Timeline (Southern War of Secession)

1963:

On June 11th 1963, rather than allowing federal troops to force integration at the University of Alabama, Governor George Wallace, instead orders the Alabama National Guard to take hostage the federal troops. The federal troops surrender after direct orders from Lyndon B. Johnson to avoid a confrontation. George Wallace, though accused by treason by many, has now found himself at the head of a national movement of state’s rights, and announces that the state of Alabama no longer recognizes the authority of the US Government in its confines, effectively a secession. Though many other Southern politicians express support, no other states follow in the de facto secession. Wallace announces in August that he plans to run for President of the United States the coming year, and founds the “American Independent Party”, clamoring for state’s rights and an increasingly borderline secession movement against the US government. The federal government, worried about the popularity of Wallace, takes no action at the time while Wallace’s movement grows. During this time, Wallace increasingly militarizes the Alabama National Guard into a smooth and functional independent military force, and begins construction on fortifications surrounding the state.

1964:

Barry Goldwater of Arizona is the Republican nominee for President and Lyndon B. Johnson is nominated by the Democratic Party, with George Wallace running as President for the American Independent Party with Strom Thurmond as Vice President Nominee. The election campaign is fierce, with Wallace positioning himself as a fierce advocate of state’s rights and segregation, and true conservatism, while Goldwater comes off as a conservative-moderate, and Lyndon B. Johnson represents progressive ideals of equality. The election then results in a deeply divided country; with Wallace sweeping the Southern states, Lyndon B. Johnson the North and West Coast, and Barry Goldwater winning just a handful of states in between, with the final electoral and popular vote being;

Johnson: 271 Electoral, 45% Popular Vote Wallace: 250 Electoral, 35% Popular Vote Goldwater: 17 Electoral, 30% Popular Vote

Immediately after the election, Wallace complains that Goldwater drained away conservative votes, and that really the majority of the American people didn’t want Lyndon B. Johnson’s radical program of intergration. Lyndon B. Johnson fulfilled his promises and immediately passed through a combination of Congress and executive order a legislative package known as the “Acts on the Rights and Equality of all Races.” The very name sent shudders down many white southerners spines. At the Electoral College, an unprecedented event happened – all seventeen of Goldwater’s electors voted for Wallace, leaving Wallace with 267 Electoral votes to Johnson’s 270. Goldwater and Wallace repeated the claims that the election had been stolen from them – and the year drew to a close amid much tension.

1965:

Vice President Hubert Humphrey dies suddenly in January due to a terrible heart attack, and President Johnson nominates Nelson Rockefeller, the Republican Governor of NY, in an attempt to gain conservative support. Wallace however continues his barrage and still refuses to allow the federal government into Alabama. The troops and employees taken hostage by the ANG (Alabama National Guard) are in well kept facilities and treated kindly as Wallace didn’t want to inspire a military response from the government. Important federal officials were released to ease tensions slightly, but nonetheless as April drew by, the federal government didn’t receive taxes from Alabama, causing a rumble at the IRS and ruining the government’s budget for the year. The government began to take action and Johnson told Wallace to hand over the taxes that Wallace had instead collected for the Alabama government. Wallace refused, and tensions boiled. The tensions boiled so much that Lyndon B. Johnson was said to have spent long sleepless nights and confined to bed for many days, but refusing to give up the mantle of presidency. Wallace cited this as evidence of the hungry ambitions of Johnson and called him a “Traitor to the South”. As the summer of 1965 rolled by, the neighboring state of Mississippi joined Alabama in its resistance against the federal government, having finally succumbed to ferocious anger over Johnson’s civil rights package. Wallace and the Governor in Mississippi kept the same methods of segregation as they had before in the 1950’s – namely brutal, but they didn’t want to incite any rebellions. By the end of the year, the state of Louisiana had joined Alabama and Mississippi in the typical Deep South.

