America Divided

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From: “The Rise of the American Republics”
By: Dr. Philip Morris
University of Albany Press
Albany, New York Federal States of America
1999©


…George Washington’s death after an unlucky fall from his horse was major blow to the young American State. The nation went into official mourning for over a month. The only person that had truly unified the country was gone. It is coincidently that the time of his death coincided with the last attempt by the United States “government” to revise its government.

A constitutional convention planned to be held in Philadelphia was delayed in memory of George Washington’s death, and also so a new head of the convention could be chosen. In the end a compromise was made and a joint leadership of two prominent leader, elderly Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina.

The conventions stated job had been to edit the Articles of Confederation the document that had governed the nation for years. One thing that was quickly and universally agreed on was that the document had to be thrown out.

The convention began very badly. Pinckney almost banned Alexander Hamilton, a prominet delegent from New York, from the convention for disrespect to the office of co-president. Yelling matches between the two went on for days. When a plan finally was proposed by James Madison on May 29, 1787, called the Virginia plan, the congress was already hot-tempered and disorderly. The plan that Madison proposed was by no means radical. It only proposed an elected bicameral legislature based on population and a weak executive. It was not accepted on any level by the delegation and was understood to be just a possible, but the representative’s from Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut, afraid of losing influence through the Virginia plan, threatened to leave if it wasn’t barred from the convention, and a gag placed on it….


From: “A History of the American Republic 1775-1788”
By: Dr. James Breckenridge
Virginia Publishing
Richmond, Virginia American Commonwealth
2002 ©


… Benjamin Franklin was willing to negate with both the delegates and Madison, but Pinckney intervened on the behalf of Madison. Hamilton joined the debate claiming no state had the right to leave the Congress. After three days of debate Madison withdraw his proposal, but it was not enough. Hamilton proposed that the delegation be dissolved or at least replace the two co–presidents with one. Pinckney said it be most be taken to a floor vote, which ended in deadlock. Delaware, followed by New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, one of New York’s delegates (Hamilton), and two of Massachusetts four delegates walked out. The Congress tried to carry on for a full week longer before it dissolved itself at Madison’s suggestion…
 
From: “Nation’s of North America”
By: Charles O’Donnell
Maxwell & Co Printers
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania United States of America
1986 ©

…The collapse of the 1787 Continental Congress was a major, and some would later claim lethal, blow to the US’s already fragile structure. If that was not enough Virginia’s moves early in 1788 surely were.

In the early winter of 1788, stating that the failure of the Continental Congress as a pretext, 200 Virginia state-militia crossed over the Ohio in order to protect Virginia’s citizens in the Ohio valley. Pennsylvania immediately responded by sending 500 of its militia to dislodge the Virginians. After skirmishing near Zanesville, Ohio and again at Chillicothe, Ohio that left two died the Virginia’s withdrew back to Fort Washington (modern day-Cincinnati) on the Ohio. The Pennsylvanians camped out side the Fort, in the awkward position of commencing a non-violent siege.

The incidents along the Ohio echoed through the Halls of Congress in Philadelphia. The Virginia member demanded that its right to the land north of Ohio be recognized by Congress or they would leave both the Congress and the United States. Pennsylvania refused to cede its claims, as did Connecticut and New York. The Virginia delegate left his seat and walked out to cries of “Traitor!” and “This will dissolve it!”.

With the loose of Virginia the Congress was at a loose. Some wanted to forcible repatriate it, but to what? Some said that if Virginia wanted to leave, it had the right…


From: “The Rise of the Federalist State”
By: Professor Bill Harris
Hampton & Co
London, UK
1978©

…. Virginia’s departure from the Congress rendered the assemble impotent. By mid-1788 the Carolinas and Pennsylvania had also recalled their representatives; despite this the Congress continued to meet in Philadelphia, even though their members know they were, for the main part, irrelevant.

