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Description
The following is a compilation collected by Canadian Assassin, Aveza Deryn, during her war years from 1811 to 1815. It consists of various personal notes written by the Assassin Mentor, Ratonhnhaké:ton, colloquially known as Connor. These were written between his time fighting in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, and detail his growing dissent with the United States of America over the course of their history.

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November 25, 1783
I watched as the ships departed from the New York harbor. The citizens were cheering, tossing threats at every British flag being flown. The war had been won. They had won, and now their enemy was retreating. The soldiers that had oppressed them for so long were now not only kicked from their houses, but from the country itself. One of the ships didn't take kindly to the chiding voices of the people on the docks, and fired off a warning shot in their direction. Thankfully, it landed harmlessly in the bay.

But while all these people were applauding and celebrating, I was standing there in silence, feeling very alone amongst them all. Their fight was over, mine was not. These people on the docks were free from what they viewed as tyranny, but not everyone was. Not far from where I was standing, there was a platform, and on that platform were slaves. Their clothes were ragged and their faces were wrinkled and grimm. They were up for auction, being bid to the highest buyer like cattle. They had no freedom, only discrimination. It made me think: what kind of nation was about to take form now that the British were gone? What had I unwittingly helped form? Would the Patriots prove to uphold their promises and extend liberty to all? Or would they prove my father right? Would they simply rebuild what had just been destroyed but give it a different name? What would become of people like me? People like those poor slaves? Would we be free? The truth was, I did not know, and I still do not know. And it still scares me.

December 25, 1783
I brought a little girl to the Homestead today. She was being beaten down by a few thugs in the frontier, so of course I stepped in and saved her life. Her name is Shikoba, and she hails from the Shawnee tribe, yet she speaks with a British accent. My curiosity was peaked, and I've been trying to get to know her better. She clearly has a love of British culture, having observed the American colonies from afar most of her life. Her people found this distasteful though, given the poor relations they have had with the colonists over the years. But still, her spunk keeps her on the path she chose. She tells me she's lonely, that she ran from home with no plan of return. I offered her a new home here in the Homestead village. She clearly likes the people here and finds it a suitable location. Still, I await her answer. It must be up to her. If you ask me, she would make an excellent Assassin. I hope she stays.

February 28, 1787
The new government of what they’ve now dubbed “the United States of America” is already facing its first problems. They call their constitution the Articles of Confederation, and it seems like the closest thing they would offer to what I had fought so hard for. It outlines the relationships that the states shall have between one another regarding things like trade and currency. It was designed so that this new government would be nothing like what they had under the British, and that includes the fact that taxes were not allowed to be placed.

But this caused problems. The Revolution has sent both the federal government and the states’ governments into extreme debt. The economy is in shambles and people all over were losing their homes and businesses. Things became particularly bad in Massachusetts, as farmers under the leadership of Daniel Shays rose up and forced the courts to close so that their debt-encumbered farms could not be foreclosed upon. The government put down this rebellion, and I have reason to believe our enemies have taken advantage of this event. The Templars are healing up their wounds that I and my kind inflicted upon them during the Revolution. The Articles weaken any real chance they have of gaining power, but they're twisting that as an excuse to get rid of the document. They point to Shays’ Rebellion and say that they need more control to prevent things like this.

I worry, what will happen? These Articles have to go, that much is certain. Too many innocent lives are getting hurt because of them. But right now it's the only thing keeping the Templars at bay. Is there a third way? Is there time to find a third way? Will the delegates in Philadelphia accept a third way? I don't know. And yet again it scares me.

September 17, 1787
I have severed all ties with George Washington. The man I once idolized, then despised, and reluctantly worked with over the years is now officially one I call foe. The delegates of the United States had finally decided to revise the Articles, or so they said. What they did was not revise, but replace. Upon meeting in Philadelphia, they created an entirely new document called simply “The Constitution” which established a completely different government. Entire new offices were formed, including an executive and judiciary. This itself I have no problem with, but it is the method by which such people are elected that tarnishes my opinion. Those in government are not chosen by the people, but by government officials. The people cast their votes, but ultimately it is up to this new “Electoral College” who gets to sit on the thrones that they have built for themselves. But even this is not the worst part. The worst is that they have pushed my people to the side once again, and all other minorities as well. No slave or Native or woman is allowed to vote, but all of them are still counted for the College's “representation”. Slaves only count as three-fifths of a person according to this document. My people count as nothing.

