Dixieland: The Country of Tomorrow, Everyday (yet another Confederate TL)

The short-sighted people in charge hedged all their bets on their plantation economy surviving forever. Hopefully, their constitution can be reformed before the Confederacy qualifies as a third world country.
 
Chapter 4 - United States of America, 1868 Elections
United States of America, 1868 Elections
Throughout the war, Abraham Lincoln remained the most popular politician in America. Although Lincoln had won the popular vote convincingly in 1864, the electoral college boiled down to a 120-120 tie (including Lincoln’s 7 electoral votes from Louisiana).[1] Lincoln partisans insisted that he won the popular vote, while McClellan partisans insisted that Louisiana’s electoral votes shouldn’t be counted. To avoid internal strife during a time of war, Lincoln struck a gentleman’s agreement with McClellan, agreeing to concede the race on the condition that McClellan prosecute the war as aggressively as Lincoln did. However, the Lincoln-McClellan pact did not survive McClellan’s assassination. What did survive was Lincoln’s personal reputation as a politician who placed national interest and the Union above his own political career.

Friends described Lincoln as a deeply demoralized man, regretful over his inability to crush the Confederacy and preserve the Monroe Doctrine in Mexico. However, he was wildly beloved among his party and a draft Lincoln movement took a life of its own. After deep personal deliberation, Lincoln took up the mantle and ran again for President in 1868.

President Pendleton, who had signed the peace agreement on behalf of an exhausted nation was not widely despised, as a significant minority of Americans favored peace. However, he was remarkably divisive and although renominated by his own party after defeating a furious primary challenge by McClellan supporters, failed to campaign effectively against the beloved Lincoln. The Lincoln/Kelley ticket won a 216-21 electoral vote landslide, losing only Pendleton’s native Ohio.[2]

Lincoln was not particularly a radical abolitionist. As President, he was more concerned with preserving the Union than abolishing all slavery everywhere. His main concern before the war was simply stopping the spread of slavery. However, his interaction with freedmen after the Emancipation Proclamation hardened his attitudes against slavery.

In his inaugural address at Washington[3], Lincoln announced his “Good Neighbor” policy. Hoping to quell almost apocalyptic fears in the Confederate States, Lincoln publicly committed to peace and upholding the territorial settlement of the Treaty of Paris. However, he still terrified Southern politicians by announcing a policy of “brotherhood” towards anti-slavery forces in the Confederacy and committing to harboring escaped slaves. Furthermore, he stressed that he would not tolerate any spread of slavery and immediately worked to broker close relations with “free neighbors”, chiefly Imperial Mexico.[4]
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[1] OTL, Tennessee and Louisiana voted, but Congress disregarded their votes because they weren’t full elections. ITL, Tennessee isn’t under Union control yet, but Louisiana delivers 7 electoral votes to Lincoln. Without Louisiana, McClellan wins 120-113. With Louisiana, the two tie at 120-120. Lincoln could have tried to get Congress to recognize Louisiana’s votes and then choose him as President in the House of Representatives, but he feels that would jeopardize American unity, and concedes instead.
[2] Lincoln isn’t fighting a war of unity anymore, so he doesn’t need a “team of rivals.” He just opts for a friend and a political ally Senator William Kelley of Pennsylvania.
[3] The US capital remains at Washington, moving it would be a show of weakness. In contrast, the CS capital is at Montgomery, because Richmond was damaged in the world and they’re more scared of the US than vice versa.
[4] Lincoln notably wants nothing to do with Spain, as slavery was still legal in Cuba.

Note: Does anyone have any tips on how to build electoral maps?
 
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Here’s hoping that Emperor Max in Mexico gets to hold onto power in this timeline. He actually was a pretty good ruler in his own right. Maybe having at least tacit American recognition would help stabilize his government.
 
Here’s hoping that Emperor Max in Mexico gets to hold onto power in this timeline. He actually was a pretty good ruler in his own right. Maybe having at least tacit American recognition would help stabilize his government.

I think Lincoln goes even further - outright supporting Max because he fears any destabilization of Mexico might give the CSA an avenue to expand. He deplores the Monroe doctrine falling apart, but it's already been busted, so he might as well make the most of it.

I thought the Confederate capital was in Montgomery?

Oops! My mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed.
 
I think Lincoln goes even further - outright supporting Max because he fears any destabilization of Mexico might give the CSA an avenue to expand. He deplores the Monroe doctrine falling apart, but it's already been busted, so he might as well make the most of it.

