Chapter 164: Chapter 146: President Crockett

Columbia, Federal District, the United States of America
March 1st, 1821

"You have a meeting with the representative from Mexico in three hours, Mr. President."

"Let me guess, he's going to be asking for military aid again?"

"He knows you'll reject sir. But if you reject him, he can go to private investors and claim that he is receiving no help from the American government." Joey Crockett's secretary, a young Native American man from the state of Hisigi, stated, "It worked the first time, and this time, he'll probably try to bring his proposal to other investors that show interest."

President Joey Crockett, Sixth President of the United States, adjusted his alpaca cap with a sigh, "That's sensible. I'll need to speak with him about the Comanche. I received a memo that said Guerrero's men wiped out an entire Native American village in retaliation for a raid. Maybe I can negotiate a pact with the Comanche to avoid raiding Mexico as well."

"Do you need anything before the meeting, sir?"

"A tray of refreshments with the usual: biscuits and coffee."

As his secretary sauntered off, Crockett sank into his office chair and spun around to look out the window. For a moment, he appreciated the serene view of the White House backyard and fumbled with his hat. Being a president was a tough job, tougher than he had ever imagined. Hell, he thought walking across the western states twice over was easier than spending a week in office. There were so many things to do and all of them were happening at the same time: Bolivar and his men running through New Granada and entering Peru, tense standoffs between Haiti and the "French Empire," the collapse of the Federation of South America, the independence of Chile, and that was just the foreign front. The domestic front was even more complicated. Settlers worked carefully with Native Americans to prevent another bloody war out in the west, but occasional firefights weren't uncommon. The Navy needed more ships, but Congress was debating on just how many ships the Navy actually needed. The British were refusing to negotiate a firm border agreement between the United States and British Oregon/British Columbia. He was barely a year into office, yet he felt like he had aged ten years already.

"Mr. President?" A voice firmly rang out through the wooden doors of the Oval Office.

"Come in."

Vice President John C. Calhoun, a tall man with a stern expression, entered the office. Upon seeing his former running mate, the vice president's face softened into a smile, "I just wanted to check up on you, Joey. I know you're still working on that bill for California."

"Thank you," Crockett replied hoarsely as Calhoun took a seat in front of him, "Would you mind meeting with the Mexican representative in my place?"

"That would look bad in front of our friends down in Mexico. After all, you are the president, not me."

"I thought so," The president mumbled, "You know, I envy you sometimes. You know all the things I do, but you don't need to do anything with it. I need to know all the things from the other history, and make decisions that won't screw our nation in the long run."

Both men were part of the Watchmen Society, as members of the Cabinet. When he was first told about the other history, Crockett was more mystified that his name was David more than anything. He was able to imagine himself as a Jonathan, or maybe an Andrew. But never a David (Davy Crockett had a nice ring to it though). However, that was the only "fun" part about knowing the other history. As the president of the United States, he was now burdened with the task of making America powerful and egalitarian, but also avoiding all the mistakes that the United States made in the other history. That meant he had to fulfill his campaign promises, but also make sure that they happened cautiously. As much as he wanted the west settled, he didn't' want to kill hundreds of thousands of Native Americans to do so. No, he needed to ensure that they were protected, while at the same time allowing settlers to move in.

It was a stressful affair. And it didn't help that all these foreign events were happening under his watch.

Of course, that wasn't to say that Calhoun wasn't startled at his "other self's" history. If anything, the notion that he was one of the factors that caused the Union to descend into a Civil War made the South Carolinian have a minor breakdown.

"Well, what can I say," Calhoun shrugged, "It looks like I dodged a bullet. Funny how I was the vice president in the other history as well, and I'm the same in this world."

"Somethings never change."

You are reading story The Rebellion Burns Bright at novel35.com

"Hopefully, somethings will. Now, how is your project coming along?"

Crockett fiddled with his quill nervously, "I have a proposal written up, but I want to hear your input. After all, you're more of a politician than I am."

The vice president chuckled, "Of course, let me hear it."

"We offer the same deal to the tribes in Nevada and California that we offered to the other western tribes. We make a slight reduction in the total number of acres offered, but instead, we offer them a five percent slice for any profit made from the gold and silver found in their former homeland. In order to do this, we'll be taxing any gold and silver found in the two regions."

"Which will give them enough income to grow their own communities instead of losing everything and receiving nothing. Certainly a fair deal, but I'll need to look at the wording a bit. What about gold found in the acres of land they receive from us?"

"Technically, we're receiving land from them. But any precious metals found on their land after the negotiations? Theirs to keep."

"This might cause some conflict as the gold fever sets in."

The man from Kentucky crossed his arms, "Well, we'll make sure to actually protect the Natives this time around. I mean, mother of Jibay, 10,000 Native Americans in California slaughtered like animals for gold? And a law that basically turned the survivors into slaves and cattle? If any of the settlers try to do that under my presidency, I'll hang them myself."

Vice President Calhoun tapped his arm, "When will you propose this to Congress?"

"A year. Give some of our federal surveyors time to "find" the gold and silver, and then quickly rush this thing through before the rumors spread."

"That sounds fine. It'll also give our economy a terrific boost. Maybe we'll have a railroad from New York to San Francisco within a decade."

"We'll need to finish up the one to Chicago first," Crockett said as he looked at the clock, "The track to Peoria is finished, but they're still working on the one to Chicago. I have a meeting with the Mexican representative now."

"Give me a basic rundown of the foreign situation in the Americas."

The president groaned. His vice president did this quite often. He drilled Crockett on the foreign situation so he wouldn't mess up in front of foreign dignitaries and seem knowledgeable about the subject "Bolivar is marching through Lima as we speak. Admiral Cochrane is whipping the Spanish Navy in the Caribbean and making us and the Venezuelans a tidy profit on the side. Guererro, aided by Morelos and Guadalupe Victoria, is fighting outside of Leon. The Spanish have nearly 15,000 soldiers in New Spain, trying to fight off the growing revolutionary army. Argentina is struggling to contain the rebellion in the Eastern Provinces, which is being backed by the British. And Chile is now independent and forming their own republican government."

"Excellent, now off you go. I'll write a letter to Mr. Kim. It looks like he'll have another revolutionary on his doorstep, very soon..."

+++++

AN: Preoria is OTL's Kokomo, Indiana. It borders three different states (it's in Illinois, but right next to Ohio and Michigan as well). In the future, it's going to be the second biggest city in Illinois and a critical railroad junction city. It's also going to be a massive industrial hub in the upcoming future.

You can find story with these keywords: The Rebellion Burns Bright, Read The Rebellion Burns Bright, The Rebellion Burns Bright novel, The Rebellion Burns Bright book, The Rebellion Burns Bright story, The Rebellion Burns Bright full, The Rebellion Burns Bright Latest Chapter