WI: Balkanized America

So, I'm toying with an idea I could really use some help fleshing out.

WI, through a series of tweaks to the timeline, America is not a unified country but a decentralized collection of balkanized states. I'm thinking a divieded north and south on the east coast, a Native American nation in the middle south, separate colonial nations on the west coast, more land claimed by Mexico, and so on.

The lack of a unified America might (maybe?) mean there was no industrial, resource-rich ally to join the WWI, which might be enough (again, with a few tweaks) to ensure a victotory for the Central powers.

Does that make sense? And, assuming it does, what are the tweaks that might work to help balkanize America? I'm thinking that Andrew Jackson needs to lose his Seminole wars, for one thing, but what else?

rg
 
Well, your idea is good but I don't think that a lost Seminole war is enough to break the american powerhouse. Unless you have an information that I don't know about, it basically gave USA Florida, It didn't had a strong national importance like slavery (that really break up USA in two).

An idea could be a divergence of opinion amongst the states in the writing of the constitution after a successful ARW, it could lead to the failure of the unification. Not united, the states could begin to prey on each others, the western colonization could very well be the causes of many conflict. While the states are pitched against each others, the natives could ally themselves with some states and play them against each others to protect their lands.

The Pacific colony could chose, due to the distance, to declare them self independent; alone, the states couldn't prevent such case. Obviously, the northern states who make their money on trade will become industrialized while the southern ones would remain mostly agricultural, and, sadly, slavery could hang on for longer.

As for the central/allied power, with such POD I don't think that it will happen. The butterfly would had changed the world beyond recognition. Weak and balkanized American states couldn't prevent European intervention on the continent, no Monroe doctrine, and the entire balance of power as well all the revolutionary idea are changed.
 
Last edited:
I should add, I'm totally not worried about the need for ASBs and a huge grain of salt. I'm toying with the idea for a fairly light-hearted one-shot RPG session.
 
Top