History of West Texas (1983: Doomsday)

History

(Note: details more pertinent to the histories of other survivor nations in the former state of Texas are presented here. Those histories will be expanded on at a future date, pending further overall revisions to the 1983:DD timeline)

The early years

The state of Texas was hit hard during Doomsday, particularly in its eastern half. All of its major cities - Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso - were hit, along with many smaller, but strategically important, cities and towns: Brownsville, Del Rio, Galveston, Midland, San Angelo, Lubbock, Texarkana and Wichita Falls.

The first sign of the impending nuclear strike was found on local television around 7:45-7:50 p.m. Central time, as network programming, including the Emmy Awards, was interrupted by frantic reports from network studios in New York of impending missile strikes. Feeds were then lost from all three major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC), plus the national feed to the local PBS affiliate. The Emergency Broadcast System then activated itself, although two TV stations and one radio station cut to local coverage of the ongoing disaster at the pleading of Midland mayor Thane Atkins.

In newspaper offices around the area, the Associated Press and United Press International wires moved items from Washington, New York and Dallas referring to impending missile strikes and instructions to seek immediate shelter; the last received wire from AP came at 8:01 p.m., from Dallas, indicating a hit in nearby Fort Worth and probable strikes in Washington and along the East Coast. Flashes in the distance, throughout all of western Texas, were then seen over the next 10 minutes.

At that time, power went out throughout the region as a presumed Soviet weapon exploded somewhere over the United States, emitting an electromagnetic pulse that disrupted electronics and electricity, plunging the region into darkness

The largest cities in western Texas to not get hit were Midland and Odessa. It was there that relief efforts for western Texas were headquartered.

Civic leaders agreed to fully cooperate on all matters for the foreseeable future, with the top priority to provide food, shelter and safety for their residents and as many refugees as possible. A similar agreement was come to among civic leaders in nearby Carlsbad and Hobbs, New Mexico.

Midland and Odessa police departments hotwired their vehicles and comandeered local gas stations, to maintain a steady short-term supply of fuel while patrolling the two cities. They came to an agreement with Texas State Police to patrol and protect the region, answerable to the heads of the Odessa, Midland police departments and the Texas State Patrol in the area, and ultimately to the mayors of Midland and Odessa.

Midland/Odessa received refugees flowing northward from south Texas and the border Mexican states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, and eastward from Santa Fe and Roswell, New Mexico, as news of the Midland/Odessa cities' survival spread amongst refugees from the various blast sites. Some of the Texan refugees had initially went intoMexico, only to flee back north with Mexican refugees as rumors flew that Mexico would quarantine its border states.

After officials failed to establish contact with Austin and Washington, as well as any state, federal or military agency outside the immediate area, Midland leaders decided to send parties towards El Paso, San Angelo, Amarillo, Abilene, Austin and San Antonio to see if anyone or anything had survived. Parties never made it to the cities, as refugees abandoning them told of the blasts that decimated each area.

In southwestern New Mexico, it was confirmed that blasts had devastated nearby Roswell, as well as Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Clovis and the Las Cruces area. Carlsbad and Hobbs combined efforts for relief, and were able to contact their counterparts in Midland and Odessa to coordinate relief efforts and other actions.

The situation amongst all the refugees in the area was fluid and chaotic. Eventually, a larger group settled in Mexico, a smaller group in and around Midland and Odessa. Estimates are that the area's population had swelled to a million people by December, and despite the best efforts of civic leaders and relief workers, providing food and medical care proved almost impossible. City leaders rationed food and gasoline and requested help from surrounding surviving towns.

Midland, Odessa, Carlsbad and Hobbs officials then decided to take control of all radio and television stations, and work towards future restoration of service. 550 AM and 99.1 FM were designated to broadcast official news and information to the area, although the EMP burst had rendered broadcasting, and reception of broadcasts, impossible. With the Federal Communications Commission no longer having any authority, Midland and Odessa leaders put a priority on repairing any damage to studios and transmitters as soon as possible. When facilities were able to be rebuilt, authorities authorized the maximum wattage for the 550 AM and 99.1 FM transmitters, with the purpose of allowing their signals to reach as many people in and outside the immediate region as possible.

Engineers at the area radio and television stations, with help from private Mexican stations, were able to restore service by the fall of 1984 (manufacturing of radios would take much longer, due to the collapse of Mexican/West Texan relations in 1985, although engineers and citizens found ingenuous ways to fix radios damaged by the EMP).

The power grid was an issue for the region from the beginning; it went in and out at an increasing rate through the end of the year. January 1984 brought a lengthy blackout, and leaders ordered utility workers to find a way to restore the power grid; this was done largely by May of 1984, in Midland and Odessa, and throughout the Republic by June 1985. Meanwhile, people looked back towards their ancestors, those who settled the state of Texas in the 18th century, for ways to cope and survive temporarily without electricity and other modern conveniences.

In the next couple of years the area population of residents and refugees declined to 700,000, on account of deaths from radiation, disease and violence.

Confederation

On October 4, 1983, Midland and Odessa formed a joint confederation, and to see if any other cities and towns had survived. Exploratory parties headed in all directions to see what had been hit and what had survived. Scouts returned in November and reported that:

• In the north, Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas and Roswell, New Mexico were destroyed. Survivors from New Mexico had either fled into Mexico or had taken refuge in Carlsbad and Hobbs, N.M. One party came back with nearly 2,000 Lubbock area survivors traveling on foot; they reported mass chaos and violence in the area when the bombs went off.
• In the east, Abilene had been bombed. Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo was hit by what were described as "powerful" but non-nuclear explosions, apparently taking out the entire installation. Nevertheless, San Angelo residents continued to flee the town, anticipating an incoming nuclear attack. Local officials established Sweetwater as relief headquarters, but the city had to be abandoned due to chaos from the San Angelo refugees, and violence amongst its residents; those who could, fled west to Big Spring.
• From the south came news that San Antonio was hit and that the Mexican cities of Cuidad Acuna and Piedras Negras were "overwhelmed" with refugees and were being set up as relief centers.
• From the west, El Paso and Juarez had been destroyed, and survivors either fled toward the city of Chihuahua or east towards Van Horn and Pecos.

Midland/Odessa leaders first approached Carlsbad and Hobbs leaders about a confederation, for mutual aid and defense. Carlsbad and Hobbs agreed to the idea. Midland/Odessa then approached leaders of all other surviving towns in the area about joining the confederation, and by January 1984 the confederation had been formalized, concentrated in the Permian Basin area of western Texas, and southwestern New Mexico. The cities agreed to form a provisional state government, but talk quickly came to form an independent nation, as no contact with Washington or any federal or military agency had been made since Doomsday.

The cities decided to formalize their union into a Provisional Government of the Cities of Western Texas and Southwestern New Mexico in August 1984. A provisional governor, Midland mayor Thane Atkins, was appointed by direct vote of the mayors of the towns that made up the alliance. The confederation's order of business, other than providing necessities for people and defense against rogue parties, was to stem the "tide of death" as nearly 300,000 died due to aftereffects from radiation poisoning; disease; and an increasing wave of violence sparked by incidents between locals, angry over refugees consuming resources, and refugees, who were angry over the perception of extreme favoritism of Anglos in government and in food distribution.

West Texas violence, and reconciliation

Nearly 20,000 more people died in the wake of a 19-month-long series of skirmishes between Mexican refugees and locals, starting with conflicts in Midland and Odessa in November, 1983.

