A US Civil War prior to 1800

Is a US civil war possible prior to the end of the 1700's amongst the 13 founding colonies?

...And (of course) what would be the internal and global ramifications in terms of US socioeconomic development as well as its long term national identity?

Have fun! :D
 
Yes, there was an anti-slavery clause in the Deceleration of Independence but Jefferson took it out because the slave states wouldn't join the union.

Another way to do it is to have Jefferson push anti-slavery in the Constitution, the slave states don't want it for obvious reasons so they leave. Possibly this triggers the British coming back.
 
Well, a likely candidate for early secession would be New England and the fading Federalists. But that all happened post-1800, especially the Hartford Convention in response to the very unpopular war of 1812.
 
1)Virginia fails to give up its claims the the Northwest Territories. Pennsylvania goes to war with them and the other states choose sides.
2) The Whiskey Rebelion spreads.
 
I agree that war over western territory is most likely. I seem to recall that New York and New Hampshire _were_ at war over Vermont at some point.

Virginia and New York each claimed the largest amounts of overlapping land, but Connecticut seemed the most determined to keep its Western Reserve, holding on to it even after the Northwest Ordinance declared it part of the NW Territory.

Did VA or NY have any rabid land-hungry types who could help foment this war?
 
Doesn't the war of independence count as a civil war on most fronts already? Especially when you consider how many "Americans" fled to Canada after the war was over....
 
I doubt if a prolonged Civil War in a manner similar to OTL Civil War is much of a possibility. There may be a set of smaller state-versus-state conflicts, but the national identity had yet to be established and the idea of Union/nationalism was still in its infancy.

Benjamin
 
Yes, there was an anti-slavery clause in the Deceleration of Independence but Jefferson took it out because the slave states wouldn't join the union.

Another way to do it is to have Jefferson push anti-slavery in the Constitution, the slave states don't want it for obvious reasons so they leave. Possibly this triggers the British coming back.

I heard of that also,something like the Southern States wanting to keep slavery because their local economy and lively hoods were dependant on it.
 
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