alternatehistory.com

Secretary of State Seward oversaw a doubling of US territory following the Civil War, putting him down as something of a legendary figure of the era - The Seward of Empire.

Under his stewardship (Sewardship) the US purchased Greenland, Iceland, the Danish Virgin Islands, St Barthelemy, Alaska, and the Chukotka Peninsula. He also oversaw and effectively courted the annexation of British Columbia to the United States and the purchase of lands north of BC and west of the Mackenzie River, saved the Ellena Colony of the North Borneo Trading Company, and oversaw the annexation of the Dominican Republic to the United States as the country's first non-white state.


What if Seward hadn't been as successful as an advocate for American expansion? I think this might require a mix of factors - a longer messier Civil War (perhaps Tennessee joins the secessionist states?) or the assassin who was supposed to go after Seward the night Lincoln died not losing his nerve.
Top