A vehicle burning the night of April 17, the beginning of a nine-day riot in Midland

The conflicts unfortunately divided down racial lines - Anglo residents and refugees versus Hispanic refugees, primarily from neighboring Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Despite the efforts of civic and religious leaders to diffuse the situation, violence regularly broke out over across the area, cumulating in April, 1985 riots in Midland, Carlsbad and Fort Stockton that broke out into all-out fighting and an estimated 2,000 deaths.

In the following week leaders representing the native Texans and the Mexican refugees sat down for talks in Andrews, and everyone agreed that both sides needed to live in peace.

"There has been enough killing," said Mexican representative Jaime Morelos on April 29. "We must join together as one, to build life for ourselves and our loved ones the best we can."

The Hispanic leaders also asked that the Anglos consider formalizing the confederation of towns into an independent republic, with equal participation in all political affairs with Anglos by Hispanics, and to help lay down the foundation for equal participation in society by Hispanics. Both sides worked on the social and political issues involved as momentum grew towards creating a Republic.

Declaration of independence and the establishment of the Republic of West Texas

Officials began to draft a provisional constitution for a Republic of West Texas, based upon the United States and Texas state constitutions.

On July 4, 1985, representatives from Seminole, Lamesa, Andrews, Colorado City, Snyder, Big Spring, Midland, Odessa, Kermit, Monahans, Sweetwater, McCarney, Fort Stockton, Fort Davis, Alpine, Marfa, Presidio, Sanderson, Ozona, Pecos, Van Horn, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Lovington, and Artesia gathered at the Midland Community Theater to formally sign the constitution. It included two provisions that allowed for the legislative branch to be filled by the signers until elections could be held that fall, and for the interim legislature to appoint an interim President until the fall elections.

The capitol was established in Midland; the President worked out of the mayor's office, and the Legislature met in Midland at the Midland Community Theatre until the West Texas Capital Building was completed in 1999.

Atkins, the provisional governor of the confederation of cities that preceded the Republic, was chosen by the interim Legislature members to be provisional President of West Texas. Elections to formally elect a president and legislators were held in November. The Legislature was seated on January 20, 1986, the same day Atkins was sworn in as President.

Mexico

One of the first acts of the Republic of West Texas in July 1985 was to formalize relations with Mexico. It was known that the country had survived, and in fact Mexico had made contact with Midland and Odessa officials in July 1984 (the initial contact was made by a group of locals near Presidio, Texas approached the Ojinaga-Presidio International Bridge, which was being patrolled by Mexican troops who happened to be the only other people in the abandoned town. Both groups were surprised to see each other, and surprised but thrilled over the fate of each others' respective countries). Limited supplies were sent to West Texas via Presidio, Texas, over the next several months. Now that West Texas had declared its independence, Midland wanted to request aid if the country was able and willing to give it, and discuss the status of the Mexican refugees who desired to stay in western Texas.

Arrangements were made to send food and medical supplies from Mexico through Presidio, and a scout team was escorted down to Monterrey to meet with local officials. There, they learned of the presence of several million American refugees in Mexico. Mexico also learned of its country's citizens who had fled north and decided to settle in West Texas.

Provisional Governor Atkins traveled to Mexico City in August, and met President Miguel de la Madrid; they discussed how their nations were coping with the aftermath of the war, as well as the status of American citizens in Mexico and Mexican citizens who had chosen to stay in West Texas. Atkins also learned that U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush had survived and had briefly spent time in Mexico last year before heading for Hawaii. Relations between the two countries were generally good, although there were isolated incidents of conflict between West Texans and Mexican military. Telephone lines between the two countries were reconnected.

In September 1985 West Texas representatives were turned back at Anahuac, although they were given supplies, and told of the earthquake that had devastated Mexico City. They were "strongly urged" by a Mexican captain on the scene to turn back.

Atkins and other West Texas officials were curious as to why this would be the case. Appeals via radio met with no success, and phone calls into various points in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas went unanswered. The line into Mexico City, obviously, had been cut by the quake. The government therefore had to send emissaries via horseback into Mexico. They did so officially 27 times between October 1 and December 14th, and civilians made dozens of unofficial attempts on their own; the 19th attempt, on November 19, by a party from Fort Stockton is considered to be the last positive contact with any military or humanitarian agency from Mexico.

From that point on, all attempts, government and civilians, to cross over were met with a show of extreme force.

On December 14, West Texas government parties - escorted by three divisions of Texas Rangers on horseback - were stopped at the Ojinaga-Presidio International Bridge by an estimated 1,000 Mexican military personnel. A Mexican Army general on the scene stopped the party at the bridge, and read a statement which said that all border states were being abandoned because of "your war" and that Mexico could no longer render aid to West Texas due to the Mexico City earthquake and the government's responsibility to care for its own citizens. The general then began to make disparaging comments about the West Texans and the United States, telling the representatives they could "go to hell for destroying our land" and that west Texas would "soon die off, like the rest of your country". He disparaged the refugees who fled from Mexico and said "you can keep those traitors", then went on an incoherent rant before yelling at his lieutenants to train their guns on the west Texans and shoot them "if they took another step forward".

West Texas parties on the scene have said they were willing to let the "your war" comment go, but the atmosphere - and their perceptions of the Mexican government - changed when the general read the statement, went on his rant and ordered his men to shoot. The leaders of the West Texas party put up their hands and said they would leave; before they did, the general - through a letter to them said to be from de la Madrid. The West Texans backed off the bridge, Mexican military pointing guns at them until they disappeared in the distance.

After returning to Midland on the 17th, officials read the letter, in which de la Madrid repeated verbatim what the general had said at the bridge. Its legitimacy was hotly debated, but Provisional Governor Atkins, the Provisional Assembly, and top officials in the Army and Texas Rangers determined it to be legitimate. They, and leaders of the Mexican refugee contingent, were outraged by the letter, and by accounts of the incident at the bridge. This is said to have altered not only any views West Texas had of Mexico, but also the government's policy regarding exploration: leaders saw it as a sign that the post Doomsday landscape was "every man fend for himself" - as Mexico was apparently doing - and that West Texas should not only do the same, but stay completely to itself so it never found itself in a situation again like it had with Mexico.

The Rangers sent scouts to observe the Ojinaga-Presidio bridge, and other previous points of entry into Mexico, through February 1986. Each time they reported the presence of armed soldiers, and signs on the Mexican side of the border that read "STAY OUT. ENTRY DENIED. TREPASSERS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT".

Isolationism

Unrest began building amongst the populace in regards to the government officially isolating itself from the rest of the known world. The fragile peace that had been built after the riots began to slowly unravel, with the Hispanic population believing the Anglo leaders to be angling to evict Latinos from the country, and with many Anglo residents believing the government to be insane for forsaking the aid of a nation that survived Doomsday fairly intact.

Several key Democratic Party leaders also sided with the growing public sentiment against isolationism, as did some Republican leaders. The military was split, though leaders privately agreed with the people, they also believed public dissention with the government might fracture the nation.

Meanwhile, individuals snuck down to the Rio Grande on both sides, and contacted each other by boat, always trying to avoid the Mexican military (West Texas military more and more looked the other way).

People on both sides of the issue looked for ways to resolve it without violence; unfortunately, the solution would not come without a price.

Over the summer of 1986, protests in Midland and Odessa, and the still-functioning refugee camps outside both cities, increased in number and in intensity. The June 29th Riots led to West Texas' abrupt reversal of its isolationistic policies.

