Overview of 1801-1802

1801:

January 15th: James Field, a former slave that was rescued from slavery and brought to the United States, invents the Haulie (a hybrid cross between a foot-powered scooter and a bicycle). With a scooter frame, a seat, wooden wheels with a bit of rubber coating, and pedals, the Haulie is a strange but impressive device. Field owns a large plantation with dozens of workers and notices that his workers often struggle to return home or haul loads of crops due to the distance and size of the plantation. Thus, he creates the designs for the Haulie, which will allow the workers to pedal the transportation device if they need to travel a long distance without any load or push the object by foot if they are carrying crops or other goods. This will help his workers return home and carry stacks of crops to markets/warehouses faster. He files for a patent for his transportation device and after he receives his patent, he commercializes it and sells the Haulies in markets.

The Haulies will revolutionize transportation and spread quickly throughout the United States. The Haulies are cheap to make and they will allow people to travel faster at a lower, personal cost. This will open up a path for people in rural areas to travel to cities for work (as the Haulies are clocked to go as fast twenty kilometers per hour). They will also help the Postal Service reduce the time needed to deliver packages and mails. Additionally, it will allow greater freedom of movement for women, which will help advance the feminist revolution in the United States.

January 20th: The Qianlong Emperor passes away, officially transferring power to his successor, the Jiaqing Emperor. The first act he carries out during the official beginning of his reign is the execute Heshen, one of Qianlong Emperor's favorite court officials. Heshen's daughter-in-law, Princess Hexiao, will be spared but exiled to the United States. This confuses the American government greatly, but they (very awkwardly) accept the exile and she settles into Xin.

Meanwhile, the White Lotus Rebellion in the southern parts of China swings into full-scale armed revolt as the Jiaqing Emperor desperately attempts to contain the rebels. In addition to this, the southern regions of China are shaken by the British opium trade, which has been growing since the rejection of the Maccartney Embassy. This will lead to some interesting dialogue between the United States and China...

February 3rd: The Eleventh Congress is ushered in as President Madison begins his second term in office.

In the Senate, the Republican-Democrat Coalition regains a majority as the new Senate seats in Michigan and Ohio swing in favor of the Coalition. Surprisingly, the Republicans manage to gain a Senate seat in Michigan, with the Democrats taking one seat in Michigan and Ohio each. The Front takes the other Senate seat in Ohio. The Maine Senate seat up for re-election will, once again, go to the Union Party.

The Frontier Party is surprised by the results, as they expected the new Senate seats to fall to them. Even the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are stunned by the outcome. However, all four major parties will accept the results with grace (though the Front will show frustration from their "defeat").

United States Senate:

Yellow: Republican Party (15)

Red: Democratic Party (9)

Green: Frontier Party (8)

Blue: Union Party (14)

In the House, one hundred and ninety-four seats are contested (more than two dozen seats than the previous House). The ranked-choice voting in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York (the biggest states in the Union) brings about interesting results. For the first time in a decade, the Republican-Democrat Coalition will seize the House. This is mainly attributed to the ranked-choice voting in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. The four major political parties had a presence in all three states, but the Republican Party was favored as the second "safe choice," if not the top choice, by many voters. As a result, the Republicans gain the most seats out of any political parties. The Democrats also take a few new districts out in the west, while the Front and the Unionists capture the remaining ones. The House is now led by the Republican-Democrat Coalition, 92 to 88 (many Americans call the Unionist-Front Coalition as the "Liberal Coalition," while the Republicans are known as the "Centrists" and the Democrats are known as the "Conservatives"). However, the Republican-Democrat Coalition's lead is slim and many believe that the Independents will be the real "majority" in this new Congress, as they hold enough sway to affect the final vote of new bills.

This will cause some states to adopt ranked-choice voting (due to the advantages it offers to certain parties and candidates), while others will avoid it for the time being.

However, it is clear that President Madison now has a cooperative Congress to work with and can push forth new legislation with ease. This will greatly relieve the occupants of the White House.