This is outrageous, and I expressed my concerns to Washington the second he stepped out of that convention hall by putting my hidden blade to his throat. He whimpered and droned on about how everything in the Constitution is necessary to secure the system. I took my blade from his throat, and told him we were done forever, and that if he ever called upon me for help any more, my blade would enter his flesh. I have not heard from him again. They say he will be the first president, a unanimous decision made by these delegates. And after all that we experienced from the Apple...

This has already gotten far too out of hand. I noticed Templar rings on the fingers of many delegates in that convention, including one Alexander Hamilton, who seems particularly interested in making the government as powerful, if not more powerful, than what the British had in the colonies. I think I'm finally beginning to realize what this nation would become, what would spawn from my efforts a decade prior. And it terrifies me.

October 31, 1791
Shikoba has found love, and I'm very proud of her for it. I had sent one of our agents in Canada, George Deryn, to Sleepy Hollow last year to investigate some local claims of bizarre goings on, which I believed could be linked to a Piece of Eden. George met Shikoba there, and the two immediately took a liking to one another. Now they are inseparable. They've taken up residence in the town of York, in Upper Canada, and I've heard gossip saying George has considered proposal. I hope he goes through with it. He's a good man, and those two will be perfect for each other.

October 1, 1792
I have added a new member to the Brotherhood. He is a mighty warrior hailing from the same tribe that Shikoba came from, the Shawnee. They call him Tecumseh, and he has no tolerance for intolerance. The Americans have begun in full what they started during the colonial era: going to war with the Natives and slaughtering our kind. They call the current conflict the Northwest Indian War, which started not long after the Revolution. The British gave up control of the Northwest Territory to the United States, but while the British kept several treaties that at the very least semi-protected the local Natives from oppression, the United States holds no such obligations. Many troops, some led by President Washington, have been sent in to enforce US sovereignty, and the Natives would not have it. And neither will I.

I met Tecumseh in a place called Running Water, where he had been staying alongside his fellow warriors and their families under the leadership of Cherokee leader, Tsiyu Gansini. Tecumseh’s older brother, Cheeseekau, was tragically killed during a confrontation with the American forces. The loss was hard for him, and when I offered him a chance to join the Assassins and fight against the Templars who influence the American government, he accepted with glee. I'm happy to say he's become a good friend of mine, and we both look forward to working together more in the future.

The United States has become too corrupt already. And it is up to the Assassins to stop it.

October 3, 1794
Another conflict has plagued the American government. Once the Constitution granted the government the power to tax its citizens, the first thing they did was tax all distilled spirits. The farmers who make a living off of turning their grain into whiskey were in an uproar. Over 500 men took up arms and stormed the houses of tax collectors in Pennsylvania. They shouted cries from the Revolution, demanding “no taxation without representation”. Washington rallied his militia and marched them into the state to confront the rebels. They expressed their grievances to him, and he responded by telling them that their claims were invalid, that these taxes were based on representation since the officials passing the Acts were “chosen” by the people. Many of the rebels were arrested, and a large percentage of them pardoned.

This event has made me think: what are the implications of such a conclusion? Washington has outlined a disturbing point. The people merely elect their representatives, but have no say in what those people enforce. The government runs itself, and does as it pleases. And even then, when it does play along with what is demanded of them, one action harms the people on the other side of the argument. Will the people ever truly have the power? Or is it merely an illusion as my father claimed? What will become of those left behind by the majority rule? If a harmful choice gets the popular vote, is it even worth trying to utilize the system? I don't have easy answers, unfortunately. I often wish I still had Achilles by my side in these troubled times. I could use his guidance.

