An ATL of OTL, real events with non-real undercurrents

I'm considering, and have done some basic brainstorming and researching on, starting a strange sort of TL. Depending on which path I decide to follow, it would cover either the era of the US Civil War onward through, perhaps, the middle 1960's, or instead the events immediately preceding the Moroccan Crisis on to about the same time period as the other. All macro-events would be pretty much the same: the Union would win the Civil War, the Entente would win World War I; Lincoln would be assassinated, Germany would still be shackled by Versailles; Reconstruction would still be bungled for political reasons in the 1870's, Hitler would still rise to dominate an unstable Weimer Republic; et. al.

The difference would come in the causes for all these events. Specifically, I mean to weave a series of conspiracies and ATL political events into the fabric of this history. If I chose to start with the Civil War, I've begun sketching an idea that the assassination of Lincoln and the subsequent marginalization of Andrew Jackson (and thus, the office of the presidency itself) was a deliberate coup de tat by the US Congress in order to upset the previous balance of government power in the American Republic in their own favor. Thus, the rise of the modified 'American System' of protective tariffs and abuse of the National Banking system to run American industrialization into overdrive (making vast fortunes for people with close ties to Congress) was a purposeful conspiracy, rather than historical happenstance.

I haven't though much further or dug much more detail out, but putting more 'flavor' into American politics of the period would be interesting. For non-Americans, it bears pointing out that, since the early days of the republic, Congress was always sort of viewed as an elitist organization while the President was the representative of the People. Andrew Jackson sort of permanently upset the old balance with his grand-standing and abuse of both the legislative and judicial branches. IOTL, things settled down with the adoption of universal white male sufferage in 1855, but I envision this TL as a continuation of that power struggle.

My other choice, starting in the first decade of the 20th century, would still depend on the previous ATL events a background, but would mostly just be a shortcut to get towards events more interesting to the international audience quicker, as a Civil War start would concentrate heavily on internal US politics. Basically, it takes an 'international banking conspiracy' sort of spin on things where, for instance, the Rothschilds are direct servants of the British monarch in the same sense that the nobility were direct servants of the British monarch in the 18th century. The monarch (from behind the scenes) still has great control over the Empire and over British foreign policy (even more than IOTL), and exercises power through the Bank of England and a cabal of smaller financeers. During the 1st Moroccan Crisis, the British monarch questions its public financeers about the possibility of war with Germany and is told, in no uncertain terms, that a long-term or even anything longer than very short-term war is impossible and would bankrupt the Empire. The crisis is then solved diplomatically because of the impossibility of war.

Because of this, contacts are made with American financeers and, eventually, plans begin to form for a coup against the American government and the installation of central banking system so the Entente could tap into the vast wealth available in the American economy through a 'mobilization of credit'. JP Morgan and a few others are instrumental in engineering the Panic of 1907, but then Morgan steps in to 'save the economy', of course, 'just in time'. He uses this to appeal to Congress for the founding of a central bank as a 'lender of last resort', and uses the threat that he won't always be around to bail out failing banks and trust companies.

Attempts to do so are defeated twice in Congress. The bankers realize that Congress is a problem and they need an ally in a higher office if they hope to succeed.

Moving on to 1911 and 1912, the political process started by Teddy Roosevelt of increasing Presidential power is a threat to the old dominance of the Legislature over Federal policy. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, the cabal of European and American bankers find a dupe in Woodrow Wilson, an avowed Progressive and proponent of many centralizing measures. When the concept of a new central bank to replace the old National Banking system of Lincoln is presented to him (in a more cheery and pragmatic tone than the bankers actually intend, of course), he's in love and agrees to help them implement the measure if they help him get elected. They do, through ridiculously generous campaign contributions and various less legal methods.

In 1913, the Federal Reserve Act is passed and, finally, the American system of credit is ready to be mobilized to help finance a general European war against Germany. Now all they need is a casus belli, which is sought after and eventually found, in the form of a Serbian terrorist organization, the Black Hand. The conspirators are instrumental in the funding of the operation which leads to Archduke Ferdinand's death, and the start of WWI.

That's pretty much all the ideas I have so far. I have a general idea that even the conspirators can't predict the devestation of WWI and become desperate when the war stretches on for years with no visible progress, which eventually leads to them panicking and doing everything in their power to bring the United States fully into the war, but I haven't given it that much thought.

So, what do you guys think? Would you like to read it, were I to start in earnest? Which position do you think is better to start with? Even though the second POD would depend on the first as backstory, I've got it well enough worked out that it could be done without actually writing up a whole TL for the first.
 
It does sound like a book that if it were well-written I would enjoy reading.

My only issue is that it is not really Alternate History, is it? It's more of an "imagined secret history". Some of your readers might think that all this stuff you are suggesting really happened (like the book DA VINCI CODE).

Alternate History relies on things like the Butterfly Effect, that a little change will lead to big consequences. But you are keeping all the big consequences.

KEVP
 
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