American Empire
From Alternative History
Introduction
The Revolution was even bleaker a fight at the outset than in OTL. The Americans took two extra years to bounce back, but in doing so, had amassed more power and popularity internally and externally. This led to a more expansionist and imperialist American outlook. Eventually, the rights and freedoms were wrapped in the idea of spreading them not though inspiration, but rather through integration and union within the United States.
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[edit] The American Revolution
1776, Philadelphia, the Declaration of Independence is proclaimed.
Fighting goes on well into 1784. The number of British troops sent to crush the American Rebellion is nearly doubled, and since the occupation and battles are more fierce, the fight simply takes longer. This also changes the playing field, as Canada is now also feeling more sympathetic to their southern neighbors. By 1782, Canada, Quebec, Acadia, Labrador, and Newfoundland join in with the 13 colonies. The Flag of the United States is amended to 18 stars
1785, The Treaty of Paris is signed.
All North American possessions of Great Britian become American possessions. This includes all the land up to the Mississippi, and the expanse to Oregon and (British) Colombia. Britian attempts to keep Bermuda. During negotiations, the search and seizure of newly American vessles is attempted (which was a cause of the War of 1812) from bases in Bermuda, and with egg on their face, the British hand that over as well.
George Washington's Farewell address does not have the admonishment to avoid being entangled in foreign affairs. Instead, he challenges "this new people that have united to unify all peoples of the world and to grant newer liberties and freedoms in peace and cooperation."
[edit] Early Expansion
1798, The French Revolution.
1800 Inspired by the freedoms of the new Republic, French revolutionaries are inspired to cut the Americans a deal to exit the Western Hemisphere in their attempt to remove the Imperial vestages of the now executed king. Louisianna, Haiti, French Carribean Islands, and Guyana become U.S. possessions. St. Pierre and Miguelon are incorporated into Newfoundland.
1812 Due to British impressment of American sailors, Congress declares war on Great Britain. The British try to invade Boston and New York but are stopped. The British take Washington, D.C. that next year, but are annihilated at the Second Battle of Ft. McHenry. The British surrender Canada to the United States, but keep Newfoundland and the Labrador coast.
1817 President Monroe orders General Andrew Jackson to conquer Florida from the Spanish in retaliation for Indian raids into Georgia. After the Massacre of Pensacola and the destruction of the Spanish fleet in Havana Harbor, Spain cedes Florida to the United States. The defeat causes widespread revolts in Spanish America
[edit] Manifest Destiny
1836 Texas declares independence from Mexico. The United States intervenes on the side of the Texans, forcing Mexico to accept the Rio Grande as Texas' southern and eastern border.
1845 America annexes Texas. Mexican Civil War begins
1846 In the absence of British interests, Russia takes a much more active exploration of North America. In exchange for American support in any future war with the Ottomans, Russia agrees to American control of all areas south of 53'40, with a co-occupation of the rest of the continent.
[edit] The Mexican Conquest
1847 Mexico has lost control over several of its states. California secedes and immediately asks to be annexed to the United States. Mexico, fearing another Texas incident, declares war. U.S. forces quickly drive out the Mexican garrison in California and make an amphibious landing at Veracruz on Christmas Day.
1848 Mexico City falls, and the Mexican army flees to the Yucatan. U.S. annexes California and all of Mexico. Because of the large number of Free States represented in Congress, the Wilmont Proviso passes, banning slavery in all of the former Mexico.
1850 The U.S. army destroys the Mexican remnant in the Yucatan. A successful filibuster by William Walker brings all the Central American countries except for British Honduras and Costa Rica under American rule
1851 All the Mexican territories are organized as free. Missouri passes a law for gradual manumission of slavery.
[edit] The Spanish-American War
1853 The United States gives Spain an ultimatum, demanding all of Spain's colonial empire: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, the Philippines, all other Pacific Islands, and the Canary Islands. Spain refuses. America allies itself with France. Spain's Caribbean Islands are quickly secured. The Canary Islands put up a harsh resistance but are crushed.
1854 France completes its conquest of Catalonia. Manila surrenders to American forces without bloodshed. As the French Army nears Madrid, the government sues for peace. Spain gives America all of its demands, and gives independence to Catalonia. Commodore Perry opens Japan to American trade. He holds the Emperor hostage and forces him to sign a treaty making Japan a virtual protectorate of the United States.
[edit] The Great American Union
1860 Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States. His harsh anti-slavery stand drives the states that still have broad support for slavery to secede.
They are the Deep South States of
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Cuba
And the anomaly
- Indiana
Lincoln makes it clear he will tolerate no rebellion. He orders General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant to subdue the rebels. Grant goes from St. Louis to New Orleans, to reopen the nation's most important waterway. Lee marches through South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, razing Montgomery, the Confederacy's capital.
1861 Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It frees all slaves owned by rebels and creates a nationwide reimbursed manumission process. All slaves are free by 1870.
