I think they would have eventually rejoined the Union. It would have probably taken another 80 years or so, but I think slavery would have eventually become uneconomical and worse, embarrassing, and I think they would have eventually abolished it.
I also think Charleston would have become a far more important Port than it is now, more along the lines of New York or Boston. I think the national power/finances would have become less concentrated in the New England area.
What would it have taken for the U.S. to decide in 1856, the 80th year of our independence, that they wanted to rejoin the British empire?
I also think Charleston would have become a far more important Port than it is now, more along the lines of New York or Boston. I think the national power/finances would have become less concentrated in the New England area.
Charleston wasn't even the busiest port in the South in 1860; Mobile and New Orleans were. What would make Charleston eclipse those?
Your assessment of Charleston sounds reasonable. Charleston was the cultural capital of the American republic prior to the war between the states. (the first opera in the US was in Charleston - FYI)
I think the Confederate states would have reached mutual consent with the other nation-states at some point. JMHO.
The war between the states was a war of taxation & tariffs.
75% of taxes collected at the federal level came from South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina. 90% of those federal taxes were spent on the states that were not part of the states that seceded.