The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1894 Fairness
At this point, negotiations had completely broken down, and the Maryland government had officially sided with the South. Even orders from Washington could not stop the war.

The Battle of Baltimore broke out, with hundreds of thousands of Confederate soldiers razing the entire city to the ground and all Black people being enslaved to compensate Confederate supporters for their losses.

Meanwhile, supporters of the northern United States will be completely deported, and the number of refugees will increase again.
When Washington received the telegram requesting assistance from Baltimore, everyone in the White House was stunned. Their first reaction was that the British had called again.

Then they thought of other powers wanting to take advantage of the situation; they never imagined it would turn into a civil war.

The White House went to great lengths to figure out that both sides in the standoff were Americans, but by the time they realized it, the fighting was over and Baltimore was in ruins.

The two sides have conflicting accounts of the Battle of Baltimore, and both Franklin Pierce and the North's leadership hoped for a ceasefire and negotiations.

The situation within the upper echelons of the American South was rather chaotic. Some wanted to take the opportunity to teach the North a lesson, while others opposed the infighting and felt that a thorough investigation should be conducted before making a decision.

But everything happened too fast.
"Mr. President, you should immediately order the arrest of General Robert E. Lee, who has openly led his troops to attack innocent civilians."

This behavior is absolutely intolerable!

Furthermore, the state of Maryland should compensate the innocent citizens of Baltimore for all their losses.

Lincoln was speaking righteously and sternly, but was interrupted by Davis.

"Where are they innocent? Where are those thugs innocent? They allowed that devil to attack innocent civilians, they attacked General Robert E. Lee, and they set fire to Baltimore."

I suggest we arrest all those guys and lock them up in a northern prison!
We Southerners don't need this bunch of trash!

Lincoln immediately countered with a question.

"Then why won't you leave those poor black people alone?"

Davis responded in kind.

"That's our legal property! Why should we hand it over to you?"

Lincoln asked again.

"By what right do you arrest those free Black people from the North? They are lawful citizens of America!"

Davis sneered.

"Lawful citizens? All I know about them are rapists, murderers, and robbers!"

They should have known what would happen to them the moment they violated our property!
"If we hand over those black devils to you, who will compensate us for our losses?"

"Then why did you drive those refugees to our north?"

Lincoln's words nearly infuriated Davis. Lincoln didn't want to say it because it would damage his image, but the financial backer behind the scenes wanted to ask those southern barbarians why they sent that garbage back.

Davis's forehead veins bulged.

"Of course you should go back to where you came from! Why should the American South accept you Yankee refugees?"

There was actually a little side story in between. The reason why refugees from New York State went south en masse was that the British refused to accept them, and the bigwigs in the northern United States wanted to take this opportunity to make a fortune.

New York State is a place where land is extremely valuable, and after the wildfire, many so-called land deeds were destroyed in the fire, meaning that the vast majority of the land became unclaimed.

Faced with such immense wealth, how could those powerful figures possibly resist?

The financiers and real estate developers did not have to do much to organize a team specifically to expel the landless in New York State.

Of course, if they have the money, they are still very willing to sell land. It's just that the refugees' offers are unlikely to satisfy the bigwigs.

Greed knows no bounds. For more money, financiers and real estate developers wouldn't hesitate to set another fire or even hire the army to clear out refugees.

As for providing aid, that's impossible. After all, they are just businessmen and have no such obligation, which is why the number of refugees is so exaggerated and so difficult to manage.

Those financiers and real estate developers also know that they have offended the refugees terribly, so they don't want them to come back at all.

However, the southern states of the United States were also unwilling to provide aid, as they had already provided the North with a great deal of supplies for the sake of the United States and had even sent their own soldiers.

At this point, it was absolutely impossible for them to accept those Northern refugees, mainly because Southerners believed that the arrival of abolitionists would destroy their lives.

Especially after the Battle of Baltimore, most of the southern states in the United States closed their borders and deployed large numbers of militia to defend them.

