| |||||||
| Capital | Yreka | ||||||
| Largest city | Medford | ||||||
| Other cities | Alturas, O'Brien, Port Orford, Gold Beach, Coos Bay | ||||||
| Language | English | ||||||
| Demonym | Jeffersonian | ||||||
| Legislature | Congress | ||||||
| Governor | Rex Bohn | ||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Jeffery Huang | ||||||
| Population | 300,000 | ||||||
| Currency | Buffalo Dollar | ||||||
The State of Jefferson is a state centered around what was once northern California. It was founded in 2018 after the Jefferson Nationalists which took control of the southern half of the Municipal States of the Pacific seceded. It joined the United States on the Fourth of July of 2023.
History[]
For more information on this region's history prior to joining the United States, please see American Provisional Administration, Crescent City Crisis, and the Municipal States of the Pacific
Enter the Committee[]
Following the period of unrest that unraveled the Municipal States, CRUSA operatives, the Jefferson Nationalists and even newer arrivals to the former US from the American diaspora at the culmination of the American Spring found themselves in control of the majority of its city-states. With the divorce of the CRUSA movement from what was increasingly a less sympathetic Oceanic social environment, the organization's final "parting gift" to the Commonwealth was a campaign sought at wresting control of the international community's first planned nation - the Municipal States of the Pacific, the first American successor state considered "clean" and acceptable to the new hegemony. CRUSA's swan song sought to do the same: if they could not rebuild the United States in their lifetime, they would at least focus on making it a viable sea-faring nation once more.
The Pacific Plan[]
The Committee to Restore the United States of America would disseminate the Pacific Plan to its leadership across the continental United States, shuffling personnel and "security" as needed. The plan chiefly sought to convince the leaders of several survivor states with territory along the west coast such as Washington, Cascadia, Astoria, and the northern half of the Municipal States to return to the Salem state government. The ANZC Dollar was king even in many NAU jurisdictions, and CRUSA's ample cash reserves saw they could take a multi-pronged approach to their influence campaign. Creating a separate shell organization known as the Maple Tree Foundation (purposely left vague in intent of naming) which hired journalists and town criers to do their bidding, CRUSA activists sought to create 'buzz' in Oregonian communities highlighting the benefits of joining the North American Union. Financial incentives as well as 'contrived' security pressures were also employed as a part of this scheme, as more recent developments have uncovered. Where local politics could not be infiltrated by sympathetic actors, funding was arranged for purposely "inept" candidates to purposely out-fund their rivals in campaigning, with mixed success.
However, CRUSA's near 40-year disconnect from the divergences in the "new" American landscape were soon made apparent to the organization. With a slow burning referendum movement building in Cascadia and deadlocks elsewhere, success in Oregon was marginal at first. Most of the region had already come under the sway of either the supranational North American Union, the State of Washington remained firmly in Victoria after Parliament wisely drafted laws exempting the Protectorate from the state's constitutional monarchy at the height of the American Spring. Focused influence campaigns (and hefty bribes) to local officials saw several Cascadian assemblymen quietly draft a referendum to rejoin the United States around this time. Likewise, a political appeal to the military rump of the old state government at Astoria was considered a non-starter to a similar democratic referendum at this time.
Following the success in Cascadia, CRUSA (and at this point, even NAU cattle barons funding other American Spring movements) would turn to what in hindsight should have been its initial plan, attempting to recruit the Jefferson Nationalists to further its agenda. John Quin out of Port Orford had already concoted his own grand vision of "strengthening" the Municipal States into a unitary republic, and thus the marriage of the two agendas seemed natural.
Yreka vs. Eureka[]
Leftover CRUSA assets in the Western United States focused their attention on the second phase of their influence gaming campaign: the Jefferson Nationalists, and even PPP officials who could be "convinced" to secede from the union in decline. With the Municipal States losing 3 out of its largest 7 city-states, many of the remaining Municipal governments argued to secede soon after from what they perceived to be a ineffectual administration in Crescent City. The Jefferson Nationalists won the 2018 election by a narrow margin, beating out a faction of the People's Progress party that fell under the wider "Jeffersonian" movement. The main factor contributing to the PPP's loss was their candidate’s opposition to joining the United States, as well as a confirmed rumor of infidelity capsizing their candidates' chances. Another major upset to the national balance of power was the Jeffersonians successfully flipping the previously PPP and Civic Rights stronghold of Redding. Immediately, the victorious faction proposed legislation to change the MSP's name and called for yet another 'constitutional' assembly, seeking a unitary republic.
