alternatehistory.com

There are those posters who argue that the US as a Pacific power was inevitable or US expansion to the Pacific was an inexorable force after a certain point thanks to relative birth rates, Manifest Destiny, etc. Where various posters consider that point to be differs a lot: the Northwest Territories, the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Territory, the Mexican-American War, the admissions of Texas, the Utah Territory, then California, the Alaskan Purchase, the annexation of Hawaii, and the Spanish-American War.

I would like the USA to be a continental power in North America, while being as small a factor as possible in the Pacific. The earliest POD is the Louisiana Purchase, but the later, the better.

The US doesn't need to stay whole or continental top dog to achieve this, ie. a significant US containment as a result of 1812, secession of New England, or earlier secession of the south are all okay.

The other point of interest is what happens to Pacific geopolitics and Pacific history without the US. What happens to Hawaii, Alaska and the North American west coast? Who opens Japan? What happens to China without the US' open door policy? What happens to Korea? Who, if anyone, picks up Spain's Pacific colonies? Is Britain or an Asian power Pacific hegemon in the 20th century, or might France or Russia make a play for the Pacific?
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