In an essay in the book What Ifs? of American History (2003), Robert Dallek, a Kennedy biographer, suggested that Kennedy would have successfully pulled out of Vietnam, and that he would be popular enough at the end of his second term to be succeeded by his brother, the Attorney-General Robert Kennedy. What if President Kennedy had survived the assassination attempt?Įffect: Republicans win every election for the next 30 years.Įxplanation: The 1963 Kennedy assassination is a popular event of alternate history, inspiring novels, stage plays and short story collections. In the 1968 presidential election, he would be Robert Kennedy’s running mate, eventually saving him from the assassin’s bullet. Dean would later become the Democratic Governor of California, consigning his opponent Ronald Reagan to the dustbin of history. “I just changed that one thing,” said Dann, who copiously researched his book, making it “as factual as I could… By exploring Dean as he matures, I'm able to cast light on the Dean that we know.” If Dean had survived, Dann suggested, he would have inspired one of his fans, Elvis Presley, to leave rock ’n’ roll and become a serious actor (which was always his ambition). What if James Dean had survived his car crash?Įffect: Robert Kennedy survives his assassination attempt.Įxplanation: Jack Dann’s 2004 novel The Rebel portrays a history in which film star James Dean survives his fatal car crash in 1955. It’s an alternate history, of course, but Harris was drawing a parallel with real history: this was Stalin’s Russia with the names changed. Through the magic of propaganda, Hitler is revered 20 years later as a beloved leader. Learning that Britain has broken the Enigma code, however, the Nazis play it safe and make peace with the west. What if Hitler successfully invaded Russia?Įffect: The Fuhrer is revered in history as a great leader.Įxplanation: In Robert Harris’ novel Fatherland (the basis for a 1994 TV movie), Nazi Germany successfully invades Russia in 1942. Lindbergh is remembered as a national villain – in Roth’s opinion, the reputation he deserves. President Lindbergh, a white supremacist and anti-Semite, declares martial law, throws his opponents in prison, and allies with Nazi Germany in World War II. What if Charles Lindbergh were elected President in 1940?Įxplanation: Philip Roth’s bestselling novel, The Plot Against America (2002), gives us an alternate history in which Charles Lindbergh, trans-Atlantic pilot and all-American hero, becomes the Republican presidential candidate in 1940, defeating the incumbent Franklin Roosevelt. After fighting together in two world wars, the three nations are reunified in 1960 – a century after South Carolina’s secession had led to the Civil War in the first place. Under international pressure, the Southern states gradually abolish slavery. Texas, unhappy with the new arrangement, declares its independence in 1878. The USA (or what’s left of it) moves its capital to Columbus, Ohio - now called Columbia - but can no longer afford to buy Alaska from the Russians. The Southern forces annex Washington, DC - renaming it the District of Dixie. What if the South won the Civil War?Įffect: America becomes one nation again… in 1960.Įxplanation: In a 1960 article published in Look magazine, author and Civil War buff MacKinlay Kantor envisioned a history in which the Confederate forces won the Civil War in 1863, forcing the despised President Lincoln into exile. Here are some of their intriguing conclusions. Alternate history, long popular with fiction writers, has also been explored by historians and journalists.
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