If the South would have won... (war, influence, Mexico, Hitler)

[bawac34618]

How do you think American history and even World History would have changed had the Confederacy won the war or have been allowed to secede without battle. Here are a few things to think about.

Would there have been further secession on both sides? Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona would have likely been admitted as Confederate states, but the entire idea of the Confederacy was based on the idea of a weak central government and strong state governments. I think it's very possible the Confederacy could have eventually split into several nations. Today, some may be Democratic while others may be dictatorships.

It's likely slavery would have eventually been abolished even in the South, but there would have never been full equality. Economically it would probably be Second World like much of Latin America. You would have a high concentration of wealth at the top with mass suffering and poverty for the masses. The kind of income disparity I am talking about is where the wealthy live in extravagant manors and everyone else lives in shantytowns and can barely afford food.

Being that the Confederates controlled the Mississippi and New Orleans, how would that affected further development of the Midwest and its industrialization?

Being that Southern influence has long been one of the primary factors opposing more centralized government power, had the Union remained together, how would it look today? I think there is a chance that it would be a much more socialistic society akin to the European Union than it is today. What about Communism? Could it have taken hold in the Union? Given many of the problems with industrial society in the late 19th century I think it's very possible it could have.

How would it have affected the dynamics of the world wars? There is some speculation that World War I would have spread to North America had the Confederacy remained. The Confederacy might have sided with Germany. What about World War II? Could the Confederacy had sided with the Axis powers? If so, the U.S. would have been bogged down on this continent and not have been as involved in Europe, allowing the Soviet Union to defeat Hitler alone resulting in a unified communist Germany. I think from there, chances are more likely than not that Stalin would have claimed both France and Italy as well..

On to the Cold War, America would have probably not have emerged from World War II as a superpower. Without the U.S., what would keep Stalin in check?

These are just some interesting things to think about and it's quite remarkable how a different outcome could have completely changed the course of world history.

[maf763]

This was discussed to death quite recently on this forum.

[mensaguy]

Originally Posted by maf763

This was discussed to death quite recently on this forum.

That's the one I remembers too.

If the South had won, what do you think would have taken place?

Go there to continue the discussion. It's always a good idea to search a forum to see if a topic already exists before starting a new thread.