The civil war lasted for a year, and the federal government paid more than 200,000 casualties. The cruel casualties made the soldiers tired of the war.
This was just a civil war, not an invasion by foreign enemies. The stirred up patriotism had long been worn out in blood and fire.
It wasn't just the western states that didn't complete the conscription task. Even the core state of the federal government faced the same problem of conscription.
So far, the total number of troops of the federal government had exceeded 1.1 million, but it was still not enough.
The states at war or the federal states near the battlefield had to prioritize their own safety. It was difficult to coordinate on the battlefield, and it was difficult to play the role of military superiority.
These problems were unsolvable. The officials of the states were elected. If they couldn't guarantee the safety of the state, the voters could make them leave.
Looking at the big picture was the slogan of people who didn't feel the pain. When it came to their own interests, whether it was the capitalists, politicians, or the people, they all chose the best way for themselves.
Secretary of State Safar rushed into the president's office and said, "Mr. President, it's not good.
Illinois just sent another telegram asking for help. They claim that if the federal government doesn't send reinforcements, they will withdraw from the war. "
Withdraw from the war? There was no doubt that the federal states dared to be so willful. In order not to let their homeland become ruins, they could even surrender, let alone withdraw from the war.
Anyway, this was a civil war, and there was no killing. As long as Illinois announced its withdrawal from the war, the South would not attack them again.
However, in this way, the federal government would be finished. Now, as long as there was a leader, it would easily cause a chain reaction.
It was true that the capitalists wanted the market and cheap raw materials, but the premise was that they didn't put themselves in danger. If their property was on the front line, and the enemy had already attacked, then compromise was not a bad idea.
They couldn't put their property in danger for the interests of the upper class, right? The federal government couldn't compensate them for these losses.
Hearing this news, Lincoln threw the document in his hand angrily and cursed, "These bastards, how dare they threaten us!"
Then, he regretfully found that he had to accept this threat.
Maryland and Ohio had almost completely fallen, Indiana was only left with a small piece of land, and Kansas had lost a third of its territory. If Illinois were to withdraw from the war as well, then the Northern Government's advantage in manpower would disappear, and they would be forced into a passive state in terms of strategy.
After a moment of silence, Lincoln slowly opened his mouth and said, "I've decided to immediately implement the Homestead Law and rope in the people who desire land."
Secretary of State Safar said coldly, "Are you sure you've thought it through and not acted on impulse? Once you take this step, there's no turning back. "
Lincoln said firmly, "We've already come this far. If we don't win this war, I'm afraid my fate will be even worse!
Since that was the case, why not take a gamble? Other than implementing the Homestead Act, I can't think of any other way to solve the problem of the lack of troops.
Just look at the Austrians. In a short period of a year, they had tricked more than 200,000 immigrants from our country. It was almost the number of immigrants from Europe in a year.
Of course, we can't push things too far and leave them a backdoor, lest they act in desperation. "
Secretary of State Safar nodded. He and Lincoln were already tied together. If something bad were to happen, neither of them would be able to escape. Of course, he was not the president, so the hatred was smaller.
Forced by the needs of the war, on May 1, 1862, Lincoln signed the Homestead Law, solving the problem of the Northern government's lack of troops.
The Homestead Law stated, "Any head of a family or a citizen of the United States over the age of 21, who has never participated in a rebellion, may register to receive a homestead of up to 160 acres (1 acre = 0.40 hectares) after swearing to acquire the land for farming purposes and paying a fee of $10.
The registrant will obtain a land license and become the owner of the homestead after living and farming on the homestead for five years.
The Homestead Law also provides a compensation clause. If the registrant applies for the right of first refusal, the land can be purchased after six months at the price of $1.25 per acre. "
The first part of the law was mainly to rope in the people who wanted land. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, it was also a copy of the military award of land.
To be loyal to the federal government, one had to serve in the military. This also included the wishes of the people of the southern states. To prove that they did not betray the federal government, it was very simple. All they had to do was fight the rebels on the battlefield.