United States House of Representatives:

Yellow: Republican Party (58)

Red: Democratic Party (34)

Green: Frontier Party (38)

Blue: Union Party (50)

Grey: Independents (14)

Several important things to note for the composition of the Eleventh United States Congress:

1) In Massachusetts' Tenth District, Abigail Adams wins the House elections and is the first woman elected to the United States Congress. She will not be affiliated with any party and enter Capitol Hill as an Independent. This will cause some awkward moments in Congress as one hundred and ninety-three men and a single woman meet for House sessions inside the Capitol. She will become one of the most vocal supporters of women's rights and will find some Congressmen who are sympathetic to her cause. This will also begin the slow, but steady feminist movement in the United States.

2) Nathaniel Bonapart and Andrew Jackson, both famous across the United States for their Northwestern Expedition, will be elected to the House. Bonapart is sworn in for New York's Fifteenth District, while Jackson is voted in by North Carolina's Ninth District. Both will be members of the Unionist Party. They will be under the tutelage of James McHenry, a fellow Unionist who was the Speaker of the House from 1791 to 1800.

3) Senator Alexander Hamilton, who has been a Unionist Senator for New York since 1793, announces that he is not seeking re-election for his Senate seat for the 1804 Congressional Elections. It is rumored that he will be aiming for the presidency.

4) James River, one of the rebels involved in the North Carolina Slave Uprising of 1790, is elected as the Representative of the Jefferson Organized Territory. While African Americans in Congress is nothing new (indeed, there are around forty African Americans in the House and five in the Senate), the fact that a former rebel is now a member of Congress will unsettle a number of Congressmen and everyday Americans alike.

5) Gaspard Laurent Bayle, whose parents immigrated to the United States right before he was born, becomes a House representative for the state of Quebec. At twenty-six years old, he is one of the youngest Congressmen and is also an accomplished doctor.

February 15th: Shortly after being elected into Congress, Abigail Adams create the "Society of Feminists and Equal Rights." The Society of Feminists and Equal Rights will be headquartered in Boston and will meet monthly to promote women's rights and help push female candidates into Congress. With Adams' election into the House, women in the United States will be more interested in politics than ever before and feminist rallies will become commonplace in the New England region. It will find many supporters out in the west, especially amongst Native American states and western states, where women are generally more independent than their eastern counterparts. Quebec will also play a noticeable role in the advancement of women's rights. Despite their rather conservative social views, women's rights (and political rights in general) will be one area that Quebec will support outside of their norm.

March 2nd: After a fierce debate within the Watchmen Society, the group agrees to admit a female representative. The choice is quite obvious: Abigail Adams. She will be invited to a meeting in the near future and will be introduced to the most secretive and exclusive group in the United States.

March 21st: A surprising revelation rocks the entire U.S. military. "Derrick" Sampson, who had been serving in the American Army as a sergeant for nearly a decade, reveals herself to be a female by the name of Deborah Sampson. Sampson will later state that Abigail Adams' election into Congress influenced her decision to reveal her true identity. This revelation will shock the entire nation. The fact that a woman achieved the rank of sergeant in the Army will electrify the national debate over women's rights and women serving in the military. Deborah Simpson will be reprimanded by the Army for hiding her true identity (in reality, her unit was aware of her sex, but decided to keep quiet about it as she was an excellent soldier) and discharged.

Sampson will become an icon for the Society of Feminists and Equal Rights and will be exemplified as proof that women are just as capable as men. The fact that the First French Republic also employed women in their National Guard will not go unnoticed by the Society as well.

While women will not be accepted into the military right away, a few will join the National Guard and become reserves for their respective states. States such as Iroquois, Hisigi, Quebec, Ohio, and Kentucky will approve of women joining the National Guard at a higher rate than other states. The Anikegama Territorial Guard will also incorporate a number of female Native Americans into its ranks.

