New England Federation (World of the Benevolence Society)

Originating from the division of a briefly existing United States of America, the New England Federation began its life as six states leaving behind a nation dominated by those who dragged them into the Division War that adversely affected them, propped up by Britain as a buffer state. Over time it expanded and established itself as a major secondary power in the World as well as the world's prominent hub of entertainment and culture. The Benevolence Society is headquarter here.

History
The New England Federation originated from the short lived United States of America, specifically the northern half of the nation. Even at this point in history, divisions between itself and the eventual Confederacy of American States were already present, manifesting most notably in the 3/5ths compromise in the constitution. This measure, affecting representation in population in the form of African Slaves, was a decision that heavily favored the slave based South, and gave the region a larger hand to play in politics. This problem slowly grew over time, coming into play only after the election of the third of four presidents of the doomed nation: Thomas Jefferson.

During this time the voice of New England and allied regions was slowly but surely drowned out by a wave of populist Democratic-Republican politicians representing the South and West, whose power only grew following the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France.

Then came the Division War.

The war began in 1812, following a series of disputes involving sailors in the Atlantic Ocean being forcefully taken into service of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. This, combined with tensions between settlers of the western territories and Native Americans led by Tecumseh, led to demands of war from the Southern and Western States.

The Northern, and especially New England states, who were dependent on trade and had no reason to go to war with the world's foremost naval power, were ignored, and war was declared for those who would only gain.

New England promptly suffered extensive economic hardship from the resulting blockade, but the loss of a significant chunk of Maine to invading British Forces. Meanwhile the war dreams of the South and West were dashed by many British and Native victories, repulsing them from their failed invasion of Canada.

As the Napoleonic Conflicts ended several years into the failed American war and Britain began sending more forces to fight in a war they were already winning in the years of 1814 and 1815, New England and the state of New York were forced to take drastic measures to prevent the loss of their territory and livelihoods. Meeting in Hartford, Connecticut under a meeting arranged by a New York based organization known as the Benevolence Society, who had long been campaigning against the Democratic-Republican dominated nation and the war, brought in Federalist leadership from New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Islands to air common grievances. Moderates, who had dominated the meeting originally and sought only to air a series of grievances against the Democratic-Republican Government that included the following suggested constitutional amendments Radicalized as the meeting went on due to reports of mobilization of troops in Western New York with the intent to not fight Britain, but to ensure compliance of New England states (several of whom had refused to send militia troops or funding to the general war effort due to a need to protect their own territories from British army and naval attacks).
 * 1) Prohibiting any trade embargo lasting over 60 days;
 * 2) Requiring a two-thirds Congressional majority for declaration of offensive war, admission of a new state, or interdiction of foreign commerce;
 * 3) Removing the three-fifths representation advantage of the South;
 * 4) Limiting future Presidents to one term;
 * 5) Requiring each President to be from a different state than his predecessor.

Eventually talks of reform became talks of secession, and a deal was sent to the British Forces.

Shortly afterwards British troops and their Native American allies poured into the Michigan territory in mass, while the New England and New York militias joined together to fight the American troops massing in the west of the state. Meanwhile the blockade shifted, opening up ports from New York City to Augusta to shipping once again.

Peace talks in Ghent stalled, and only resumed in late 1815, which some historians explained to have been the work of allies of the Benevolence Society. By that point the Michigan territory had fully been taken by the British-Native alliance, American troops and authority had been pushed out of New York and New England, and despite a massive victory by General Andrew Jackson in the city of New Orleans, the war was lost.

And so was the United States of America.

The early 1816 Treaty of Ghent ended the war on more favorable terms than the disintegrating United States could have hoped for, mostly due to British awareness of the difficulty of re-occupying the territories they had lost in the previous century.

British North America took possession of several northern regions of the Louisiana Purchase, as well as a large chunk of the Maine District, which later became the Province of New Ireland.

New York and the New England states were removed from the United States and became a buffer state between the United States and British North America. It would later declare itself the New England Federation, in exchange for making the capitol be in New York State.