Which means that while the Confederacy's hopes aren't necessarily bright at the moment Mexico's in a better position than in OTL. Anything to avoid the instability that Mexico would later experience. Hopefully having America's support alongside the French's support would stabilize Max enough for him to make a mark on Mexican society.
 
Chapter 4.5 - USA Election Wikiboxes
Yay, wikiboxes!

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I can see some serious incidents because of the slavery situation. With the USA giving sanctuary to escaped slaves, there will be a CSA crackdown on the Underground Railroad as well as any abolitionists in the "pro-union" areas, and I expect some US citizens to be caught up in slave smuggling n the CS side of the border. OTOH there will undoubtedly be slave catchers/bounty hunters from the CSA going across the border to try and recover escaped slaves, with inevitable clashes with US military/police. Also the possibility of US blacks being kidnapped and sold south either through mistaken identity or the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when bounty hunters see the opportunity for additional profit. IMHO as long as there is slavery the border will require significant security especially on the CSA side, which will be a huge financial and manpower drain.
 
Well, perhaps this US will avoid the crap that was forced upon it mainly by Southern politicians going forward.

I hope Lincoln focus I internal improved and development, esp. In the western territories.
 
Chapter 5 - The Bragg Administration: Part One (1868-1871)
The Bragg Administration: Part One (1868-1871)

President Bragg remains controversial to this day. He came into office with few to no political allies. Even his Vice President, John Reagan, was only picked because Bragg appreciated his role in having troops transferred from the Army of Northern Virginia to relieve Vicksburg and then to aid him at Chickamauga and Chattanooga.[1] Many issues plagued his administration.

First was anger in Virginia. Many Virginia politicians were angry at the Confederate government for giving up their claims on West Virginia. However, even they knew there was no way the Confederate government could reclaim that territory. Instead, they used it as a wedge issue to demand compensation from the Confederate government. However, the Confederate government had no funds to spare. Bragg’s undiplomatic manner did not endear Virginians (who didn’t vote for him anyways).

Second was the occasional flight of slaves to the North. The Lincoln administration apprehended slave catchers who tried to follow escaped slaves past the border. Bragg’s idea to kill two birds with one stones was to task underemployed Confederate veterans at the border, allowing slave owners to pay them to have custody of their slaves returned. This solution was wildly unpopular with everyone. The veterans were very poorly compensated and thus often demanded exorbitant prices from the slaveholders. Some hoping to make a quick buck crossed the Union border, which often ended up in them being arrested, as the Treaty of Paris specifically prohibited such border crossings. Nathan Bedford Forrest planned on getting back into the slave-catching game, but after the Treaty of Paris, decided to find new profits by taking his talents and leaving the country completely.[2]

Third was the terrible economy. King Cotton was far less impressive than Confederate leaders thought. European nations showed little nation in Southron cotton, both because of alternative sources (Egypt, India, etc.) and moral distaste for slavery. The primary export market for cotton...was the United States of America, which tended to apply high tariffs on all exports. Ironically, the Constitution made it very difficult for the CSA to apply countervailing tariffs on American imports. CSA exports tended to be undervalued and imports largely overvalued, creating a severe balance of payments problem and deflationary problems. Persistent Confederate deflation meant minimal economic growth, but ironically spared the CSA most of the fallout from the Panic of 1872. Southron politicians actually took this as a sign of the “inherent superiority” of their economic system, further dooming any reform efforts that could spur any major industrialization.

Bragg was an even more divisive president than Davis and the party system quickly polarized in reaction during the CSA’s first political crisis. In 1870, the number one state budget expenditure was prosthetics for soldiers. However, with limited revenues, state governments became quite stingy. When President Bragg learned of the shoddy treatment of veterans, he exploded in anger, demanding Congress institute a tariff to ensure better treatment of veterans. In an election year, Bragg cobbled a narrow coalition in favor of such a tariff better funding the army and veteran's support. However, the Confederate Supreme Court (appointed largely by Davis in 1867), narrowly decided 5-4 that parts of the tariff was unconstitutional.

In Mississippi v. Bragg, the Court noted how the Constitution only allows tariffs to “pay the debts, provide for the common defense, and carry on the Government of the Confederate States.” “Common defense” thus did not include government spending on individuals discharged from service (injured veterans), which was the “proper responsibility of state governments.”