On June 28, a mostly-Latino-led protest of just over 800 people had just begun in front of Atkins' home; the President was meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss scavenging of towns in the Amarillo and Lubbock areas and in the Oklahoma panhandle for automotive and machine parts. Anglo counter protesters misunderstood the peaceful protests as some sort of attack on the governor, and rushed the crowd, leading to a massive and bloody brawl that left 28 people dead, dozens injured and the President's home partially damaged.

Word spread, and the most volatile individuals among the Anglo and Latino communities began to plan for war.

The next day, on the 29th, extremists on both sides struck at institutions belonging to the other side. 44 people died in violence across Odessa and Midland over the next three days; more would have died if the Anglo and Latino communities at large had not risen up to work with law enforcement and the West Texas Army to fight off and take down the extremists.

While the uprisings were calmed, the general anger over the government's isolationism policy had not abated. Privately, government leaders met, and only the most staunch conservatives were unwilling to bend. Atkins, who went along with the conservatives since before the founding of the nation, was bending.

On August 1, both houses of Congress met, under heavy armed guard, at the Midland Community Theater. All kinds of rumors were flying around town, the most pervasive that the people were preparing a mass uprising to overthrow the government. As votes were being readied in both houses (meeting simultaneously), conservative leaders commenced filibusters, and upwards to 6,000 people massed outside the MCT, chanting "OPEN UP OUR LAND! OPEN UP OUR LAND!"

One Senator ceased his filibuster to use the restroom; he reportedly saw the crowd on his way there. He came back, and said "this is ridiculous. What were we thinking?" Four hours later, both houses of Congress passed the anti-isolationism bill, which was signed by Atkins on the spot.

West Texas received its first official ambassador, Jorge Reyes of Mexico, on August 4; Reyes had an aunt who lived in Monahans.

The incidents helped reaffirm to everyone that they would need to work together as one people - as West Texans, not Anglos, or Blacks, or Latinos - to survive whatever challenges the future offered them.

1987-1989: Building towards the future

In 1987, the leaders of the petroleum industry, noting there were no automotive manufacturing plants in the area, negotiated with Mexican automotive companies to build new plants in West Texas. Atkins got involved, and after negotiations with his counterpart Miguel de la Madrid and U.S. President Bush (over the radio, obviously), ground was broken for a Volkswagen plant outside Odessa in fall of 1987. Over the next couple of decades, the population stabilized and began to grow, as women were encouraged to marry and have as many children as possible, to ensure the continued survival and growth of the Republic.

West Texas also benefitted from the Permian Basin oil fields not having been hit, and the added benefit of being able to conserve oil for only domestic use. Because parts were rare, and the thought that the oil in the Permian Basin wasn't limitless, West Texas made the decision in 1989 to discourage mass consumption of oil and vehicles, and limit them only for public transportation and to farming, government, military and police use.

The West Texas Communications Commission was created in 1987, to oversee the growth of the newly rebuilt radio and television industry.

The young republic would not remain completely isolated, however. In September of 1989, West Texas scouts outside Carlsbad were surprised to make contact with scouts from Dinetah, a survivor nation established just two months before by Navajo Native Americans that encompassed portions of northwest former New Mexico. News of Dinetah's existence was a very pleasant surprise to West Texans, and to Mexico and the other Caribbean and Central American nations it was in communications with. Dinetah ambassadors visited Midland in October, and official relations between the two nations were set up.

Mexico - still communicating with the American Provisional Administration in Australia - asked for its permission, and that of Dinetah and West Texas, to explore former Arizona and New Mexico.

Ham radio operators reported some success in reaching others in former Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Saskatchewan, as well as nationals and American refugees in Mexico and the Caribbean.

As information about the state of the world became known, West Texans became more curious about the status of the U.S. government - and why it was in exile in Australia, and not in Mexico City, or Mexica - or in West Texas itself.

1989-1992: Exploration and confrontation

The feeling in Midland was that the APA didn't quite have its act together, and West Texas leaders (and their constituents) wanted to know what the APA's plans were for Texas and the former U.S.

West Texas Ambassador Paul Martinez and U.S. Ambassador John Gavin had been meeting formally and informally for some time ever since West Texas had restored relations with Mexico. Gavin was the only contact Martinez and West Texas had with the APA, and frustrations were growing over the APA's lack of comment or action.

Under orders from Atkins, Martinez formally requested an audience with President George H.W. Bush somewhere, be it in Mexico City, Canberra or even Hawaii. West Texas began gently, but persistently, pushing the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City for official APA comment on the present situation in the southwestern United States, and the APA's future plans for the American homeland. Mexico was also receiving pressure from leaders of the American refugees in its borders for some kind of response from the APA.

On May 18, 1989, Mexico formally made the requests of the APA that the refugees and West Texans were looking for.

Eighteen days later, via secured military radio, came the response from Bush himself.

My fellow Americans:

Five and a half years after the near-destruction of our entire civilization in the third world war, the American way of life continues not just in Australia, in Samoa, in Hawaii and in Alaska, but also in the great states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, as well as northern California and southern Oregon.

To say that I am overjoyed at having learned of the survival, and continuation, of civilization in western Texas and in northern Arizona and New Mexico is inadequate. As a former resident of the state of Texas - and of Midland, the capital of the Republic of West Texas - I am very happy that Midland was spared the destruction of what the world has come to call Doomsday, and am very proud that it has become the center of the rebuilding of Texas.

I am encouraged at the initiative of native Americans in Arizona and New Mexico to fight to survive, and build their own communities, despite the destruction of the outside world.

I am also encouraged over the news of apparent survivors in southern and eastern Texas, and await news of contact with those Americans.

I regret not having been able to visit Midland, or Mexico City, and make contact with the many American survivors.

As you may know, the destruction of Doomsday was so complete that it severely disrupted nearly every human endeavor. That includes transportation; what would have been a day's journey before now could take months. This is due to several factors, but most notably residue of radiation and the need to conserve fuel for essential military and humanitarian use.

The question has been raised of why the Provisional government has been relocated in Canberra, Australia, thousands of miles from the U.S. homeland and from Mexico. The answer is that President Reagan's advisors believed, based upon projections of the aftermath of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union written before Doomsday, that the situation in the homeland was bleak and that life, long-term, would be unsustainable. Therefore, President Reagan was advised to leave the homeland, along with myself and any other staffers, advisors and personnel who were staying with us.

Australia was chosen over Mexico because it had been a long-standing U.S. ally and had maintained its domestic, military and governmental infrastructure and stability despite the unfortunate destruction of the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth by Soviet missiles. Australia was willing to house what we call the American Provisional Administration while respecting American sovereignty, a policy it continues to hold to this day. We believe Australia gives us the best opportunity to rebuild the United States, in the face of the challenges such an enormous project poses.

Australian ports also give us a better opportunity to send aid to Alaska, Hawaii and the west coast when necessary.

And the challenges even now are many: providing aid for American refugees in Australia, New Zealand, southeast Asia, Oceania and Micronesia; stabilizing the situation in Hawaii; protecting Alaskan territory from incursions by remnants of Soviet forces from Siberia; and bringing order to a chaotic societal situation in northern California and southern Oregon are just a few of the challenges we face.

We are fortunate to have had a large remnant of the vast U.S. Naval fleet survive. It is the opinion of our military leaders and advisors in the provisional government, and of our Australian and New Zealander allies, that maintaining the capital of the provisional administration in Canberra will help us to best maintain and monitor that fleet.

