Please forgive me if this has been discussed before, but I'm of the opinion that the reason people start new threads on old topics is because it's pretty much painful trawling through pages and pages of discussion to find the talking points one is actually interested in.
So, putting aside the likelihood of a Confederate victory (I'm well aware there's a slim chance of it actually happening), my question is regarding the reabsorption of the South by the North. Let's assume the CSA achieves victory by 1865, and then by 1870-ish it begins to fall apart. If the CSA has its own civil war, how likely is it that the USA will move in to "restore order" and, in essence, reannex the collapsing union?
Or, what if it occurred much later, once again over the issue of slavery? States Rights? Texan Nationalism?
The question is basically - is there a chance we can end up with a handful of independent nations in the American South, or is it inevitable that the USA will wind up whole again?