Governor of the Northern Confederation

John Dickinson of Delaware.

The Governor of the Northern Confederation (originally Governor-General) is the chief executive of the Northern Confederation. When the Britannic Design was drafted in 1781, the Governor-General (as he was then known) was selected by Parliament. This continued to be the case until 1808, when a revision of the Design allowed for the Governor to be chosen by the Royal Governors of the confederation's individual provinces. By the 1820s the Governor was chosen by the members of the Northern Confederation Council. Following the adoption of the Second Britannic Design in 1842, the Governor of the N.C. was popularly elected.

The first Governor-General of the N.C. was John Dickinson of Delaware, who was sworn in at the Northern capital of New York City on 2 July 1782. Dickinson served as Governor-General for less than two years before being elevated to the office of Viceroy of the Confederation of North America. George Clinton of New York was chosen to succeed him. Under Clinton, the N.C. experienced steady economic growth as immigration increased Pennsylvania's grain production, and British investment in Massachusetts textile mills brought prosperity there. New York City outgrew Boston as an export terminus for the confederation's products, as well as becoming the social and intellectual center of the N.C. Sobel quotes Clinton expressing relief over the failure of the North American Rebellion: "We may thank Providence the Rebellion did not succeed. Cast adrift on a sea of international intrigue, we would have foundered and been destroyed. Our present prosperity can be ascribed to our harmonious relations with other parts of the Empire, and the protection of the Royal Navy. Together we control a continent, perhaps the world. Singly, we would perish before those envious of our wealth."

Clinton's most pressing problem was an ongoing insurrection in the Green Mountain area of New Hampshire led by several members of the local Allen family. General Sir William Howe had been unable to put down the Green Mountain insurrection during his four years as military governor of the New England provinces, in spite of repeated military expeditions to the area. Likewise, neither Dickinson nor Clinton were able to bring the area under control, and the Green Mountain region remained beyond the reach of the N.C. government well into the nineteenth century. A lesser but still serious problem was the refusal of the Southern Confederation government to respond to Clinton's efforts to coordinate a unified response to common problems. Governor Theodorick Bland of Virginia, in particular, made no secret of his dislike for Northerners, whom he blamed for fomenting the Rebellion.

Daniel Webster of Massachusetts.

As the industrial revolution spread from Britain to the Northern Confederation in the early nineteenth century, the rising class of industrialists used their wealth to gain control of the Northern Confederation Council in 1814. The Council's industrial cabal sponsored legislation raising tariffs, subsidizing manufacturing, and easing restrictions on the creation of private banks. In 1820, they organized themselves as the Liberal Party, and went on to win control of the Council in the 1821 elections. The new Liberal majority selected Daniel Webster of Massachusetts as Governor. Under Webster's leadership, the Council passed the Tariff of 1822, the Bank Bill of 1822, the Internal Improvements Bill of 1823, and the Harbors Act of 1823. Webster's crowning achievement during his first term was the creation of the Bank of the Northern Confederation, which was modeled on the Bank of England, with the power to manipulate the currency, usually to the advantage of the industrial class.

Webster's success led to the formation of a rival political party, the Conservative Party, representing the interests of farmers, urban workers, and small businessmen. They gained control of the Council in 1825, and Webster was replaced as governor by Conservative leader Martin van Buren. The Conservatives' manipulation of the banking system was a major cause of the Depression of 1829, which brought the Liberals, and Webster, back to power in 1831.

After losing control of the Council, Conservative groups abandoned politics. Urban workers formed a labor union called the Grand Consolidated Union which used strikes and other labor actions to agitate for better pay and working conditions. At the same time, the confederations' farmers formed the Freeholders' Alliance to seek currency inflation, anti-creditor laws, and the abolition of the Bank of the Northern Confederation. A financial crisis in London in late 1835 brought about the Panic of 1836, when the collapse of Barings Bank caused a series of bank failures in New York City, beginning with the Peoples' Bank in March 1836. Other bank failures followed, notably the Manhattan Bank, which declared insolvency on 15 April. On 1 May 1836 Jacob Little closed down his office and fled to the United States of Mexico.

Henry Gilpin of Pennsylvania.

The banking crisis caused hundreds of firms in the N.C. to close in 1836, bringing rising unemployement, and leading to a sharp rise in the membership of the Grand Consolidated Union. Franz Freund of the Grand Consolidated created a labor-based political party, the Laborers' Alliance, which allied with the Conservatives to contest the 1839 Council elections. When the Liberals retained their majority in the N.C., the result was a massive general strike in the summer of 1840 that threatened to bring down Webster's government. Following Webster's assassination in September, Henry Gilpin of Pennsylvania became Governor. Gilpin suspended civil rights in the N.C., and used the N.C. army in coordination with private armies hired by manufacturers to attack the Grand Consolidated, crushing the N.C. labor movement and leading to the deaths of over 40,000 people, and serious injuries to 78,000 more. The 1842 elections led to a landslide victory by the Conservatives, and Gilpin was replaced by John Dix, who promised an administration of "healing and humanitarianism, in which the rights of all will be protected."

In the 1860s, Jacob Astor of the Liberal Party was Governor of the N.C. Like his mentor, Governor-General Kenneth Parkes, Astor was charming, well-spoken, and thoroughly corrupt, trading favors to wealthy businessmen in return for large bribes. Astor also owned at least 15 brothels in New York City and Philadelphia. When Parkes chose to step down as governor-general in 1868, he called a national convention of the Liberal Party in Burgoyne, where he was able to arrange for Astor to be chosen as party leader for the upcoming Grand Council elections. However, the Conservatives were able to campaign against the corruption of the Liberals in general and Astor in particular, and the Liberals lost their majority in the Council. Despite his defeat, Astor remained as Governor of the N.C., and even continued to acquire ownership of more brothels.

Elbert Childs of the People's Coalition was the Governor of the N.C. in the 1920s. At the Coalition's national convention in December 1927, Childs was one of the leading contenders for the position of party leader. However, he lost the leadership fight to N.C. Councilman Frank Evans, who received the party's nomination for governor-general and went on to lose to incumbent Liberal Governor-General Henderson Dewey. Political journalist Franklin Drew described Childs as having "the faint aura of a circus-master."

No other governors of the Northern Confederation are mentioned by name by Sobel.