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Description

An alternate history where the United States never adopts the Constitution, keeping the Articles of Confederation. The point of divergence is June, 1787, after the failure of the Constitutional Convention. This leaves a very weak federal government, and states begin to drift away from each other.

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“United” States of America
The United States of America gained complete independence from Great Britain with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The revolution that had led to that point would have worldwide ramifications, such as the inspired French Revolution. But the American experiment would not have its intended goals. The first form of government for the new nation had been ratified by Congress in 1781. The Articles of Confederation officially united the states, but the reality was not to black and white. The Articles gave the federal government very little powers, and focused on preserving individual states rights. Shortcomings in the Articles became apparent immediately, with the federal government struggling to effectively do anything. This culminated in Shays' Rebellion in 1787, when an armed uprising took place in Massachusetts over the state's debt crisis and its attempts to collect taxes. The federal government under the Articles could not find the funds to raise an army to quell the unrest. It was eventually put down by the Massachusetts State Militia as well as private militias. With Shay's Rebellion in recent memory, Congress convened for the Constitutional Convention, in order to draft a new charter for government. For reasons unknown, the Convention would be an utter failure. Southern delegates would storm out after weeks of deliberating. Soon, the rest would too. After the failure to draft a new constitution, the federal government would become even weaker. In the years following, states began to act more independently from the union, even at other state's expense. Regionalism began to take precedence over the country as a whole. Notably, Massachusetts would begin to coalesce power in the Northeastern states. The Federalist Party, which advocated for a much stronger federal government, was most popular in this region. Massachusetts would lead these states, including New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, in creating their own regional government in 1789. This new government essentially worked as a lesser federal government, solely for the region of New England. The New England government was given much more power over its member states, and it soon began acting independently as its own entity outside the United States. The rest of the states continued to clash over numerous things, such as borders and trade. Rebellions began to occur in the far inland reaches of states such as Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. These southern states began to form their own bloc in congress to oppose New England, primarily due to their many shared interests. The main interests of the southern states were their agricultural-based economies, and being heavily in favor of slavery. While states who did not have territory on the western border had no chance of expanding, those states who had an abundance of untouched land lying to the west. Attempts to divide these territories into new states were outright rejected by those who controlled the territory. The Tennessee and Kentucky rebellions of the early 1790s would be militarily put down by individual state governments. In 1791, the New England government admitted the Vermont Republic as a state. The Articles gave congress no ability to admit new states, and the action was heavily contested in Congress. Despite this, the federal government did not do anything to stop the New England government from treating Vermont as a state, even if the rest of the states did not recognize it as such. The United States had gained a stretch of unorganized territory around the Great Lakes, known as the Northwest Territory, in the Treaty of London. Stretching from along the northern bank of the Ohio River all the way to the Mississippi, the middle states began sponsoring settlers in the territory. The middle states, made up of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, supported these settlements, as they had no abundance of land to the west for them to expand into, unlike the southern states. The middle states hoped to expand their influence through the creation of new states friendly to their newly forming bloc in Congress. These settlers came into conflict with the Northwestern Confederacy, a loose confederacy of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region that was supported by the British. Pennsylvania began launching its own military interventions in the Northwest territories. To Pennsylvania's dismay, most of the other states in Congress were unwilling to aid in the campaign, even if it was to protect American citizens living on the frontier. Forts in the Ohio River Valley would come under heavy attack by the Native Americans for years, slowing the middle state's expansion. Multiple grueling campaigns would be launched against the Northwestern Confederacy until its final defeat in 1797. The Treaty of Greenville would effectively end the war and the Confederacy. American settlers would pour into Ohio at a massive rate following the treaty. Attempts to buy the Louisiana Territory from France by Congress would fall through in 1803, after failure to raise the funds and rejection by the New England Federalists. This would lead to the territory being occupied by the Spanish and British as the Napoleonic Wars broke out. Ohio would be admitted as a state in 1808, being supported by the middle states in congress.

