Revisionist History: What If the South Had Won the Civil War? (Editorial)

Spetember 26, 2004 | Gary L. Livacari

[GaryL]

Any Civil War revisionists out there? I'd appreciate hearing your comments! Thanks

[Brian Mosely]

I take it you've never heard of Harry Turtledove's books on this. There a whole series of alternate history about this very thing.

[Nowhere Man]

Alternate History BUMP for later reading and comment.

[nathanbedford]

Well Gary, I might allow as how it would have been better if the war had not been fought. Better if there had been no occupation of the South with its attendant corruption, and suppression. Better if emancipation had occured through evolution rather than invasion. Better if the constitution had not been shredded, so that the South could not even claim that, although it lost the war, it had preserved its principles, apart from slavery.

By the way, I will add "total decimation" to my list of oxymorons.

[lowbridge]

What If the South Had Won the Civil War?

We'd be paying taxes to Richmond instead of Washington.

[Mike Fieschko]

Harry Turtledove's books

Turtledove fan here.

Glad he's continuing The Great War series and dropped Worldwar. Read Settling Accounts: Return Engagement yet?

[r9etb]

If the South had won the civil war, there would have been another war in about 10 years' time.

[DJ Taylor]

A similar outcome could have happened if George Mcclellan had won the presidential election of 1864. Mcclellan, a Democrat, campaigned against Lincoln on a peace platform that would have readmitted the Southern States to the Union and would have given the South until 1900 to gradually phase out slavery. The North was weary of the war at that time, and Mcclellan came within a hair’s breadth of winning that election.

[Protagoras]

If the South had won the civil war, there would have been another war in about 10 years' time.

No need for further speculation, that wraps it up.

[sheltonmac]

*ping*

[4CJ]

As a conservative who longs for limited government and the ideals of the Constitution, I am not ashamed to speculate that quite possibly we would have a better world today had the South won the Civil War. Maybe I’m dreaming, but I think limited government, personal freedom, and higher degrees of racial harmony are what we’d be experiencing.

Bump.

[A2J]

Bump for Dixie!

[HenryLeeII]

You done gone and dunnit now! Non-sequitur and his band of brothers are gonna bombard this thread now with 6,000 replies on the oppressive qualities of the Confeddyrit gub'mint while singin' for the Choir Immaculate over the angelic virtues of Lincoln! Hell, we're good fer 3,000 replies on tariffs alone. Now why you done gone and done this fer? Don'tch ye know the CSA had a draft? Dont'ch ye know they collected taxes? It don't matter that tharr was a war on, #3Fan will tell you that!

[eyespysomething]

bump to keep an eye on this one

[4CJ]

Wouldn't doubt it. They managed to get one thread deleted when #3fan went ballistic. Another was locked for a week or so, unlocked, and is now locked again. Sigh.

[HenryLeeII]

Heck, furrgit the fact that the Suth'ron states tried an' in-voke they's 10th Amendamint rights, but the gub'mint demanded that they citizens done pay taxes! That alone warr'rinted invasion by the peaceable soldiers of Mr. Lincoln's army! Didn't #3 Fan or anyone tell you that?!?!

[JenB]

Great book. I love the great war series. Though his best recent books (IMO) have been Ruled Britania (Shakespeare! And alternate history! What more could you want?) and In the Presence of Mine Enemies, both stand-alones.

[4CJ]

Didn't #3 Fan or anyone tell you that?!?!

'nother wun told me that Lincoln shulda wiped out all southerners. Them's fightin' words!

[stand watie]

as REVISIONISM/revisionist historiography is a EXTREME LEFTIST heresy, out of the most extreme, southHATING, socialist (some would say communist) wing of northeastern,elitist academia,of traditional scholarship i'd be astounded to learn that ANY revisionists are on FR.

btw, traditional scholars are either PRO-southern or NEUTRAL.

free dixie,sw