With a POD of roughly 1960, how would the drastic decline of the Midwest be averted and the Southeast sun belt boom moderated. Here's my go at it.
In no particular order:
BIG CHANGES
1. Kennedy Lives in '63, Passes The Torch To Humphrey: Assuming Kennedy doesn't go whole hog in Southeast Asia, the worst of the traumatic events of '68 are avoided. I've always thought that the Vietnam War played the role of both the match and accelerant. You still end up with the difficult times around the Civil Rights Movement, but that dings the South harder than the Midwest.
2. The Southeast Takes Another Decade To Get From Lester Maddox to Jimmy Carter: Kennedy doesn't drive the Civil Rights movement as hard and fast as LBJ. Extremely tense race relations become a drag on economic growth and development in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Florida, and North Carolina.
MIDSIZE CHANGES
3. Humphrey Succeeds In Passing National Healthcare in '69: This produces less of a long term drag on growth for the giant manufacturing concerns throughout the Midwest.
4. Earlier Environmentalism: Lets say Lake Michigan catches on fire in '64 in Chicago, and with Kennedy rather than LBJ in charge, pollution is taken much more seriously. Leads to modestly increased fuel standards for cars, keeps auto manufacturing in Detroit and St. Louis within eyesight of Japan.
SMALLER CHANGES
5. RICO 20 Years Early: Breaks the back of the mob families in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh.
6. Best Federal Goodies End Up In The Midwest: NASA is headquartered in Cleveland, the Centers for Disease Control ends up in St. Louis, the National Institute of Health is in Detroit.
7. McDonnell Douglas Avoids DC-10 Problems: It sells twice as well as it does in OTL, and the increased resources produce an MD-11 twin that sells slightly better than the 777. ITTL, McDonnell Douglas is slightly bigger than Boeing.
8. Coleman Young Dies In Freak Auto Accident in 1968: Young was a one man wrecking machine for the City of Detroit. Avoiding him is a giant leap forward for the Motor City.
In no particular order:
BIG CHANGES
1. Kennedy Lives in '63, Passes The Torch To Humphrey: Assuming Kennedy doesn't go whole hog in Southeast Asia, the worst of the traumatic events of '68 are avoided. I've always thought that the Vietnam War played the role of both the match and accelerant. You still end up with the difficult times around the Civil Rights Movement, but that dings the South harder than the Midwest.
2. The Southeast Takes Another Decade To Get From Lester Maddox to Jimmy Carter: Kennedy doesn't drive the Civil Rights movement as hard and fast as LBJ. Extremely tense race relations become a drag on economic growth and development in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Florida, and North Carolina.
MIDSIZE CHANGES
3. Humphrey Succeeds In Passing National Healthcare in '69: This produces less of a long term drag on growth for the giant manufacturing concerns throughout the Midwest.
4. Earlier Environmentalism: Lets say Lake Michigan catches on fire in '64 in Chicago, and with Kennedy rather than LBJ in charge, pollution is taken much more seriously. Leads to modestly increased fuel standards for cars, keeps auto manufacturing in Detroit and St. Louis within eyesight of Japan.
SMALLER CHANGES
5. RICO 20 Years Early: Breaks the back of the mob families in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh.
6. Best Federal Goodies End Up In The Midwest: NASA is headquartered in Cleveland, the Centers for Disease Control ends up in St. Louis, the National Institute of Health is in Detroit.
7. McDonnell Douglas Avoids DC-10 Problems: It sells twice as well as it does in OTL, and the increased resources produce an MD-11 twin that sells slightly better than the 777. ITTL, McDonnell Douglas is slightly bigger than Boeing.
8. Coleman Young Dies In Freak Auto Accident in 1968: Young was a one man wrecking machine for the City of Detroit. Avoiding him is a giant leap forward for the Motor City.