Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 388

Chapter 388: Chapter 75: Justice Does Not Attach Itself
Ottawa, after several months of negotiations, by September 1865, preliminary results were finally achieved.

With the intervention of the Four countries including the UK, France, Austria, and Spain, the United States Federal Government recognized the independence of the Southern Confederation and the Indians, and the United States officially split.

The disputed areas of Maryland and West Virginia were divided, with regions supporting the Northern government joining The Federation, while those supporting the Southern Government joined the Confederation.

If you find the territories of the two governments interlocked, do not be surprised. This time, the people were free to choose which government to join, ultimately deciding on a town-by-town basis.

Undoubtedly, this was the work of the British, professionals in their craft. By entrenching the conflict between the North and the South now, one can imagine that the future of America will be quite eventful.

The Southern Confederation Government included: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, as well as parts of Maryland and West Virginia.

The Arizona area and the New Mexico area were also included within the Southern Government. (Roughly what is now the states of Arizona and New Mexico)

The Indian Chiefdom was a bit pitiful, caught between the Northern and Southern governments, with only the meager Indian territories. (Roughly present-day Oklahoma)

After the split, the overall national power still favored the Northern government, which had a population of 17.645 million, inheriting nearly two-thirds of America’s industry, and 63.2% of the territory.

The Southern Confederation Government followed closely behind, with a population of 11.984 million, inheriting nearly one-third of America’s industry, and 34.1% of the territory.

The Indian Chiefdom was negligible, with a population not surveyed, but definitely less than 1 million, a territorial area of less than 200,000 square kilometers, and virtually no industry.

(Note: The United States in 1865 did not include Alaska and Hawaii; most of the overseas islands in later times were also not included)

Of course, this was just a preliminary agreement everyone reached, and the specific details still needed to be ironed out. Especially the demarcation of the national boundary lines, which would take time to determine.

However, this did not prevent everyone from signing the treaty. Under the supervision of the UK, France, Austria, and Spain, on September 12, 1865, the Lincoln Government reluctantly signed the armistice treaty.

The signing of the treaty also meant the end of the Lincoln administration’s term in office. Without the need for prompting from others, the next day, Lincoln submitted his resignation to Congress.

This transition went very smoothly, without any hitch. With the biggest blame now shouldered, naturally, someone else would step up to take over. All they had to do was wait for the election to conclude, and then the Lincoln Government could leave office.

With the Civil War over, the Federal government returned to Washington once again. No matter what, this was still the capital of The Federation.

Even though it had been reduced to ruins, they had to come back. It was a matter of political correctness, signifying the legitimacy of the Federal government.

Upon re-entering the White House, Lincoln seemed to have aged twenty years. Everywhere were the remnants of broken walls, and what once was the center of politics had now become a wasteland.

“Alas!”

A sigh, conveying the helplessness of life.

The Civil War was not Lincoln’s fault. From the moment the Northern capitalists took a dominant position in the government, the countdown to war had begun.

It was just his bad luck to arrive at this critical moment and bear this black mark.

In history, the Northern government won the war, and Lincoln was assassinated just after the war ended, eliciting the people’s sympathy and thus becoming one of the greatest presidents of America.

This black mark naturally fell onto the shoulders of his predecessor. Now that the situation had changed, his own presidency bore an even greater sin.

Political adversaries would not miss this chance, climbing over the failure to ascend, which was only too common.

Some who were dissatisfied with the Lincoln administration were preparing to prosecute them for violating the Constitution, provoking a civil war, and causing the deaths of millions.

This Civil War was devastatingly brutal; the Northern government’s losses included: 572,000 soldiers dead or succumbed to severe injuries, 267,000 soldiers maimed due to injuries, 23,000 soldiers died from diseases, and 12,000 died from various accidents, such as assassinations, drowning, executions for military discipline violations…

This was merely the military’s loss and did not include civilian casualties. Although it hadn’t reached the point where every family mourned and every person wept, it was not far from it.

