DBWI: AHC: Make post-colonial Americas NOT a bunch a failed states!

Ever since their independence from the colonial powers, the countries in the American continent have suffered through civil wars, uprisings, coups, authoritarian and dictatorial regimes, wars, corruption and general distability. Their infrastructure is underdeveloped, as is their industry. Even the United States of America, the most "developed" of them, are very poor und underdeveloped when compared to Europe.

Is it possible for the American states to not be such a disappointment? Could any of them actually challenge Europe in its power?

The POD can happen anytime since 1700.
 
All you would need is capable men. The Americas is a land full with resources that with better management could become if not a superpower at least a regional one. Mexico Gran Colombia and the Kingdom of Brazil seem the most obvious choices in that regard. Yet through history greed, corruption and incompetence have limited these nations.
Perhaps if you get some people like the American Signatories of the Philadephia's Rebellion/ to Survive an earlier USA might establish itself as a prosperous nation.
 
You might not need such an early POD. Honestly, just have Washington peacefully step down from the office instead of holding it until his death in 1804. By not running after one or two terms, he would have helped put some precedent for future Presidents to do the same. One of the biggest problems to stability have been the lifelong Presidents who refused to peacefully transfer power, and this would have helped nip it in the bud.
 
The provision in the Constitution that the President hold office for life was passed at the 1787 convention over Washington's objection. The idea was to set up a sort of elective monarchy like Poland. Though increasingly ill, Washington actually made something of a success of the office, but the framers of the Constitution didn't see how having a presidency for life would make presidential elections very contentious and difficult. They should have known by looking at the Polish situation. Through in the flaws in the electoral process itself that resulted in Aaron Burr being elected as Washington's successor, and things went downhill from there.

The 1787 convention in the United States is a good place to start for a POD because the view is that it could have produced a workable constitution with a few changes, fixed terms for the President being the obvious one. And the United States could have become very powerful if the British hadn't been so successful in blocking Burr's western expansion plans.

I thing failed states overstates things. All things, considered, Brazil did OK, and the two anglophile confederations, Canada and New England, maintain some of the highest standards of living in the world.
 
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