We will not be relocating the provisional government outside of Canberra in the immediate future. Perhaps one day, sooner than later, when we solidify American control over our territories in Oceania and Micronesia, and in the states of Alaska and Hawaii, we will be able to return to the homeland, to further the rebuilding of the United States of America.

In the meantime, I am encouraged by the initiative of the Midland government and its continued growth into the state of Texas, and am confident you will continue the American principles of life, liberty and freedom and build a good way of life for your people in this new world. I am also encouraged by the Mexican government's willingness to shelter and care for our fellow Americans, and to help search for more survivors further into the homeland.

May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

George H.W. Bush

President, United States of America

Martinez visibly had no reaction as he read the transcribed letter in Nesen's office. In his office at the West Texas Embassy, his reaction was reportedly "measured anger" when he spoke with Atkins via telephone.

The next day, Atkins called a close session of Congress, where he said "Gentlemen, after reading this letter from the President, it seems we're on our own." Congressional leaders decided to pursue membership in the APA, and the debate over statehood versus independence reerupted. Mexico sent word to Midland that it considered West Texas an independent state; as word trickled to the populace of Bush's letter, the debate over statehood versus independence erupted, with one group favoring pursuit of membership in the APA, the other favoring total independence from whatever was left of the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, the West Texas Army sent volunteers - primarily survivalists and former US military - into the regions where Mexican reconaissance indicated survivor camps. This allowed West Texas to make formal contact with military from the self-proclaimed Republic of the Two Laredos in south Texas, along with scouts from the towns of Paris in northern Texas and Kerrville in central Texas and farmers outside Freer in south Texas.

Needless to say, the people the scouts came into contact with were overjoyed that other people had survived what many thought to be an unsurvivable event - Doomsday - and it gave hope that others might have survived not just in other parts of Texas, but in other parts of America.

Those in the survivor towns, and in Dos Laredos, were also curious as to why the remnants of the U.S. government and military fled to Australia. The strongly patriotic people in the newly discovered survivor regions gave the APA the benefit of the doubt, as opposed to growing disenchantment with the APA in Midland and much of West Texas.

Many in the known portions of Texas also supported reunification of the state; in fact, despite the formal existence of West Texas as an independent nation (recognized at this time by Mexico and South American countries), people throughout the former state saw themselves as Americans and Texans. In Midland, Kerrville and Paris, individuals informally began organizations to reform Texas as one entity - be it a state that was a part of the American Provisional Administration, or as its own republic.

West Texas took the lead in regards to developing and building plans for the eventual reunification of the state. It accepted Mexican military help in exploring the state (something Bush had negotiated with Mexico on behalf of Midland). It looked as if Midland's biggest headache would be establishing some kind of ties with the APA, while reunification would be a relative breeze. Midland hoped that unifying the state would not only capture the APA's attention, but possibly coax it to move back to the homeland (in Texas) and boost the state's profile in the new, post-Doomsday world.

WIth this in mind, Atkins signed a bill on January 4, 1990 that allowed for "private foreign and American investment" to help build a new Capitol Building, a Supreme Court Building and other government facilities in downtown Midland. Even if the APA didn't move, the complex - modeled on both Austin (the capital of former Texas) and Washington D.C. - would serve capably for West Texas/Texas government functions. Ground was broken on April 3, with U.S. Ambassador Nesen in attendance.

In 1991, Midland's ties with the Two Laredos began going south after Governor Aldo Tatangelo was assassinated by drug lords while speaking at an elementary school. Tatangelo, who favored close ties with Midland and Mexico and was friendly towards the APA, was seen as the main obstacle to the burgeoning illegal drug market. Relations bottomed out in July after the new governor denounced the "imperialist USA and its lackey in western Texas" and declared itself "free and sovereign", then announced appointments of several men known to be involved in the drug trade to key governmental positions.

More actions on the part of the new regime troubled both Midland and Mexico City; when the Two Laredos military attempted to evict thousands of Anglo and African Americans from its borders before Christmas, Mexico and West Texas decided to act.

The Battle of Laredo came at a time when Mexico's military was already pressed in dealing with separatist movements in Chiapas and Zacetecas, as well as domestic nationalists opposed to the continued presence of American refugees. So any military action in south Texas would be shouldered initially by West Texas.

Backed by several Mexican Army divisions, plus volunteers from the Kerrville and Hebbronville militias, the West Texas Army moved out of Ozona in late January, 1992. Intelligence reports of shootings of Anglos on February 5 led Mexico to send more troops into the region to protect the beseiged American citizens and take control of the city. When the West Texas Army got to the outskirts of Laredo, Texas, it found itself in the middle of a shooting war between the Mexican Army (with Kerrville and Hebbronville volunteers) and the Two Laredos military. Over the next 17 days, the "Allies" were unable to penetrate the Two Laredos Army ring around central Laredo. Allied commanders on the ground believed they would be best effective helping people flee Two Laredos for safer territory, and indeed had much better success doing so.

By February 23, over 35,000 people had fled Two Laredos for the safety of Kerrville and Hebbronville. Around the same time, scouts from the Rio Grande Valley arrived in Hebbronville, having learned of the West Texas/Dos Laredos conflict through couriers, and looking for aid from the "Allies".

Dos Laredos scouts reported the arrival of more "Americanos" into the region, and leaders concluded that the Texans were gearing up for another round of attacks. Mexican military leaders, given authority to end the conflict at their discretion, decided to move into the cities and bring this conflict to a close. What they found on April 19 was citizens waving Mexican flags, awaiting their "liberators". The cities' leaders presented themselves, declared their loyalty to Mexico and asked for asylum; they were promptly arrested and taken to Monterrey for trial.

Mexico appointed Eric de la Cruz as provisional governor of the region on May 18, 1992.

Later that summer, Atkins welcomed George W. Bush, son of U.S. President Bush, to Midland as part of an initiative by Mexican businesses to invest in the Texas region.

1993-1996: Discoveries and independence

Senator Tom Craddick emerged as an early favorite for the West Texas Presidency in 1993, after attaching his name to the American refugee contingent in Mexico and to Atkins' long-standing popularity. He went on to win the Republican nomination in August, then the presidential election in 1993. One of his first acts was to formalize relations with the newly discovered City of Paris, northeast of Dallas near the Texas/Oklahoma border.

Radioactivity in the Dallas/Fort Worth region presented West Texas and Mexican military quite a challenge; it was agreed to fly west and north of Fort Worth, and then east into Paris.

This was when the survivor community in Graham was discovered, by Mexican Air Force jets doing a preliminary fly over of the route to Paris. Against the advice of his and Mexican military leaders, Craddick ordered his pilot to find a place to land near the Graham settlement and attempt first contact.

When Craddick's plane landed along an abandoned stretch of road - and Mexican planes followed him in - locals thought it to be some sort of invasion, leading to the short-lived Graham Incident.

The planes were met by dozens of horsemen, each with various types of guns aimed at the strangers. Craddick spoke with the Mexican pilots via radio, and it was decided to wait out the locals until reinforcements arrived. Over the next four hours, the West Texas/Mexico contingent were able to convince the locals they were allied with the United States and Mexico (not Cuba and the Soviet Union). Still even when Craddick left the airplane to meet with the Graham Army captain on site, he was in sight of at least two dozen gunmen aiming right at him. Craddick "talked his way out of a jam" that day, which is credited as one of the more clever and unique negotiations in the entire history of the region.

