There was nothing inevitable about the ratification of the Constitution. But for Madison’s takedown of Patrick Henry in Virginia, it might not have happened. Then what?
Here’s what I think happens:
- There is no single market. Economic growth is consequently much slower.
- Since there is no Union to preserve, there is no Civil War. That’s the good news. The bad news is that slavery lasts much longer.
- With no central authority to mediate disputes, rivalries between states, particularly as to the control of lands in the West, become much uglier. European powers are called in as allies in these battles. What became the United States of America would have looked much more like the Holy Roman Empire.
Anyone here signing up to be a subject of the Empire?