Atlantic American State

* Flag
* Coat of arms

### Ideology

A government-sponsored idea of the "American Cause" (current ruling faction is technocratic)

### Formation

May 27, 2274

The **Atlantic American State** (A.A.S. or AAS), commonly known as **Atlantic America** or **America**, is a country located in North America. The national capital and the biggest city is **New York City**, the country itself being based on the metropolitan axis of the **Northeast Megalopolis** and partially the **Great Lakes Megalopolis**.

The country's official version of history mostly starts counting from the European colonization and the formation of the **United States of America**, as numerous records were lost during the **Collapse** and later the **Silent Epoch**.

## Etymology

The first known use of the word "America" dates to approximately XV-XVI century (exact date unknown) produced by an unknown cartographer, allegedly honoring a certain "Amerigo Vespucci", whose role in the subsequent colonization of the continent is unknown. Another known name is Columbia (for Christopher Columbus), which has been repopularized in recent days as a poetic name for the country.

The first documented evidence of the phrase "Atlantic American State" dates to January 23, 2274, in a manifesto made by Matthew Miller, with the first sentence being "In accordance with the common will of the nation and the requirement to manifest our destiny to shape the continent with the American spirit, the uniquely American Atlantic State is to be proclaimed after the complete liberation of New York".

The Proclamation of the Atlantic American State would be the first official source to list the name, after which it was used much more often as it was the official name of the country.

Commonly, "American" is an adjective often describing concepts related to the country, as well as the (official) demonym. However, this is not unique for the state, even with it being the biggest (known) state on the continent.

## History

### The Collapse in Americas

As the **Pacific War** (as well as the official stance on de facto fighting "two wars and a half", aiding their allies around the world) took an enormous economic strain on the country, revolutionary elements from around the country started emerging. However, with both main "ideologies" (namely liberalism and conservatism) in the country weakened, this transformation opened a window for different ones to emerge. As different factions proclaimed opposition to the government, none were able to unite America or even take meaningful control, causing the full collapse of the country and ending almost 250 years of its existence.

##### First nations that formed

In contrast to Europe, Americas were not as quick to recover from the Collapse. Among the many nations that formed in the following years, two had the biggest impact on the near-term course of history - the technocratic **American Commonwealth** based in Massachusetts (and more generally the Northeast) and the democratic socialist / "Southern Marxist" **Confederation of Socialist States of America** based in South Carolina and the Southeast.
Over time, the states expanded, interacted with each other and other states, including having contacts in Europe. The first post-Collapse border agreement between the states in Americas happened when the American Commonwealth internationally confirmed its claim on the North, the CSSA - on the South, while the Communist America was given the West of America (which was evidently a not perfect settlement for them, considering that the previous base of its power was located in Washington, D.C.).
The states went by their own paths, while later the American Commonwealth attacked the Communist America, it being largely undeveloped and subsequently "erased" from the treaty. However, by that time, the west of America saw two important nations emerging - California (later the Pacific States of America) and the Republic of New Texas.
While the CSSA entered the **International Pact** as a founding member (together with Germany, Yugoslavia and the Celtic Union), the American Commonwealth declined internationally before Texas and the PSA invaded it, starting the "Great American War", which they won, dividing between themselves and annexing the territories (with only Canada, a puppet, left from the old state before the Silent Epoch started). However, they were not able to cement their control over the area, as the **Silent Epoch** started, breaking the old world order and causing completely different countries to form.

### Wing of American Liberation (2267-2274)

Before the Silent Epoch entered its late phase, the Republic of New Texas and the Pacific States of America were forced to abandon the Northeast they annexed during the "Great American War", causing a power vacuum as the region fell into anarchy. Several opposing paramilitary factions formed, one of them being the **Wing of American Liberation**, headed by Matthew Miller and based in New York City. As it was the most powerful faction, it was eventually able to control Manhattan and in 2274 proclaim the **Atlantic American State**, reforming into the **American Liberation Force**.

### Normalization of the government (2274-2294)

##### Administration progress

The government forming in the region created a set of challenges for itself, as much of the territory around was in anarchy or controlled by organized crime. That is why a **joint military-civilian administration** was created to manage the state. During that time, infrastructure was rebuilt and the territories were organized under the national administration.

