United States (From Sea to Shining Sea)


 * This Encyclopedic Article was first published in Australia's online web encyclopedia. This is considered to be the most objective summary of the USRA worldwide. 

America, officially the United Socialist Republics of America, abbreviated as USRA, is a democratic socialist country in North America. The USRA is the first and largest revolutionary-communist country in the world. The USRA is otherwise called United America, to contrast with the now defunct United States Government. United America descends from the original United States, both American governments were unique for their values of limited government and individual liberties. Since its founding United America has attempted to follow both the ideals of Communist Ideology and aspects of Liberalism which had created the first United States. The First Constitution and in particular the Bill of Rights continue to have indirect influence on modern America while being null and void.

Introduction
The 19th and early 20th century saw remarkable growth and success for the original American nation. Turning from an agrarian society to an industrial one in a matter of three generations. The original United States survived an earlier Civil War from 1861-1865 between today's northern and southern republics. The government victory in the Civil War protected the country's unity and abolished the practice of slavery. However, reunification allowed the long term exploitation of Southern agrarian America by the industrialized north.

By the turn of the 20th century the old United States granted more rights to its citizenry than most countries in world history. Universal male suffrage and free labor permitted its citizens to participate in elections, to move and to seek employment all across the country. For all of these social advances, the Industrial Revolution, placed many stresses on American society. The legal system remained intact but corporate conglomerates took advantage of old America's free market economy. Industrial America suffered from vast inequality and worsening conditions for the majority of America's industrial and agricultural workers. The fairness of elections were disrupted by voter-bribery with corporations paying people many non-citizens to select candidates that best suited their interests. America's intervention in WWI though victorious raised additional anger against the government.

As nations abroad experienced reform many Americans became frustrated with a seeming lack of change in the home-front. The failed 1925 Revolution erupted out a call for political reforms as much as equitable labor and wealth policies. The shock of the Great Depression and the refusal of America's political leaders to intervene in the crisis were the direct causes of the Second American Revolution. Activist Sarah Leslie maneuvered to take command of a diverse and varied dissent movement. The resulting Second American Civil War to overthrow the remnants of the first American state proved to be the most destructive conflict in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Victory in the Civil War assured supremacy of the American Workers Party over other revolutionary factions. The new USRA became the successor state of the old United States.

Leslie's leadership focused highly on economic redevelopment, egalitarianism and intervention abroad for the cause of 'World Revolution'. The young government intervened in World War II and served as the deciding factor in favor of the allied powers. Foreign intervention caused long term problems for the Communist State. The USRA government has a mixed record in developing the nation since 1936. Great advances have been made in social and wealth equality. USRA's unique economic system has faced problems such as stagnation in the past as well as being incompatible with World capitalist economy and trade. The USRA has shown flexibility in addressing structural economic issues and foreign policy.

The Coming of Revolution
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the economic crisis, unemployment, low wages, and lack of welfare relief led many Americans to look and turn to left-wing organizations and more radicals solutions and ideas such as socialism, communism and anarchism as a solutions to their social hardships.

The defeat of the 1925 American Revolution led to efforts of the progressive, socialist and communist parties and members to establish a common and joint party of the urban and rural proletariat of America. The breakthrough came in National Convention of Unity of 1929 that established the American Workers Party (AWP); a new political party with the purpose of creating a communist society in America.

Sarah Leslie was elected as party leader in 1929, just before the start of the Great Depression, and gathered support from across the United States. She led the American Workers Party originally under the tenets of Trotskyism, a democratic form of communism created by Russian President Leon Trotsky. In time Trotskyism was adapted to accommodate the values of the American People.

AWP partisans, organizers and militants traveled across the United States, increasing the popularity of Trotskyist communism. Over three years later, as the Second American Revolution highlighted, she led the November Revolution, capturing Washington, D.C., renaming it Georgetown and declaring independence from the United States. This started the Second American Civil War in 1932, which lasted for the next four years. This clash between communism and capitalism in America sparked a "Red Scare" around the world. In 1936, the United States officially capitulated to communist forces.

Following surrender, the old United States was dissolved, and in its place the United Socialist Republics of America was formally established. Revolutionaries in a long protracted war against counterrevolutionary and Canada seized most of the US territory of Alaska, which was then annexed as a new territory. Georgetown was made into the capital of the new nation. The remaining former United States territories: Puerto Rico, the Philippines, the Canal Zone, Samoa and Guam either became independent or incorporated with surrounding countries.

