So reconstruction is done. I thought since it would be going a bit better some of the southern states would stay R.
Lincoln Lives: How a failed assassination changed the course of a Nation and a newly freed people
- Thread starter Issei Uzumaki
- Start date
While race relations are improved there is still bitterness for losing, it has only been a decade since the official end after all. Basically short term pain for better relations with the north long term and less of this “lost cause” being glorified. All is not what it seems though surrounding Oklahoma and that will come to ahead soon.
Interesting timeline!
A few notes:
- This path seems like it will lead to better race relations than IOTL after the collapse of Reconstruction, but ultimately cause problems in the long run.
- We probably won't see a provision of the 1890 Morrill Act that established black universities in states that refused to integrate, will we...
- I'm very curious to see how this America tames the great northwestern territory they've purchased. Presumably, Rupert's Land will be much, much less populous than OTL's Canadian Prairies - that is, more akin to the Dakotas or Montana than Alberta.
- Will we see a few more Indian territories up there?
- How will the Red River Métis react to the sale of Rupert's Land? (or is this the twist...)
- Will Alaska and the Yukon be a combined territory after their gold rush?
On the other hand... many voting blacks (a major part of the Reconstruction coalition) have migrated elsewhere.
A few notes:
- This path seems like it will lead to better race relations than IOTL after the collapse of Reconstruction, but ultimately cause problems in the long run.
- We probably won't see a provision of the 1890 Morrill Act that established black universities in states that refused to integrate, will we...
- I'm very curious to see how this America tames the great northwestern territory they've purchased. Presumably, Rupert's Land will be much, much less populous than OTL's Canadian Prairies - that is, more akin to the Dakotas or Montana than Alberta.
- Will we see a few more Indian territories up there?
- How will the Red River Métis react to the sale of Rupert's Land? (or is this the twist...)
- Will Alaska and the Yukon be a combined territory after their gold rush?
Excellent.
Now we just need Garfield as President and a non-assassination and all things are right in the world.
Dont' want to give away too much but I am leaning towards a controversy that would make Tilden a one termer, so President Garfield is a possibility along the the same OTL election TL.
I don't see segregation becoming an issue in this TL, at least not as an official government policy. There is sure to be some private businesses that do it but it wont be institutionalized by the government. This is mainly due to the already heavy concentration of the former slaves in 2 key territories and the rest that stayed in the US proper being spread out thanks in large part to better participation in the Homestead Act.
Though I do admit, there may not be federal push that leads to HBCU's due to the fact there simply wont be a need with such a small population everywhere else and the few large population centers in the north will already allow entrance. Don't forget though, Howard university was established in the Oklahoma territory so they do have one education center at least to help, I'm sure the territory will start a publicly funded one (ie, University of Oklahoma) at some point. Of course, they wont be the Sooners, now I'm curious what their mascot would be? hmmm.
As for Red River Metis, I honestly had not mapped out that rebellion, so I will have to give a thought to it. Basically, it did not happen yet in this TL because the US simply hadn't started settling the area yet, which is why the US sold some land back to Canada. I'm leaning towards the group being bought off by the US govt after a small rebellion. They would be "encouraged" to immigrate to Quebec or resettle in the state of Louisiana, most likely the latter.
As for the Yukon Gold Rush, no, it will not lead to a combination of the two lands, though it will lead to an earlier creation of the Yukon territory. And as for Alaska, I will just say, it will not look the same as OTL. (hint: goes to your indian question)
Chapter 5: Brief Summary of Recent Events
As we prepare to enter the Tilden Presidency, we take a moment to take a brief look at some of the changes since the end of the Civil War and how they have started to impact the fortunes of the nation.
The greatest impact on the nation has, without a doubt, been the mass resettlement and migration of former slaves and those free blacks from the ante-bellum north. While the vast majority did stay within the US states or territories, approximately 10% ended up returning to their ancestral home in Africa, mostly to Liberia or the area known as Gold Coast. For the ones that stayed, over 90% can be found within either the Oklahoma or Nicaragua territories. As of the official end to Reconstruction, Oklahoma had become approximately 96% Black, 3% Native, and the rest a mix of White and other races. The low white percentage is due to the exodus that occurred once the plans to settle blacks there was approved by Congress, especially from the former Texas panhandle. This complete domination of the political and economic landscape would eventually lead to dramatic changes in relations between Oklahoma and the rest of the US, but for now they are simply working to establish a good agrarian foundation with a mix of small industry to support the territory.
