Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. The Ifs of History
Summary: Twenty-two essays (see all other entries by Chamberlin) on possible turning points in
history, with speculation on possible results.
Published: Henry Altemus 1907; Atheneum 1908.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Abraham Lincoln's Father Had Moved Southward, Not Northward"
Divergence: c 1817 CE
What if: Thomas Lincoln was made of sterner stuff and emigrated from Kentucky to Mississippi
rather than to Illinois.
Comments: A possibility that Abraham Lincoln would have been Confederate president, facing off
with either Douglas or Seward.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Alexander Hamilton Had Not Written About the Hurricane"
Divergence: 1772 CE
What if: Hamilton did not write the newspaper article which convinced his parents he was a
prodigy and should be sent to Boston to study.
Summary: Without him, the balance would not have been struck in writing the Constitution and the
states might have flown apart.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Admiral Penn Had Persisted in Disowning His Son William"
Divergence: c 1665 CE
What if: Dismayed at his son's conversion to Quakerism, the admiral neither took him back into
his household nor made him an heir.
Summary: Without the Penn fortune, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia would not have been founded and
the land would have been split amongst the other colonies.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Champlain Had Tarried in Plymouth Bay"
Divergence: 1605 CE
What if: Champlain placed a settlement during his 1605 expedition, shifting the French emphasis
in North America southward from the St. Lawrence.
Summary: The Puritans would have been forced south to Virginia and Dutch New Holland would
survive. Any Revolution would have had a different philosophy.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Charles II Had Accepted the Kingship of Virginia"
Divergence: c 1655 CE
What if: After defeat by Cromwell at Worcester, Charles II accepted the invitation to place his
throne in Virginia and took control of British North America.
Summary: Charles would have been a more kingly figure on his return to London, and the neglect
of the colonies which provoked the Revolution would not happen.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Columbus Had Kept His Straight Course Westward"
Divergence: 1492 CE
What if: Columbus did not listen to Pinzon on October 7, 1492, and kept sailing true west.
Summary: Landfall would have have likely been made between Cape Canaveral and the Carolinas, and
Spanish colonization would have focused on North America.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Gilbert Livingston Had Not Voted New York Into the Union"
Divergence: 1788 CE
What if: Even though 10 states had already agreed, New York's convention refused to ratify the
Constitution.
Summary: Rhode Island and North Carolina would also have remained outside the Union, creating a
Balkanized North America with civil and military conflict.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If James Macdonnel Had Not Closed the Gate of Hugomont Castle"
Divergence: 1815 CE
What if: Two British soldiers failed to prevent Napoleon from capturing Hugomont.
Summary: Napoleon would have split the British army and won at Waterloo. Primarily a list of
events that would have not occurred.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If King Ethelred of England Had Not Married the Norman Emma"
Divergence: 1002 CE
What if: William the Conqueror had no claim to the English throne.
Summary: Not particularly allohistorical discussion of the family connections.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Lafayette Had Held the French Reign of Terror in Check"
Divergence: 1792 CE
What if: La Fayette accepted the people's call to be the French chief executive.
Summary: With La Fayette in power, the Reign of Terror would not have happened, Napoleon would
have been restrained and France would be a world power.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Orsini's Bomb Had Not Failed to Destroy Napoleon III"
Divergence: 1858 CE
What if: Felice Orsini killed Napoleon III.
Summary: Without Napoleon, there would have been no Franco-Prussian war and 500 thousand men
would have lived longer lives.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If President James Buchanan Had Enforced the Law in November, 1860"
Divergence: 1860 CE
What if: Buchanan fully enforced federal law upon South Carolina's succession, snuffing out the
Civil War before it could start.
Summary: Slavery would have been slowly dissolved, but black suffrage never extended nor white
supremacy organizations created.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Queen Elizabeth Had Left a Son or Daughter"
Divergence: c 1565 CE
What if: Elizabeth I found a man both wise and docile enough to marry.
Summary: With a Tudor heir, English advances in the arts would have continued, Puritanism
averted, but likely no American Revolution.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Skipper Jennings Had Not Rescued Certain Shipwrecked Japanese"
Divergence: 1850 CE
What if: The Auckland did not rescue several Japanese fisherman and take them to San Francisco.
Summary: US interest in Japan would have not perked, and the island nation would have eventually
ended up a Russian or British puppet.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Boy George Washington Had Become a British Midshipman"
Divergence: 1742 CE
What if: Mary Washington did not change her mind, and son George entered the British navy.
Summary: Without Washington's leadership, the revolutionary army would have fallen apart. Even
supposing victory, there would have been no Constitution.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Confederates Had Marched on Washington After Bull Run"
Divergence: 1861 CE
What if: The Confederates were more organized and followed hard on the heels of the panicked
Union army to Washington.
Summary: With Washington occupied, the border states would also have seceded and a peace
negotiated, with future Balkanization and conflicts.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Confederate States Had Purchased the East India Company's Fleet in 1861"
Divergence: 1861 CE
What if: The South took up the company's offer and purchased ten good steamships.
Summary: The Confederate navy would have been capable of averting the blockade, and independence
fully achieved by 1863.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Moors Had Won the Battle of Tours"
Divergence: 732 CE
What if: Abd-ar-Rahman defeated Charles Martel at Tours.
Summary: The Moors would have pushed on to conquer the rest of the Europe, and the arts,
sciences and role of women in society would have been altered.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Philharmonia Had Not Given Concerts at Vicenza"
Divergence: c 1550 CE
What if: Musicians did not join to form the Philharmonia in the mid 1500s.
Summary: There would be no professional musician class today and music would not be divided
between classical and popular.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Pirate Jean Lafitte Had Joined the British at New Orleans"
Divergence: 1813 CE
What if: Jean Lafitte accepted a British commission as captain in the Royal Navy.
Summary: Without him, Andrew Jackson would have lost the Battle of New Orleans and not become
president, thus allowing nullification to survive.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If the Spanish Armada Had Sailed at Its Appointed Time"
Divergence: 1588 CE
What if: The Armada sailed in January rather than July 1588.
Summary: Elizabethan culture would have been stifled and Protestantism smashed, with Spanish
spoken from Mexico to the St. Lawrence.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar. "If Themistocles Had Not Beaten Aristides in an Athenian Election"
Divergence: c 480 BCE
What if: The electoral competition between Themistocles and Aristides fell in Aristides's favor.
Summary: Without the fleet that Themistocles advocated, Greece would have lost to Persia at
Salamis and we'd all be worshipping Mithra today.
Published: In The Ifs of History, q.v.
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