Southern Victory(Cody and Tigerstar)

How Few Remain(Part 3)

Me:

In our previous chapter, the South had won the war, Lincoln is voted out of office with the Democrats taking over every election, and the C.S. purchased Cuba from the Spanish Empire.

Cody:

Not only that, but both North and South have been expanding west in the last 20 years. Indian Territory becomes the Confederate State of Sequoyah, and general mucking about occurs in the West. Fun stuff. Not TOO far west though, because the U.S. was so poor, they actually couldn't purchase Alaska from the Russians. So, Russia just keeps it. And nobody ever went to Hawai'i, so the Sandwich Islands are now a British colony.

This is the unique turn that a Southern victory has on the legacy of what we think of as "America". North America is a much more hostile place. It's a muddled, complicated mass. The relationship between North and South devolves into constantly suspecting each other. Instead of American policy being towards overseas colonies, expanding its tiny little empire, both nations are too poor to do much and focus on whatever the other is doing.

This has to do with really one thing. Slavery. "He says as the entire comments section erupts." But Turtledove's novel rightly so focuses on the subject of slavery in the Confederacy. You can't avoid it, so, I'm not. The issue of slavery comes up many times in the C.S.A. Even in the 1880's, it's still the bedrock of the South, and by this time, it's become a detriment to the image of the Confederates.

Times are changing. With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, the appeal of human labor is less and less. Why keep such a system when another is much more efficient? They've maintained relationships with Britain and France since the war, but both nations constantly remind them of how backward the Southern economic muddle is. It's becoming an unneeded pain. So, the C.S.A. has a question to ask. What to do about slavery?

This is caused by, all places, Mexico. With everything that changed, Mexico is still the same. In debt, and really just a mess. The failing Mexican Empire in a desperate attempt to get money sells its two Northern states, Chihuahua and Sonora, to the Confederacy. Long story short, the Union doesn't like this Southern expansion. The new President is hardline anti-Confederate and threatens war against the Confederates to stop what they're doing, which wasn't really a smart move since the Confederates legally weren't doing anything wrong.

Me:

Maximillian is still alive and in charge of Mexico. He sold those two states because he was cash-strapped. The Confederate president is James Longstreet of a Confederate conservative party called the Whigs. The U.S. president is James G. Blaine of Maine, a Republican. The northerners were tired of the Democrats going soft on the Confederates and made a difference. But, these events wouldn't last for long.

Cody:

So, what does this have to do with slavery? The Confederates knew that in a war against the Union, they might risk losing everything. And so they needed allies. The British and French would only support the C.S.A. if they stripped away their slavery image, and so the C.S.A. does just that. They begin to slowly get rid of the institute of slavery.

Me:

The rest of the video will be talked about in the next chapter.