Dissolution
The Second Anglo-American War would break out in 1812 for a number of reasons. The casus belli was the forced conscription of American sailors into the British Navy, but there were several underlying factors. The most immediate was many state's expansionist desires. Nonetheless, the vote to declare war on Britain would narrowly pass in Congress, sealing its own death sentence. Initially the war was focused in the Great Lakes and Canada. Congress was able to raise a small army numbering less than 10,000 people from many states. Notably, New England would out-right refuse to send men to fight in the war. The war coincided with rejuvenated Native American resistance in the Northwestern Territories led by Shawnee chief and warrior Tecumseh. The British, along with their native allies, were soon besieging forts along the frontier. American attempts at invading Canada saw some success, but all ended in the Americans being repulsed. In 1813, the Republic of Louisiana was declared by American settlers in the southern Louisiana territory. The United States quickly supported the fledgling republic. In 1814 the British occupied eastern Maine and parts of Vermont and upstate New York, to the outrage of New England. The British Navy began raiding cities along the East Coast of the United States, even occupying Baltimore. In the first month of 1815, the British landed in the capital of the Republic of Louisiana. The Battle of New Orleans ended in a shocking American victory, with the British retreating, mostly due to the leadership of commander Andrew Jackson. Later that year, New England would sign its own peace with the British, an act directly against Congress. The middle states, now majorly disadvantaged in the war, would also sign the Treaty of Ghent with Britain in early 1816 after seeing numerous defeats in the Northwest Territories. The southern states would secede in order to continue fighting the war, eyeing Spanish territories which were promised to them by the French. Many northern politicians and generals would flee to the south after seeing their states "sell-out" to the British. The middle states would be forced to recognize the independence of a Native American confederation in the Northwestern territory. The southern states, now organized as the Southron Confederacy, would continue the war against Britain. They would annex the Republic of Louisiana, as well as the neighboring Republic of West Florida in late 1816. In 1817, General Jackson would lead the Southron offensive against British and Native forces in Florida, entering Spanish territory. Spain, who was facing rebellions in most of its Latin American colonies, cut its losses and signed a treaty ceding Florida to the Southrons in 1819, at no cost for the invaders. The territories of West Florida and East Florida would be organized by the Southrons. That same year, the Southron Confederacy would sign a white peace with the British Empire, ending their state of war. In the following 1820 treaty, Britain would accept Southron claims over Florida and southern Louisiana under the 37°N parallel. The northern half of the Louisiana Territory would go to Britain. The treaty also defined the Britain and New Spain’s border going west past the Louisiana territory along the 42°N parallel. Jackson continued his campaign against the Seminoles in Florida for the following years. In 1821 Mexico would gain independence from Spain. The 1820s would finally see a general return to peace. New England would grow closer ties with Britain. The federalists would continue to centralize power, while religion also played a massive role in government. Infrastructure projects like the Erie Canal would unite New England even more. Their economy relied mostly on the sea, with trading, fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding all being major businesses. They traded heavily with the British. The middle states, reorganized as the United Commonwealth of America, were the most similar to the pre-war United States. They acted mostly as a buffer state between New England and the Southron Confederacy, neither of which they aligned with. They would remain neutral and mostly isolationist in world affairs. The Commonwealth would end up having to compromise with Britain in order to maintain its economy. They would be a primarily meritocratic society. The Commonwealth still held many desires on the Northwest territory, which they saw as their key to the west. The Southrons came out of the war on the best footing. With the strongest economy, dominated by agriculture, they became the leading power in North America. They also held the most territory. They continued to import slaves from Africa, while slavery had fallen out of favor and been outlawed in New England and the Commonwealth. President James Monroe, who had been elected in 1816, would lead the Southrons under its single party, the Democratic-Republican Party. Monroe would lead the Confederacy into successful times economically. This would begin a time which would later be known as the “decade of peace” and the “era of good feelings”.

