United States of America

The United States of America was a large pre-war nation that at its peak controlled all of North America and was a powerhouse, both economically and militarily.

## Historical Records

### Early Conflicts

Little is known of the pre-war United States although what is known has fascinated historians all across the wasteland. Apparently, a large civil war was fought in the country between 1861 and 1865 and had one side in the north and one in the south. Eventually, the North won and the southern faction was assimilated back into the country.

In 1914 a war on a larger scale known as World War One was fought between most major powers in the world, although the United States remained neutral for the majority of the conflict and only became involved later during the war and aided in ending the war in 1918. A few short years after the war the country came under economic turmoil. This time period would later be known as the Great Depression and many American people suffered extreme poverty.

The economy slowly began to recover and the USA became involved in World War Two when Japan launched a surprise attack on US military installation on Pearl Harbor and destroyed a large portion of the fleet stationed there before withdrawing. The Americans would fight a war with Japan across the Pacific Ocean on various US-controlled islands such as Guam and Hawaii. This culminated in 1945 when American launched two prototype weapons at Japan- nuclear weapons. The nuke would revolutionize warfare and it wasn't long before the other superpowers, China and the Soviet Union developed their own. While nuclear weapons were never used in war again up until the Great War, tensions remained high between the major superpowers and war was considered to be inevitable by the American populous.

### Space Age and the Thirteen Commonwealths

On October 4th, 1957 the Soviet Union launched a small probe into Earth orbit, *Sputnik 1*. This marked the beginning of a new chapter in history, the Space Age. For years, the United States and the Soviet Union would race to see who would land on the moon first. A key event in the Space Race was in 1962 when Captain Carl Bell of the United States Space Agency became the first human to enter space in the space capsule *Defiance 7.* Unfortunately, Bell died when his capsule crash-landed on Earth. The Virgo II Lunar Lander *Valiant 11* makes a successful moon landing. Two more manned missions follow and the USA wins the Space Race.

Sometime in 1969, the United States was divided into 13 commonwealths, each having several states. These commonwealths were ahead of the state but below the government. While this proved to be an effective system for a time, the commonwealths began to fall to infighting. Despite this, the commonwealths would remain in place up until the Great War.

### Twenty-first century

Following the Space Race, the early 21st century did not have any notable events, other than the establishment of Hubris Comics which published their Grognak the Barbarian comics along with several other popular series and the burning of the Vim! Pop Inc factory. Perhaps the most notable event that happened in this time was the launching of the *Delta IX* by the U.S.S.A. The aim of this rocket was to land on the moon, and this was the last manned mission to the moon. The rocket was later repurposed for military use in the following years.

In 2037 the Mister Handy series of robot is brought into the public market by General Atomics. These robots would assist in weekly chores and proved extremely popular among the average American household. Unfortunately, these robots had many software bugs but these issues were quickly fixed. Another notable company in robotics, Robco Industries was founded in 2042 by Robert House. In 2044 Nuka-Cola is invented by John Caleb Bradberton and takes America by storm, quickly outpacing other companies such as Vim! Pop Inc. Nuka-Cola becomes so popular in fact that a theme park commisioned by the Nuka-Cola Corporation was initiated in 2050 called Nuka-World, and while other beverages like Vim! remained popular, Nuka-Cola dominated the market.

### Resource Wars

Due to the rising price of oil, the United States begins increasing pressure on neighboring Mexico. They blame Mexico for large amounts of pollution and call it a "threat" to the United States population. The country begins to decline as businesses move the United States. Additionally, the United States moves a considerable amount of its armed forces into Mexico to assure the oil is continuing to flow to the United States. This is the beginning of the end.

A TV documentary explaining to oil shortage and the energy crisis is brought into American households. This pressures civilians to stock up before prices get too high. In March of 2052, a socially transmitted disease begins to wreak havoc on the world. Many call this disease the New Plague and rumors persist that it is a biological weapon. In April the Resource Wars begin in the Middle East. The European Commonwealth invades many countries in the area due to increasing oil prices. The United Nations is disbanded only a few short months later. In 2053 a terrorist nuclear weapon destroys Tel Aviv in the Middle East.

In 2054, a limited nuclear exchange takes place in the Middle East which raises fear across the world. The United States Government commissions Vault-Tec for project safehouse to create a number of nuclear bomb shelters. One hundred and twenty-two were commisioned and set to be completed in the following decades. Although these shelters were advertised as a way to wait out the horrors of nuclear war and rebuild, in reality, most of them were social experiments, with only seventeen of them intended to function the way they were expected to. These vaults were called control vaults.

The Anchorage Front Line is established in Alaska. The purpose of this military buildup is to protect oil interests in the region as the Alaskan oil wells were predicted to become the last in the world. The oil crisis becomes apparent when in the 2060's traffic begins to stop completely, turning the roads into a dead zone. While other methods of transportation are explored such as fusion vehicles, these vehicles are produced slowly to conserve fuel. The Resource Wars end in the Middle East when the oil wells run dry. The Middle East is left bankrupt and the European Commonwealth is left in disarray.

Later on, in 2066 China invades Alaska and starts the Sino-American War. Power Armor and experimental robots were deployed but the war would go on for many more years. Tensions rise with Canada and this leads to its annexation in 2076. The situation in world politics finally deteriorates in 2074 when the US claims the world's remaining oil supply will be used exclusively by them. Finally, on October 23rd, 2077, the world ends. Nuclear war is declared between all of the worlds nuclear powers. This exchange lasts for only two hours and is called the Great War.

## Locations

**Columbia Commonwealth**

* Capital Wasteland
* Virginia
* Maryland

**East Central Commonwealth**

* Ohio
* Kentucky
* Tennessee

**Eastern Commonwealth**

* West Virginia
* Delaware
* Pennsylvania
* New Jersey
* New York

**Four States Commonwealth**

* Utah
* Arizona
* Colorado
* New Mexico

**Gulf Commonwealth**

* Louisiana
* Mississippi
* Alabama
* Florida

**Great Midwest Commonwealth**

* Wisconsin
* Minnesota
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Michigan

**New England Commonwealth**

* Maine
* New Hampshire
* Vermont
* Rhode Island
* Massachusetts
* Connecticut

**Northern Commonwealth**

* Montana
* Wyoming
* North Dakota
* South Dakota

**Northwest Commonwealth**

* Northern California
* Washington
* Idaho
* Oregon
* Alaska

**Plains Commonwealth**

* Nebraska
* Kansas
* Iowa
* Missouri
* Oklahoma

**Southeast Commonwealth**

* Georgia
* South Carolina
* North Carolina

**Southwest Commonwealth**

* Southern California
* Nevada
* Hawaii

**Texas Commonwealth**

* Texas
* Arkansas