United States - Revision history

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The 60 States

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	major categories.		major categories.

-	''Completely New States:'' Both Guam and Puerto Rico were	+	'''Completely New States:''' Both Guam and Puerto Rico were
	admitted to the Union in the 2020s. Considered on its own,		admitted to the Union in the 2020s. Considered on its own,
	Guam is the wealthiest island-state in Polynesia, with extensive		Guam is the wealthiest island-state in Polynesia, with extensive
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	of extensive biotech and pelagiculture industries.		of extensive biotech and pelagiculture industries.

-	''City-States:'' As a whole, the United States has had no serious	+	'''City-States:''' As a whole, the United States has had no serious
	trouble with secessionism in the past century. On the other		trouble with secessionism in the past century. On the other
	hand, several individual states have divided into smaller political		hand, several individual states have divided into smaller political
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	national governments.		national governments.

-	''Cibola:'' The most unusual of the new states is Cibola,	+	'''Cibola:''' The most unusual of the new states is Cibola,
	founded in the 2070s by carving out the Four Corners region of		founded in the 2070s by carving out the Four Corners region of
	Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Cibola is dominated		Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Cibola is dominated

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	* '''Population:''' 480 million		* '''Population:''' 480 million
	* '''Aspects:''' Great Power, Free, Fourth Wave		* '''Aspects:''' Great Power, Free, Fourth Wave
		+	* '''Notes:''' Many regions are Fifth Wave.
	The U.S. has often seemed an actor among nations,		The U.S. has often seemed an actor among nations,
	devoted to playing one role or another on the world stage.		devoted to playing one role or another on the world stage.

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The 60 States

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	divisions between a major metropolitan area and a state legislature		divisions between a major metropolitan area and a state legislature
	dominated by suburban or rural interests – a trend similar		dominated by suburban or rural interests – a trend similar
-	to the appearance of “free cities” elsewhere in the world ~~(p. 13)~~.	+	to the appearance of “free cities” elsewhere in the world.
	Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York City, Greater San Francisco,		Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York City, Greater San Francisco,
	and Seattle-Tacoma all function as distinct states within the		and Seattle-Tacoma all function as distinct states within the

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Nations Category:America Category:North America Category:American Bloc * '''Population:''' 480 million * '''Aspects:''' Great Power, Free, Fourth Wave Th…'

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Created page with 'Category:Nations Category:America Category:North America Category:American Bloc * '''Population:''' 480 million * '''Aspects:''' Great Power, Free, Fourth Wave Th…'

New page

[[Category:Nations]]
[[Category:America]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:American Bloc]]
* '''Population:''' 480 million
* '''Aspects:''' Great Power, Free, Fourth Wave
The U.S. has often seemed an actor among nations,
devoted to playing one role or another on the world stage.
“Land of the Free” was followed by “the Arsenal of
Democracy,” then by “Leader of the Free World.” That
last role survived for decades, bolstered by the largest
national economy on the planet, the most powerful and
advanced military, and a truly imperial network of
alliances and defense commitments. By the 2020s, however,
the U.S. was unable to maintain its leadership role.
Former allies were asserting their independence in world
diplomacy. Meanwhile, the American economy was
being surpassed by those of other nations, and its military
power was in slow decline. By the era of the Overturn
(see p. 13) the United States was simply one Great
Power among many.

American society is sharply divided along cultural
and generational lines. The political system is dominated
by a bloc of elderly, wealthy, Christian, and deeply conservative
voters. Arrayed against this dominant coalition
are Transhumanists, cultural minorities, recent immigrants,
the underemployed, and the younger generation.
The schism reveals itself in almost every aspect of American
society, from federal budget policy to popular entertainment.

American internal politics are quite lively. The ancient
Democratic and Republican Parties still dominate events,
although the grand alignment of liberal and conservative
factions has shifted several times in the past century. The
Democratic Party has been ascendant since the Tricentennial
elections of 2076, due to strong support among Hispanics
and the super-elderly. Democrats are currently the
nation’s major conservative party, promoting Preservationism,
strict regulation of new technologies, and diplomatic
and economic isolation. Republicans are the nation’s leading
liberal party, providing a haven for technocrats, industrialists,
scientists, and supporters of the American space
program. Republicans tend to promote technological innovation
and global free trade; a few Republicans are openly
Transhumanist in sentiment.