May 6, 1795
I have faced one of my greatest foes to date. It began in 1794, when I interrogated an old man, a Templar named Christopher Gist, who revealed a plot to find a valuable Templar stash in Paris before he passed away. I immediately set out on the Aquila, leaving the nation in the capable hands of my fellow Assassins. I arrived in France and met a young Assassin by the name of Arno Victor Dorian, who dealt with several affairs against the Templars during the violent Revolution that had just taken place a few years ago. We uncovered a lead on an old Templar temple established during the middle ages, in which was supposedly a codex written by one of their Grand Masters, Jacques de Molay. We sought out to recover it, but we were not alone. The Templars were also on the hunt, specifically one Shay Patrick Cormac, the Grand Master of the American Templars ever since the death of my father and Charles Lee.

I had heard all the stories from Achilles of this brutish traitor, and I can guarantee that the legends were not overstated. Despite his age, Shay fought like a tiger when we confronted him in the Temple. But he unleashed something dark in Arno. We discovered that Shay had been the one who murdered Arno’s father, and it made Arno furious to see the man in front of him. He hacked and slashed at the Templar, and mauled him to the ground. He was about to deliver the killing blow, but I demanded he stop. This was not how Assassins do things. We are not monsters. We don't make our targets suffer like this. I told Arno this, and he reluctantly stood down. We let Shay limp back to his kind with his book, which we found was of no value to us. But Arno gave him one last warning never to return, in the form of putting a bullet in his ankle.

Now I've returned to the States, and I've mixed news regarding the goings on here. On the one hand, the British have begun to impress American sailors for their fight against France. I've uncovered though that there is a secondary force at play. The Templars are using this as an excuse to locate deserters in their Order and punish them for their abandonment. I will make sure to deal with this as soon as I can. On the side of good news, George has informed me that he and Shikoba now have their first child, a daughter.

Her name is Aveza.

April 26, 1798
George Washington has stepped down from the presidency. The delegates pleaded with him to run for a third term, but he refused, a deed that met with high approval from the people. He returned to Mount Vernon, to his slave-littered farm. I doubt he will return to politics, and I am glad for it. However, all is not well in this nation. John Adams has become the second president, and the Templars have taken to guiding his every move. After all that's happened, it would not surprise me to find if he was one of them himself.

It began during a diplomatic mission to France last month. Their violent Revolution and their efforts to disrupt American trade led to the two nations entering an undeclared “Quasi-War”. The delegates met with three French representatives, dubbed “X”, “Y”, and “Z” out of a refusal of the American government to reveal the names of these people. X, Y, and Z apparently demanded an enormous sum of money from the delegates, who took it as a federal offense. Propaganda against France has sprung up across the nation, and President Adams has taken advantage of it by passing the Alien and Sedition Acts. It is now a crime to criticize the government in any manner. Guards are on every street, listening for dissented individuals whom they can arrest for so much as whispering grievances. This is absolutely unacceptable. Adams has gone too far. I find myself forced to take action against the United States once again. I have Assassins across the country working to counteract this nonsense. To think, the people I helped rise to independence are now the ones I'm working to take down. How the world changes so...

December 14, 1799
George Washington has passed away. His slaves have all been released from their chains as well. They were originally scheduled to be released upon his wife's death, but she knows our Brotherhood, how we feel towards such crimes against humanity, and so she had them released early in fear of her life.

Washington left behind something vastly different than what he intended, and what I intended. While hardly a good man, he was at least wise in some matters. He was a consistent opponent to the creation of political parties, although his wishes had hardly come true. The Federalist Party for example had been around since 1789, with the creation of the Constitution and extending the power of the government so that it benefits rich and powerful men like Alexander Hamilton being their main focus. On the other side of things is the recently created Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson. I admit, I have been torn on this man for many years. He supports ideals of freedom and individualism, but does not extend those rights to anyone aside from the white elite males of the land. He owns slaves, and has no support for my people's efforts to defend their lands. The country has been split in two, and the Templars are the ones running the entire thing. I suppose my father was right in that regard. They are like locusts, never truly disappearing and scrambling to latch on to the power they feast on. This is why we must remain vigilant in these times. The nation has given up on us, and I have given up on them. My priority is to the people, not these delegates who have upheld themselves as gods. If they are unwilling to extend liberty to all, then it is my responsibility to do it instead.

