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specialagentlokitty · 2 months

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Arthur(Merlin) x reader - in the snow

Hi! If you still write for BBC Merlin would you be able to write an Arthur x Merlin sister Reader? With the dialogue “Can you use magic?” “I feel unsafe answering that.” (from your 2024 prompt list). Thank you if you do write it! <3 - Anon💜

A/N: I realised I had spelled Gaius wrong after finishing this, but I’m really lazy and don’t wanna correct it 😂😭

You had no real interest in following your brothers footsteps to work for the royal family, you didn’t want to work for anybody else.

You were happy living on your own, away from the world with your house and your dog, your horse, your flowers.

You loved the way you lived.

And yes, every so often the knights would come to pick up your money you had to pay for your land, but since you grew your own food and sold your crafts in towns and villages it didn’t matter all that much to you.

Today was the day that they came to collect your payment, so you made sure to stay home.

Kneeling down in your garden, you were working on your flowers, carefully tidying them up and trimming them down.

You heard a bark, and you looked up.

“Rufus?”

Standing up, you brushed your hands on the cloth and looked to the dirt path where a few horses were coming down.

You grinned brightly when you saw a familiar face.

“Merlin!”

You quickly set everything down and made your way over, the moment your brother got down from his horse your crushed him into a hug.

“Hi!” You beamed.

Merlin laughed quietly, hugging you back.

“Hey, this place looks amazing.”

You pulled away, grinning proudly at him.

“I take pride in my work.”

You turned around to the knights and the prince that was with him, offering him a bow.

It was swift, elegant, you held a hand behind your back and one over your stomach as you leant down, lowering your head.

“Sire, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m (Y/N), I do hope my brother doesn’t give you too much trouble.”

“Nothing I can’t handle, thank you. It’s nice to meet you.”

You stood up, gesturing to the home.

“Rufus is no harm, I’m sure Sir Lancelot knows that.”

The knight smiled softly at you.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“You as well, I’ve got that tea you asked me for, would you like me to make you some?”

“Yes please, honestly you could open a tea shop because you make the best tea.”

You laughed a little bit, leading them all inside.

Only those three came inside, the other knights waited outside for them.

You sat them at a table, bringing over some bread you had made, and you made them all some tea, setting their cups down in front of them.

“Make yourselves at home, I’ll be right back.”

You went into your room, bringing up a floorboard to gather the money you owed before returning and handing it over.

Then you turned to Arthur.

“May I ask what brings you by sire? Normally this is not a matter for a Prince.”

“Merlin had been begging me for weeks to come, i guess it was curiosity to finally meet his sister. You’ve done wonderful things with this land. It was rundown the last I saw.”

“Thank you, the home itself was in good shape, it was a simple matter of getting some men from the village nearby to help clear it then set everything else up.”

Arthur nodded his head.

“How is it going? Have you been selling those crafts?” Merlin asked.

“Oh yes! People love them! They’re very helpful as well, especially for the farmers and the bakers, plant based baskets are easier to replace rather wood, and harder to break.”

Merlin nodded his head.

“You make things out of plants?”

“Yes sire, it is easier to get ahold of around here, they’re easier to work with as well. Especially Ivy. It is easy to manipulate the way it grows, and you can cut some away with the rest coming back.”

That was what caught his attention first, how compared to Merlin you were calmer, you were respectful to everybody even though you didn’t know them, and your craft.

Then there was your house, minimum decorations, just basic things you would need.

But outside was covered in flowers of all colours, the great wolfhound you rescued wondering in and out, and the horse outside just happily grazing in her paddock.

Arthur found himself coming back when he could, pretending to buy things that they needed in Camelot.

It was an excuse to see you, and he could try get there at least once a week since it was only a few hours there and back.

Arthur had to admit he was concerned when it drew to winter, because winter was harsh, and he couldn’t see how you would be able to survive there during the brutal winter.

“She’ll be fine, she always is. She knows how to get survive.” Merlin said.