Despite the continued dominance of the two major
parties, a series of election reforms early in the century
opened up the political system somewhat. Today most
Presidential elections involve several third-party and
regional candidates, who become involved in coalitionbuilding
between election day and the installation of a new
government.

The long-established workings of American politics
have recently been disturbed by a new political movement,
calling for cyberdemocratic reform of the political system
(p. 19). This “People’s Power” movement is fragmented,
and includes both establishment politicians and armed radicals.
The latter have been quite active since 2095, forcing
the American military to fight a low-level counterinsurgency
campaign in several of the country’s urban zones.
Modern American society is dominated by no one culture,
but the most common cultural flavor is Hispanic rather
than Anglo-American. English remains the sole official
language, but Spanish slang and loan words have become
common in the “standard” American dialect. Most Americans
are more cosmopolitan than their ancestors of a century
ago, although they feel closer ties with Latin America
than with Europe. This shift is reflected in American foreign
policy, which since mid-century has been more deeply
involved with Central and South America than with Europe
or the Far East.

Today, many Americans are ambivalent about their
national identity. Even patriots tend to focus admiration on
a specific aspect of modern American society: the space
program, the rapid pace of technological innovation, the
high standard of living, the richness of the local entertainment
industry, the nation’s cultural diversity, national history,
or some other item. The United States has become a
place where personally constructed identity – the individual’s
choice of genetic, cultural and technological style – is
more important than any sort of national consciousness.
Some Americans consider this a sign of final decline for the
nation, while others revel in the freedom of the time.

For most of the century, the United States was the
world’s leader in almost every area of technology. To a
great degree, the Third Wave civilization was built by the
United States, and the technologies of computers and
digital networks have always been most advanced here.
The American segment of the Web is richer and more
complex than any other. The United States was slower to
adopt radical biotechnology, but it had become a center
of human genetic alteration and bioroid manufacture by
the late 2040s. Recently the United States has tended to
fall behind Europe in the development of cutting-edge
Fifth Wave technologies, but so far this disadvantage has
been minimal.

American foreign policy has yet to recover from the
country’s loss of superpower status. Since the 2050s the
United States has avoided alliances with any other major
power, restricting itself to relationships with strategically
placed minor nations. American policy is particularly cool
toward the European Union and the Pacific Rim Alliance,
although long-standing partnerships with [[Australia]] and the
[[United Kingdom]] remain in effect. The United States’ best
relationships are with Latin America, specifically [[Argentina]],
[[Ecuador]], and [[Mexico]].

==The 60 States==
There are 10 new states in the Union. These fall into three
major categories.

''Completely New States:'' Both Guam and Puerto Rico were
admitted to the Union in the 2020s. Considered on its own,
Guam is the wealthiest island-state in Polynesia, with extensive
data-haven, financial, trans-shipment, and tourism industries
supplementing income from U.S. military activities. Puerto
Rico holds a similar position in the Caribbean, with the addition
of extensive biotech and pelagiculture industries.

''City-States:'' As a whole, the United States has had no serious
trouble with secessionism in the past century. On the other
hand, several individual states have divided into smaller political
units. In most cases, this was a result of persistent cultural
divisions between a major metropolitan area and a state legislature
dominated by suburban or rural interests – a trend similar
to the appearance of “free cities” elsewhere in the world (p. 13).
Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York City, Greater San Francisco,
and Seattle-Tacoma all function as distinct states within the
Union, sending their own senators and representatives to the
United States Congress. San Diego does likewise, with the complication
of its relationship with Tijuana, Mexico; the two cities
cooperate very closely despite their allegiance to different
national governments.