July 4, 1803
Jefferson is now in office, and is already raising alarms in Assassin circles. I've mentioned before his undying support of slavery and discrimination, and it has only gotten worse. In 1800, a slave named Gabriel planned to lead his brethren into Richmond in order to demand abolition. We sent a few Assassins to help him plan, but unfortunately the entire operation fell apart when our positions were given away to the government. 26 slaves were hung that day, including poor Gabriel. And Jefferson cared not for the loss of any of them.

He has also proven to be a hypocrite. Throughout his campaign, he constantly argued that the president is not allowed to do anything that is not in the Constitution. However, just recently he purchased an enormous tract of land from Napoleon, doubling the size of the nation. He intends to use this as an excuse for providing land to white males, again ignoring the rights of any slaves, Natives, or any others who previously lived on those lands. New Orleans was included in this purchase, so this movement has also caught the concerns of my old friend, Aveline Blanc. I must write to her soon so that we can discuss the implications of this turn of events, and what actions we'll have to take.

In the meantime, I must arrange for a few of my brothers and sisters to set out on a journey. Jefferson has hired the explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore this new land, with talk of sending them all the way to the Pacific Ocean. I have suspicions that the Templars will try and use this to gain more influence, and so I want to make sure we get there first.

June 23, 1806
Shikoba arrived at my doorstep this morning, with Aveza in tow, and they had dreadful news: George had been hanged by the Templars in York. Both of them were torn apart, unsure of what to do. After a long conversation with Shikoba, we decided it would be best to explain our Brotherhood’s struggle to her daughter. Aveza seemed to take it surprisingly well, and openly volunteered to join us in the fight for liberty. She reminds me so much of her mother. Shikoba is nervous about it, but I am certain she will make just as amazing an Assassin as her parents were.

December 22, 1807
Jefferson seems to have gone mad now. Britain and France are still locked in the heated battles of the Napoleonic Wars, and it is a struggle that does not appear to be slowing down. The British continue to impress American sailors for their troops (though most of these captured men are actually British deserters who ran away to the Americas to avoid a fight. The United States has no formal definition of citizenship, and thus it is quite easy for these men to slip away and hide). The government is growing sick of it, and Jefferson’s response was to pass the Embargo Act, making it illegal to trade with either Britain or France. The economy is in shambles because of this decision, a decision made not from the will of the people, but from the will of Jefferson. The countries overseas haven’t even noticed the embargo, as they are too caught up in trying to defend their homes from one another. The Americans have taken this lack of acknowledgement as an offense, and tensions are higher than ever. This country has fallen apart, and I have given up hope in the men I once fought beside in my youth. I've heard talk of war looming over the horizon. If such a conflict does arise, I don't think I can bring myself to back this nation anymore. Not after everything they've done to bring their own kind into corruptive ruin.

June 18, 1812
The country is at war once again. The United States, for the first time in its history, has declared war on another nation. They've declared war on the British Crown for a multitude of reasons. They say it is to right the wrongs supposedly set upon them by the British in the midst of trying to defeat Napoleon, but most of the talk I hear in Congress is about gaining land, from Canada, from the south, and to the west. They care not who is in the way, only that they claim it. The Assassins will be expected to take sides in this War, and we've all made a clear choice. Britain will be our ally. They are not perfect, true, but they are a much lesser evil than what the United States has grown to become. I rally behind my brothers, behind people like Tecumseh and Shikoba. Together we will stand and fight for liberty, true liberty, and not the false promises of the Americans. We will defend our homes, our rights, and will not stop until they are secure. If there is to be a War, so be it. Let them come.