The Leslie Era: Workers States at Home and Abroad
Under Leslie's leadership, massive campaigns were launched that greatly increased the percentage of Americans in the working class, which boosted the new country's economy, as well as redistributing wealth and political power equally among the people. Economic policies pushed millions out of poverty and into an emerging new middle-class, while the rich were pulled down into the middle-classes, essentially ending the part of the social class system of that time.

A national government was set up as a loose association between the newly formed socialist republics, with the purpose of distributing resources among the republics, so they could provide work, welfare relief, health and housing for each individual. The arrangement was meant to be purely provisional, as its chief purpose would be to ensure each republic was socialist and democratic and had sufficient resources, after which the national council would be dissolved when it was not needed anymore. At the same time, attempts to lead socialist revolutions in former United States territories failed (i.e. Puerto Rico, Philippines, Guam and Panama Canal Zone), convincing Leslie to wait until the country was stable to lead further revolutions.

In 1941, America declared war on Germany, recognizing Nazism as anti-communism and thus the threat to the working class. In response, Japan declared war on America and began an invasion of Hawaii. Following the collapse of Nazi Germany, America detonated two nuclear bombs on Japan, forcing their surrender in 1945. Germany was then divided among the Allies: Britain, France, Russia, and America. While the British, French and Russian-occupied areas were reunified, the America-occupied section was transformed into an independent nation: the German Democratic Republic. This led to a brief civil war, after which the entire country was reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany. Japan was left to America's control after World War II. Americans began supplying Japanese communists with weapons and assisting them in overthrowing the government, with the hope of gaining an ally in Asia.

Following the execution of Emperor Hirohito in 1947, the Japanese Civil War broke out. The Japanese Empire fell, and Japanese revolutionaries founded the Democratic People's Republic of Japan. America supported this new nation, giving it the supplies and military support it required. The Japanese-American Split in 1953 caused this alliance to deteriorate, as Japanese communism drifted away from American communism. The failure of Sarah Leslie to create a democratic government in Japan was universally seen as an embarrassment, and Leslie lost most of her support at home and abroad. Japan and America retained a partial alliance, the "Communist League", which would be dissolved in the 1970s. In the final two years of her term President Leslie's approval ratings collapsed to an all time low, prompting the initiation of emergency Reforms.

An enduring star: Progress, and Pacifism
The Reforms of 1954 planned to introduce a new set of regulations intended to prevent corruption and authoritarianism in the government, such as limiting future presidents to serving only five terms (ten years) and limiting members of the Workers’ Congress to serving a maximum of 13 years. Ultimately, the reforms would be put into effect only after the Cold War, as the Workers’ Congress launched a coup and barred Leslie from the government. When the Japanese-American Split ended in 1971, America's alliance with Japan was severed, allowing American-Russian relations to improve. On October 14, 1986, the world saw a thawing in the Cold War when America joined the World Economy. The Cold War came to a close in 1991 with the end of one-party rule in America through the breakup of the American Workers Party, allowing American-Russian relations to improve and fully bringing America out of isolation. The end of the United American Workers Party lead to protests nationwide but subsided when Government assured to the people that the social-welfare system would remain in place.

Janet Kim passed the Reforms of 2015, which both initiate economic changes in an attempt to stabilize its economy, and renounced America's right to declare war, in an attempt to gain allies. Today, American citizens enjoy the second-highest standard of living, the fifth-lowest infant mortality rate, the world's largest industry, the seventh-least corrupt and tenth-most stable government. In recent times, America benefits from a prosperous economy, a rapidly growing population, and a large arsenal of nuclear weapons, but suffers from an unorganized military and lack of international support. It is ranked as one of the most liberal and democratic countries in the world, along with Korea, and Norway.

Form of Government
The United Socialist Republics of America is structured as a federation of socialist workers' republics; a union of and between "socialist workers' republics" (SWR), usually referred as "republics".

Each SWR is run by a Workers' Council that is the supreme authority of the republic. The Workers' Council elects the republican Executive, although in some republics it is directly elected. The republican executive are either uni-personal or collective. The Republican State Court, that is elected by the Workers' Council, organizes, administers, supervises and names the Pepple's Court.

The deputies of a Workers' Council are democratically and directly elected by the citizens of a republic who are not running for political office. Council members are required to work when the council is not in session, to ensure government officials are working members of society. While non-workers are prohibited from holding office, as to uphold the "dictatorship of the proletariat", the national government prohibits entrepreneurs business leaders, and anarchists from holding office as well. In practice however, many elected officials are 'retired' entrepreneurs who reallocated their assets to others.

Most republics use a system of preferential voting to determine the victors of elections, though a few, particularly underpopulated ones, use a system of first-past-the-post voting. The number of deputies of the council and timing of the elections is determined by each republic, resulting in wide difference between when these elections are held in each republic, ranging from as little as five months to eight years between elections.