Using land to bribe people to fight on the battlefield was undoubtedly a detriment to the interests of the interest groups that controlled the price of land.
The compensation clause at the back was a backdoor for them. However, because of the time limit and the number of land each person could register, it increased the difficulty of the operation.
The Homestead Law, which was known as a turning point in history, was naturally very effective. The recruitment points that people had been avoiding were now once again lined up in long lines.
…
Compared to the shortcomings of the army, the federal government had achieved much more in the navy. Of course, there were hundreds of ports in the area controlled by the federal government. With the strength of the federal government's navy, it was naturally impossible to block all of them.
However, they still did an outstanding job. In 1861, about 10% of the ships heading to the federal government were captured.
Don't think that this number was small. In fact, with the strength of the US navy, it was not easy to achieve this step.
The Royal Navy often appeared. Many times, when cotton was transported, the British fleet kept an eye on the federal navy from afar.
The problem wasn't that they could not win, but that they could not fight at all. The British Fao and the West had already reached an agreement on the issue of interfering in the American civil war. Once the war started, it would be one against four.
What the various countries lacked now was an excuse to convince their citizens to start a war. Under this background, it was already very difficult for the federal navy to achieve such results.
In order to break the blockade, the southern government also formed a navy. Because of the disparity in the number of warships between the two sides, the southern government secretly built ironclad warships. At the same time, the northern government was also building ironclad warships.
In March 1862, the navies of the northern and southern sides engaged in a life-and-death battle in the Hamptons. This marked the beginning of the Ironclad War.
Unfortunately, the naval artillery technology of the Americans was not very good. The "Merry Mike" of the southern army and the "Monet" of the northern army fired at each other. Neither side achieved any results.
Under this background, at the end of May 1862, the Austrian fleet visited the southern government.
Count Hummel and President Jefferson Davis had a friendly exchange and reached an agreement on strengthening bilateral trade cooperation, mainly the export of labor services.
On June 7, 1862, the two signed the "Labor Importation Treaty". The treaty stipulated that in the next ten years, the southern government would import three million laborers from the Austrian colonies. The southern government would bear all the costs of the immigration and pay the Austrians 60 DER per person.
Without a doubt, this was a big deal. The prerequisite was that the southern government could only honor the treaty if they won the war.
In order to rope in Austria, the southern government also put in a lot of money.
This was decided by fists. Although the Austrian fleet only had 70 warships, there were five ironclad warships among them. They were currently the strongest fleet on the east coast.
Count Hummel suggested, "Mr. President, I think you need a strong navy to suppress the fleet of the northern government and ensure the smooth flow of overseas trade."
Hummel was not the first to promote warships. The major naval powers in Europe had all promoted warships to the southern government. The southern government had also ordered many warships, but it was a pity that distant water could not quench the present thirst.
Jefferson Davis replied with a lack of interest, "Yes, Count Hummel. We have already ordered many warships from Europe, but they will not arrive in a short period of time."
Count Hummel smiled and said, "Mr. President, what you need is stock. Ordering warships is too slow. The battlefield is ever-changing, and time is of the essence.
If your country's navy had the upper hand now, this war might have already ended. As long as you block the overseas trade of the New England states, the northern government will have no choice but to compromise. "
President Jefferson Davis' eyes lit up. He could hear the hidden meaning in Count Hummel's words. He asked in disbelief, "Your country intends to sell this fleet?"
Count Hummel replied with certainty, "Under normal circumstances, we will not sell active equipment. However, we can make an exception for our friends."
After thinking for a while, President Jefferson Davis said seriously, "Count Hummel, state your price. We will not let our friends suffer losses!"
Even if he knew he would be ripped off, he had no choice but to mention it. No matter how expensive the price was, it would not be as great as the losses of the ships intercepted by the northern government.
