What if the South Won the American Civil War?

by Mahi Uddin June 06, 2019 0 comments

An Alternate history: What if the South Won the American Civil War?

The Civil War was the most devastating conflict in America's history.

What if the South Won the American Civil War?

What if the South Won the American Civil War?- whatifhub.com

Approximately 640,000 Americans died in the four-year combat between the Union and Confederates which eventually resulted in a Southern defeat, keeping the United States, well, United.

But what if in the other timeline, the South won the Civil War? "What?" many ask. "What would even be the outcome had the Confederates [won]? "What would be the potential scenarios of a Southern victory?"

Well, dear viewer, stop interrupting me; it's quite rude. That is what this video is about. By looking at facts and historical issues, we can get a few rough plans about what this Confederate independence might look like.

What if the South won the Civil War?

I'm not here to address an argument over whether the South could have won the War. The Union definitely had a significant advantage with a higher population, more industry, and a more massive army.

what if the south won the civil war alternate history

what if the south won the civil war alternate history- whatifhub.com

But in this alternate timeline, everything goes right for the South. The future in this Confederate victory would depend on two constituents: the peace negotiations with the Union and the size of the disagreement.

Being smaller and less developed, the South would only have a successful survival if the Union easily gave up on their war effort.

There were people in the North who would have gone into a treaty with the independent CSA.

George McClellan, a Union General-turned Presidential candidate, even spoke of going into peace discussions with the South so it wouldn't be too crazy if this did occur.

In this alternate timeline, it does, definitely letting the South win the War. If the South won early into the battle, relations wouldn't be too broken with the former Americans.

who won the civil war

who won the civil war- whatifhub.com

Every nation would dominate themselves and trade with one another. Just as in our timeline, Northern textiles use Southern cotton to create products, which makes the South rich.

This economic relationship could easily extend if both were separate governments, at least for a little while.

One thing we need to address an independent CSA is just how long slavery would have actually lasted.

Slavery was an essential part of Southern economics and social hierarchy. It was the central reason the South seceded from the Union in the prime place.

what if the civil war never happened

what if the civil war never happened- whatifhub.com

The Southern aristocrats feared that the election of Lincoln would take away their main economic strength. Of course, they would secede to protect their fortune.

Slavery was even protected by the CSA Constitution because of this matter. However, with the rise of abolition in Europe and the North, perhaps boycotting of Southern cotton could have inspired them to disband their practice.

Britain could have gotten their cloth from India or Egypt anyway so they could afford to take a moral stance.

Just as South Africa was gradually forced from the global community to disband apartheid, so would the South be forced to give up its slave-based economy.

how long would slavery have lasted if the south won

how long would slavery have lasted if the south won- whatifhub.com

Combined with increased industrialization, less economic profit, and a need to compete with Western nations, the opinion could be forced to change slavery in the South.

Slavery would have been disbanded only in the face of total economic collapse, but ultimately, it had to be abolished, or I sure hope it would have.

With this, possible abolition enrages Southern whites as they fear conflict with blacks in the job market.

We could see an alternate parallel of the KKK be born inside the South but fighting toward the anti-slavery Confederate government and released blacks.

Even if the South disbanded slavery, that doesn't mean they support equal rights to blacks.

if the south had won the civil war

if the south had won the civil war- whatifhub.com

With a substantial black population in the CSA - almost 50% in some states - an undemocratic government would be put into the position to keep black residents from gaining political power.

Much like an apartheid government in South Africa, however, with a sizable white community, the government keeps support.

Uprisings, protests, and rebellions could become commonplace against the Southern government. Politics inside the Union are drastically turned as Lincoln, and the Republican Party are recognized as the people who lost the South.

Because Washington, D.C. is so close to the Confederates, and it was made as a compromise between North and South, the capital of the US is transferred probably to a city such as New York or Philadelphia.

Globally, the United States and CSA would continue adversaries for the next few decades. The competition out West and in the Great Plains could even bring mini-skirmishes between militias and citizens.


The CSA had ambitions to extend after the War and even during it. It sought little destabilization attempts in Mexico Had the South won the Civil War and solved its internal conflicts, they would have tried to expand into Latin America.

Whether or not they could have accomplished this is up to you. Confederates did set up colonies in our timeline, though, including 20,000 Southerners who fled to Brazil.

With the Industrial Revolution and the rise of European territories, the South would need to transform itself to compete with the rest of the Western world.

It's difficult to say if this could happen since Southern life was based around farming. The South could have industrialized, but [many aspects of Southern life must change].

If the Confederacy won, the United States would never have been the nation it is today - no surprise. The mindset of what gives us American would change as well.

Before the War, people identified more with their state than the nation.

The conflict changed all of that. With the Union victory, America was combined as one people. However, if the Southern states broke away, this American unity is now demanding.

Secession is a precedent that has been proven to work. The effect of this would have broader consequences for the United States.

This alternate US is less of a country and more [like] the European Union. Both American countries wouldn't have the influence they had united in our timeline.


Having to compete with a new next-door-neighbor brings international conflicts closer to home. Odds are that American influence - both Confederate and Union - never expanded as far.

Europe would remain the aggressive force into the 21st century.

There are many various scenarios for how the CSA would be had; it won the Civil War. This is just one alternate timeline.

There is no way to 100% predict how the world would be had events been changed, but it's fun to analyze the possibilities.

What do you think the globe would be like had the South won the Civil War? Say in the comments!

* This article was originally published here