They had suddenly found themselves with a very large Navy and much less shore to guard. The base at Pensacola would be increased in size for both the ships and the additional amount of planes housed there. Eglin would be reduced in size and used as a repair facility for all types of aircraft. Charleston would also increase its facility along with Jacksonville. Many of the ships that they acquired in the swap of gold for ships were older decommissioned ships. They would be sold for scrap and the money pumped into the costs for the expanded bases.
National Guard bases would be left alone for the time being. A few of the smaller ones would be combined with large bases if the distance wasn’t prohibitive. The General still considered the National Guard an indispensable element of the military as well as the militia groups that had fought valiantly alongside the regular military men and women.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
THE UNITED STATES
General Ascot was not experiencing the same kind of success. The constant distraction of the former Congressional members was draining too much of his time. At one point he even considered declaring Martial Law and having them placed under either house arrest or sequestered at a military base.
After further thought he decided that it would more than likely lead to an uprising. Instead he continued to meet with different members of Congress. Each time he came away discouraged. They were protecting the 'sacred cow' and would not accept change or compromise easily.
It was at about that time that he formed a plan of action. If he could not bring Congress to his way of thinking he would simply change the members. He announced on national television of his stalemate with the current Congress and that the United States would hold a special election. The election would take place four months from that date.
The qualifications, duties, and terms by which a member could run for office were also announced. A new Congress would reconvene on July 1st. The only names that were to be allowed on the ballot would be those running for Senate. Only two of which would be elected. The delegates for the House of Representatives would be elected after the new Senate was seated. Details for House members would be announced within the next two months.
The announcement did two things immediately. It proved the military’s intent on having the government back in civilian hands and it sent the current Congressional members into a frenzy. He simply would no longer deal with them. If they wanted to remain in Congress they would have to abide by the terms that had been laid out.
Two major problems that had been solved were that they now had gold to back up their monetary system and the size of the Navy had been reduced freeing up money that would normally be eaten up by operational overhead. Most of the major cleanup of the cities had been accomplished. New construction had started and the number of displaced was being reduced every month. Electricity had been restored to every area along with the most common utilities.
Crime was almost non-existent since the military was reinforcing the normal police. The earlier looting had curtailed completely due to the heavy presence of both police and military as well as strict punishment for the offenders.
They too had notified the UN that they would no longer be members and that the world headquarters would need to be relocated within six months. It caused a furious outcry but the General turned a deaf ear to their moans and groans. Once he looked at the cost to host the UN he was aghast and that, as much as anything, added to his decision to have it moved out of New York.
They had not even begun to tackle other important areas but he was determined that the ones they did confront would be done right. His concern was for the welfare of the nation over any one individual or special interest group. He was determined that those days were over. His thinking was much the same as President Jason's.
The election of a President was another thing weighing heavily on his mind. He needed to step down and put democracy back to work. The question he struggled with was when to do it and how it should be facilitated. He had reviewed the Republic's requirements and job description, and while he agreed in principle, certain provisions bothered him. He would need more time to arrive at a course of action he felt comfortable with.
One thing that he was not even aware of was the blessing that Admiral Swanson had decided she could help more in the United States than in the American Republic. She would continue to liaison with Admiral Greenfield and Heathcoat so that they could be a joint fighting unit if the need ever occurred. The General had no idea how fortunate he was.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
INDEPENDENT STATES
Soon after the end of the Civil War, most independent states were realizing that they would have a difficult, if not impossible time of going it alone. The events in California served as a kind of wake up call. No one state had the might to stand alone.
While interference from the Federal Government wasn’t necessarily wanted, it was apparent that isolationism was not the answer.
Arizona was the first to change from an independent state to the American Republic. Utah soon followed.
Michigan joined the United States. The remaining states of California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Colorado refused to join either and formed an alliance with each other.
The remaining states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and North Dakota wanted to remain independent but stuck out on their own, it was difficult. They would have no direct means of accessing the other Independent States. Transportation of goods would prove to be very difficult unless they could find a way to work with Canada. The initial approach to the Canadian government had proved to be discouraging.