“Merlin we are looking at the worst winter we’ve seen in years. It’s not even winter and we’re already getting snow. Your sister will be isolated out there for months if this carried on.”

Merlin paused what he was doing for a moment before he carried on.

“She won’t come here.”

“Excuse me?”

“(Y/N), if you ask her to come she won’t come.”

“Why?”

“Because she likes her own space, she doesn’t like crowded places like this and wouldn’t be able to live here for that long, a week or so would be fine.”

Arthur didn’t say anything, he carried on reading the book that was sat on the table in front of him.

“She’s also coming next week, to visit Guis.”

Arthur snapped his head up.

“Really?”

Merlin smirked a little, lowering his head as he carried on working.

“Yes sire.”

Arthur threw the book at Merlin who just barely dodged it and he left the room.

You arrived a few days later, staying mostly with Guis or Merlin if you could.

Arthur finally managed to find you while he was heading back inside the castle, you were stood outside with Rufus catching snowballs you threw.

He made his way outside, standing next to you.

“It’s far too cold to be outside.”

You turned around, offering him a smile.

“It’s nothing I’m not sure to this time of year, I was actually thinking about taking a walk. Do you know any good trails?”

“There is one, it’s possibly the safest. I’ll accompany you if you don’t mind? If anything happens to you I won’t hear the end of it from Merlin.”

You laughed softly at him.

“Yes fine by me sire.”

“Right, come wait inside.”

You followed him, and waited in the hallway.

It took a short while for him to come back, and he held out a thicker more elegant cloak out for you.

“Wear this.”

“Sire I can’t, that’s much to rich for somebody like me.”

“(Y/N) put the cloak on, and call me Arthur.”

You didn’t want to disobey him, so you put it on and he led you outside.

You could see that a few people walked the trail, but not many, and you two held light conversation as you walked.

It was nice for him to not have to act so important, and you were talking to him just like a normal person, as if you two were from the same town or village.

You enjoyed stopping to look at simple things, animals in the snow, the way the sunlight gleamed on the snow making it sparkle.

Arthur was just entranced by you, and how you just seemed so happy.

“You’re always so happy when I see you, why?”

“What is there to not be happy about? I have a home, a brother, a mother, I have friends, food. There is always something to be happy about.”

Arthur hummed a little, nodding his head.

“You wouldn’t want more in life?”

“Not when I already have everything. You don’t need to be rich to be happy, as long as you find something or someone that makes you happy it’s alright.”

Arthur glanced at you, and he smiled a little.

“That’s a very different take in the world.”

You beamed brightly at him, kneeling down to make another snowball for Rufus.

“Hey, look out!”

Arthur went to grab you but it was too late, you slipped down the hill, and he was rushing as fast as he could behind you.

When he reached the bottom he knelt down.

“Hey, hey (Y/N)?”

You grumbled a little, lifting your head to look at him.

“Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“My leg.”

Arthur nodded, looking down at your leg, gently touching it and you winced in pain.

“Here, come on, let’s move you up.”

Arthur helped you up, and you guys slowly walked along the bottom of the hill to try and find a way back up.

After a while you had to stop, so he took his cloak off and laid it on the snow and sat you down.

Rufus laid next to you letting out a whine.

“I’ll try find a way, I’ll be right back.”

You nodded your head, watching him leave.

You knew there wasn’t going to be one, a hill like that there wasn’t going to be a way back up that wasn’t covered in snow.

Making sure it was safe, you held out your hand, whispering something under your breath, and a small trail in the snow fell away, creating a path up.

You ran a hand over your dogs head, scratching behind his ears.

Arthur wasn’t gone long, and he came back, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t find one, I’m sorry.”

He knelt next to you, looking at your leg again.

“I did find some sticks though, do you have anything in that bag to help me make a splint?”

“Oh, of course.”

Opening it, you pulled out your scarf, handing it over to him.

“It’s not the best, but it should help. We’ll sit here and rest, then keep going. I think there’s a storm coming in.”

