NaWiPoMo: Port Superior

Port Superior is a city in the Confederation of Manitoba. Although Sobel does not give its exact location, its name suggests that it is located on the north shore of Lake Superior. The completion of a railroad line from Port Superior to the Manitoban capital of North City in 1855 brought the confederation's hitherto isolated farms into the market economy of the rest of the Confederation of North America, resulting in a dramatic change in the lives of the inhabitants.

NaWiPoMo: Transportation Control Act

The Transportation Control Act was a major legislative act sponsored by Liberal Governor-General Henderson Dewey during his first term in office as part of what he called his "dismantling operation". As with much of Dewey's legislation, the bill was introduced simply, with little prologue, by an undistinguished Liberal back-bencher. The bill created the Confederation Transportation Authority to consolidate the various government agencies regulating railroads, airmobile lines, and interconfederation trucking.

As was the case with other major legislation sponsored by Dewey, the Transportation Control Act passed with little difficulty after being praised by Dewey and his fellow Liberals as "liberating." Members of the opposition People's Coalition pointed out that the bill was popular in rural and underdeveloped areas of the Confederation of North America, particularly in the Confederation of Manitoba. The one mode of transportation not covered by the Act was the locomobile, which was likely a deliberate omission made by the Dewey administration as a gesture to locomobile magnate Owen Galloway, or possibly at Galloway's direction.

Some sweet company

I think we could all use a little break from the Sobel Wiki articles, so here's an embedded music video of Anna Kendrick singing "Cups".

NaWiPoMo: The 1928 Grand Council Elections

The 1928 Grand Council elections were held on 15 February 1928 for the purpose of choosing the Eighteenth Grand Council of the Confederation of North America. The elections returned a Liberal Party majority of 94 seats, the largest the Liberals had enjoyed up to that time.

The elections served as a referendum on incumbent Governor-General Henderson Dewey's policy of transferring power from the national government to those of the confederations, which he referred to as his "dismantling operation." The Liberals also benefitted from the Dewey administration's policy of cooperating whenever possible with the Galloway Trust, the private foundation organized by Owen Galloway of North American Motors to assist North Americans who wished to emigrate within or from the C.N.A. Dewey was able to make it appear that Galloway favored his administration, even though the locomobile magnate remained scrupulously neutral politically.

The Dewey administration included a number of able and attractive young men, such as Douglas Watson, Emery Collins, John Hopkins, and Dennis Mitchell. Dewey had also succeeded in building up the Liberal organizations at the confederation level, led by Governors Foster McCabe of Manitoba and David Heald of Indiana.

The opposition People's Coalition, by contrast, seemed a party of old men. As Franklin Drew later put it, former Governor-General Calvin Wagner was "a decent and fairly intelligent man who unfortunately has the appearance of a contented hog; Governor Elbert Childs of the Northern Confederation has the faint aura of a circus-master; while N.C. Councilman Frank Evans, the party's most attractive candidate, manages to alienate potential supporters by his automatic opposition to every Dewey program."

Evans was able to gain the Coalition's nomination for governor-general at their convention in December 1927, while the Liberals renominated Dewey.

Sobel describes the election results as a foregone conclusion, with the Liberals winning a smashing victory over the P.C. in the Grand Council, as well as winning five of the six governorships and control of four confederation legislatures. Dewey was hailed as the most brilliant politician since Ezra Gallivan.

Sobel's source for the 1928 Grand Council elections is Drew's The Guard is Confirmed: The Elections of 1928 (New York, 1933). Election results are from the New York Herald, 16 February 1928.

NaWiPoMo: Indiana Northern Railroad

The Indiana Northern Railroad was a railroad line established in the Confederation of Indiana before or during the Rocky Mountain War.

Patrick Gallivan became president of the Indiana Northern in 1861. Gallivan was an Irish immigrant who came to the Confederation of North America soon after the war, and found work in Michigan City as a yardman at the railroad. Gallivan proved to have a talent for and interest in railroads, as well as a fine native intelligence. These, along with a good deal of luck, allowed him to rise quickly at the railroad.

With the help of two lawyers, Martin Kelsony and Abraham Lincoln, Gallivan was able to extend the Indiana Northern into Manitoba to the northwest, and to Southern Vandalia after that confederation was created in 1877. The Indiana Northern was the first North American railroad to join with the Mexican lines when the Southern Vandalia line was extended south to join with the Jefferson & California Railroad. By the end of his life, Gallivan was as much the king of the C.N.A.'s western railroads as Thomas Scott and Andrew Carnegie were in the east.

NaWiPoMo: Northern Confederation Central Railroad

The Northern Confederation Central Railroad was an early railroad line established in the Northern Confederation by Cornelius Vanderbilt in the 1820s. The N.C.C.R.R. had rail lines running west to Michigan City, Indiana; south to Norfolk, Virginia; and north to Portland, Massachusetts. Vanderbilt also controlled a fleet of trans-oceanic cargo vessels which, together with the N.C.C.R.R., allowed him to dominate the trans-Atlantic shipping field. Although Sobel does not say so, it is likely that the N.C.C.R.R. formed part of the New York, Michigan City, and Pitt Railroad established in 1843 by Governor-General Winfield Scott.