Description

An alternate history where the United States never adopts the Constitution, keeping the Articles of Confederation. The point of divergence is June, 1787, after the failure of the Constitutional Convention. This leaves a very weak federal government, and states begin to drift away from each other.

-----
“United” States of America
The United States of America gained complete independence from Great Britain with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The revolution that had led to that point would have worldwide ramifications, such as the inspired French Revolution. But the American experiment would not have its intended goals. The first form of government for the new nation had been ratified by Congress in 1781. The Articles of Confederation officially united the states, but the reality was not to black and white. The Articles gave the federal government very little powers, and focused on preserving individual states rights. Shortcomings in the Articles became apparent immediately, with the federal government struggling to effectively do anything. This culminated in Shays' Rebellion in 1787, when an armed uprising took place in Massachusetts over the state's debt crisis and its attempts to collect taxes. The federal government under the Articles could not find the funds to raise an army to quell the unrest. It was eventually put down by the Massachusetts State Militia as well as private militias. With Shay's Rebellion in recent memory, Congress convened for the Constitutional Convention, in order to draft a new charter for government. For reasons unknown, the Convention would be an utter failure. Southern delegates would storm out after weeks of deliberating. Soon, the rest would too. After the failure to draft a new constitution, the federal government would become even weaker. In the years following, states began to act more independently from the union, even at other state's expense. Regionalism began to take precedence over the country as a whole. Notably, Massachusetts would begin to coalesce power in the Northeastern states. The Federalist Party, which advocated for a much stronger federal government, was most popular in this region. Massachusetts would lead these states, including New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, in creating their own regional government in 1789. This new government essentially worked as a lesser federal government, solely for the region of New England. The New England government was given much more power over its member states, and it soon began acting independently as its own entity outside the United States. The rest of the states continued to clash over numerous things, such as borders and trade. Rebellions began to occur in the far inland reaches of states such as Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. These southern states began to form their own bloc in congress to oppose New England, primarily due to their many shared interests. The main interests of the southern states were their agricultural-based economies, and being heavily in favor of slavery. While states who did not have territory on the western border had no chance of expanding, those states who had an abundance of untouched land lying to the west. Attempts to divide these territories into new states were outright rejected by those who controlled the territory. The Tennessee and Kentucky rebellions of the early 1790s would be militarily put down by individual state governments. In 1791, the New England government admitted the Vermont Republic as a state. The Articles gave congress no ability to admit new states, and the action was heavily contested in Congress. Despite this, the federal government did not do anything to stop the New England government from treating Vermont as a state, even if the rest of the states did not recognize it as such. The United States had gained a stretch of unorganized territory around the Great Lakes, known as the Northwest Territory, in the Treaty of London. Stretching from along the northern bank of the Ohio River all the way to the Mississippi, the middle states began sponsoring settlers in the territory. The middle states, made up of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, supported these settlements, as they had no abundance of land to the west for them to expand into, unlike the southern states. The middle states hoped to expand their influence through the creation of new states friendly to their newly forming bloc in Congress. These settlers came into conflict with the Northwestern Confederacy, a loose confederacy of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region that was supported by the British. Pennsylvania began launching its own military interventions in the Northwest territories. To Pennsylvania's dismay, most of the other states in Congress were unwilling to aid in the campaign, even if it was to protect American citizens living on the frontier. Forts in the Ohio River Valley would come under heavy attack by the Native Americans for years, slowing the middle state's expansion. Multiple grueling campaigns would be launched against the Northwestern Confederacy until its final defeat in 1797. The Treaty of Greenville would effectively end the war and the Confederacy. American settlers would pour into Ohio at a massive rate following the treaty. Attempts to buy the Louisiana Territory from France by Congress would fall through in 1803, after failure to raise the funds and rejection by the New England Federalists. This would lead to the territory being occupied by the Spanish and British as the Napoleonic Wars broke out. Ohio would be admitted as a state in 1808, being supported by the middle states in congress.