The Workers' Council elects three deputies to serve as representatives of their republic in the national legislature. The main purpose of the national government is to administer resources to the republics, as each republic is given the right to self-governance and limited autonomy.

Despite an apparent large degree of local authority, the national government possess the power to override the decisions of any republican government, though this can only be done if the judicial branch determines the act to be unconstitutional or the majority of republics vote in favor of vetoing such decisions. This is done to insure each republic adheres to the national constitution. The system is intended to give each republic a restricted amount of control of over its neighbors, while maintaining their own control. However, since the 1980s the power of the American government has been gradually decreased, starting the passing of Amendment 13 in 1983, which devolved power among the republics. The Communist Party has officially explained that these reforms as the beginning of the "withering away of the state", the final step towards a communist society.

The USRA's capital, the Commune of Georgetown, is granted full autonomy, and operate as republic of the USRA. The capital mainly serves as a meeting place for representatives of the republics and seat of the main state and governmental bodies. Georgetown it governed by its workers' council democratically-elected by citizens of the commune that does not submit to the USRA government, and elect its own three representatives to the national legislature.

Branches of government
The national government of the USRA is comprised of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial branches.

The legislative branch is comprised by a unicameral "Congress of the Workers of the United Socialist Republics of America", more commonly referred as the "Workers' Congress of America" or simply the "Workers' Congress". Deputies of the Workers' Congress are representatives of each republican Workers' Council.

Originally, the legislative branch was indirectly elected, with each Republic Workers' Council electing three of its members to the national legislature. Since 1990, members of the legislative branch of the national government are directly elected, with citizens electing three deputies of their Republic's Workers' Council to the Workers' Congress. This is done using a system of preferential voting. The Workers' Congress possess more power than the executive branch of America, the "President of the People of the United Socialist Republics of America", both referred to as the "People's President of America" or simply the "President".

The President is the head of state and is directly elected through a preferential voting system. Originally, the USRA used a first-past-the-post voting system to determine the candidate that became president, though since 1983, elections have consistently narrowed to five candidates for president, ranging from the far-left to right-wing. As a result, Amendment 14 was added to the constitution, changing the voting system from first-past-the-post to preferential, in order to better represent the people's interests. This system remained in place even after the disbanding of the American Workers Party.

The President mainly serves as the executive of the State with limited powers that are listed in the constitution and has a wide range of advisory powers. The executive branch can propose legislation and constitutional amendments to the Workers' Congress and also as item veto power. The President names the Ministerial Council, whose candidates must be approved by Workers' Congress

The national government does not possesses a true system of "checks and balances"; the legislative branch is the supreme and most powerful branch of government. It votes and approves all laws and oversees the administrative acts of government.

The Supreme Court is the supreme judiciary and oversees and supervises all Republics Supreme Courts, and all level of the Peoples Courts. The members of the Supreme Court are nominated by the Judiciary Committee a third named by the President, a third by the Workers' Congress and another third by the Republics Supreme Courts. All judges serves for a life tenure but must retire at 70, and can be removed after impeachment by the Workers' Congress.

The Supreme Court can determine its constitutionality of laws, after they have been approved by the Workers' Congress votes. However, decisions of the Supreme Court can be overturned by a super majority of the Workers' Congress.


 * President of the People of the USRA


 * Sarah Leslie (1936-1953)
 * Larry Smith (1953-1961)
 * Alexander Roberts (1961-1967)
 * Emmanuel Winters (1967-1971)
 * Maria Colombo (1971-1979)
 * Anna Nikolaev (1979-1981)
 * Micheal González (1981-1985)
 * Samuel Allen (1985-1993)
 * Thomas Kim (1993-1995)
 * Melanie Chambers (1995-1999)
 * William Douglass (1999-2003)
 * Emily Thatcher (2003-2011)
 * Mark Adams (2011-2015)
 * Janet Kim (2015-)

Political parties
American politics is currently dominated by three parties: the far-left American Communist Party (ACP), the left-wing People's Democratic Socialist Party (PDSP), and the centrist Liberal Democrats (LD). The American Communist Party is the most popular party in America followed by the People's Democratic Socialist Party and the Liberal Democrats.

The American Workers Party (AWP), sometimes shortened as the "Workers Party", was originally the sole official and ruling party of America, though it was incredibly loose, large, and decentralized in its organization. The AWP held a monopoly on power, controlling each branch of the national and republican governments. Other political parties could be legally formed, and have elected their own candidates, though these parties were banned from holding office. This system of party discipline was intended to promote unity among individuals with differing opinions, with political discourse working out the flaws with communism and allowing everyone to work together under the banner of socialism to create an communist society worldwide. Unfortunately, disagreements among party members divided the party rather than uniting it. Sarah Leslie, America's founder, managed to prevent complete collapse of the party due to factional infighting, even after she was barred from government and state office.