NaWiPoMo: Railroad

A railroad is a transportation system in which a train of cars is pulled along a set of rails by an engine, initially one powered by steam.

Railroads in the C.N.A.

The first railroads in the Confederation of North America appeared in the Northern Confederation in the early 1820s, and are credited with boosting the N.C.'s economy. Railroads in the N.C. were initially financed from London, but soon banks in New York City were also investing in them. Entrepreneurs built lines throughout the N.C., and by 1831 railroad branches were extending into the Southern Confederation and Indiana, with Michigan City serving as a railroad terminus in 1836. Most notable of the early railroad tycoons was Cornelius Vanderbilt, head of the Northern Confederation Central Railroad, which had lines going to Michigan City in the west, Portland, Massachusetts in the north, and Norfolk, Virginia to the south.

During his first year as Governor-General in 1843, Winfield Scott helped bring about the formation of the New York, Michigan City, and Pitt Railroad, which was designed to connect the major cities of the C.N.A. through a system of feeders. A railroad line connected the Manitoban capital of North City with Port Superior in 1855. In 1852, the C.N.A. surpassed Great Britain in railroad production.

A second wave of railroad building took place in the C.N.A. after the Rocky Mountain War. By 1880, Thomas Scott's Grand National Railroad controlled some 18,000 miles of track, while his rival Andrew Carnegie's North American United line controlled another 22,000 miles. Carnegie was the first to introduce sleeping and eating cars, air brakes, and carriage feeders; Scott, meanwhile, was responsible for refrigerated cars, automatic switches, and the rationalization of gauges in 1878. At the same time, an Irish immigrant named Patrick Gallivan became the president of the Indiana Northern Railroad in 1861, and began extending its lines into Manitoba to the northwest, and later to Southern Vandalia and the United States of Mexico.

The C.N.A.'s railroads gave rise to the great labor unions of the 1860s, with railroad engineers forming the Consolidated Engineering Fraternity in 1857. This was followed by unions of switchmen, yardmen, and dispatchers. These unions came together with unions from the steel industry and dockworkers to form the Mechanics National Union in 1874 under the leadership of Michael Harter of the Yardmen.

One of the founding principles of the People's Coalition in their 1869 Norfolk Resolves was that the C.N.A.'s railroads, turnpikes and canals should be placed under the control of a state agency that would determine rates. During his first term as Governor-General, John McDowell of the Liberal Party sought to co-opt the reform movement by passing the Railroad Control Commission Act in 1878. The Act created the Railroad Control Commission, which had the power to investigate complaints and make recommendations for rate adjustments. McDowell also passed the Williamson Anti-Monopoly Act, which gave the Minister for Home Affairs the right to prosecute any large corporation or railroad "engaged in unfair or unethical practices." Later, Governor-General Henderson Dewey, as part of what he called his "dismantling operation" in the 1920s, passed the Transportation Control Act, which placed railroads, airmobile lines, and interconfederation truckers under the authority of the Confederation Transportation Authority.

The C.N.A.'s railroad network continued to expand into the 20th century. By 1910, every population center of more than 10,000 inhabitants was within fifteen miles of a railroad, and sleeping cars were available for all who could afford them.

Railroads in the U.S.M.

The U.S.M. did not initially take part in the railroad boom, since President Andrew Jackson hated the "iron monsters", and opposed their construction. However, with the discovery of gold in California in 1838, Jackson was finally forced to concede the need for a railroad.

A group of French and Jeffersonian businessmen organized the Jefferson & California Railroad soon after the discovery of gold, and received government support in the form of land grants and subsidies. The first rails were laid in Henrytown, Jefferson on 4 February 1839, while a second crew began construction from San Francsico, California on 11 April. French engineers supervised construction at both ends, and French iron and steel was imported to build the rails and steam locomotives of the railroad.

The building of the J & C Railroad sparked a transportation boom in Mexico, leading to the formation of other railroad and steamship firms. However, this boom seems to have been aborted by the coming of the Rocky Mountain War with the C.N.A. in 1845. The completion of the J & C Railroad in 1848 provided California's only rail link with the rest of the U.S.M. This proved inadequate as California's agricultural sector surpassed mining as its primary economic activity after the end of the war in 1855. In 1865, twenty-six wealthy businessmen in San Francisco formed a consortium called Kramer Associates in order to "explore means by which the system of transportation within California, and between California and the rest of the world, might be bettered." K.A. initially invested in railroads, dry goods, and canning, and the consortium seems to have been the primary factor in creating a postwar railroad boom. Within ten years of its formation, the U.S.M. had the highest number of railroad miles per capita in the world.

