Virginia (1983: Doomsday)

Pre-Doomsday
The area that would make up the Empire was the heart of the United States of America. Most of it had been the first to be settled by the English in the 1600's. It also held the US captital since 1790.

Post-Doomsday
The area was surprisingly lightly impacted, as the radiation from the destruction of Washington either settled out of the atmosphere or blown out to sea.It was the abandoned by the former US government and left to its own devices. The region quickly fragmented into many squabbling warlords, the borders of these fiefdoms were extremely fluid and chaotic. Until a rogue fleet lead by the US warship, the USS Iowa (stolen from Suisun Bay and reactivated by an AWOL US Naval base) arrived in the area in 1990.

Establishment
Since the area had devolved into legions of small fiefdoms, its leader Captain Richtofen lured the leaders of the largest fiefdoms to a meeting to discuss the curent situation. He then quietly poisoned them and annexed their territories into his own (which only included the area around the US naval base in Annapolis, Maryland).

Government
The government, and name, of the empire are based heavily on Rome. Simply put, the Emperor is in charge, and his word is law. His rule has helped bring the area back to civilization, and is not protested by the former US citizens.

Law & Order
The government relies on draconian punishments to keep order. Minor crimes get lashes and time in the stockade, while major crimes get hangings or stonings. This harsh system is in place to keep the region from disolving into anarchy again.

Economy
The minimal to no radiation has made restarting the local economy as easy as pie. The basic economic infastructure was in place, all it needed was labour. Within a year of its establishment, the economy was back up and running.

Health
The low to no radiation has made cancer cases as rare as in OTL. In fact the only cause of cancer in the empire is Tobbacco. And it has been banned for just that reason.

Organizations
Due to its highly idependant nature, it has not allowed the Committee to Restore the United States of America to form in its borders. This is because it has decided to retain its independance by any means necessary. All people who attempted to found the CRUSA in the empire were tracked down and hung.