AHC: An East vs. West American Civil War

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to take any post-1776 POD and create a scenario where the ACW is not between North and South, but East and West.

What issues could trigger secessionist fervor in the western states (I'm thinking anything west of the original states + Florida)? How would the war itself go? Would the West have a better chance (my rough guess is yes, although I don't know how much of OTL's "Northern" industry was in the Great Lakes)? What do you, the readers at home, think?
 
The Burr Conspiracy might be doable, but at that point, how many people actually lived in the west? It doesn't seem like it would be a very long war.
 
The Burr Conspiracy might be doable, but at that point, how many people actually lived in the west? It doesn't seem like it would be a very long war.

The question is, would the east fight? No less an authority then Thomas Jefferson thought at one point that the US was destined to split along the Appalachians. If Burr can get ahold of New Orleans and St. Louis, DC might throw in the towel.

Burr's plans (which admittly shifted very often) involved invading New Spain from New Orleans with the help of expansionists (including Andrew Jackson). Burr and his chief co-conspirator James Wilkenson (head of the army and spy for Spain) hoped that Jefferson would attempt to put down the invasion (which would supposedly have support from the westerners) and give Burr a reason to declare independence. He would then rule over the Louisiana purchase and Mexico (or at least modern day Texas). Far fetched? Sure. Impossible? No.
 
The question is, would the east fight? No less an authority then Thomas Jefferson thought at one point that the US was destined to split along the Appalachians. If Burr can get ahold of New Orleans and St. Louis, DC might throw in the towel.

Burr's plans (which admittly shifted very often) involved invading New Spain from New Orleans with the help of expansionists (including Andrew Jackson). Burr and his chief co-conspirator James Wilkenson (head of the army and spy for Spain) hoped that Jefferson would attempt to put down the invasion (which would supposedly have support from the westerners) and give Burr a reason to declare independence. He would then rule over the Louisiana purchase and Mexico (or at least modern day Texas). Far fetched? Sure. Impossible? No.

Fair enough! Thanks for the elaboration.

I wonder what the Burr States of America would have looked like.
 
Fair enough! Thanks for the elaboration.

I wonder what the Burr States of America would have looked like.

Probably he'd build up an upper class of white Americans, Creoles from Mexico and French in New Orleans. I don't see Slavery going bye-bye soon. I'd imagine he'd try to ally himself with Britain.
 
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