Dark Heart of Dixie

There is not really enough detail to make it interesting. For example, why did Douglas win? Why did the South secede? Why did the North lose the war? Many people would also suggest that you are not "taking butterflies" seriously enough. For example, you have Cordell Hull as President in 1946. Many people subscribe to the belief that chaos theory (a butterflies wings in Brazil could cause a Tornado in Texas) mean that anyone born after your POD would not have been born. I actually do not necessarily subscribe to this version of chaos theory. I think a more valid version of this criticism is that you would not expect a Soviet Union to emerge (at least in the form it took in our timeline) in a world without a powerful United States. A strong argument exists, that the emergence of the Soviet Union was the result of a number of improbable events any one of which would have caused a different outcome. If you want to argue that the Soviet Union nevertheless would have emerged you need to provide detail to explain it. Otherwise the natural reaction is to dismiss the conclusions.

Sorry, I'll try to improve it.
I know, Douglas was probably a bit forced, but I thought that between him, Breckenridge, and Seward, I thought that Douglas could potentially loose the conflict, as Breckenridge would let them go, and Seward I could see winning it. The United States is still powerful, it's war damage was relevtivly limited and gears up for any new future conflicts. The CS victory was basically the complete destruction of the army of the Potomac and occupation of Harrisburg was enough to both A: get recognition from France, and the insistence by Douglas for a quick end for a later opportunity for diplomatic reintegration that I forgot to post, my fault.
France still involves itself in Mexico, but the U.S. arms the Republican rebels like in OTL. France still leaves, gets beaten in Franco Prussian war. For the most part, the pod is rather localized until the 1890s. The biggest difference is Alaska stays in Russian hands until 1920 when a joint American Canadian action occupies the region. And I felt the USSR was essentially inevitable without some serious changes that the pod simply didn't affect.

Also, the next updates will cover occupied Spain, the Alaskan campaign of the last days of the 1910s, the beginnings of the civil rights from the late 1950s to 1970s, MLK, and Elvis.
 
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Sorry, I'll try to improve it.
I know, Douglas was probably a bit forced, but I thought that between him, Breckenridge, and Seward, I thought that Douglas could potentially loose the conflict, as Breckenridge would let them go, and Seward I could see winning it. The United States is still powerful, it's war damage was relevtivly limited and gears up for any new future conflicts. The CS victory was basically the complete destruction of the army of the Potomac and occupation of Harrisburg was enough to both A: get recognition from France, and the insistence by Douglas for a quick end for a later opportunity for diplomatic reintegration that I forgot to post, my fault.
France still involves itself in Mexico, but the U.S. arms the Republican rebels like in OTL. France still leaves, gets beaten in Franco Prussian war. For the most part, the pod is rather localized until the 1890s. The biggest difference is Alaska stays in Russian hands until 1920 when a joint American Canadian action occupies the region. And I felt the USSR was essentially inevitable without some serious changes that the pod simply didn't affect.

Also, the next updates will cover occupied Spain, the Alaskan campaign of the last days of the 1910s, the beginnings of the civil rights from the late 1950s to 1970s, MLK, and Elvis.
No reason to be sorry. Producing a quality product requires many failed attempts. If I may make another suggestion try to limit your focus. Going from the 1860s to the 1970s will either take hundreds of pages (and likely years of writing) or result in only a superficial treatment.
 
No reason to be sorry. Producing a quality product requires many failed attempts. If I may make another suggestion try to limit your focus. Going from the 1860s to the 1970s will either take hundreds of pages (and likely years of writing) or result in only a superficial treatment.

Well, TBH, I wanted most of it in the 1950s to 1970s, the first couple posts were more or less the set up
 
Hmm... problem is that the "butterflies" are too big then without extensive set up. Again, why do you have Hitler and the Soviet Union with this big POD 60-80 years before.
 