Description
The following is a compilation collected by Canadian Assassin, Aveza Deryn, during her war years from 1811 to 1815. It consists of various personal notes written by the Assassin Mentor, Ratonhnhaké:ton, colloquially known as Connor. These were written between his time fighting in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, and detail his growing dissent with the United States of America over the course of their history.

------------

November 25, 1783
I watched as the ships departed from the New York harbor. The citizens were cheering, tossing threats at every British flag being flown. The war had been won. They had won, and now their enemy was retreating. The soldiers that had oppressed them for so long were now not only kicked from their houses, but from the country itself. One of the ships didn't take kindly to the chiding voices of the people on the docks, and fired off a warning shot in their direction. Thankfully, it landed harmlessly in the bay.

But while all these people were applauding and celebrating, I was standing there in silence, feeling very alone amongst them all. Their fight was over, mine was not. These people on the docks were free from what they viewed as tyranny, but not everyone was. Not far from where I was standing, there was a platform, and on that platform were slaves. Their clothes were ragged and their faces were wrinkled and grimm. They were up for auction, being bid to the highest buyer like cattle. They had no freedom, only discrimination. It made me think: what kind of nation was about to take form now that the British were gone? What had I unwittingly helped form? Would the Patriots prove to uphold their promises and extend liberty to all? Or would they prove my father right? Would they simply rebuild what had just been destroyed but give it a different name? What would become of people like me? People like those poor slaves? Would we be free? The truth was, I did not know, and I still do not know. And it still scares me.

December 25, 1783
I brought a little girl to the Homestead today. She was being beaten down by a few thugs in the frontier, so of course I stepped in and saved her life. Her name is Shikoba, and she hails from the Shawnee tribe, yet she speaks with a British accent. My curiosity was peaked, and I've been trying to get to know her better. She clearly has a love of British culture, having observed the American colonies from afar most of her life. Her people found this distasteful though, given the poor relations they have had with the colonists over the years. But still, her spunk keeps her on the path she chose. She tells me she's lonely, that she ran from home with no plan of return. I offered her a new home here in the Homestead village. She clearly likes the people here and finds it a suitable location. Still, I await her answer. It must be up to her. If you ask me, she would make an excellent Assassin. I hope she stays.

February 28, 1787
The new government of what they’ve now dubbed “the United States of America” is already facing its first problems. They call their constitution the Articles of Confederation, and it seems like the closest thing they would offer to what I had fought so hard for. It outlines the relationships that the states shall have between one another regarding things like trade and currency. It was designed so that this new government would be nothing like what they had under the British, and that includes the fact that taxes were not allowed to be placed.

But this caused problems. The Revolution has sent both the federal government and the states’ governments into extreme debt. The economy is in shambles and people all over were losing their homes and businesses. Things became particularly bad in Massachusetts, as farmers under the leadership of Daniel Shays rose up and forced the courts to close so that their debt-encumbered farms could not be foreclosed upon. The government put down this rebellion, and I have reason to believe our enemies have taken advantage of this event. The Templars are healing up their wounds that I and my kind inflicted upon them during the Revolution. The Articles weaken any real chance they have of gaining power, but they're twisting that as an excuse to get rid of the document. They point to Shays’ Rebellion and say that they need more control to prevent things like this.

I worry, what will happen? These Articles have to go, that much is certain. Too many innocent lives are getting hurt because of them. But right now it's the only thing keeping the Templars at bay. Is there a third way? Is there time to find a third way? Will the delegates in Philadelphia accept a third way? I don't know. And yet again it scares me.

September 17, 1787
I have severed all ties with George Washington. The man I once idolized, then despised, and reluctantly worked with over the years is now officially one I call foe. The delegates of the United States had finally decided to revise the Articles, or so they said. What they did was not revise, but replace. Upon meeting in Philadelphia, they created an entirely new document called simply “The Constitution” which established a completely different government. Entire new offices were formed, including an executive and judiciary. This itself I have no problem with, but it is the method by which such people are elected that tarnishes my opinion. Those in government are not chosen by the people, but by government officials. The people cast their votes, but ultimately it is up to this new “Electoral College” who gets to sit on the thrones that they have built for themselves. But even this is not the worst part. The worst is that they have pushed my people to the side once again, and all other minorities as well. No slave or Native or woman is allowed to vote, but all of them are still counted for the College's “representation”. Slaves only count as three-fifths of a person according to this document. My people count as nothing.