The aftermath for Graham (once it understood what West Texas was, and its relation to Mexico and the U.S. provisional government in Australia) was the establishment of relations with Mexico and with West Texas, and weeks later with the city of Paris.

Radiation in the Metroplex area would present problems in connecting the region with Mexico and western Texas for several years, although Graham and Paris were persistent in maintaining ties with Midland. In fact both cities were much more loyal to Midland than to the APA, as most residents resented the APA for abandoning the homeland.

They also hoped, someday sooner than later, to be part of a reborn U.S.

For several years, West Texas and other survivor nations in the former state of Texas had operated almost totally independent from the United States of America. Their ties to the U.S. and its successor government, the American Provisional Administration, were historical and sentimental; most people considered themselves Americans first and foremost, flew the American flag, celebrated the Fourth of July, and hoped that the APA would come to its senses and return to the homeland to rebuild the U.S.

Those dreams were dashed on May 2, 1995, when Craddick went on local radio and Midland's only TV station to announce to West Texas that the APA had dissolved, formally ending the United States of America after 219 years.

Reaction was swift and emotional; impromptu protests in Midland, Stockton, Odessa, Sweetwater and outside the Fort Davis and Fort Stockton military bases denounced President Bush and the APA government as "quitters" and "traitors".

Over the next few days groups impromptly arose to petition Craddick and the West Texas government to declare itself the rightful successor of the U.S.

A larger, more organized group that had existed since 1985, the Sons and Daughters of Texas, saw this as an opportunity to help Texas rise again as a Republic (West Texas, to them, didn't count) and for Midland to unify the northern and southern towns into one nation.

Reaction to the APA's dissolution was also swift in Mexico. While an overwhelming majority of American refugees had put down roots in their adopted country, and felt safe and prosperous enough to stay put, some refugees wanted to return to the homeland. A handful who had usable and appropriate skill -sets were authorized by the Australian and U.S. embassies in Mexico to emigrate to Alaska, Hawaii or the Municipal States of the Pacific.

Others were allowed to emigrate north into Texas.

On May 21, Craddick was told to "get ready" for a mass emigration of some sort; town leaders in southern Texas were told the same.

On May 24, 1995, hundreds of former Americans crossed over the bridge from abandoned Manual Ojinaga into Presidio, beginning the "Great Immigration of 1995", where an estimated 137,000 American refugees crossed back into Texas to begin a new life or rebuild the one they had left behind nearly 12 years before.

Craddick reopened a refugee shelter outside Odessa still standing from Doomsday; it held 2,000 and Craddick hoped it would be enough.

Thousands more headed over the Rio Grande through Bend National Park, and while troops were able to intercept most of them, some - primarily survivalists - were able to live undetected in the park for a number of months. Military leaders also thought that people might cross over from the abandoned La Linda village in Mexico, due south of Fort Stockton. Thousands were when troops arrived, and were sent to the other still-standing refugee center outside Fort Stockton.

Refugee flow into West Texas ended in the third week of June. 1,876 of the refugees had relatives or friends willing to take them in. An estimated 26,194 remained in the Midland and Fort Davidson refugee centers, with 3,000 in Monahans and 3,000 outside Fort Davis. With government and private-sector help, almost all of the refugees were able to find work and housing, and some were able to make significant contributions in the business, educational and communications sectors.

When all was said and done, 2,100 had relocated to the northern Texas towns of Graham and Paris; 44,000 into southern Texas; and the rest into West Texas, which was beginning to see its standard of living return to 1960s standards thanks to investment by Mexican companies.

News of the return of refugees was tempered, however, when the U.S. and West Texas Embassies in Mexico were informed that the APA would formally dissolve.

When news of the APA's dissolution arrived in West Texas, public opinion went any number of ways, with most people saddened over the dissolution of the government.

Momentum amongst conservative leaders built towards Midland declaring itself the successor to Washington and the APA government in Australia, and the capital of a newly re-established USA, with West Texas and Dinetah forming first two states of the "New Union". Momentum also built amongst some conservatives and others regarding West Texas declaring itself the sovereign Republic of Texas, the thought being that the US was gone and Texas would best move forward as its own entity.

The "New Union" proponents and the Texas Nationalists hastily established organizations with the goal of forcing a referendum by November 1995 on the issue. The Texas Nationalists would eventually prevail, after Craddick and several key Congressional leaders supported nationalism and the referendum of November 3 saw 78 percent of voters choose Texas independence. The New Union advocates were also harmed by Dinetah refusing to hold a referendum to vote on US re-establishment, and a perceived lack of will amongst Dinetah citizens to reform the US.

With the US issue resolved for the moment, talked moved towards unification of the rest of former Texas.

Survivor states in the rest of the state had been known for some time. Informal contacts had been made with the Republic of Texas government based in eastern Texas, and West Texas already had embassies in Graham, Paris, Hebbronville and the Rio Grande Valley. Craddick and his military leaders decided more formal exploration of the entire state was needed. The idea of exploration saw some resistance from older conservative Congressmen who still advocated isolationism; one of the senators said "we're doing just fine on our own; if anybody wants to find us, they can come find us. We have enough problems here without going out looking for more trouble."

In 1996, the House and the Senate passed the exploration bill nearly unanimously, and Craddick signed it into law. Scouts were immediately sent eastward towards Nacogdoches, as well as into the Abilene/Lubbock region and near former El Paso.

Scouts up north found only groups of stragglers who called themselves "Confederates", living on farms and in tents; Army leaders decided to let them be for the time being.

Scouts near El Paso found the city and adjacent Juarez to be in ruins. The information on the ruins, and radioactivity, was used to formalize no-go zones with Mexico for the region and determine how close to the no-go zone people could settle.

Formal contact with eastern Texas

On June 4, as scouts headed past San Angelo, weak AM radio signals coming from eastern Texas were heard in Sweetwater for a brief time before the signal went dark. The morning of June 5, the signal returned, strong enough to be weakly heard in Odessa; an announcer briefly identified the station as "KVRT AM 860, in Nacogdoches, the official voice of the Republic of Texas". The signal went dark again, but has reappeared each day at the frequency at 10 a.m. local time, before going dark at 11:13 a.m.

The evening of June 20, at 9 p.m. Central Time, the signal returned, and this time it was heard loud and clear not only throughout West Texas, but also in Deseret and as far south as Monterrey, Nuevo Leon in Mexico. The morning of June 21, Craddick told his military leaders to prepare for a formal trip to Nacogdoches.

A full military expedition left for Nacogdoches on June 23, catching up with scouts in San Angelo on June 29.

On July 1, as the expedition was setting up camp outside old Waco, the Nacogdoches signal broke its established format. An announcer acknowledged the Republic as "western Texas" and indicated those in the region had knowledge of West Texas and other survivor states through radio, and was anticipating the Army expedition's soon-arrival in the region. The afternoon of July 1, the Army affirmed to West Texas Radio that it would seek to control news about the expedition for "security reasons and the safety of the expedition, but it would not hamper the feeding of information to the public regarding discoveries in and enroute to the region."

On July 6, 860 AM out of Nacogdoches began broadcasting three times a day, at 10 am, 3pm and 9 pm, carrying a question and answer format with local leaders regarding the history of the region and its society, as well as stating that a welcoming party made up of local law enforcement and the Republic's Secretary of State would meet the West Texas Army in Palestine, for an escort into Nacogdoches.

