Would the CSA have accepted this peace offer?

If the election of 1864 went against Lincoln and McClellan becomes the new POTUS, would the Confederate States Of America accept this peace offer?

The McClellan Treaty

- Alabama will be allowed to secede from the Union

- Florida will be allowed to secede from the Union. The Florida Keys currently held by The United States will remain with the Union.

- Georgia will be allowed to secede from the Union.

- Mississippi will be allowed to secede from the Union.

- North Carolina will be allowed to secede from the Union. The coastal areas of North Carolina currently held by The United States will be returned to the state of North Carolina.

- South Carolina will be allowed to secede from the Union. The State of South Carolina must pay $150,000 in two years to purchase Fort Sumter. If this amount is not paid in full after two years, Fort Sumter will be returned to The United States.

- Tennessee will hold a "Referendum Of Intent" no later than thirteen months after this treaty is ratified by The United States and The Confederate States. This "Referendum Of Intent" will decide if the State of Tennessee will join The United States or The Confederate States. Any citizen able to legally vote for President shall be allowed to take part in this election. The Military forces of The United States and the Confederate States will remove themselves from the State of Tennessee. Only the Tennessee state militia will be allowed to remain. The United States and The Confederate States will each be allowed to send one hundred unarmed observers to insure to fairness of the election. The safety of the observers will be the responsibility of the State of Tennessee.

- Virgina will be allowed to secede form the Union. The State of West Virginia will remain in the Union. Virgina will give up any territorial claims on The State of West Virgina.

- All other States will remain in the Union.

- The Confederate States will give up any other territorial claims.

- All runaway or freed slaves living in The United States slaves shall remain free. The Confederate States and it's citizens will not be allowed to ask for repayment for finical loss regarding this matter.

- If any other State or States try to secede from the Union, The Confederate States will not aid them in anyway. Any such aid will be viewed as an act of war.



(President McClellan makes it perfectly clear that his offer is not up for negotiation. It is take it or leave it, and he plans to continue the war if the CSA turn down the offer. Does the CSA accept?)
 
Well you'll have people from both sides running into Tennessee to join the militia. Bleeding Kansas on blood thinners.
 

Jasen777

Donor
The Confederate government may agree if they are realistic (so I doubt they would), also depends on the P.O.D. if the war is as OTL the Confederacy is pretty much doomed at this point. If the war is slightly better for the Confederacy (say Union defeat outside Atlanta) that probably ruins any chances they'll accept.

In any case it won't end the war with Texas and parts of Louisiana and Arkansas still in arms and not wanting back in the Union.
 

NothingNow

Banned
And I don't think The CSA would like the Deal. They'd need to include Louisiana, Texas, And Arkansas to really make sense.
And It'd be hard to keep Key West supplied. All water on the Key has to be shipped in or Collected in Catchments.
 
Wasn't Texas holding out ? I can't see why they'd agree to surrender themselves so that the rest can go free...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 

Jasen777

Donor
Wasn't Texas holding out ? I can't see why they'd agree to surrender themselves so that the rest can go free...

They wouldn't. But why should the government in Richmond care. If the war is as OTL it is hopeless - this offer gives them something when otherwise in a less than a year they would have nothing (McClellan won't be sworn in until March 4th 1865). If they're thinking clearly they take it.
 
They wouldn't. But why should the government in Richmond care. If the war is as OTL it is hopeless - this offer gives them something when otherwise in a less than a year they would have nothing (McClellan won't be sworn in until March 4th 1865). If they're thinking clearly they take it.
Yes. Also didn't Lincoln prepare some contingency plans to really push the war hard during his lame duck period to avoid a scenario like this?
 

Nikephoros

Banned
They wouldn't. But why should the government in Richmond care. If the war is as OTL it is hopeless - this offer gives them something when otherwise in a less than a year they would have nothing (McClellan won't be sworn in until March 4th 1865). If they're thinking clearly they take it.

Especially since Texas is completely isolated from Richmond's control. Why keep it?
 
Especially since Texas is completely isolated from Richmond's control. Why keep it?

