Brothers No More

This Southern victory scenario aims to be the deepest such timeline ever created, with unique elements and realistic intrigue to deviate from the tropes. I want to give readers the same feeling you get digging into new historical topics on Wikipedia, with deep information and tidbits to be found if you dig far enough. It's still under construction, but please check it out! The narrative is currently paused in the 1930's as I work to flesh out what I have so far.

Points of Divergence

The South could not have won the Civil War based on a single point of divergence. It would have had to be a trend of luck favoring the South, and a few large blunders not happening. To start, the South does not invade Kentucky early in the war. This keeps Kentucky favorable to the South. Secondly, General Albert Sidney Johnston was not killed at the Battle of Shiloh. He was still seriously wounded and was unable to return to the battlefield until 1864. However, his survival kept Southern morale higher than it was in OTL. Special Order 191 is never left behind and found by Union forces. The early successes of the Confederacy led to Britain and France seriously considering joining the war on the South's side. Britain eventually decided against it, in part due to having their own cotton production in India, but France wanted a strong ally in America. France sent their ships to break up parts of the US blockade around the South, allowing vital supplies to finally flow in and out of the Confederacy. Later on, Stonewall Jackson was not accidentally killed by Confederate forces, meaning he was present to finish the war. This resulted in a victory at the Battle of Gettysburg (a different battle than the one in OTL, but similar in scale) and a final victory at the Battle of Alexandria in April 1865. This victory destroyed the Union's main force and also their hopes for a victory.

The Treaty of Alexandria officially ended the war. In it, the US agreed to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Confederate States. The CS would not include the border states of Kentucky or Missouri, having never effectively controlled either. The South agreed to let West Virginia remain in the Union in exchange for the Arizona Territory (the Southern part of the New Mexico territory) and the area that would later become Oklahoma. The treaty also stipulated that there would be free movement and immigration of citizens between the two nations at least until 1900, and free trade until 1880. The Southern negotiators tried to include a provision in the treaty that would allow any US state to join the Confederacy at any time over the next 30 years, but that was one thing the North wouldn't budge on. Either way, the South had finally won its independence.

Outcome of the Southern War of Independence

Links

Main Links

• Elections
• People

Other Links

Political Parties

• First Confederate Party System (This page is strongly recommended for anyone seeking to understand the early Confederate political system and the differences between the two parties.)

• American Party
• National Party
• Republican Party
• Reform Party

Democratic Party Factions:

• Bullwhackers
• Tildenites

Wars

• Mexican-Confederate War
• Spanish-Confederate War
• Southern War of Independence/American Civil War

Miscellaneous

• Abolition of Slavery in the United States
• Altarists
• Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln
• Stephens Manifesto
• The Great Disgrace
• The Line
• Two Rivers Republic
• Wagonhoppers

Notes

• This timeline is still very much under construction, which means that nothing I write in any article is final and everything should be essentially considered a placeholder for the final product. When the main timeline is finished, I plan to go back and review everything to make it more cohesive and fleshed out, and then add more depth from there.
• Even though the Butterfly Effect would almost certainly cause completely different people to rise to positions of prominence in this timeline, I prefer to build my timelines around people that actually existed in OTL. I feel that creating fictional leaders cheapens the overall feel of the timeline.
• The depiction of historical figures in this timeline should not at all be considered indicative of their real world personas or beliefs. For example, some politicians in the Confederacy may be depicted as supporting slavery or segregation when they didn't in real life- this is not meant to imply they are/were racist in real life, but simply that growing up in a different world may have left them with different morals. This obviously does not apply to those that really did support these things.

Current Progress

I am currently working on a major revamp of the early period of my timeline, the 1860's-1880's. I find that I kind of glossed over that time period originally, especially when it comes to politics in the United States, which were messy and ambiguous. There may be some somewhat major changes to the timeline, but I also think it's shaping up to be a lot more interesting and make a lot more sense. The basis of the history that's already been established will be kept.

List of major changes from the original timeline:

• I originally changed the timeline to have Lincoln removed from office by impeachment, but have now changed it back as I determined there was no possible way for Democrats to have gained enough senate seats before the end of Lincoln's term.
• Robert E. Lee now dies in office on his historical death date in 1870
• The abolition of slavery in the US has generally been rewritten
• The American and National parties now have well defined ideologies, which means I can no longer just throw politicians in either one based on vibes alone (some politicians have been switched around)
• Elihu B. Washburne is the National American candidate in 1880 instead of George F. Edmunds

Upcoming work: The 1860's and 70's are now virtually complete. I will move onto revising the 80's and 90's. The 1884 election will be changed, leading to a different president to replace Levi P. Morton. The succession of presidents after that will be changed, likely meaning that Bryan or any other progressives will not be president. The 1892-93 diplomatic crisis between the US and CS will be expanded upon and fleshed out.

Once I look over all of what I have so far and have a truly solid foundation to build on, I will continue moving the timeline forward into World War II and beyond.