Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

The American Civil War was fought, in part, to end slavery. We can debate at some other point whither slavery was as important as is often suggested, but one of the outcomes was an end to formal slavery. However, it did not end there; the US ended up with the same people in charge in the south and laws and customs enacted there were used to keep blacks and poor whites in their place. This led to constant racial problems, which led to social problems as the losers in the war tended to work to block improvements out of spite.

(See, Scott, I’ve been listening to you)

I propose an alternative. Let’s have the US president after Lincoln (and incidentally have the southern head honchos blamed for Lincolns death) force through a system designed to strip the southern aristocrats of their power and reshape the south.

Start with the black problem. Push forward an amendment to the constitution that specifically grants the right to vote to all American males, regardless of colour, and enforce it. Further, make sure that black’s can be elected to congress and local bodies within the south.

Next, attack the landowners. As slavery is declared illegal, confiscate their lands and most of their money, and pay for their tickets to France or Britain (or even south Africa if you’re in a sterling mood). Give those lands to the ex-slaves with as much support as can be arranged and divide the rest of their resources amongst them. If the landowners refuse to go along, point out that there are firing squads arranged for the CSA supporters and if they don’t shut up…

That leaves the problem of the poorer whites. Allow them a share of the land as well and massive northern investment in the south. The new industries have to be racially integrated, but no other restrictions and fewer laws to control them. The empersis is on equality.

Claim that the KKK is a serious threat by claiming that it’s a terrorist organisation with many branches and implicate them in the death of Lincoln. This helps stop people supporting it as they’ll be branded traitors to the nation. Penalty for being convicted – with black jurors - is death or exile.

In relation to this, settle some of the old black regiments in the south with their families. Don’t ask too many questions about KKKers killed in attacks on black settlements and encourage them to be assertive about their rights.

Finally – integrate the army. Open the ranks to blacks instead of disbanding the black regiments. Further, open the navy as well, so that blacks can rise to all levels. Promote a couple of black colonels to high rank to support their fellows, demote them if they show too much partiality.

The long-term effects of this are very interesting. The US will have fewer racial troubles and a stronger reputation for racial equality. The south will have more industry and a populace that is not attacking the north at every step. Further, black congressmen might start asking questions about their fellow’s treatment in the other empires, which might have other effects on the world.

There might also be more support for adding Cuba and the Philippines as states, as well, perhaps, as the southern nations of America. The south tried to block those because they did not want states with large, non-white, populations; here they won’t have that power.

If the US has a much larger industry than OTL, attacking it would seem like suicide – even more than OTL. Spain might just back down when war threatened, which would have several interesting consequences on its own. Germany might pay more attention to the US protests when they complained about the submarines, China might suffer less at the hands of the other Powers, Japan might never realise its potential, and the US may add more states to its flag.

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Winning the Peace