North Pennsylvania (1983: Doomsday)

The Commonwealth of North Pennsylvania is an American successor state. Aside from Pennsylvanian lands, it also controls Chautauqua County and Cattaraugus County, New York as well as Ashtabula, Ohio. To the north, it borders and  across Lake Erie, to the north-east it borders  and, to the south-east , to the south by Virginia, to the west Toledo, and to the south-west Kentucky.

Pre-Doomsday
Before the Commonwealth was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the Delaware, and other Native American Nations. The Dutch were the first to take possession, and this has impact on the history of Pennsylvania. In 1638, Sweden established the New Sweden Colony on the site of present day Delaware. New Sweden claimed and, for the most part, controlled the lower Delaware River region (Parts of present Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania), but settled few colonists there.

On February 28, 1681, the King of England granted a land charter to William Penn to repay a debt of about $4,200,000 owed to William's father. This was one of the largest land grants to an individual in history. It was called Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's Woods", in honor of Admiral Penn. William Penn, who had wanted his province to be named "Sylvania", was embarrassed at the change, fearing that people would think he had named it after himself, but King Charles would not rename the grant. Penn established a government with two innovations that were much copied in the New World: the county commission and freedom of religious conviction.

Between 1730 and when it was shut down by Parliament with the Currency Act of 1764, the Pennsylvania Colony made its own paper money to account for the shortage of actual gold and silver. The paper money was called Colonial Scrip. The Colony issued "bills of credit", which were as good as gold or silver coins because of their legal tender status. Since they were issued by the government and not a banking institution, it was an interest-free proposition, largely defraying the expense of the government and therefore taxation of the people. It also promoted general employment and prosperity. When the Founding Fathers convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress, and the Second Continental Congress, which also met in Philadelphia drew up and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, but when that city was captured by the British, the Continental Congress escaped westward, meeting at the Lancaster courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then to York. Later, the Constitution was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new American Nation. Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787.

The Battle of Gettysburg—-the major turning point of the Civil War—took place near Gettysburg. An estimated 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the forces.

Pennsylvania was also the home of the first commercially drilled oil well in 1859 near Titusville.

Doomdsay
On Doomsday, Pennsylvania was a hard hit state in the United States, losing it's capital Harrisburg, it's largest city of Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh along with other cities such as Bethlehem. Erie was hit with a 50KT at the mid-west part of the city that took out the Erie International Airport and the Erie Steel Mills, the rest of the city was eventually abandoned within the next year. Cities in the area such as Warren, Oil City, Franklin, Sharon, and Meadville, would become a haven for those fleeing the rest of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio.

Within the immediate carnage, the Pennsylvania Dutch, and the Amish went on with life as normal as possible. They had been accustomed to living by the land only and had not experienced the chaos others had when Seneca Generating Station had gone down and the river banks of the Allegheny experienced flooding. They soon welcomed the masses of refugees as well as small amounts Ohio Penn Dutch who had followed the massive refugee crowd that had been led by Ohio state officials after the relocated capital at Warren, Ohio failed and would establish a "state-in-exile" in Warren, Pennsylvania in the following months.

In 1984, the mayor of the City of Warren called for a meeting with other mayors of the county seats as well as the government-in-exile of Ohio so that they could pool their resources. The meeting had led to the creation of the Community Convention, the governing council for the counties. As the area became densely crowded with more Ohio refugees, arrangements were made to send a large proportion of them to Oil City, a town with accommodations for 5 times more than its normal population. Many of them would go into Pennsylvania Dutch country to work the land as well. Food, however, was the main priority, and a specialized diet plan was arranged to the workers who need to do necessary work. Most other families received packaged dry goods such as fish, sun-dried cabbage, grapes, powdered eggs, and carrots, all home-grown Pennsylvanian products.

By 1985, there was still no word from the state or federal government. Representatives of the North Pennsylvanian counties helped reorganize the state police into a larger unit that would constantly be on the watch for food theft, refugees, and other problems. They were also given orders to open fire upon fighting, murder, and vandalizing. This kept the local civilians in check since committing these crimes could cost them their lives. Most of the able bodied younger men were divided into task forces that were put to work clearing out bodies, rubble, and cars rendered useless by the Electromagnetic Pulse-wave. However, the stress on food due to the Ohio refugees nearly a quarter of Pennsylvania's population were in graves by 1986.

Post-Doomsday
For many years after Doomsday, the nation's priority was food. While farms, fishing, and even hunting had fed some mouths, the agricultural output was still inadequate. Then came the winter of 1986. In 1986, snowfall in Pennsylvania peaked, with over 3-7 feet of snowfall in some parts. The known casualties have been 10,000, most due to starvation or hypothermia. After winter, people had an even worse time trying to regrow lost crops. So in all, over 35,000 people have died due to the effects of the 1986 Winter. By 1988, Pennsylvania had managed to return to its normal levels of food output.