That meeting indeed occurred at 11:17 a.m. local time on July 9 just west of Palestine, between the West Texas expedition and members of a similar expedition from eastern Texas. A radio report described the meeting as "20th-century Army meets sheriffs from the old West".

At the same time, West Texas military made formal contact with explorers from the State of South Texas at Yarbrough Lake, about 70 miles south of former San Antonio.

That morning, the radio signal believed to be coming from the Nacogdoches broke its established pattern. A one-minute announcement beginning at 10AM local time (4PM GMT) was repeated over the next hour and 15 minutes. The announcer first identified the station as "KVRT, the voice of the Republic of Texas", then paused for five seconds before making the following statement:

Over the past month we have been broadcasting twice each day over this frequency, from the city of Nacogdoches in the state of Texas, now the Republic of Texas. We acknowledge the nation of western Texas, and also that our broadcast must have surprised all of you out west. We are in Nacogdoches, the capital of our region, which also includes 12 other towns: Tyler, Bryan, College Station, Hemphill, San Augustine, Madisonville, Crockett, Lufkin, Appleby, Rusk, Palestine, and Huntsville. We have been able to monitor radio stations out of western Texas and other states in the area at night, and are overjoyed that others have survived the cataclysm that destroyed our country in 1983. We are eager to meet representatives from the Republic of western Texas in the coming days and will extend every courtesy. We look forward to further communications, and to learning more about you, as you learn more about us. Thank you, and God bless Texas.

On August 6, 860 AM began broadcasting three times a day, at 10 am, 3pm and 9 pm, carrying a question and answer format with local leaders regarding the history of the region and its society, as well as stating that a welcoming party made up of local law enforcement and the Republic's Secretary of State would meet the President Craddick West Texas Army in Palestine, for an escort into Nacogdoches. That meeting indeed occurred at 11:17 a.m. local time on August 9 just west of Palestine, between the West Texas expedition and members of a similar expedition from eastern Texas. A radio report described the meeting as "20th-century Army meets sheriffs from the old West". Craddick travelled on nonstop to Nacogdoches, and was escorted by military caravan nonstop to the eastern Texas capital.

The morning of August 11, a press conference with Craddick and Republic of Texas Governor Bertis Matlock was held at the Main Theater in downtown Nacogdoches. Much of the press conference was spent detailing the histories of the two republics, but it was announced that the two countries had signed a treaty including provisions for medical and infrastructure aid from West Texas and its allies, as well as talks to determine the future "political" relationship between the two parties. The conference was briefly interrupted by a heckler - a locally known comedian - who yelled twice from the back of the theatre "where the hell were you West Texans all this time?" The heckler was led away by local sheriff's deputies, but Craddick replied "no, he has a point. We should have been out here sooner. We had our own issues. We're committed now to working with your Republic, and with other nations in the former United States and other areas of the region." Matlock said he had appointed Tyler Sheriff Roger Fergersen to work with West Texas Colonel Rafael Ramirez in "regards to law enforcement matters here and in West Texas helping us to set up an Army." Craddick also said that Ramirez would oversee a group of 600 West Texas Army personnel assigned to eastern Texas for a six-month period.

Mexican diplomats and military arrived in Nacogdoches via helicopter on the 15th; Craddick was flown back to Midland, via Mexican Army helicopter, on the 18th. While diplomats worked on establishing closer ties between Nacogdoches and Midland, Craddick turned his immediate attention towards the situation in southern Texas.

Mexico appointed Jose Luis Cordero, a former councilman in Laredo, Texas, as acting Governor of The Republic of the Two Laredos on August 24.

Cordero's term lasted less than 20 days, when he was gunned down by gang members opposed to the "Mexican and American banana republic". This led to fighting in both Laredos that lasted into December, with Mexico's Congress advocating total withdrawal from the region by January 1997.

1997-99

Craddick and his political and military advisors agreed that the situation in Dos Laredos (the nation-state was increasingly becoming known by its Spanish moniker) was becoming untenable, and that a "balance" was needed to counter the questionable elements running Dos Laredos.

In turn, that led to West Texas entering into a formal defense treaty with the Rio Grande Valley Republic in March 1997, and with the Hebbronville and Kerrville towns as separate nation-states one month later.

That, and the emergence of the eastern Republic of Texas (and revelation of Anglo-dominant survivor towns in north Texas, southeast Oklahoma and the re-established State of Louisiana) put Dos Laredos on edge...so much so that a peaceful diplomatic expedition from Kerrville was taken as an "Anglo/American" attack. Nine Kerrville diplomats, policemen and support personnel died in the attack by Dos Laredos troops on May 8, leading Craddick to have an emergency meeting with his counterparts from east Texas, Kerrville, Hebbronville and the RGV on the 12th.

The leaders had hoped to convince Dos Laredos of their altruistic intentions; instead, the four Texas republics were gearing up for war by mid-summer. Three support divisions from Mexico - and the recognition of Dos Laredos by Brazil as a legitimate nation - helped calm the situation.

Brazil and Argentina subsequently sent aid to Dos Laredos, angering residents throughout the former state of Texas and leading to reunification movements throughout the region. Reunification never gained much momentum, as political leaders pointed to damaged highways and railroad lines and remaining radiation residue from nuked cities and military bases in preventing the building of sufficient infrastructure to rebuild the state. Critics also pointed out the lack of interest from Brazil and Argentina, and even from the ANZC and Mexico, in helping fund the massive engineering effort needed for such an undertaking.

During this time, movements critical of Mexico, South America and the ANZC also arose. Small in numbers, the movements ran the spectrum from multiracial "Restore America" political organizations to racist Anglo survivalist groups, and some of them caused ongoing concerns for military and local law enforcement.

The drug trade into Mexico and the rest of the Texases began to grow exponentially after Dos Laredos was stablized by its South American allies.

2000-2010: The new millennium

In 2001, George E. "Buddy" West, a Republican representative from Odessa, was elected the Republic's third President, largely on the popularity of the Republican Party and Craddick's administration, as well as his campaign managers successful portrayal of West as a folksy, down-to-earth leader. West was a capable leader, but his administration's failure to deal with the rogue government of Dos Laredos broke momentum towards Texas reunification and led to the Republican Party looking for another Presidential candidate for the 2005 election.

West's first major crisis came when Rafael de la Torre, the Mexican Ambassador to eastern Texas, was seriously injured after an ambush by radical Confederate survivalists who posed as Texas nationalists. The arrest of the ambushers, and subsequent trial, bought attention to the latent discontent amongst many natives of the former U.S. regarding Mexico's assistance and investment into the former state. It led West to order an investigation into several pro-Texan and pro-American political groups, which was particularly controversial and led the groups to ask if West or Mexico was "pulling the strings" in Midland.

It forced Mexico to deny it was planning to take the state by force and affirm several agreements it had made, dating back to 1985, to respect "the sovereignty of a state or states that emerged in the former United States".

In 2002, The State of South Texas, with its capital in Hebbronville, formally came into existence, and recognized by West Texas, Mexico and other regional republics.

Port Isabel was opened for business in April 2002. The Port Isabel Accords, signed by West Texas; South Texas; eastern Texas; the RGV; Mexico; Louisiana; Hattiesburg; Natchez; and Mexico pledged each signee to use the port as a peaceful point of economic trade between the parties for 50 years. Mexico was to run it until 2017, and afterwards jointly by the Texas states (or their successors) until 2052.

