The Union Forever
, by MacGregor, is an Alternate History timeline on AlternateHistory.com. The Point of Divergence is an alternate Peninsular Campaign during The American Civil War, in which George McClellan experiences an accident which paralyzes him from the waist down. He is replaced by Edwin Sumner, who subsequently defeats Robert E Lee, and forces an earlier end to the war. the Butterfly Effect is handled very creatively, which includes a smoother reconstruction, Lincoln dying a natural death, Napoleon III being succeeded by his son, and countless other events. As of June 2017, the timeline is currently in late 2012.
Historical characters who appear or are referenced in the timeline:
- Abraham Lincoln: Wins reelection in 1864, and completes his second term without being assassinated. His plan for Reconstruction, called in this TL Reconciliation. He dies in 1887 in retirement.
- George Armstrong Custer: Fights in the Civil War and fights the Spanish in Cuba in 1877-78. Becomes Governor of Ohio in 1892. Becomes President in 1896. Is defeated by Robert Todd Lincoln in 1900. Dies in 1905 in retirement.
Tropes that appear on this page include:
- Allohistorical Allusion:
- In this timeline, a novel is written with the premise that McClellan still led the Union army. It was noted to have ended in a dark note with Lincoln's assassination.
- After losing the 1900 election, Custer remarks that he'd rather have been scalped on the plains.
- Alfred von Schlieffen said that the plan to go through Belgium to reach Prussia during the First Great War was "a damn good idea."
- Balkanize Me:
- China and India get parts of them cut off, where China loses Manchuria, Xinjiang and Tibet while India loses Madras, Hyderabad, Bangladesh, Burma and various other territories.
- India, under a corporatist government, tried to avert this by reconquering all of these aforementioned territories during the Asian-Pacific War, but fails miserably due to the British Commonwealth stepping in.
- Butterfly of Doom: The change of Union military leaders leads to a quicker end of the Civil War. This leads to Lincoln having the opportunity to invoke the Monroe Doctrine on France, which was engaged in Mexico. That leads to a different circumstances in Europe where France allies with Austria-Hungry.
- Different World, Different Movies: Different music as well. American music in general has a greater Caribbean/Latin influence, and the local rock-and-roll equivalent has elements of OTL's swing, particularly the addition of brass instruments.
- Expanded States of America: Including the Caribbean states, Cuba and Panama.
- Expy: Robert Todd Lincoln is heavily based on Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Fictional Counterpart: Pretty much everything that is modern is based off on something from OTL.
- For Want Of A Nail: A sliver of metal was in the road McClellan was travelling on. Apparently he didn't see it and his horse stepped on it, causing it to rear back. McClellan fell off and landed on a nearby fence in such a way as to cause paralysis.
- Historical Domain Character: Just about anyone who already existed before the divergence point will, as noted below, have a counterpart in this timeline, though their role in history may be subtly or even completely different.
- Idiot Ball: The Motherland Party (a far-right militaristic Russo-centrist xenophobic party) of the Imperial Eurasian Federation is seen as this, as their actions before and during the 2000 general elections (which included obvious vote rigging, martial law, poorly-disguised election fraud and brutal suppression of riots) possibly triggered the break up of the IEF itself and possibly the Second Great War.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After the fall of Greensboro (the second Confederate Capital), Alexander Stephens tells Jefferson Davis that the war is already lost, and that if he cared about the South, he'd either step down or sue for peace. He puts his money where his mouth is after becoming the Second Confederate president.
- Our Presidents Are Different: Among others, Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, eventually becomes President himself—this world's Lincoln Memorial enshrines both.
- Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: This timeline has numerous examples of this, as just about anyone both before the divergence point still exists in this one, though their impact on history may be subtly—or even completely—different. As an example, this world's version of William Howard Taft founds this world's version of the Boy Scouts.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something:
- Elizabeth II (no, not that one) of the Imperial Eurasian Federation tries to prevent the political crisis from tearing her country apart, but suddenly 'disappears' in the aftermath of the rigged election. Many people, especially pro-autonomy groups suspect that she was taken into 'protective custody/house arrest' and/or killed by the Motherland Party and their supporters to keep her from talking.
- The Shah of Persia, Naser Ali Qajar, is leading Persia on the world stage as the head of a Middle-Eastern great power that hasn't seen heights since the Safavid dynasty.
- Scout-Out: This world's equivalent of the Scouting movement is founded by an American rather than the British Baden-Powell.
- Sliding Scale of Alternate History Plausibility: A soft Type I, mainly because Coca Cola still exists in this world, despite the fact that the PoD (1862) occurs before the drink's creation (1886).