In 1989 they confirmed that the city of Toledo had indeed survived. This brought joy to the Pennsylvanians seeing another functioning society in the area and soon began much needed trade with Toledo. Around the same time that Toledo formed their own government, a new Constitutional Convention was drawn up in Warren, and revised in Franklin. A new state was founded, the Commonwealth of North Pennsylvania, replacing the provisional state that had been formed in 1984. This new constitution was popular, as it created a Pennsylvanian currency as well as the right to a proper military, but it did not state North Pennsylvania's actual standing. Was it an independent nation or a provisional of the United States? The title "Commonwealth" had hidden if it was a nation or not. Many in the populace suggested that it was both, or neither, that it was its own regional government that is self governing.

Expeditions Across the Erie
In 1990, the Pennsylvanian government wondered on the possibility of life in former Canada. According to Toledo, they had spotted a fishing vessel across the Erie once, but were not able to identify it. A joint Toledo-Pennsylvania expedition across Lake Erie confirmed that life in Canada had indeed survived. Norfolk County, Ontario continued to function after Doomsday, but had indeed suffered more than imagined.

The area was given an ultimatum to join Toledo, Pennsylvania, or stay independent, but by a narrow margin, Norfolk County remained independent, but would receive aid when possible from North Pennsylvania and Toledo. They later came into direct contact with London-Ontario after Norfolk-Ontario requested to open trade relations. London accepted. This was a major event in Pennsylvania since they could now use their connections with Norfolk County, Ontario as an international trade hub across Lake Erie with other Canadian survivor states.

Life on the Mainland
In 1995, the Franklin-Oil City area was disrupted by their normal routine by an unexpected visit from the State College area. Once contact with State College was established, it was revealed that the Pennsylvanian governor had escaped to State College. Several politicians argued that they should join with the old governor at State College, but the new governor of North Pennsylvania decided that they were their own nation now.

In 1997, the area again was visited, this time by the Virginian Republic. The Virginians left on good terms with Pennsylvania. The North Pennsylvanians allowed the Virginians to use the Great Lakes on occasion, and they are thinking of approaching the rest of the UC on letting Virginia in.

The New Millennium
By 2000, things had begun to show signs of stability in the area. For the first time since Doomsday the government began cutting its ties to private enterprise when possible. The level of cooperation between Toledo, State College, and Pennsylvania had allowed peace to return to the chaotic states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The local Pennsylvania Dutch had also played a major part in the politics of North Penn and had formed their own political party, the Pennsylvania Party which held many seats in the state legislature. By this time, they had come into contact with the via word from the Ontario county-states Norfolk and London.

In 2000, the city of in New York and Ontario was discovered. Even though they had heard of the city surviving before the Pennsylvanians had held off most expeditions in the 1990's in order to pool up their funds and focus on rebuilding their own infrastructure. Pennsylvania helped establish safe roads to Niagara Falls around Buffalo and has since been trading with the city-state. At this time, they established relations with the cities of and  in New York, which had also miraculously been spared. The three nations have also shared trade relations.

In around 2004, North Penn began salvage efforts in mid-eastern Erie County. The abandoned town of Northwest Harborcreek, which was far enough away from the blast on Erie was brought back up to building codes by 2008. The main purpose of this was to have more access to Lake Erie as the makeshift port at North-East Township was always crowded. The current permanent population is 800, but many sailors and fishermen pass through the area from time to time.

In 2001, they discovered a functioning city-state in Westfield while expanding into New York State. At first, the town wished no contact with the Pennsylvanians, so Erie continued growing into New York leaving the Westfielders in peace. Eventually, in 2003 Westfield was an enclave in North Pennsylvania. The area eventually applied for membership in the New York Territory and was accepted in 2004 into the nation along with the rest of the territory.

In 2007, it was a founding member of the United Communities along with Toledo, Norfolk-Ontario, London-Ontario, and Niagara Falls. The New York-Ontario dual city of Niagara Falls was chosen as a capital since it is a Canadian-American city and would not favor Canadians or Americans. Later on in the year, Pennsylvania adopted the "Forgiveness Policy", allowing raiders and thugs to settle in their territory should they attend a two-year course to be re-admitted back into society. The project has brought the population, and workforce up quite a bit. It is also helped lower the number of raiders throughout the north by almost 500.

Road to Ohio
In 2008, Kentucky, Virginia, Toledo, and North Penn began the "Road to Ohio" led by the former governor of Ohio in which they would explore what was left of the former state. Eventually, each of the nations chose a sector in which they would try salvage efforts, save Toledo which was an Ohio survivor state. Pennsylvania began to clear out Ashatabul County, Trumbull, and Mahoning of gangsters and began evacuating families. On June 1st, 2010 the North Pennsylvanian flag was risen in the ruins of Jefferson. Re-building efforts began immediately, and many of the Ohio refugees have moved back to begin rebuilding their old state. North Pennsylvania eventually incorporated Ohio as a state in 2009, and was to annex more land, but has had to stop halfway through the second county due to trouble in the area.

