Alright, got a new challenge for y'all. With a POD no earlier than 1776, produce an independent nation in the American South that, as of the present, is on good terms with whatever nation exists in the North. Also, no simply Balkanizing the entire United States, although the US doesn't have to extend to its OTL boundaries. Also no turning both countries into present-day racist dystopias.
A few thoughts:
1. What internal dynamics could bring a victorious CSA to abolish slavery on its own?
2. Perhaps we get a Communist revolution, creating the Confederated Socialist Republics, which eventually abandons communism.
3. What about an earlier North/South split? Maybe the Northern delegates are less compromising on slavery, resulting in the Southerners walking out and forming a CSA-analogue in 1792.
4. Finally, if we can somehow get an early abolition of slavery, might a Civil War break out over another issue? We've all heard claims that "the Civil War was about states' rights". What if we got a situation where it actually was? Or is slavery the only issue that could actually produce secessionism?