American Civil War Alternative History
Slavery in the United States is the moral issue that inspired the animosity that eventually led to the American Civil War. What were alternatives for resolving the issue of slavery?

- (*)Controversy leads to secession attempt and military conflict between pro- and anti-slavery parties. Slaves are freed in connection with pro-slavery party's defeat. (actual history)

- Political compromise maintains status quo between pro- and anti-slavery parties. INDEFINITELY?

- Secession is attempted and fails, but status quo on slavery is maintained. Again, INDEFINITELY?

- Slaves freed (later) without armed conflict. British model (BUT British empire in 1800's (after loss of Am. colonies) was in geopolitical of being less economically dependent on slavery than its rival France (Sainte Dominique)). Brazil model (BUT Brazil had less racism, more intermarriage, and negative example of Am. Civil War to inspire peaceful abolition).  

- Slaves freed through slave rebellion. John Brown model. BUT Haiti is only example of modern successful slave rebellion. Even if Haiti is considered a model worthy of emulation, social conditions (racism (more in Am.), intermarriage (more in Haiti), absentee landlords (more in Haiti), geographc isolation (Hait)) would make more difficult in Am. 

- Pro-slavery region secession succeeds, but eventually abandons slavery voluntarily. BUT was slavery really on the way out? Although the number of slave-owning families was decreasing, the slave populaton increased up to the Civil War in spite of the international slave trade ban, with slave population centers shifting from Upper to Deep South through internal trade as ag. patterns shifted. RE Lee and like-minded Virginians might have started a southern abolition movement, but slave owners would have still had a lot of econ. and political clout. Even if the South industrialized, was there anything that would have prevented slaves being exploited in industry?  

- Pro-slavery region secession succeeds, slaves freed through later slave rebellion. Same problems as John Brown model above.

Successful secession would probably have weakened the trend toward federalization in both the South and North.

Secession would also generate a reunification movement in view of shared revolutionary history and constitutional political culture, esp. if/when slavery is abolished in South.