President Harrison lives!

[Kaine for Senate '18]

After being confined to his sickbed for almost a week, and hovering between life and death, President Harrison manages to recover from his illness, although he is still extremely weak.

After President Harrison recovers, he stays secluded in his room for another week, preparing an address to give to Congress when the special session opens on May 31st.  His only assistant during that time was his eight year old grandson Benjamin, who helped with the writing of the speech, since the President would get cramps in his hand if he wrote for too long a time.

When President Harrison gives his speech to Congress, he stresses several major points.  His first point was the need to pass a national banking act to help remedy the Panic of 1837.  His second point was to ask Congress to finalize the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which Harrison hoped would settle the dispute over the location of the Maine-New Brunswick border between the United States and Canada.

In May 1842, President Harrison sends in federal troops to Rhode Island to suppress the Dorrite insurgents. Harrison called for calm on both sides, and recommended the governor enlarge the franchise to let most men vote. He also promised that in case an actual insurrection should break out in Rhode Island he would employ force to aid the regular, or Charter, government.

The 1842 Congressional Elections

With support for President Harrison very high, voters give the Whigs a large majority in the House, and state legislatures give a boost in the Senate.

House Results
Whig: 133 (-9)
Democrats: 90 (-8)

Senate Results:
Whig: 32 (+3)
Democrats: 20 (-2)

[Хahar 🤔]

Cool.

House Results
Whig: -9
Democrats: -8

What?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Cool.

House Results
Whig: -9
Democrats: -8

What?

I checked the website for the Clerk of the House, and apparently the House lost 19 seats from the 27th Congress (41-43) and the 28th Congress (43-45).

[Хahar 🤔]

Cool.

House Results
Whig: -9
Democrats: -8

What?

I checked the website for the Clerk of the House, and apparently the House lost 19 seats from the 27th Congress (41-43) and the 28th Congress (43-45).

Weird. But good timeline.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Cool.

House Results
Whig: -9
Democrats: -8

What?

I checked the website for the Clerk of the House, and apparently the House lost 19 seats from the 27th Congress (41-43) and the 28th Congress (43-45).

Weird. But good timeline.

Thanks, I plan on making this timeline much more detailed than my previous attempts.

[Хahar 🤔]

Cool.

House Results
Whig: -9
Democrats: -8

What?

I checked the website for the Clerk of the House, and apparently the House lost 19 seats from the 27th Congress (41-43) and the 28th Congress (43-45).

Weird. But good timeline.

Thanks, I plan on making this timeline much more detailed than my previous attempts.

Since you're dealing with stuff from a century and a half back, that's going to be pretty hard. Just a warning.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

You wouldn't believe this Ben but I actually asked people on an Alternative History forum the same question just yesterday. Well it wasn't exactly a question but more of a discussion of a Harrison Presidency had he had lived .

Quite interesting thus far. May I ask will President Harrison ever aquire California or Texas yet?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

You wouldn't believe this Ben but I actually asked people on an Alternative History forum the same question just yesterday. Well it wasn't exactly a question but more of a discussion of a Harrison Presidency had he had lived .

Quite interesting thus far. May I ask will President Harrison ever aquire California or Texas yet?

I can say that President Harrison will indeed acquire both California and Texas.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

During a ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River on February 28, 1844, the main gun of the USS Princeton blows up during a demonstration firing, instantly killing Thomas Gilmer, the Secretary of the Navy, and Abel P. Upshur, the Secretary of State.  A ceremonial funeral is attended by all but two members of the House and every single member of the United States Senate.

Following the funeral, President Harrison suffers a stroke while writing a speech to be given to Congress, in which he warns against annexation of the Republic of Texas.  Although he survives, he is in poor health, and announces that he will not seek reelection in 1844.

The 1844 Presidential Election
When the Whigs gather to discuss Presidential nominees, two names are put forward.  The first is Henry Clay, one of the party’s original leaders.  The other is Daniel Webster, who, along with Clay, has been instrumental in the workings of the Whig Party.

The major downside is the candidate’s age.  Clay is 67 years old, and Webster is 62.  Even after Webster receives the endorsement of President Harrison, the convention is still deadlocked, and it appears as though, unless a credible third option appears, the party will shatter.

That third option takes the form of former New Jersey senator, and current President of New York University, Theodore Frelinghuysen.  Frelinghuysen, then 57, is nominated on the 43rd ballot of the convention.  He is then endorsed by both Webster and Clay, and he decides to make Webster his Vice Presidential candidate.

On the Democratic side, there is no such debate.  Vice President John Tyler, angered over President Harrison’s position on the annexation of Texas, returns to the Democratic Party, and is nominated for President.  As his running mate, he selects George Dallas of Pennsylvania.

Throughout the general election, Texas is the central point of the campaign.  Frelinghuysen argues that the land is too vast, and that a large portion of the land is unlivable.  Tyler argues that there is not enough information, and that it cannot possibly be a handicap to own such a large area.  He also says that it would open up trade routes to Mexico and Central America.