The region that would be known as Michigan was also created as a buffer state, to be led by the successors to Tecumseh's alliance of Native Americans, retaining the name of the former territory for pronunciation purposes.This nation of Natives would proceed to expel all American Settlers south to the state of Ohio and the other Northwestern Territories.

Finally the United States was to pay war repatriations to British North America. The New England Federation members would surrender all claims to the western territories.

Needless to say this led to a wide series of changes that swept both the New England Federation and the United States at this time.

While initially suffering uncertainty from the independence declaration, order was quickly restored to the new nation. The restoration of trade helped the port cities recover rapidly from the war, opening up the nation to renewed economic opportunity.

The vacuum created by the division of the nations politics led to a rise of new political parties filling the niche the Democratic-Republicans once did. While the Federalist Party continued to hold power, these parties helped lead to the development of areas of the nation outside of the ports, leading to a development of river based industries including the river mills that would lead to economic and social development.

The Federalist Party would later slowly divide into its own series of smaller, more focused parties over time.

The Capitol of the Federation was eventually settled to be the city of Albany, with New York's legislator moving to Schenectady.

Abolition movements in the region, already active, accelerated, leading to a rapid freeing of slaves in their last vestiges in the nation. While equality would not even become a possibility until decades later, the first stirrings of rights for the former slave populations began to appear during this time, pushed in large party by the Benevolence Society, who pushed for further progressive reforms in voting rights, sanitation, equality, and education.

The economic strength of the region exploded following the completion of a canal between the new capitol of Albany and Lake Eire. Along with producing a boon for the port city of New York, it also enhanced travel and trade with the inland reaches of both New York and Canada. Trade boomed, with New York, Upper Canada, and even with Pennsylvania and Ohio all benefiting from it.

Even with the chaos, the 1820's and 30's were a period of growth and stability for the new nation.

That is not to say the former United States shared this with New England.

Following the war the nation briefly dissolved into chaos, reforming in 1817 as a new nation known as the Confederacy of American States. Stretching from the western Rocky/Stony Mountains to the coast of Virginia, this nation slowly began to find a new way to identify itself following the shock of the war, with the former compromise capitol abandoned for a new one.

The Capitol fluctuated location for a few years, with no agreement of where to place it due to disputes between the states. Eventually Andrew Jackson, hero of New Orleans, established Memphis and its central location eventually made it the choice for the new capitol, with authority gravitating towards the Mississippi River.

This focus also affected the dominant ideologies: with the loss of the New England states along with New York, the Southern States became the dominant force in the reformed nation. Economic policies favoring large scale plantation agriculture became dominate, and laws were passed reversing the Anti-Slavery clauses in the Northwest Territories.

This caused concern in the Free States of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, particularly once talk began about the question of if a state even had the right to ban slavery in its borders.

It was in Pennsylvania where the eventual history of the Americas would be defined for the modern era.

Pennsylvania's Governor George Wolf spent much of the 1830's in conflict with the rest of the Confederacy of American States. His efforts to expand the state's educational and transportation links created tension with the Southern dominated classes, who saw this as 'too New England'. The trade links the Erie Canal had forged with the Federation had created increased ties with their former brother states, and the push of Pro-Slavery forces on their state where Slavery had long been outlawed further raised tensions.

Tensions exploded in 1835 when the leader of a failed slave rebellion fled into Pennsylvania. This revolt was sparked by a runaway slave turned Benevolence Society agent who went by the name Ohio Rezum, who managed to kill several plantation owners in Maryland and northern Virginia before being overwhelmed.

He escaped into Pennsylvania, where a Quaker farming family sheltered him outside of Chambersburg. Confederate Troops pursued him to the farm a few days later, arriving just after he had fled in an attempt to avoid getting his protectors in trouble.

They were killed regardless of his efforts, the news of which was spread by a horrified Ohio across the state, aided by Benevolence Agents in Philadelphia (Which had been suffering economically due to protective tariffs) and along Lake Erie.

This soon erupted into a state wide revolt, followed by a rapid call for secession from the Confederacy of American States, to which calls for aid from the New England Federation ensued.

Despite pressure from Britain to avoid rocking the boat, New England agreed, and conflict ensued. This would become known as the Pennsylvania War, a war that would go on for five years.