Following his re-election in the 1875 Mexican elections, President Omar Kinkaid began a program to bring Mexico's large corporations, including its railroads, under greater government control. In 1876 Kinkaid was able to gain passage of the Thomas Railroad Reform Act, which placed the lines under a government commission which set rates and determined future expansion.

K.A. was able to gain control of the J & C Railroad through the law firm of Bigham & Wilkes, which served as general counsel for the railroad. The firm's senior partner, Egbert Wilkes, was able to place his protege Benito Hermión on the railroad's Board of Directors in 1879, and by the following year Hermión had become President of the J & C Railroad. In 1880 Hermión was placed in command of the U.S.M.'s newly-formed national police force, the Constabulary, and in September 1881 he was able to make himself dictator of Mexico.

One of Mexican President Vincent Mercator's social reforms of the 1950s and 1960s was the lowering of railroad charges on a sliding scale. By 1968, passage on Mexican railroads was free.

Sobel's sources for the railroad include David Gould's Gold and Railroads, Profits and Losses (Mexico City, 1948); Robert Small's The Role of the Railroad in the History of the Northern Confederation (Mexico City, 1960); and John Flaherty's Builders of North America (London, 1967).

NaWiPoMo: Confederation Transportation Authority

The Confederation Transportation Authority is a government agency created by the Transportation Control Act during Governor-General Henderson Dewey's first term in office. The C.T.A. has wide powers to control railroads, airmobile lines, and interconfederation truckers. Although this seems to contradict the general tenor of Dewey's programs, which involve devolving power from the national government to the confederations, it seems likely that the C.T.A. either reduced regulations, delegated authority to confederation-level agencies, or both. As part of Dewey's "dismantling operation," the C.T.A. presumably superceded and consolidated several previous national transportation agencies such as the Railroad Control Commission.

NaWiPoMo: Wilton Harmaker

Wilton Harmaker is a contemporary North American writer. He is the author of The Genesis of Twentieth Century North America, which was published in Burgoyne in 1970.

Sobel quotes a passage from Harmaker on the state of race relations in the C.N.A. at the time of the Chapultepec Incident and the rise of the Friends of Black Mexico and the League for Brotherhood: "North America resolved its racial problems by denying contact between the races. If the Wilkins area of Michigan City was the Negro section of that industrial complex, then Southern Vandalia was the Negro section of the nation."

It seems likely that Harmaker is a faculty member at Burgoyne University, though Sobel describes him simply as a writer.

NaWiPoMo: The Simmons Toll Road Bill

The Simmons Toll Road Bill was a major legislative act sponsored by Liberal Governor-General Henderson Dewey during his first term in office as part of what he called his "dismantling operation". As with much of Dewey's legislation, the bill was introduced simply, with little prologue, by an undistinguished Liberal back-bencher. The bill provided for the construction of confederation-sponsored toll roads, which would be self-liquidating financially in fifty years.

As was the case with other major legislation sponsored by Dewey, the Simmons Toll Road Bill passed with little difficulty after being praised by Dewey and his fellow Liberals as "liberating." Members of the opposition People's Coalition pointed out that the bill was popular in rural and underdeveloped areas of the Confederation of North America, particularly in the Confederation of Manitoba. These were areas which were rapidly gaining in population and political power through the Galloway Plan's subsidized relocation program, and which tended to support the Liberals. Although Sobel does not specifically say so, the Simmons Bill would also benefit Owen Galloway's locomobile business, which would also attract P.C. criticism.

NaWiPoMo: The 1923 Grand Council Elections

The 1923 Grand Council elections took place on 16 February 1923, for the purpose of choosing the Seventeenth Grand Council of the Confederation of North America.

The 1923 election campaign took place against the backdrop of the malaise of 1916 - 1924, which Sobel describes as a rebellion against the idea of progress that dominated the western world, and a desire among its opponents for "a more simple life." The rebellion against progress centered around the League for Brotherhood, which had been founded in May 1920 by Howard Washburne of Southern Vandalia.

Washburne had originally intended for the League to serve as a nationwide organization that would, through capitalist and republican paths, obtain a greater share of jobs and power for the C.N.A.'s Negroes. The League attracted other radicals and reformers who had their own agendas, and who saw it as a vehicle for achieving them. These were men and women who rejected capitalism and republicanism, and in some cases even found the traditional radical followers of Neiderhofferism to be irrelevant. The new radicals rejected urbanization and industrialization, which they called "the suffocation of the cities and the horrors of the factory," and called for a return to "a more natural way of life." Through sheer weight of numbers, these radicals were able to take control of the League in late 1920. By the summer of 1921, the League numbered seven million members, most of them dissatisfied middle-class whites and intellectuals.

The political leaders of the C.N.A. did not know what to make of this great reformist wave. Governor-General Calvin Wagner, the leader of the People's Coalition, once said that "This is a business century, and we are a business country." However, the new radicals had come to reject the values of that business civilization.

