Dixie has a chance

Wouldn't this belong on the Before 1900 board?
Still a good idea.
One variation would be more Southern Pride into the 20th century, and a decision to secede once again, but this time on a less strident footing. Would such a thing be possible on a political basis?
Thoughts, a). the Southern states were on a more agricultural footing than the industrialized North. b). the racial questions would be more directly faced than they were in the 1850s. c). Huey Long and his ilk, he did have more influence in Louisiana and other Southern states. d). the displaced farmers of the Dust Bowl.
If you're looking for more military ideas, I have nothing more to say.
 
1850. New wave of immigration hasn't hit yet to make the numbers even worse, and a hardened core of Mexican war vets as regular soldiers to still further increase the quality of the southern soldier. That, and most importantly, railroads hadn't made as far an inroads yet, making it harder for the north to sustain an offensive
 
What if it seceded in the late 1850s, during Buchanan's ineffectual presidency?

Still too late.

OTL the Confederacy had "a chance", if we're looking for "most likely outcome is favorable", at no point that is comparable to the OTL war ("1820" to pick a date from the air is a very different US all over).

ggarner57: There were northern soldiers as part of the Mexican-American war too. And the southern soldier wasn't uniformly better in the first place.
 
My pet scenario is obviously foreign intervention, but any POD in which the US gobbles up more of Mexico that it did OTL is one where the Confederacy stands a reasonable chance of seceding, especially if they do it early.
 

katchen

Banned
1800. Over the Federalist vs Anti-Federalist schism. Thomas Jefferson becomes the President of the United States of America in Washington DC. Alexander Hamilton becomes President of Federated States of America capitaled Philadelphia.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
I was hoping you'd say that! For Want of a Vote?;)

Yeah, pretty much. Truth be told, the Confederacy had a better chance of winning the war in 1864 than they did in 1863. Obviously, they were militarily in a better position in 1863 than they were in 1864, but 1863 was not an election year and Lincoln wasn't going anywhere no matter how well the Confederates did on the battlefield. If they had done better during the campaigning season of 1864, Lincoln could have been thrown out in the November election and an administration willing to make peace could have been voted into office.

The South had only two ways to win the war: securing foreign support or causing a collapse of political will in the North. The former was impossible (or at least extremely unlikely) after 1862, but the latter was still possible up until the Union victories in the summer of 1864 made Lincoln's reelection a certainty.
 
How about John Rolfe not planting tobacco seeds in Jamestown or them not being so successful? Because then the South would not have the plantation system in place for a while and then maybe more investment goes to New England? Then the Civil War never happens or at least gets delayed a few hundred years
 
If the Missouri Crisis in 1820 had led to disunion, the South would be at her maximum strength, because the Old Northwest was much more "southern" in those days than it would later be--in particular, Illinois was largely settled by southerners and had a strong pro-slavery element. (Of course, that was one reason compromise was likely.)
 

katchen

Banned
Maybe the Missouri Compromise spurs moves by some Midwestern states (Illinois, Ohio and Indiana) to split into northern and southern halves during the 1820s with the southern halves having legal slavery.A tradition of slave states keeping control of the Senate by splitting into two states when that control is threatened becomes established. Since all that is reqauired for a state to split is the approval of Congress and the State Legislatures, there comes to be little "free-soilers can do about state splitting. Massachusetts, by allowing Maine to secede had opened up the flood gates.
 
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