Peaceful Succession

Would it be possible for the North and South of the u.s. to peacefully split. Say that issues such as slavery, states rights, etc. could not be solved and a compromise couldn't be reached. If each side blocked the other from getting anything from getting through congress would it be possible they just decide it would be politically best to split in two?
 
Would it be possible for the North and South of the u.s. to peacefully split. Say that issues such as slavery, states rights, etc. could not be solved and a compromise couldn't be reached. If each side blocked the other from getting anything from getting through congress would it be possible they just decide it would be politically best to split in two?

Theoretically, but you'd need it worked out specifically with peacefully splitting in mind rather than anything like the unilateral, force-driven secession of OTL.

And I'm not sure you could have an issue where each side is equally capable of blocking the other - the attempts to maintain parity didn't work very well.
 
I think that this is a unexplored niche of Alternate history and would make a great timeline.

Where have we heard that before. Ummm....

Well, you'd need the following:

1) A major, intractable problem. Or more than one.

2) Both sides to think division is the best/only way to solve it.

3) Both sides being able to come to a satisfactory agreement on how to go about it.

4) That agreement to be followed out by both sides without conflict.
 
You would need to keep hard core Unionists like Lincoln out of the White House. Seward whom Lincoln defeated for the Republican nomination and Douglas whom he defeated in the election also look like Unionist stalwarts.

Consequently, I would say that you are looking at a PoD earlier than 1860. However, events had not become developed to a point of division until 1860........
 
Lincoln and the like would never agree to a peaceful split, and several other politicians would see it as starting an unhealthy precedence for seperatism. If one block of states can leave the Union and form their own nation, what's stopping other States from doing the same? You might very well see a boom in civil unrest and riots in response to the Union just giving away states and territories without a fight. I could even see Lincoln or someone very like Lincoln attempting a coup to seize power from the 'irresponsible cowards who are destroying the Union'.

Its an interesting idea though.
 
It's secession, not succession.
Sucession is a Crown Prince taking the throne to become King.

Now, as to the question, well not really, while peaceful secession in general is'nt impossible, for the South (a large, core part of the country) to do so would be.

As to blocking legislation, well the North would ultimately prevail as it not only had its own demographics, but the territories were'nt particularly pro alot of what the South was.
 

Germaniac

Donor
While Douglas was a Stalwart Union man, his running mate Joseph Lane was pro secession. Just have Douglas get killed or die earlier and...

Bingo I think we have a winner!
 
While Douglas was a Stalwart Union man, his running mate Joseph Lane was pro secession. Just have Douglas get killed or die earlier and...

Bingo I think we have a winner!

If Lane is president, though, would there be any reason for the South to secede?

The South seceded to spite the "Black Republicans", not "the North" as the two were different.
 

Germaniac

Donor
The Problems were there anyway, The Republicans still hold the sway in congress and the South is still going to see significant threats to its "Way of life". Maybe Significantly less support at first, but once South Carolina goes its a forgone conclusion. However you might see a smaller CSA without Virginia or maybe not even north Carolina
 
The Problems were there anyway, The Republicans still hold the sway in congress and the South is still going to see significant threats to its "Way of life". Maybe Significantly less support at first, but once South Carolina goes its a forgone conclusion. However you might see a smaller CSA without Virginia or maybe not even north Carolina

I'm not sure if they really do hold that much sway if the South doesn't just bolt.

After all, that takes out a significant number of nonRepublicans.
 
Possible only if the slate of leaders, ideologies, and course of events differ from OTL. A US Velvet Divorce is possible, you just need a different set of circumstances than the OTL secession and for secession itself to appear focused on a real, actual focus, not the prospect that one might at some indefinite future point exist so it must be pre-empted.
 
Remember, the OTL secession was an agressive affair: they wanted to bring all the slave states in. The flag had 13 stars although only 11 states actually seceded, and there were 14 and even 15 star flag variants. They were hardly planning to give back Arizona and New Mexico when they invaded them, and hoped for a Confederate California: they wanted as big a Confederacy as possible. Preserving the Southern Way of Life wouldn't be possible if only a few states departed.

So, to get a peaceful large-scale secession, you need to seriously change southern thinking as well as northern leadership.

Bruce
 
How about this, Some type of scandal with Lincoln prior to the election causing support for Republicans to fall for a while. Allowing Douglass who of course dies and hopefully with some butterfly dust allows a democratic majority in HoR?

Then I got nothing we need a disagreement after this that makes the north want secession almost as much as the south.
 
From the title of the thread, I would have guessed that the Americans got their own King or Emperor instead of fighting the British... :D
 
It's secession, not succession.
Sucession is a Crown Prince taking the throne to become King.

Ah, thank you, I hate seeming anal enough to comment on something like that.

Unfortunately, I actually am anal enough - in my weaker moments - to compulsively do just that. Really the only good solution in situations like this is for a brave bystander like yourself to step forward and take the bullet for me.
 
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