I mentioned in the previous thread "The President and the Freedom Fighter" which my sister really liked and that she got me Teddy and Booker T. for Christmas. The author, Brian kilmeade, or whoever writes such books, will probably have a third in this timeline about James Garfield and. Octavius Catto, or whoever else is President. They will be in asclose proximity in age, as the first 2, and will be prominent in the same time period. Garfield could have met him in Congress in 1862 here. And then when Congress is back in session in late 1865. If he gets chosen again they can work together more. They probably each lived to 1900 here.
Reconstruction: The Second American Revolution - The Sequel to Until Every Drop of Blood Is Paid
- Thread starter Red_Galiray
- Start date
Maybe some type of black/white self-segregation? They support the building up of white and black communities and create policies to ensure both sides stay away from each other and justify if for the common good and well-being of American harmony?
I'm very glad to have the timeline returned just in time for Reconstruction. Considering that this was the main focus of your research and current writing over the extremely long Until Every Drop of Blood is Paid, I'm very curious to see how the United States drastically diverges even further from OTL amidst a true Second American Revolution.
If anything, the United States and the Freedman's Bureau should prioritize food security and revitalizing the agricultural sector before beginning the industrialization process once the guerillas have been quelled. People cannot work in factories if they're literally starving and can only eat rotten pork or moldy cornbread.
Aside from the obvious benefits it would bring to the South and the wider United States economy (mainly staple crops, livestock, or cash crops used for Northern industry), we forget that the agricultural sector will be virtually unrecognizable compared to OTL even decades after the end of the Civil War due to the increased agency of Black Freedmen who want to work in the fields that they now own due to earlier land confiscation and redistribution during the Second American Revolution.
This is not a mere continuation of the plantation economy worked by oppressed sharecroppers (slaves but in name) but instead a complete overhaul of the agricultural sector where both black and white small-time farmers can grow and sell the goods they produce fairly. I for one, think this is a good thing and exemplifies the virtues held by Northerners and the wider American Dream.
Let the free South work the fields and the rest will follow.
Heck, I might believe the Southerns might be the early progenitor of the post-apocalyptic genre once people write stories influenced by the anarchy and devastation of the South but with widely different settings and circumstances to how they got to that state in the first place.
I disagree with this notion very strongly, especially with the current state of the South right now.
If anything, the United States and the Freedman's Bureau should prioritize food security and revitalizing the agricultural sector before beginning the industrialization process once the guerillas have been quelled. People cannot work in factories if they're literally starving and can only eat rotten pork or moldy cornbread.
Aside from the obvious benefits it would bring to the South and the wider United States economy (mainly staple crops, livestock, or cash crops used for Northern industry), we forget that the agricultural sector will be virtually unrecognizable compared to OTL even decades after the end of the Civil War due to the increased agency of Black Freedmen who want to work in the fields that they now own due to earlier land confiscation and redistribution during the Second American Revolution.
This is not a mere continuation of the plantation economy worked by oppressed sharecroppers (slaves but in name) but instead a complete overhaul of the agricultural sector where both black and white small-time farmers can grow and sell the goods they produce fairly. I for one, think this is a good thing and exemplifies the virtues held by Northerners and the wider American Dream.
Let the free South work the fields and the rest will follow.
Southerns being an edgy counterpart to Westerns might affect how the latter is written, especially during the earliest examples of those genres. We might see Western protagonists be more heroic even amidst the anarchic setting, which is kinda crazy to think about considering the genre is defined by its anti-heroes (what does that even look like?), but the state of the South will push protagonists or even all of the characters into being more cynical and less heroic.
Heck, I might believe the Southerns might be the early progenitor of the post-apocalyptic genre once people write stories influenced by the anarchy and devastation of the South but with widely different settings and circumstances to how they got to that state in the first place.
The anti-hero thing is somewhat new for westerns, in their golden age they were defined by their fairly black and white morality, something that I doubt will change here. what I'm thinking is that the Southern will effectively take the place of the revisionist western and do it earlier.
Maybe westerns take an almost Thoreau-esc turn, focusing on the landscape of the west perhaps? This could lead to the western genre taking more after Kerouac than L'Amour.
There is an Elseworlds story where Clark Kent is a Union soldier (Superman: A Nation Divided).
Also, remember one thing: no Lost Cause of the South to make these assholes look good!