This is outrageous, and I expressed my concerns to Washington the second he stepped out of that convention hall by putting my hidden blade to his throat. He whimpered and droned on about how everything in the Constitution is necessary to secure the system. I took my blade from his throat, and told him we were done forever, and that if he ever called upon me for help any more, my blade would enter his flesh. I have not heard from him again. They say he will be the first president, a unanimous decision made by these delegates. And after all that we experienced from the Apple...

This has already gotten far too out of hand. I noticed Templar rings on the fingers of many delegates in that convention, including one Alexander Hamilton, who seems particularly interested in making the government as powerful, if not more powerful, than what the British had in the colonies. I think I'm finally beginning to realize what this nation would become, what would spawn from my efforts a decade prior. And it terrifies me.

October 31, 1791
Shikoba has found love, and I'm very proud of her for it. I had sent one of our agents in Canada, George Deryn, to Sleepy Hollow last year to investigate some local claims of bizarre goings on, which I believed could be linked to a Piece of Eden. George met Shikoba there, and the two immediately took a liking to one another. Now they are inseparable. They've taken up residence in the town of York, in Upper Canada, and I've heard gossip saying George has considered proposal. I hope he goes through with it. He's a good man, and those two will be perfect for each other.

October 1, 1792
I have added a new member to the Brotherhood. He is a mighty warrior hailing from the same tribe that Shikoba came from, the Shawnee. They call him Tecumseh, and he has no tolerance for intolerance. The Americans have begun in full what they started during the colonial era: going to war with the Natives and slaughtering our kind. They call the current conflict the Northwest Indian War, which started not long after the Revolution. The British gave up control of the Northwest Territory to the United States, but while the British kept several treaties that at the very least semi-protected the local Natives from oppression, the United States holds no such obligations. Many troops, some led by President Washington, have been sent in to enforce US sovereignty, and the Natives would not have it. And neither will I.

I met Tecumseh in a place called Running Water, where he had been staying alongside his fellow warriors and their families under the leadership of Cherokee leader, Tsiyu Gansini. Tecumseh’s older brother, Cheeseekau, was tragically killed during a confrontation with the American forces. The loss was hard for him, and when I offered him a chance to join the Assassins and fight against the Templars who influence the American government, he accepted with glee. I'm happy to say he's become a good friend of mine, and we both look forward to working together more in the future.

The United States has become too corrupt already. And it is up to the Assassins to stop it.

October 3, 1794
Another conflict has plagued the American government. Once the Constitution granted the government the power to tax its citizens, the first thing they did was tax all distilled spirits. The farmers who make a living off of turning their grain into whiskey were in an uproar. Over 500 men took up arms and stormed the houses of tax collectors in Pennsylvania. They shouted cries from the Revolution, demanding “no taxation without representation”. Washington rallied his militia and marched them into the state to confront the rebels. They expressed their grievances to him, and he responded by telling them that their claims were invalid, that these taxes were based on representation since the officials passing the Acts were “chosen” by the people. Many of the rebels were arrested, and a large percentage of them pardoned.

This event has made me think: what are the implications of such a conclusion? Washington has outlined a disturbing point. The people merely elect their representatives, but have no say in what those people enforce. The government runs itself, and does as it pleases. And even then, when it does play along with what is demanded of them, one action harms the people on the other side of the argument. Will the people ever truly have the power? Or is it merely an illusion as my father claimed? What will become of those left behind by the majority rule? If a harmful choice gets the popular vote, is it even worth trying to utilize the system? I don't have easy answers, unfortunately. I often wish I still had Achilles by my side in these troubled times. I could use his guidance.