IIRC the senators etc from ALL CS states remained in the senate regardless of whether their state was conquered, cut off or whatever. I don't think that the CS government has the authority to make this agreement without senate ratification. Can it get that ratification if a significant number of senators oppose it ?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
nope...

the terms are too Confederate-screw for the Confederates to even consider it....

The CSA was starting feel the pain of the ongoing war. It would be natural that the terms would favor the USA.

And I don't think The CSA would like the Deal. They'd need to include Louisiana, Texas, And Arkansas to really make sense.
And It'd be hard to keep Key West supplied. All water on the Key has to be shipped in or Collected in Catchments.

McClellan would try to keep the western states because of all the Union victories out in that theater of the war. Also, it makes sense for the USA to want to keep Louisiana for trade purposes. The Keys could become an important base for the USA if they lost Florida.

Wasn't Texas holding out ? I can't see why they'd agree to surrender themselves so that the rest can go free...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

With the fall of Vicksburg the CSA was rather effectively cut in half. This offer is made directly to Richmond. It gives the CSA a chance to save a portion of the CSA, but not the Western States. It also gives the USA a chance to end the war with less bloodshed. Putting down Texas won't be as hard as breaking the entire Confederacy. Texas might even give up if they are sold out by the CSA. It also makes McClellan look better to the copperheads by offering terms, and a lesser CSA would be a smaller threat in the futre.
 

NothingNow

Banned
McClellan would try to keep the western states because of all the Union victories out in that theater of the war. Also, it makes sense for the USA to want to keep Louisiana for trade purposes. The Keys could become an important base for the USA if they lost Florida.
They've always been an important base.
They're the reason why Spain was rather obsessed with keeping Florida, Even if they just sat on them and Did nothing.
They're in a Strategic position but almost impossible to really control until the Invention of Search radar. Pirates and smugglers love the keys because of all the Reefs and sandbars.
 
IIRC the senators etc from ALL CS states remained in the senate regardless of whether their state was conquered, cut off or whatever. I don't think that the CS government has the authority to make this agreement without senate ratification. Can it get that ratification if a significant number of senators oppose it ?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Well assuming 13 states(counting Kentucky and Missouri) that means 26 Senators. If the Senators from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas vote against and all others vote for. That is 10 to 16. I'm not sure about a Confederate filibuster. I read through the CSA Constitution and didn't see anything about it. Does anyone know?

They've always been an important base.
They're the reason why Spain was rather obsessed with keeping Florida, Even if they just sat on them and Did nothing.
They're in a Strategic position but almost impossible to really control until the Invention of Search radar. Pirates and smugglers love the keys because of all the Reefs and sandbars.

Even if they are hard to control, I think the USA would still want to hold on to them. Especially since they had control of them all through the war. I thought Trading the Carolina Tidewater area for the Florida Keys made much more sense for USA. I could see the USA worried about the Gulf of Mexico becoming a Confederate Lake.
 

NothingNow

Banned
Well assuming 13 states(counting Kentucky and Missouri) that means 26 Senators. If the Senators from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas vote against and all others vote for. That is 10 to 16. I'm not sure about a Confederate filibuster. I read through the CSA Constitution and didn't see anything about it. Does anyone know?



Even if they are hard to control, I think the USA would still want to hold on to them. Especially since they had control of them all through the war. I thought Trading the Carolina Tidewater area for the Florida Keys made much more sense for USA. I could see the USA worried about the Gulf of Mexico becoming a Confederate Lake.

Yeah. if the US holds Key West, they can more or less shut the Straits of Florida if needed.
 
If they look to the long term, I think they take it. They will have successfully set a precedent for splitting states out of the Union, giving the western states the opportunity to secede once the pressure is off.
 
The Confederates have been looking for a Peace Offer, since the Day of Davis' Inauguration.
However they would be fools to take this one.

The Butterflies for a McClellan Election Inticate that The CS is doing better than OTL, and Union Dissatisfaction is lots Greater.
This would have been reflected in the composition of Congress following the '64 Election.


OTL the CS held out till June, ITTL they only have to Hold Out till Congress shuts off the money for the Army.
Whe would also have a lot more Union Soldiers deserting, with a feeling of not wanting to be the Last Soldier Shot in Mr Lincolns War
 
Top