Maybe the saying goes "Neither rain nor sleet nor hail or Southern Guerillas will stop the US mail" TTL.
Picture is broken here.
The Victory of the Union
I mean, we kinda do already have edgy Southern fiction, so there's some logic.
When reading up on the topic, it seems like a really interesting tactic some Chestnuts might advocate for, how they sell it to the public is another thing.
So how will the the boll weevil affect Southern reconstruction? How will the loyal native Americans be treated? Will this radical reconstruction lead to quicker settlement of the west and larger demand to spread American views on the world? Foreign policy of anti slavery against Spain and Brazil?
Such a neat little thing to highlight, and something I imagine will get name dropped a lot during Congressional tours.
The war and its destruction leading to the Capitol itself being rebuilt anew, but this time with free labor, black and white.
Interestingly, from what I can find, by January 1866 there were only 87.5K soldiers in the the South, which by October of 1867 was drawn down to only a little more than 20K.
Of course even that 100K in ATL can be demobilized some when the immediate threats from famine and civil anarchy are fully dealt with, but the North obvious is gearing up for a far greater and more authoritative occupation here. A 'peacetime' commitment that will not be cheap or without controversy, one imagines.
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Might make it a bit easier. King Cotton isn't as valuable, especially since you can't grow it, so try growing other crops, like say, food.
Frees up more agricultural land and such.
One problem you could easily run into, though, is thst if there's one crop that freedmen know how to grow very well, it's cotton. And it's also a super profitable crop. Furthermore, the northern Mills are still going to want to see cotton production eventually start back up so they have access to it for their factories. And since these mill owners and workers are invariably Republican, they will have influence on Reconstruction.
I could see the small holders still maintaining -at least at first- a very cotton-centric economy as they are familiar with it and its likely to be profitable. No doubt this is supplemented by subsistence agriculture as well, for the family's own use.
So the Boll Weevil could still cause a lot of problems, unless small farmers (both white and black) find a reason to diversify earlier.
Like say, a lot of starving during the past few years, coupled with the realization food sells as just as well locally?
The problem, of course, is that there IS plenty of food - it just can't reach the starving people due to infrastructure issues brought on by the war. That is going to sort itself out in due course, as railroads are repaired and expanded, and river transportation along the Mississippi resumes. I do think, initially, you will see more food being gown - slaves often kept small gardens to help suppliment their ratitions during slavery and those skills will definitely allow them to grow larger plots for their own sustinence once they gain land. And i think this tradition, mixed with the famine during the last months of the war and early reconstruction, will reinforce the wisdom in being self-sufficient.
But at the end of the day, cotton is still going to be the cash crop of choice. Because, yes, growing food crops is going to be profitable during the famine (well, maybe not profitable as I doubt anyone has money - though you likely see a barter economy develop initially) but at the end of the day, cotton was King for a reason, and there is going to be a lot of internal and external pressures to resume growing as soon as possible. Though, to be honest, I could see a Federal Program being part of Reconstruction to at least enccourage a few other cash crops to supplement cotton - though how well could new Southron producers compete against more established growers in the north and west? Pre-Boll Weeval I suspect that Southron agricultrue will continue to be focused on Cotton. its simply too proftable and esential to the american economy.
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They'll pivot hard to a generalised opposition to the expanded power of the central government and a fear of devolution into despotism which, in isolation, is definitely an argument that could carry some weight amongst people who otherwise are not necessarily receptive to overt white supremacy.
Cue the Chestnuts campaigning in the worst way possible to de-legitimatize their talking points 🤣🤣🤣
You know, I’m honestly hoping that the Liberal Republicans are more successful ITTL. Economic issues will eventually return to the forefront, as they did after the Panic of 1873 (which I don’t think will be butterflies, considering it started in Austria). It’s better to have anti-racist ex-Republicans as the opposition to the protectionist Republicans than still racist Democrats.
I mean, maybe, but that won't last forever. Politics in democracies is cyclical; there are no permanent victories or permanent losses.
I have
In the old thread I mentioned how federal property taxes were levied during the civil war and might be kept or raised in order to incentivize southern agricultural land to be put to its “highest and best use”. It might be more palatable to give African Americans tons of land if they have to pay lots of taxes on it.
The Liberal Democratic Party in Japan seems to be winning permanently. In addition, it is pretty common for certain issues to be won permanently(ie fiat currency, an income tax or no internal tariffs).