##### Death of Matthew Miller

On June 19, 2282, the President of the Atlantic American State, has suffered from a fatal heart attack. Unlike a death of any ordinary politician, Matthew Miller's death created numerous headlines and remained top news for especially long time. This happened particularly because before the official announcement, the President was perceived to be in full health, as well as the fact that he ruled since the very creation of the state, being a President for life. As per the will, his son Michael Miller became the new President and Gen. Paul Morphy, a figure particularly close to the late President, became the Executive General, dividing the two most important titles in the country between themselves and creating a diarchy of sorts.

## Information

### Result

De facto AAS victory (settled with a conditional surrender)* Referendum on the status of the American Commonwealth.
* Unification of the two states under the banner of the Atlantic American State.
* Triggering of the Fair Revolution.

##### Northeast War / Operation Atlantis

With the creation of a border between the country and the American Commonwealth, tensions between the two countries started growing. After several diplomatically hostile acts between the two nations, the tensions culminated in an unauthorized border skirmish happening. This triggered a declaration of war by the President of the Atlantic American State, later dubbed the "Northeast War" by the observers, primarily from the AAS. With the initial attack, called the **"Operation Atlantis"**, New Haven was taken quickly with the forces moving toward Hartford, while on the Northern Front bigger resistance was encountered and fighting went on slower. After the initial operation, however, the sides met to discuss a peace treaty, which was agreed to be decided by a nationwide referendum. The treaty was voted for as "YES" by the 57% of the citizens of the American Commonwealth, so the territory was joined into the country.

##### The Fair Revolution

The addition of new territories into the state exposed deep structural issues of the country, especially the rampant law enforcement brutality and opposition suppression. This was especially amplified when blindings started being used as a punishment (by the public criminal code this was not a legal punishment, however according to an account of an anonymous political prisoner, "the dungeons operated with their own rules"). This caused widespread protests with the goal of independent investigation and fair prosecution of the responsible. Over time, the goal morphed into ousting the government, with the **"Pittsburgh government"** consisting of major revolution leaders declaring the old government illegitimate. During the revolution President Miller was killed by a furious crowd, while Morphy (who was later found to cause the blindings) fled to an unknown location (presumably either the United Kingdom or South Africa) after cracking down on the protesters when the situation shifted in favor of the revolutionaries.
After taking control over the country, the new government started a list of reforms, including **the Softening Act** concerned with dealing with difficulties in the region previously controlled by the American Commonwealth, as well as other reforms, both civilian and military-oriented.

### The Second American Government (2302-present)

##### The Snow Doctrine

After long period of isolationism, the National American Congress has decided on ultimately changing the course (being influenced by the war between Great Britain and Cuba in the Caribbean and the naval skirmish between Dixie and Italy happening in what essentially is considered its "neighborhood"). The **Snow Doctrine** was drafted and later accepted by the Congress, concerned with opening up to the outside world. As the first action, the Group of Three was established (after a period of negotiations), after that the International Trade Organization was formed, concerned with setting fair rules for trade. After that, the **Naval Politics Act** was passed, designed to develop American power projection via a strong navy.

## Geography

Geography largely defines the Atlantic American State as well as its actions as a government. The state itself is very urban, basing itself on this as reflected in its general structure. As the state's territory expanded, it initially grew along the axis of New York City to Washington, D.C in The March South and forming the first urban core (hence "Atlantic"), later expanding north and surrounding the Boston-based American Commonwealth (which was later joined into the country as a result of the Northeast War). The next policy of the government concerned with expansions was The March West, created with the plan to eventually expand into the Great Lakes, forming a second urban core for the country.

## Government and politics

The Atlantic American State is a semi-federal state governed by a military-civilian administration which is tightly connected to the **American National Party** as a sole body representing the people of America. The **Atlantic American Constitution** describes the country as a "national democratic state governed by the fair representation of a collective American nation by the social contract of the people".

The Constitution serves as the supreme legal document of the country, as it establishes the structure of the government and its limits. The Constitution may be amended, however, the National American Congress should approve doing so.