Nicaragua is more of a melting pot than Oklahoma. As mentioned prior, a large number of slaves relocated here but after initial struggles with adapting to the local environment and diseases, the population of free blacks ended up close the pre-protectorate days with near 40% black, 35% Mestizos, 20% Native, with the rest being those who consider themselves "pure" blood descendants of Spanish colonists as well as a growing German population that fled the wars of unification that led to the German Empire. This would increase an already large contingent of German or German descendants within the United States. Santo Domingo was newer and thus had less immigration, but there were those eager to try their hand at growing Cacao, Sugar, and Tobacco. For now, the population consisted of about 60% mixed (of "white" Spanish, African, and Taino ancestry), about 27% White (Spanish Caucasian), 12% African, and the rest mostly Taino or a few other races. Surprisingly, the success of the melding of races and ethnicities in Nicaragua gave hope among government officials for the peaceful integration into the rest of the country. Sadly, there were still areas of black populations in New York City that experienced a backlash after the Civil War, leading to an unofficial "whites only" policy among many businesses, with similar things occurring in Philadelphia, the holder of the other large black population outside of Oklahoma. Oklahoma itself subject to cross border vigilante raids on occasion and though they were mostly beaten back by territorial guards, it was causing increased tension between the territory and those around, only having real peace with the Native tribes in Sequoyah.
On the economic front, there was an initial boom with all of the Reconstruction of the South post war followed by first, the Black Friday Crash, then the Long Depression. Thankfully the depression has come to an end and now we see the rise of the Steel and Oil Barron's, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller respectively. Those two men would come to dominate the economy in the US and while there was great prosperity that would lead to the time being known as the Gilded Age, soon workers would start to organize and fight back due to poor treatment and lack of labor laws in the quickly industrializing United States. This is also the time when the first ideas of a canal through Nicaragua are being tossed about in Congress. The idea will not get much traction initially but the pull of all the potential income from fees for using the Canal will eventually be enough to bring in Federal funding for the canal that is still in heavy use today, despite fear mongering concerning volcanoes.
With the south post war deprived of it's cheap labor, it looked abroad and began offering contracts and covering transportation of men and even whole families in exchange for agreeing to a certain number of years on their farms and former plantations. This would eventually lead to Congress passing one of the first labor protection laws in 1871, mandating a minimum wage for those who agree to these contracts to ensure they were not simply used as pseudo-slave labor as well as limiting the max number of years contracted at five. In spite of this, the process lasted until almost 1890 before industrialization allowed for more mechanized approach to farming, reducing the need for so much cheap labor in the fields. It has been estimated that between 1867 and 1890, nearly 2 million people were brought into the country with these contracts, most in the old Confederacy, while a large number also made their way to Nicaragua, California and Santo Domingo. Nearly 10% entered through New Orleans while almost 40% entered through the Ellis Island of the South, officially known as Fort Sumter Immigration Center, after it was converted in 1872 to handle the growing number of migrants entering on these contracts. Thanks to this effort, the South would remain largely agrarian post war, though there were centers of industry that grew up, like Birmingham for it's steel, Charlotte, NC for textile production, or Newport News, VA, for ship building. This would lead to some conflicts as a large number of immigrants were Catholic, in the end most simply didn't concern themselves as the needed the labor, leading to a tentative peace between Protestant and Catholics, with only minor conflicts centered around the largest cities at the time.
As we prepare to take a closer look at President Tilden's term and the controversy that erupted with Britain and France, we will see how many modern scholars believe Tilden saved the US from a potentially disastrous conflict with the two great powers. The cause? A history student from Yale researching the Walker Filibuster that found damning evidence of British and French interference in the Civil War that may have contributed to it lasting a full year longer than it would have, this would not only nearly cause a war but would also sour relations for generations to come, leading to heavy tariffs on trade with the two while causing the US to give more favorable trade to nations like the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, thanks in no small part to the growing political clout of German descendants. This will be discussed further in the next chapter.
The greatest impact on the nation has, without a doubt, been the mass resettlement and migration of former slaves and those free blacks from the ante-bellum north. While the vast majority did stay within the US states or territories, approximately 10% ended up returning to their ancestral home in Africa, mostly to Liberia or the area known as Gold Coast. For the ones that stayed, over 90% can be found within either the Oklahoma or Nicaragua territories. As of the official end to Reconstruction, Oklahoma had become approximately 96% Black, 3% Native, and the rest a mix of White and other races. The low white percentage is due to the exodus that occurred once the plans to settle blacks there was approved by Congress, especially from the former Texas panhandle. This complete domination of the political and economic landscape would eventually lead to dramatic changes in relations between Oklahoma and the rest of the US, but for now they are simply working to establish a good agrarian foundation with a mix of small industry to support the territory.
