WI: Constitutional Convention Failed

How could the American Constitutional Convention have failed? What consequences would this have had? Thanks fellas.
Slavery being the elephant of the room could work, and other federal rights could make everyone getting up the table a leave even with franklin and washington best wishes...
 
They would have tried again after a few years. Articles of Confederation simply weren't working.

We might have ended up with the states forming two or three different countries. Probably no Louisiana Purchase - the South would have eventually taken New Orleans by flooding it with Anglos and rebelling, but nobody would have the ability to buy the entire Louisiana Territory.
 

Ban Kulin

Banned
They would have tried again after a few years. Articles of Confederation simply weren't working.

We might have ended up with the states forming two or three different countries. Probably no Louisiana Purchase - the South would have eventually taken New Orleans by flooding it with Anglos and rebelling, but nobody would have the ability to buy the entire Louisiana Territory.
They wouldn't need to. Without New Orleans, Louisiana is completely useless and unmanageable to the French. They'll sell it for peanuts, or American settlers will move into it anyway and create their own local militias and governments.
 
They wouldn't need to. Without New Orleans, Louisiana is completely useless and unmanageable to the French. They'll sell it for peanuts, or American settlers will move into it anyway and create their own local militias and governments.
Still, divided states mean divided Louisiana. Long narrow states from coast to coast would look kinda funny. But I guess the Mexican territories and british Oregon may be a hard limit for the divided states.
 
Still, divided states mean divided Louisiana. Long narrow states from coast to coast would look kinda funny. But I guess the Mexican territories and british Oregon may be a hard limit for the divided states.

I could see New Orleans attached to Mississippi or West Florida. Probably wouldn't make sense as a state by itself. I'm assuming of course that Georgia would still cede its western territories if it joined other states.

North Carolina would be interesting. They were skeptical of joining the Union and didn't join the Confederacy until they were landlocked. If Virginia and South Carolina ended up joining the same country, NC might go along or it might remain independent.
 
They wouldn't need to. Without New Orleans, Louisiana is completely useless and unmanageable to the French. They'll sell it for peanuts, or American settlers will move into it anyway and create their own local militias and governments.

Napoleon wouldn't take it back from the Spanish (if the influx of Anglos happens early enough). In that scenario Spain uses it as a buffer to protect Mexico.
 

Ban Kulin

Banned
Napoleon wouldn't take it back from the Spanish (if the influx of Anglos happens early enough). In that scenario Spain uses it as a buffer to protect Mexico.
How? Spain couldn't even use the entire American Southwest as a buffer for populated Mexico. The population and immigration disparity is just too enormous. With a POD in the late 1700s there's no way that most of the modern US won't be occupied by culturally northwest Europeans, mostly Anglos.
 
How? Spain couldn't even use the entire American Southwest as a buffer for populated Mexico. The population and immigration disparity is just too enormous. With a POD in the late 1700s there's no way that most of the modern US won't be occupied by culturally northwest Europeans, mostly Anglos.

Well, they would try. They wouldn't succeed.
 
So, do you guys think that there would be multiple American countries? How many? And would Britain consider attempting to retake her wayward colonies?
 
So, do you guys think that there would be multiple American countries? How many? And would Britain consider attempting to retake her wayward colonies?
Nah, they knew that is a lost cause...maybe try to claim more territory for Canada...and Louisiana is a price the british would be interested.
 

Schnozzberry

Gone Fishin'
Donor
So, do you guys think that there would be multiple American countries? How many? And would Britain consider attempting to retake her wayward colonies?

Barring a second and more successful Constitutional convention, the USA would break up. It isn't really a matter of if, but when as the Articles were doomed to fail in the long run. Exactly how this breakup would occur would largely depend on how the Articles reach their breaking point, although most expected the Union to dissolve into two or three countries before the Constitution.

As for Britain, I doubt they would attempt to re-annex many of the states. Instead they'd probably try to push the USA's successor states into a relatively pro-British stance, assume control over disputed regions in the North, and they'd attempt to pry the old Northwest out of whichever government got it after the USA's breakup.
 
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