The Atlantic American State has operated under a one party state for most of its history, however, the role of the party and its unity changed over time (with the biggest change happening after the Fair Revolution).
The country can be as well described as a congressional / parliamentary republic (however, with an abnormally powerful President compared to many others), however, whether or not the election of the Congress can be considered sufficiently democratic is questionable.

### American National Party

In the Atlantic American Constitution, it is specified that the American National Party is to represent the whole nation of America and have the prime power over the national representation. The general policy questions are to be solved by the party members gathering and voting for or against the issue, however, the decisions are mostly advisory and the final responsibility would lie on the President as the de facto supreme leader of the party. Because of that, some consider the country to be a regime between a dictatorship and an oligarchy, even while in the Constitution itself it is described as a "national democracy" partially due to the party having an abnormally (compared to the known history of America) high membership.
After the Fair Revolution, however, the party unity and influence is at its lowest, as internal factions take a central place in the political process, with some arguing that a multi-party state is going to appear soon (if not already), with the status quo shattered.

### National American Congress

The National American Congress is the main legislative body of the country; consisting of many factions of the ANP, it was created after the events of 2302. It is unicameral, and the composition is determined by a party-wide vote.

### Territorial composition

*Work in progress*

The Atlantic American State is a federal state, consisting of different states, each of which shares sovereignty with the federal government. The regions are mostly centered on cities and metropolitan areas. There are three types of regions in a country (based on the type of state government):

* Core region (civilian state government) - a self-sufficient region that is able to manage itself and has dealt with the initial anarchist / other ideological crime and the lack of infrastructure; the region being at this point focused on further economic and quality-of-life growth;
* Periphery region (mixed state government) - a region that hasn't yet dealt with all of the initial problems presented by the Silent Epoch situation, however constant surveillance by the military is not needed already;
* Managed region (military state government) - region that hasn't dealt with most of the initial problems, needing support of the military.

### Foreign relations

With the establishment of the **Snow Doctrine**, the Atlantic American State opened up to the external world. It is the founding member of the Group of Three (G3) and the International Trade Organization.

Despite this, the A.A.S. has a neutral position and ambivalent relations with many countries, especially the Great Britain (another G3 member) and the Republic of Cuba. It, however, presented an offer to mediate the war between the two countries.

### Military

The American Liberation Force is the nation's military (which was formerly a paramilitary Wing of American Liberation) and effectively the only entity in the country that is allowed to use force in the full extent (as private military companies are banned).

#### Military organization

The American Liberation Force is led by two Commanders-in-Chief (which have different responsibilities but are intertwined with each other) - the President and the Executive General (who is appointed by the President).

The branches of the ALF are the following:

* Liberty Land Force
* Liberty Naval Force (includes the Coast Guard)
* Liberty Marine Infantry Force
* Liberty Air Force (includes the air defense)
* Liberty Enforcement Force

The branches have a structure common for all of them except for the navy.

The naval ranks (the units are fluid and depend on the requirements):

## National symbols

The national symbols play a very huge role for the young nation with great ambitions, as they represent the ideas for which the country fights. As such, they are very often seen in public, imprinting an image into the minds.

### Flag

The flag of the Atlantic American State is the most famous national symbol in the country. It is representing broad American heritage (as the stripes and stars were taken from the flag of the United States of America, even while in a different variation), as well as deep blue color symbolizing the importance of the Atlantic. The circled torch also means liberty and the humble New York origins of the Wing of American Liberation, from the most famous landmark of the city, the Statue of Liberty. The colors were generally taken from the blue-white-red palette of the flag of the United States of America, a semi-legendary state that preceded the Atlantic American State.

### Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the state is also a very famous symbol, however it hasn't been popularised as much as it is a more recent creation. The blue and white were influenced by the flag, having the same significance, and the eagle signifies American (and broadly Western <- Roman) inheritance. The simplistic design of the coat of arms was primarily chosen to symbolise America going bravely into the future, just as it being an image of an eagle rising up did.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Official government explanation; https://discord.com/channels/848945566779047956/1036730535856316466/1038092219871145994