Eagle Land

by Friday

The Mexican American war 1846-1848

The Mexican-American War was an armed military conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas. Mexico did not recognize the secession of Texas in 1836; it considered Texas a rebel province.

In the United States, the war was a partisan issue with most Whigs opposing it and most southern Democrats, animated by a popular belief in the Manifest Destiny, supporting it. In Mexico, the war was considered a matter of national pride.

The war would end with capture of Mexico after the Battle of Chapultepec with the announcement of the conclusion of the war. The news of the victory in Mexico City resulted in an increased level of enthusiasm. The anti war fraction of congress and the senate had been effectively silenced by victory. Even with the strength provided by the victory in Mexico the total annexation of Mexico would have been unlikely with out David Levy Yulee's efforts to convince fellow congressmen. He played upon patriotism played down Mexico’s ethnic differences and was able to use the initial enthusiasm to support the total annexation of Mexico.

David Yulee had no way of knowing that his efforts would make his beloved Dixie would lead to the civil war and Dixie’s present day irrelevance.

After the Mexican American war Americans found out the hard way that Mexico would be far from easy to hold. The Mexican war effort had been weakened by infighting. To hold Mexico the US had to make allies. America could ether ally with Mexico’s Conservative forces or Its Liberal population. To ally with the coversos would require support for the Catholic Church, recognition of the imperial system. An alliance with Mexico’s liberal forces required much less in the way of political
capital. The governor of the more populated regions of Mexico would be elected by the people. Former Mexicans would become full American citizens with all the rights entailed.

Even with a light occupation and the folding in of Mexicans into the new regime one sticking point remained.

Slavery, the New Mexican territories did not want to compete with slave labor, the liberals found it atrocious.

The anti slavery movement in the north found unlikely allies in the new south. The Mexican Annexation had permanently altered the free state slave state divide and in a cruel irony it would be in the industrial north’s favor.

The next 13 years would see the slavery debate grow in intensity, eventually it would all fall apart. The newly conquered territories would end up playing a decisive role in who would win the war.

The election of Abraham Lincoln was the last straw for America’s slave states and the area that is today known as Dixie seceded from the union. There were fears that the Spanish speaking regions of the union would also succeed. Many historians agree that if the Spanish speaking portions of the states had seceded that it would
have doomed the union cause.

President Lincoln decided that the best way to assure loyalty to the union was to finally grant these regions state hood. This was extremely controversial and their were riots in several northern cities and rumors of a plot by the Catholic Church to conquer America through these newly minted states. State hood would not come
with out a price for the new Latino states they were expected to fight for it.

When the south succeeded from the union they took with them most of the union’s best generals. A three pronged strategy was eventually enacted. There would be an army in the west who would try to secure the western territories; there would be an army of the south that would attempt to strike Dixie from the south. The western and southern militaries would meet in Texas and then drive to the east.
Casualties were high but in the West Ulysses S. Grant would prove himself to be a competent commander who had a steely reserve. In the south an untested Porfrio Diaz would rise to become one of the union’s great generals as the leader of the union’s southern forces. The war lasted from 1861 to 1864, the south inflicted great casualties but was defeated by the unions industrial might and overwhelming
numbers.

The war had been made more difficult by British support in the way of cannon, guns and other war material, most of the southern blockade runners were originally British vessels. The war brought the Latin states into the fold, ended slavery, and greatly diminished racism towards those of Indian heritage. However it would be foolish to say that racism diapered, America simply switched from the south’s one drop rule to something akin to the Spanish caste system. The civil war proved that Indian blood did not make for inferior troops but it would take another war to silence the remaining critics.

The second Anglo American war 1866 to 1870

the second Anglo American war was one of those tragic events in world history. The war could have easily been prevented. If America had done more to stop the Fenian raids and terrorist attacks in Britain’s North American territories. If the British and Americans had conducted diplomacy in a more constructive way, but the event that ultimately caused every thing to spiral out of control was John Stoughton Dennis's invasion of north America.

So why did things spiral out of control. British aid during the civil war had poisoned the relationship between America and the British Empire. After the war was over America turned a blind eye to the Fenians campaign of terrorism in British North America. The Fenians conducted a campaign of small scale raids, assassinations
and terrorist attacks in British North America in one of these terrorist attacks Commander John Dennis's wife was killed by a bombing. So when a small group of Fenians escaped across the US boarder he and his small militia followed. Even with commander Dennis’s invasion of America the war could have been prevented.

Unfortunately the British Empire was suffering from a bad case of Victory disease. The British Empire from Napoleon onwards had not suffered a single significant defeat. There was a feeling of invincibility that ran through the British military.

Unfortunately for the British there past victories were all accomplished with the help of allies or with the aid of a coalition. In North America Great Britain would be fighting alone against an enemy who had 4 years of combat experience and could bring massive armies and force to bear.

The Anglo American war was a hard fought one, the American military utnumbered and outgunned British forces and was more experienced the British navy was more experienced and outnumbered the Americans. American Iron clads and America’s extensive trade network prevented a shut down of America’s internal trade but more often then not the British were victorious at sea.

On land the British did dismally two years into the campaign the British military forces in North America were utterly crushed. The naval war went on for another two years; the British were eventually forced to concede their North American territories. The Victory led to a second term for Johnson and it would pave
the way for both the Grant and Diaz administrations.

Consolidation 1873-1881

The Grant Administration road into office on the wings of a finical panic. Ulysses S Grant was a neophyte to politics and if not for the efforts of Vice President Diaz the Grant administration would probably be remembered as one rife with corruption thankfully Vice President Profirio Diaz was more in tune with politics and was able to prevent several potentially disastrous appointments. The grant Administration would see both massive emigrations from Europe and a great Exodus from Americas northern territories. An estimated 10 to 20% of the population left for Australia during Grants administration.

