North Pennsylvania (1983: Doomsday)

The Commonwealth of North Pennsylvania is an American successor state that continues to go by its former statehood name. Aside from Pennsylvanian lands, it also controls Chautauqua County and Cattaraugus County, New York and Norfolk County, Ontario. To the north, it borders across Lake Erie, to the north-east it borders, to the east , to the south by Virginia, to the west Toledo, and to the south-west Kentucky. In 2007, it was a founding member of the.

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 the seventh most 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, although a large city, was only hit with a low-yield at Erie International Airport, causing damage to the city but not entirely destroying it, however it was slowly abandoned over a period of time. Cities in the area such as Warren, Oil City, Franklin, and Meadville, would become a haven for those fleeing the rest of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio.

In 1984, Warren temporarily acknowledged the destruction of the Harrisburg and established itself as the capital of the provisional state of "North Pennsylvania" several months after Doomsday. As the area became densely crowded with 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. 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 a the first infraction of 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 respectively. In total, 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 fishing in Lake Erie had checked off some needs, the agricultural output was still inadequate. However, they did not make any official claim to the rest of the state and only stated that it was a successor to the Pennsylvania government and its western lands. However, its eventual annexation of nearby lands proved that they indeed wanted to control the rest of the former state.

Then came the winter of 1986.

In 1986, snowfall in Pennsylvania peaked, with over 3-7 feet of snowfall, the entire city was trapped within itself. 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 normal levels of food output.

In 1989 they confirmed that the city of Toledo had survived and had expanded across Lake Erie and into former Indiana and Ohio. This brought joy to the Pennsylvanians seeing another functioning society in the area and soon began much needed trade with the citizens. A new set of steel mills in Warren were put on line and were put into overtime to produce metal materials needed for construction and such.

Around the same time, a new Constitutional Convention was drawn up in Oil City, and revised in Franklin, one of the largest cities surviving. A new "state" was founded, replacing the loose confederation of counties

Expeditions Across the Erie
In 1990, the Pennsylvanian government wondered on the possibility of life in 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 they voted the following:

Join Toledo - 30%

Join Pennsylvania - 37%

Stay Independent - 43%

By a narrow margin, Norfolk County remained independent, but would receive aid when possible from North Pennsylvania and Toledo, and the provisional government promised to return control to Canada if they ever came into contact with them. They later came into direct contact with of 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 Norfolk County, Ontario as an international trade hub across Lake Erie with other Canadian survivor states.

Life on the Mainland
In 1995, Oil City 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 State College was recognized as the states legitimate government.

In 1997, the area again was visited, this time by the Virginian Republic. This visit brought less spoils than State College or Toledo had, but the Virginians still left on good terms with Pennsylvania.

The New Millennium
By 2000, things had begun to show signs of stability in the area. The level of cooperation between Toledo, State College, and Pennsylvania had allowed one nation to fill in the flaws of the others. By this time, however, they had come into contact with the via their outpost in Ontario. Relations between the two are "disconnected" at best, since distance makes trade a hassle, although it does still occur at a minimum in the Great Lakes region.

In 2000, the twin cities of the in New York and Ontario were found to be functioning perfectly. Pennsylvania helped establish safe roads, and has since been trading with the city-state. Since the city has since become the most economically stable in the region due to its small size and self sustainability, it was chosen as the capital for the.

Also in 2000, the some of the eastern, un-radiated outskirts of Erie were designated as part of the "Lake Erie Reconstruction Authority" which would attempt to salvage the eastern tips of the city and at a future date create a clone city on the northern peninsula. Project "East Erie City", which was Reconstruction of the area around the nearby city Wesleyville including small bits of true Erie was finished by 2008 and at the current time its population is around 800, around 5 percent of the original population, most refugees returning home or new people looking for job in the surviving industrial sector. A second site has been chosen to be rebuilt as North Erie City, but it is not known when it will be restored. It is known now that the rest of Erie was completely evacuated in 2010 to East Erie City, not leaving a soul behind, bringing the population up 500.

In 2001, they discovered a functioning city-state in Westfield. The area was was annexed shortly after.

At this time, they established relations with the cities of and  in New York, which had also miraculously been spared destruction. The three nations have also shared trade relations.

In 2007, it was a founding member of the United Communities along with Toledo and London-Ontario. 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 2007, 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, the Pennsylvanian militia began the "Road to Ohio" in which they did a joint expedition with Toledo to see what was left of the former state. Eventually, Pennsylvania annexed Ashatabul County and was to annex more land, but has had to stop due to what appears to be a dictatorship deep within the area.

However, in 2010, the project was picked up again. By 2012 Pennsylvania hopes to share a land border with Toledo via annexing former Ohio.

Modern Day
In recent years, Pennsylvania has become home to a small but prosperous economy. Most of this is thanks to the steel mills at Erie, which have provided 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 and nails. Over 30% of the plastic produced in North America is made in Pennsylvania. The steel mills at Erie were destroyed, but the wood mills in another area survived, and blueprints for new steel mills were drawn up to be built in Clarion in 2008, which are still under construction. Joy Mining Machinery still produces a small amount of tools, but due to metal scarcity they are not able to produce much.

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.

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".

Most trains in the area run on bio-diesel purchased from London Ontario. Factories, in order to conserve fuel, mostly run on natural gases found in the area.

Government
The government of Pennsylvania is exactly 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 state of New York, Norfolk-Ontario, 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 and the legislative branch. The governor and lieutenant-governor are in command of the executive branch, while a Senate makes up the legislative branch.

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.

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
In 2004, an abandoned factory was re-opened into its former use of a Chevrolet factory. The factory has managed to produce over 1,000 cars so far. The two types of cars constructed are a large truck for commercial use called the "Chevy Hulk" and a mid-sized four-seater for city use named the "Chevy Camaro".

Air Transportation
Far View Airport is the nation's main airport at this time, although flights mainly go in and out of Superior, Virginia, London-Ontario, State College or Kentucky. Since there are both oil and oil refineries they are completely oil suffecient.

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 American 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 an official language the year after.

Military
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's military is split up into three divisions: Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Army of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, there were no military bases in the area meaning they have no military, but their close relations with Virginia means they are supplied with much in return for fuel. They recently purchased around 12 Jeeps from Kentucky as well.

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, 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. It has been irate with Vermont's policies towards Pennsylvania since they have not viewed them as the legitimate successor to the original Pennsylvania government for some odd reason, instead favoring.

Since 2008, they have been within a rather questionable relationship with Canada. The Canadian government has been appalled that another American survivor nation has taken their lands in Ontario, but Pennsylvania assures that these lands will eventually be returned to Canada once, or if Canada establishes a stable regime in the area.