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{{Infobox faction

The '''United States of America''' ('''U.S.A.'''), or simply the '''United States''' ('''U.S.'''), was a [[Pre-War countries|federal republic]] in North America. It was one of the last surviving economies in the wake of the mid-21st century's global energy crisis, and one of the primary nuclear participants in the [[Great War]]. Every ''Fallout'' game has been set in the [[United States]]. The locations featured in the games have been [[California]], the [[Capital Wasteland]], the [[Mojave Wasteland]], [[the Commonwealth]] and [[Appalachia]].

The [[Enclave]] was founded by and is descended from remnants of the nation's original government and claim to be the true continuation/successor to the United States. But they are not representative of the national identity as a whole, being an immoral organization created by and exclusively serving the interests of a specific, shadowy element of the original government.<ref>[[A. Ron Meyers]], [[Fallout 2]], [[Fcronmey.msg]], {118}{}{I used to serve with the Enclave. Then I realized it wasn't the USA I was fighting for; it was for the rich old bastards who didn't want to give up their power. I deserted and now I live here with more honest people.}</ref>

Of all the attempts by more down-to-Earth wastelanders to reestablish the original ideals and values of the United States, the most successful has been the [[New California Republic]].

==The American Commonwealths==

Beginning sometime in 1969,<ref>Plaque on the [[Massachusetts State House]] in Fallout 4 gives 1969 as the formation date of the "Thirteen commonwealths"</ref> the United States of the ''Fallout'' universe had an intermediate level of government between the 50 states and the federal government. The nation was divided into 13 commonwealths, the same year the ''[[Valiant 11|Virgo II]]'' mission landed Americans on the [[Moon]] in [[Timeline#1969|July]]<ref>Plaque at the [[Museum of Technology]]: ''"This unusual flag was recovered from the surface of the moon by the very last manned flight to its surface in 2052. The flag is from the old "Valiant 12" Virgo III Lunar Lander that touched down November 14, 1969. Its remarkable condition can be attributed to its construction; the flag is actually made of special materials to withstand the harsh environment of space."''</ref>. The United States flag was changed as well to reflect the new political reality. Accordingly, the new flag depicted thirteen stars to represent the commonwealths.

The commonwealths reserved certain powers that used to belong to states; issuing license plates and establishing preservation areas being among those seen. The states, however, still possessed a certain level of sovereignty within their commonwealth. Each state still had its own flag (although modified to show its status within its commonwealth), and state lines were still quite relevant. Additionally, a state was listed as the place of production on the package pre-War [[MRE|MREs]] rather than a commonwealth.

It was hoped that the new administrative division of the country would help create legislation broad enough to benefit those states with common regional concerns, but narrow enough not to affect those states with dissimilar interests or political cultures, which would help the nation better meet the challenges posed by the Communist threat to U.S. democracy. In reality, it created even more political strife in the U.S. government, as commonwealths typically did everything they could to promote their own interests at the expense of other commonwealths. The thirteen American commonwealths were:

[[File:JES Commonwealths.jpg|600px|center|The 13 Commonwealths.]]

{| class="va-table va-table-full"

! Commonwealth

! Regions

===Canada===

It is unknown whether there were any changes to this system of commonwealths after the annexation of [[Canada]] in [[Timeline#2076|2076]]. It is possible that Canada was under military rule until annexation was finalized (2076). Because of the relatively small size of its population (about one-tenth the size of the U.S.), Canada would have been equal in size to a single, large American commonwealth. Border changes were also possible, e.g. concerning [[Northwest Commonwealth|Alaska]] and the pipelines.

===Mexico===

The [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. Army]] [[American invasion of Mexico|invaded]] [[Mexico]] in [[Timeline#2051|2051]] to annex it, wanting their business interests and oil supply, but a consensus on the goals of the war was never reached.

===Other territories===

The United States held other territories in the world, mostly throughout the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, however, the status of these holdings is unknown.