Think of it this way. OTL Soviet Union arises from very specific circumstances in WWI. Specifically, the Tsar needs to be doing badly but not really defeated so that there is a revolution in 1917. If he is winning no revolution. If has lost no revolution (or at least not one where Lenin comes to power). A key factor in the trajectory of WWI was American manufacturing and finance. A weaker US probably means a stronger Germany during the War (and this is before US intervention). This means Germany likely defeats Russia or if they do not defeat Russia they probably do not send Lenin to Russia because they are not as desperate to win in early 1918 since they are not worried about the Americans coming. Therefore in your time line, having a Soviet Union in 1950 would seem to suggest a US with similar characteristics to our US. However, this contradicts the premise of your timeline. I am not saying you cannot write around it, but it requires explanation to be plausible. If you simply assume there is a Soviet Union you run the risk that people will assume you do not understand the subtleties and chance of history.
 
Despite the fact the USA lost a number of states in the Southern Revolution, the U.S. would eventually recover. The loss of a third of the country resulted in a mass bank panic that lead to a depression during most of the 1860s. During William Seward's term in office, the Russian Empire attempted to sell its colony of Alaska to the Americans. Seward, who upon requests from his advisors, chose not to buy the territory for the 7 million dollar price tag. He was encouraged to keep his focus on internal matters and on the slave holding republic south of D.C.. With only three slave holding States left in the union (Maryland, Delaware, and Missouri), William Seward was able to pass the 13th amendment in 1868. While there was much grumbling among two of the three states, neither state felt confident about secession from the union.
It was during the beginning of Hannibal Hamlin's second term when Virginia rebelled against the rest of the confederacy in 1872. At first, the general opinion was to let the south fight amongst themselves, seeing as they left after all. But Virginian diplomats came to the union and eventually managed to hammer out a backroom deal to allow Virginia to return to the fold. In 1876, Virginia was readmitted as a U.S. territory. The CSA was not pleased with the revelation. The Confederate States boasted and yelled, threatening to declare war on the United States. Armies materialized on both sides of the border. The now much larger union army gathered in southern Virginia and At The Ohio river across from Lexington, Kentucky. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. Virginia was treated as a territory for four years, being readmitted as a state in 1880. The assassination of President James Garfield led to the downfall of the spoils system. His death was a shocker to both the U.S. and the CS, as no president had ever been killed before.
During the 1800s latter half, America grew into a major industrial powerhouse, as well as an economic one. During the Spanish Confederate war in 1897-1898, the United States (then under William McKinley) watched on the sidelines, providing neither side support. In 1900, Spain had a major economic downturn after the war. All the supplies and men that was either killed or destroyed had wrecked their economy. The Philippines were becoming restless again and Spain was being pressured by Germany to sell. Spain instead went to the Americans, and offered the chain of islands for 7 million dollars. The United States accepted, and purchased the Philippines. This resulted in the Americans dealing with a insurrection and, under general Otis, became quite brutal. The rebellion was eventually crushed, though insurgents still lingered on for a decade. President Roosevelt formed a Philippines commission to help guide the islands onto the path of independence.
 
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Spain, a late member of the axis powers, was occupied by the Confederate States of America in the years 1944 (the year Franco surrendered) to 1960. In that time, the CSA stationed troops in the Iberian Peninsula, the canary islands, and Spanish Morocco. The occupying Confederate States restored Spain to a republic, naming it the Third Spanish Republic, and alter the government structure. A presidency was established formally with a set term of six years and a unicameral Congress was established as well. Each region produced a number of congressmen based on the population. The old flag of the republic was altered slightly, now sporting three bands: red, yellow, murrey, the spanish coat of arms, and in the upper right hand corner was a blue cross of St. Andrews. The Confederate States would half to deal with Spain's internal problems for the next fourteen years, such as the ETA in their movement for an independent Basque state in Spain and the decolinization of the remnants of the Spanish Empire. The lingering confederate presence caused the Spanish Republic to be more right center in its political leaning for the next decades until the Spanish populists political party came to power. Ironically, Spain under confederate oversight for over a decade resulted in it becoming less corrupt than the CSA itself. Spain would go on to become a founding member of the European Economic Community 1957. In the early 1990s, the ETA quietly disbanded after the populist coalition granted general autonomy for the Basque region in Spain.
 
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