There were major riots across the C.N.A. in the summer of 1922, the worst since the economic and social chaos of the Bloody Eighties. Wagner attempted to rally the nation behind him, but only succeeded in antagonizing the new radicals and making his own supporters more militant. James Kilroy of the New York Herald said, "The faint aroma of Starkism has made its appearance, and both the opponents of our civilization and its supporters seem pleased by the possibility of its return." Although the C.N.A. continued to prosper, the feeling of moral decay that had first appeared in the wake of the Chapultepec Incident of 1916 was becoming dangerous.

There was a large minority within the opposition Liberal Party that sought to gain the support of the new radicals, and who were willing to nominate Washburne as their candidate for governor-general in the upcoming elections. They were opposed by Chester Phipps, the Governor of the Southern Confederation, and the Liberal nominee for governor-general in the 1918 elections. Phipps stated in August 1922 that "Mr. Washburne is a saint. But saints are notoriously poor politicians." At the Liberals' nominating convention in December 1922, Phipps and his supporters were able to deny the nomination to Washburne, nominating instead Councilman Henderson Dewey of Indiana. The P.C., in their own convention that month, renominated Governor-General Wagner. Thus, both major parties rejected the new radicalism, leaving it with no political means to accomplish its objectives.

The political situation in the C.N.A. changed literally overnight, following the Galloway Speech of 25 December. Owen Galloway the President of North American Motors, proposed a plan to defuse the growing antagonism within the country by subsidizing emigration within, and from, the C.N.A. "We are a nation of two societies, each with different values, ideals, and goals.... If two peoples cannot live together, they may better live apart."

At a press conference, Washburne himself called Galloway's proposal "worthy of study, and the child of a man of unquestionable sincerity." As Galloway and his siblings established the Galloway Trust to carry out his program, thousands of would-be emigrants flocked to its headquarters, and their sub-stations in every large city in the C.N.A., asking to be placed on the rolls. The new radicals welcomed the opportunity to "denude the nation of its most precious possession, it's people," and declared that "Galloway has done more to destroy this corrupt society than any man in history."

Although both major parties had already nominated candidates for governor-general, a group of Councilmen in Indiana suggested in mid-January the formation of a "Galloway Coalition" of politicians pledging themselves to select Galloway as governor-general after the elections. Galloway himself firmly rejected the possibility, insisting, "Even if selected for the post, I will not serve in it." This ended the movement, but not Galloway's influence. Governor-General Wagner endorsed the Galloway Plan "and all it entails," while Councilman Dewey went further, promising to bring Galloway into the government if elected. Wagner responded by claiming support for "Mr. Galloway's future plans, of which I have been informed by none other than that gentleman himself." However, Galloway denied talking to Wagner in anything other than vague generalities.

Both candidates appeared regularly on vitavision, and Dewey cleverly took advantage of the new medium by speaking in generalities in the Galloway manner, consciously imitating Galloway's prose, his speaking style, and even his appearance. Without saying so, Dewey was able to give the impression that he was closer to Galloway than his opponent.

Dewey's plan was successful, and on 16 February 1923 the Liberals won a majority in the Grand Council for the first time since 1883.

Sobel's sources for the 1923 Grand Council elections are Winslow McGregor's A Child Shall Lead Them: The Idiocy of Our Times (New York, 1921); Farley Shaw's Voices of the Great Protest (New York, 1930); Franklin Drew's The Guard Changeth: The Elections of 1923 (New York, 1931); Fritz Webern's The Dilemma of Our Times (New York, 1933); and the 23 June, 5 August, and 15 October 1922 issues of the New York Herald. Election results are from the New York Herald, 17 February 1923.

NaWiPoMo: General Education Bill

The General Education Bill was a major reform of national education policy in the Confederation of North America introduced by Liberal Governor-General Henderson Dewey during his first term as part of what he called his "dismantling operation". The bill replaced older legislation dating back to the time of Governor-General John McDowell.

Under the General Education Bill, education through professional schools would be guaranteed to all intellectually qualified citizens. The program would be paid for by the individual confederations, which would be reimbursed by the national government.

As was the case with other major legislation sponsored by Dewey, the General Education Bill passed with little difficulty after being praised by Dewey and his fellow Liberals as "liberating." Members of the opposition People's Coalition pointed out that the bill was popular in rural and underdeveloped areas of the C.N.A., particularly in the Confederation of Manitoba. These were areas which were rapidly gaining in population and political power through the Galloway Plan's subsidized relocation program, and which tended to support the Liberals.

No NaWiPoMo

Well, it looks like I've been blocked from the NaBloPoMo site and my first Sobel Wiki article taken down. I've been given no explanation.

Despite this, I am determined to continue the project of writing and posting at least one Sobel Wiki article a day during the month of November. If I don't have an outlet at NaBloPoMo, at least I have this blog, and I mean to use it.

