Louisiana (1983: Doomsday)

Louisiana was one of the states of the United States of America, located in the mid-south adjacent to Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico. It was the 18th state admitted to the Union in 1812. Its capital up to Doomsday was Baton Rouge. The state was reconstituted on March 15, 1987, with the new state capital in Lafayette. The northern part of the state is governed from Monroe, the southern part from Lafayette; both share one governor and one legislature, based in Lafayette.

Lafayette, with a population of 50,000, has been the target of two attempts by the so-called "Southern Mafia" to destablize the state government for its own purposes, most recently in 1997.

Monroe, a community of 35,000, is practically the capital of "North" Louisiana. Monroe also has a close political relationship with Natchez, Mississippi, the other dominant town in the region.

Lake Arthur, a community of 2,400 located a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico, is the de facto capital of "South" Louisiana; it is the hub for a string of survivor communities and camps stretching from the old Texas border to the famous bayous in the east.

History
The cities of New Orleans, Shreveport, Lake Charles and Alexandria were destroyed on Doomsday, along with the state capital, Baton Rouge. Provisional state governments were formed in Monroe and Lafayette in 1984; soon, parties representing both regions met midway between the two cities.

In 1987, a deal was struck between the two cities, allowing for both to govern their respective regions of the state. The state capitol would reside in Lafayette, but Monroe would effectively govern northern Louisiana. Lafayette would do the same with southern Louisiana. A state militia (in lieu of a formal Army) was formed, as state leaders were hopeful of eventually making contact with the federal U.S. government and/or U.S. military and submitting to their authority.

Other survivor communities in nearby Arkansas and Mississippi were discovered in the late 1980s and early 1990s and relations were established with all of them, particularly the states of Natchez and Hattiesburg.

The Southern Mafia
Law enforcement and the Louisiana Militia were faced with the challenge from 1985 on of defending the state against the Southern Mafia, a group believed to consist of malcontents and other criminals who fashioned themselves as the successors to criminal elements from pre-Doomsday Louisiana.

In 1985, the group made its first attempt to destroy the Lafayette government, invading the temporary state capital building while the Legislature was in session; 17 senators and represenatives, along with 57 others, lost their lives in the subsequent fighting between the Mafia and police forces. The Mafia thought the invasion would destablize the government and frighten the people into submission; it had the opposite effect. Public opinion towards the Mafia reflected a deep anger amongst the people, especially in light of the destruction of the rest of the U.S. on Doomsday.

In fact, it is said that there was strong debate amongst the Mafia itself regarding the attack on the legislature; many members lost friends and family on Doomsday and were involved in the mafia for financial and personal gain, not to destroy the remnants of the U.S. More radical elements won the argument, leading to the attacks.

At risk to their lives, several Mafia members overcame their fear of the organization and renounced it. A few were attacked, and killed in various public places, sparking what is known as the Mafia War of 1986, a series of terrorist attacks on former mafia members and the general public in and around Lafayette. The leaders of the Mafia attacks thought the people would flee and beg for their lives; they did not count on a population enraged at the Mafia's actions and ready to take action itself against the group.

All over southern Louisiana, armed citizens took the offensive against known and believed Mafia members, putting the group on the defensive. In Lake Arthur, Lafayette and other cities, the authorities joined up with citizens to track down the Mafia. The few that surrendered were taken alive into police custody; the many that didn't fought for their lives against a force of Louisiana police/National Guardsmen and citizens determined to end the threat to their lives and families, one way or another.

In several gun battles that lasted over seven nights in May, an estimated 700 Mafia members died along with 257 policemen, 92 guardsmen and 277 citizens. After the last battle outside Lafayette on May 19th, it was believed that the threat of the Southern Mafia had finally ended.

As the legislature and governor formalized agreements on a state military arm to defend the state from threats inside and outside, the few dozen Mafia members who had gone underground regrouped.

Mafia members, under the guise of ordinary citizens, took over the underground drug and moonshine trade in the early 1990s. They announced their existence to the state with a series of bombings throughout the state capital in 1992, and continued sporadic terrorist attacks over the next five years.

In 1997, Mafia members, having built up their ranks to over 1,000, went on the offensive, launching terrorist attacks all over the capital. The Louisiana Militia responded, and fighting finally got so intense that Governor Comeaux called for a mass evacuation to Natchez, Monroe and Lake Arthur. State powers were temporarily handed over to Monroe and Lake Arthur. The state capital officially resettled in Monroe, but government officials in Lake Arthur (led by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House) claimed it was the rightful capital.

This time, with the same initiative citizens showed against the mafia in 1985, they managed to put down attempted attacks in Monroe and Lake Arthur. With help from Natchez forces, the Louisiana Militia and citizen militias advanced on Lafayette to "finish the job" (as one Colonel put it). Some 400 mafia fighters were taken alive; the rest killed. When the last shot was fired, 1,487 men and women on both sides had been killed.

Lafayette was reopened for business a month later, in August.

The 2000s
In 2005, two powerful hurricanes swept through the region. The second in particular caused massive flooding in Lake Arthur; the decision was made to evacuate residents to Monroe, Natchez and Lafayette.

More to come....