What if the Nine Nations of America were real countries?

[johnreiter]

Inspired by the book The nine nations of North America by Joel Garreau

What if an ASB re-divides North America politically, creating the nine nations described in the book? I will the borders and capitals of each nations, for those not familiar. Whatifalthist has also done an excellent 2-part video on this topic. Here is a map, though not a great one. I made a better one myself, but I can't figure out how to post it.

These are the nations (the names are placeholders. I expect they will have different names)

The Isles (southern Florida, all the islands of the Caribbean, the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Columbia, and the Caribbean coast of Central America from Quintana Roo south)
Capital: Miami

The South (the rest of Florida, all of Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, part of eastern Texas and Oklahoma, the southeast corner of Kansas, southern Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana)
Capital: Atlanta

The Foundry (all of Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, the lower peninsula of Michigan, the rest of Indiana, part of eastern Illinois, the east coast of Wisconsin, and the eastern half of the upper peninsula of Michigan) (it completely encloses all the great lakes except for Lake Superior)
Capital: Detroit

New England (all of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the island of Newfoundland, and the southern half of Labrador)
Capital: Boston

Quebec (all of Quebec, and the rest of Labrador)
Capital: Quebec City

The Breadbasket (all of Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, the rest of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, most of Texas, the rest of southern Ontario, southern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan)
Capital: Kansas City

Mexamerica (most of southern California, the southern half of Arizona, southern Colorado, South Texas, and all of New Mexico, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur)
Capital: Los Angeles

Ecotopia (the rest of California, western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and the Alaskan panhandle)
Capital: San Francisco

The Empty Quarter (all of Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the rest of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and part of Greenland)
Capital: Denver

What do people think these nations would be like? What would their governments, culture, and economy be like?

 

[S'task]

You appear to be missing the map? I assume you're talking about this model:

That Nine nation model of the US is fundamentally incorrect and lumps regions together that are actually quite distinct. I personally think the 11 nation model is more correct:

Thing is, if our borders were suddenly divided along EITHER model, it would quickly fuck everything up, as while those are distinct CULTURAL regions, none are distinct ECONOMIC regions. The economies of each are heavily tied up with the others, especially for foodstuff and raw materials.

 

[johnreiter]

I think I may post a few descriptions of how I think the countries would be. If anybody has their own opinions, or wants to throw in more details, go ahead

Republic of the Caribbean (The Isles)
Description: A representative democracy, with a fairly moderate, conservative-leaning political landscape. The dominant power in government are middle-class businessmen. The culture combines most of the positive traits of Latin and Anglo-Saxon cultures. The country is a famous tourist destination, but is also a major hub of international trade (particularly as they control the Panama Canal). In recent years, the RoC has begun to experience a major industrial boom, as more and more businesses are attracted to the free economy and pleasant environment. They are also a well-known producer popular movies and TV shows. Their only aggressive policy is a fervent opposition to communism. Their largest problem is hurricanes

 

[johnreiter]

Republic of the Southern States (The South)
Description: Historically, this has been a poor nation dependent on agricultural exports, with a large gap between the rich and the poor. On the other hand, the RSS is also well known for it's rich culture, and it's art and music are prized the world over. The population is mostly friendly, and very religious. The government is relatively small and decentralized, though it is not a full confederacy. Politically, the nation is very conservative, and the government is non-invasive. Most political offices are dominated by the members of old, established families. It is rare for and "outsider" the be elected. In recent years, the RSS has begun to experience a massive economic and industrial boom as thousands of businesses re-locate here to take advantage of the nice environment, low taxes, and the relaxed attitude of the government toward business regulation. Although still a poor nation, they are growing richer at a very rapid pace. The established elites are a bit concerned with the possibility of a large merchant middle-class rising, but so far they remain cautiously welcoming to it. The Republic of the Southern States is also well-known for their highly trained and professional military, which is considered one of the best in the world

 

[johnreiter]

People's Republic of the Great Lakes (The Foundry)
Description: Once, this region was extremely wealthy, one of the most industrialized nations on Earth. It made up 25% of the entire global economy. However, all that has changed since the communist revolution. The corporate leaders have been thrown out of power, and under the new communist-socialist dictatorship, the standard of living has continued to drop as the nation becomes poorer and poorer, and the economy plummets. The one bright spot in PRGL is New York City, which hold a status similar to Hong Kong in communist China. Relatively tolerant of foreign businesses, it fights to remain a hub of international commerce under a socialist government. As conditions continue to get worse, the people are becoming more rebellious, and factions in both New York and in Toronto are eyeing Detroit like buzzards circling a corpse. A new revolution is in the wind, but nobody knows which way it will blow.

 

[johnreiter]

Republic of New England (New England)
Description: New England is a democratic republic, but with a very social liberal bend. The government is large, and heavily involved in all aspects of society. It is dominated by the college-educated upper class, and it is very rare to see people elected to high office without at least a masters degree. New England has poor agriculture, and it's industry has been in decline for decades, longer than the PRGL. Their number 1 expert is scientific research and new technologies. They are one of the leading nations in the world in tech development. Their country is home to many of the most prestigious universities in the world.

 

[johnreiter]

Republic of the Heartland (the Breadbasket)
Description: The Republic of the Heartland is a wealthy and peaceful nation, one of the main food supplies of the world. In addition to being a major exporter of agriculture, they have a respectable industrial sector, and several renowned universities. The government of the Heartland is relatively small and decentralized. wealthy farmers, and increasingly agricultural corporations are the leaders of the society. The culture is strongly conservative.

 

[johnreiter]

Democratic State of Deseret (the Empty Quarter)
Description: the DSD is a large, lightly populated country whose economy is mostly dependent on resource production, with some tourism. They do have some more industrialized areas, and in recent years have begun to experience a mild economic boom due to the increasing availability of long-distance work through the internet. The government is very small and non-invasive, with power very much de-centralized and devolved to the local level. Politically, the culture leans conservative, but a very Libertarian form of conservatism. In general, it is a politically moderate nation, with few extremists in either party. Although originally founded by the Mormons, it is a fully secular state nowadays, though the Mormons still make up a powerful block in voting.

 

[Bassoe]

However, all that has changed since the communist revolution. The corporate leaders have been thrown out of power

You kidding? That's basically the exact opposite of what happened. The region got rich off unionized manufacturing labor until the corporate leaders sent all the jobs and industries abroad to foreign scabs. What's your argument anyway, lower pay and worker protections in a zero-sum effort to match the literal slave labor available abroad?

 

[johnreiter]

You kidding? That's basically the exact opposite of what happened. The region got rich off unionized manufacturing labor until the corporate leaders sent all the jobs and industries abroad to foreign scabs. What's your argument anyway, lower pay and worker protections in a zero-sum effort to match the literal slave labor available abroad?

I'm not making an argument, I'm writing a description of an imaginary country.

I'd love it if other people would write their own, since I'd like more opinions. You seem to have strong opinions which are different from mine. Would you like to write a description of what the Foundry nation would be like?

 

[Bassoe]

I basically just did. An industrial superpower that fucked themselves because their rulers didn't want to pay for unionized local labor so they turned their rivals (China) from a bankrupt basket case to a superpower and destroyed their own manufacturing capacities and citizenry's quality of life.