On the surface, the losses of these ships belonged to the capitalists. However, in reality, these losses were borne by the southern government. The northern government's blockade had increased the prices of goods in the southern states and restricted the export of goods.
The most typical example was when merchant ships had to leave a large number of empty cabins in order to ensure that they had enough speed to escape the pursuit of the northern navy. When they encountered the northern navy, they would often have to throw the goods on board into the sea to reduce the weight and increase their speed.
Count Hummel quoted, "46 million Divine Dukes for the sale of the ocean-going fleet. We will also give you ammunition that can fight in three wars. We will also provide free training services."
This was a sky-high price. 46 million Divine Dukes was equivalent to 23 million pounds. If one were to calculate the cost of building a ship, it would be enough to build a Royal Navy.
Of course, 23 million pounds was definitely not enough to buy a Royal Navy. Even if it was doubled, it would not be enough. To build a Royal Navy from scratch, even 100 million pounds would not be enough.
The Royal Navy dominated the world not only because of its warships. It also had a series of supporting facilities, a huge industrial chain, and well-trained soldiers.
These were not things that the southern government had. Neither did the northern government have. Before the outbreak of the civil war, the United States Navy did not have more than 10,000 people. The navy of the southern government was only made up of retired personnel and merchant sailors.
It could be said that the quality of the navy of the northern and southern sides were among the best in the world.
Jefferson Davis thought for a while and said, "Count Hummel, your price is too high. How about this. We will hire the ocean-going fleet to fight. As long as the northern navy is suppressed in the port, we will pay 46 million Divine Dukes. "
Hummel shook his head. He did not dare to accept such a deal. It might be easy to suppress the northern navy in the short term, but in fact, the shipyards of the northern government were busy. The scale of the northern fleet would increase as time went on.
If the southern government could not win the war within a year, the strength of the two sides would change. Even if they relied on numbers, the northern government would still have the advantage.
It was impossible to hope to destroy the enemy in a naval battle. If they could not win, they could still run. After entering the port, with the protection of the shore cannons, they could not do anything to them.
Unless the southern government was willing to hand over the army to Austria, then there was still some hope. At most, they would land in Canada and stab the Great Lakes region.
The British probably did not mind being blind for once. Anyway, John was thick-skinned and could act shamelessly.
"Sorry, we are a neutral country and cannot participate in the war."
Jefferson Davis almost rolled his eyes. Which neutral country was selling arms in such a big way? Other than not going to the battlefield personally, they had already done everything they could and could not do.
It was fine to think about these complaints, but it would be too hurtful to say it out loud. No matter what, the Austrians still supported them and were considered half an ally.
"25 million Divine Dukes. You can at least get double the profit at this price."
This was an estimate by Jefferson Davis based on the ex-works price of the southern shipyards. He tacitly acknowledged the profit of the capitalists and added the expenses of the ocean voyage.
Hummel calculated for a moment and said, "Mr. President, business is business. If it were during normal times, this price would be negotiable. But now is a special time. If we don't make more than two times the profit, we will lose money."
…
On July 1, 1862, Austria and Nicaragua signed an arms purchase agreement. The Government of Vienna sold the ocean-going fleet to the Nicaraguan government for 38 million Divine Dukes.
When the news came, the Americas were in an uproar. Many people were surprised. Nicaragua actually had the money to buy the ocean-going fleet?
Before everyone could recover, on July 5, 1862, the Nicaraguan government transferred the giant fleet to the southern government at the same price.
Of course, they were able to sell it for such a sky-high price because Count Hummel agreed to pay half of the bonds. In order to bind Austria, the southern government had put in a lot of effort.
The news had not yet reached Vienna, but the Austrian shipyards were already busy.
If the old did not go, the new would not come. Since they were going to sell the warships, Franz could not let the Austrian navy have no warships to use. Naturally, they had to build new warships.
In the future, they could not interfere in the American Civil War without the navy. Overseas colonization also needed the navy. It was estimated that when the news of the deal reached Europe, the new warships would be commissioned.
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