“I think I saw a path just over there, could you look?”

Arthur looked at where you were pointing.

“Yeah, of course.”

He got up, checking.

He made sure it was stable before grabbing you, helping you up it, then he crouched down.

“Get on.”

“I can’t do that, a Prince can’t be seen carrying someone like me.”

“I don’t care, you’re hurt, get on.”

You sighed, climbing on his back and he stood up, making his way back where you guys had come from.

“I’ll take you to Guis, hopefully you leg isn’t that bad.”

You nodded, resting your chin on his shoulder.

“How did you see the path, I didn’t see it.”

“Maybe in the panic you missed it? Or it blended in the with snow?”

“No, no it definitely wasn’t there.”

Arthur went quiet for a few moment.

“There’s only one thing I can think off.”

“What’s that Arthur?”

He paused walking, crouching down to set you on the ground before turning around to look at you.

“Can you use magic?”

You tried not to react.

“I feel unsafe answering that.”

“(Y/N), can you use magic?

“If I say yes you’ll have me killed, if I say no you’re not going to believe me, and have me killed. I’m sorry but I can’t answer.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes a little bit, and he spun around to a noise behind him but there was nothing.

Turning back around his cloak and yours were on the ground, and you and Rufus were both gone, leaving not even a footprint in the snow

#bbc Merlin #bbc merlin x reader #bbc Merlin x you #bbc Merlin imagine #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon #arthur pendragon x reader #Arthur pendragon x you

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pegglefan69 · 11 months

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The first chapter of my current project is live & free to read over at my patreon! I've been working hard on this book & am so excited to share it with you!

The year is 2007. Norris is a 27 year old transgender Goth living in upstate New York. His life isn't exactly unhappy- his job at the library is rewarding, his friendships with the local lesbian farmers are enriching, and his beloved AMC Gremlin always miraculously manages to be tinkered back into shape, but the fact of the matter is that Norris is the only gay man he knows. Unwilling to leave the house his late parents left him for New York City and not in any hurry to figure out internet dating, he's resigned himself to longing for community, until he accidentally frees an old man magically imprisoned inside a tree.

Rufus ap Rhydderch is in fact an immortal magician, and he’s convinced that Norris is just the man to help him track down the former apprentice who betrayed him, and help him exact his revenge. Norris is never one to say no to people, especially a gay elder who hasn’t had contact with the world since 1970, and so despite Rufus’ overbearing and increasingly sinister tendencies, Norris finds himself drawn into the middle of a wizardly interpersonal conflict that may just end up helping him find what he’s been missing.

Happy Pride, & I hope you enjoy my gay wizards. More to come soon! 🧙🌈

#Wizard WIP #gay fiction #gay author #wizard #wizards #trans fiction #trans author #my writing #patreon #dial p for post

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lilicohirukoma · 3 months

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more pig facts because i'm autistic: If a domestic pig is left into the wild, it will grow tusks pretty quickly, and will grow thicker fur. Rufus the pig is a Kunekune (a breed, wikipedia refers to it as a 'small breed of pig')

Sometimes, pigs will eat fermented fruit

It is said Pigs are smarter than Dogs (I don't actually believe in measuring intelligence by species, or by comparing species, but pigs Are quite smart)

Pigs will absolutely eat anything, including meat

I've heard pigs can eat living humans if left to it, at least that's what my great-grandpa said (he was a pig farmer), is it true?

Do some domesticated pigs have tusks or is it only wild ones?

