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Stars & Stripes #1: It All Begins Here
First POD: June 9, 1805-President Jefferson wakes up on this warm summer morning and decides to call an informal meeting with some associates. Among the topics discussed are the eventual abolition of the U.S. slave trade, and possible restriction of trade against Great Britain.
Aug 4, 1805: A little trouble begins to brew in Spanish Florida on this day; A peaceful demonstration against recently tightened military controls by Sebastian Kindelan y Obregon, after the sudden death of Enrique White in early July.
March 8, 1806: C.C. Pinckney dies of a heart attack partly brought on by lingering emphysema that had been caused by a terrible cold he had caught back in late January.
April 22, 1806: The Non-Importation Act is signed into law pretty much as OTL, but just a few days later.
July 22, 1806: Meanwhile, in Great Britain, debate rages over the slave trade, particularly within the halls of Westminster Palace, in London. One argument between William Wilberforce & a pro-slavery MP gets so heated that both men are escorted out of the building.
March 25, 1807: Problems concerning the proposed Slave Trade Act, have caused it to be postponed until the end of August.
The 1st Major POD: April 6, 1807-Albert Gallatin met with President Jefferson at 9:30 that morning concerning the proposed Embargo Act in Washington. Congress had been debating the Act(which Jefferson himself had proposed), and more than a few deadlocks had occurred. Even worse, most of the northeastern states were very much opposed to the act for fears of harming their local economies. Despite his initial wishes to the contrary, Jefferson eventually conceded. Gallatin started home at 4:50 and the President got to work on his letter to Congress informing them of the withdrawal and explaining why such a decision had been made.
Apr. 9, 1807-Congress receives the letter from Jefferson. Though many members, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic states, are somewhat disappointed, others, including a good number of the Federalists(especially some of the more hardcore members such as Timothy Pickering) breathe a sigh of temporary relief; the Non-Importation Act passed the previous year had done some damage to the country's economy, particularly in the cases of New England and the Southern ports, such as Charleston, S.C. and Norfolk, Va.
Apr. 12, 1807-After three days of debate, Congress decides to allow the bill to die in committee.
May-June, 1807-Nothing much happens in this time frame, except that the H.M.S. Leopard suffers a mutiny on June 4th and is forced to sail back to Europe, thus butterflying the Chesapeake incident which occurred IOTL.
Jul. 4, 1807-President Jefferson meets with several members of Congress to discuss a possible eventual compromise concerning the Non-Importation Act; unfortunately, the meeting is rather brief and goes nowhere.
Aug. 25, 1807-In England, despite a decent amount of support from the abolitionists, Parliament is unable to reach the majority needed to sign the Slave Trade Act into law.
Sep 14, 1807-Congress begins negotiations to allow Maine, which is currently a Massachusetts exclave, to gain statehood; in the meantime, it becomes a territory on Sep. 21st.
Feb. 12, 1808-President Jefferson announces he will not be running for another term.
Apr. 15, 1808-A British merchant ship by the name of the 'Mary Louise' was caught trying to unload unregistered goods in the town harbor of Nantucket, R.I., eliciting a rapid response from local authorities.
Nov. 1808-James Madison wins the presidential election, but not quite by as large a margin as OTL: Rufus King recieved 41.9% of the popular vote, as opposed to only 32.4% IOTL.
Jan. 8, 1809-
Mar. 4, 1809-Madison is inaugurated as the 4th president of the United States; one of his first actions is to propose an extension of the Non-Importation Act, which was due to expire come Apr. 23, 1811.
Apr. 11, 1809-On this day, the Sons of New England organization is born in Portland, Maine Territory.
Jul. 12, 1809-An attack by vigilantes on the British merchant ship 'Princeton' at around 8:30 a.m. by vigilantes results in an explosion in the harbor of Providence, R.I., killing 35 people and wrecking over a dozen nearby buildings. It is only the first in what will be a long line of such incidents, and not just at the hands of vigilantes, either.
Sept. 9, 1809-The Sept. 9th Riots began in Boston, Mass. starting at 1:30 that afternoon, after a private cargo ship registered to Liverpool, Lancashire, by the name of the 'Ringo Joe' is captured, and destroyed by the local National Guard division under the orders of their commander; the main reason being that the ship had been carrying a large amount of various goods, many of which where both popular, and banned under the Non-Importation Act. The riot lasts for 3 days and gains the S.o.N.E. their first wave of new members.
Nov. 5, 1809-The raid of a recently-established New Haven, Conn. tavern called 'The Patriot' at 2:30 in the afternoon, leads to the deaths of over a dozen patrons, as well as the chief bartender(who was a chief member of that city's S.o.N.E. Chapter, and a potential Federalist candidate for office at that). There is a significant cry of outrage across the city, and discontentment across much of the rest of New England. However, though, nothing much really comes of it.
Dec. 1809-As the decade ends, in North America, tensions slowly begin to simmer just a little over the issue over the Non-Importation Act; meanwhile the Napoleonic Wars rage on in Western Europe, and in Britain, some very disillusioned Quakers begin to leave for New England over the failure of the Slave Trade Act......
Apr. 6, 1810
The White House
Washington, D.C.
President James Madison sat in the Oval Office, feeling somewhat miserable. It was 10:30 in the morning and starting to pour hard, which hadn't helped his mood. This whole mess about the Non-Importation Act had started to take a toll on him, and even worse, the Brits were starting to cause trouble again[1]. Suddenly, someone began to knock on the door. "Come in, if you'd like." Madison replied. His chief secretary, William Berkeley[2], entered the room. "Mister President, sir, I assume you may have seen this?", Berkeley inquired, somewhat tensely. He produced a newspaper and put it down on the President's desk. The headline read, "Cargo Ship Carrying Illicit Goods Explodes in New York Harbor Overnight, Over 50 Lives Feared Lost". "This can't possibly........" blurted a stunned Madison. "I'm afraid it's true, sir.", Berkeley replied.
"You think someone took the law into their own hands and may have....."
"Yes, sir, unfortunately, that is what seems to have occurred here.”[3]
"Well, damn it. This is America, not Germany[4]! This cannot stand; the law must be enforced by the proper authorities. Or tragedies like this are sure to continue occurring."
"I understand, sir. That was all."
"Alright then. Be on your way.", Madison said, as Berkeley began to leave the room. The President, feeling particularly unwell, sloped back in his chair. This was looking up to be one dreary spring indeed.
[1]Diplomatic snafus, mostly over trade and the Napoleonic Wars.
[2]Can't remember whether he actually existed or not.
[3]Vigilantism is going to be a serious problem in the upcoming months & years.
[4]Or rather, what was the 'Holy Roman' Empire of late.
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