"The West is a place that has to be seen to be believed. And it may have to be believed to be seen." -- N. Scott Momaday
The "break point" between real-world history and Deadlands history is the Fourth of July, 1864, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg and the siege of Vicksburg.
This is true both in the "standard" Deadlands setting and mine. However, my Deadlands setting recognizes that by the time the Battle of Gettysburg was fought, the Confederate offensive was essentially over and with the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederacy's death-knell had sounded.
"You cannot escape from this war without the emancipation of your negroes. It will not be because I am going to preach it; it will not be because I am going to move anything in that direction; but it is because I see the hand of God taking hold of your own delinquency to overrule for good what your rulers meant for evil." --- Benjamin Wade
The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in 1863, setting off a tremendous excursion of slaves from the South into Northern military lines. Only a year later, nearly 100,000 former slaves had enlisted in the Northern military. These would be decisive and important in the continued Union push towards victory. Free black contributions to Northern success have been recognized in most parts of the North and, although true equality is elusive, African-Americans hold public office, are allowed to vote in every state, and have the full panoply of civil rights which in the real world they would not receive for more than a century.
In 1865, the Confederacy started to move towards what had previously been unthinkable. It was threatened in the South by Marie Laveau and L'Empire Louisenne, and Jefferson Davis (already a pre-ordained lame duck due to the Confederate term limits) was sure that ghost rock and gold deposits uncovered in Texas would be the key to victory, which would require a great deal of men to exploit - men the Confederacy did not have. Davis and several military advisors decided that one option was to promise the slaves who remained behind that they would be set free if they would take up arms and fight for the Confederacy. This possibility was leaked to the Southern press by a disapproving war clerk, and the controversy that resulted rocked the Confederates to the core. If slaves made good soldiers (and they clearly did - the United States Colored Infantry showed that), then the whole theory of slavery was wrong.
The Confederate Constitution banned Davis from running in 1866 anyway, but the election was a tremendous repudiation of his government. His Vice-President, Alexander Stephens, who was hand-picked by Davis to succeed him, did not even win the nomination of the powerful Democratic party and had to content himself with running as a third candidate. President Ayer of South Carolina was a fire-eating member of the old guard, who rapidly found his rhetorical excesses being eaten away at by the desperate situation, and Davis' Democrats gaining more ground in the Confederate Congress with every Union victory.
Davis ran again for President in 1872 and won, successfully crusading for expansion to the West as the means to end the War, pointing to the success of programs begun under his watch, including the weapons research programs based on ghost rock brought back from the Maze and the Arizona Territory. And his successful negotiation with the Indians of the Coyote Confederation has provided a much-needed buffer zone between the Union and Texas. Overwhelmingly re-elected, he was able to weather the political storms that came because of the Slave Conscription Act (emancipating slaves willing to fight for the Confederacy) and the Slave Relocation Act (emancipating slaves willing to homestead in Confederate territory west of Texas and work for the Dixie Railroad for one year.)
To some degree it was too little too late, but there are practically no slaves left in the South anymore. (The ones that remain in bondage tend to be the elderly and infirm who would not be able to find work otherwise. These are slowly becoming more and more hated by their masters, and death by neglect is not unusual.) However, civil rights for freed blacks are few and pressure to emigrate to the West is great. In the West, however, although there are certainly racist individuals, in general the land is too harsh to afford the luxury of discrimination against a neighbor.
"I do not like this croaking about 'civil war'. It certainly has not pinched the toes of the northern people much yet. My god! If we are struggling for our existence, and there is any doubt about it, we should deserve to die. We are strong enough to put down all opposition; and if we are so inefficient and so cowardly that we cannot protect our rights, we ought to be overrun." --- Benjamin WadeThe Union remains - as it has for the last few years - just on the verge of victory. Desertion from the Confederate army is at a peak. The Confederacy is essentially broke. Three states - Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi - have refused to send new troops or money since the emancipation promise was extended to black slaves. L'Empire Louisienne has easily, almost contemptuously, repulsed every attempt to re-take the swampy land from its voodoo masters. The Union's industrial capacity started out far in front of the Confederacy's, and the split has only gotten more pronounced. The Union started the war with 10 times the length of railroad tracks in service than the Confederacy - despite the development of the Southern Pacific Railroad, this ratio has more than doubled.