The French speaking population and English loyalists were the ones most eager to leave, but what Grant is most famous for was his successful efforts to create a national public educational system built on the model of the successful New England school system. The goal was to educate America’s youth, increase pay by depriving
corporations of child labor and to slowly Americanize Americas Spanish and French speaking populations. Grant also oversaw the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

After Grant left Diaz would continue the slow process of consolidating the country. President Diaz would be remembered as a good president who focused on consolidating the gains and bringing the continent together. Presidents after Diaz would strengthen America’s policy of Isolation and keep us out of the madness of the first and second global wars, the pacific war and the numerous other conflicts that were fought between the capitalist European and Australian led forces
and the Communist Russian and Chinese led forces.

During the 20th Century America was finally at peace the violence and bloodshed of the 1800s were left behind as America concentrated on building up its infrastructure, and on improving the lives of its citizenry.

1961 March 12^th

Closed the book and sighed yet another piece of self celebratory claptrap. The yanks are one of the few people in the world who think that if they put their head in the sand everything will turn out fine. Which is why Australia and our allies had to fight that much harder to bring down Japan during the pacific war, and why Europe was barely able to stop Stalin from conquering Europe.

Honestly if the Germans had not invented the bomb to stop the commies well who know what would have happened, still I needed to read this crap, after all I am an American studies major, though to be fair I only choose it because I thought it would be easy. No new difficult languages to learn, not that much outside of music and the civil rights movement to pick up and once I was finished I could do some import export with one of the big companies in Brisbane.

Personally I find the country maddening. No one here understands much in the way of geography, the only reason they bother learning anything about the rest of the world is to sell crap to it. That isn’t to say their not very good at it they are. America is the richest country on the planet and the average yank has no problem telling you about it over and over again, but that’s the thing about the yanks that money it’s all they have going for them.

Oh sure they have power, the second largest country in the world, third most populated, but they don’t have the ability to project it. Not like us Ozzys were freaking everywhere, the freaking lords of the Indian Ocean. Indonesia? Ha a communist country that’s falling apart island by Island. Japan? We beat them during the war and they ain't coming back no matter what their crappy anime says.
India well ok they might be trouble someday especially if their economy keeps running double digit growth, but if they mess with us all we have to do is shut off the resources and boom their goes their economy. I closed the book and left the Library. It was time for a smoking break.

I went outside and saw my friend Billy. He’s an ok bloke for being a Queenslander. He looked at me and said "Are you still in the I hate everything about this place phase?"

The one thing I hate about Billy he thinks himself a psychologist. "I told you before Bill I’m not going through a phase I’m sick of this bloody place"

"Your going through culture shock Dave, I’ve watch you go through the honeymoon phase and now your in the negotiation phase soon you’ll get over that and be where I am the every thing is fine phase."

"Ok that will never happen I hate this hell hole."

"That isn’t fair Dave, as countries go this one is more or less livable it isn’t nearly as bad as Indonesia, or the middle east."

"It still sucks."

"I really cant wait until you get over this."

lit a cigarette and took in a deep drag "You know what screw it, its Friday night and my paper isn’t due until a week from now lets get some of the watered down crap the yanks dare call booze."

"Cant argue with that Dave, just one thing please don’t pick fights this time."

"Since when do I pick fights?"

"Dave you pick fights with anyone who isn’t a fellow Aussie and even then you picked a fight"

"Kiwis don’t count as Ozzy!"

"There a province just like everyone else. Now promise me"

"I cant promise anything"

"Dave this attitude isn’t getting you anywhere, right now I’m the only one who puts up with you, I need you to get over your crap so that we can have a decent night out"

"Fine I promise not to fight the yanks tonight"

And so we walked to the nearest pub a dark dank place where the booze was as cheap and loose as the women who came there. The place was dead silent for a change as the people stared at the tele in horror.

I asked the barkeep "What’s wrong?"

He looked at me and gulped "China just invaded India"

It was then I knew that my world was about to go down the bloody tubes.

Some times I writing in this journal is the only thing that keeps me sane.

I closed the Diary and looked down at the dead body of the man that had just been killed. Dave Mann Import Export expert veteran of the Sino Indian war, and a man
who thought he could skip out on his gambling debts.

That’s where I come In My names George people Call me the Dragon. I think it’s because I’m the only Korean Hitman on the west coast Mafia. I decided to keep the diary Dave wouldn’t miss it. It was hot; it’s always hot in Fresno. Fresno's one of those towns that manages to be left behind. It’s a town for ghosts, for refugees, for the unlucky it’s a city where the American dream goes to die. I put the bloated corpse on the conveyer and watched it get burned into ashes in the incinerator. The smell of burning flesh made me hungry so I put on a new suit washed the brains out of my hair and headed to a Latin restaurant.

The place was called Senior José it’s run by a guy named Chewy. It’s been a Part of Fresno’s landscape for over three generations and they have the best Chimichanga’s in town.

Chimichanga I like that word it just rolls off your tongue doesn’t it? Chimichangas, Chimichanga, Chimichanga, ooh I just love that word. Chimichangas are a gift of god to humanity. It all started in a small restaurant in New Mexico an old lady accidentally put a burrito into a vat of oil. The result was delicious I’ve been lucky enough to eat at that restaurant it was absolutely yummy. I looked at the restaurant. Senior Jose’s is never closed…

To be continued