==Government and Military Information==

===Federal Government===

{{Main|Federal government}}

The pre-War federal government of the United States was not too different from that of 21st-century U.S. in our own universe, albeit significantly less democratic by the mid-21st century. Agencies of the federal government mentioned in the games include two concerned with military affairs: the War Department and the Department of Defense, which may have actually been the same agency or, if they were separate entities, were both responsible for overseeing the development of various military research projects, from [[HERMES]] to [[T-51b power armor]].

Other federal agencies mentioned in the games are the Department of Energy (or Water and Power), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), [[Unamerican Activities Force]], [[Secret Service]], [[Bureau of Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco, Firearms and Lasers]], the [[United States Space Administration]], [[Federal Fitness Registry]], the [[National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary]], [[United States Geological Survey]] and the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]]. The legislative branch of the federal government was still composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, though whether they represented the individual states or now represented the different American commonwealths in some form is unknown.

===Armed Forces===

{{Main|United States Armed Forces}}

[[File:Flagnarmor.gif|thumb|250px|A United States soldier in power armor in front of the U.S. flag.]]

Before the [[Great War]], the [[United States Armed Forces]] were the overall unified military forces of the United States, composed of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force. The President of the United States served as the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, with the War Department acting as the principal organ by which military policy was carried out.

After the Great War, the [[Enclave military strength|Enclave Armed Forces]] are the direct descendant of the U.S. military. The [[Brotherhood of Steel]], on the other hand, was started by former U.S. Army soldiers who rebelled against their unethical orders to protect scientists carrying out involuntary mutational experiments on military prisoners.

===The Enclave===

[[File:Fallout 3 Enclave Propaganda.jpg|thumb|250px|Enclave propaganda poster.]]

{{Main|Enclave}}

Members of the Enclave both embraced the idea of a nuclear war and knew that the common man could not survive it. They believed that as long as the "important people" of the United States survived, they could regroup quickly and wipe out Communism once and for all. Though not technically part of the Enclave, many powerful corporations benefited from the Enclave's actions, and their research facilities were protected during the nuclear firestorm of 2077.

In [[Timeline#2073|2073]], as the global race to exploit the handful of remaining fossil-fuel resources reached its fevered peak, the United States managed to stake a claim on the world's last known supply of crude oil, buried thousands of feet beneath the Pacific Ocean. [[Poseidon Energy]], a major U.S. energy company, was contracted to build an oil rig and extract the oil. Before long, the oil ran dry and the oil rig was abandoned by Poseidon, and re purposed as an Enclave facility.

The Enclave mostly continued the pre-War U.S. government, making alterations to fit their smaller size and increase the fluidity of operations. Some new departments that were established after the Great War included the [[Power plant operations|Atomic Energy Commission]] and the [[Chemical Corps]].

==Background==

===The End of America===

[[File:FoT Gas Prices.png|thumb|250px|US gas prices in 2077 (per gallon):<br />Regular - $7450.99<br />Premium - $8500.99]]

Ever since the end of World War II in [[Timeline#1945|1945]], the United States in the ''Fallout'' universe had sought to become the sole remaining superpower in the world, aiming to control the globe's major energy resources and influence the direction of life in other nations. In the 21st century, this became more apparent as the [[Resource Wars]] raged between the [[European Commonwealth]] and the oil-rich states of the Middle East, the [[United Nations]] disbanded in acrimony, and the [[Soviet Union]] slowly declined. The United States found itself with no real rival on the global scene except the [[People's Republic of China]], though it was economically and militarily behind the U.S. at first.

However, the energy crisis of the mid-twenty-first century hit the United States harder than expected, compounded by the outbreak of the [[New Plague]] in [[Timeline#2052|2052]]. In 2054, a nuclear exchange in the Middle East prompted the U.S. government to establish [[Vault|Project Safehouse]], which was intended to create 122 underground fallout shelters that would save a portion of U.S. society from the ravages of nuclear war or an unstoppable global pandemic. But [[Vault-Tec Corporation|Vault-Tec]], the leaders of this operation, used most of the vaults as social experiments to see the effects of these experiments on the civilians inside. Five years later, in 2059, in order to protect its Alaskan oil interests, the United States established the Anchorage Front Line, to defend its stockpiles of oil from potential invaders.

