"...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth."
- Abraham Lincoln, 1863
The United States has broken apart, dissolving into 7 nations fractured by regionalism and nationalist politics. While Europe swallows parts of Africa into their colonial empires, and Japan starts its conquests across East Asia, the United States has reached a new order, one where the 7 nations have come to terms with their inheritance from the former United States. Few people seek to reunify the lost nation now, accepting that the the balkanization was inevitable, with each nation forming a nationalistic identity as strong as the Slavic peoples under Austrian rule, or the Turkic peoples of Russian Central Asia. Such a young nation expanding so fast over such a large area, it was to happen sooner or later. The trouble was, few people saw it coming before it happened.
The War of Dissolution was the longest and worst war in the history of the United States, and also marked its end. From 1860 to 1867, starting with the Confederate States of America, more and more blocs began to carve themselves out of the USA. Faced with rebellion everywhere, the remnant of the USA was forced to concede defeat, and reorganized itself into the Federation of Columbia. Since then, each of the 7 nations has embarked on its own path in the world, seeking to both survive and rise to greatness.
The nations will be described briefly here.
Federation of Columbia
Formed from the remnant of the United States, Columbia remains the most populous and economically prosperous of the former American nations. Having lost Maryland and Washington D.C., the capital now rests in Philadelphia. The economy of Columbia largely divides the nation into two further pieces: the agricultural west (although Chicago and other cities remain enclaves of industry), and the industrial east. New York City remains the largest city in North America, and even now, there are people who suggest the formation of a “Manhattan Commune”, yet another nation forming in North America.
With the South and West lost, Columbia has developed a massive inferiority complex, with its people constantly seeking to assert their new identity, and distance themselves from the identity of the USA. Small splinter elements of the Federation seek the total reunification of the USA, considered by many to be a pipe dream. Regardless, Columbia is a strong nation both economically and militarily.
Confederate States of America
Dominating the Southeast, the Confederacy was founded on the ideal that change was a bad idea, hence its initial secession from the USA. While slavery was gradually phased out in the 1880s through manumission, the African-Confederates are in no way full citizens of the CSA, and are aliens in the nation many of them were born and raised in. Regardless of the “end” of slavery, the plantation system still dominates the South, while a few industrial enclaves have formed in Augusta, Montgomery, and Charleston. While stronger than it was during its conception, the CSA is not quite as strong as many of its citizens like to believe it is.
One of its greatest rivalries is with the Republic of Texas, which left in the CSA’s own brief civil war from 1864 to 1866, thus depriving it of a vast area in the west. Tensions between the two nations run fairly high, but neither truly wants war with the other. Similarly, the border at the Ohio River between Columbia and the Confederacy is heavily militarized, as is the Mason-Dixon Line that separates Maryland from Pennsylvania. Cuba has been integrated to the Confederate fold, as the Territory of Cuba, where migrating “Anglos” have brought the plantation economy to the island in force, although a few lucky “Latinos” have their own plantations across the island. With the South still resting on its laurels even 30 years later, unhappiness from within the Afro-Confederate community threatens to shake the Confederacy to its very core.
New England
The smallest of the former American nations, formed on the ideal of the Puritan work ethic. With Boston leading the small republic, the nation is heavily industrialized, along with some timber industry in Maine. A deeply religious nation, the idea of separation of church and state is more a suggestion that isn’t always followed. This idea is not shared by all, though. In a nation dominated by factories, socialist sentiments are heavy among the workers here, with union strikes rising up on a daily basis, and getting stronger every day.
Relations between New England and Columbia dominate New English foreign policy. While they have a fierce independent streak, many of the politicians in New England follow a path of appeasement towards Columbia, knowing that the Federation could easily invade and overrun it. This, like many things, has engendered a lot of frustration with the populace of New England, who want their government to take a stronger line. Some elements have seen the purchase of Cuba by the CSA. and seek to purchase the Virgin Islands from Britain, to take hold of its own tropical territory. These ideas are a bit of a stretch, though.
Federation of the Great Plains
The least populous of the former nations, with less than a million people spread across a vast area. Clearly, agriculture dominates in the Plains Federation, with the region being known as the Breadbasket of North America. Producing wheat, corn, fruits, and vegetables, the region’s vast size and small populace has forced the nation to adopt a very decentralized government, with the capital in Omaha only having so much control over lands as distant as Bismarck and Cheyenne. However, with more foreign investment building more railroads, the nation is becoming ever more connected, creating new friction as regions used to little national attention see greater attempts at centralization.
