AHC : Make the 1850s more violent than OTL

Well, for a more violent decade, you could have the Mormon federal war be met with greater violence in actual history, possibly encouraging fire-eaters to separate from the union earlier. For space bats material, you could have john Brown's rebellion to succeed. It would be interesting if john brown could have lived to see the civil war officially begin and maybe act as an agent to help enslaved people win their freedom.

A south seperatinging from the union in the 1850s could mean a more radical fire eater confederacy. The various radicals of the south, such as the fire-eaters, wanted to open up the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which would be bloodier for the African souls, but, again, not as likely to happen.

It would be an interesting concept if the CSA could perhaps revive the transatlantic slave trade through European neo-colonial slavery or at least send medical observers during the scramble for Africa. The cause and effect would be more feasible with an 1850s pod. Russia would be more receptive to the confederacy compared to the 1860s due to serfdom, and antebellum American ambassadors were mainly from the southern USA or had suspected southern sympathies.

Southern cotton would be in much greater demand due to the Indian rebellion May 10, 1857 – Nov 1, 1858.