In 2060, stockpiles of oil ran dry and the pursuit of the last underground reservoirs of petroleum emptied the U.S. economy. People pushed their cars around and the political pressure to research alternative sources of energy increased enormously. To maintain its status as a superpower in spite of the crisis the United States expanded the size of its military and commissioned a government defense contractor, [[West Tek Research Facility|West Tek]], to create powered infantry armor, intended to replace tanks on the battlefield. This project eventually proved to be the salvation of U.S. industry, and, in the summer of 2066, the first crude nuclear ''fusion cell'' was developed as part of this research effort and was then adapted to civilian needs. Thus was the start of the "Atomic Age."

This fact, coupled with U.S. unwillingness to share the world's last untapped oil field in the Pacific Ocean with other energy-starved nations, prompted China to declare open war against the United States and invade Alaska in 2066, initiating the Sino-American War. The initial Chinese campaign was successful, but soon Chinese and U.S. soldiers found themselves bogged down in a war of attrition, with both sides unable to gain any sort of meaningful advantage over the other. Even the mighty American [[T-45d power armor]] units did not tip the scales, as China's [[Crimson Dragoon]] units rampaged behind U.S. lines, disrupting the U.S. Army's logistics and transport. About a year later on October 23, 2077, at about 9:00am, the first ultra-nuclear bombs from China reached the U.S., landing in Massachusetts, Virginia, Alaska and California, erupting into ''the Great War''.

The United States' northern neighbor, [[Canada]], proved unwilling to accept the increasingly aggressive behavior of the United States as it fought to repel the Chinese invasion. Faced with almost open hostility and the threat of military action, Ottawa relented, allowing U.S. troops and aircraft to pass freely through its territory. This led directly to the annexation of Canada by the United States in 2076.

War and the energy crisis took a toll on U.S. citizens. The citizens became increasingly restless as the global and national situation deteriorated, throwing the country into turmoil. The U.S. Army was deployed into major American urban centers to contain riots in the year just before the Great War, leading to the U.S. Army firing on its own citizens in certain circumstances.

===Post-War America===

Despite it all, humanity survived the atomic catastrophe. The U.S. federal government managed to survive as the [[Enclave]], the only known remnant of any official pre-War government in the ''Fallout'' universe.

Following the Great War, the American Commonwealths disintegrated into what became known as the [[wasteland]]. When land across the country eventually became less radiated and more habitable, survivors reestablished settlements and began new post-war lives.

\* ''[[Fallout]]'' and ''[[Fallout 2]]'' take place in [[New California]], the current State of California (''Fallout 2'' being just north of ''Fallout'').

\* ''[[Fallout 76]]'' takes place in [[Appalachia]], which is comprised of the former state of [[Eastern Commonwealth#Former West Virginia|West Virginia]].

\* ''[[Fallout: Tactics]]'' takes place around [[Midwest|Chicago]].

\* ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' takes place in [[Texas Commonwealth|Texas]].

==The flag==

[[File:Cowpens Flag.png|thumb|222px|Cowpens Flag]]

The United States of the ''Fallout'' timeline, at least since the formation of the thirteen American commonwealths in the mid-twentieth century, uses a flag with either 12 or 13 stars in a circle, with one large central star.

Although ''Fallout 3''{{'}}s final version of 12 stars surrounding a 13th most closely resembles an obscure flag known as the [[wikipedia:Cowpens flag|Cowpens flag]], the flag with a circle of stars referenced by ''Fallout''{{'}}s opening cinematic is the considerably better known [[wikipedia:Betsy Ross flag|Betsy Ross flag]]. A flag with 13 stars and stripes, one for each of the original U.S. states, was mandated by the Second Continental Congress' Flag Resolution of 1777. As states were added to the Union, more stars were successively added to the flag until the flag of 50 stars was created in 1960.