1966:

In the Congressional elections in the Deep South, segregationist Democrats took over in a landslide due to voter intimidation of non-segregationists. Across the North and West however, many states were disgusted by the Deep South and elected many pro-civil rights Senators and Congressmen. In the rest of the South however, Senators such as Strom Thurmond were reelected in landslides. During this year tensions continued to boil, and the federal government, although it made a temporary budget plan to solve the lack of taxes from MS, AL, and LS, was beginning to draw up plans for forcible collection of taxes.

1967:

The federal government confronts, with its IRS agents, the Alabama National Guard at the border and demands entrance to collect taxes. The ANG however, instead detains them. Lyndon B. Johnson declares Alabama to be in rebellion and orders three battalions of the US army to go into Alabama and collect the taxes from the Alabama Department of Treasury. The Alabama National Guard at the border is intimidated and stands down, despite the calls by Wallace to resist. However, when the three battalions reach Montgomery, Alabama, violence breaks out as units severely segregationist and severely loyal to Wallace begin shooting after refusing to allow the federal troops into the city. The scuffle quickly turns bloody, and the ANG reports 50 dead and 200 wounded on its side, and the US Army reports 30 dead and 300 wounded. Both sides claim the other aggressed and both sides claim victory. The US Army regiments set up camp in the hills of Montgomery as Wallace, who is in the capital, calls on the Alabama National Guard and all the “Southern peoples” to resist the “tyranny” of the federal government. Wallace calls in 15,000 troops and volunteers from Birmingham and routes, and eventually captures the three federal regiments, taking them prisoner. Lyndon B. Johnson declares that the US Army now declares Alabama to be in a state of war with the United States, and mobilizes the military to strike the coming year.

1968:

With Alabama, and thus Wallace, out of the running for President, Lyndon B. Johnson wins in a landslide as Barry Goldwater tries to muster up conservative support in a country which is disgusted with the bigotry of the South. Johnson wins 70% of the popular vote and 500 Electoral Votes to Goldwater’s 30% and 38 Electoral Votes. Johnson sends several divisions, in total consisting of 35,000 troops, into Alabama to not just retrieve the taxes, but to arrest Wallace and return Alabama to a state of calm. In response, the Alabama State Legislature passes an Ordinance of Secession, seceding from the United States. The US Army begins by trying to slowly edge into Alabama, taking city by city. Crossing into Alabama from Tennessee, the divisions make camp near Huntsville, AL, and begin to prepare an assault on the city. Wallace brings in the full force of the ANG, 50,000 volunteers and guardsmen, and says he will sacrifice all to protect Alabama’s “freedom”. Due to Wallace’s popularity, he amends Alabama’s constitution and thus remains in the office of Governor.

In the resulting Battle of Huntsville, the federal government due to the superior weapons and tactics, eventually took Huntsville and the ANG retreated, but not first bloody casualties on both sides during the month-long battle. There are 5,000 US Army KIA, and 10,000 WIA. On the ANG side, 10,000 KIA and 13,000 WIA. During the battle, there were also 5,000 collateral deaths and 20,000 civillian wounded. The new Civil War had begun.

1969:

The federal army, reinforced, slowly pushed down through Alabama amid the incompetence of Alabama’s officers. However, things became complicated when Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina passed Ordinances of Secession as well. The states of Texas, Florida, and Tennessee fully support the federal government, with Virgina and North Carolina remaining neutral, and helped send in troops. By mid 1969 federal troops had pushed down to Birmingham, where a overwhelming force of US military units, airforce, and armor fought a bloody battle against hardened Southern defenders. The US Government won once again, but amid extremely bloody casualties, as Wallace had instituted more encouragement to volunteer and thus saw massive ANG enrollment.

Wallace eventually himself began to become worried and began trying to force a more dense and fortified region around Montgomery. The ANG set up artillery, Anti-Air, and all sorts of defenses. During this time, federal troops swarmed into Mississippi and South Carolina with swarms of troops as military recuirtment on both sides increased – beyond the South the cause was for freedom, and in the South it was state’s rights. Wallace’s American Independent Party too, in its convention in September, finally broke from the Democratic Party as did MS, LO, and SC. The AIP then called for a new federation of states, under the banner of state’s right, reminiscing of the days of the CSA.