During the war the New England Navy showed itself to be dominate, easily controlling Lake Eire and the coastal towns while securing the port of Philadelphia, though it took many years to establish control in the interior. The war in the end was won more from the fact that the Confederacy had several concurrent issues with Native American insurgencies and Slave Rebellions that were seen as more important, and eventually conceeded Pennsylvania, which joined the New England Confederation.

During the war the northern part of New Jersey was captured and incorporated into New York state. For this reason the war was also called the first New Jersey War, for the war had left a legacy that would seed future conflicts.

With New England establishing control of the Delaware River during the war, the state of New Jersey became cut off from the rest of the Confederacy. Despite this the Confederacy had no interest in yielding the territory willingly, which became an increasing source of tensions.

This would manifest in the Second, Third, and Fourth New Jersey Wars in the mid 19th century, with victories in the Second and Fourth wars eventually leading to full New England control of the state, along with the northern half of the state of Delaware that New Jersey would annex for itself.

Southern Delaware being annexed by the Confederate State of Maryland.

Bar these wars the mid 19th century remained a time of peace and growth overall in the New England Federation. Many immigrants arrived in the ports of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, eager to escape the issues of Europe from war and famine. Industry and commerce grew to create a vibrant economy, further boosted by the rich agriculture lands in Pennsylvania and New York.

Invention exploded in the factories and industry of the country, with one of the greatest being Peter Cooper's Tom Thumb, the first American locomotive.

The late 19th century returned to major wars with the Confederacy, which had been gaining strength with conquests against the former Spanish colonies in the West and South. Between 1880 and 1910, wars were most frequent in the Great Lakes region, where Ohio began to flirt with defection to the New England Federation due to growing cultural divides between itself and the Confederacy as whole. The wars would also include the territory belonging to the isolationist fellow buffet state of Michigan, who agreed to join the Federation in 1900 due to a weakened military strength following the Illinois War of the 1890's.

By 1910 most of the former Northwest Territories, with the exception of Wisconsin and OTL Minnesota, were in Federation territory. These wars exhausted New England military strength, which contributed to New England remaining neutral in the First World War.

As Britain also remained neutral, the war affected New England little, though military observers noted the effectiveness of German U-Boats.

To be continued

Government
Retaining the basic form of government from its predecessor United States of American, the New England Federation has a Bicameral Legislative Branch. The Upper House is a Senate, while the Lower House is the House of Persons.

The House of Persons are filled with delegates whose total is tied to their state's total population, with their districts determined by a non-partisan commission based on demographics, with a focus on ensuring fair and equal representation. Each Person represents their district for periods of two years, with a limit to five consecutive periods of representation. Afterwards a Person must step down and can only run again after a period of four years, per a 1980's era amendment. Currently the House of Persons has One-Hundred Persons in it, with some talk of changing the number currently circulating the country.

The Senate each has two people elected to it from each state, with a total of Twenty-Six members as of the current date. Originally appointed by the States, this was changed via amendment in the 1880's to direct election by the people. Senators serve for a period of four years elected in two rotating groups, each election cycle putting half the Senators up for election, with some talk currently of placing a term limit.

The Executive Branch is run by a President, and contains all government agencies. The President is elected by popular vote, following an amendment passed in the 1900's abolishing the previously used Electoral College system. The President is term limited to a single six year term, with no state allowed to have a candidate elected twice in a row. This policy is considered unpopular by many, and an amendment to abolish it is currently being voted on in the states. The president has veto power to the Legislative, but can be overruled.

The Judicial System operates much the same as it does In the Original Timeline United States, though the Supreme Court seats Seven justices instead of Nine. In addition, the Senate is required to vote on any judicial candidate nominated by the President within a month of nomination.

While State and County Government have powers over their local affairs, Federal Law supersedes State Law in all cases.

If a region defects from the Confederacy, it is admitted to the Federation as a full member state after one year. Territory taken from the Confederacy by force of arms is generally annexed by a New England state, or if large enough declared a Militarized District.

After a period of five years, a Militarized District can join the Federation as a full member state.