Even while the US congress continued to meet in Philadelphia, New York was becoming the vocal point for a new convention. Although all states of the United States were invited, only those of Pennsylvania North sent delegates. The reasons for this were simple; Maryland, Georgia, and Delaware refused to cooperate in anything not approved by the US Congress, Virginia refused to take part as long Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York continued to dispute the Ohio, and the Carolinas, taking Virginia’s lead, demanded its claims to the trans-Appalachia be recognized.

The New York Convention, dominated by John Adams's and Alexander Hamilton's radicals and the dying Ben Franklin lead moderates fought over the course that needed to be taken. Hamilton demanded the separation of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey from the rest of the US, followed by the declaration of a highly centralized republic. The Moderates argued for another convention to try to achieve unity within the framework of the US by holding a new convention in a border state (Maryland or Delaware) to end all disputes between the states amd harmer out a solid constitution. As the New York Congress continued it became clear that the manly Pennsylvania and New Jersey based moderates would not agree with the New English over the right course to take, despite the fact that Pennsylvania was at fighting a proxy-war with Virginia…
 
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From: “History of the Americas. Volume Two: 1775-1825”
By: Richard Strauss. Translated by Otto van Winkle
Deutsch Publishers
Bonn, Germany
1922 © 1997 ©

…The effective collapse of the United States’ central government left the way open for the aggressive policy the Virginian’s now took in the late summer of 1788. From all over the Virginian Commonwealth 2,000 militiamen, many of them veterans from the Revolutionary and Indian Wars, were called up by Williamsburg. Virginia sent a declaration of hostilities to the state governments of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York announcing hostilities between them and Virginia. The document stated that:

“…The United States government being no longer in existence has lift the State of Virginia with no other choice but to intervene in the land previously promised to the State of Virginia by mutual agreement with the several states by government of the former American States …”

The document didn’t acknowledge in anyway the non-Virginian settlers already inhabiting the lands claimed by Virginia, nor did it make any allowances for them. It didn’t affirm that any remaining US troops or Pennsylvanian militia had to leave the area, only that it was claiming the area for the state.

In Pennsylvania, the first state to receive the letter, the State Assemble gave up hope of reviving the US and asked the Congress still meeting in Philadelphia, as well as any Virginians residing in Pennsylvania, to vacate the state until further notice. The assemble also requested 3,000 volunteer militiamen for a term of 12 months as well as 750 men from the former US army for a term of minimum of 5 years to establish a permanent army for the state of Pennsylvania. The Assemble also take the step of sending a request to the state of New York for military assistance against Virginia. The request agreed to the concession of some contested land between the two states after the Ohio had been ridden of Virginians. A similar request to Connecticut was noticeably absent…


From: “The Rise of the Federalist State”
By: Professor Bill Harris
Hampton & Co
London, UK
1978©

…During the intrigues of August 1788, almost seven months after Virginia officially left the Union, the New York convention put forth a proposal that would withdraw the states of New England, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey from the Republic. This proposal, but forward by Alexander Hamilton, was planned to be a steppingstone to the declaration of a Northern Republic. Benjamin Franklin was disgusted by the entire process and begged the convention to vote against it and planned to put forth a counter proposal to dissolve the Assemble and rejoin US congress now convening in Baltimore, Maryland. Hamilton’s proposal was put to a floor vote which dragged on for four days because of delays and pleas from both sides. Finally a vote was taken. It carried.

Franklin, as well as the rest of the delegates from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and two of New York’s six representatives walked left and refused to accept the assembles decision. Franklin went as far as to declare the Assemble a treachery to the now defunct US government.

With the Assemble now technically a success for the radicals, their weight, along with their leader Hamilton’s was greatly augmented. Hamilton politically influence was beginning to eclipse even that of John Adams. Hamilton called the Assemble a success and requested that representatives go back to respective states and request that give the power to found a permanent and lasting country. And also that a convention on the government of this new state be held with delegates from these several states.
 