NaWiPoMo: Chester Phipps

Chester Phipps was the Governor of the Southern Confederation and a leading figure in the Liberal Party of the Confederation of North America in the 1910s and 1920s.

After the formation of the Friends of Black Mexico under Howard Washburne of Southern Vandalia, some Liberal members of the Grand Council supported nominating Washburne for Governor-General in the upcoming 1918 Grand Council elections. However, the F.B.M.'s involvement in the Chapultepec Incident of January 1916, which nearly led to war between the C.N.A. and the United States of Mexico, apparently caused second thoughts among the Liberal leadership. Governor Phipps was among those who opposed allying the Liberal Party with the F.B.M., and at the Liberals' national convention prior to the elections, Phipps was able to gain the party's nomination for himself.

During the campaign, Phipps argued that the election of a People's Coalition majority would mean "more of the same," presumably hoping that the North American electorate had grown tired of the Coalition's policies of government-subsidized businesses and isolationism. However, the P.C. candidate, Councilman Calvin Wagner of Indiana, accepted Phipps' accusation. "If by more of the same, Governor Phipps means still greater prosperity and continued peace and tranquillity, then I plead guilty to that desire."

The P.C. under Wagner had no trouble defeating the Liberals under Phipps, and Wagner became Governor-General in February 1918. However, what neither Wagner nor Phipps realized at the time was that prosperity brought its own problems, and those problems would soon lead to a national wave of discontent. Washburne inadvertantly contributed to the national discontent by transforming the F.B.M. into the League for Brotherhood in May 1920, creating a vehicle for those who sought to reject the values of modern civilization.

By 1922, there remained a large minority within the Liberal Party who wished for Washburne to lead the party in the upcoming Grand Council elections. Phipps remained opposed to Washburne, saying on 4 August 1922, "Mr. Washburne is a saint. But saints are notoriously poor politicians." Phipps was again able to prevent Washburne from gaining the nomination, which went to Councilman Henderson Dewey of Indiana. Unlike Phipps five years before, Dewey was able to defeat Wagner in the 1923 Grand Council elections.

NaWiPoMo: The 1918 Grand Council Elections

The 1918 Grand Council elections took place in February 1918, for the purpose of choosing the Sixteenth Grand Council of the Confederation of North America.

Incumbent Governor-General Albert Merriman chose not to run for a third term. Instead, he threw his support behind Councilman Calvin Wagner of Indiana, and his popularity within the People's Coalition was sufficient to gain Wagner the party's nomination for governor-general.

In the early months of 1915, there was considerable support within the Liberal Party for Howard Washburne, the former Governor of Southern Vandalia and head of the Friends of Black Mexico. It may be that the F.B.M.'s role in the Chapultepec Incident of January 1916 caused second thoughts among the Liberal leadership, because the Liberal candidate for governor-general was Chester Phipps, the Governor of the Southern Confederation.

During the campaign, Phipps argued that the election of a Coalition majority would mean "more of the same," presumably hoping that the North American electorate had grown tired of the Coalition's policies of government-subsidized businesses and isolationism. Rather than attempting to refute Phipps' accusation, Wagner embraced it, saying, "If by more of the same, Governor Phipps means still greater prosperity and continued peace and tranquility, then I plead guilty to that desire."

On election day, the Wagner-led P.C. had no trouble defeating the Liberals. However, Sobel does not provide confederation-level election results, or even indicate the relative sizes of the party caucuses in the Grand Council.

(This post has been revised to reflect recent changes in the Sobel Wiki article.)

NaWiPoMo

Four years ago, in November 2009, I took part in National Blog Posting Month, and managed to keep posting long enough to earn the badge you see over on the right. I even got caught up writing my Tolkien/Chandler mashup "Deuce Baggins: Private Eye" to the point of carrying on writing it halfway through December.

The following year, I took part again, but since I was busy at the time laying the groundwork for the Sobel Wiki, I settled for writing at least one wiki article a day throughout November. However, though I posted the results in my NaBloPoMo blog, I did not do so here at the Johnny Pez blog.

This time, I think I will. Thirty days, thirty Sobel Wiki articles, right here at the Johnny Pez blog. Catch the action!

For All Nails #315: If This Be Treason

The For All Nails may be moving a bit slowly these days, but it hasn't stopped. Now up at the Sobel Wiki is the third vignette featuring Abigail Burgoyne, Dowager Duchess of Albany:

For All Nails #315: If This Be Treason

by Johnny Pez


Springfield, Massachusetts, N.C., CNA
22 February 1817

Abigail Burgoyne, Dowager Duchess of Albany, shivered in spite of the fire that burned before her. Her host had made his apologies when business called him away, leaving her alone in the lushly appointed sitting room, with only the blazing fire in the hearth to keep her company.

