AHC: Virginiawank

Wank Virginia as much as possible. This needs to be after the American Revolutionary War, and Virginia should stay a part of the US. How dominant/more dominant can it become over the other states? How long can it keep this up?

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS
 
You can keep easily West Virginia as part of Virginia just with different Civil War/not the war. Would it be possible keep Kentucky as part of Virginia. But I don't see being possible make Virginia any bigger.
 
If you avoid the US constitution, you could keep the USA as a fairly decentralised model, whether each state has pseudo-armies. Virginia could be aggressive over Western claims. Not only could Kentucky be kept, but Virginians were the main settlers in the Ohio country, so you could probably have them grab a big chunk of that.
 
If you want to wank Virginia's political power, maybe keep the Virginia dynasty alive longer. Were there any notable Virginians who could have run in 1824?
 
I would imagine that having better representation for Trans-Allegheny Virginia in the state government would help a bit. As far as Kentucky is concerned, wasn't part of the reason it formed due to a border dispute with Pennsylvania?
 
If you want to wank Virginia's relative power, keep the US east of the Mississippi somehow and Virginia's population should be far larger, as Virginians were some of the most prolific colonists of the Midwest and beyond. In theory, this should keep Virginia competitive with other large states such as Pennsylvania and New York without introducing even larger states like Texas and California into the union.
 
If the USA doesn't federalize post-revolution, you could not only keep all the claims mentioned (West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley claims) with the methods mentioned (better representation for trans-Appalachians, Virginian colonists moving westward and staying in a Greater Virginia), but this could possibly apply to Maryland as well in becoming part of said Greater Virginia. It wouldn't enjoy being part of Virginia 100%... but its choices are that, a Mid-Atlantic Union (which would tilt to abolitionism and industry in a time when Maryland is still heavily plantation slavery-dependent) or going alone (which with its small size is not very viable in the long run).

Think of it: OTL Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and the lowermost third of Ohio, southern Indiana, and Illinois's Little Egypt. There would be sectional tensions between the Tidewater West Country English descendants and their plantation slavery economics, and the North England/Scotch-Irish settlers in the Appalachians and beyond with their small freeholds, but overall it could be managed with proper representation and military power.
 
Virginia claimed the entire Northwest Territory. While I doubt they could have held onto it, they could have expanded across the whole of the Midwest, especially if they can threaten any states that try to head west with expulsion (so they need political dominance too).

Virginiasota would be a massive power with a potential population of 65 million (possibly more if they can kick Pennyslvania out of Pittsburgh). They might be willing to drop down to 63 mn or so (giving up Cleveland to CT in exchange for loyalty and a New English pupper perhaps).
 
Virginia claimed the entire Northwest Territory. While I doubt they could have held onto it, they could have expanded across the whole of the Midwest, especially if they can threaten any states that try to head west with expulsion (so they need political dominance too).

Virginiasota would be a massive power with a potential population of 65 million (possibly more if they can kick Pennyslvania out of Pittsburgh). They might be willing to drop down to 63 mn or so (giving up Cleveland to CT in exchange for loyalty and a New English pupper perhaps).

I wonder if Virginia would need to have an internal federalism to keep these people from revolting.
 
I have a similar thought to Umbric Man. I call it the Commonwealth of Great Virginia.

Have the established eastern colonist act charitably and respectfully towards the newer western colonist. If they could keep slavery in Virginia low that would help. Treating the indentured servants better would also be a good thing. This could be due to a successful Roanoke colony theoretically setting the stage for an prosperous yeoman agrarian culture or a manorial culture instead of a slavelord culture the Cavalier's adopted.

In this timeline Great Virginia encompasses the current two Virginian states, but also North Carolina north of the 1609 Cape Fear line. Territorially, Great Virginia would claim the west bank of the Susquehanna River north to the 41st Parallel; then west to the Beaver River, the Ohio River, and finally the Mississippi River. For it to last, the Commonwealth of Great Virginia will need to federalize, and the subsequent synthetic Anglo-Scotch culture would have to deal with the military realities posed by the French and various American tribes.

This would probably shield Pennsylvania from a lot of fighting and internal grief. I think Delaware would take over the entire Delmarva Peninsula in this timeline.
 
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