Uncover worlds where the smallest change could have diverted the course of history
Welcome to What if… Book of Alternative American History
What If… Book of Alternative American History
10th-18th Century • What would the US look like today if key moments had turned out differently?
What if… The Vikings had colonised North America? • Viking settlements may have flourished centuries before the arrival of European colonisers
What if… China had discovered America first? • Could Zheng He, China’s greatest explorer, have reached the New World before the Europeans?
What if… The Pilgrims hadn’t gone to America? • The religious and political life of America could have been entirely different to what it is today
What if… The Salem witch trials had never happened? • The Salem witch trials ripped apart communities and executed innocent people. Would witch trials have continued if they had never occurred?
What if… Britain had won the War of Independence? • Would the American colonies have remained in the British Empire, or would rebellion have flared again?
What if… Alexander Hamilton had become president? • Did the US Founding Father, brave and brilliant yet impetuous and divisive, have the right stuff for the top job?
19th Century • Find out what might have been for the new nation as it found its feet
What if… Napoleon escaped to the United States? • Eluding exile, a belligerent Napoleon declares himself King of Mexico and has his sights set on returning to the French throne
What if… Mexico defeated the United States? • Could Mexico have claimed vast swathes of territory, including the potentially gold-rich California, in a huge blow to US expansion?
What if… The Underground Railroad had never been formed? • The Underground Railroad was an important act of rebellion against slavery within the United States
What if… The slave states had won? • Would the Union and Confederacy have unified or remained as separate nations?
What if… Abraham Lincoln hadn’t been assassinated? • How would the history of the United States have changed if President Lincoln survived?
20th Century • Explore the possible outcomes of a time defined by politics, war and social change
What if… The US had invaded Canada? • Would the United States have gained a 46th state?
What if… Teddy Roosevelt had won in 1912? • Disillusioned with the administration of William Taft, the former Republican president mounted a third-party challenge
What if… America joined the League of Nations? • If Congress had ratified the Treaty of Versailles, would it have strengthened the league’s abilities?
What if… The 1929 Wall Street Crash had been averted? • A seismic financial shock wave ruins the hopes and dreams of millions and turns boom to bust
What if… Prohibition had stayed in place? • Would the United States have seen an escalation in organised crime and cemented the Great Depression further?
What if… Newly elected Roosevelt was assassinated? • Would the United States have delayed entering World War II if the President-Elect was murdered?
What if… The Allies had lost the Battle of the Atlantic? • Britain would have been standing alone in Europe following the Allies’ defeat
What if… Charles Lindbergh had run for president? • Could a fascist really have run for the presidency of the United States in 1940 and won?
What if… Japan had not struck Pearl Harbor? • Would the US have become involved in the war and dropped the atomic bomb without Pearl Harbor?
What if… The Soviet Union had invented the atomic bomb first? • A Soviet victory...