http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1806
Here are some one liners...
Aaron Burr's Texas Conspiracy -- He tries to buy 1/4th of Texas and people are wondering why. It can't be because he loves farming.
Europe is in the Hands of Napoleon -- Napoleon declares a continent-wide embargo of British goods. It won't work.
In Other News -- Colgate opens for business, Andrew Jackson shoots a man, and US route 40 is authorized.
Aaron Burr's Texas Conspiracy
Some call it treason. Rumors that the Vice-President of the United States is conspiring with the British to start his own country in the Southwest has spurred Thomas Jefferson to have his own VP arrested. What is his evidence? Nothing firm. A letter from one of Burr's associates and a few witnesses who attest to certain things Burr has said previously. The House of Representatives impeaches him on the charge of conspiracy to send an army against Spain and outright treason. His case goes to the Senate for trial. The support from amongst his fellow Federalists is weak. Chief Justice John Marshall will keep Aaron Burr's neck out of the hangman's noose because he will note that a charge of treason requires that a person take some action, and Burr took no action. He just talked... to the British... about stuff that might be construed as disloyalty to the United States and a violation of his oath of office, but not treason... exactly. You see... he was trying to buy land in Texas... just a farm, you see. Since Texas is in Spanish territory, he had to negotiate with a foreign government and yes, he made some friendly suggestions to the British about positioning their army in the Southwest, but nothing was firm... yet. Burr is acquitted but he is finished. No one wants to know him any more. He leaves for Europe, but he will return in a few years under an assumed name and open a law practice. [1] [2]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
OK. Did he commit treason? Technically no, but he was obviously working on it. The amount of land that Burr wanted to buy as farmland was a little less than 1/4th the landmass of the state of Texas (if the state had existed at the time). That would be a fairly big farm so folks were wondering if he didn't have something else in mind. Given that Burr was once called a potential Napoleon, at least a few people were wise to him. Convicting him of treason would have set a bad precedence with the shaky evidence at hand. To render him dead, politically, was enough.
OK. Did he commit treason? Technically no, but he was obviously working on it. The amount of land that Burr wanted to buy as farmland was a little less than 1/4th the landmass of the state of Texas (if the state had existed at the time). That would be a fairly big farm so folks were wondering if he didn't have something else in mind. Given that Burr was once called a potential Napoleon, at least a few people were wise to him. Convicting him of treason would have set a bad precedence with the shaky evidence at hand. To render him dead, politically, was enough.
Europe is in the Hands of Napoleon
The Emperor of Austria, Francis the 1st, has capitulated to Napoleon. Emperor Francis abdicates his throne of the Holy Roman Empire, but it really doesn't matter any more. The Holy Roman Empire has been dead for a long time now. Francis marries off his daughter to Napoleon since he needs an heir. Napoleon divorces Josephine and she is very unhappy but in the end, she understands. Napoleon organizes the various German provinces into the Confederation of the Rhine, and he declares a Continental-wide embargo of British trade. [3] [4]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
For some reason, smuggling to and from Great Britain suddenly increased. In the end, the economic embargo hurt Napoleon more than it hurt Great Britain. It also undermined Napoleon's authority, since he looked too weak to enforce the embargo and the effort to enforce the embargo tended to tie down his troops doing what was essentially customs officials' work. His authority was based on his charisma as a winner, so he couldn't afford to lose too many times, nor for too long. This goes back to the old maxim: don't give an order that you know won't be obeyed. [5]
For some reason, smuggling to and from Great Britain suddenly increased. In the end, the economic embargo hurt Napoleon more than it hurt Great Britain. It also undermined Napoleon's authority, since he looked too weak to enforce the embargo and the effort to enforce the embargo tended to tie down his troops doing what was essentially customs officials' work. His authority was based on his charisma as a winner, so he couldn't afford to lose too many times, nor for too long. This goes back to the old maxim: don't give an order that you know won't be obeyed. [5]
In Other News
- Andrew Jackson kills a man in a duel. Jackson's wife, Rachel is hot, hot, hot! Apparently this guy said something unseemly to her. [7]
- US Route 40 is authorized by Thomas Jefferson. It's going to take a while to build. Right now it is called the Cumberland Road. later it will be a longer National Road and then US Route 40. Catchy name. [8]
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