#for the record i never met him my mom said he told her that once

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mlm-blues · 24 days

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omg sleepover wait can we play mash. give me:

4 options for spouses

4 options for cars

4 options for jobs

4 numbers of kids you could have

a number between 1 and 10

at least one of the answers in each category has to be something you wouldn't actually want (for example, 3 normal or fancy cars and then roller skates). i will do the mashing and give you rhe results about your future later 👍 also if this is too much to think about you dont have to do it xoxo

ok mash me

spouses: rufus, farmrpg thomas, mcyt dream 😦, john boyega

cars: mini cooper, penny-farthing, moped, dune buggy

jobs: surgeon, undertaker, accountant, farmer

numbers of kids: 0, 50, 2, 9

did i do that right. thank u delaney love u

#asks #delaney 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

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sapphire-weapon · 3 months

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maybe im thinking too deeply about it but, post ffvii tseng seems like a really bitter and lonely person. my big sis brought it up and was like "bro should quit and be a farmer" and honestly? it seems too much like he's got the whole sunk cost fallacy thing going on. i recently watched a rufus analysis video (something about relearning empathy) and i couldn't help but notice that tseng seems a bit more closed off to rufus, like in tkaa he seemed like he would rather be anywhere else.

"really bitter and lonely" is a really nice way of describing a man who hates himself so fucking much he compares himself to jenova

tseng goes through a double negative arc over the course of the compilation and never recovers from either. he just gets progressively worse and worse as it goes on.

like no one ever talks about how tseng leaves rufus for dead in CoS and veld has to basically shame him into doing his job.

here's a video of me and @friedesgreatscythe deep diving into tseng's character development, like, three years ago.

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ninjago-text-adventures · 2 years

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What are Cole and Zane's pets?

And Jay has chickens right?

Role call!

Lloyd pets are Kunekune Pigs named Murder and Meringue he rescued from an abandoned (illegal) breeding post.

Cole's pet is a Sologne Black Turkey named Rufus he rescued after being hit by a car.

Jay's pets are two Burmese Chicks (still unnamed) that he bought from a feedstore chick bucket.

Zane's pet is a Nigora Goatling named Za Baby he bought from a farmer's market.

Pixal's pet is a Mossball named Captain Fuzzy.

And now-

Kai's pet is a Great Dane Puppy named Horse.

#ninjago text adventures #ninjago #*oink*

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speakinginsimlish · 1 year

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As we get further into spring, Rufus decides to take all the kids (minus baby Jude) down to McDonald’s Market, the local farmer’s market, for a spot of fishing. The weather doesn’t exactly cooperate, but they still manage to have a good time!

#sims 2 #ts2 #sims #simblr #speakinginsimlish

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smallcatsims · 1 year

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The Gardoners were also mysteriously awoken in the middle of the night. Everyone slept late except Rufus, who I left alone and he autonomously went to take care of the garden. He truly loves his work as a gentleman farmer I suppose, even though he is old and rich enough to do whatever he wants and let his servants and children do the farming. Honestly I don’t think I have hire another maid as long as Leonora stays on to clean the house and maintain the fireplaces/gong.

Once Leonora is up and about enough to make a luncheon, the family hosts a few guests and Jihoon talks about a ghastly theater performance that the constables had to intervene with when one of the actors implied that someone’s mother was a llama and they started brawling on stage.

#sims 2 #ts2 historical #ts2 #rwpark

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littlerose13writes · 2 years

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Chapter 23 - Leaping Toadstools

I Knew It All Along by littlerose13

It was Sunday and the day of the Wiltshire farmers’ market - the first since Draco had become chair of the committee - and it was a glorious day, the sun shining and beating down on the crowds of witches and wizards. There was a satisfied buzz in the air of anticipation and it was busier than Albus had been expecting, usually the sellers tended to outnumber the customers at these smaller markets, but there were just as many people if not more as would be at Peddlers Pass.

Albus was circling the market alone, having separated from Scorpius to get his Fleamont’s shopping done first. Scorpius didn’t mind at all, having already found Teddy and Victoire to commandeer baby Rufus.

As Albus looked round, he noticed the selection of stalls was quite different to Peddlers Pass, which attracted sellers of rare and carefully-sourced potion ingredients and other magical consumables; this market had more in the way of freshly made preserves and traybakes and handcrafted ornaments for decorating. It was very pleasant but Albus privately thought he wouldn’t be able to tick off any of his Fleamont’s list here.