Following Sarah Leslie's death on February 28, 1986, differences between party factions began to emerge once again. Even before her death, the rise of nationalism in America lead to a new ideology, that became popular within the AWP, referred to as "Socialism in One Country". This ideology is the exact opposite of the theory of "Permanent Revolution", as it stated that communist-controlled nations (specifically America) should only work to sustain and improve themselves. This is the opposite of Permanent Revolution, which states communist nations should make every attempt to create communist governments in other countries. Socialism in One Country states that America can only survive through economic and political supremacy, which can only be done through work to improve the living conditions for its own citizens and people combined with peaceful negotiation efforts to gain capitalist nations as allies. In 1987, the Workers Party officially abandoned Marxism-Trotskyism as its leading ideology.

The Workers Party became divided among supporters of Permanent Revolution and supporters of Socialism in One Country. Just five years after Leslie's death, this division within the party become too much to bear, and it split into three separate parties. By 1991, it became clear that the collapse of the American Workers Party was inevitable. On May 26, 1991, Samuel Allen passed the Amendment 15 to the constitution, which allowed political parties other than the American Workers Party to hold office. This was done to prevent the fall of the American socialist government, which most believed would happen after the ruling party was disbanded. On December 24, 1991, the Workers' Congress voted to dissolve the American Workers Party without a legal successor, a step that took effect two days later, ending America's status as a single-party state. However, as part of Amendment 15, only three parties, selected specifically due to their support for Marxist socialism: the neo-Trotskyist Communist Party, the democratic socialist People's Democratic Socialist Party, and the market socialist Liberal Democrats, were allowed to serve in the government.

Historical Development
America possess a socialist mixed market-State economy. Originally, America had a decentralized planned economy, dominated by worker cooperatives and self-employment. Businesses were ultimately state-owned, but were effectively managed by the workers themselves. Banks were dismantled and replaced with credit unions as part of America’s transition to socialism. From 1936 to 1941, Leslie initiated and launched the First Five-Year Plan. After the collectivization of farms and land and creation of worker managed factories, the Five-Year Plan was launched to rebuild the damaged national infrastructure and economy. During this Plan, all businesses were required to set "high, but realistic" goals to increase productivity, as well as set addition goals for the future. In an attempt to give laborers an incentive to work hard, they were allowed to own small amounts of what they produced as personal property, as a part of their share of profits with the state.

While the government did not punish businesses that failed to reach their goals, public information campaigns shamed unproductive entrepreneurs. During the period, the role of currency was significantly reduced and replaced by that of labor and products themselves. In 1942, the expansive success of the First Five-Year Plan, led Leslie to proclaim a Second Five-Year Plans. This, combined with American involvement in the Second World War, boosted the American economy and grew it to the size of Europe's. American people, regardless of occupation and government position, were required to work for the first seven years of their adult life. Through the 1940s and 1950s, the country's economy grew with unemployment plummeting from over 25% to below 5%, though this was mainly due to American involvement in foreign wars. With unemployment down, the economy flourished and workers productivity increased.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, however, economic growth began to slow down, as resources were drained supporting communist revolutionaries in foreign countries. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the economy began to gradually recover America ended its involvement in foreign politics and began to focus on internal development. The Economic Reforms of 1986 passed by Samuel Allen began to integrate America into the capitalist World Economy, lowering the required amount of economic planning, and restoring limited private property. The reforms allowed for limited privatization and granting republics greater control over their economic policies. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, state-owned industries have been gradually transferred to control by collective controls. and regulation on public industries was reduced, as the economy became less nationalized. The government has began to implement participatory economics to fully achieve socialism.

America's mixed economy
Janet Kim passed the Reforms of 2015, fully reforming America's economy to a mixed economy, with the intention of creating a post-capitalist economy in America. These reforms banned state-owned industries, forcing existing ones to either privatize or become socially-owned property. American citizens are still required to work for a certain amount of time, though this decreases as the population grows. Currently, American citizens are subjected to an eight-hour, three-day work week, as well as two days of volunteer work, though volunteer work is not enforced by the government. Citizens work until the age of 55, after which they are granted retirement by the government. The value of goods can fluctuate according to supply and demand and private property is legal and encouraged by the government. Businesses and enterprises can be both privately and socially-owned, but state-owned ones are illegal. Private businesses are owned by individuals and socially-owned ones (referred to as public businesses) are owned by the people as a whole, rather than an individual. Private businesses are controlled by individuals, while public ones are controlled a democratically-elected labor union, based on the principle of workers' self-management through workplace democracy. Members of the labor union collectively serve as the business's entrepreneur. Public industries are owned by the entire population of the country, by are maintained and controlled by its workers. Because of how transactions in America function, those in charge of private businesses are mostly citizens going into retirement.