It had taken all her powers of persuasion to get her son to agree to allow her to visit Springfield. He had finally relented when she pointed out that she was the ideal person to infiltrate the conspiracy centered at the Springfield Armory. She was prominent enough to gain access, but above suspicion of espionage due to her age and sex. Above all, in a situation where the loyalty of all was suspect, she was the only person he could absolutely trust.

In two weeks, building on what Johnny had already learned or deduced from other sources, she had been able to pierce to the heart of the conspiracy. Now she was an honored guest of the ringleader, the man whose avarice and treachery had cost the lives of so many people, and corrupted one of the centers of the Northern Confederation’s military power.

In her bedroom, not far away, was a copy of Jay’s Notes on the Perfidy of Our Former Friends. If her host had her room searched (and she had no doubt that if he hadn’t already, he soon would), it would help to convince him that her reputation as a sympathizer with the rebels of ’75 still held true. The book also served as the key to the cipher she had been using to report her discoveries to her son.

Much of the time, her visit to Springfield was nothing more than the social call it appeared to be. She had been genuinely pleased to renew the acquaintance of the many friends she had made during her long tenure as the ruler of the Burgoyne social scene. Being in Springfield, of course she would call upon Sally Dale, the wife of the armory’s superintendant, whom she knew from Colonel Dale’s days as the Southern Confederation’s delegate to the Grand Council.

She was soon able to establish that Dale knew nothing of the secret sale of weapons from the armory to the members of Tecumseh’s army. However, conversations with Sally’s circle of friends had allowed her to piece together enough information to lead her to the head of the conspiracy, and secured an invitation to spend the night here in his home.

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of the sitting room door opening. Turning from the fireplace, she saw her host enter.

Major Stephen Decatur, the Inspector of Ordinance at the Springfield Armory, was a man in his late 30s, with the solid build and dark, aquiline features of his French grandfather and namesake. His wide mouth grew wider as he smiled at Abigail and said, “My apologies again, my lady, for deserting you. I unfortunately had business to attend to that would brook no delay.” His voice was deep, and he spoke with the broad accent of his Philadelphia youth.

“No apology is necessary, Major,” Abigail answered. “I understand. You are a man of consequence, with much to occupy your attention. My late husband was the same way.”

Major Decatur seated himself near the fire, and she took a chair near him. “I would have liked to meet your husband,” he continued. “Of course, I was born after his great victory at Saratoga, and only a child when he was Viceroy. But I learned of his deeds at school, and I may admit to you that it was his example that led me to seek a soldier’s life, much to the dismay of my mother.”

“Was your father more accommodating of your wishes?” Abigail asked.

“I never knew my father,” said Decatur, as his wide mouth turned down. “During the Rebellion, he sided with the rebels, and captained a privateer. That proved to be his undoing. When the Congress agreed to return to British rule, my father and the other privateer captains were arrested and charged with piracy. My father was hanged in the same month as the rebel leaders in London.”

Abigail closed her eyes. “I am sorry, Major. That should not have been. Your father was a patriot, and deserved better of his country.”

“Many men who deserved better failed to receive it after the Rebellion,” she heard him say. “I say nothing against your husband, you understand. He sought to reconcile the two sides, and there was many a rebel who would have shared my father’s fate had it not been for General Burgoyne’s clemency.”

Abigail opened her eyes again, and saw that the Major’s frown had deepened. “Still,” she said, “there were too many who did, and more who fled for fear of their lives. I came close to doing so myself.”

Now the Major’s expressive face showed surprise. “You, my lady?”

Abigail found her mind going back to the days after the Rebellion, as it had done so many times before. “Lord Albany was my second husband. My first was Dick Conrad, a soldier in General Washington’s army. He died in the winter of ’78, at the encampment at Valley Forge. And there I was, a traitor’s widow in New-York City with no friends and no prospects. When I heard of General Arnold’s plan to build a Patriot settlement in Spanish Louisiana, I planned to join him. It was only Johnny’s proposal of marriage that persuaded me to stay.”

“And just as well for you that you did,” Major Decatur said. There was no need for him to enlarge on his comment; General Arnold’s party had crossed the Mississippi in June of 1780, and never been heard from again. “I confess I find it odd to hear the Dowager Duchess of Albany speak of going on the Wilderness Walk with General Arnold. I wonder now that you remained in Burgoyne after the Duke’s passing, my lady; to hear you tell it, you would have been content to leave for Jefferson.”

Abigail’s eyes drifted toward the fire as she spoke. “I might well have, had it been a matter of myself alone. However, by then I had the boys to think of. In spite of his lofty title, Little Johnny was the son of an American mother, and I meant to bring him up in the land of his birth.”

“American?” said Major Decatur. “That’s not a word one hears often these days. One might think you were still a rebel at heart.”

“One would be correct,” Abigail answered as she continued to stare into the flames. “Parliament does nothing for us that we might not do for ourselves. It was the Georgians who took Florida from Spain. It was we who took Louisiana, not the British.”

“Are we not British, then?” said Decatur softly.