On Election Day, the results are extremely close.  However, in the following days, it become clear the Tyler has been elected President, in one of the closest elections to date.

Tyler wins the Electoral College by a vote of 160-115, and wins the popular vote by a margin of 49.91%-49.38%.  A swing of 0.09% in Pennsylvania would have given the election to .  Frelinghuysen, making Tyler’s selection of George Dallas the critical move in the entire election.

The 1844 Congressional Elections

Despite the closeness of the Presidential election, the Congressional races are not nearly as close.  In the House, the Democrats pick up 27 seats, giving them an extremely narrow majority.  In the Senate, they pick up 11 seats.


The 1844 Congressional Elections

House Results:
Democrats: 117 (+27)
Whigs: 111 (-22)

Senate Results:
Democrats: 31 (+11)
Whigs: 27 (-5)

[Хahar 🤔]

Good update. Now we get to have a terrible President.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Good update. Now we get to have a terrible President.

I know brother but there is nothing we can do

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Hopefully I'll have an update coming in the next day or two.  Hope you guys are enjoying this thread, feel free to ask any questions that you have.  I'll also welcome suggestions, if you have any.

[Verily]

The Senate was not elected anywhere as early as 1844.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

The Senate was not elected anywhere as early as 1844.

I was putting in how the legislature voted.  There was turnover in Senate membership from election to election, just not by popular vote.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

The First Term of John Tyler

In his Inaugural Address, President Tyler discusses the major goals of his first term, primarily the acquisition of Texas, reducing the tariffs, acquisition of some or all the Oregon boundary dispute, and the purchase of California from Mexico.

The day after taking office, Tyler, fearing British designs on Texas, urges Congress to pass a joint resolution admitting Texas to the Union; Congress complied on March 27, 1845. Texas promptly accepted the offer and officially became a state on June 29, 1845. The annexation angered Mexico, however, which had succumbed to heavy British pressure and had lost Texas at the battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Mexican politicians had repeatedly warned that annexation would lead to war.

Tyler put heavy pressure on Britain to resolve the Oregon boundary dispute.  Previous U.S. administrations had offered to divide the region along the 49th parallel, which was not acceptable to the British, who had commercial interests along the Columbia River. 

Although he agreed with the Democratic platform, which had asserted a claim to the entire region, Tyler felt that the country could not afford to go to war with Great Britain, and compromised with the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 divided the Oregon Country along the 49th parallel, the original American proposal. Although there were many who still clamored for the whole of the territory, the treaty was approved by the Senate.

After the Texas annexation, Polk turned his attention to California, hoping to acquire the territory from Mexico before any European nation did so. The main interest was San Francisco Bay as an access point for trade with Asia. In 1845, he sent diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to purchase California and New Mexico for $20-30 million US dollars. Slidell's arrival caused political turmoil in Mexico after word leaked out that he was there to purchase additional territory and not to offer compensation for the loss of Texas. The Mexicans refused to receive Slidell, citing a technical problem with his credentials. In January 1846 to increase pressure on Mexico to negotiate, Tyler sent troops under General Zachary Taylor into the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande—territory that was claimed by both the U.S. and Mexico.

Angry at the Mexican treatment of Slidell, Tyler prepares to ask Congress for a declaration of war.  Shortly before he sends his message to Congress, he receives word that Mexican forces had crossed the Rio Grande area and killed eleven American troops. Tyler then makes this the major justification, and in a message to Congress on May 11, 1846, he states that Mexico has “invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil.”

Although several Congressman, including Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, doubt Tyler’s story, Congress approves the declaration of war by a large margin.  In the House, anti-slavery Whigs led by former President John Quincy Adams voted against the war; among Democrats, Senator John C. Calhoun was the most notable opponent of the declaration.

By the summer of 1846, American forces under General Stephen W. Kearny have captured New Mexico. Meanwhile, Army captain John C. Frémont is leading settlers in northern California to overthrow the Mexican garrison in Sonoma. General Zachary Taylor, at the same time, is having success on the Rio Grande, although Tyler did not reinforce his troops there.

The 1846 Midterm Elections
With the war in Mexico going very well, the Democrats make massive gains in the House, and the state legislatures gives them an even larger majority in the Senate.  Texas, in its first election as a state, sends an all Democratic delegation to Congress.

House Results
Democrats: 140 (+23)
Whigs: 90 (-21)

Senate Results:
Democrats: 36 (+5)
Whigs: 24 (-3)

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Hopefully I'll have an update in the next few days.  Stay tuned!

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Sorry about the lack of an update, I'm going through some writer's block.  If anyone has any suggestions or questions, please feel free to post them.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Bump

This timeline, after lying dormant for more than 10 months, will be resurrected in the coming days.