April 2nd: Ontario applies for statehood. There is some debate in Congress about the validity of Ontario's request for statehood, as Ontario has not been granted Organized Territory status (this was due to the difficulty of creating a Census, and the 1800 Census was the first official Census in the territory). Additionally, the size of Ontario (which will be almost as big as Quebec) will stir up some debate between Quebec and other states. Quebec (and the Ontario Territory) desires to split the eastern parts of the territory off from the west and wait for enough people to settle in the west to create a new state there. This is in order for the French-speaking parts of the United States to gain four Senate seats instead of just two if the entire Ontario Territory is accepted as one whole state. Meanwhile, most of the other states desire the Ontario Territory to remain as one single state (though even they are concerned about the sheer size of the newly proposed state).

This will cause the debate to carry out for sixty days before Congress finally votes on the matter.

April 10th: Great Britain's first Census reveals that the nation has around ten million inhabitants. With the news that the United States has nearly seven million, this causes serious concerns in the British government. The United States is growing at a rapid pace in terms of territory, population, and economy. Prime Minister Pitt will work to counter this by growing the British Empire and expanding British influence in Asia and Africa.

May 3rd: Aleksandr Pavlovich Romanov becomes Tsar Alexander I of Russia.

May 9th: Samuel Kim leaves on another voyage to Asia, this time to help the Qing Empire deal with the growing opium problem in its southern provinces and to (hopefully) sell military arms to help modernize the Qing military.

May 22nd: The city of Marseilles erupt into revolt as the Anti-Monarchy Clubs in the settlement stoke flames against the monarchy. Portraits of King Louis are burned and an effigy of the king is hung in the middle of the city. "Tuer le Roi" becomes a popular chant from the rioters, as they demand that the King is permanently removed from France by execution. To make matters worse, the National Guard that is deployed into the city is reluctant to fight the rioters. In fact, many of them join with the protesters (a number of them are veterans from the French Civil War and remember the King's forces decimating the republicans in Marseilles). This will be a prelude to the French Revolution of 1806 and the establishment of the Second French Republic.

King Louis is alarmed at Prime Minister Brisott's inaction and is afraid that he will be removed from his current throne by an angry mob. As a result, he will send feelers to other European monarchs, especially Britain. His plan is to rely on foreign armies and mercenaries to restore the monarchy permanently if the Republicans seize control of the nation. Prussia and Austria have already agreed to support King Louis through the Berlin Agreement, though Britain demands all of France's possessions in India if they sign the Agreement.

June 1st: After a lengthy debate, a compromise is reached. Ontario will enter the Union as one single state (becoming the first state since the creation of the United States to skip the "Organized Territory" status entirely). In exchange, the United States Military will occupy Rupert's Land and ensure that it is firmly under American control (which will allow the Canadian Americans to have another French-speaking state in the future). Thus, Ontario becomes the twenty-fourth state in the Union, with two House seats (for its population of 74,833 people) and two Senate seats. It will also be the second majority French state, owing to its population influx from France (many Protestants that were persecuted by the King during the French Civil War fled to the United States, specifically Quebec and the Ontario Territory). Its capital will be Sainte-Anne-des-Pins (shortened to Sainte-Anne) (AN: OTL's Sudbury).

June 19th: In an act of cooperation and friendship, the state of Iroquois and Quebec agree to form a "shared city" between Toronto and Thaona. Mississauga, a town created from the shared city project, will be jointly administered by the two states (northern parts to Quebec, southern parts to Iroquois). All three towns (Toronto, Thaona, Mississauga) will be popular trading and industrial hubs and will be considered the new "gateways" to the west (especially towards Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois).

June 30th: The U.S. military suffers a defeat several miles west of Fort Washington (AN: OTL's Saint Paul area). One of the most remote and western American forts, the defenders overextend while chasing a small group of Natives and is caught off guard by an ambush with hundreds of Sioux warriors. By the end of the battle, one hundred American soldiers are dead while the Sioux warriors suffer only twenty casualties. It will be one of the worst American defeats in the region.