The confederated nature of the Municipal government saw that the opposition could not protest these action en force, although heated impassioned debates in Crescent City at how the Oregonian movement would doom the still-young Pacific nation sent ripples throughout the "country". Dissolving the half-empty government at Crescent City, the Jeffersonians would reconvene at what would be their new capital further inland in Yreka. Crescent City was left to the "Pacific loyalists", although its momentum of growth throughout the last two decades had been definitively shattered. The coast south of Crescent City along old US 101 remained solidly in the hands of a faction no one had dared to test - the ANZC military hosted across two installations in Eureka proper and an air regiment in McKinleyville. Although the Municipality of Redding was won by the Jeffersonians, its delegate would decline to secede due to intense pressure from local constituents and other interests.
Riots and protests over the election results in its consequences saw both factions struggle to keep order in the areas under their control. As Crescent City became a ghost town from one week to the next, the only other major city of the MSP to remain flying the Pacific flag was Eureka, swelling with ANZC diplomats and expats reeling from the unexpected house-of-cards collapse of the nation. While many argued whether the Municipal States were dead, the Republic of Jefferson had certainly been born.
Independence[]
After a tumultuous independence, Jefferson saw a resurgence of development in 2020 and 2021, as foreign investors which had previously feared the worst saw the split had been relatively peaceful, and cashed in on the opportunities to be had in funding both sides of the breakup. As Australian investors helped the rump MSP lick its wounds in Crescent City and Eureka, oil barons in Saskatoon invested in rebuilding northern Jefferson's ports. With a new railway being opened into the North American Union and power plants being completed in Medford and Yreka to accommodate their new roles in Jefferson, the denizens of the young nation looked westward for opportunities rather than eastward for the first time in decades.
All of this, of course, had been made possible of CRUSA machinations to enlarge the Torrington-based United States. Its founding cadre was aging - surviving military, intelligence, the "fortunate few" elite of America to be out of the country saw that their original dream of restoring the United States in their lifetime was all impossible. Furthermore, 40 years on from Doomsday, the American diaspora children being born overseas no longer identified with the dreams of their grandfathers - CRUSA was unable to recruit young people in large numbers. However, it did have deep pools of ANZC cash, which it funneled into "opinion pieces", posters put up by anonymous individuals, and even radio spots across the young Republic to influence talks of re-joining the United States. It did not take much convincing, after all, as the Jefferson Nationalists counted more Patriots than not amongst their ranks.
Statehood[]
Post-2020 saw direct cooperation between the Torrington-based United States and Jefferson. The resurrected nation was previously barred from forming embassies in the Municipal-era, owing to the anti-American sentiment that lingered due to the abandonment by a different "American" faction during the Crescent City Crisis. Behind the scenes talks between Jefferson President Bohn and U.S. President Heidi Heitkamp coincided with stronger influence campaigns on pro-American sentiment, even as the wider trend of the "American Spring" had been dead for years. In 2022, Senator Doug Voss proposed a measure in favor in joining the Torrington-based United States as the State of Jefferson. The amendment would pass by a 59% majority (made possible by the anti-American factions having remained in the rump MSP). Northern California erupted with fireworks and great fan fare on July 4th, 2023.
This would be the apogee of Torrington's expansions; representatives from the California Republic and the Navajo Nation would file a motion in the North American Union Assembly to investigate the role that CRUSA had in destabilizing the Municipal States of the Pacific and its successors. The international community was one step ahead of them, with similar notions being discussed in LON assemblies at Good Hope, and public opinion in many countries turning back towards Ameroskepticism after only a decade of the continent gradually coming out of its shell. In spite of President Heitkamp's ignorance to these developments, she would be shouldered much of the blame for these developments, even few international pundits have yet attempted to research whether this development would have happened with or without foreign interference.
Politics[]
The main political parties of the Republic of Jefferson are the Jefferson Nationalists and the People's Progress Party. The Jefferson Nationalists favor an aptly Jeffersonian Republican approach to governance, traditional moral values (anti-drugs, religious) conservative fiscal policies. About Half of the Jefferson National Party members want to join the New United States and the other half wish to remain independent.
The People's Progress Party's platform includes support for stronger funding into education, government regulation of business (meant to prevent economic dominance by "robber barrons" which have become notorious in coastal economies), a stronger government hand in setting economic and trade policy and socially left and center-left policies, being one of the first West Coast parties to propose the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the 21st century. The People's Progress Party also supports rejoining the United States as a new state as a check against rights violations. A smaller faction of former PPP and Jefferson partymembers exists which supports NAU membership, but otherwise retain more progressive policy positions.