May 6, 1795
I have faced one of my greatest foes to date. It began in 1794, when I interrogated an old man, a Templar named Christopher Gist, who revealed a plot to find a valuable Templar stash in Paris before he passed away. I immediately set out on the Aquila, leaving the nation in the capable hands of my fellow Assassins. I arrived in France and met a young Assassin by the name of Arno Victor Dorian, who dealt with several affairs against the Templars during the violent Revolution that had just taken place a few years ago. We uncovered a lead on an old Templar temple established during the middle ages, in which was supposedly a codex written by one of their Grand Masters, Jacques de Molay. We sought out to recover it, but we were not alone. The Templars were also on the hunt, specifically one Shay Patrick Cormac, the Grand Master of the American Templars ever since the death of my father and Charles Lee.

I had heard all the stories from Achilles of this brutish traitor, and I can guarantee that the legends were not overstated. Despite his age, Shay fought like a tiger when we confronted him in the Temple. But he unleashed something dark in Arno. We discovered that Shay had been the one who murdered Arno’s father, and it made Arno furious to see the man in front of him. He hacked and slashed at the Templar, and mauled him to the ground. He was about to deliver the killing blow, but I demanded he stop. This was not how Assassins do things. We are not monsters. We don't make our targets suffer like this. I told Arno this, and he reluctantly stood down. We let Shay limp back to his kind with his book, which we found was of no value to us. But Arno gave him one last warning never to return, in the form of putting a bullet in his ankle.

Now I've returned to the States, and I've mixed news regarding the goings on here. On the one hand, the British have begun to impress American sailors for their fight against France. I've uncovered though that there is a secondary force at play. The Templars are using this as an excuse to locate deserters in their Order and punish them for their abandonment. I will make sure to deal with this as soon as I can. On the side of good news, George has informed me that he and Shikoba now have their first child, a daughter.

Her name is Aveza.

April 26, 1798
George Washington has stepped down from the presidency. The delegates pleaded with him to run for a third term, but he refused, a deed that met with high approval from the people. He returned to Mount Vernon, to his slave-littered farm. I doubt he will return to politics, and I am glad for it. However, all is not well in this nation. John Adams has become the second president, and the Templars have taken to guiding his every move. After all that's happened, it would not surprise me to find if he was one of them himself.

It began during a diplomatic mission to France last month. Their violent Revolution and their efforts to disrupt American trade led to the two nations entering an undeclared “Quasi-War”. The delegates met with three French representatives, dubbed “X”, “Y”, and “Z” out of a refusal of the American government to reveal the names of these people. X, Y, and Z apparently demanded an enormous sum of money from the delegates, who took it as a federal offense. Propaganda against France has sprung up across the nation, and President Adams has taken advantage of it by passing the Alien and Sedition Acts. It is now a crime to criticize the government in any manner. Guards are on every street, listening for dissented individuals whom they can arrest for so much as whispering grievances. This is absolutely unacceptable. Adams has gone too far. I find myself forced to take action against the United States once again. I have Assassins across the country working to counteract this nonsense. To think, the people I helped rise to independence are now the ones I'm working to take down. How the world changes so...

December 14, 1799
George Washington has passed away. His slaves have all been released from their chains as well. They were originally scheduled to be released upon his wife's death, but she knows our Brotherhood, how we feel towards such crimes against humanity, and so she had them released early in fear of her life.

Washington left behind something vastly different than what he intended, and what I intended. While hardly a good man, he was at least wise in some matters. He was a consistent opponent to the creation of political parties, although his wishes had hardly come true. The Federalist Party for example had been around since 1789, with the creation of the Constitution and extending the power of the government so that it benefits rich and powerful men like Alexander Hamilton being their main focus. On the other side of things is the recently created Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson. I admit, I have been torn on this man for many years. He supports ideals of freedom and individualism, but does not extend those rights to anyone aside from the white elite males of the land. He owns slaves, and has no support for my people's efforts to defend their lands. The country has been split in two, and the Templars are the ones running the entire thing. I suppose my father was right in that regard. They are like locusts, never truly disappearing and scrambling to latch on to the power they feast on. This is why we must remain vigilant in these times. The nation has given up on us, and I have given up on them. My priority is to the people, not these delegates who have upheld themselves as gods. If they are unwilling to extend liberty to all, then it is my responsibility to do it instead.