In lieu of the defeat, five hundred soldiers of the U.S. Army, along with the local Territorial Guard, will be deployed to Nibioda (AN: OTL's Minneapolis) to protect the town's inhabitants from any future incursions.

July 4th: Due to the confusion surrounding Organized Territories, statehood, and borders, Senator Hamilton proposes a new amendment to the Constitution:

"1) All Territories, regardless of Status, will be permitted to apply for statehood if they have met the minimum requirements needed. The requirements for statehood will be determined every twenty years by Congress in conjunction with the National Census. The territorial borders of all Territories will be determined by Congress, with input from the local Territorial Government.

2) Territories will be granted Organized Status only if their population exceeds the average number of people per House seat. This requirement will match the changes brought by the expansion of Congress and the National Census every twenty years."

This will bring another flurry of debate in regards to the territories. However, this amendment will be met with support from most Congressmen.

July 9th: After some debate, the Massachusetts State Legislature implement ranked-choice voting for the next federal elections. The local Unionists in the state are confident that this will benefit the Union Party, as Massachusetts is a strong Unionist stronghold.

July 29th: Three Army regiments are sent into Rupert's Land to firmly establish American control over the disputed territory. Over a five month period, the American soldiers will clear out any British troops in the region peacefully and will disrupt the small fur trade the British maintain in the area. This will cool relations between the United States and Great Britain significantly, as the ruling Tory government is not happy with the "American occupation," even though Rupert's Land is technically American territory.

August 4th: Samuel Kim arrives in China and is granted an audience with the new Emperor of China. He discusses several issues with the Emperor while speaking Manchu. With Prince Mianning's recommendation, the Jiaqing Emperor agrees to some of the proposals laid out by Kim (the "gift" of a thousand rifled muskets, an American officer acting as an observer to the Qing military, and a visit by several American doctors to combat the Opium Epidemic in southern China).

August 19th: Abigail Adams, considered by some as the most powerful woman in America, is formally accepted into the Watchmen Society at Columbia. At first, she is shocked and confused by the existence of the Society but accepts it after an explanation from her husband (who reached his term limits in Congress and is now the governor of Massachusetts). Just like the first House session of the Eleventh Congress, the meeting with her is a bit awkward (as the rest of the Society are composed of men and some were reluctant to have her in the Society at all). However, the meeting will finish relatively smoothly as the Society touches upon several topics: a permanent building for the Society to meet in (some proposals are Columbia, New York City, Boston, and Richmond), an inquiry about the purchase of the entirety of the Louisiana Territory and northern New Spain, the Republic of Haiti, and a number of other points of interest.

September 1st: The Iroquois Native Council agrees to open up the Niagara Falls and the Lake Erie regions to white settlers, provided that they pay an annual fee to the state government and to obey and respect all Native traditions. While white settlers have settled in the region for some time, the Native Council's decree will make it officially legal. This will create an interesting state dynamic, as the western parts are primarily white while the eastern areas are predominantly Native American.

September 15th: After nearly a decade of research and development, ARPA believes that the improved telegraph is ready to be commercialized. With the approval of the United States Congress, the first telegraph lines are laid out between New York City and Philadelphia (a distance of nearly 160 kilometers). The telegraph lines will finish within a year and during this time, ARPA will also "develop" Bina Code (Morse Code).

October 3rd: The first feminist rally in the United States is held by the Society of Feminists and Equal Rights in Boston. Abigail Adams will personally lead the rally, which is attended by thousands of women (and a few men). She will also introduce the Haulies (which she discovered through her time in Congress, as Congress saw the invention as a potentially useful tool for the Postal Service) to the general population and electrify onlookers with a passionate speech about women's rights. She speaks about how America is considered the "Bastion of Liberty," but mentions that the former French Republic surpassed the United States in terms of women's rights (the French National Assembly have a few Assemblywomen by this time). She enthusiastically meets many of her supporters and declares that a new political wave will flood the United States.