Dissolution
The Second Anglo-American War would break out in 1812 for a number of reasons. The casus belli was the forced conscription of American sailors into the British Navy, but there were several underlying factors. The most immediate was many state's expansionist desires. Nonetheless, the vote to declare war on Britain would narrowly pass in Congress, sealing its own death sentence. Initially the war was focused in the Great Lakes and Canada. Congress was able to raise a small army numbering less than 10,000 people from many states. Notably, New England would out-right refuse to send men to fight in the war. The war coincided with rejuvenated Native American resistance in the Northwestern Territories led by Shawnee chief and warrior Tecumseh. The British, along with their native allies, were soon besieging forts along the frontier. American attempts at invading Canada saw some success, but all ended in the Americans being repulsed. In 1813, the Republic of Louisiana was declared by American settlers in the southern Louisiana territory. The United States quickly supported the fledgling republic. In 1814 the British occupied eastern Maine and parts of Vermont and upstate New York, to the outrage of New England. The British Navy began raiding cities along the East Coast of the United States, even occupying Baltimore. In the first month of 1815, the British landed in the capital of the Republic of Louisiana. The Battle of New Orleans ended in a shocking American victory, with the British retreating, mostly due to the leadership of commander Andrew Jackson. Later that year, New England would sign its own peace with the British, an act directly against Congress. The middle states, now majorly disadvantaged in the war, would also sign the Treaty of Ghent with Britain in early 1816 after seeing numerous defeats in the Northwest Territories. The southern states would secede in order to continue fighting the war, eyeing Spanish territories which were promised to them by the French. Many northern politicians and generals would flee to the south after seeing their states "sell-out" to the British. The middle states would be forced to recognize the independence of a Native American confederation in the Northwestern territory. The southern states, now organized as the Southron Confederacy, would continue the war against Britain. They would annex the Republic of Louisiana, as well as the neighboring Republic of West Florida in late 1816. In 1817, General Jackson would lead the Southron offensive against British and Native forces in Florida, entering Spanish territory. Spain, who was facing rebellions in most of its Latin American colonies, cut its losses and signed a treaty ceding Florida to the Southrons in 1819, at no cost for the invaders. The territories of West Florida and East Florida would be organized by the Southrons. That same year, the Southron Confederacy would sign a white peace with the British Empire, ending their state of war. In the following 1820 treaty, Britain would accept Southron claims over Florida and southern Louisiana under the 37°N parallel. The northern half of the Louisiana Territory would go to Britain. The treaty also defined the Britain and New Spain’s border going west past the Louisiana territory along the 42°N parallel. Jackson continued his campaign against the Seminoles in Florida for the following years. In 1821 Mexico would gain independence from Spain. The 1820s would finally see a general return to peace. New England would grow closer ties with Britain. The federalists would continue to centralize power, while religion also played a massive role in government. Infrastructure projects like the Erie Canal would unite New England even more. Their economy relied mostly on the sea, with trading, fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding all being major businesses. They traded heavily with the British. The middle states, reorganized as the United Commonwealth of America, were the most similar to the pre-war United States. They acted mostly as a buffer state between New England and the Southron Confederacy, neither of which they aligned with. They would remain neutral and mostly isolationist in world affairs. The Commonwealth would end up having to compromise with Britain in order to maintain its economy. They would be a primarily meritocratic society. The Commonwealth still held many desires on the Northwest territory, which they saw as their key to the west. The Southrons came out of the war on the best footing. With the strongest economy, dominated by agriculture, they became the leading power in North America. They also held the most territory. They continued to import slaves from Africa, while slavery had fallen out of favor and been outlawed in New England and the Commonwealth. President James Monroe, who had been elected in 1816, would lead the Southrons under its single party, the Democratic-Republican Party. Monroe would lead the Confederacy into successful times economically. This would begin a time which would later be known as the “decade of peace” and the “era of good feelings”.