Siezed Southern property sold to veterns after ACW

But is Billy Southerner willing to do something that is certain to cost him his farm if caught? Billy Southerner DEFINITELY has something to lose. If he does nothing he will do just fine.

It's a question of risk. In OTL the vast majority of white Southerners weren't willing to risk life and limb to keep fighting the Union (suppressing the blacks is another matter). The risks were to big and the motivation was lacking. Yes they'd prefer independence but that wasn't on the cards and the union wasn't bothering them.

If you have farms being confiscated left and right then Billy Southerner is going to be crapping himself. He might not go out and burn down Tim Yankee's farm but he'll be happy to shelter Johnny Southerner. Now if you restrict such confiscations to a small enough scale that Billy Southerner doesn't start getting worried you are going to have so few farms for Northern veterans that they are going to have to either rapidly assimilate or be driven out by the KKK and White Leagues.

Small Scale Confiscations and settlement by Yankees: They assimilate or get burned out.

Large Scale Confiscations and settlement by Yankees: Terrify white southerners and set of a spiral of atrocities on both sides leading to a bloody quagmire.

Small Scale Confiscations and sale in open auctions: A few carpetbaggers come south and suffer the above but most confiscated land is in the hand of other southerners. The moderates are split off from the die-hards and the South once more becomes a willing part of the Union.
 
It's a question of risk. In OTL the vast majority of white Southerners weren't willing to risk life and limb to keep fighting the Union (suppressing the blacks is another matter). The risks were to big and the motivation was lacking. Yes they'd prefer independence but that wasn't on the cards and the union wasn't bothering them.

If you have farms being confiscated left and right then Billy Southerner is going to be crapping himself. He might not go out and burn down Tim Yankee's farm but he'll be happy to shelter Johnny Southerner. Now if you restrict such confiscations to a small enough scale that Billy Southerner doesn't start getting worried you are going to have so few farms for Northern veterans that they are going to have to either rapidly assimilate or be driven out by the KKK and White Leagues.

Small Scale Confiscations and settlement by Yankees: They assimilate or get burned out.

Large Scale Confiscations and settlement by Yankees: Terrify white southerners and set of a spiral of atrocities on both sides leading to a bloody quagmire.

Small Scale Confiscations and sale in open auctions: A few carpetbaggers come south and suffer the above but most confiscated land is in the hand of other southerners. The moderates are split off from the die-hards and the South once more becomes a willing part of the Union.


OTL most of the property seized was from the big land owners for that very reason. Same thing in TTL. Billy is in no more danger than before and a large plantaition can be subdivided many ways. The most likely result is a fair number of Northerners who are mostly assimulated.
 
A nuisance, nothing more. The South has NO ARMY and the longer they cause trouble the longer they are under occupation. If necessary seize even more land from members of the KKKK and other terrorist organizations by passing a law that all property is forfeit if you are found guilty of being in such an organization.


By 1876 (as Mrs Hayes observed) The North had virtually no army either. It had dwindled to about 27,000 men of whom only abt 3000 could be spared for occupation duty in the South. Hardly enough to police half a continent.

As to confiscating land from KKK mnembers, proving membership would be quite a problem and, judging from its attitude to other Reconstruction era legislation, the Supreme Court is unlikely to be sympathetic.
 
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