He’d already mentally written off any sort of business for the day when he spotted Gillingwater’s familiar striped awning up ahead. Draco himself was standing in front of it and he turned around when he noticed Gill grinning toothily over his shoulder at Albus.

“Al, long time no see!” he said cheerily. “Was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”

Albus laughed. “Of course not, sorry, Gill, my business partner has mostly been doing Peddlers Pass recently.”

“I like him,” Gillingwater said simply. “Gave me a record of some band he’s in, they’re alright really.”

Albus saw Draco smile to himself.

“Yeah, Nargles From Mars,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you here today?”

Gillingwater looked over at Draco. “It’s my first time, I’ve been assured by Draco here it’ll be worth my while.”

Read the rest

#scorbus #ccsquad #scorpius malfoy #albus potter #shab #harry potter #draco malfoy #cursed child

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just-late-roman-republic-things · 10 months

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The second Punic War (219-202 BCE) was a turning point for Rome: from a peninsular power, to an empire; from moderately prosperous, to an obscenely wealthy aristocracy and a widening gap between rich and poor; from purely Italian, to more multicultural and Hellenistic. It also oversaw the Senate taking more control of the government and a reduction in the popular assembly’s influence - out of necessity, to preserve public order and command the army more effectively.

These choices would have big ramifications. The Gracchi brothers’ controversial reforms were based on the idea of the citizen-farmer middle class being “hollowed out” by oligarchs who used wealth from overseas to buy up land. The ongoing “pacification” of Spain exhausted Rome’s army of volunteers, thus pushing Marius and Rutilius Rufus to open the ranks to landless citizens, and "landless veterans who wanted their pensions” became a recurring problem for Pompey, Caesar, the Catiline conspiracy, and Augustus.

And the Senate’s consolidation of power contributed to an ideological divide regarding who should hold supreme authority in Rome - the Senate or the People. This conflict played out in the revolt of Saturninus, the Marius-Sulla wars, and Caesar’s war with Pompey.

None of that was inevitable. There was a large faction of the Senate that felt Rome should stick to just Italy. But Scipio Africanus pushed for conquest out of the belief that it was necessary to prevent Rome from being annihilated by Carthage.

(Richard Gabriel, Scipio Africanus: Rome’s Greatest General)

#these are just notes to myself #but shared in case anyone else finds them interesting #jlrrt reads #richard gabriel #scipio africanus #roman empire #punic wards #ancient rome #jlrrt speaks #jlrrt essays

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brookston · 1 year

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Holidays 11.22

Holidays

Alice's Restaurant Massacre Day

Arbour Day (British Virgin Islands)

Conspiracy Theory Day

Day of Justice (Azerbaijan)

Day of the Albanian Alphabet

Go For A Ride Day

Good Married Couple Day (Japan)

Hockey Day

Humane Society Day

International Music Day

JFK Assassination Day

Kanakdasa Jayanti (Karnataka, India)

Music Day (Spain)

Musican’s Day (Mexico)

National Brand Day

National Housing Day (Canada)

National Stop the Violence Day

Phonograph Day

Skywriting Day

Slumber Party Day

Start Your Own Country Day

Teacher’s Day (Costa Rica)

White Album Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cranberry Relish Day

National Cashew Day

4th Tuesday in November

National Day of Mourning (United American Indians of New England) [4th Tuesday]

Presidential Turkey Pardon Day [4th Tuesday]

Independence Days

Lebanon (from France, 1943)

Feast Days

Amphilochius of Iconium (Christian; Saint)

Blackbeard Memorial Day (Pastafarian)

Cecilia (Christian; Saint)

Clone Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Colbert (Positivist; Saint)

George (Eastern Orthodox; Georgia)

Herbert (Christian; Saint)

Light Snow (Chinese Farmer’s Calendar)

Philemon and Appia (Christian; Saint)

Pragmatius of Autun (Christian; Saint)

Theodorus the Studite (Christian; Saint)

Vernon the Grizzly Bear (Muppetism)

Ydalir (festival to Ullr, god of archery & skiing; Ancient Norse)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The Addams Family )Film; 1991)

Back to the Future Part II (Film; 1989)

The Beatles [The White Album] (Album; 1968)

Beauty and the Beast (Animated Disney Film; 1991)

Blue Hawaii (Film; 1961) [Elvis Presley #8]

Boléro, by Maurice Ravel (Orchestral Work; 1928)

Casino (Film; 1995)

Coco (Animated Film; 2017)

Darkest Hour (Film; 2017)

Die Another Day (US Film; 2002) [James Bond #20]

Frida (Film; 2002)

Frozen 2 (Animated Disney Film; 2019)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Film; 2013)

Hypnotize, by System of a Down (Album; 2005)

Jelly Roll Blues, recorded by Bunny Berigan (Song; 1938)

King Solomon’s Mines (Film; 1985)

Man of La Mancha (Broadway Musical; 1965)

The Producers (Film; 1967)

Toy Story (Animated Pixar Film; 1995)

Vitalogy, by Pearl Jam (Album; 1994)

With the Beatles, by The Beatles (Album; 1963)

Today’s Name Days

Cäcilia, Salvator (Austria)

Cecilija, Cilika, Dobrila, Filemon (Croatia)

Cecílie (Czech Republic)

Cecilia (Denmark)

Cecilia, Säsil, Silja, Silje, Sille (Estonia)

Cecilia, Seela, Selja, Silja (Finland)

Cécile (France)

Cäcilia, Rufus, Salvator, Silja (Germany)

Cecilia, Filemon, Filimon, Philimon, Valerios (Greece)

Cecília (Hungary)

Cecilia (Italy)

Aldis, Aldonis, Alfons, Alfonss, Alfs (Latvia)

Cecilija, Cilė, Dargintė, Steikintas (Lithuania)

Cecilie, Silje, Sissel (Norway)

Cecylia, Marek, Maur, Wszemiła (Poland)

Cecília (Slovakia)

Cecilio, Filemón (Spain)

Cecilia, Sissela (Sweden)

Cecelia, Philemon, Yaropolk (Ukraine)

Abbey, Abbie, Abby, Abigail, Cecelia, Cecil, Cecilia, Cecily, Cecyl, Celia, Gail Gale, Galen, Gay, Gayle, Philemon, Philo, Shayla, Sheila (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 326 of 2022; 39 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 47 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Hagal (Constraint) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 10 (Lùyuè), Day 29 (Ji-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 28 Cheshvan 5783

Islamic: 27 Rabi II 1444

J Cal: 26 Mir; Foursday [26 of 30]

Julian: 9 November 2022

Moon: 2%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 18 Frederic (12th Month) [Colbert]

Runic Half Month: Nyd (Necessity) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 61 of 90)

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 31 of 31)

#calendar #Holidays

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gravitascivics · 3 months

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OH, OHIO

One might argue that a chief challenging reality to the values and aims of federalist thinking is bigness. If to be federated means a populous shares a sense of partnership, then large social/political arrangements undermine the supposed interpersonal requisites that such a sense would intuitively demand. One is more apt to federate with others who see the world through similar lenses, and geographic settings would affect the level of “usness” one would presuppose to be necessary.

In retrospect, probably from the beginnings of the American republic, its fate was sown-in in the treaty with Great Britain to end the Revolutionary War. Mostly through the American minister, John Adams, the resulting treaty with Great Britain ceded the American nation just about all of the land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. Of particular interest to this posting is the expansion of land north of the Ohio River or what would become to be known as the Northwest Territory.

A nation that didn’t even exist before the war was now a significantly large one. And while on paper that seemed just about unprecedented, it left that nation with a demanding challenge – how does one extend control over that vast expanse? And here, what would be considered as an added challenge, an extended post-war economic depression, turned out to be a motivator for people to behave in just the way this expansion challenge needed them to behave.

