United States of America (Dixie Forever)

The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 35 states, plus a number of territories and uninhabited islands.

Politics and Government
The United States are a representative republic where power is shared between the federal and state governments. The government is divided into a legislative, judicial, and executive set of branches.

States
The United States consist of the following states:
 * Maine
 * New Hampshire
 * Vermont
 * Massachusetts
 * Rhode Island
 * Connecticut
 * New York
 * Pennsylvania
 * West Virginia
 * Maryland
 * Delaware
 * Ohio
 * Michigan
 * Indiana
 * Illinois
 * Wisconsin
 * Minnesota
 * Iowa
 * Missouri
 * North Dakota
 * South Dakota
 * Nebraska
 * Kansas
 * Montana
 * Idaho
 * Wyoming
 * Colorado
 * Utah
 * Nevada
 * California
 * Washington
 * Oregon
 * Columbia
 * Hawaii

Territories

 * Guadeloupe
 * Martinique
 * Polynesia

War for Southern Independence
With the election of Abraham Lincoln, seven southern states seceded from the Union, protesting the Republican party platform of internal improvements, protective tariffs, and a national bank, along with a strong central government. The south complained that it paid 3/4 of the tariffs, and didn't get any of the benefits in terms of any internal improvements, which were all spent in the north. Adding to this was the violent John Brown raid, and the violent rhetoric of the northern Republican party, and they felt their rights would be more secure outside the Union.

President Lincoln authorized a blockade of the Confederate States, then expanded it to include Virginia and North Carolina soon after.