American Great Trek

[Hawkeye]

In a TL where the USA Balkanizes for whatever reason could Americans still migrate westward but set up independent republics instead? Or would they all just end up under Britain or some other colonial power? (If the former is possible then where would these republics form, besides Texas?)

 

[Wolfpaw]

A great trek is more than possible, especially since if people are unhappy with their current state, they can pack up and stand a pretty good chance of creating their own!

If there are enough of them, the states could probably fend off colonialism and survive, especially since they'd be so far from everything.

Independent republics would be easy to set up in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, maybe the Pacific Northwest, though that's rather close to accessible British territory.

You may get smattering of theocratic commune-states like Deseret. There were a lot of bizzare-o cults in the early to mid-1800s that struck out West hoping to find/create a new Eden/Jerusalem/Holy Land

 

[Melvin Loh]

Exodusters

well, at least among the black community, there was the Great Exodus to Kansas & Oklahoma under Benjamin 'Pappy Singleton during 1879-80- WI the Exodus had been bigger ?

 

[Dure]

There were several 'great treks' in our own time-line and the largest was the one made by the Mormons in order to set up their own state of Deseret. Some of them came all the way from Central Europe, thousands from London and the industrial heartland of the Empire, tens of thousands more came from the Eastern USA where they were being oppressed. More than half of them made the journey using hand carts rather than ox carts. A few years later the USA expanded westward and destroyed their dreams, taking their land and corrupting their religion.

There were also the almost continous migrations of the native peoples starting in the British colonies in the 1700s and ending with the USA in control of the whole of what is now the continental USA in 1910. Again, they treked but the USA followed.

If you want an alternative time-line where a trek works you need some sort of way of stopping the dominant power US, Britain, France, Spain whoever following or at leat not following until the trekers can defend themselves.

 

[yourworstnightmare]

I once had a crazy idea of a total American victory in the war of 1812, and a Great Trek by British loyalists to the West Coast after the US had annexed Canada.

 

[stevep]

If you want an alternative time-line where a trek works you need some sort of way of stopping the dominant power US, Britain, France, Spain whoever following or at leat not following until the trekers can defend themselves.

If the POD leading to the split is after 1783 that's probably not too difficult. Apart from the fact Europe is going to be emboiled in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars [butterflies permitting] after that Britain is going to be the only power strong enough and it will have other fish to fly. As such as long as the trekkers don't intrude onto British territory there shouldn't be too many problems from that issue.

More seriously, without the American army to crush the opposition, westward expansion is likely to be slower and more difficult. You might also see Mexico holding onto California under those circumstances.

Steve

 

[basileus]

I once had a crazy idea of a total American victory in the war of 1812, and a Great Trek by British loyalists to the West Coast after the US had annexed Canada.

Vice versa is more likely.