As we all know, the Constitutional Union Party became one of the two major parties in the United States of America during the Civil War as "War Democrats" and Southern Unionists joined the party as Copperheads gained control of the Democratic Party, but what if the Constituional Union Party didn't become a major party during the US Civil War? What PODs might be necessary for such a scenario? The Copperheads not taking over the Democratic Party (which quickly collapsed post-war outside of the South, where it limped along until the early 20th century)? Texas and Tennessee seceding? Both? What would the US political scene look like, then?
DBWI: The Constitutional Union Party didn't become a major party?
- Thread starter Whiteshore
- Start date
I honestly dunno for sure, but it would have been interesting to see where things might have gone. Would the Liberty Party(no direct relation to James G. Birney's party from the 1840s, though borrowing the name), still have formed circa 1898, eventually becoming the other of the two major parties by the 1920s(and co-opting the Progressives in the process)?
And what of the left/right divide? IOTL, by the late 1970s/early '80s the Liberty Party had taken a rather notably left-leaning stance while the Unionists leaned significantly right overall thanks to the latter party adopting the "Wallace Strategy" some two decades prior(although polarization has been lessened since the '90s). Assuming this pattern holds ITTL, where might the Democrats(if they survive) stand? Or whichever one of the Republicans or the Constitutional Unionists? Could the Democrats be right and the other party left, or vice versa?
OOC: I was just wondering what you thought of this, Whiteshore. This OK or do you feel some adjustments need to be made? Up to you either way, of course.
And what of the left/right divide? IOTL, by the late 1970s/early '80s the Liberty Party had taken a rather notably left-leaning stance while the Unionists leaned significantly right overall thanks to the latter party adopting the "Wallace Strategy" some two decades prior(although polarization has been lessened since the '90s). Assuming this pattern holds ITTL, where might the Democrats(if they survive) stand? Or whichever one of the Republicans or the Constitutional Unionists? Could the Democrats be right and the other party left, or vice versa?
OOC: I was just wondering what you thought of this, Whiteshore. This OK or do you feel some adjustments need to be made? Up to you either way, of course.
Really all you have to do is have the 1860 presidential election go much differently, which is ridiculously easy to do, since it was such a strange election.
Remember, Bell came in third in that election, in fact fourth in the national popular vote. He only became President because Stephen Douglas, despite placing a strong second in the national popular vote, finished fourth in the Electoral College, and lobbied strongly for Bell when the House of Representatives chose the next President.
You could of course have Douglas not come out for Bell or sit things out, or just change things with the House of Representatives. Bell was elected President by the delegations of just 13 states, to 12 for Seward and 8 for Breckinridge, and this is with all the horse trading.
Or just change the Electoral College vote so that Bell does not finish in the top three, or Seward wins an electoral college majority outright. Remember, Seward wound up just two electoral votes short, and Indiana and California were really close. And Douglas would have been one of the top three Electoral College finishes instead of Bell if it hadn't been for that faithless elector in Oregon. Bell also carried Virginia over Breckinridge by less than a hundred votes. Of course, with a single Democratic ticket, Douglas by definition can't finish fourth and there is a slim chance he can even pull out an outright win by winning all of his own and Bell's and Breckinridge's states. You can also do all sorts of things with the New Jersey electors.
Aren't there enough timelines on this site about a Seward administration? Though several have the Unionists continue to be a major force, and I think that would have been butterflied away.
Btw, though the party's official name is in fact the "American Constitutional Unionist Party", I am puzzled why the OP uses the archaic terminology instead of just the Unionists as everyone calls them.
Remember, Bell came in third in that election, in fact fourth in the national popular vote. He only became President because Stephen Douglas, despite placing a strong second in the national popular vote, finished fourth in the Electoral College, and lobbied strongly for Bell when the House of Representatives chose the next President.
You could of course have Douglas not come out for Bell or sit things out, or just change things with the House of Representatives. Bell was elected President by the delegations of just 13 states, to 12 for Seward and 8 for Breckinridge, and this is with all the horse trading.
Or just change the Electoral College vote so that Bell does not finish in the top three, or Seward wins an electoral college majority outright. Remember, Seward wound up just two electoral votes short, and Indiana and California were really close. And Douglas would have been one of the top three Electoral College finishes instead of Bell if it hadn't been for that faithless elector in Oregon. Bell also carried Virginia over Breckinridge by less than a hundred votes. Of course, with a single Democratic ticket, Douglas by definition can't finish fourth and there is a slim chance he can even pull out an outright win by winning all of his own and Bell's and Breckinridge's states. You can also do all sorts of things with the New Jersey electors.
Aren't there enough timelines on this site about a Seward administration? Though several have the Unionists continue to be a major force, and I think that would have been butterflied away.
Btw, though the party's official name is in fact the "American Constitutional Unionist Party", I am puzzled why the OP uses the archaic terminology instead of just the Unionists as everyone calls them.