What do you think America would look like today if the South had won the civil war?

Question

would there be two independant countries? how long would slavery last in the South?

Answer 1

As one of my college history teachers once told his classes, geography is destiny, meaning, in this instance, that a lot of what happened to the South and to the North after the American Civil War probably wouldn't change a great deal.

------The South would remain largely agrarian while the rivers that provided the North with the energy to power the Industrial Revolution would continue to attract industry as well as immigrants. Until 1900 only two cities in the South (New Orleans and Louisville) has populations over 5,000. The South would probably have continued to have been a rural, slave-holding economy well into the 20th century. Southern commercial hubs, such as Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, and Houston, also would have developed as major cities by the mid-20th century.

That said, and noticing trends that were already starting in Southern society,

------The Confederacy would continue to strengthen a marketing partnership and political alliance with the United Kingdom.

------Slavery would eventually be abolished through graduated emancipation as it became increasingly more profitable to hire skilled laborers, perhaps during the 1920s or 1930s. Much of the Confederacy's capital loss from the Civil War was loss of "human capital"--27 billion dollars worth of slaves. Although only a small minority of Southners owned plantations, they controled most of that region's wealth.

------Without a dominant power in North America, European powers would have taken an increased interest in South America.

------Both the United States and the Confederacy would extend all the way to the Pacific Ocean by the end of the 19th century.

------Texas would probably succeed from the Confederacy.

Answer 2

Simple answer, we'd be speaking German right now.

American was largely isolationist until WWI (and immediately following). Now a split America wouldn't have made too much different in WWI, however the U.S.A. helped the Allies push Germany back from France and other nations in Europe during WWII (England, though a stalwart, didn't have the resources to do it alone). A split America would not have had the man power either.

Indeed, a split America probably wouldn't have had a strong presence in the Pacific, so Japan would not have needed to attack Pearl Harbor in order to cripple the American fleet there long enough for them to take necessary resources in the South Pacific. As such, American might not have even entered the war so early (if at all), and even if it did it would have been with insignificant resources (never mind the possibility that either the North or the South would have probably done the exact opposite of the other and joined the Axis powers).

Even assuming Germany was satisfied with controlling most of Europe, it would have become the greatest world power and thus, if for no other reason than economics, we would be speaking German.

Answer 3

The part of the North American continent occupied by what is now the United States of America would be divided into many small countrys. The South, if victorious would have split again and again as the regional differences caused political strife and led to more revolts. Slavery and political insuperiority for blacks would have lasted clear into the twentieth century in areas of the south, just as apartheid survived in South Africa. The North might have held together awhile longer but eventually it would have split apart as well. The huge debt from the war and the great loss of life would have left northerners very bitter and led to much infighting with each other and against the nations that grew up in the old South. This part of the continent would be nothing but little self important poorly run governments and juntas. Think of the Central America countrys as an example...new goverments and coup' de tats every few months or years, no political or economic stability for the population. Their would be no political, economic, diplomatic or social forces that this continent could bring to bear on the rest of the world as it does today, whether they be good or bad.

Answer 4

That's an interesting question and one I never really gave much thought to before.

I think we might well have been two countries since the south seceded and if that had been the case, slavery would have lasted alot longer than it actually did.

And look at history. In the south, the blacks were repressed well into the 1960s. They had to ride in the back of the bus, if they could ride at all. They couldn't eat in the "white" restaurants, go to the "white" bathrooms or even get a drink of water from the "white" fountains no matter how hot it was.

So even though slavery was "abolished" in the 1860s, the attitudes didn't change in the south even 100 years after the war and the bigots were rampant as they made life miserable for the black people.

They not only burned their homes and churches and killed thousands of them just because they were black, they even stacked the courts so the guilty could walk free from their crimes and walk free they did.... for a while. It has taken another 50 or so years to put some of them in prison for what they did years ago.

The north was industrialized before and during the Civil War and were better off financially because they didn't rely on cheap labor like the south did so the north would probably have done ok financially and would have moved ahead in many ways where the south would have had to reestablish their way of life eventually in order to survive financially since one of their main stays was the cotton fields.

One thing that would have been nice if it could have been passed on are the manners that the south had ~ they had a genteel way about them and I love that southern drawl which seems to be fading away in parts of the south (sure haven't heard much of it here in TX like they had years ago).

A memory that just came to me ~ I grew up in OH and remember my mother telling me about a black family that lived down the street from us. She said one day she was walking down the street when the young boy was walking towards her. When he saw her coming, he stepped off the sidewalk and into the street until she passed. She heard from another neighbor later that they had moved there from the south which was evident by his actions. I've always wondered what happened to him and if he made a success of his life ~ I sure hope so.

Answer 5

Slavery would have been rendered moot by Eli Whitney's cotton gin and the Cyrus McCormack's reaper. They could do the work of many slaves; required no food, shelter or clothing; never need medical care; could be repaired and reused year after year. The personal issues of involuntary servitude would have been sorted out in time. The Emancipation Proclaimation offered opportunities for those who had been slaves to seek out their own life and jobs with the skills that had been imposed upon them or they could chose others for money. As the industrial revolution occurred, the destruction of the South as a whole led to the wholesale relocation of many of those who had served masters. The plantation systems was rendered useless when the slaves could no longer be compelled by reason of force to serve the master. The masters were in no position to pay the workers and those who stayed behind to become sharecroppers were too poor to flee, both black and white. There would have been an ignorant faction who still wanted to practice domination and force....oh, wait...we have them...they are the KKK and their ilk who still believe that God created some people who were lesser than them. Monetary considerations would have forced an end to slavery in time. on a personal note to mneil: color doesn't make a person lazy anymore than sitting in your garage makes you a Buick. Personal character and willingness to do for one's own betterment has NO color. Grow up.

Answer 6

Well, south to the Rio Grande, perhaps the confederates would have invaded Mexico and central America. Other than that, I don't think that the other countries in America would have been affected

Answer 7

The country would have dissolved. We would look like the countries in Eastern Europe, constatnly fighting. The Civil war was not just about slavery, but about keep a Union whole.

Answer 8

I think that the US would have become three or four separate countries; that Alaska & Hawaii would not be joined to the continental states; that slavery would have disappeared by 1885; that we may have lost WWII, or never been involved in it at all; and that the Northern country would be considerably worse off economically than it is now.

Answer 9

I am from Alabama originally, and I think we would have much better manners. Blacks would have been freed from slavery, because it was becoming economically and industrially more feasible to pay, rather than own people. There was already a moral uprising to abolish slavery before Lincoln and before the war.

Answer 10

Hey there,
Here I got Axis and Allies for free: http://bit.ly/1BDxkPc

it's a perfectly working link, no scam !
There are four modes of play in Axis