Here is what the historian, David McCullough, describes took place:

Unprecedented financial panic had gripped the new nation since the end of the Revolutionary War. The resources and credit of the government were exhausted. Money, in the form of scrip issued by the government, was nearly worthless. The scrip the veterans received as compensation for their service was worth no more than ten cents on the dollar. Trade was at a standstill. In Massachusetts the situation was worst of all. Farmers were being imprisoned for debt. Only a few months earlier, an armed rebellion led by poor Massachusetts farmer and war veteran named Daniel Shays had to be put down by a force of loyal militia commanded by General Tupper.

As it was, the severe economic depression that followed the war would last longer even than the war. But out west now there was land to be as never imagined – vast land, rich land where there was “no end to the beauty and plenty” – that could be made available to veterans at a bargain price in compensation for their service. West was opportunity. West was the future.[1]

And this opportunity and how it was exploited portrays a number of the attributes of the prevailing construct among the American population having to do with governance and politics.

As this blog has argued, that construct can be given the name parochial/traditional federalism. Yes, it ascribed to sustaining a federated populous but mostly only among the nation’s Western European descendants (including the recent immigrants from that area). It excluded blacks and indigenous peoples. While indigenous people’s rights were mostly neglected in the process by which the Northwest Territory was incorporated into the American system, there was an element of the process that addressed the rights of blacks.

And this concern was also extended to other demographic classifications. McCullough explains:

It was intended that this ordinance, now called the Northwest Ordinance, should stipulate that in the whole of the territory there would be absolute freedom of religion and particular emphasis on education, matters New Englanders considered fundamental to a just and admirable society.

Most importantly, there was to be no slavery. In the plan for the creation of a new state northwest of the Ohio River, the proposition put forth by Rufus Putnam [war hero who led the Ohio Company of Associates] and others at the time of the Newburgh Resolution, total exclusion of slavery was an essential.

As would be observed by historians long afterward, the Northwest Ordinance was designed to guarantee what would one day be known as the American way of life.[2]

And a couple of points should be emphasized. One, this area would initially be inhabited by migrating New Englanders. And two, various states would eventually be formed in this area and all of them were organized and developed under a culturally federalist mind set.

The New England base was to be highly Calvinist and as such highly based on covenantal thinking in the formulation of political arrangements. As the political scientist, Daniel Elazar, points out, the northern stretch of states as one moves from east to west in the US can be considered an extension of New England’s moralistic political subculture.

That is, it highlights the moral bases of governance. That view more specifically emphasizes the interests of a commonwealth, that governments are to advance the public interests, that the polities are to have very low tolerance of corruption, and that citizens have a duty to participate in politics.[3] And these characteristics became common among the New England colonies and then states from the time of their earliest settlement and extended westward among the northernmost layer of states.

As for the landmass in question, it is sufficient to list the states that eventually were formed in this territory. They are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Significant shoreline on the Great Lakes would prove to be of economic advantage to these states. This became particularly true with the building of the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825, and opened trade lanes out to the Atlantic Ocean via the port of New York.

Of course, these developments were done with concerns over the “Indian menace.” Among the indigenous peoples a certain belief prevailed, that “considered the Ohio country their rightful, God-granted domain.”[4] This aspect of the American expansion – of its parochial character – deserves its own separate analysis.

[1] David McCullough, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2019), 8. Historical claims in this posting rely on this source.

[2] Ibid., 12.

[3] “Explaining Policy Difference Using Political Culture,” West Texas A&M University, n.d., accessed January 27, 2024, URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=elazar+moralistic+political+culture&rlz=1C1RXMK_enUS966US966&oq=elazar%27s+moralistic&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgCECEYqwIyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGKsCMgcIAxAhGKsCMgcIBBAhGKsC0gEJMTQxMThqMGo5qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8.

[4] McCullough, The Pioneers, 7.

#Northwest Territory #Northwest Ordinance #Ohio Territory #federated requisites #western migration #civics education #social studies

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