Historical Fiction: Toussaint Louverture, James Madison, the War of 1812
Disclaimer: The following is a half-baked story idea that came to me as I listened to a lecture regarding Toussaint Louverture. I am not an expert on his life, the Haitian revolution, nor even the US' War of 1812, though I feel I know most about it of the other topics. I encourage you to delve into these things, each of them are fascinating pieces of history from what I do know.
What if Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian revolution had lived long enough to spread it to the American southern colonies, as well as the colony which we now know of as Florida. So the southern colonies go into revolt, and it is a long bloody civil war. The North ends up joining in fighting for the Southern free men, despite largely being antislavery due to President Jefferson's beliefs and his southern heritage. This is a very unpopular move stirring up even more unrest in the fledgling country. Seeing all of this going on is what triggers England's attack and causes the War of 1812.
But, James Madison was elected just prior to England's attack, and to his credit and he had already been intending to seek peace with Toussaint and the southern rebellion leaders. He is able to make a deal with the southern rebellion, to his credit they will remain part of the USA, but they will be granted freedom, equal rights, reparations, as well as a rushed agreement to restructure Congress to drive more equitable representation, the state that will become Florida becomes New Saint Domingue, and French officially becomes a national language alongside English.
In exchange, with a signature and guarantee Congress will agree to all these demands, the Southern rebellion joins the fight against the British and the combined forces sweep north to force out the British.