Basically, a piece of alternate history.
This story builds from the assumption of a Southern victory in the Civil War, which, of course, has ramifications throughout history.
The story takes place in 1963, but in this "alternate America."
Obviously, any number of results are possible, but here are my best guesses.
A brief history of America -- The Civil War ended in 1870 with a cease-fire after the North and South had fought to a bloody stalemate. For the next few decades, an uneasy peace was maintained until a dispute over California in 1903 erupted into the Second Civil War. In 1906, the two nations--the United States and the Confederate States--signed a permanent armistice. Since then, a strained peace has existed between them.
A brief history of World -- With the USA and CSA weakened from the two wars, both nations took an isolationist approach to foreign affairs--even more so than that which dominated the "real" United State’s foreign policy at this time. Because of this, neither country ever entered the Great War (AKA World War I). Without the U.S. to tip the balance of power, the war in Europe deteriorated into a stalemate which finally ended in 1926. Europe was left in physical and economic ruins. With no financial assistance from the Americas, the leaders of Europe are forced to rely on each other to rebuild their nations. This leads to a European Union, an economic, governmental and military alliance of the nations of Europe. Russia continues to rebuild on its own following the Bolshevik revolution.
In the years after the War, Europe and Russia both enjoy prosperity and growth, with democracy flourishing in Europe and communism doing the same in Russia. This peace continues until the late 1930s, when Japan begins expansionist attacks against other nations in Asia. With the United States only a second-rate power, Japan never bothers to attack the U.S. Instead, Japan expends most of their efforts fighting Russia. With no European war, Russia is able to focus all its energies on Japan. The two nations battle until 1949, when Russia develops the atomic bomb and drops three of them on Japan, ending the Asian War.
The government -- Both the USA and the CSA have some semblance of democracy, but only for certain members of society. In the CSA, slavery has ended, but a system of apartheid exists. Much like the former situation in South Africa, blacks are required to carry identifying papers. Blacks are not allowed to leave the country, but it is possible to sneak across the border, either to Mexico or the USA. For whites, there is a system of democracy that is controlled by a two-party system--the Free Democrat Party and the Heritage Party. The Free Democrats are less conservative and were the party that was in power when the slaves were freed. The Heritage Party is much more conservative and favors very little freedom for blacks. The Heritage Party, led by President Strom Thurmond, is in power in large part due to white backlash from the additional freedoms the Free Democrat party, led by Lyndon Johnson, favor for blacks.
In the USA, blacks have more freedom, but are still an oppressed minority. To ensure peace with the CSA, blacks in the North are also required to carry papers that certify them as U.S. citizens. Illegal immigrants from the CSA are frequently deported, although several live in hiding and there is a large market for false papers. There is a three-party system, although the Republican party dominates. Republicans emerged as a popular moderate party following the second Civil War, and have dominated the political system since. Currently, they are led by President Joseph Kennedy II (the older brother of John, who now of course was never killed in WWII). The liberal party is the Democrats, currently led by Hubert Humphrey. They favor more freedom for blacks and are opposed to the USA’s relations with the CSA on human rights grounds. Finally, there is a conservative party, the Unionists, who favor the forcible reunification of North and South.
The economy -- The economy in both nations relies heavily on manufacturing. In the CSA, the cheap labor provided by blacks has allowed the nation to build a lucrative economy for the white ruling class. Most of their manufacturing relies on producing cheap materials that can be produced by unskilled labor. The USA produces higher-quality merchandise, such as automobiles and televisions. They do much more exporting, mostly to Europe, but many U.S. companies have moved industries that do not require skilled labor to the CSA. The USA is a much more important player in the world economy, and is recognized as the world’s foremost producers of quality automobiles, although both countries have struggled to keep pace with Russia’s technological advancements.
International situation -- Russia is the sole superpower in the world. At first, this power came from being the first nation to have atomic weapons. They used this power to assert themselves economically and politically in Asia. Most countries in Asia are now Communist satellite states, having been rebuilt by Russia after the Asian War. Japan, China, the Philippines, Korea--all are subjects of the Russian empire. In Europe, the Union has been strong enough to discourage Russia from ever attempting to exert influence there. The Union is seen as a neutral entity in most world conflicts and occasionally will exert force to enforce peace in other parts of the world, mostly Africa. Besides the Union, Russia, and the Americas, most nations are Third World countries that have little power. The world is mostly at peace, although the Union and Russia occasionally clash, but rarely resort to all-out war, because both fear the possibility of nuclear annihilation.
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