October 21st: A violent slave uprising is suppressed in Cap-Haitien. Two hundred Spanish soldiers lose their lives, while over five hundred slaves perish from the battle. The Spanish authorities on Spanish Hispaniola implement draconian measures to quell the slave uprising. By this time, the population of the Spanish parts of former Saint Domingue is around 450,000, while the Republic of Haiti's population hovers above 400,000 (for reference, the total population of Saint Domingue in 1790 was around 900,000).

With over five thousand slaves in open revolt, Spain agrees to import more slaves to replace the ones that fled to the United States/Haiti and the ones in rebellion. Over the period of the following decade, Spanish Saint Domingue's population will rise from 450,000 to nearly 800,000. While parts of the colony will be hit by the rebellion, the rebels will only control small swathes of territory (near the Haitian-Saint Domingue border) and the colony will become profitable. However, the active insurgency in the area, combined with the high losses of Spanish troops, will force Spain to reconsider their position on the colony.

This act will spark an outcry from the United States and President Madison will re-implement the "Free Ocean Declaration" made by President Jefferson in 1794. Any slave ships that approach American waters will be captured and the captured slaves will be liberated within the United States. The United States Navy actively patrols the Caribbean, especially around Haitian waters, which greatly angers Spain. Many in the Spanish government blames the United States for allowing the Haitian rebels to successfully form a republic, while others accuse the United States of subverting Spanish influence and stirring revolutionary sentiment in the colony. While no diplomatic actions will be taken by either side, it is clear that the relations between the two nations will not be warming any time soon.

However, President Madison's firm decision to liberate any slaves near American will be met with support from across all the major parties. Senator Hamilton will publicly state, "No matter what our political parties are, we can all agree that the disease known as slavery needs to be eradicated."

November 15th: Francisco de Miranda, who has been living in the United States since his exile in 1783, gathers hundreds of ardent Americans and leaves for Venezuela. He decides that the time is right to bring independence to his home state, as Spanish soldiers are bogged down in Hispaniola. Miranda met with many of the Founders during his stay in the United States and it was the support and ideals he discovered in America that prompted him to stay in the nation until his planned uprising. His group arrives in the Spanish colony a month later and he begins to create an active underground movement to overthrow the Captaincy General of Venezuela. Manuel de Guevara y Vasconcelos, the Captain-General of the colony, is aware of Miranda's presence but is unable to locate him and imprison him.

While the United States is somewhat supportive of Miranda, they will not provide him with military arms. However, Congress will covertly pass a bill that will give Miranda ample funding (approximately $500,000) to acquire arms and gather supporters himself. Out of all the foreign powers that America has relations with, Spain is the most hated nation by a wide margin. As a result, the American government will have no qualms supporting a firmly republican revolutionary to bring about another republic in the Americas. The NIS will watch this conflict from the sidelines as they have no assets in the area.

However, it will take some time for Miranda to develop the independence movement in Venezuela. Most of the colony is indifferent to independence and sees themselves as Spanish subjects. Even so, Miranda sees potential for a revolution and bids his time in secret.

December 2nd: Congress proposes a monument to memorialize the first president, Samuel Kim. Kim, who had just returned from his trip to China, publicly shoots down the idea. He claims that he doesn't "want to be worshipped by future Americans for something that anybody could've done as the president." Nevertheless, some Congressmen will be insistent on creating his monument in Columbia. The idea will only be approved in 1837.

December 19th: The British government will revoke America's "Most Favored Nation" status and implement stricter tariffs on American goods. This will not affect the American economy as badly as expected, as the United States has increased trade ties with other nations in Europe. France will greatly benefit from the trade between itself and the United States, but the French economy will show some strain from this partnership.

However, the American economy will show signs of strain from the sudden change in Britain's economic policies. While it will not reach the level of the Panic of 1797, it will incite similar fears in the populace. Since the situation has not escalated into a major financial crisis, President Madison opts to take a more careful approach to the state of affairs.

1802:

January 22nd: The Seventeenth Amendment is voted on and passed with more than a two-thirds majority in both levels of Congress. It will be the core foundation of statehood for future American territories, from the Americas to elsewhere.