All Confederate officers and soldiers in the Union Army were urgently recalled, since the war was over and it was time for them to serve their homeland.

In fact, the Maryland refugee issue is just a microcosm of the conflict between the North and South at that time.

The North had no shortage of labor due to the presence of Irish and other immigrants, while the South feared inviting trouble.

The most ridiculous thing is that, due to political needs, Black people have become a coveted prize for both sides, while white people have become a disliked burden.

Seeing that neither the North nor the South wanted to accept the refugees, Franklin Pierce suddenly had a brilliant idea.

“We might be able to send them to develop the west, which would not only alleviate the refugee problem, but also strengthen the border defenses and develop more land.”

Franklin Pierce's idea was actually quite reasonable, because at that time the American West had lost California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

However, there are still large tracts of land available for development, and the development level in the central region is also very low.

The United States has an extraordinary natural geographical advantage. Its land resources are very easy to develop and extremely abundant. For example, Americans discovered gold mines in Colorado while farming.

Because of the failure to acquire California, coupled with the prolonged war, Americans had an exceptionally strong desire for gold at this time.

Everyone wants a large amount of gold to replenish the economy and pay off international debts.

Franklin Pierce's words even impressed Lincoln, who had to admit it was a brilliant move.

However, supporters of the American South did not see it that way. The events of Bloody Week in Kansas were still fresh in their minds, so how could they tolerate so many abolitionists going west?
"I object! Wouldn't that be handing over the Midwest to the free states of the North?"

Lincoln spoke immediately after Davis finished speaking.

"We just lost four free states in the North, so it's fair to make the newly joined states free states as well."

"What fairness? We provide the money and the manpower, and you just sit back and reap the benefits?"

Davis said angrily that although the American South was not directly affected by the war, it suffered considerable losses, and the long-term war taxes caused widespread resentment.

He couldn't accept that the hardships were shared equally, but now that the cake was being divided, he wanted to take it all for himself.

Lincoln smiled.

"Then you can also send people to compete with us fairly, and whoever sends the most people will get it."

That's fair enough this time, isn't it?

This statement left Davis speechless.

"Fair my ass! We deserve half of the newly joined states! That's fair!"

Lincoln smiled and shook his head.

"Secretary Davis, you should respect public opinion. The vote is the key to everything."

Democracy is the very foundation of America. Don't you agree, Mr. President?

Franklin Pierce had no intention of getting involved; he just wanted to retire peacefully and enjoy his retirement.

Lincoln's words left him no room for rebuttal or extrication, so he could only nod helplessly. This action, however, greatly angered his supporters in the American South. Franklin Pierce held no prestige in their eyes, and Lincoln's behavior was utterly disgusting.

"No way! We in the South must take half of the newly joined states! Otherwise, there's no point in discussing it!"

Lincoln didn't care at all, after all, his words were backed by the Constitution, and he represented America.

As if he had the victory firmly in his grasp, Lincoln added another smug remark.

"Why?"

"Because we shed blood for America! Because we protected America!"

At one point, Davis even threw his hat on the ground to express his dissatisfaction.

"Protecting America isn't solely your achievement."

Lincoln's statement was unacceptable to the older generation of Dixie.

Are you the surrender faction?

"You signed it too."

Lincoln instinctively retorted.

"Damn it! Let's have a fight! Whoever wins gets to decide."

Upon hearing this, Lincoln finally became afraid. These days, the Yankees are not only unable to fight against old Dixie, but they themselves are also on the verge of collapse due to the refugee problem.

However, youthful impetuosity is almost inevitable, and the supporters from both the North and South became increasingly agitated as they argued.

Calls for civil war continue, with some legislators from southern states even threatening to secede from the Union.

"You are dividing the country! Do you want to be traitors to America?"

Lincoln was afraid, but he knew he couldn't show weakness at this moment, otherwise the other party would definitely take this opportunity to extort a large sum of money.

Politics is a game of strategy; whoever blinks first loses.

Lincoln was certain that the American South was not a monolithic entity, and that most people certainly did not want a civil war or to secede from the Union.