From: “History of the Americas. Volume Two: 1775-1825”
By: Richard Strauss. Translated by Otto van Winkle
Deutsch Publishers
Bonn, Germany
1922 © 1997 ©

…As the month of October began 2,000 of Virginia’s militia assembled near Fort Randolph (now Randolph, Virginia) forming the largest America army since the end of the American Revolutionary War. Many of the men, almost 1,700 of them, were veterans of the Revolutionary War, responding to their new a new country’s call. On the other side of the river and across the expanses of the northern Ohio Valley another army, a Pennsylvanian one, was gathering and drilling near Fort Pitt.

The Ohio Valley had been rewarded to the colonies just five years before. The area had quickly been mobbed by settlers. The reasons for this were understandable. The valley had some of the best farmland yet known in the American continent, as well as plenty of fine wood in the northern, manly Pennsylvanian, section (in what would later become Ohio) perfect for merchant ships of the burgeoning New England commercial fleets that were bringing goods to and from the port cities of America. In the Southern, manly Virginian, section of state (now western Virginia (ATL’s Kentucky)) Virginian style tobacco plantations, as well as small corn farms, were appearing.

For these reasons, and others, the region was hotly contested as to who it would belong to in the new emerging/not quit emerged countries of America. Virginians almost excessively, except for several thousand Indians, populated the area south of the Ohio and where a large minority in the north of it. But the states of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York also claimed significant parts of the area and collectivity they could have easily pushed Virginia out of any area north of the Ohio River. But the Northern states would not or could not act collectively. Even as Virginia several-thousand-strong army formed within striking distance of the Pennsylvanian administrative capital of Ohio, Zanesville, Pennsylvania could not bring itself to call for help from both of the other two states whose claims were threatened…


From: “The Rise of the American Republics”
By: Dr. Philip Morris
University of Albany Press
Albany, New York Federal States of America
1999©

…On October 7, 1788 Henry Lee, now General Lee, arrived in Fort Randolph to take command of the militia-army. The war hero of five years before had been called back from his plantation to lead the Virginian army in yet another war of independence. The former cavalry leader was stunned by the poor quality of the soldiers he was supposed to lead. He described the men as “…lazy, poorly motivated, horribly feed, grossly under trained, and deserting in high numbers...” and went on to say “…in the entirety of my years I have never seen men so unfit to fight.” From a General who had commanded the legendarily poor soldiers of the American Revolution this was quite severe.

Barely a hundred miles to the north 1,500 Pennsylvanian and a small contingent of 150 New Yorkers in Fort Pitt were also about to receive their own commander. Another Revolutionary War General, “Mad” Anthony Wayne, was given command of the Pennsylvanians on October 31, 1788, with orders to keep the Virginians south of the Ohio River. Yet another Revolutionary War General, Philip John Schuyler, arrived to take command of the company of New Yorkers.

On December 6, 1788 under pressure from Williamsburg, Lee moved across the Ohio. On the following day Lee secured his first victory of the campaign over the garrison of the frontier town of Marietta. At Marietta, Lee called together the senior military leaders and gave them his plan for the campaign. Lee’s goal was to seize as much land as possible, defeating as many Pennsylvanian colonial troops as feasible, before they could link up with the main Pennsylvanian force. This strategy called for William Washington, a cousin of the deceased Hero of the American Revolution, to command a surveillance regiment of 400 men that would march up the Ohio River and camp west of the river and wait for the Pitt Garrison to movie, delaying them if possible, until the rest of the army could withdraw to oppose it. Another regiment, 600 strong, led by George Rogers Clark, would go west to Chillicothe, one of three main towns of the northern Ohio, size it, and then march on Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati). A final regiment, numbering 1000, lead by General Lee himself, would march on the Pennsylvanian administrative headquarters at Zanesville. Lee didn’t think that any real opposition would be found outside of Fort Washington and Zanesville, with garrisons numbering 150 and 350 respectively. The campaign would decide the composition of the new Republics of America…
 
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