Caesar Biden
Banned
So let's go back to the Republican Convention, Illinois, 1860. IOTL, of course, Abraham Lincoln was nominated after multiple ballots in a surprise victory, he would go on to win the Presidency and make history. However, the frontrunner going into the convention was William Seward of New York. Let's say things change, and Seward manages to leverage his early strength to gain enough delegates to capture the nomination after only a few ballots. As part of this political horsetrading, he has to make Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania his VP, no Westerners are there to balance the political ticket.
In the general election, Seward and Cameron are successfully branded as radical abolitionists as well as elitist Easterners. They do well in the Northeast, true, but lose all that Lincoln did IOTL+Illinois, Indiana, California, and Oregon. The final electoral vote count is Seward 137, Breckinridge 75, Douglas 40, and Bell 39: a deadlocked electoral college.
And so the election goes to the state delegations. With Seward sure to provoke a Civil War and Breckinridge a Southern Democrat hated by Republicans, the only logical choice is Stephen Douglas (John Bell, in fourth, cannot be chosen). But there's a catch, that the Southern state legislatures insist on and Douglas comes around on; they want an amendment to the U.S Constitution. It's a compromise, in return for allowing Western states into the country and not trying to force slavery down the throats of Kansas, New Mexico, etc, The Southern Democrats just want one thing: an amendment that protects slavery in the South from federal interference, permanently.
It is not really a popular idea; but it's one that many are pushing for as a compromise. It's the only way the South will stand behind Douglas, and many Northern States are willing to accept it as long as it avoids a civil war. Either through frightened Republicans in Congress or enough states ratifying it, the 13th Amendment passes, ironically it becomes the thing keeping Slavery on life support but keeping the Union together.
Is this at all possible? The tricky part is, of course, getting the Amendment to pass, but it's not quite as far-fetched as it sounds. It would almost certainly have the support of outgoing President James Buchanan, for what that's worth, and though the Unionists+Democrats are desperately outnumbered in the House, a clear majority of the North is willing to forget about abolition so long as they don't have to worry about secession anymore.
If this does end up happening, the consequences down the road are vast. Douglas as President is going to be very unpopular in the North and South, and will probably only serve on term. Nevertheless, he was an advocate for Western expansion, so it's likely this is accelerated due to a temporarily averted Civil War.
In the general election, Seward and Cameron are successfully branded as radical abolitionists as well as elitist Easterners. They do well in the Northeast, true, but lose all that Lincoln did IOTL+Illinois, Indiana, California, and Oregon. The final electoral vote count is Seward 137, Breckinridge 75, Douglas 40, and Bell 39: a deadlocked electoral college.
And so the election goes to the state delegations. With Seward sure to provoke a Civil War and Breckinridge a Southern Democrat hated by Republicans, the only logical choice is Stephen Douglas (John Bell, in fourth, cannot be chosen). But there's a catch, that the Southern state legislatures insist on and Douglas comes around on; they want an amendment to the U.S Constitution. It's a compromise, in return for allowing Western states into the country and not trying to force slavery down the throats of Kansas, New Mexico, etc, The Southern Democrats just want one thing: an amendment that protects slavery in the South from federal interference, permanently.
It is not really a popular idea; but it's one that many are pushing for as a compromise. It's the only way the South will stand behind Douglas, and many Northern States are willing to accept it as long as it avoids a civil war. Either through frightened Republicans in Congress or enough states ratifying it, the 13th Amendment passes, ironically it becomes the thing keeping Slavery on life support but keeping the Union together.
Is this at all possible? The tricky part is, of course, getting the Amendment to pass, but it's not quite as far-fetched as it sounds. It would almost certainly have the support of outgoing President James Buchanan, for what that's worth, and though the Unionists+Democrats are desperately outnumbered in the House, a clear majority of the North is willing to forget about abolition so long as they don't have to worry about secession anymore.
If this does end up happening, the consequences down the road are vast. Douglas as President is going to be very unpopular in the North and South, and will probably only serve on term. Nevertheless, he was an advocate for Western expansion, so it's likely this is accelerated due to a temporarily averted Civil War.
Last edited: