Happy 4th?

      As most Americans celebrate Independence Day as an unalloyed milestone in governance, we might take a few minutes to think about the what ifs.  Dylan Matthews over at the Vox media site speculates about what might have happened if the Revolution had not.
      If a few feisty white men chafing under British rule had not organized the American Revolution, we might never have had a Civil War.   Had we remained a part of the Empire, slavery would have been abolished in 1834, and presumably the lives of former slaves in the south would have been better.
     Native Americans probably would have been treated better if Independence had been put off until the 19th century if Canada's experience is any guide.   The Canadians were not exemplary in their handling of indigenous people, but they did not carry out the wholesale ethnic cleansing Andrew Jackson and other American leaders did.
    Finally, without our Constitution which allowed the dysfunctional system of strong presidential powers we would have inherited a parliamentary system which seems to work better in our modern world.  
     Of course many people would dispute these conclusions, but it is an interesting thought experiment for those who have always, uncritically hailed America as the exceptional democratic system.   It certainly works for white, middle and upper class males.   For the rest of the population, maybe not so much.   Happy 4th!