February 1st: Britain starts to making threatening maneuvers towards Nepal, making the King of Nepal, Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah, and the Nepalese Mukhtiyar (Prime Minister), Bhimsen Thapa, extremely wary of a potential British attack. While the soldiers in the Nepalese military are extremely fierce and disciplined, they are poorly equipped and vastly outnumbered by the numerous units fielded by Britain and the East India Company. The fact that Britain has been aggressively expanding its zone of influence in India creates a sense of urgency within Nepal. As a result, Mukhtiyar Thapa sends out his younger brother, Bakhtawar Singh Thapa, to look for ways to bring more arms from nearby Tibet or Qing in order to defend against the British imperialists.

One thing will lead to another and Bakhtawar will end up on a ship to the United States, after being told by the Jiaqing Emperor that a nation that managed to "utterly and completely defeat the British" exists out in the west (this was what Prince Mianning reported to his father after his expedition). It will take him over nine months to arrive in the United States, but once he does, he will change the course of Nepal's history forever...

February 20th: Abigail Adams introduces an amendment to even the voting age for men and women. However, her attempts are shot down immediately by most of the sitting Congressmen. This will begin the long and eventful journey to bring about equality of sexes under the law.

March 1st: The Haulies are made available in local markets and stores in Boston. The few hundred in stock are sold out by the end of the day. Within a week, hundreds of Bostonians will be seen riding around the strange contraption around the town. Reports will show that some people from Framingham (a town 44 kilometers away from Boston) will be able to use the device to travel to Boston within two hours' time.

Due to the Haulies, demand for rubber will go up and various innovators will try to find ways to improve upon the initial design. It will also begin the era of communications and transportation (along with the invention of the steam locomotive and the telegraph).

March 11th: Eleuthere Irenee du Pont creates a gunpowder and chemical company in France. His business will become extremely successful (known in the future as the French company DuPont Chemical Company) and he will be one of the biggest financers/supporters of the Second French Republic.

April 2nd: The first telegraph line is connected between Hartford, Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts (which is set to end at Philadelphia). A test message is sent from Boston to Hartford, with the first message saying "Does this work?"

It works as intended. And the nation is (quite literally) electrified by the revelation of a fast method of communication across long distances. The United States Postal Service will be one of the first groups to see if they can employ the new invention for sending mail quickly, while the United States Military will also be interested in the project as well. While the telegraph is nowhere near perfect, it is something that catches the interest of the entire nation.

April 29th: The French economy starts its decline due to a combination of an overheating economy, a poor harvest, and rising inflation. This will be one of the direct causes of the 1806 French Revolution. While some will blame Prime Minister Brisott for the sudden downturn of the country's economic fortunes, many will blame the King for their sudden troubles. This is mainly because France is still recovering from the aftermath of the French Civil War and the populace believes that the King and his "foreign masters" caused untold harm on the nation. Their accusations are somewhat true, as the French Civil War left important financial centers like Lyon completely wrecked. However, the fall of the price of gold (due to the aid offered by Kim and the Society), along with American exports flooding French markets, are the real causes of the economic downturn.

This will only spark more troubles for Brisott and the Girondins. Some Girondins (who will later be called the "Left-Girondins") demand swift government intervention much like what President Madison did during the Panic of 1797. Others demand a more moderate approach. Brisott will do his best to manage the economy, but his policies will only moderately improve the situation. This will show in the upcoming French National Assembly elections.

May 1st: John Hancock dies due to a heart attack. His death is mourned by the entire state of Massachusetts and the Watchmen Society. The Society elects a new representative to take his place: Benjamin Clark Cutler, a Massachusetts House representative that also maintains a vast amount of wealth from trade and industry. He will be scouted out for several months before the Society contacts him. If the Society believes that he is unfit for its standards, then another candidate will be proposed and elected.

