Part III, Chapter II: The North Star Republic

The death of the fur trade in the Upper Midwest during the mid-1820's had ushered in a new era of economic opportunity throughout the Minnesota and Wisconsin frontiers following its rapid demise at the hands of American taxation, mostly through the adoption of agriculture. However, the establishment of several printing presses throughout Duluth, Saint Anthony Falls and Lake Pepin from 1826 to 1828 consequentially saw the arrival of paper based media and reporting, which had long been absent in the region in part due to its remoteness. The introduction of this business to domestic opportunity had seen a significant investment, and the most prominent paper in the region, the Minnesota Voyager, had been established in the early months of 1826 and served both the Fort Pike and Saint Anthony Falls population as well as the majority of Lake Pepin, and by 1828 had become the popular choice for most American settlers in the greater Upper Mississippi River Valley. Its Wisconsin counterpart, the Green Bay Itelligencer, based out of Green Bay and headed by Albert Gallatin Ellis, had been established in 1822 and likewise serviced a large portion of American colonists throughout the eastern portion of the Wisconsin region. Even French speaking colonists (of which only 4,000 remained) had seen the arrival of their own type of media with the establishment of several locally based French-only papers in Sault Sainte Marie and Prarie du Chien.



Stephen Carver, a descendant of Jonathan Carver and the de facto "mayor" of the settlement of Duluth, had been a pioneer in establishing the first printing presses that eventually constituted the Minnesota Voyager on Lake Superior, and eventually expanded his growing enterprise south to include Lake Pepin and Saint Anthony Falls. As the sole editor of the paper, his personal correspondence with Pike during his expedition into the territory in the early 1800's and the continued correspondence after Pike's departure had credited Pike to even return to the area to settle after his retirement and last military duty assignment, and the paper's writings eventually (in part) lead him to be nominated for governance of the Michigan Territory, due to his popularity. As the sole newspaper and only source of credible information for many settlers in the Upper Midwest, Carver, a personal friend, did much to ensure that Pike was always portrayed positively. The Tariff of 1828, however, and its overarching negative fiscal effects had finally reached the shores of Lake Superior and spread inland to the Mississippi by the spring of 1829. The Minnesota and Wisconsin printing presses, of which almost all were locally owned and operated, immediately set out to work in order to paint a positive light of both John C. Calhoun and Zebulon Pike, who both voiced vehement opposition to the tariff, and to likewise paint a negative picture on the tariff, as it had produced obvious declining effects on the now agrarian based Upper Midwestern economy. The wide dissatisfaction with the Tariff in both the Upper Midwest and the South, combined with the uncompromising refusal of Washington and Jackson to even give Pike and Calhoun an audience, had stirred the printing presses of the Michigan Territory into a near frenzy. The Saint Anthony Falls incident and the dozens of other riots and protests that resulted from the usually malicious and obviously biased articles from Northwoods papers in the summer of 1829 had only added fuel to the media's growing fire.



In June, following the "Falls Massacre" as it was coined by the Voyager, Carver had advocated for every settler who wished to voice open discontent concerning the Tariff to join the ongoing protest in Saint Anthony Falls, as it was the only settlement that laid in close proximity to the sole focus of many of the settlers' frustrations, Fort Pike. By August, Carver himself had printed the paper's "temporarily final issue," as he personally prepared to make the voyage himself to join the growing numbers, which had swelled to over 7,000 men. Upon his arrival in the town, he stayed at the Pike residence under personal invitation, and the growing public upheaval had even caused the United States' 5th Infantry Regiment to seek solace inside Fort Pike's walls, which only laid 8 miles downriver. Pike's revocation of his governorship by the hands of Jackson in September followed by the simultaneous forced closure of both the Mississippi and Lake Superior had been regarded as the "last final insult" by the colonists, and Carver immediately began to work on the Voyager's final indefinite issue from his new temporary residency in the Falls, which still maintained three separate Voyager printing presses. Consulting with Pike, who still advocated a peaceful solution to the Tariff problem, Carver grew frustrated - as a peaceful solution had, in many colonists' opinions, long been discarded as evidenced by the Falls "Massacre" - and instead implored Pike to consult with John C. Calhoun, who had likewise voluntarily stepped down from his Vice Presidency following Pike's removal, and now resided in South Carolina in order to appease the growing masses of his angry countrymen, who were also growing in anger and frustration, but were regarded as far less volatile as a result of a distinct absence of federal representation through military presence in their state, as opposed to Minnesota, which housed an entire regiment. Their exchanged letters would nonetheless change the fate of the entire continent.