“We are Americans,” Abigail said, equally softly. “Or, if you must, North Americans. The British keep us weak and divided, but the day will come when we are united, as we were under the Congress. And on that day, we will live, and breathe, and even die if need be, as North Americans. And the whole world will know that we are our own people, and not merely an inferior sort of British.”

There was a long silence, which the Major finally broke. “Would it surprise you to learn, my lady, that there are others who believe as you do?”

Now Abigail turned her gaze from the fire, to look into Decatur’s eyes. “Belief is a simple matter. It means nothing if there are no deeds to match the words.”

Decatur laughed. “Deeds enough! There have been blows in plenty struck against the creatures of King George the Mad and his debauched Regent. Blows that have shaken this rotten Confederation of theirs to its foundations! I tell you, my lady, that it was the weapons of this very arsenal that allowed Tecumseh’s warriors and John Howard’s enslaved brothers to rise up and fight for their liberty!”

“You seek to jest with me, surely,” said Abigail. “How could these weapons find their way into the hands of Indians and slaves?”

“It is no jest, my lady,” said Decatur earnestly. “All across this wilderness of North America there are men who believe as you and I do. They have confederates among the Indians, and among the slaves, and among the Free Quebec Party as well. Tecumseh’s war and Howard’s rebellion are only the beginning. We will not rest until the Tory Confederation has been brought down, and the United States of America raised up in its place.”

Abigail rose from her seat now, went to a window, and drew aside the blind. There was nothing to see but darkness beyond. She raised her hand to her cheek, then let it rest upon the windowsill.

Still staring out the window into the night, she said, “I was in Burgoyne, you know, when Tecumseh’s army took Allegheny City. I saw them burn it. I saw the people there fleeing for their lives.”

“A regrettable necessity, my lady,” she heard Decatur’s voice from behind her. “Are you familiar with Jefferson’s Apologia?”

“I am,” said Abigail. “I know the lines you refer to. ‘The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.’ Jefferson wrote them knowing that his own blood would shortly be shed by the tyrants of London. And yet, I wonder. How will your new United States of America be raised up when the people of the country lie dead, slain by the weapons you have distributed? Will it be raised up by Tecumseh’s warriors? By Howard’s slaves? By Monsieur Ribot’s dissidents?”

A note of fear was creeping into Decatur’s voice. “My lady? I do not understand.”

Abigail remained by the window. She thought she could make out shapes in the darkness, but she might be mistaken. “Where is the United States of America, Major? It is already here. It will not replace the Confederation; it will be the Confederation. Its capital will be the city I live in, the city you tried to destroy, the city that bears the name of my husband, and my sons, and myself.”

Finally, she let the blind drop. There was no longer any question about what she had seen in the darkness. Turning, she saw that Major Decatur had risen from his seat. “What are you saying?” he demanded. “What have you done?”

“I am here on behalf of my son, the Duke of Albany,” Abigail responded. “He knew that weapons from the armory had found their way into the hands of Tecumseh’s army. I came here to learn who was responsible, and I have.”

There was a smashing sound in another part of the house. Abigail fancied that it was the sound of a door being forced open. Major Decatur began turning his head abruptly, as though seeking a means of escape. Then he turned his attention on her, and his hands clenched into fists. “Traitor,” he hissed.

There was a rush of footsteps, and the door to the sitting room was flung open. Men in the red uniforms of the Massachusetts Provincial Militia poured into the room, led by a man in civilian clothing. “Mother!” he exclaimed. “Are you –“

“I am unharmed, Johnny,” said Abigail. “Allow me to introduce Major Stephen Decatur, the man you’ve been seeking. Major, my son, John Burgoyne, Duke of Albany.”

As the militiamen bound Major Decatur, Johnny placed a gentle arm around her shoulders and led her from the room. She did not spare Decatur a glance as she murmured, “If this be treason, then make the most of it.”

Sobel Wiki: a state of forgetfulness

This week's featured article at the Sobel Wiki is on the Mexican state of Mexico del Norte. Mexico del Norte is unusual for a Mexican state in that it actually makes sense. The neighboring state of Arizona, for instance, is basically one big rotten borough, having almost no white settlers at the time Andrew Jackson created it in 1819 (as well as being anachronistically named). The state of Chiapas is equally problematic, being the mother of all gerrymanders -- ninety percent of Mexico's population concentrated in a single state -- as well as being anachronistically named. By contrast, Mexico del Norte actually had a majority of white settlers, almost 30,000 of them, and was already a long-established Mexican province. The only odd thing about making it a state of the new United States of Mexico was the decision to change the name from Nuevo Mexico to Mexico del Norte.