Skirmishes with drug lords outside east Dos Laredos in 2003 led to the establishment by Mexico and West Texas of a demilitarized zone (DMZ) around Dos Laredos.

West personally attempted to meet Dos Laredos Governor Edgar Jimenez for a summit in September 2003, and everything seemed on schedule until comments made by West to Mexican television on the eve of the summit caused Dos Laredos to pull out. Protests were staged by the government in the city center against West, West Texas and "the evil Americans", and to this day it's unclear if Dos Laredos took offense to West's comments or it planned to pull out of the summit all along. Whatever the case, West's approval ratings went down from 78 to 44 percent; Democrats, sensing the chance to seize the Presidency for the first time in the nation's history, began attacking West's ability to deal with the rogue state and bring the former state of Texas together.

In 2004, referendums in West Texas, the RGV, Paris, eastern Texas, Graham and South Texas to unify the six nations into a Republic of Texas failed. The most support was in West Texas, with 64 percent of voters approving reunification; the least support was in Graham, with 57 percent of voters choosing self-government. Some observers called this evidence of residents of nation-states in the former U.S. seeing themselves primarily as citizens of their respective nation-states (or city-states), not the U.S. or even the former state they lived in.

Mike Conaway, the fourth and current President of West Texas

Representative Mike Conaway of Midland was selected as the Republican candidate in 2005 and won the election that November.

On August 3, 2009, formal boundaries were established between West Texas, the RGV, South Texas, east Texas and the north Texas cities of Graham and Paris for each country, along with the demilitarized zone surrounding Dos Laredos. The former state of New Mexico (the portions not claimed by West Texas) was also formally considered neutral territory, with Dinetah having first claim on the former state. West Texas and Dinetah are to jointly administer the region until 2029, or when an independent government can be set up there. Resettlement is planned to begin in 2014.

2009 Presidential campaign

Conaway was the Republican Party's only candidate for President and selected by a near-unanimous vote during the Republican convention in Midland on August 4. One week later, during the Democratic Party's convention in Midland, Harry Reeder, a Senator from Hobbs, was selected as its candidate.

Conaway, despite having an 82 percent approval rating and polls showing that as many as 70 percent of voters planned to vote for him in the November Presidential election, had still been campaigning for a second term.

A 2-to-1 margin in favor of Conaway remained in place as of a poll taken the weekend before Election Day and released on Election Eve, November 1.

The elections were held on November 3. With 100% of the votes counted, as of 7 a.m. Central time on November 5, the official results were:

• Mike Conaway (Republican) 290,172
• Harry Teague (Democratic) 131,595
• Federico Aguayo (New Texas Party) 1,967
• Jeffery McLellan (American Party) 560

Momentum towards Texas reunification

Beginning in February 2010, Conaway began informally discussing the reunification of the various survivor states in and around the former U.S. state of Texas into one Republic of Texas.

Some leaders were hesitant, given that their power would be lessened as part of a "greater Texas", but Conaway was able to convince them the economic and military benefits far outweighed the advantages of retaining the status quo.

Knowing that voters would likely pick reunification in all survivor states except for Dos Laredos, Conaway and other reunification advocates began pushing hard behind the scenes to begin the Republic by bringing West Texas and Eastern Texas into one nation.

On June 23, 2010, Eastern Texas Governor Roger Van Horn and West Texas President Mike Conaway held a joint press conference at Stephen F. Austin University to announce their countries would seek to merge into one entity, the Republic of Texas, by June 2010 pending voter approva. The press conference was predicated by newspaper reports in Nacogdoches, Midland and Monterrey, Mexico the past weekend detailing Conaway's "secret" negotiations with eastern Texas, South Texas and various survivor communities throughout the former U.S. state of Texas. Radio stations in Nacogdoches and Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley, reported that both men would travel to the RGV in the next weeks to "finalize" the RGV's merger with the proposed Texas republic.

The Republic of Texas is a proposed unification of various entities within the borders of the former U.S. state of Texas:

• West Texas,
• the "Republic of Texas" currently established in eastern half of the former state,
• the State of South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley Republic in the southern half of former Texas,
• the cities of Graham and Paris and various farms and townships scattered across the northern part of old Texas.
• The Republic of Dos Laredos has told authorities from surrounding nation states and the League of Nations it is not interested in uniting with the proposed Republic of Texas.
• The residents of the various survivor towns and townships in the central portion of old Texas are satisfied with the status quo, but would likely vote to merge into the new nation.

As of July 31, 2010, political leaders in Midland and Nacogdoches are discussing merger of their two countries by January 1, 2012.

The process involves drafting a constitution for the new country, and then presenting it to voters across the former state in a referendum to be held in May 2011. Assuming the measure is approved, delegates would then be chosen for a constitutional convention, either in Midland or Nacogdoches, in August 2011 to approve the new constitution.

West Texas, eastern Texas, South Texas, RGV, Graham, Paris and the association of Central Texas towns would each nominate their heads of state for a special Presidential election in November 2011. The winner would be inaugurated on February 20, 2012.

Representatives and Senators - consisting of the existing legislatures of West Texas and eastern Texas, plus those chosen in elections in other parts of the region - would be seated on February 20, 2012 to provide the nation's first legislature (the Constitution covers how legislators would be chosen, and seated, going forward)

Already, West Texas President Mike Conaway (the overwhelming favorite to win any Presidential race) has been campaigning throughout the region (with financial support from supporters in the region and Mexico, and a few supporters in the ANZC). His eastern Texas counterpart, Governor Roger Van Horn, has also been campaigning, albeit with less funding than Conaway.

Midland Accords

A somewhat controversial step towards unification was formalized on March 3, 2011, with the signing of the Midland Accords in Midland, West Texas. Representatives of the various republics, city-states, outposts and other communities within the borders of the former U.S. state of Texas signed an accord providing for a common economic market amongst them, and a common military. The West Texas military is taking the lead in unifying the military and national guards of the various entities, while establishing the common market is a shared project among West Texas, eastern Texas, the RGV, South Texas and the city-states of Graham and Paris.

While recognized by all observers as a necessary bridge towards the eventual establishment of the Republic of Texas, the Accords nevertheless brought with them some controversy. Groups of political pundits and activists and "concerned citizens" protested what they saw as the lack of public input on the process. Though small in number, some influential Democratic Party leaders have sided with them.

American Spring

News of the formal re-establishment of the United States government in western North America was not seen as much of an impediment to Texan reunification efforts.

Due to a number of factors - including Texan individualism and state pride, the actions of the APA after it learned of West Texas, the strong post-DD influence of Mexico in the region - the pull of a reunified U.S. in the region was not very strong. A vocal but very small minority of citizens - many of which are members of the CRUSA - have spoken in the local media, in town meetings and in pamphlets left all over the various Texan nations in favor of Texan reunification with the U.S. That has proven to be a difficult sell in a region that remembers its ties to the pre-DD U.S. with fondness, but by and large sees formal independence and close ties with Mexico as its best option for the future.

While numerous polls have shown voter preference for rejoining the U.S. below 10 percent, they also show large support for friendly relations with the "new USA" going forward. Numerous newspaper, radio and TV reports out of the Texas region have revealed significant interest in the new country and its claims to be the successor to the United States of America that governed Texas before September 26, 1983.

The 2011 Texas Presidential election

Conaway easily won the election as the first President of Texas November 8. Conaway captured 86 percent of the vote. His nearest challenger, Eastern Texas Governor Roger Van Horn, had only 11 percent of the vote, mainly from his region.

