The Baltimore Plot Successful- What if?

[lothaw]

Supposing there was one to start with, what if the Baltimore Plot was successful and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before he took office in 1861.

What effect would it have on the forming Confederate government? Seven states had already secceded from the Union, would the other four follow suit? And what sort of president would Hannibal Hamlin make? Would he negotiate with the rebels or order the rebellion crushed as Lincoln did?

 

[Baskilisk]

Order the rebellion to be crushed? Who, Lincoln? That almost as laughable as when you said every country had a communist revolution in 1848.

 

[DuQuense]

Lincoln had a very Collegiate Political style [Works well with Others], That helped his Cabinet get along together. Davis was a Micro Manager, who had trouble with his Cabinet
Dispite the Wiki, it is hard to tell what kind of politician he [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Hamlin] was.

He was a outspoken Abolitionist, unlike Lincoln who was publicly ambivalent. It is very likely that this would cause Virginia and other states to join the Confeds.
Depending on the Response to Lincolns assassination, Whe could have Maryland pushed into the Southern camp as Well.

There is also the Question of How Hannibal Hamlin would handle something Like the Trent Affair.

 

[lothaw]

Ordering 75,000 troops raised to suppress the Deep South, which by the way led to Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas secceding, seems to be ordering the rebellion put down by force.

The fact that Lincoln wouldn't even treat with the diplomats Jefferson Davis sent to Washington only fuels that speculation. Nothing ridiculous about that, friend, now can we contribute to the discussion instead of making snide comments?

As for Hannibal Hamlin, he always struck me as a nonentity. We was one of the first prominent Republicans and Maine did balance the ticket nicely.

Maryland's seccession is an interesting possibility from a successful Baltimore plot. The Mayor of Baltimore was very pro-South even if the Governor wasn't.

Of course any government in Washington's going to have to hold Maryland down. Most people seem to overlook that Union soldiers marching through Maryland had to fire into crowds at the beginning of the war because of the protests and riots. If Hamlin's slow to call in the troops, Maryland could very well seccede.