A New Era (2)
Mid-May, 1858.
The President, shunned by both the North and the South, no longer had the strength to hold on. As everyone had expected, he finally announced his resignation.
Having been expected to act as the bridge to mend the fractured public opinion of the Union as a Northern Democrat, all that remained for him was the reputation of being the worst president in the history of the United States.
“The various conflicts surrounding the Union have not yet ended. Though I step down like this, I pray that everyone will join forces to overcome this crisis…”
“Stop the bullshit and get out!”
“The conflict escalated because you didn’t handle things properly!”
“You know everyone needs to join forces, yet you do your job like that? Don’t ever show your face in politics again!”
Buchanan was incompetent, but he was a man who held his own convictions.
Until the very end, he had intended to step down after delivering a speech of patriotic devotion for the sake of the country.
“The current panic is merely a temporary phenomenon; if the government intervenes, the situation will only worsen. Furthermore, we must uphold the spirit of the Union, which dictates that we protect the traditions and autonomy of each state until the end.”
“Hey, you bastard! Whether it gets worse or not, we’re starving to death right now!”
“Respected citizens, the former President’s words have nothing to do with our Democratic Party. Our Democratic Party empathizes with the pain of the North suffering from the economic panic and will take immediate and powerful measures!”
His political testament was treated as nonsense even by his own Democratic Party.
He wasn’t a bad person by nature; his only crime was being born in the wrong era.
If he had just been a member of the National Assembly or held a cabinet position suited to his abilities, his reputation wouldn’t have hit rock bottom like this. It was the result of being placed in a position far beyond his capacity.
While the event—the first presidential resignation in the history of the United States, or rather, the presidential system—was heating up the entire nation, Quitman, whose eyes were now completely devoid of their former venom, visited my mansion.
“I ate the bait you threw my way quite heartily. I’m so full that I might not be able to digest it all within this month.”
“Were the Fire-Eaters really that much of a mess?”
“They were. There are still quite a few who think Peters was right, you know? They just think his methods were a bit extreme; there are still many who believe the South should take a radical stance.”
“Didn’t you think so too, Senator?”
Quitman leaned back against the chair with a bitter smile.
“Even now, if the South said it would secede, I would support it. But, how should I put it… after truly standing at the threshold of death and coming back, I wondered what on earth any of this mattered.”
“But you still think slavery must be maintained, don’t you?”
“That’s because if slavery disappears, all my close acquaintances will go bankrupt. You’ll also suffer tremendous damage if slavery disappears, won’t you?”
That’s something to be determined when the time comes. We weren’t close enough for me to say that it would actually be a benefit, so I kept my mouth shut for the time being.
“Anyway, we will definitely lose the general election. It’s the greed of a thief to expect to win that election when the President has even resigned.”
“But didn’t you prevent a defeat so disastrous that it would be unprecedented?”
“That’s true. I blew Buchanan away for that very reason in the first place.”
If the Republican Party had entered the general election while continuing to toy with the impeachment card, the Democratic Party might have suffered a defeat close to total annihilation in the North.
But since they ousted Buchanan and Breckinridge announced he would rebuild the collapsed economy, they might be able to secure close to a majority of votes if things go well.
Though it would be impossible to exceed a majority, so one must assume the House of Representatives will be lost.
“Then what kind of plan does Vice President Breckinridge, who will succeed the poor President who was blown away like that, have? Last time, he went on and on about how he was different from Buchanan; will he really keep his word?”
“Perhaps he will? You wouldn’t know, but he has already secretly sent messages to the members of the Federal House and Senate.”
“…A secret message?”
“Yes. He said that since we must focus on the election for now, he would focus on releasing some money to the banks and solving the liquidity problem as the Northerners want. Since this is an unavoidable measure to secure the Democratic Party’s seats in the North, isn’t he planning to appropriately cater to the North’s whims this year?”
Was he worried about the criticism that would arise if he completely changed his actions as soon as he became president, after having talked so much about becoming a president who would work for the South?
In fact, since it is the correct judgment to reveal his true colors only after the election is over, Breckinridge wasn’t doing anything that would get him cursed at.
“That’s a plausible plan. That means even if he goes on a rampage, it will be from next year.”
“The Senate is an indirect election anyway, so the Democratic Party won’t lose. If we can secure about 40% in the House, we will still have the initiative in the political situation…”
“Rampage from next year, then. That’s good information. Thank you.”
“But do you really think Breckinridge will ruin the South?”
“Shall I ask you the opposite? Why do you see hope?”
“Because, unlike Buchanan, Breckinridge is a person who can push things forward boldly. There are many who believe that if we show the South’s strong will, the North will no longer be able to force their will upon us.”
No, no, that’s exactly the mindset of the leadership of a certain empire in the 20th century, isn’t it? If they ‘Pearl Harbor’ like that, will the opponent offer reconciliation, or will they lose their lid and slap us across the ear?
“The biggest problem is that the South is overestimating its own weight class. Senator, have I ever been wrong so far?”
“You haven’t.”
“And as the person who currently owns the most slaves in Mississippi, do I look like someone who would logically want slavery to disappear?”
“That’s impossible.”
Look, doesn’t the conclusion come out naturally?
“So, this isn’t what I want; it’s just the result of calmly grasping and analyzing the current situation.”
“Hoo… this is bleak.”
Quitman let out a long sigh as if he were distressed and shook his head from side to side.
“In the end, you’re saying Breckinridge will continue to rampage, the South and the North will eventually split, but we’ll get beaten up by the North and be forcibly re-annexed?”
“Even if the detailed flow is different, the big picture will be similar.”
“…Damn it, it’s a story I really don’t want to believe, but as someone who has watched you from the side and even had his life saved, it’s even sadder because I can’t deny it. I understand for now. I’ll organize everything you asked for and give it to you.”
