Joined Apr 2010
50,502 Posts | 11,794+
Awesome
I don't normally do this, but I've had an idea for a short story, maybe a novella, and I'd like to see what people, especially our American forum members think.
The American Civil War has ended in a stalemate. With neither side able to make any significant gains, an uneasy compromise is reached. The Confederacy and the Union agree to a nominal federal union, with both sides having their own Presidents, Vice-Presidents and governments, which together form the new United States. The Confederacy (now known as the Southern United States) retains slavery.
In 1867, Northern President Andrew Johnson is impeached and convicted, but refuses to hand over power with the support of (by now) unpopular Southern President Jefferson Davis, who had won a second term due to the "victory" of the Confederacy. War hero Ulysses S. Grant, backed by a number of state governors, takes matters into his own hands and forcibly deposes Johnson.
Jefferson Davis is assassinated in 1868, propelling Alexander Stephens to the Southern Presidency. The ambitious Stephens looks to take advantage of the turmoil in the North to reunite the United States under a single presidency.
Fearful of a military threat from the North under Grant, people in the South begin demanding immediate elections with Robert E. Lee as candidate. Stephens appoints him Vice-President to appease the voters. The two men do not get on, and their fractious relationship threatens to undermine the South.
Somewhere along the line, all this leads to a reunification of the USA - how, I don't know yet.
What do you think?
The American Civil War has ended in a stalemate. With neither side able to make any significant gains, an uneasy compromise is reached. The Confederacy and the Union agree to a nominal federal union, with both sides having their own Presidents, Vice-Presidents and governments, which together form the new United States. The Confederacy (now known as the Southern United States) retains slavery.
In 1867, Northern President Andrew Johnson is impeached and convicted, but refuses to hand over power with the support of (by now) unpopular Southern President Jefferson Davis, who had won a second term due to the "victory" of the Confederacy. War hero Ulysses S. Grant, backed by a number of state governors, takes matters into his own hands and forcibly deposes Johnson.
Jefferson Davis is assassinated in 1868, propelling Alexander Stephens to the Southern Presidency. The ambitious Stephens looks to take advantage of the turmoil in the North to reunite the United States under a single presidency.
Fearful of a military threat from the North under Grant, people in the South begin demanding immediate elections with Robert E. Lee as candidate. Stephens appoints him Vice-President to appease the voters. The two men do not get on, and their fractious relationship threatens to undermine the South.
Somewhere along the line, all this leads to a reunification of the USA - how, I don't know yet.
What do you think?
