[Izulde]

Expanded original post!

I've hung about the AMPU forums and managed to snag a playtest opportunity in the 1800 game as a moderate Red faction. This is a brutal era to be a Red politician. And it's gotten even worse since the game began.

The Story So Far...
The faction began as the*Moderate Federalists*and had*NJ Governor Richard Howell*as their first leader. He consequently lost his obscurity and became skilled at manipulation. He ran for the Federalist leadership position, but finished third behind*Chief Justice John Marshall, who overwhelmingly defeated*Alexander Hamilton*in the runoff. This led to all of the Federalist factions being Conservative in addition to their original leanings. The Moderate Federalists in particular became disinterested in*Human Rights*and championed*Law & Order.

The 12th Amendment was passed in 1800.

1802 midterm elections saw*Richard Howell*lose governorship of New Jersey as a blue wave saw the*Democratic-Republicans*seize control of the statehouses and expand their advantage in the House and Senate.*Philip van Cortlandt*was the lone faction representative to be appointed to a committee - the House Economic. The Moderate Federalists also lost allegiance to the Conservatives. Howell promptly retired, leaving a void in the faction's leadership until*Robert Stockton of New Jersey*emerged from the ranks of the obscure to lead... inspiring no one and affecting nothing other than supporting*Marshall*to be re-elected the Federalist leader, which would have happened anyway. Rinse, repeat the Federalists unanimously paying attention to the Conservatives.

More troubles came, with the counter-balancing balms only lessening the sting somewhat -*Associate Justice William Paterson*was impeached, though*John Bayard*looked like a potential rising star, but he was still mired in obscurity and held Conservative views out of step with the overwhelmingly majority Moderates of the faction.*John Quincy Adams, a future deemed bright star, turned into a bootlicking, lackey, though*Silas Wood*showed the beginnings of ability to govern.*Benjamin Stoddert*had a chance at an admiralship, but he declined, having formerly been*Secretary of the Navy*prior to 1800.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs was established in the 1802-03 period, and white male property owners gained suffrage rights in the same legislative session.

President Thomas Jefferson, having gained authority from Congress to push the Native American tribes westward, did so, and also pardoned those found guilty under the Sedition Act. The tradition of deliver the State of the Union address in-person also ended. Jefferson also made treaties with tribes for lands in Michigan.

These were all extremely popular policies and*Richard Stockton*bravely stepped in to run against the beloved Jefferson. He ran on a platform of 8% Tariff Rate, Instituting the Fillibuster, granting the President the power to institute a military draft, and a Pro-British foreign policy, selecting the utterly unlikable*Arthur St. Clair*as his running mate.

Jefferson retained*Aaron Burr*as his VP nominee. The Blues had the superior tickets, but the Conservative-appeasing Platform was more popular, so there was a narrow window to hopefully avoid a bloodbath.

The state legislatures of Connecticut and and Vermont voted for Stockton, but those 15 electoral votes were a far cry behind the 62 amassed by Jefferson in that portion of the election, with 89 EVs needed to win re-election.

Only Pennsylvania voted for Stockton in the popular vote - narrowly so, yet still considered a stunning victory by pundits of the time. St. Clair became uncharismatic in addition to unlikable, and Stockton's loss of obscurity and refusal to retire meant that Moderate Federalists were forced to hang with him for the foreseeable future.

The bloodbath at the top of the ticket was even worse downballot.*Not a single Federalist was elected to the House*and after appointments, the D-Rs held a 28-6 edge in the Senate - none of whom was a Moderate Federalist.*Only Connecticut had a Federalist in the governor's mansion as well.

John Quincy Adams*was recruited by two separate factions, but he stayed loyal despite President Jefferson one of those trying to court him. At this time, he was still working in the State Legislative career track, building his star.

As for*Richard Stockton? He gained Leadership, but also felt Easily Overwhelmed and depressed from his defeat, thereby rendered ineligible for challenging for Party Leader, which again went to*Chief Justice John Marshall, who then made the Federalists a universal party of Law & Order.

Dire times for both the Federalist Party and the Moderate Federalists. With Stockton still locked in, the faction quietly appointed a new shadow leader:*Winston Jestor, breaking the news to him as he was reading the new Jane Austen novel,*Pride & Prejudice.*

* - In real life, the novel was published in 1813. Here, the event fired in 1804.

Richard Stockton is the lowest regarded of the 10 faction leaders, with a 65 Politician Value (PV).

In discussing the other key politicians, I'll make note that:
1. To run for the House, you need at least 1 Legislative
2. To run for Governor, you need at least 1 Governing
3. To run for President, you need at least 1 Command
4. To be appointed to an administrative position or the Supreme Court, you need at least 1 in the relevant ability.

All abilities are on 1-5 scale.

Other Notable Moderate Federalists
John Bayard, Sr. (66) - 1 Command, 2 Legislative, 2 Governing, 1 Judicial, 1 Military, 1 Admin
Aging former Mayor of New Brunswick and Colonel in the Continental Army with Business Interests. One of three Moderate Federalists with Command. Ran for Governor of New Jersey in 1804 and lost the primary to William Coxe, Jr, who in turn lost to the incumbent John Lambert.

John Quincy Adams (37) - 2 Command, 2 Legislative, 1 Governing, 1 Judicial, 4 Admin
Currently working in the state government. A whole host of traits - the most-concerning of which is Flip-Flopper and able to switch parties. He'd be a brilliant pick for a Cabinet post when he enters politics with his administrative talent and expertise in Crisis Management.

And from there it's largely a bunch of guys who can run for Congress, plus double-digit guys capable of running for statehouses.