July 4, 1803
Jefferson is now in office, and is already raising alarms in Assassin circles. I've mentioned before his undying support of slavery and discrimination, and it has only gotten worse. In 1800, a slave named Gabriel planned to lead his brethren into Richmond in order to demand abolition. We sent a few Assassins to help him plan, but unfortunately the entire operation fell apart when our positions were given away to the government. 26 slaves were hung that day, including poor Gabriel. And Jefferson cared not for the loss of any of them.

He has also proven to be a hypocrite. Throughout his campaign, he constantly argued that the president is not allowed to do anything that is not in the Constitution. However, just recently he purchased an enormous tract of land from Napoleon, doubling the size of the nation. He intends to use this as an excuse for providing land to white males, again ignoring the rights of any slaves, Natives, or any others who previously lived on those lands. New Orleans was included in this purchase, so this movement has also caught the concerns of my old friend, Aveline Blanc. I must write to her soon so that we can discuss the implications of this turn of events, and what actions we'll have to take.

In the meantime, I must arrange for a few of my brothers and sisters to set out on a journey. Jefferson has hired the explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore this new land, with talk of sending them all the way to the Pacific Ocean. I have suspicions that the Templars will try and use this to gain more influence, and so I want to make sure we get there first.

June 23, 1806
Shikoba arrived at my doorstep this morning, with Aveza in tow, and they had dreadful news: George had been hanged by the Templars in York. Both of them were torn apart, unsure of what to do. After a long conversation with Shikoba, we decided it would be best to explain our Brotherhood’s struggle to her daughter. Aveza seemed to take it surprisingly well, and openly volunteered to join us in the fight for liberty. She reminds me so much of her mother. Shikoba is nervous about it, but I am certain she will make just as amazing an Assassin as her parents were.

December 22, 1807
Jefferson seems to have gone mad now. Britain and France are still locked in the heated battles of the Napoleonic Wars, and it is a struggle that does not appear to be slowing down. The British continue to impress American sailors for their troops (though most of these captured men are actually British deserters who ran away to the Americas to avoid a fight. The United States has no formal definition of citizenship, and thus it is quite easy for these men to slip away and hide). The government is growing sick of it, and Jefferson’s response was to pass the Embargo Act, making it illegal to trade with either Britain or France. The economy is in shambles because of this decision, a decision made not from the will of the people, but from the will of Jefferson. The countries overseas haven’t even noticed the embargo, as they are too caught up in trying to defend their homes from one another. The Americans have taken this lack of acknowledgement as an offense, and tensions are higher than ever. This country has fallen apart, and I have given up hope in the men I once fought beside in my youth. I've heard talk of war looming over the horizon. If such a conflict does arise, I don't think I can bring myself to back this nation anymore. Not after everything they've done to bring their own kind into corruptive ruin.

June 18, 1812
The country is at war once again. The United States, for the first time in its history, has declared war on another nation. They've declared war on the British Crown for a multitude of reasons. They say it is to right the wrongs supposedly set upon them by the British in the midst of trying to defeat Napoleon, but most of the talk I hear in Congress is about gaining land, from Canada, from the south, and to the west. They care not who is in the way, only that they claim it. The Assassins will be expected to take sides in this War, and we've all made a clear choice. Britain will be our ally. They are not perfect, true, but they are a much lesser evil than what the United States has grown to become. I rally behind my brothers, behind people like Tecumseh and Shikoba. Together we will stand and fight for liberty, true liberty, and not the false promises of the Americans. We will defend our homes, our rights, and will not stop until they are secure. If there is to be a War, so be it. Let them come.