In fury, President Bragg tried to ram a court-packing scheme through Congress - and when that failed, he declared that he had the right to interpret the Constitution in the capacity of his office - a theory that the executive branch should follow the executive branch’s best constitutional interpretation.[3] He ordered the tariffs collected, regardless. The House, denouncing “Tyrant Bragg”, narrowly impeached him, though no Senate hearing was held. In the Confederacy’s first postwar midterm elections waged on this issue, pro-Bragg politicians won a convincing landslide.

In a remarkable response after his midterm victory, Bragg then immediately lost much of his popularity by trying to threaten angry state politicians into submission, by signing the Lincoln Protocol to the Treaty of Paris, where the USA agreed that it would not recognize any state seceding from the CSA.[4] Bragg assumed he’d be hailed as a “conqueror of Lincoln” - the Southron press lambasted him instead as “Lincoln’s tyrant stooge.” One angry actor attempted to assassinate Braxton Bragg during a theater event, but missed his shot.
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[1] OTL, the Confederate cabinet did not listen to Reagan.
[2] Start the guessing game?
[3] This is a very extreme interpretation of the theory of "departmentalism."
[4] Lincoln assumes that if the CSA were to ever abolish slavery, several states would secede in hopes of preserving slavery. He concludes ensuring Confederate territorial integrity would actually hasten the end of the slavery. “Killing slavery with kindness.”
 
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And that's another example of how the Confederate Constitution was tailor-made for the second it was written rather than being left with wiggle room for the future. Here's hoping that sooner or later the situation will reach a point where they can have a genuine constitutional convention and to get a constitution that actually works.
 
Did you know that state goverments can impeach any federal officals in their state as long as 2/3rds of the state legislature vote for impeachment.

So the States can get rid of those meddlesome tariff collectors legally under the highest law of the land.
 
Did you know that state goverments can impeach any federal officals in their state as long as 2/3rds of the state legislature vote for impeachment.

So the States can get rid of those meddlesome tariff collectors legally under the highest law of the land.

The more I hear about the Confederate Constitution the more I realize that it was a poorly thought-out abomination that was mercifully euthanized after losing the civil war. Who cares about preventing potential future poverty when it means leaving my comfort zone today?
 
Chapter 6 - The Origins of Canadian Nationhood
The Origins of Canadian Nationhood

...President McClellan, as a War Democrat, fought primarily with Republicans not over the conduct of the war (which he pursued relentlessly), but rather over tariffs. He outraged Republicans when he refused to abrogate the Elgin-Marcy Treaty, ensuring free trade between the United States and British North America. Furthermore, in a nod to his Catholic voting base, McClellan failed to crack down on Irish-American raids into Canada (the Fenian raids).[1]

At the London Conference of 1866, advocates for Confederation were sorely disappointed by the unexpected failure of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to ratify union, both of cited discontent with Canada’s With Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland also opposing union, the Atlantic colonies seemed opposed to Confederation.

The rampant Fenian raids however, had inflamed opinion in the Province of Canada[2], especially Protestant opinion. John MacDonald, undeterred, still pushed through with Canadian Confederation, with the Province of Canada going it alone. In 1867, Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the British North America Act, 1867, transforming the Province of Canada into the Dominion of Canada. For a nation that now spans 17 time zones, its origins were surprisingly humble.[3] However, the Manitoba war would soon test the new nation...
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[1] With no breakdown in trade with the USA and no American purchase of Alaska, a wrench gets thrown into Canadian Confederation. However, stronger Fenian raids ensures that some form of Confederation still happens.
[2] The Province of Canada includes both OTL Quebec and Ontario.
[3] This probably sounds way more badass than it actually will be.
 
Succinct and very well written! I especially liked this part:

As a thought experiment, imagine a community filled with green-eyed individuals. Presume that they aim to start their own empire, founded on the purity of those with green eyes. Presume they succeed, but at the cost of half of their lives. Now presume that collectively, they eventually later realize that caring about eye color is absolutely moronic. Would they still hang on together?

You’re got a knack for writing! Looking forward to seeing how the Americas develop, especially since it’s hinted that the civil war was the last military conflict between Nirth and South.
 
Chapter 7 - The Birth of Hohenzollern Spain
Sorry for the remarkably long wait. Honestly, don't have a good reason to justify it, I was just a little distracted by my other TL.