The issues of borders had not been solved. Roadblocks, while only somewhat effective were still in place. No decisions had been made about how to handle interstate travel from one nation to the other or between independent states.
****
NORTH AMERICA
The former United States of America would never be the same. It would be decades before the scars of war would heal entirely.
The final death toll was placed at three million six hundred and seventy thousand. There was hardly a family that had not been affected by the devastation caused by the Second Civil War.
The United States took longer to recover than the Republic. The approval rating for President Jason after three years was seventy-nine percent. He would go on to finish out his six year term. Congress was reconvened with new check and balances in place. General MacMillan remained the Supreme Military Chief until his retirement four years later.
Dr. Churchman made amazing progress in revamping the education system. Discipline was restored to the classroom with documentation and review by a panel of teachers from that school district. State and national mandated standardized testing was dropped and a trade school curriculum was developed for those not headed to College.
Garrett Mann continued to work on the judicial system refinement. The five year limit on appeals for death row inmates was established. Frivolous law suits dropped eighty six percent in the first year alone after the new guidelines were put into place. Standardized sentencing continued to be a difficult one to get a handle on but progress was being made in many areas.
The transportation system was creating thousands of new jobs by having a semi-truck lane only added to all major Interstates. All freight trucks would be relegated to the special lane except to pass and that could only be done in the normal slow lane. Any truck driver caught in the center lane would not only be fined but have their license suspended for two years.
General Ascot finally seated a new Congress and immediately set about to hold Presidential elections. By the middle of the third year after the end of the war, the United States had a new President and Congress. General Ascot, like General MacMillan retired once the change in command was made. General Erickson became the head of the Armed Forces and was the Commander-in-Chief. The President no longer held that power. So much work was still to be done. So many lives had been lost. The same question remained:
&n
bsp; Why would any nation go to war with itself?
THE END
About the author:
Marshall W. Huffman did not begin writing until after he retired from teaching. He decided to start with a trilogy based on a cataclysmic event. Marshall’s first trilogy is THE EVENT and consists of THE END, THE BEGINNING, and THE REVELATION. With THE EVENTS success he decided to write a second trilogy that is a frightening look at the events that could lead to THE SECOND CIVIL WAR. It is made up of: Book I – A NATION DIVIDED; BOOK II – A NATION AT WAR; BOOK III – A NATION HEALING.
He has also published a series of books entitled: the ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILES with a central cast of characters. In addition, he has two another series entitled: THE NORRIS FILES with its own set of central characters and THE LOGAN FILES. He enjoys writing mysteries, techno-thrillers, and Sci-Fi. His other Sci-Fi books THE BRINK – DEEP FLIGHT and CLOSE PROXIMITY are intense techno-thrillers with Sci-Fi intertwined. He finished BLACKSTAR and it just went on sale. His latest addition CHIMERA is a look at what could well happen if we don’t stop twisting science in perverted way.
Marshall was born in Bainbridge, Georgia and grew up in Indiana. After spending eight years in the Navy, he attended Ball State University, earning a B.S. degree in Business.
During and after college, he was involved in the restaurant business and spent the next twenty-five years in all types of venues, eventually owing his own fine dining restaurant. After years of long hours, he decided on a career change. He attended Eastern Illinois University earning a MBA. Because of his business background, Eastern Illinois University asked him to teach in the hospitality management program. He was recruited from Eastern to Parkland College and soon took over as the Program Director for the Hospitality Program. During his tenure there, he became a chef and had a television show called Cooking around the World with Chef Marshall and taught a series of Gourmet cooking classes for Continuing Education as well.
Professor Huffman retired from teaching along with his wife, Dr. Susan Huffman, to the Tampa Bay Florida area.
You can find his books under: MARSHALL HUFFMAN at Amazon.com.
A NATION HEALING - BOOK III The Second Civil War (The Second Civil War - BOOK III 1) Page 13