by imawesome13131313
Jefferson Administration: 1809-1811
President: Thomas Jefferson, VP: George Clinton
Jefferson’s first order of business is to pardon is friend and ally Aaron Burr, who was wrongfully imprisoned by those tyrannical Federalists for exercising his freedom of speech! He follows this up by marrying the young Dolley Todd following the death of his previous wife. History will record him as the first President to marry while in office. Liberal Charles Pinckney rises to prominence. Though he’s a fan of craft, Andrew Jackson declines an offer to duel Charles C. Pinckney. His reputation takes a hit, but at least he won’t die before he’s had the chance to do anything!
Jefferson approved internal improvements to infrastructure and dispatches sends the Attorney-General Hamilton to mediate a legal dispute in Rhode Island between rebels and the government (Dorr Rebellion). However, tragedy strikes as President Jefferson falls victim to the ravages of time, becoming the first President to die in office. Vice President George Clinton ascends to the office (though the question remains whether he is truly President or merely Acting President, Clinton himself claimed the former).
Clinton Administration: 1811
President: George Clinton
Clinton’s first act is to send General Andrew Jackson to dispatch Seminoles from the Southeast towards the Mississippi. However, Clinton’s opportunity to make his name is pulled from under him as he, too, succumbs to the call of death. His death triggers a minor constitutional crisis as the nation is without a President. The Succession Act of 1792 says that the President pro tempore of the Senate is next in line after the Vice President, so Conservative Fisher Ames ascends to the office, triggering a shuffle in the Cabinet. The question of President vs. Acting President looms even larger. (OOC: These deaths could not have been more poorly timed!)
Ames Administration: 1812
President: Fisher Ames
Ames’s only real act in office is signing the Adams-Onis Treaty, purchasing Florida from the Kingdom of Spain for a nominal sum. (OOC: I decided to not retire Ames, even though he should retire, according to the rules. The man only served one year, after all--and even then, whether he was technically even President is a bit iffy historically.)
Election of 1812: Burr-Monroe: 122, Adams-CC Pinckney: 87
Burr Administration: 1813-1816
President: Aaron Burr, VP: James Monroe
Conservative David Crockett rises to prominence.
President Burr implements the Burr Doctrine (Monroe Doctrine), authored by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, warning the European powers to not intervene in affairs in the New World that don’t concern their empires (Britain has secretly agreed to help enforce the doctrine). A crisis flairs as Southerners attempt to extend slavery into the Louisiana Territory. Burr helps mediates a compromise limiting slavery to south of the 36°30′ parallel. The prospect of a National Bank raises its head once more, but Burr kicks it down the road again. The District of Maine in Massachusetts petitions for statehood and is admitted as the 18th state. Burr repeals the previous tariff, scoring a victory for free trade!
Election of 1816: Burr takes a solid victory, becoming the first President since Washington(!) to win re-election. Maybe things are turning around for the Liberals? (Fingers crossed.) Burr-Monroe: 124, Adams-CC Pinckney: 91
Burr Administration: 1817-1820
President: Aaron Burr, VP: James Monroe
Conservatives George M. Dallas and Richard Mentor Johnson rise to prominence. White Anglophones in Tejas rebel against the Mexican government (itself still embroiled in its War of Independence from Spain) and establish the Republic of Texas. Talks of the US annexing Texas began almost immediately.
Arkansas is admitted as the 19th state. The Napoleonic Wars come to America’s shore as tensions with Britain have reached a tipping point and Democratic-Republicans are agitating for war. However, President Burr ignores his own party and allows the situation to pass. Michigan is admitted as the 20th state. A slave by the name of Nat Turner leads an uprising against the US government, but General Jackson makes quick work of his forces. As his last action in office, Burr repeals another tariff, securing the Liberals’ base for the upcoming election at the cost of much-needed revenue.
Election of 1820: Burr follows Washington’s example and steps down after two terms. The Liberals nominate James Monroe to succeed him. Monroe rides Burr’s popularity into office, becoming only the second Vice President to be elected President in his own right (after Adams, Sr.). Monroe-Gallatin: 122, JQ Adams-CC Pinckney: 96.
Monroe Administration: 1821-1824
President: James Monroe, VP: Albert Gallatin
Conservatives William Marcy and James Buchanan rise to prominence, alongside Liberal Edward Everett.