''Cibola:'' The most unusual of the new states is Cibola,
founded in the 2070s by carving out the Four Corners region of
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Cibola is dominated
by Native American interests, particularly the Navajo
and Hopi tribal governments. It is sometimes promoted as the
harbinger of a new relationship between Native American
tribes and the federal government.

There has been one other significant adjustment to state
borders, although it did not affect the count of states. The District
of Columbia has been almost completely annexed by the
state of Maryland, leaving behind a much smaller Federal District.
The current “federal enclave” includes only a small packet
of territory around the Washington Mall, its only permanent
residents the President, his family, and the White House live-in
staff.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:41, 17 June 2010
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	diplomacy. Meanwhile, the American economy was		diplomacy. Meanwhile, the American economy was
	being surpassed by those of other nations, and its military		being surpassed by those of other nations, and its military
-	power was in slow decline. By the era of the Overturn	+	power was in slow decline. By the era of the [[Overturn]]
-	~~(see p. 13)~~ the United States was simply one Great	+	the United States was simply one Great
	Power among many.		Power among many.

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	elections of 2076, due to strong support among Hispanics		elections of 2076, due to strong support among Hispanics
	and the super-elderly. Democrats are currently the		and the super-elderly. Democrats are currently the
-	nation’s major conservative party, promoting Preservationism,	+	nation’s major conservative party, promoting [[Preservationism]],
	strict regulation of new technologies, and diplomatic		strict regulation of new technologies, and diplomatic
	and economic isolation. Republicans are the nation’s leading		and economic isolation. Republicans are the nation’s leading
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	program. Republicans tend to promote technological innovation		program. Republicans tend to promote technological innovation
	and global free trade; a few Republicans are openly		and global free trade; a few Republicans are openly
-	Transhumanist in sentiment.	+	[[Transhumanism\|Transhumanist]] in sentiment.

	Despite the continued dominance of the two major		Despite the continued dominance of the two major
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	opened up the political system somewhat. Today most		opened up the political system somewhat. Today most
	Presidential elections involve several third-party and		Presidential elections involve several third-party and
-	regional candidates, who become involved in ~~coalitionbuilding~~	+	regional candidates, who become involved in coalition-building
	between election day and the installation of a new		between election day and the installation of a new
	government.		government.
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	The long-established workings of American politics		The long-established workings of American politics
	have recently been disturbed by a new political movement,		have recently been disturbed by a new political movement,
-	calling for cyberdemocratic reform of the political system	+	calling for [[cyberdemocracy\|cyberdemocratic]] reform of the political system.
-	~~(p. 19).~~ This “People’s Power” movement is fragmented,	+	This “People’s Power” movement is fragmented,
	and includes both establishment politicians and armed radicals.		and includes both establishment politicians and armed radicals.
	The latter have been quite active since 2095, forcing		The latter have been quite active since 2095, forcing
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	For most of the century, the United States was the		For most of the century, the United States was the
	world’s leader in almost every area of technology. To a		world’s leader in almost every area of technology. To a
-	great degree, the Third Wave civilization was built by the	+	great degree, the [[Third Wave]] civilization was built by the
	United States, and the technologies of computers and		United States, and the technologies of computers and
	digital networks have always been most advanced here.		digital networks have always been most advanced here.
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	the late 2040s. Recently the United States has tended to		the late 2040s. Recently the United States has tended to
	fall behind Europe in the development of cutting-edge		fall behind Europe in the development of cutting-edge
-	Fifth Wave technologies, but so far this disadvantage has	+	[[Fifth Wave]] technologies, but so far this disadvantage has
	been minimal.		been minimal.

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	power, restricting itself to relationships with strategically		power, restricting itself to relationships with strategically
	placed minor nations. American policy is particularly cool		placed minor nations. American policy is particularly cool
-	toward the European Union and the Pacific Rim Alliance,	+	toward the [[European Union]] and the [[Pacific Rim Alliance]],
	although long-standing partnerships with [[Australia]] and the		although long-standing partnerships with [[Australia]] and the
	[[United Kingdom]] remain in effect. The United States’ best		[[United Kingdom]] remain in effect. The United States’ best