AHC: U.S.A. states based on ethnic lines?

[Incognito]

With a POD after the American Revolution, is there any way for U.S.A. to become a country of ethnic-based states (e.g.: a majority-Irish state, a majority-Chinese state, a majority-German state, etc. where much of the Irish/Chinese/German culture and customs are preserved and Irish/Chinese/German language is the official state language)? Kind of how Soviet Union was made up of ethnic-based Republics? How would American policies and migration to the USA during the frontier period need to change in order to achieve this?

[historyfelon]

Only in a dysfunctional..nonconstitutional America...one that falls apart..Confederation-style. Pennsylvania had a strong German population..Soth Carolina as predominately black. But since economics and "freedom" were more important than people's 'ethnicity'..why would they divide up that way..into enclaves? It wouldn't be a nation..it would be a mess.

[Incognito]

Originally Posted by historyfelon

Only in a dysfunctional..nonconstitutional America...one that falls apart..Confederation-style. Pennsylvania had a strong German population..Soth Carolina as predominately black. But since economics and "freedom" were more important than people's 'ethnicity'..why would they divide up that way..into enclaves? It wouldn't be a nation..it would be a mess.

I think your view of the past is tinted my modern Western values that were not all around back then.

"Birds of a Feather flock together". People generally want to be with groups they have something in common with (language, ethnicity, culture, etc). So far as I know things like ethnicity, religion, etc. were very important in America back than and mixing was frowned upon.

[Marc Pasquin]

Originally Posted by Incognito

With a POD after the American Revolution, is there any way for U.S.A. to become a country of ethnic-based states (e.g.: a majority-Irish state, a majority-Chinese state, a majority-German state, etc. where much of the Irish/Chinese/German culture and customs are preserved and Irish/Chinese/German language is the official state language)? Kind of how Soviet Union was made up of ethnic-based Republics? How would American policies and migration to the USA during the frontier period need to change in order to achieve this?

I think increased states and dimished federal prerogatives would be needed. I don't think you would get states that are *designed* to be ethnicaly based but you could get a situation where the majority manage to influence certain attributes. From what I read, until the 1st world war, you had government sponsored school that taught in languages other then english so you might have states that have an administration done in another language. Customs though are a bit trickier and would need to be restrained to certain aspect, they would need to stay within constitutional rights.

Some states however would probably be melting pots no matter what simply due to diverse immigration pattern. I'm thinking mainly those created in the late 19th century.

[CaliBoy1990]

Originally Posted by Incognito

With a POD after the American Revolution, is there any way for U.S.A. to become a country of ethnic-based states (e.g.: a majority-Irish state, a majority-Chinese state, a majority-German state, etc. where much of the Irish/Chinese/German culture and customs are preserved and Irish/Chinese/German language is the official state language)? Kind of how Soviet Union was made up of ethnic-based Republics? How would American policies and migration to the USA during the frontier period need to change in order to achieve this?

The only plausible scenario I can think of, that even comes somewhat close to achieving this, would be in Jello Biafra's rather unique TL, "Red Dawn", and its predecessor. Other than that.....nothing.

[Arcvalons]

Well it's happened though in a lesser scale, within states like California.

[CaliBoy1990]

Originally Posted by Arcvalons

Well it's happened though in a lesser scale, within states like California.

I can recall that something like this also happened to a small extent in For Want of a Nail's Mexico, though I can't recall all of the specifics.

[Saepe Fidelis]

It could be done around confession: Pennsylvania was founded for Methodists and Maryland for Catholics and of course Utah as a Mormon state. Perhaps enlarge that; maybe even an Amish state.

[Daztur]

Like this well bigger blocks? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_settlement

[Incognito]

Originally Posted by Daztur

Like this well bigger blocks? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_settlement

Yes, something like that.

Though does it does not have to be planned? My initial thoughts on the matter was that "people from nation X move in large numbers to area Y in U.S.A. during the settler period. Eventually the people from nation X make up the main linguistic and ethnic group in area Y. Area Y becomes a state where people retain their ancestral culture and language." (English would still be the primary language of US, but state Y would have language X as official 2nd language of the state).

By the way, is there any way to turn some of the bigger Indian Reserves into Indian-dominated states?

[Snake Featherston]

There's Hawaii as a state which has one of the largest minority populations of any state. And if slavery had lasted another decade in all probability some Deep South states would have had more slaves than free people in them. US political culture with its "White America" policy wasn't exactly keen on the wrong kind of *white* people immigrating earlier on, while post-1900 that mentality lasted for a very long time indeed.

[Socrates]

I think the best chance for this is to get Native American tribal lands accepted as states. Then you can maybe get an immigrant group that has settled in a Western territory (perhaps the Irish?) trying to do the same thing: "If you'll do it for the Indians, why not for us?"

[Incognito]

Originally Posted by Socrates

I think the best chance for this is to get Native American tribal lands accepted as states. Then you can maybe get an immigrant group that has settled in a Western territory (perhaps the Irish?) trying to do the same thing: "If you'll do it for the Indians, why not for us?"

Sounds good. Any ideas for PODs?

[Marc Pasquin]

Originally Posted by Incognito

Sounds good. Any ideas for PODs?

reward for alliance against the french/british ?

[Snake Featherston]

Originally Posted by Socrates

I think the best chance for this is to get Native American tribal lands accepted as states. Then you can maybe get an immigrant group that has settled in a Western territory (perhaps the Irish?) trying to do the same thing: "If you'll do it for the Indians, why not for us?"

Well, in that case you've pretty much got an ASB scenario here.