Indiana is admitted as the 21st state of the Union. Treasury Secretary Dolley Jefferson helps push through the Land Act of 1822 (1820) to prohibit speculation in lands West of the Mississippi. The republic is hit with its first depression in the Panic of 1823 (1819), but Monroe refuses to act. The French Navy American ships in the Atlantic, but Monroe again refusing to react, trying to maintain the US’s continued neutrality. Monroe implements a new tariff to improve the US’s flagging economy. (OOC: I’d just like to mention at this point that the US has never implemented a single tax this game. We’ll see if it keeps up.)
Election of 1824: Monroe is renominated, but the Conservatives pass over Adams due to his repeated failures. The ancient James Wilson of Pennsylvania is tapped for the job instead. Wilson-Marshall: 140, Monroe-Gallatin: 87.
Wilson Administration: 1825-1828
President: James Wilson, VP: John Marshall
Liberals Thaddeus Stevens (from the new expansion) and Henry Clay rise to prominence, alongside Conservative Roger B. Taney.
Louisiana and Illinois are admitted together as the 22nd and 23rd states, respectively. A crisis occurs as Southern states threaten to secede over tariffs (Nullification Crisis). While they ultimately don’t, President Wilson fails to adequately diffuse the situation, raising sectional tensions for the first time. Wilson wants to pass the Indian Removal Act to distract from his failure in the Nullification Crisis, but War Secretary Stevens refuses to prosecute it, leaving it to later generations. Treasury Secretary Gallatin refuses to implement a new tariff.
Election of 1828: We’ve officially returned to the tradition of the one-term President as Wilson is unseated by the Swiss Gallatin (historical note: though Gallatin was born in Geneva, he was a citizen at the time of the Constitution’s ratification, granting him an exemption from the “natural-born citizen” requirement). Gallatin will therefore be the first (and only) POTUS not born in the US and the first to speak a primary language other than English (OOC: Martin Van Buren was the only IRL President to not speak English as his primary language, as the child of first generation Dutch immigrants). Gallatin-Pinckney: 131, Wilson-Marshall: 104.
Gallatin Administration: 1829-1832
President: Albert Gallatin, VP: Charles Pinckney
Liberals Martin Van Buren and Winfield Scott rise to prominence.
Gallatin’s first term will be remembered as a boring one. He rejected the suggestion of circulating money
in specie, and rejected the statehood petitions of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. His only major act was repealing a tariff.
Election of 1832: President Gallatin broke the long-time tradition of a ticket consisting of both a Northerner and a Southerner by choosing fellow Northeasterner Edward Everett as his running mate. However, it turned out the Liberals might have had some foresight, as Nullifier Party candidate John C. Calhoun managed to garner enough votes to break Conservative domination of the South and giving the election to the Liberals! Gallatin becomes only the third President to win a second term. Gallatin-Everett: 140, Hamilton-Marshall: 125.
VP Totals at the end of Era B:
Conservatives: 57 (103)
Liberals: 48 (85)
I’ve
finally started to crawl my way back up, as the Opponent’s lead has been cut to “only” 18 (potential) points, but oh boy was it touch-and-go. There was a point during Wilson’s Presidency that the Conservatives totally had enough for a Regime Change, but lacked the Influence to pull it off (Wilson was a 2, while Regime Change has a difficulty of 5). But it seems the threat is passing as I’m starting to get more Statesmen and the Conservatives are beginning to die off (the oldest active Statesmen are all the Opponent’s). Glad to know I’ll be able to post this after all haha!
This was our second year at Kingdom-Con hosting the Game Crafter table. And just like last year it was a great experience. The convention may be small when compared with something like Gen-Con, but it bustles with energy and people playing games late into the night. I know I was up way past my normal bedtime.
Talk about being Johnny-on-the-spot! But all was well, since we had our secret weapon all setup and ready to go! Having a computer with internet access setup made answering his questions easy. I just pulled up the website and we went over his questions one by one. Especially that really hard question, "how much will it cost?"
Of course, while working the table we played our own card game Virgins. We also got in a few hands of our new expansion decks. The plan for the expansion decks is to have separate three player decks that can combine with either the original Virgins deck or each other. This allows more players and lets us introduce some fun new rules. Speaking of rules, we printed our rules on stiff cardstock and that made them a lot easier to work with for demos.
Alongside our old friends we got to meet lots of new people and let them now about Game Crafters. One vendor we spoke too thought that getting custom tuck boxes made in order to build mini-decks to send out to reviewers would be a good idea. Much more presentable than just a loose stack in a plastic baggy. It's all about the presentation.