1863 It is apparent the old Constitution cannot be stretched to cover America's vast empire. The Radical Republican Congress calls on the states to form a national convention to rewrite the Constitution.
1864 After months of debate, the new Constitution of the Great American Union is ratified by the required states. It is organized as follows...
[edit] Colonization
1870 The United States purchases Dutch colonial possessions in the Caribbean and annexes Santo Domingo.
1876 The United States begins a program to send blacks back to Africa along the Liberian Coast. Over 50,000 African-Americans migrate here.
1878 Liberia is made an official United States territory.
1879 Germany and the United States sign a secret treaty dividing up certain parts of Africa. The United States is granted much of the southwestern Sahara as well as Angola while Germany is awarded Cameroon, Tanzania, Togoland, and parts of the central Sahara.
1881 The British, French, and Belgians sign an alliance and threaten to attack Germany and America unless they either relinquish their territorial claims in Africa or allow them to claim large portions of land.
1882 In response to the threat, the United States hosts the Albany Conference, which divides up Africa for colonial interests. The United States is further awarded southern Morocco, Mauritania, and a little more land around Katanga and Angola.
1883 President Arthur initiates a campaign to get settlers to Africa.
1884 Local Moroccans resist American rule. The US army brutally crushes the rebels, helping President Arthur to win re-election.
1887 Belgian troops accidentally fire on American colonists in Katanga. The United States declares war on Belgium. Germany becomes an ally of the United States, and within two months Belgium is conquered. Its African lands are given to the USA, while the mainland is obtained by Germany.
1889 The United States offers to modernize Italy's military and to become its ally in exchange for the territory of Sicily. Both nations agree, and Sicily becomes an American territory on January 1, 1890.
1892 The United States, Germany, and Italy sign a 30-year military alliance. Meanwhile, Great Britain, France, Japan, the Netherlands, and later the Ottoman Empire sign a 15-year military pact.
1897 A civil war in Greece. American-Italian armies secure Athens and other major cities, holding them for the democratic Christians of the country.
1898 The Ottoman Empire sends 40,000 troops to support the Muslim Greeks. Italian and American soldiers directly fight with the Ottomans by May.
1899 A huge Italian-American campaign crushes all remaining Greek Muslims, communists, and other undesired factions. A representative democracy is installed, and the United States oversees its elections.
1902 Greece joins the alliance of Italy, Germany, and America.
1904 Under US pressure, Italy becomes a representative democracy, like the United States. Germany also adopts some democratic principles.
1908 A German submarine off the coast of the Netherlands attacks a Dutch ship, killing 300 civilians. A war of incredible capacity is about to erupt.
[edit] The World Wars
1908 A war soon broke out between Germany, Italy, America, and Greece against Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Japan, and the Ottomans. There were many fronts in the war.
Western Front (France, Belgium, Netherlands) 350,000 German troops invade northern France taking land up to 30 miles outside of Paris. Dutch troops manage to take a few northwestern German towns, but are distracted by a German offensive in the south. The French and Dutch plan to invade the coast of former Belgium to create a link between their countries.
Ancient Front (Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Balkans) Ottoman troops attempt to advance into Greece, but the Greek armies (toughened from the civil war) defend their borders. Italians in Albania attack and capture Skopje, a relatively large Ottoman fort-city. In Palestine, a combined force of American and Italian troops capture Haifa, and hold out against ottoman counterattack. The British navy from Egypt attacks the Greek coast.
African Front (Africa) Very little action is seen here, except the Americans attack Tripoli, an Ottoman colony. Some tribes in Morocco revolt against American rule (funded by the French) but fail miserably.
1909 American and German troops invade the Netherlands, and by 1910, their forces have captured most of the country. The Dutch East Indies are put under joint American and German occupation.
1911 American forces launch a huge invasion of Japan. Using the strategies of tank warfare and an amphibious landing, American forces capture Kyoto and Tokyo within a month. A puppet regime is put in place by the Americans. In the Middle East. American forces occupy Arabia and begin an invasion of Turkey itself.
1914 After six years of fighting, America and its allies have defeated the enemy powers. Turkey is annexed into the German Empire. America gets the rest of the Middle East. America also receives control of Ireland and Normandy from France.
1920 The fragile peace from the First Great War begins to collapse, as riots break out all over the defeated nations' territories. President Wilson sends a League of Nations peacekeeping force to England, but is forced to pull out after a year of terrorist attacks.
1935 Winston Churchill's British Imperialist Party gains power in the U.K. He and whats left of the British Empire begin a massive military buildup. The other defeated powers follow his example
1939 At 4:45 A.M., on Sept. first, the British and their allies launch an invasion of their former territories to rebuild their Empires. By the end of the year, the British have conquered Ireland, Greenland, and Iceland.
1941 On June 22, a large force of British, French, and Dutch troops land in the American Cities of Boston, New York, and at the same time, their paratroops land in Washington and other cities on the American East Coast. They are able to reach the Appalachians, but are stopped and the Battle of Danville, Virginia. This, along with a German, Italian, and Greek counter attack in Europe, turns the tide in the favor of the Americans and their Allies.