Pike's letters detailed both the fury and the lack of suitable options of his countrymen, who were short only of open rebellion, and Calhoun responded in kind. As nullification was not a legal or viable option, secession, he wrote, was necessary. The words had shocked Pike, who had never been in favor of a hostile or lethal rebellion, much less an open revolution. Pike simply wrote back that he had much to consider, and instead chose to deliberate with Carver. Upon mentioning the possibility of secession, Carver had attempted to convince Pike that this, too, was the only alternative left, but was unable to change the former governor's mind. Carver, with permission from Pike, instead chose to bring together a council of mayors, representatives and distinguished leaders of the Upper Midwest to the home of Pike in Saint Anthony Falls, where a clearer decision about the fate of the colonists and the riots could be made and debated through a favorable action decided by the majority. The problem, however, lied in that as the Upper Midwest was federal territory, they lacked internal organization and representation beyond their governor, who was presidentially appointed, and most towns had not yet bothered to elect a mayor or provide themselves with local representation, as most frontier town and city charters had not yet been drafted or finalized. Thus, Carver, using his Minnesota Voyager, announced elections to be held for a "First Council of the Northwoods." Despite the growing publicity, however, Pike and Carver both agreed that secrecy of the Council's true intentions was paramount, as any mention of secession of territory regarded as federal land would provoke a massive military response from the United States government, who still remained stubborn and unresponsive. Likewise, this had been demonstrated towards South Carolina and Calhoun, as his public mention of southern secession should the Tariff remain in place had ultimately lead to the resignation of his Vice Presidency, and as a result had drawn out a long political battle on Capitol Hill between himself and Jackson. As a result, the Voyager called only for major settlements across the Upper Midwest's frontier to hold local elections, and to send these winning representatives of said elections in due haste to Saint Anthony Falls to discuss "solutions to the overwhelmingly troubling Tariff rebellion with the former Michigan Territory governor, Zebulon Pike." Pike, worried that the invitation would go unnoticed and would be quickly disregarded, was surprised at the response, and received acknowledgement that an elected representative would soon be en route from every territory and settlement throughout the Upper Mississippi River Valley. This was due in great credit to Pike's still remaining popularity, and the work of Carver, who had spent years unintentionally reporting the governor's actions as continually favorable throughout his tenure as governor of the Michigan Territory. Due to the territory's expansive landmass, the larger settlements of the frontier were only called to be represented at the Council, and as a result many of the voting sites also allowed many rural settlers who resided outside but in relative proximity to the larger "towns" across the Upper Midwest to vote for a candidate to represent them in a form of early "metropolitan area" coverage. The criteria for voting requirements, however, differed exponentially from settlement to settlement. Regardless, most listed the qualifications as male, white landowners over the age of 16 years who owned 150 acres or more. As the "Council Elections" started and consequentially ended throughout the Upper Midwest, the general public excitement and anticipation of the Council's resulting discussion in Saint Anthony Falls had reached an all-time high by the end of October of 1829.



In November of 1829, the First Council's elected members had all finally arrived in Saint Anthony Falls to discuss "solutions" - but more secretly, the possibility of secession. Most of the Minnesota region representatives had already taken up metaphorical arms in the Saint Anthony Falls region and were thus already in close proximity to the proposed location of the Council, and thus their arrival took only a few short days upon the announcement of their victory, but some Wisconsin and Michigan territory representatives delayed the process, as Pike had refused to initiate discussion until their arrival. Stephen Carver represented Duluth, while Pike had chosen to remain neutral and "moderated" the council, and Nicholas Chosin, a prominent American farmer and the largest (and wealthiest) landowner in the region, was instead elected to represent the Lake Pepin and Saint Anthony Falls settlements. Franklin Berros also represented the Grand Portage settlement, hailing from the far reaching northeast corner of Minnesota. Jean Baptiste Rouchelle, a third generation French fur trader, was also nominated to represent the French speaking minority of the Minnesota region. The famed James Duane Doty comprised of the Green Bay settlement's representation, and also was elected as the head of the "Wisconsin Delegation," which comprised of other representatives from the territory's most prominent settlements, including Prarie du Chien, represented by Bernard Fenderson, Saint Anthony (formerly Fort Saint Antoine and Fort Perrot) represented by Paul Yule, and its French speaking populace, represented by Gerard de la Porteaux. Likewise, the much smaller regions of Madison in the Iowa territory and Bellevue in the Nebraska frontier were also represented by Quentin Jacobs and Harold Degard, respectfully, while Sault Saint Marie in the Michigan territory was represented by George Johnston, Jr., the son of the famed John Johnston. The initial "elected" council, upon every member's arrival, had also elected to summon seven other prominent and wealthy landowners throughout the territories in order to foster further intellectual debate, including Isaac Campbell, the famed early frontier settler, Maurice Blondeau and Samuel Muir, both French traders, Benjamin Baker, a prominent Iowa landowner, Jesse Shull, the founder of Shullsburg, Wisconsin, Christian Hellicksen, a prominent Norwegian immigrant, and Jean Rolette, the most famed and wealthiest fur trader in the entire Upper Midwest. Thus, the delegations and respective representatives of these territories was dictated as such:

- Zebulon Pike, Mediator
Minnesota Delegation
- Stephen Carver, Duluth
- Nicholas Chosin, Lake Pepin and Saint Anthony Falls
- Franklin Berros, Grand Portage
- Jean Baptiste Rouchelle, French Speaking Minority
Wisconsin Delegation
- James Duane Doty, Green Bay
- Bernard Fenderson, Prarie du Chien
- Paul Yule, Saint Anthony
- Gerard de la Porteaux, French Speaking Minority
"Frontier" Delegation
- Quentin Jacobs, Madison, Iowa
- Harold Degard, Bellevue, Nebraska
- George Johnston, Junior, Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan
Unelected Delegation
- Isaac Campbell
- Maurice Blondeau
- Samuel Muir
- Benjamin Baker
- Jesse Shull
- Albert Gallatin Ellis
- Jean Rolette

By November 14th, debate began in quick stride, immediately invoking the act of secession from the United States in order to establish an independent republic. Carver, at the head of those representatives in favor of secession, quickly advocated for its immediate action. Other members, however, including George Johnston, Jr., were quick to renounce it, and explained that the frontier had neither the means to sustain an independent republic, nor the manpower to overcome the insurmountable odds that the region would surely face by the hands of a swift and angry United States government, especially with Jackson at its helm, who had already demonstrated disfavor to those supporting the idea (Calhoun, in particular) and would likely receive even more support from other states should the territories at hand go through with actual separation, as the territories involved in the mentioned secession were not yet viewed as independent states in a union of several other states, but federal territory, and would likely be regulated as such. Quentin Jacobs even mentioned vacating the entirety of the territories, and moving its entire population base northwest into British Columbia in order to mitigate further taxation and unpopular tariffs, but the idea was quickly regarded as impractical. After three days of intense debate, the council resumed on November 20th, and had at last exhausted all of its communicable means to reach a final unanimous settlement. On November 21st, it was decided a vote would be held, in which each representative would be given two choices: yes, in favor of secession, or no, in favor of the status quo. Pike delegated whichever option received more than two-thirds of a vote would receive his full support, and the representatives voting in opposition of the majority option were thus expected to do likewise. Thus, on candlelight in Saint Anthony Falls on November 21st, 1829, a Republic had been born: 14 - 4, in favor of secession from the Union.



On November 22nd, 1829, a document, entitled A Declaration of a Liberated Republic, drafted by Carver, concerning secession from the Union had been signed by the members of the Council, and was dispatched in due haste to Washington by courier. The name of the Republic, emboldened on the document, had also been a matter of debate. Ultimately, it was decided as the "North Star Republic," a formal title at first mentioned by Nicholas Chosin, which received unanimous approval, as it detailed both the region's location (northerly) and highlighted its frontier origins, as the north star, Polaris, had often been used by explorers and expeditionary leaders (Pike included) to find a sense of direction, and also metaphorically applied to many of the current American settlers in the region, who were without a "sense of direction," and the proclaimed Republic now wished to provide them with one. Fearing immediate reprisal, Pike immediately ordered Carver and Albert Ellis to publicize the secession throughout the Upper Midwest by way of newsprint, and by November 24th, the indefinitely final issues of both the Green Bay Intelligencer and the Minnesota Voyager had proclaimed the creation of the Republic in Saint Anthony Falls, even going so far as to list the representatives and council members present in order to legitimize the new claim. Throughout the last few days of November, the fires of independence - and revolution - had begun to spread.