The Cowpens was an American Revolutionary War-era flag used in the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, in 1781 that resulted in one of the major victories of the young nation over its British mother country. The only difference between the Cowpens and ''Fallout'' flags is a much-enlarged middle star used on the U.S. flag in the ''Fallout'' universe, probably to represent the nation as a whole.

==Appearances==

All [[Fallout series|''Fallout'']] games to date have been set exclusively within United States territory, but following the collapse of civilization, in most cases, this territory is now either claimed by other groups, or not governed at all. Ruins/relics of now long-defunct government institutions are seen all throughout the series.

The prologue sequence of ''[[Fallout 4]]'' takes place in the United States' final moments as a properly functioning nation.

The [[Enclave]] appear as a major enemy faction in ''[[Fallout 2]]'' and ''[[Fallout 3]]'' and are mentioned, with a handful of retired members appearing, in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]''.

Newsreel footage of the US Army in action is present in ''[[Fallout]]''.

''[[Operation: Anchorage (add-on)|Operation: Anchorage]]'' is set in a recreation of [[Northwest Commonwealth|Alaska]] and features simulated, fictionalized representations of the U.S. Army.

==Behind the scenes==

[[File:FB9 Flag stars.jpg|thumb|250px|Red's "correction."]]

\* The initial idea of dividing the country into thirteen zones came from [[Leonard Boyarsky]] during the development of ''[[Fallout]]''. In ''[[Fallout Bible 8]]'', Tim Cain reported that Leon said he used that flag because it "looked cool" and he didn't want to use a standard U.S. flag with 50 stars. Eventually, he planned to make up something about 13 super-states, but he never did. It was further elaborated upon by [[J.E. Sawyer]], who broke up the U.S. into Commonwealths.

\* There is much misunderstanding about the number of stars on the flag and the corresponding zones because not all of them are actually visible in the only available picture depicting it. [[Chris Avellone]] stated that there are 13 of them in ''Fallout Bible 8''. He was "corrected" by Red, who sent him the picture with the location of 11 stars marked. In 2005, J. E. Sawyer tried to clarify the issue by saying that according to [[Tramell Ray Isaac]], who rendered the intro cinematic for ''Fallout'' said that they just took the old colonial flag with 13 stars in a circle and added a new star in the middle.

\* Sawyer's explanation was widely accepted until 2008, when [[Bethesda Softworks]] released ''[[Fallout 3]]'', which featured a flag with 12 stars in a circle and one in the middle, effectively establishing (or, alternatively, [[wikipedia:Retroactive continuity|retconning]]) this version of the flag as the "true" version. This version of the flag also appears in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' and sometimes in ''[[Fallout 4]]''.

\* As of the 2015 release ''Fallout 4'', Bethesda Softworks seem to have noticed the discrepancies regarding the flag and have adjusted it to have thirteen stars surrounding a large, central star once more. Neither the original mistake nor the subsequent fix has been officially explained by Bethesda.

==Gallery==

<gallery widths="210">

USRecruitementPoster.png

USRecruitementBilboard.png

USCouragePoster.png

USWarBond.png

CivilDefensePoster.png

USStopRedMenace.png

CivilDefenseChildrensPoster.png

NV Lonesome Road USA Flag.png

</gallery>

==References==

{{References}}

{{Navbox pre-War countries}}

[[Category:United States| ]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

[[fi:Amerikan Yhdsyvallat]]

[[fr:États-Unis]]

[[it:Stati Uniti]]

[[ja:United States]]

[[pl:Stany Zjednoczone Ameryki]]

[[pt:Estados Unidos da América]]

[[ru:Соединённые Штаты Америки]]

[[uk:Сполучені Штати Америки]]

[[zh:美国]]