Private businesses are significantly more regulated by the government than public businesses, which are very unregulated. However, privately-owned businesses are required to become socially-owned if the state deems them to have "grow too large", as a method transferring ownership of the means of production to the people while maintaining a capitalist-style economy. All businesses are required to implement economic planning, though the products they create is determined differently. The owner of a private business determines the production of its products, whereas public businesses use the philosophy of "the customer is always right" to determine what products to make. Private businesses receive money from private, often either local or foreign investors, whereas the government directly invests in public businesses with public tax dollars. All workers are required to be educated in economics, as a means to insure adequate economic planning. In public businesses, economic planning is a participatory process carried out by its labor union.

All businesses, regardless of their owners, are required by law to surrender their profits to the government for redistribution; the majority of companies are publicly owned due to public and social stigma against private ownership. Due to profits from businesses being required to be given to the government for redistribution among citizens, many critics describe American businesses as state-owned. America contains 12 "Specially-Administered Economic Experimentation Zones" or (SAEEZ), which are much less regulated than the rest of the country. The SAEEZ areas are integrated into the world capitalist economy.

Transactions and Public Services
The American government follows a "citizens first" policy, putting the value of its civilians above all else. The government provides temporary jobs to unemployed citizens, based on their abilities, until they have found a permanent job and are financially stable. Citizens are allowed to change their job, but do not receive government assistance when doing so. General resources are distributed to citizens based on needs rather than greed, but the specifics of those resources are chosen by citizens based on their personal greed rather than needs. All citizens are given housing, medical care, clean water, food, and education for free, as they pay for these through taxes. Taxes are paid every year on December 31st with Continental Credits, earned from paychecks given by the state for each citizens' work.

Citizens are essentially in a state of perpetual debt, working so they can pay off obligations and continue their rather luxurious lifestyle. American taxes are among the highest in the world. For every months' worth of taxes paid prematurely, citizens are given a "vacation card", which allows for a week-long state-paid vacation to a location of their choosing. Although the American government distributes wealth equally among citizens, and thus income inequality does not exist, a form of class divide does exist under this new system. Citizens working the longest or in extremely dangerous jobs have the most vacation cards, can be considered the "richest", as they have the most free time. Once citizens have worked for the amount required by the state requires, they are allowed and encouraged by the state, though not required, to retire. Under this system, the American economy has prospered, with American goods increasing and value and the American GDP being the highest in the world.

Society
The main Public Holidays are:
 * New Year's Day (New Year's Eve January 1st)
 * Emancipation Proclamation (January 1st)
 * Lincoln's Birthday (February 12th)
 * Washington's Birthday (February 22th)
 * International Women's Day (March 8th)
 * International Labor Day (May 1st)
 * Independence Day (Fourth of July)
 * Equal Rights Day (July 9th, of ratification XIV Amendment)
 * Veterans Day (November 11th)
 * Start of November Revolution (November 23th)
 * Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day (final Thursday in November)
 * Abolition of Slavery Day (December 6th of ratification XIII Amendment)
 * Christmas (December 25th)

Public Broadcasting
The Revolution nationalized or made of public interest all commercial broadcasting in 1936. With the exception of radios belonging to educational institutions or cooperatives the rest were nationalized and integrated in the newly established American Broadcasting Service (ABS) that became the national and republic public broadcaster.

The ABS, that receives funding from both national and republics governments, is the main source of information, education, culture and entertainment of the American public. It is followed by the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) a cooperative radio network with programming produced by and shared between its member stations and its also the main sports broadcaster. Besides the previous networks there are also regional, American Indian radios and local and city radios.

From the private broadcasters and the Free Radios of the liberated zones that the first radio networks were established based on former NBC: Red Network (entertainment and music), Blue Network (news and cultural), White Network (Spanish and regional programming), Gold Network (regional programing) and the Voice of America the shortwave station with national and international services.

The arrival of television in the 1950s was also distributed among the two major broadcasters ABS (National Public Television, ABS-NPT) and MBS local stations. MBS keep is focus in local stations but keeping its cooperative character of program syndication. Demands in the 1960s for more regional and Indian programing led to the creation of the regional channels of the ABS (Regional Public Television, ABS-RPT) and ABS-NPT Two as a second national network.