POD: Lee becomes Military-Governor of the CSA, an entity under President Davis and close to modern-monarch of the U. K., except with military power as Commander-in-Chief.
Lee manages to rally enough Southerners into joining the army a few months before the Battle of Gettysburg so that the 45,000 conscripts inspired by him to join remain behind with 10,000 troops training them while on border guarding duty. Lee takes an extra 35,000 troops with him, so he easily wins the Battle of Gettysburg, losing only 17,341 troops to the Union's 49,289. With the Union's army in full retreat, Lee captured another 12,000 soldiers and killed the remaining 18,000 who didn't desert. He immediately sends for reinforcements and is promised the 55,000 troops on border patrol... On the southern side of Washington D. C. After he captures D. C., he manages to take 38 Senators and President Lincoln prisoner, along with the Speaker of the House, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State. The remainder of the Cabinet is caught in a "deserting unit". The President and a majority of the Senators, 33 to be precise, recognize the independence of the Confederate States of America and are forced to pay some $105,000,000.00(equivalent to some eighty billion dollars now) to pay the damages. The Treasurer, once released, raised the $15,000,000 necessary to release the prisoners. However, he declared himself de facto president meanwhile and renounced the Treaty of Richmond(where it had been signed). His refusal to recognize the treaty resulted in General Ulysses S. Grant arresting him and declaring himself Military Governor. He proceeded to send the money with a personal apology to Lee and Lincoln for the Treasurer's conduct. The Last War of the Union, though agreed to on July 4, 1863, came to its official end on January 6, 1864, Epiphany.
Lincoln agreed to the Treaty and recognized Grant, but advised him to return to democracy, stating "The Confederates have, despite their horrid belief in slavery, not left [democracy] all together. Please... consider my advice to you, not as commander-in-chief to his head general, but... as advice from a sincere friend to a noble friend... Sincerely, Your Friend Abraham Lincoln"
Grant eventually re-established the Presidency with a maximum of two six-year terms. However, Lee and Davis were in a political struggle in January of 1864 for political control. Davis, eventually, was overthrown by the Vice President, the Army, and Lee. Eventually, the following Constitution(simplified) was written):
I. The Prime Minister[former Vice President] shall be elected by all white males over the age of twenty-one.
A. His terms shall be: the first one preceded by a different person, five years, and a terms following his own three years.
B. He shall be representative of the people and nominate four men from each state to be in the Senate.
C. He, with a majority in the Senate, may overrule a veto.
I. The Military Governor shall be one of eight nominated by the Prime Minister and elected by the Military Cabinet.
A. He may design the laws.
B. He is the representative and head of the Military.
C. He may serve any number of ten-year terms.
C. If formerly head General, he must resign that position and any in the Cabinet.
I. The Senate shall be nominated by the Prime Minister and chosen by the Military Governor.
A. It shall pass laws.
B. It is the representative of the people.
C. It may serve up to four five-year terms.
I. The Military Cabinet is made up of the dozen highest ranking generals.
A. It shall elect the Military Governor and obey his orders.
B. It shall control the military under the Governor.
C. Any may serve for as long as they remain in the dozen highest ranking generals.
Afterwards, the new Prime Minister, Alexander Stephens, decreed that the number of people in the Senate would be reduced to five. The fellow Confederacy Beginning Brothers, Judah P. Benjamin, Stephen Mallory, Christopher Memminger, LeRoy Pope Walker, John H. Reagan, and Robert Tombs were all nominated, but Walker was cast out by Lee for his pro-slavery stance. Eventually, slavery was reduced to East of the Mississippi in the Lee-Tombs Compromise of 1868. Everybody got re-elected except Christopher Memminger in the hotly-contested 1875 races. Memminger lost to the pro-slavery forces, who managed 11 of the 15 candidates. Walker was chosen by Lee, hoping he would be kinder to the anti-slavery Brothers, but soon Walker became the backbone of pro-slavery support in the Confederacy. It was not until 1880 that Walker was pushed out of office by Lee. Ambrose Hill was elected in his place, serving as both a member of the Military Cabinet and Senate. Lee abolished slavery in Richmond in 1882. Soon, Virginia agreed to entirely abolish slavery. Eventually, the Carolinas agreed to abolish it in 1883. By 1885, slavery was only allowed in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Tenessee. Lee resigned in 1887, and Ambrose Hill took control as a member of the Cabinet, Senate, and the Military Governor. He managed to get slavery abolished in Tennessee in 1888, the year Robert E. Lee became a Great Beginning Brother and Prime Minister. Although his term only lasted until 1892, he made many changes and got slavery abolished in Florida while establishing an alliance with the U. K. At the age of 85, he was found dying in the Ministeral Chair. The government was convened around him, and as he passed his dying words were "End slavery, and the Confederacy, under God, forever!" Former President Ulyses S. Grant had been coming to visit Lee, and entered the room, now elderly, with a walking stick. On hearing these words, he is said to have said "God bless this man forever! I bless his soul." Then, Grant himself reached out and embraced his former opponent. Then, he too fell to the ground and died, having a sudden heart attack.
To this day, the Beginning Brothers have only nominated four people to the title of Great Brother, and only three, Grant, Lee, and one President Theodore Johnson, who ended the Great Divide before his death in 1995, were accepted. So is the history of the prologue to the well-known Great Divide.
Edit: Oh wow, just realized this isn't a Challenge. Sorry, you can ignore the rest.