With the USA gone, the Natives of the Great Plains ran rampant across the new nation, leading to a long series of wars from 1863 to 1877 that culminated in the Peace of Chimney Rock, where the Natives were allowed to form “Corporations” that governed their own peoples with some supervision from the national government. Slow population growth and migration have lead the Plains Federation to still have a massive Native American population. With its lack of ability to defend itself, some other nations have started eyeing the territory, seeking to take parts of its fertile land for themselves.
Republic of Texas
A US state for only 15 years, Texas was at first part of the Confederacy before seceding in its own civil war, seizing control of Louisiana and Arkansas as far as the Mississippi River before achieving its own independence. With this accomplished, Texas was quick to make a treaty with California and the Plains Federation in 1868 that restored its old territory from the Republic of Texas, marking its northern frontier at the Arkansas River. Once again, the Republic of Texas stands independent.
As in the Confederacy, the Republic of Texas has enacted manumission, but only in a number of its states. Some of the states in the east still maintain slavery, ardently refusing to let go of their institutions. Unlike the CSA, though, Texas does have some Afro-Texans who own their own slaves, and are the subject of much anger from Afro-Texans, slave and free alike. With its western border situated at the Rio Grande, some slaves escaping Texas flee into California, which has refused to relinquish these men, women, and children back to Texas. In the north, the tribes of the former Indian Territory have asserted themselves in force, forcing Texas to recognize these peoples as nations within Texas, just as in the Plains Federation.
California Republic
One of the more liberal nations in the former USA, California is often said to be a liberal bastion in North America. With fertile soil for agriculture, rich hills and mountains for mining, and prosperous urban areas for industry, California has one of the most diversified economies in the former USA, as well as escaping the majority of the fighting. Owing to this, California fared better in the Crash of ‘68, the collapse of the economy of much of North America, than its sister nations. In the original War of Dissolution, California’s armies marched through to the Rio Grande, capturing Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and much of Colorado and New Mexico. However, it soon faced stiff resistance from both Mormons in the north and the Navajo in the south. As a friendly gesture to Mexico, California retroceded the lands of the Gadsden Purchase back to Mexico in 1879.
The Settlements of 1873 created the framework that much of California sits on today. With the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints having a timely “vision” about the discontinuing of polygamy (at least, in the mainstream), California was able to incorporate the new state of Deseret. The Navajo, meanwhile, were granted a state of their own, the State of Navajo, which was granted so many rights to internal government that it functions closer to an autonomous republic rather than a state, where the Navajo Nation has been entrusted to the governance of the State of Navajo, in a fairly complex arrangement. Nowadays, California has a lasting peace, although the ideas of socialism are starting to catch on more and more in California, as the “Free Soil” Movement gains traction with its ideals of equality and egalitarianism.
Union of Cascadia-Montana
A nation small in population but large in territory, Cascadia-Montana’s economy is centered largely around logging, with a heavy amount of trade with California centered in wood. The mighty Cascade Ranges and the Rocky Mountains, though, divide the coast from the interior, which requires the nation to be divided into two components: the eponymous Cascadia and Montana. Montana is the more conservative of the two, and holds only 33% of the population, as opposed to Cascadia, which holds cities such as Seattle and Portland; small cities, but respectable nonetheless.
Some people in Cascadia-Montana feel that the government cooperates too much with the government of the Dominion of Canada, with many joking that Cascadia is a southern extension of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Despite this, Cascadia-Montana maintains a strong independent streak, which leads to some problems when the two components of the Federation grow discordant. Many people fear a civil war where Montana secedes from the Federation, similar to how Texas seceded from the CSA. In the far east, many areas have such little influence from the government that the native tribes have far more influence in their nearly eternal guerrilla war against Montana, which refuses to recognize them. Every so often, a new group leads a charge against the natives, and win a victory, but it never lasts long.
The sun has dawned over the year 1890, and the new order of North America remains in place, although the latent tensions threaten to sunder even this. All are looking for their place in the world. Destiny awaits.
Nations Available:
Federation of Cascadia-Montana
Reserved:
Federation of Columbia - ffria
Accepted:
California Republic - Holoska
Dominion of Canada - The Great Northern Canadian Dominion
Confederate States of America - The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile
New England - Zhaas123
Great Plains Federation - Great Confederacy Of Commonwealth States
Republic of Texas - Grothmogia
Empire of Mexico - Camelone
This RP is character driven, with the plot being written through the lives of the people living in these nations. Interactions between nations can be done via diplomats or other politicians, while battles can be done through the eyes of soldiers and generals, and so on and so forth. To apply for a nation, indicate which nation you want and write a short one-shot about something in that nation, to show your kind of roleplaying. Nations will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
OOC Thread
IC Thread