Without even waiting for my answer, Quitman stood up and strode away.
The South has no future, but that doesn’t mean it will be completely ruined.
After the war ends, the South’s industry itself will be entirely rebuilt, but the fundamental institution of slavery will disappear, shattering the planters’ income.
Everything else, excluding that, is bound to hit rock bottom and then return to its original state.
If one is only aware of this, there are countless ways to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
It would be even easier to prepare if a cartel were formed by joining forces with members of the Federal House and the Mississippi State Senate.
First, I’ll have Quitman completely take control of the Fire-Eaters, and in the next election, I’ll provide as much support as possible so that people close to me are elected to key positions in Mississippi.
But before that.
“James, can you look at the clothes I’m going to wear to the family gathering?”
“Alright. I’ll be there right away.”
Since I’m getting married, I have to introduce her to the family first.
* * *
The most promising young talent in the South.
The hero who saved Mississippi from terrorism.
The greatest Slave Master of this era and the ruler of the blacks.
Kate Seth… no, the mistress of the Minor family, now called Kate Minor, simply couldn’t believe that all those titles referred to her younger brother.
What on earth could have happened in the world for her brother to become like this?
Take today’s family dinner, for example.
“Come on, sister. Say hello. This is Cecilia Stanley, who I’m going to marry.”
“I am Cecilia Stanley. I’ve heard a lot about you from James!”
“Ah… yes. My goodness, a daughter of an aristocratic family… what on earth did she see in our brother…”
He had said he was slowly thinking about marriage with his fiancée, and now he had held a dinner at the mansion because he wanted to formally introduce her to the family.
It was a truly wonderful thing that her brother was getting married, but she still couldn’t understand why the other party was the daughter of a British aristocratic family.
They even said she wasn’t just a nouveau riche aristocrat, but a real, genuine aristocrat who had been an aristocratic family for hundreds of years.
They said they had been aristocrats even before America became independent, so that said it all.
Why on earth would a young lady from such a family, who was even pretty, modest, and had a cheerful personality, be with her brother?
Of course, she was the only one who thought this, and there was a succession of testimonies from those around her that James was by no means the one falling behind.
“Where in the South is there a better groom than James right now? No, wait, even if you look at the North as well, there probably isn’t one.”
“Indeed, indeed. Just the personal slaves he owns already exceed a thousand. If you look at his income alone, it’s probably much more than an average British Earl. On top of that, he has received commendations from the State Assembly several times, and even though it’s a militia, he even received the rank of Major.”
Her friends would squeal and talk about her younger brother every time they met, and every time that happened, Kate felt as if she were possessed by something.
Before their father passed away, he was just an ordinary heir to a Southern planter, so what on earth happened in this short amount of time?
If you look closely, the signs were a bit strange from the time they went to New York together, but back then, she just thought he had matured a bit now that he had become the head of the household.
But suddenly, he overhauled the entire plantation system, introduced baseball, which was popular in the North, built a hospital, and now he’s a hero of Mississippi.
This alone was surprising enough, but the words that came out of this hero’s mouth today were enough to make her lose her mind once again.
“A new president has been inaugurated, so I will state this clearly now. War will break out before long.”
“…???”
“War?”
Kate and her husband, John, just blinked their eyes and looked at each other at the word that had suddenly popped out of nowhere.
They must have misheard, right? No matter what, war of all things.
“You didn’t mishear; it’s war. The timing is, at the latest, the year after next. There’s not even two years left now.”
“No, brother-in-law…”
“James? I don’t know what on earth you’re talking about right now.”
“That’s why I’m explaining it now. Even if others don’t know, our family needs to pull themselves together and prepare from now on.”
James said that, and as he explained why war was inevitable and what would happen if it broke out, he guided the two of them deep into the plantation.
And the sight of the Seth Plantation they saw in person was completely different from her memories.
He wasn’t talking about trivial elements like baseball or hospitals.
From the structure of the plantation to the equipment and clothing of the slaves working there, the buildings of unknown purpose, and the guidelines densely packed everywhere.
To be precise, she wondered if there was anything the same as before, other than the cotton fields that stretched out endlessly.
She stared at the scene as if possessed, and then asked blankly without realizing it.
“James… what on earth are you trying to do?”
“I told you. War will break out and everything will be turned upside down. This is preparation for that time.”
Her husband, John, who was next to her, couldn’t take his eyes off the blacks moving busily here and there.
“…You’re preparing, so what are you trying to do with this?”
“I’m going to monopolize the Southern cotton industry. I will weed out all the slave owners who have lost their competitiveness and take their place. So, I have a favor to ask of my brother-in-law and sister.”
Monopolizing the Southern cotton industry and launching an entirely new form of corporation.
She had never dreamed that he was harboring an ambition to truly take all of this country’s cotton industry for himself.
“Are you trying to become the richest person in this country… no, in the world?”
“Wouldn’t that happen as a result?”
“As a result? Then that means that’s not the purpose… if that happens, what kind of things will occur?”
“If they are under my shade, a world will be created where everyone can eat well and live well, regardless of whether they are white, black, or indigenous.”
Hmm… now I get it. My brother is crazy. He must be completely, thoroughly crazy.
He suddenly talks about war, and then speaks so calmly about such a distant and pie-in-the-sky idea.
However…
“James… you…”
…He’s cool. Right now, before her eyes, she can feel the awe and love for her brother in the eyes of the world’s largest plantation and over a thousand people.
Usually, such a person either becomes a lunatic psychopath or a great figure who will remain in history for a long time.
For some reason, Kate felt a calm chill run through her body at the premonition that she might soon see that future with her own two eyes.