The Birth of Hohenzollern Spain

...Napoleon III feared that a Hohenzollern King in Spain would help the Prussians encircle France with friendly regimes. However, he was also aware that his reputation was absolutely shot in the world, with the acquisition of Luxembourg wildly condemned in even the neutral British press. When the Provisional Government offered the Spanish Crown of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Napoleon III immediately disregarded his more nationalist advisors and accepted the succession. Although King Leopoldo I of Spain was in theory the most powerful man in Spain, in practice, he promised to both Napoleon III and Juan Prim that he would interfere as little as possible in affairs of state, especially foreign affairs. In practice, Prime Minister Juan Prim ran the country, and his political power expanded after surviving an assassination attempt on both him and King Leopoldo. Prim was shot, but survived. However, King Leopoldo did not.[1] The assassination outraged all elements of Spanish society, as both hardcore Republicans and Carlists deplored regicide. The assassination led to the immediate ascension of the six-year old Guillermo I. Ruling on his behalf was his mother, the Infanta Antónia of Portugal.

The new regime was immediately confronted with the Cuban crisis. When Carlos Manuel de Céspedes declared in 1868 the end of slavery and declaration of an independent Cuban Republic, the Spanish regime shuddered. However, the victory of the Confederate insurrection would actually help Spain, not the rebels. The Confederacy never actually directly interfered in Cuban affairs as feared (due to Confederate fears of undermining slavery), although hordes of now totally unemployed Confederate veterans offered their services to the Spanish government. Interestingly, one former Confederate general, Thomas Jordan, offered his services free-of-charge to the Cuban rebels. But the Confederate government, fearing that his support for Cuban liberation would fuel opposition to slavery, had him arrested and placed under house arrest. [2] The Spanish government sought to enlist the aid of General Forrest, but he had already been picked up by a stranger employer. Instead, they hired Confederate soldier Champ Ferguson, who had become a pariah in postwar Confederate politics for his various civilian massacres, but still knew a great deal about guerrilla warfare.[3] The easy destruction of the the Cuban rebels by 1872 brought great prestige to Arsenio Martínez Campos, who had earlier faced criticism he was treating the rebels "too lightly."[4] Just as promised, he actually offered offered Céspedes and his supporters amnesty, which tanked his reputation in Spain but helped keep the peace in Cuba. Céspedes agreed to the amnesty even though Campos, at the insistence of Confederate diplomats and advisors, declined to include an abolishment of slavery in the terms of the peace agreement.[5] Campos, who was antislavery, figured there were alternate methods to end Cuban slavery.

Triumph in Cuba helped Spain deal with its other great crisis of the era, the Carlist uprisings. The Carlists had screamed bloody murder about a "foreign monarch" being established in Madrid. However, the assassination of Leopoldo I weakened the Carlist movement as many bystanders blamed the Carlists (historians are unsure if they were so responsible). Furthermore, the Infanta Antónia was Portuguese, which was much less foreign than her late husband. With the keen understanding of a Portuguese noble, she also vetoed attempts by the liberal government to dismantle local autonomy in Navarre and Catalonia.[6] Finally, the victory in Cuba proved the death knell to the Carlist movement. When Don Carlos proclaimed a rising, his forces were easily dispersed and he was captured immediately, agreeing to relinquish his claim in exchange for a pension and amnesty.

These dual triumphs helped save the Spanish treasury, which was faltering in the aftermath of the Panic of 1872. Where the state was near-bankrupt in 1872[7], victories in Cuba and at home restored investor confidence in Spain. The government was quickly able to refinance its loans and although the state was still deeply in debt to French, North German, British, and especially American investors (who benefited from the most aggressive national monetary policy in the industrializing world), the finances of Spain became at least stable. Although Spain looked like a doomed basket-case in 1868, by 1873, the future of the nation seemed at least plausibly bright.
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[1] OTL, he was assassinated in 1870. IITL, the assassins try to hit both Prim and his monarch, and only get Leopoldo I.
[2] OTL, Thomas Jordan helped train the Cuban rebels.
[3] OTL, Ferguson was hanged for war crimes, although he probably didn't commit everything he was alleged to do.
[4] OTL, the war lasted until 1878 and Campos was forced to step down by 1872. Here, Confederate support to Spain, largely motivated by proslavery, ends the war faster.
[5] The OTL Pact of Zanjon promised an end to slavery by 1888. No such promise was made IITL.
[6] OTL, this helped motivated many people who supported the Carlists.
[7] As OTL.
 
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