May 15th: The Hanwi Massacre. The Anikegama Territorial Guard, along with a few members of the United States Army, completely wipes out a Sioux village just within America's borders. This is mainly due to the frustration of both the Anikegama Territorial Guard (which has suffered dozens of casualties against Sioux raiders) and the Army (which has suffered the most out of all the other American groups in the area). The inhabitants of the Sioux village, called Hanwi, will be massacred for "invading American territory" by the leading officer of the Anikegama Territorial Guard. The Army officer will not contradict his statements and allow for the massacre to be carried out. By the end of the massacre, nearly two hundred Sioux Indians lay dead, including women and children.

In the immediate aftermath, every individual that participated in the massacre will be court-martialed and imprisoned for their actions. Members of the Anikegama Territorial Guard will be tried the same way as the Army soldiers. Nearly all of them will be hung for their involvement in the atrocity, though a few are "only" imprisoned for twenty years for attempting to stop the massacre while watching the event unfold from the sidelines.

The impact across the United States will be felt immediately. The news is leaked by several Native Americans that saw the aftermath of the massacre. Native American states will rail against the federal government for allowing such an act to be carried out under their nose. The entire public will be horrified that their nation's own military executed civilians in cold blood. The Department of Internal Affairs will start an investigation into the military for any signs of corruption or abuses of power. The Anikegama Territorial Guard will officially be designated under the United States Military until Anikegama reaches statehood. All in all, it will cause the government to keep a tighter leash on its military, as the Hanwi Massacre and the destruction of the USS Virginia have revealed severe flaws in the organization. Soldiers will be taught that "following orders" is not a valid excuse to carry out heinous crimes and that they are to disobey their superiors if their orders run contrary to the Constitution.

President Madison will appear before the public to proclaim that the Hanwi Massacre is an "anti-thesis for everything the nation [United States] stands for" and that the government will ensure that such an act, "never again happens to the people we share our livelihood and our lands with."

One of the most vocal and scathing critics of the ruling government and the atrocity will be Representative Andrew Jackson. Upon hearing the news, Jackson was incensed and demanded Congress to execute all the participants of the massacre. He would later go on and deliver a fiery speech to the rest of Congress, proclaiming that "only damn cowards fire upon civilians" and that the United States "failed to deliver on the promises of equality and justice by killing Native Americans, who were on American lands, in cold blood." He will become an extremely popular figure around the nation for his speech and become one of the most noticeable members of the Union Party.

However, this massacre will only embolden the Sioux Free Nation and some formerly pro-American tribes will flock to the Sioux Free Nation's side. The Sioux will use this massacre as evidence to prove that the United States is no different than the other imperial powers and will only exploit Native Americans.

June 10th: Illinois applies for statehood. After the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, Congress declared that a territory needed at least 75,000 inhabitants and an organized territorial government in order to be granted statehood. Illinois meets both of these criteria, thus their application.

July 5th: Congress approves of Illinois' petition for statehood, welcoming the twenty-fifth state in the Union. Illinois will be granted two House seats and two Senate seats for the number of people living in the state (77,291).

July 8th: Congress passes the "War Crimes Act of 1802," specifying the types of war crimes that are subject to immediate execution. This list will include:

-Intentionally killing civilians.

-Murdering prisoners of war.

-Rape.

-Mutilation.

-Enslavement.

-Cruel treatment and torture.

Amongst other things. It will be passed unanimously in both levels of Congress and swiftly signed into law. The War Crimes Act will also specify that ignoring an individual that is carrying out these crimes or carrying out these crimes due to "orders" will also result in immediate imprisonment and potential execution.

Additionally, "Hanwi Day" will be memorialized by the populace as a constant reminder that even the most idealistic nation in the world could not truly live up to its full expectations. Hanwi will officially become a memorial site and the remains of the victims will be properly buried. The United States Army will be tasked with ensuring the site's safety and to never forget the atrocities carried out by its own members.

