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This Mighty Scourge of War: A Reconstruction-Era Quest

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[X] Plan: Straightforward Hammer and Nail

A swift military crackdown now will be much better received than having to do so later, as we're still within a year of the White Camelia Conspiracy and only a few months out from the last of the pitched fighting. It will also appease the Radical Republicans and buy time for any local unionist defense forces to get organized/trained.

As for industrialization, there will be a lot of potential money to be made in rebuilding the south and developing its industry, so I don't think the robber barons of the time will be too upset by such a program, especially if the government is sponsoring it.
 
[X] Plan: Straightforward Hammer and Nail
-[X] Initiate a military crackdown against the white supremacists.
-[X] Undermine the opposition by shifting the basis of the Southern economy.
 
[X] Plan: Hammer and Hoe
-[X] Rely on Unionist and abolitionist volunteers
-[X] Undermine the opposition by shifting the basis of the Southern economy.

This builds a political formation in the South that'll last beyond the end of the occupation and syncs up better with the economic focus. A coalition of Longstreet, Fremont, Willich, and the Union Army is also inherently too funny to miss.
 
Keep in mind that in Real life the planter where dismantled too, it didn't matter in the end though as poor white populist would keep white supremacy Jim crow in place for decades. Most important is getting buy in from poor whites to not join terrorist groups(I'm not going to say not be racist this is 19th century southern America).
 
Adhoc vote count started by Whenyouseeyou on Feb 20, 2024 at 9:19 PM, finished with 71 posts and 69 votes.
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Fleurs de Merde said:
[X] Plan: Hammer and Hoe
-[X] Rely on Unionist and abolitionist volunteers
-[X] Undermine the opposition by shifting the basis of the Southern economy.

This builds a political formation in the South that'll last beyond the end of the occupation and syncs up better with the economic focus. A coalition of Longstreet, Fremont, Willich, and the Union Army is also inherently too funny to miss.
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My main issue with this is that I don't trust the volunteers to be strong enough early on to secure the terrain for the economic shift. I'm also afraid a lot of them will be northern transplants and that won't play especially well with trying to change southern whites' priorities.


Actually, I have an alternate idea:

[X] Plan: Gaslight Gatekeep Gerrymander
-[X] Initiate a military crackdown against the white supremacists.
-[X] Attempt to sway hearts and minds

The idea is to crush those who fight while rewarding those who collaborate to attempt building a stable solution with as many pockets of unionist support as possible so we don't lose the peace if someone end the occupation prematurely. Which is a worrying possibility. It's likely to see benefits quicker than changing the economic situation.
 
It ought to be noted that the South is already under a military occupation. The option is to initiate a specific crackdown effort on top of that.
 
I'll vote for this and I'll even throw in an alternative version too


[X] Plan: Gaslight Gatekeep Gerrymander
-[X] Initiate a military crackdown against the white supremacists.
-[X] Attempt to sway hearts and minds


[X] Plan: Dixie Be Damned
-[X] Rely on Unionist and abolitionist volunteers.
-[X] Attempt to sway hearts and minds

another book title reference that being "Dixie Be Damned: 300 Years of Insurrection in the American South"
a history of prison revolts, wildcat strikes, maroon rebellions, and activities in the south
 
[X] Plan: Straightforward Hammer and Nail

dreameater said:
Keep in mind that in Real life the planter where dismantled too, it didn't matter in the end though as poor white populist would keep white supremacy Jim crow in place for decades. Most important is getting buy in from poor whites to not join terrorist groups(I'm not going to say not be racist this is 19th century southern America).
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Im sorry,what? The biggest reason why Reconstruction failed OTL is precisely because the planter class wasn't dismantled and was allowed to keep the south as their personal fiefdom,reinstating slavery in all but name and continuing to pit poor whites and blacks against each other for their own benefit.Getting rid of the bastards won't magically cure racism in the south or whatever,but it will allow actual healing to occur over time with one the largest obstructionist factors to progress of OTL being taken out of the picture.
 
OddParadox said:
[X] Plan: Straightforward Hammer and Nail


Im sorry,what? The biggest reason why Reconstruction failed OTL is precisely because the planter class wasn't dismantled and was allowed to keep the south as their personal fiefdom,reinstating slavery in all but name and continuing to pit poor whites and blacks against each other for their own benefit.Getting rid of the bastards won't magically cure racism in the south or whatever,but it will allow actual healing to occur over time with one the largest obstructionist factors to progress of OTL being taken out of the picture.
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Actually, no the poor whites wouldn't last that long past reconstruction, the planter class was displaced by populist who where against them, nonetheless these populists supported by poor whites would still continue the Jim crow creed and would be the main animators of southern politics until depression to arguably even civil rights( the rather infamous Huey Long while less racist then his peers sprouted out of this tradition). We need poor whites buy in, the economy shifted in our tl and Jim crow still stuck around.
 
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