Wabash Union (1983: Doomsday)

The Wabash Union is a survivor state in the central region of the former state of Indiana. It is named for the Wabash River arround which it is based.

Post-Doomsday
The city of Lafayette survived Doomsday fairly well. However the state government was decapitated in the destruction of Indianapolis, and the state soon fell into anarchy. On April 8th, 1984 the city leaders drafted two resolutions: a declaration of independance and a resolution to explore the neighboring parts of the former state via the rivers.

Establishing the Wabash Union
The new city-state soon discovered the existance of the neighboring towns along the Wabash. Soon they were in negotiations with the riverside towns of a 3-county long section of the Wabash. On July 25th, 1984 they reached an agreement, and the Federal Union of the Wabash was born.

Contact
The Wabash Union had very little contact with neighboring survivor states during the 80's. Most citizens began believing that society had completely broken down into small survivor communities. However, this was proven to be a false assumption when scouts from the Commonwealth of Kentucky entered the Wabash Union's territory in the late 90's. The Wabashites were thrilled to know that there were people still living in the rest of the world, but were saddened to hear that the provisional United States government in Australia had dissolved itself. They formally signed a document declaring the Wabash Union totally free and independent of the United States.

The new millennium
The Wabash Union entered the new millennium with renewed hope. Its nine member counties had thoroughly united themselves under the Wabash banner, the was assisting them in some affairs, and it had good relations with its neighboring states. Unfortunately, raiders based out of Valparaiso were causing problems along the northern borders. The Wabash Armed Forces, assisted by the Kentuckians, was mostly able to keep them from causing much harm to the Union itself. But trade convoys to neighboring Muncie were being disrupted by the Valparaiso raiders.

Government
The government of the Wabash Union is a sucessor to the pre-Doomsday state government of Indiana. There is no country or state government. Each community runs their own affairs. The legislature has one representative from each city-state, who are elected directly by their constituents. The Governor is the chief executive of the nation, and may not serve more than two terms The lieutenant governor serves as a sucessor to the governorship if the governor dies in office, becomes permanently incapacitated, resigns or is impeached.

Political Parties
The pre-Doomsday Republican and Democratic parties still exist in Wabash politics. However, new, small political parties have begun breaking into the scene.

Military
The military consists of remnants of the Indiana Army National Guard and the Indiana Air National Guard. The Wabash Army is based in the brand-new Fort Orr, which was named for the last Governor of Indiana (who was killed in Doomsday). The Air Force is also based in Fort Orr, which has runways for the planes. The Wabash Navy consists of Virginian-supplied river monitors and armed riverboats. The Wabash Army is armed with Virginian-supplied M14 rifles. The Wabash Air Force uses the planes the pre-Doomsday Air National Guard used.

Agriculture
Agriculture is an important industry in Indiana which is part of the Corn Belt. Some farm products produced are: corn, wheat, oats, hay, and soybeans. Livestock production includes: cattle, hogs, poultry, and sheep. Corn is the leading crop grown in Indiana.

International Relations
Through the East American Alliance the Wabashites have established relations with the Republic of Superior, Republic of Wisconsin, the city-state of Charleston and the nation of Vandalia.

Current Situation
The Wabash Union is currently the wealthiest survivor state in the former state of Indiana. They have the best standard of living in the former state. They are a rare example of an early 20th Century standard of living. Thanks to acess to Kentucky's oil deposits, they are one of the few states to have cars and trucks running on the streets. However the sight of a gasoline-powered car is still rare. Most of the cars on the streets have been modified to be turned into horse-drawn buggies.