However, the Confederacy has some advantages. Texas silver and ghost rock have started to be exploited in order to develop advanced weaponry which has been used to devastating effect on the Union. It is much easier for the Confederacy to get to these mineral resources than for the Union to do so. (The Union must usually get its railroad and wagon trains acrosss Sioux territory.) Most importantly, the Confederacy is now determined to survive on its own as an independent nation, making any military victory a slow and involved process for the Union, which even now is menaced by the Sioux and which must also worry about the possibility of English involvement on the Northern border with Canada. (England is on the verge of recognizing the Confederacy, now that Southern emancipation is more or less complete.)
In short, the Union is tightening the noose around the neck of the Confederacy - slowly but surely, with few setbacks, none major. The Confederacy is searching desperately in the uncertain time it has left for a way to break the Union's superior hold. Whether that will come in the form of foreign aid or internal innovation is yet to be seen.
The Democrats, as usual, are split between a peace party and the hawks. This split led to Grant's easy victory in 1872, and none of the Democratic party bosses want to have a repeat of that. A compromise candidate is likely to be found but there's no front-runner yet. McClellan, still licking his wounds from the drubbing which Lincoln gave him in 1864, is making a lot of noise in that direction, as is Samuel Tilden. Both of them are hawks.
The Greenback Party,
a populist party based on midwestern farm reform, is getting a lot of
attention for its recent organization but there's no indication they will
even run a candidate for President. (The Greenbacks also support peace
terms with the Confederacy.)
THE WEST
The United States theoretically controls the Midwest all the way to the
Pacific. The Confederacy theoretically controls the Southwest all the way
to the Pacific. In practice, there is a lightly disputed border.
The rest of the world doesn't seem to mind L'Empire, and Baton Rouge and New Orleans continues to be a preferred shipping point for anyone who can get through the Union blockade.
After George Armstrong Custer staged an illegal raid on Lakota territory in 1868, silver, gold and ghost rock were discovered inthe territories. A bloody series of battles took place leading to Union occupation of the area. But the tide was already turning.
The Nations were formally organized in 1872 after a strong Confederate offensive forced the Union to pull nearly all of its soldiers out of the Dakota territories. It was relatively bloodless (nothing in the Territories is completely bloodless) and the last major battle wiped out the Seventh Cavalry under Custer at the Little Big Horn in 1874 (two years earlier than in the real world.) Relations with the U.S. proper are strained - Sioux Nations citizens are not allowed to visit U.S. territory in groups of more than five, and white citizens are similarly barred from any area in the Nations that isn't Deadwood or one of the mining areas organized under the Treaty of 1875. (Forged mining passes are unfortunately too common.)
There are two controversial aspects of the Sioux Nations being experienced by their citizens, closely related. They know that something happened to change the world in 1864. Shamans especially had their magic enhanced greatly - but the evil creatures that inhabited myth also appeared. This led many to believe that the world was being punished by the great spirits for abandoning the old ways. This belief formed the basis for the Old Ways Movement. Those who follow the Movement hunt with bow and arrow, and use stone knives, and live as their ancestors did. (Although even the Old Ways followers use horses.) Those who do not, hunt with rifles and use metal knives. Nearly all of the members who have converted to Christianity (and these compose a significant minority of many tribes) oppose the Old Ways Movement.
The Old Ways Movement is particularly popular with shamans, who find their power increased the more traditional they act, as well as those of their followers. It is extremely popular among the tribal councils which are the true authorities in the Nations. However, the most famous and influential chief, Tatanka Iyotake (called "Sitting Bull" by white men), is not a follower of the Movement. He has a "wait and see" attitude towards the changes in the world.
The second controversial aspect of the conflict is that of slavery. The Lakota did keep slaves for many years, although the practice had slowly crumbled and died under exposure to white society of the North. Truly hardcore followers of the Old Ways Movement wish to re-establish the practice and conquer neighboring tribes to fuel it. Others are not so sure they want to risk the wrath of the Union or their neighbors - or are not so sure that this particular practice should be resumed.