His words, though seemingly tough, were actually a reminder to those who didn't want a civil war that it was time to take action, and most politicians wouldn't dare to accept the accusation of splitting the Union.

Lincoln was absolutely right. The Southern leadership, including Davis, were not actually that radical. They did not want a civil war, nor did they want a split.

Otherwise, they could have declared independence when Britain attacked the United States, or simply gone through the motions without putting in any real effort.

But they did help, going all out, providing loans, sending troops, and exchanging their produce for war supplies.

Such enormous sunk costs forced them to reconsider, yet the actions of the Northern leaders at this moment aroused their genuine anger.

But the accusation of splitting America was too much to bear, so these Southern leaders simply chose to keep quiet and let the congressmen do as they pleased.

At this point, the balance of power between the North and South in the United States had reversed, and the Southern supporters were quite confident.

The constraints Lincoln imposed were simply ineffective in controlling this group.

"Our ancestors joined the Federation voluntarily, not through a contract of servitude!"

If the federal government cannot give us fairness, then we will take back the rights that belong to us!

"That's right! What right do you, a despicable person, have to criticize us? You are depriving us of our rights, so why can't we fight back?"
Everything we do is in line with the true American spirit! We are simply protecting our property and our free way of life from your infringement!

"Yes! Haven't you read the Declaration of Independence?"

'When the US government goes bad, the people have the right to abolish it!'

"What have we gained after all this sacrifice! Destroy it!"

Seeing that old Dixie had completely overwhelmed Lincoln and the Northern faction, Franklin Pierce had no choice but to step in again to smooth things over.

"The federal government will never favor any side. Every American citizen enjoys equal and free rights, and their property will be protected by the U.S. government."

We can discuss the issue of states' rights later; our most pressing concern right now is the refugee crisis.

However, Franklin Pierce did not have much prestige in American politics, and his conciliatory attitude was immediately refuted.

"You're clearly biased towards the Yankees! They have millions of abolitionists. How can we possibly beat them in the vote if all those people move to new states?"

Lincoln remained silent this time, but a Northern congressman retorted.

"The Constitution stipulates! It's all about merit!"

"Screw your twisted logic! Kansas belongs to us, and Oregon belongs to you. One for each side is the only fair thing to do!"

"This is unconstitutional!"

"So you're saying the Missouri Accords were unconstitutional? You can't just emphasize the Constitution when you're in the dominant position!"

Moreover, equality between the North and South is the cornerstone of unity! Your shameless plunder is a violation of the Constitution!

The Missouri Agreement was a classic example of North-South compromise, as it directly ceded Maine to a free state and Missouri to a slave state.

"What are you going to do with all these refugees? Don't you have any humanity at all?"

Seeing that the Constitution was useless, Lincoln returned to his area of ​​expertise.

However, Davis countered with a question.

"Where did these refugees come from?"

"They are victims of war."

"Then why did you drive them away?"

Faced with the questioning, Lincoln certainly had something to say.

"You even drove away refugees!"

However, Davis didn't want to waste any more time, he said.

"Either we split it equally, or we withdraw! But either way, you won't get a piece of Kansas!"

At this point, Davis's words were the final word: either an exchange of benefits or armed conflict.

Since the bloody battle of Baltimore, no one doubts that the American South is truly capable of taking action.

This war between Britain and the United States left the American North in ruins. The wealthiest state of New York was almost reduced to wasteland, and the four northern states became spoils of war for the British.

In reality, the British did not recognize the four northern colonies as spoils of war. Even the treaty stated that the United States returned the four colonies to Britain, which shows that the British never gave up their sovereignty over North America.

It is clear that the agreement between Britain and the United States is nothing more than a ceasefire, and the two sides will inevitably clash again sooner or later. The North cannot do without the support of the South.

In addition to the devastation of war, the presence of millions of refugees ravaging the northern United States has further eroded their confidence.

It would likely take more than a decade for the American North to recover, and this could even permanently alter the power balance between the North and South.