July 11th: Seeing the potential of the Haulies, Congress passes the "Postal Service Enrichment Act of 1801." The Haulies will be improved to be more durable and stable by ARPA (with Field receiving a handsome bonus for his invention) and the Haulies will be supplied to the United States Postal Service for faster transportation in both urban and rural areas. Additionally, New York City will be a "testing ground" for a "Haulie Road Route" that will reserve a portion of the road for Haulie users.

July 30th: Abigail Adams leads another rally in Boston, this time utilizing the Haulies to go door to door to spread political awareness about women's rights. Hundreds of female volunteers will deliver pamphlets to nearly everyone that is within Boston in record time. Unlike the previous rally, a number of women are from ways outside of Boston and the Haulies will signal a change in campaigning and political activism.

August 2nd: A Qing military group sent to crush the White Lotus rebellion is annihilated, forcing the Emperor to create a new approach to the situation. After some input from his son, he will create a small, but organized army group in order to swiftly deal with the partisans. This army group, which will be nicknamed as the "Ninth Banner Army," will be composed of some of the most veteran soldiers of the Eight Banner Army and equipped with rifled muskets and rifled cannons ("sold" to them by the United States). This group will be organized and trained by Major General Anthony Wayne, a hardened veteran of the American Revolutionary War. They will suppress the White Lotus rebels with brutal efficiency while the Emperor himself enacts social reforms to urge the rebels to put down their arms and stop fighting. By the end of 1803, the White Lotus Rebellion is officially declared over, though the "invulnerability" of the Manchus and the Qing government is completely shattered. This will only spark more rebellions within China later on...

August 11th: The first American doctors and professionals arrive to help combat the spreading opium epidemic in southern China. They will be the only foreigners allowed to travel within the interior of the nation.

September 4th: Five ships of the British Royal Navy will enter American waters around Sovtaj "accidentally," though the incident is resolved peacefully. However, the sudden change in Britain's policies towards America will worry and anger the United States government.

September 10th: The Tay Son dynasty will complete its consolidation and unification of Vietnam (Dai Viet). Emperor Quang Trung will build up his military in the event of a conflict with the Qing Empire, which he believes is inevitable. However, for the time being, he will utilize his military to look westward towards Thailand and neighboring states.

October 5th: The telegraph lines between Boston and Philadelphia open. President Madison personally sends a message to his friend John Adams (the governor of MA) from the Philadelphia Telegraph Station. The message will be simple and short, "Change is coming, and it is coming fast."

November 2nd: The elections for the Twelfth United States Congress occur. Fourteen seats in the Senate (Hisigi, Georgia, Kentucky, Vermont, Illinois, Ontario, and a seat in Maine and Florida each) are contested. A sitting Senator in Florida passed away during his term, which opened up a free Senate seat in the state.

As for the House, one hundred and ninety-seven seats are contested. The newly implemented ranked-choice voting policies in Massachusetts and South Carolina will have a significant impact on the makeup of the Twelfth United States Congress...

November 10th: Bakhtawar meets with a representative of the federal government and requests assistance in defeating the British Empire. He is able to meet the president in record time and the two will discuss matters in private. By the end of the discussion, President Madison manages to iron out an agreement for Nepal. Nepal will be able to freely buy weapons from the United States (that will be sent to the American merchants in the Lanfang Republic for easier access). Additionally, the current American military advisor to China, Major General Wayne, will be directed to Nepal to help the Nepalese implement the tactics the Americans used to successfully defeat the British. In exchange, President Madison inquires about "Gurkhas" and a potential agreement for several of them to move to the United States...

December 14th: After a very close election, the Girondins (still unified under a single banner) will edge out other factions with 51% of the seats, signaling the coming end of the Girondin rule. While the Girondins are still somewhat popular, many desire to see a new party take leadership as they believe the Girondins have been ruling for too long (the economic downturn does not help the Girondins either). However, the opposition (primarily the Dantonists) is divided and the ruling party barely manages to hold onto power. Prime Minister Brisott will face formidable opposition from other factions and even within his own political group.

This bitter political divide will cause the French king to make his move in 1805... which will only result in the establishment of the Second French Republic.