International Relations[]
During its brief period of independence, relations with the governments of ANZC and the SAC remained strained due to the public blaming them for 'propping up' the former Municipal States of the Pacific regime, as well as the reciprocal shock at the failure of what was considered a surefire exercise in state-building, yet reiterated that Brazilian government would upheld their fraternal relationship to willing to send further reconstruction support outside of wider SAC relations and were looking forward to the resumption of trade.
The Republic of Jefferson found itself increasingly dependent on the North American Union, an alignment that would have surprised old supporters of the MSP. CRUSA's influence has likewise given way to Torrington itself.
Chile and Mexico maintained diplomatic relations with the Jefferson breakaways until their acession to US statehood. Today, their embassies have since been converted into primary embassies to the United States (owing to the unfeasibility of sending them further inland to Torrington), with their separate missions adjacent to the Oceanic Organization Office along the NAU Embassy Row in San Rafael, California.
Economy[]
Jefferson's economy is primarily based on raw materials - mining, agriculture, fishing, timber, and food processing. The southern half of Jefferson is a major producer of paper, rope and other hemp-based products which are sold to various governments and private entities. The wine industry was largely supplanted by subsistence agriculture during the transitional years but there remain hopes that the industry will grow to be neck in neck with the California and Chumash Republics by 2045. Jefferson's economy received a major boost from the opening of daily railroad transit to the United States in 2020, which was a major factor in the accession referendum.
Since joining the United States and North American Union by extension its ports have swelled with exports of the Union’s goods, alleviating the tiny Newport and San Rafael’s limited capacities.
Energy[]
The energy grid of the Municipal States of the Pacific had been touch-and-go outside of the urban areas. It was restored to pre-war status in early 2016. A new hydroelectric dam broke ground near Lake Shasta in May 2020. It was scheduled to be running November 2021 but do to unforeseen setbacks it went online in May 2022.
Military[]
After the secession of Jefferson Nationalists, the allied militias were merged into a National Guard. Today, the Jeffersonian National Guard is subject to the Commander-in-Chief of the United States.
Communications[]
The Municipal States of the Pacific's surviving public radio stations were combined to re-form the Jefferson National Radio Syndicate in 2013. The Jefferson Liberator is the Republic of Jefferson's National Newspaper. There are also several smaller local newspapers in the Republic of Jefferson. In 2021, a new Television station called KBXE began broadcasting out of Yreka. KBXE is an affiliated station of the new ABC
Culture[]
Holidays[]
The State of Jefferson has 5 state-level holidays. They are May 31st Memorial Day, July 19th Liberation Day (marks the anniversary of the surrender of last raiders within its territory), October 5th Republic Day ( marks the official formation of the Republic of Jefferson with the signing the of the Jefferson Constitution) November 26th Thanksgiving, December 25th Christmas. Labor Day was moved to May 1st during the preliminary draft of the Municiapl States charter, and has remained at such, unlike the rest of the United States.
Sports[]
The Pacific Baseball League was put on pause during the 'Pacific Collapse' although it was revived in 2020 with the following teams participating in the region: the Redding Cubs, Yreka Angels , The Medford Padres, The Fort Bragg Veterans (Based in Fort Brag, MSP), the Placerville Tigers (Based in Placerville, California) and the Grass Valley Cyclones (Based in Grass Valley City, California). In 2021, two new teams were founded - the Roseville Thorns (Based on Roseville, California) and the Weed Whackers of Weed, Jefferson. As of 2024, there are hopes that the wider NAU will begin to field additional teams, and that the Eureka Hawks will begin to play with their former countrymen again after a long-standing boycott.
Cinema[]
Theatres in Medford, and the Broadway Twin Theater in Yreka are some of the more modernized cinema establishments in Jefferson. Many younger people prefer to go to the Egyptian Theater in Coos Bay.
Performing Arts[]
Jefferson has a thriving theater scene. The Jefferson Shakespeare Festival (Formerly the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the Pacific Shakespeare Festival) is the most renowned theater group in the country. Live musicians in styles of old "West Coast" rock, folk, and other genres abound as well.
Education[]
MSP University Medford is now known as the University of Jefferson. The College of the Siskiyous operates several two-year campuses across the State.