1942 The Germans are able to invade Belgium, while the Italians recapture their base in Marseilles. On the American front, the British are forced on a retreat back to the coast. By the end of the year, American forces are able to recapture the city of Savannah Georgia and Washington D.C.
1943 German forces invade the Netherlands and France. The loss of their Dutch and French contingents is a major problem for the occupation government on the American East Coast. By the end of the year the British have been forced to retreat to a small salient in the Northeast. American forces are also able to invade Iceland, Greenland, and southern France.
1944 American and German Forces link up in Paris and crush most of France. The Allies then retake Normandy. The British colony of India is completely occupied. Churchill is forced to evacuate to a bunker in London. In December, the British forces launch the battle of the bulge to retake Washington D.C. The British are eventually routed from their positions on the East coast by January.
1945 An allied force invades Ireland and Britain. German and Italian forces capture Churchill and hand him over to the Americans. He is quickly executed. American forces are soon based all over Europe, and its allies soon become client states.
[edit] The Soviet War
1946 The American forces soon have another power to contend with : the Soviet Union of Russia and China. To defend their massive Empire, the Americans begin to gradually force the unconquered nations of the world to allow them to base their troops in their nations.
1955 The soviets annex Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. American influence expands in South America to the point that some countries ask to be annexed into the American Union. America further isolates the Soviets by forming the United Nations, and American anti soviet puppet organization.
1957 The Americans shock the world in June by launching the worlds first artificial satellite, Roosevelt 1. America also begins building the first nuclear missiles. Nukes had been invented, but not used, by the Americans in 1945.
1962 The soviets hire Lee Harvey Oswald to Assassinate JFK. This leads to a more anti soviet stance in the American Union, and they soon begin sending men to orbit the Moon.
1969 The Americans and Germans complete a space station in orbit of the moon and another in orbit of the earth. Several months later, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong land on the moon.
1975 The soviets begin plans to invade the American Union and U.N. At this same time, America lands a man on Mars and begins the colonization of the Moon.
1979 The soviets begin their war by invading all surrounding U.N. nations. By early 1981, they have reached Paris and invaded Alaska and Japan.
1982 The American forces are able to recapture Alaska and push the Soviets as far back as Berlin. American space assets are becoming more important in the War. by 1985 the enemy forces are pushed back to prewar borders.
1987 The U.N. attacks Moscow and Beijing. although sieges are quick, the Soviets still don't surrender, and American and German forces cross the Urals. The American forces use one Tactical nuke. Their is no retaliation as most soviet forces are surrendering, and America is the only Nuclear power.
1989 The last soviet forces surrender to the U.N. forces. The U.N. congress recognize the new pro American governments in the former Soviet Union. Also, a new law is passed saying that the U.N. General Secretary can only be the President of the American Union. Osama Bin Ladin declares a Jihad against America in response. He only has a small financial backing and small terrorist group, and is soon forgotten.
[edit] The Islamic War
2001 Osama's forces use a small Dirty Bomb to attack the World Trade Center in New York. Muslim opposition leaders all over the World declare war on the Bush lead U.N.
2002 American forces invade Jihadist territory in Iraq, Sudan, and India. By the end of 2003, the American and U.N. forces are embroiled in a long guerrilla war in the Islamic World. America uses armed Space stations and armed space shuttles to attack enemy space assets.
2005 The tide turns in favor of the Americans after they are able to secure Iraq. By early 2006, the American Union is on the verge of capturing Bin Laden. A unanimous vote in the U.N. declares that once the war is over, all countries in the world will be annexed into the American Union. America establishes the first colonies on Mars and sends manned spacecraft to Pluto and the rest of the outer solar system. America also establishes mining colonies throughout the Asteroid Belt.
2008 American Forces defeat the last terrorist forces at the Battle of Mecca. The worlds nations surrender their independence to the American Union.
[edit] The Global Union
2010 The American Military begins to base troops in the space colonies. The Global American Union colonizes the outer solar system.
2025 Scientist announce the discovery of artificial radio waves emanating from a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B. a fleet of Orion Spacecraft is launched to Democratize the alien planet.
2040 American forces invade the planet after five years of deciphering the native languages. The inhabitants have 1930's style technology. They are conquered within a month. The occupation at first meets with civilian resistance from the planets insectoid population. But they soon learn to live in the New Democratic order.
2079 The humans on the planet and in the sol system design a faster than light propulsion system. The American Democratic Planetary Empire is formed.
2302 By this year the union has become the Terran Empire. It comprises of a little over 1,000 planets and has made contact, and in some cases conquered, many alien races.
2327 The Empire is now the dominant power in its region of space. Its capital is still Washington D.C. It is, despite its name, ruled by a president, and most Terran citizens consider themselves to be Americans.
2415 The Empire begins new golden age of Humanity, all brought on by the revolution in 1776.
