What If...

I am a History nerd. I am flattered when someone introduces me as a "History Buff" but I've known too many brilliant Historians to consider myself in any way extraordinary in relation to my knowledge of history. One of the first things I think of to relieve stress, occupy boredom or just liven up an hour or two by myself is reading alternative histories. Its a beautiful combination of history, fiction, biography and fantasy. The best alternative histories are more than stories, but actually an exploration of cause and effect. One afternoon I lost 4 or 5 hours to a history of Asia and Europe without Genghis Khan. Amazing. I've decided I'm going to try and craft an alternative history. The easy, and frequently visited, options are "What If Stonewall Jackson had been at Gettysburg" "What If the British hadn't escaped at Dunkirk" "What If any number of extraordinary military circumstances in the American Revolution hadn't occurred" I'd like to try something a little different.

What If...the American Civil War had not occurred, but instead the United States and President Breckinridge were major players in Imperialism. American global dominance began a little early. Instead of a quarter of a generation wiped out killing each other, instead America turned its focus elsewhere. By the time Teddy comes along, American colonies are thriving in the Caribbean, West Africa and South America. He kicks it into overdrive, establishes the Roosevelt Doctrine, a 2nd Manifest Destiny, declaring that the American Constitution is the only perfect form of government and needs to be shared. Soon Japan, a large chunk of Saharan Africa and Mexico elect to be states. The states are grouped into provinces and the provincial governors gain considerable power. Slavery, as defined by constitutional amendment, was permitted but controlled. As the European conflicts increased in scope, the American holdings were solidified. Imperialism coupled with immigration results in quickly overloading the cities of the continental US. As industry and communication develop, the various "provinces" begin to find unique specialties. Just as the power and uniqueness begin to pull the US apart, the global struggles ironically launched on the pretense of balance, unify and strengthen the superpower. And so on...

Thursday I'll try to flesh out some details. Bare with me, this stuff is pretty difficult.

Braves magic number is 7.