homesteads by 80 acres
6) Cheap loans to Union veterans to be used to help establish the homesteads
7) A once in a lifetime right for free travel on the MRR for Union Veterans to move them west
8) Cheap loans for irrigation projects
9) The establishment of Agricultural Colleges and cheap loans to Union Veterans to attend such colleges
The Party won 36 seats in the House and 4 in the Senate in the first election beating the short lived Labor and Unity Party who won 14 seats in the House and none in the Senate

.The rise of the Farm and Union Party GH Lambart Memphis University Press 1912

The Meade Presidency was the beginning of better relations between the US and Mexico. Worried about the CSA possibly conquering parts of Northern Mexico the Meade Administration sold at cut rate prices Sharps Rifles and Spencer Carbines to Mexico as the US was replacing them with the Johnston Rifle (Don't look it up folks, I made it up). President Meade also encouraged railroad companies to link up with Mexican lines. US investment followed the railroads building warehouses, grain silos and train stations . The Meade Administration also sold the last of the war's Union Navy which was being upgraded anyways. Mexico now had a decent sized obsolete navy that was more than capable of holding its own against the pathetic CSN.

The Meade Presidency and the Mexican Boom of 1875 Yallan Books Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1912
 
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