Geopolitical alliances of the Texan survivor nations

The survivor nations that comprise the former U.S. state of Texas (and the future Republic of Texas) have seen several national flags fly over their territories. The two most prominent are those of the former U.S. and of the current nation of Mexico.

It is acknowledged that by early 1984 Mexico had began gaining influence within the former state, starting with what is now known as West Texas.

The abandonment of the American homeland by the remaining leaders of the United States government and then-President Ronald Reagan's deal with Mexican President de la Madrid in 1984 are considered to be the divergence point where Texas ceased being an "American nation" and became an independent nation under the sway of a more powerful Mexico.

Most citizens in the Texas survivor states point to the Australian-based American Provisional Administration's decision not to return to Texas in the 1990s to begin re-establishing the U.S. as the point when Texas began diverging into an independent, post-American nation. That step, though, is seen by political experts as further cementing Mexico's status as the economic and military powerhouse of post-Doomsday North and Central America - and of Texas's status as a Mexican client state.

Though a unified Texas state has not yet emerged, Mexico clearly has taken a leading role over the past quarter-century in building it.

Mexican business interests began helping rebuild West Texas's economic climate as soon as the mid-1980s, and in turn targeted other survivor states in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma as they were discovered. The Mexican military took an active role in building the militaries of West and eastern Texas. Mexican diplomats helped strengthen the fledgling governments of smaller survivor states; with the help of Mexican and West Texan military and local militias, such areas as the Texas Panhandle were developed into stable areas that could join a unified Texas.

It has been argued that the destruction of major Texan cities like Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, along with the ports of Galveston and Corpus Christi and the capital of Austin, and the numerous military bases dotted throughout the state, crippled Texas to the point where it could not have been reborn without outside help. The fact that the future Republic of Texas is likely to exist at all, much less be the independent, Mexican-allied nation it's projected to become, is due to not only the will of the Texan people to survive the cataclysm of Doomsday and rebuild their civilization, but also the relative benevolence of the Mexican government and military.

Rather than going in full-bore and annexing Texas as its own, imposing its will on the survivors, Mexico bided its time. President de la Madrid was reportedly affected by Doomsday to the point of having sympathy for the American survivors in Texas, and shrewdly also bargained for American money, technical expertise and surviving military equipment during his meeting with Reagan. He refused to listen to military advisors who wanted to bully their way into the Lone Star State, instead using his influence to begin positioning Texas as a independent (yet dependent) ally while strengthening his own nation's military in case of necessary action in the former United States.

His actions, and those of Mexico's government, business community and military, took into account their belief that the American government would not be able to return to the U.S. homeland in any capacity for the foreseeable future.

None of de la Madrid's advisors thought the U.S. government would be in any position to dictate policy to Mexico for decades, something that has been overlooked in examining why the APA never attempted to return to the mainland. The APA could summon surviving ships and planes (and carriers) to Australia, but wasn't able to prevent Siberia from annexing part of Alaska and re-establishing control of the lawless southern Oregon/northern California region; it would not be able to fight any kind of war with Mexico, and both sides knew that.

With President Bush's quiet, though unspoken, blessing, West Texas began being positioned to retake the rest of the state with heavy Mexican help. It would take until the early 2010s before serious steps to form a unified Republic began taking shape.

The relationship between Texas and Mexico is solid politically, economically and culturally. Texans born after Doomsday regard Mexican culture as highly influential to their generations as their parents regarded U.S. popular culture.

A Texas patriotism has gradually taken hold in the nation as well, especially amongst younger Texans. Mexico is seen as a friendly (if stronger) ally.

The United States is seen increasingly as a historical artifact. While the American values of freedom, liberty and justice still are held in strong regard by all Texans, sentiment for the rebirth of the U.S. is held most strongly by older Texans who were alive on Doomsday. The nation in western North America that calls itself the United States is not regarded by Texans to be the bona fide successor to the old U.S., but another American survivor nation that Texas has no more obligation to submit to than Hattiesburg or Dinetah.

Texas reunification

The Republic of Texas is a proposed unification of various entities within the borders of the former U.S. state of Texas:

• West Texas,
• the "Republic of Texas" currently established in eastern half of the former state,
• the State of South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley Republic in the southern half of former Texas,
• the cities of Graham and Paris and various farms and townships scattered across the northern part of old Texas.
• The Republic of Dos Laredos has told authorities from surrounding nation states and the League of Nations it is not interested in uniting with the proposed Republic of Texas.
• The residents of the various survivor towns and townships in the central portion of old Texas are satisfied with the status quo, but would likely vote to merge into the new nation.
• A loose association of towns in southeastern Texas, led by a sometimes contentious faction of five political entities in the town of Victoria, has expressed interest in joining the alliance. An area that at times in the 1980s was considered borderline lawless, it wants to join the Republic but suffers from a lack of strong political leadership. Even in 2011, any country that deals with the region diplomatically and/or politically has to deal with numerous entities claiming to represent it.

On June 23, 2010, Eastern Texas Governor Roger Van Horn and West Texas President Mike Conaway held a joint press conference at Stephen F. Austin University to announce their countries would seek to merge into one entity, the Republic of Texas, by June 2010 pending voter approva. The press conference was predicated by newspaper reports in Nacogdoches, Midland and Monterrey, Mexico the past weekend detailing Conaway's "secret" negotiations with eastern Texas, South Texas and various survivor communities throughout the former U.S. state of Texas. Radio stations in Nacogdoches and Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley, reported that both men would travel to the RGV in the next weeks to "finalize" the RGV's merger with the proposed Texas republic.

Northern Texas also is likely to join the proposed republic, although a sticking point is believed to be local political leaders' preference for a 'State of North Texas' and some political power that would supersede that of the national government.

In July 2010, political leaders in Midland and Nacogdoches began formal discussion of merger of their two countries by January 1, 2012.

The process involved drafting a constitution for the new country, and then presenting it to voters across the former state in a referendum to be held in May 2011. A majority vote (51 percent or more) was required for full passage.

The constitution was overwhelmingly approved in all of the recognized Texas survivor states on May 31. The breakdown is as follows:

• West Texas 92% yes, 7% no, 1% undecided

• Eastern Texas 94% yes, 5% no, 1% undecided

• RGV 96% yes, 2% no, 2% undecided

• Graham 83% yes, 13% no, 4% undecided

• Paris 86% yes, 8% no, 6% undecided

• Borger 67% yes, 11% no, 22% undecided

• Association of Central Texas 84% yes, 12% no, 4% undecided

As the measure was approved, the seven states have begun to choose delegates for a constitutional convention at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches in August 2011 to approve the new constitution.

Upon approval of the constitution, West Texas, eastern Texas, South Texas, RGV, Graham, Paris and the association of Central Texas towns would each nominate their heads of state for a special Presidential election in November 2011. The winner of that election would be inaugurated on February 20, 2012.

Any union or official association with the United States, North American Union and/or the East American Alliance has been put on hold until the formal re-establishment of the Republic of Texas; in the interim, all seven states have established solid relations with each of those entities.

One likely alliance is a sort of NAU/East American Alliance-type alliance with nation-states in Broken Bow, Hugo and Stillwater in former Oklahoma; the state of Louisiana (including Lake Arthur); Hattiesburg and Natchez in former Mississippi; and possibly Hot Springs in former Arkansas. This alliance would in turn be allied with Mexico and be more allied on the international stage with the ANZC than with the South American Confederation.