Virginia (1983: Doomsday)

Pre-Doomsday
The area that would make up the Empire was the heart of the US coal country. It also is the location of Fort Knox, one of the greatest depositories of gold in the world.

Post-Doomsday
The area was surprisingly lightly impacted, as the radiation from the destruction of Columbus either settled out of the atmosphere or blown out to Lake Erie.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 Army Officer from nearby Fort Campbell started expanding his fiefdom.

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 army base in Fort Campbell).

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. The fact that the Fort Knox gold depository was also abandoned also helped Virginia's economic recovery

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.