Political Parties in the New England Federation include the following While not a party, the Benevolence Society is known to majorly influence politics with endorsements and support, mainly towards left-wing politicians of various parties. The group is not known for getting involved in primaries, but for giving support during the general elections. 90% of all decisions on a federal level occur in tandem with the Benevolence Societies approval.
 * Federal Party: A Centralist party that favors strong Federal rule, with little State power on economic and social issues. This party opposes Marriage Equality in individual states, instead focusing on Marriage Equality passed through the Federal Government first, for example. Symbol is a male Lion.
 * Socialist Party: A party that believes in strong federal control of the economy and socialist policies for the care of the people. A left wing/liberal party. Symbol is a wolf.
 * Traders Party: A Party believing in freedom of trade, but liberal on social issues. Fiscally Conservative, Socially Liberal. Symbol is a Whale.
 * Green World Party: A party with a focus on environmentally minded policies. Symbol is a Turkey
 * Whig Party: A defunct party from the 19th century that wanted to keep strong ties to Britain.
 * Communist Party: A party believing in Marxist policies, more government control that the Socialist Party and more authoritarian. A minor party. Symbol is a Bear.
 * Tecumseh Party: A minor-moderate party that caters to Native American interests. Symbol is a Longhouse.
 * Union Party: A defunct party of nativists that died out in the mid 20th century. Symbol was a Horse.
 * Fascist Party: A defunct party from the early-mid 20th century that never got far. Symbol was a Eagle.
 * Christian Outstanding Party: A Conservative Party operating under Christian influenced laws. Generally a minor party. Symbol is a pair of three stars.
 * Shay-Fries Party: A Conservative Party focused on more local power and less Federal power. Generally a minor party. Also known as the Libertarian Party. Symbol is a silhouette of a revolutionary era soldier.

Politics and Culture
The New England federation is overall seen as a liberal country, with many socially progressive policies and viewpoints. The nation is known as the media hub of the world, with many famous writers, storytellers, artists, animators, and video game designers known to be based in the country, in part due to encouragement of creative pursuits over the more strict and uniform ideals of nations such as the German Empire, the Japanese Empire, and the Confederacy of American States, and in part due to Benevolence Agents actively searching for and helping to immigrate to New England, individuals of notable creative status and vision.

The center of the world's film industry is located in New Jersey, which is commonly known as the Film State.

Environmentalism is popular in New England, with many national parks and reserves dotting the land to ensure natural land and clean water is available to all. Many rare animals are known to be kept and maintained in the nations many zoos, including American Bison, Caspian Tigers and Kihansi Spray Toads.

Museums are similarly known for the collection of many artifacts and pieces from around the world, many of which were at risk of being lost or stolen at one point or another. There is some controversy globally over this practice, as some believe that these artifacts should be returned to their home nations. The most common argument to refute this is the frequent wars and terrorist actions in their home nations that risk their destruction.

As a result New Englanders are sometimes seen as hoarders and thieves by nationalists, particularly outside of Western Europe. This also extends into the protection of rare animals in New England captivity, most famously due to a famous incident of a zoologist named Johnathan Thompson Terran sneaking into the Soviet Union and escaping with most of the declining Caspian Tiger population from the Central Asian republics.

New England is a multi-ethnic nation, with a wide variety of nationalities existing across the nation, particularly in Cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit,. While the majority are of European descendants, there is a significant minority of Native Americans mostly found in Wisconsin and other western states. Other major population minorities include Jews, African-Americans, Persians, and Cubans.

In world politics New England generally leans in the same direction as the British Empire in world affairs, though they do generally have usually positive to neutral relations with other major powers like the German Empire and the Soviet Union. They have negative relations with the Japanese Empire and the Confederacy of American States. They are considered a major secondary power, particularly in naval affairs, with a respectable army, if not large enough to engage in full out man to man conflicts with armies such as the Germans and Soviets.

There is some controversy is Conservative Voices are unfairly silenced, but overall the nation ranks highly in worldwide counts of electoral fairness, freedom of the press, and standards of living. They were among the first nation to expand rights to LGBT individuals.

Authors Notes
Edits to aid in formatting this page, as well as suggestions, are appreciated

Expansion will follow in time.