Modern Day
In recent years, North Penn has become home to a small but prosperous economy. Most of this is thanks to re-establishing the gasoline industry, exploitation of minerals, restarting its mining equipment manufacturing, and last but not least, wood mills. As the power grid was restored most-countrywide in 2000, the nation was able to restore use of its facities, providing nearby nations with necessities such as railways, canisters, nails, pipes, and to a certain extent firearms. It is also an active member in the United Communities.

Economy
Pennsylvania's economy is primarily based around manufacturing, the oil refineries, lumber, and wood mills elsewhere. In the industrial sector, it produces plastic, mining equippment, and nails. Over 30% of the plastic produced in North America is made at Erie Plastics in Corry, Pennsylvania. There is a set of small steel mills in Franklin that produce much of the nation's steel. Joy Mining Machinery still produces a small amount of tools, but due to metal scarcity they are not able to produce much. The Coal port at Ashtabula is not opened yet, and has been damaged so badly that instead it is going to be used as a docking for small boats coming in from Toledo.

The economy was completely government controlled until 1990, when the first private gasoline enterprises, United Refining and Quaker State reemerged. Until 2000, most other things were at least partially overseen by the government to control spending and make sure the right industries had the right manpower. When the United Communities was founded in 2007, all but several farms, electricity, and ammunition and firearms manufacturing was privatized.

While it does not have much land for farming, the food products Pennsylvania does produce are cattle, corn, milk, layer chickens, and grapes. It used to have some of the nations best horses before Doomsday, but most of them were on the southern side of the state. It has purchased some of those from Virginia though now.

The one benefit of the north-western part of the state is the abundance of oil. Hundreds and hundreds of oil fields have been found all over Pennsylvania, making it largely energy sufficient and local companies such as Quaker State able to make a very, very large profit off of oil. United Refining in Warren allows them to refine their own oil as well.

Minerals are somewhat common as well, such as salt, coal, phosphate, sandstone, clay, and limestone. Gravel and silt are found off the coast of Lake Erie, as well.

Warren is the business capital of North Penn as it is home to the largest abundance of industry in the entire state as well as the nation's only functioning power plant - Seneca Pumped Storage Generating Station.

Energy
Pennsylvania is quite an oil rich nation, with hundreds of oil fields and two refineries, Bradford Refinery and Warren Refinery, they are able to produce 80,000 barrels per day, making the country largely energy sufficient. With oil in abundance, it is the main source of heat and energy for the people, and those who own working cars do not have to worry on fuel shortages either since it is all locally based. Most gas stations are owned by the sole surviving original oil company in North America "Quaker State".

The sole operating power station in North Pennsylvania is the Seneca Hydro-power Station outside of Warren. Most trains in the area run on bio-diesel purchased from. Factories, in order to conserve fuel, mostly run on natural gases found in the area.

Government
The government of Pennsylvania is very similar that of pre-Doomsday Pennsylvania state government. In fact, it only holds de facto independence, as it yet to declare independence from the United States. However, in 2002 the Constitution was modified to give more power to the "state" government, specifically the creation of Congress and the right to own militia.

Pennsylvania is a largely Democratic state with a large amount of Republicans as well. The politics of the region usually lean slightly towards voting Democrat in the states of New York and Ohio, but the Republican party dominates much of the more southern counties of the State of Pennsylvania.

The government of Pennsylvania is made up of the executive branch, judicial, and the legislative branch. The governor and lieutenant-governor are in command of the executive branch, while a Senate makes up the legislative branch. Both the Supreme Court and the Governor reside in the Venango House, which was formerly the Venago Courthouse but has since taken on a "White House" role. It sits at the city centre and is the spot of most parades such as the Applefest.

States
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania exerts its control most in north-west Pennsylvania. However, since Doomsday it now controls parts of former New York and after the beginning of Project Road to Ohio, Ashatabul County of Ohio as well. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is divided into several states as noted below.

Education and Colleges
North Pennsylvania is home to many colleges, and has schools in essentially every community. The Edinboro University in Edinboro is the main centre of education, and was the only surviving community in Erie County before Reconstruction began. Most public schools are now under control of the United Communities Board of Education. clarion University is much smaller, but is a great school as well. It is slowly growing since tuition is cheaper than in Edinboro and the surrounding countryside is known to be therapeutic.

Transportation
Since Doomsday, many cars in North America were made obsolete by several EMP's. However, for those cars that remained active, gasoline is not a problem since the state is home to both abundant oil fields and several refineries. In addition, there is an abundance of natural gas to be utilized as vehicles are converted to use that fuel.

