That is, not only do they seize Washington in August 1814, but capture James Madison, fourth president of the United States. Now what?
Clearly, he is incapable of discharging the duties of his office. Vice President Elbridge Gerry reluctantly assumes the duties of the presidency; with the guidance of Secretary of State James Monroe, a temporary armistice is requested. Fighting halts in late August 1814 while commissioners are dispatched to negotiate terms of peace, but British warships still ride at anchor in the Chesapeake Bay.
While the commissioners labor over peace terms, the New England states seize the day and break off from the United States. Under the protection of Great Britain, the Commonwealth of New England is formed, with its capital at Boston. This new nation combines the five former states and the maritime regions of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and the crown colony of Newfoundland. At the time of confederation, the district of Maine is split off from Massachusetts, and New Brunswick is split off from Nova Scota. The new nation has a form of government not unlike that of the United States; the chief executive is known as the Governor-General, and nominally is responsible to the British crown.
But not all New Englanders see this as a boon: there is a sizable exodus of New Englanders loyal to the United States ("The Migration", as this is called), which includes a disproportionate number of the intelligentsia and those in positions in power. John Adams and John Quincy Adams leave Braintree, Massachusetts, for a new estate near Princeton, New Jersey, for example. Interestingly, the biggest winners in the migration are the states of Maryland and Delaware, especially the latter: the banks of the Brandywine remind a lot of New Englanders of the smaller rivers along the fall lines, and Delaware suddenly becomes one of the most industrialized states in what's left of the union. Among the emigres is a young congressman from Massachusetts--Daniel Webster--who eventually becomes governor of Delaware and president of the United States.
A sidebar to the emigration: the states of Maryland and Delaware now have a preponderance of nonslaveholding voters, taking those states out of the slave state ranks by the mid-1820s.
What can others add to this?
Clearly, he is incapable of discharging the duties of his office. Vice President Elbridge Gerry reluctantly assumes the duties of the presidency; with the guidance of Secretary of State James Monroe, a temporary armistice is requested. Fighting halts in late August 1814 while commissioners are dispatched to negotiate terms of peace, but British warships still ride at anchor in the Chesapeake Bay.
While the commissioners labor over peace terms, the New England states seize the day and break off from the United States. Under the protection of Great Britain, the Commonwealth of New England is formed, with its capital at Boston. This new nation combines the five former states and the maritime regions of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and the crown colony of Newfoundland. At the time of confederation, the district of Maine is split off from Massachusetts, and New Brunswick is split off from Nova Scota. The new nation has a form of government not unlike that of the United States; the chief executive is known as the Governor-General, and nominally is responsible to the British crown.
But not all New Englanders see this as a boon: there is a sizable exodus of New Englanders loyal to the United States ("The Migration", as this is called), which includes a disproportionate number of the intelligentsia and those in positions in power. John Adams and John Quincy Adams leave Braintree, Massachusetts, for a new estate near Princeton, New Jersey, for example. Interestingly, the biggest winners in the migration are the states of Maryland and Delaware, especially the latter: the banks of the Brandywine remind a lot of New Englanders of the smaller rivers along the fall lines, and Delaware suddenly becomes one of the most industrialized states in what's left of the union. Among the emigres is a young congressman from Massachusetts--Daniel Webster--who eventually becomes governor of Delaware and president of the United States.
A sidebar to the emigration: the states of Maryland and Delaware now have a preponderance of nonslaveholding voters, taking those states out of the slave state ranks by the mid-1820s.
What can others add to this?