Nicaragua is more of a melting pot than Oklahoma. As mentioned prior, a large number of slaves relocated here but after initial struggles with adapting to the local environment and diseases, the population of free blacks ended up close the pre-protectorate days with near 40% black, 35% Mestizos, 20% Native, with the rest being those who consider themselves "pure" blood descendants of Spanish colonists as well as a growing German population that fled the wars of unification that led to the German Empire. This would increase an already large contingent of German or German descendants within the United States. Santo Domingo was newer and thus had less immigration, but there were those eager to try their hand at growing Cacao, Sugar, and Tobacco. For now, the population consisted of about 60% mixed (of "white" Spanish, African, and Taino ancestry), about 27% White (Spanish Caucasian), 12% African, and the rest mostly Taino or a few other races. Surprisingly, the success of the melding of races and ethnicities in Nicaragua gave hope among government officials for the peaceful integration into the rest of the country. Sadly, there were still areas of black populations in New York City that experienced a backlash after the Civil War, leading to an unofficial "whites only" policy among many businesses, with similar things occurring in Philadelphia, the holder of the other large black population outside of Oklahoma. Oklahoma itself subject to cross border vigilante raids on occasion and though they were mostly beaten back by territorial guards, it was causing increased tension between the territory and those around, only having real peace with the Native tribes in Sequoyah.
On the economic front, there was an initial boom with all of the Reconstruction of the South post war followed by first, the Black Friday Crash, then the Long Depression. Thankfully the depression has come to an end and now we see the rise of the Steel and Oil Barron's, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller respectively. Those two men would come to dominate the economy in the US and while there was great prosperity that would lead to the time being known as the Gilded Age, soon workers would start to organize and fight back due to poor treatment and lack of labor laws in the quickly industrializing United States. This is also the time when the first ideas of a canal through Nicaragua are being tossed about in Congress. The idea will not get much traction initially but the pull of all the potential income from fees for using the Canal will eventually be enough to bring in Federal funding for the canal that is still in heavy use today, despite fear mongering concerning volcanoes.
With the south post war deprived of it's cheap labor, it looked abroad and began offering contracts and covering transportation of men and even whole families in exchange for agreeing to a certain number of years on their farms and former plantations. This would eventually lead to Congress passing one of the first labor protection laws in 1871, mandating a minimum wage for those who agree to these contracts to ensure they were not simply used as pseudo-slave labor as well as limiting the max number of years contracted at five. In spite of this, the process lasted until almost 1890 before industrialization allowed for more mechanized approach to farming, reducing the need for so much cheap labor in the fields. It has been estimated that between 1867 and 1890, nearly 2 million people were brought into the country with these contracts, most in the old Confederacy, while a large number also made their way to Nicaragua, California and Santo Domingo. Nearly 10% entered through New Orleans while almost 40% entered through the Ellis Island of the South, officially known as Fort Sumter Immigration Center, after it was converted in 1872 to handle the growing number of migrants entering on these contracts. Thanks to this effort, the South would remain largely agrarian post war, though there were centers of industry that grew up, like Birmingham for it's steel, Charlotte, NC for textile production, or Newport News, VA, for ship building. This would lead to some conflicts as a large number of immigrants were Catholic, in the end most simply didn't concern themselves as the needed the labor, leading to a tentative peace between Protestant and Catholics, with only minor conflicts centered around the largest cities at the time.
As we prepare to take a closer look at President Tilden's term and the controversy that erupted with Britain and France, we will see how many modern scholars believe Tilden saved the US from a potentially disastrous conflict with the two great powers. The cause? A history student from Yale researching the Walker Filibuster that found damning evidence of British and French interference in the Civil War that may have contributed to it lasting a full year longer than it would have, this would not only nearly cause a war but would also sour relations for generations to come, leading to heavy tariffs on trade with the two while causing the US to give more favorable trade to nations like the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, thanks in no small part to the growing political clout of German descendants. This will be discussed further in the next chapter.
No worries, there are no Presidents dying by assassination until McKinley, mainly because I intend to keep TR, he is one of my favorite historical characters so I refuse to butterfly him away.
US in the Central Powers? Very interesting summary of what's happened so far too! Really enjoying this timeline.
In the CP? Not likely. As a co-belligerent with one or more? Perhaps. The only thing I will say openly before then is that the US will be neutral at the start and will NOT be a co-belligerent of UK/France/Russia.
One should just assume that after the Empire of Mexico fell when French support withdrew that the things that happened OTL in Europe essentially unfold the same, including the fate of the Bonaparte's in Europe.
Some questions:
1. Since the US has and is involved in Nicaragua will there be more research into tropical diseases such as malaria?
2. Due to the border raids in Oklahoma will black ownership of firearms be higher? Would we see more 'hunting and sportsmen' clubs?
3. What is the status of immigration from Asia? Are they still heavily discriminated against?
4. Are Native Americans treated any better that OTL? Has anyone suggested they receive more autonomy?
1. Since the US has and is involved in Nicaragua will there be more research into tropical diseases such as malaria?
2. Due to the border raids in Oklahoma will black ownership of firearms be higher? Would we see more 'hunting and sportsmen' clubs?
3. What is the status of immigration from Asia? Are they still heavily discriminated against?
4. Are Native Americans treated any better that OTL? Has anyone suggested they receive more autonomy?