On December 12, 2000, one swing vote changed—and history swerved. In this recovered timeline, the Court refuses to stop the recount, Al Gore wins Florida by 281 votes, and ascends to the presidency under a cloud of bitter legitimacy. What follows is a decade of bold climate policy, war abroad, and growing resentment at home.

Follow Gore’s presidency through 9/11, Afghanistan, a near-miss with Iraq, and the rise of an alternate Tea Party. See how a cleaner, more sustainable America is born—but also how cultural backlash, economic dislocation, and deep mistrust fracture the republic in new ways. From bin Laden to Greta Thunberg, this timeline trades one set of traumas for another.

Would you undo it? Maybe we were better off. Maybe not. Not this time.