Since after Doomsday, Lake Erie was able to retain much of its natural animal populations and beauty due to the lack of major commercial fishing vessels. In 2006, Pennsylvania began to restrict the amount of gasoline-powered boats from entering its harbors in an effort to keep fishing stocks in good health and abundance.

Paved roads have also been restored since the discovery of gravel in Lake Erie.

Diesel-electric locomotives are Erie's specialty, so they are used to travel from Toledo to Superior. The Trans-Lake Railroad is currently the largest functioning railway in North America. It purchases locomotives from London-Ontario.

Automobiles and Jeeps
In 2004, one small vehicle helped revitalize an entire region's transportation. Obviously, not every single car was rendered useless on Doomsday. A handful survived. However most were common go-around cars, However, there was a man in Franklin who was in possession of multiple geniune, working WWII 1942 Jeeps* and had donated several of them to the local police following Doomsday. After the subject was brought up with two businessmen, one a Toledoan and the other a Pennsylvanian on manufacturing the vehicle again, it quickly gained steam. There actually was a Jeep FJ manufacturing plant in Toledo, and all they needed to do is put it back into production. By using parts from dead vehicles, and using the manufacturing plants in Toledo, they successfully created a better-than-original version of a Jeep Willys-Overland. Soon, they began manufacturing producing around 6 vehicles a month, an alarming rate for post-Doomsday standards. These two businessmen unknowingly re-started one of the most successful military vehicle manufacturers of all time.

Today, the Jeep is the military's main form of transportation, and since they can be produced quickly, and require only the simplest parts they are cheap to purchase. The average Jeep used by the military is a canvas-door 3-seater with a canvas roof used for transport. This is known as the Raider, because this Jeep is most commonly used for field missions in raider territory. There is a combat version of this vehicle depicted below.


 * AUTHORS NOTE: There actually is a person in Franklin who possesses a whole bunch of old Jeeps.

Air Transport
Far View Airport is the nation's main airport at this time, although flights mainly go in and out of United Communities member states or Virginia and Kentucky. There are pretty much dozens of regional airports in other counties as well. Since there are both oil and oil refineries they are completely oil sufficient. Almost all of Penn's planes are propeller planes due to the extreme difficulty of producing jet fuel.

Culture
Oil City, the "capital of modern oil drilling" is a major tourist spot around the area.

Erie, the largest city in Pennsylvania has recently become a very active, bustling city once more as more and more residents move in from other areas, sometimes from State College or north-east Ohio.

Minorities
With the Amish being a major presence in the area, the surrounding rural communities benefited off of their way of living, especially after Doomsday. The Old Order Amish, however, have recently been competing with the New Order, with many of those defecting to the more liberal New Order Amish.

The urban Pennsylvanian lands have not seen much immigration in recent times, but the Tionesta County and Forest County or the "Erie Peninsula" lands have become home to many of those who have left the rest of North Pennsylvania for multiple reasons.

Demographics
Since after Doomsday, Pennsylvania German, a dying language before Doomsday, has slowly been on the rise. This is because with less English influence the rural communities have taught more of the young with the Pennsylvanian language. A 2008 census showed that over 9% of the nation spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, leading it to become a co-official language the year after.

Military
The Commonwealth of North Pennsylvania's military is mainly a militia, as there were no military bases in the area, although a few old federal vehicles and veteran soldiers do support the Pennsylvania Military and have passed their teachings onto this younger generation of soldiers.

The main vehicle of the Military is the Jeep. This is because of its avalability and due to the fact that both Toledo and North Penn both manufacture Jeeps, although Toledo's are more professional. There are around 100 smaller Jeeps serving the nation right now, mostly used for military transportation.

International Relations
Pennsylvania was a founding member of the in 2007. It is not a member of the League of Nations at the moment, but will consider doing so further down the road when communications are more easy to come by.

It mainly keeps tabs with local American and Canadian successor states such as State College, Toledo, Aroostook, Superior, Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls, London Ontario,Norfolk Ontario, Midland Ontario, Ithaca, Binghamton, and to a certain extent Kentucky and Virginia. They know of the existence of Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Keene, Plymouth, the North American Union, and Ithaca.

Since 2008, they have been in a pleasant relationship with Canada. North Pennsylvanian Coast Guards and occasional heavily-guarded civilian vessels maintain frequent contact with Canada, and before the Saguenay War the North Pennsylvanians would send ambassadors to Canada to explore Europe and create diplomatic ties. However the Lawrence Raiders often foiled those visits, but since the end of the war Canada and the United Communities plan to make a small territorial government along the banks of the St. Lawrence River where there is no radiation to control which vessels go in and out of the River.

Externals

 * Details on Venago County, PA
 * The Corry, PA Website