Don’t think the casualties looked similar to those of the Russians in the Near East conflict; however, the Tsarist Government, in name, won, occupying Constantinople and the Bulgarian region.

Even though Constantinople had turned into ruins and the Bulgarians were still eager for independence, this still did not detract from the Tsarist Government’s political success.

The Federal government just wasn’t up to the task; they had failed strategically. There was no way to shirk the responsibility.

“How can you be so reluctant to leave?”

Secretary of State Saffar had appeared behind Lincoln without notice.

Lincoln shook his head and said, “It’s not that. When I first entered office, I knew I was inheriting a mess. But at that time, I thought I could handle it, that I could reunify the country.

However, I overestimated myself and underestimated the enemy. Now I have to leave in disgrace, and perhaps I will become the first president to end up in prison.”

Saffar offered reassurance, “Before this, there might have been such a possibility. However, from the moment you submitted your resignation, that possibility no longer existed.

The worst-case scenario would just be the next president issuing a pardon. The Republican Party would not let us go to jail; that’s the rules of the game.”

The President of the United States has the right to grant pardons, and apart from impeachment, the president can issue a pardon to anyone without the consent of any institution, including former presidents.

According to the rules of the political game, a president can resign early in exchange for a pardon from the next president.

“Pardon” means all previous charges are wiped clean; if you resign early, impeachment is naturally out of the question.

Before signing the armistice treaty, Lincoln had to be the fall guy, so Congress naturally would not impeach him. Once the treaty was signed, he resigned on his own, the Republican-controlled Congress had already approved, and impeachment was off the table.

Due to the independence of the Southern states, the Democratic Party was seriously weakened and was in no position to compete with the Republican Party for a long time.

The next president is most likely still going to be a Republican, and no party wants to “make history” by having their party’s president imprisoned. Naturally, the Republicans will make sure to protect Lincoln.

Even if the Democratic Party won the election, for political considerations, they would also pardon him.

This is the rule of the game in American politics, and even by the 21st century, no American president has gone to jail for crimes.

Normally, there wouldn’t even be a prosecution. Presidents like Harding of the “Poker Cabinet”, the corrupt President Grant, and Nixon of the “Watergate Scandal”, in the end, all landed safely.

The current clamor for prosecution is primarily for the sake of election campaign propaganda. The radicals are just being used; the politicians won’t break the rules of the game.

Even though Lincoln has resigned, it doesn’t mean that his government can just leave; they still have to wait until the power transfer is complete before they can depart.

This is also because his term has ended; otherwise, the vice president would take over after a presidential resignation. It would still be an insider in office, and the pardon would have already been issued.

…

Franz had no interest in the internal power struggle of the United States; he was still submerged in the joy of America’s disunion, unable to extricate himself.

Once divided, there was the possibility of a second division. From the moment the Federal government recognized the independence of the Southern states, it meant that Lincoln’s patchwork fixes had failed.

This was the legacy of the Declaration of Independence. Initially, the states had joined freely and were not prohibited from leaving; legally, there was no problem with the South’s independence.

Although Lincoln had enacted laws prohibiting the division of the union, it was too little, too late, and was not recognized by the state governments; the law might as well not have existed.

After experiencing a civil war, if certain Federal states were to once again push for independence, would the Federal government be able to suppress them militarily?

Keep in mind that if the Southern Government hadn’t struck first in this civil war, it would have been uncertain whether the Federal government could have assembled an army at all.

In this era, the states of America had too much power, all capable of ignoring the Federal government. For example, they could ban federal troops from entering their territory.

Without the cooperation of the states, even moving domestic troops was a challenge for the Washington Government, let alone organizing an army.

Now, due to the civil war, the Federal government’s prestige had plummeted, and their influence over the states had further declined. This meant that for a long time to come, America would no longer pose a threat.

If the Federal government is seen as a loose alliance, then the Confederate Government goes even further, with each member state having more autonomy than a Sub-State under the New Holy Roman Empire.

This is how the Confederate Government can be understood: Each state is like a small independent kingdom, and together they formed an alliance, which is now the Confederate Government.