Unlike Jefferson, the home state of the U.S.M.'s Anglo minority, or California, the birthplace of Kramer Associates, or the Hispanic states of Chiapas and Durango, Mexico del Norte was always just sort of there in Sobel's U.S.M. It was one of the main battlegrounds of the Rocky Mountain War, but after that Mexico del Norte was basically a cypher. It was like a second Arizona, except that it didn't even produce any notable political leaders to compare with Arizona's Arthur Conroy and Thomas Rogers. After a while, even Sobel seemed to forget it was there; after 1926, he forgot to include Mexico del Norte's vote tallies in his tables of presidential election results.

How to repeal Obamacare

Repealing Obamacare has become the Holy Grail of the Republican Party. Every week or so, the House GOP caucus ritually votes to repeal or defund Obamacare. There is a dangerously large faction within the House GOP caucus that wants to default on the United States' debt obligations in order to blackmail the Democrats into agreeing to repeal Obamacare.

However, that won't be necessary, because the means to achieve their goal will soon be within the Republicans' grasp. And it was none other than Paul Krugman, the Shrill One himself, who has pointed the way.

Last week, Krugman pointed to this story from the Huffington Post about government health care workers touting Kentucky's new health care exchange at the State Fair. The story opens with a middle-aged Kentucky man listening to the pitch, then saying, "This beats Obamacare I hope." The next day, Krgthulhu pointed out that 39 percent of Americans agree that the government should stay out of Medicare. "This at least suggests," the Shrill One continues, "that many voters will never realize that the regulated, subsidized health exchanges that have become a vital part of their security are in fact the very same Obamacare they were taught to hate and fear."

And that's how the Republicans can repeal Obamacare. Once the plan goes into effect next year, all they have to do is spread a bunch of bullshit horror stories about death panels in action, and voters who don't realize that the health care exchanges they like and rely on are Obamacare will elect candidates who promise to repeal it. The result will be another Republican midterm landslide, giving them control of Congress. Come January 2015, the GOP, along with their Blue Dog Democrat allies, will repeal Obamacare with a veto-proof supermajority.

And then? Well, naturally, the people will be outraged at losing their health care exchanges. Who will they blame? Who else but Barack Obama, the man who created the vile, tyrannical Obamacare that took their health care away. Republican presidential nominee Rand Paul will ride the wave of anger to victory in November by promising to restore the health care exchanges. But first, of course, he'll have to restore the gold standard, abolish the Federal Reserve, privatize Social Security . . .

Sobel Wiki: No Funds Available

This week's featured article at the Sobel Wiki is on the National Financial Administration. The N.F.A. was the brainchild of Governor-General John McDowell, who created it in 1880 to deal with an economic crisis that Sobel calls the Great Depression. The N.F.A. was designed to bail out businesses that were, if not too big to fail, then too young to die. It was only in the 1870s that the first large corporations began to appear in the C.N.A. Sobel mentions the North American Steel Corporation, Consolidated Petroleum of North America, Imperial Dry Goods, Thomas Edison's National Electric, and the Grand National, North American United, and Indiana Northern Railroads. When a credit crunch struck the C.N.A. in 1880, and National Electric went bankrupt, it seemed that the rest of the new giant corporations might follow. McDowell responded by creating the N.F.A., which in four years made 354 loans totalling more than N.A. £3.5 million.

But while bailing out large corporations may have been good enough for McDowell, it wasn't good enough for his successor, Ezra Gallivan of the People's Coalition. In his inaugural address in February 1888, Gallivan announced that "new means will be found for the people to . . . share more fully in the profits their work made possible." The new means turned out to be the N.F.A., which would no longer be loaning money to established businesses. Instead, under its new administrator, Julius Nelson, the agency would go into the venture capital business, offering loans to people who wanted to start new businesses, and accepting shares in the newly-founded companies. By 1904, thirty-nine of the hundred biggest companies in the C.N.A. owed their founding to the N.F.A.

However, as Sobel himself admitted, the N.F.A. financed only those individuals who showed an excellent chance of success, ignoring the others. Samuel Frier of the Textile Union claimed that, "The N.F.A. was not supposed to be a money-making operation, but a service to the people. A commercial bank might be pleased to show a failure rate of 13.3%. To us it indicates that Mr. Nelson has not been taking the kind of risks he should. In 1899 the N.F.A. granted 314 loans and financings, nine more than the previous year. Mr. Nelson does not tell us that the N.F.A. processed 2,539 applications and culled the 314 from that amount. What of the other 2,225 men who failed Mr. Nelson's test? These are the people the Governor-General told us were to be helped, and these are the men the N.F.A. ignores." Don't be surprised if a future For All Nails vignette reveals that there's an old joke in the C.N.A. that "N.F.A." really stands for No Funds Available.

The N.F.A. eventually fell victim, not to its own success, but to that of the Mexican industrial monolith Kramer Associates. When K.A. moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Manila in February 1934, the result was a global financial panic that brought about the bankruptcy of the N.F.A. Although the agency was revived in 1950, it never again played its former role as the engine of North American prosperity. By the end of ''For Want of a Nail'', Governor-General Carter Monaghan -- of the People's Coalition -- had disbanded the N.F.A.