Not a single state of the United States survived the 21st Century intact. Local divisions, famines, natural disasters and wars all lead to massive upheavals and population drops. City-states began to re-emerge at the end of the 22nd Century, with nation states and empires following shortly thereafter.
States in Italics are not part of Atlantic America; their histories haven’t been worked out yet.
Alabama
Alabama fell apart quietly; what records survive make little mention of the state or what happened there. That’s not to say it was an easy fall; more than half the population still died in the chaos.
The first resurgence of civilization in Alabama came at the former cities; communities of scavengers and tradesmen set up camps to comb the ruins for resources and technology. They fought with tribes of survivors in the cities who saw the newcomers as interlopers and threats to the lives they managed to live in the ruins. Foreign interest in their resources led to mercenaries and foreign support for campaigns of conquest. Soon the city scavengers became city-states.
Alabama was subsumed into the Mississippi Empire during the 22nd Century; resistance was limited for two reasons. First, much of the foreign investment that brought the city-states to power was from Louisiana, so cultural and political affiliations were close. Second, the threat of raids from eastern cultures and southern fleets was more than most city-states could oppose. Safety with the Empire made sense. Alabama continued to be part of the Empire until the Commonwealth War, when it became part of the Kingdom of Louisiana.
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Arkansas’s dissolution was unique in that large parts of the state came under the control of the Prophets, an Armageddon cult that gained prominence as the civil infrastructure fell. The Prophets retained control for almost a century, largely through fear and intimidation of the remaining populace.
The Prophets raiding and terrorizing extended into neighboring states, and eventually became a source of concern for the Mississippi River Kingdom and the Texas successor states. The fight to curb the raiding eventually lead to raids into the Prophets’ territory, then full invasion and annexation efforts. The wars to clear the Prophets were brutal, but in the end the Prophets and their cult were eliminated.
Arkansas became a province of Mississippi. The scars of the Prophets took a long time to heal, but eventually the former state became an integral part of the Mississippi Empire. After the Commonwealth War, Arkansas became part of the Kingdom of Louisiana, with some of the northern counties granted to the Kingdom of Ohio.
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Connecticut ended the 21st Century as home to several pirate states that plagued surrounding areas on land and sea. Striking out with some of the last ocean-going vessels available, their success only promoted lawlessness, and pirate lords came and went with regularity.
The pirates soon became the target of the surviving city of Boston. Pirate lords fell to special action teams and intrigue, while their ships grew older and harder to maintain. Eventually the pirates were chased off or killed and local governance began in earnest. Although influential, Boston did not control Connecticut at any time.
Connecticut communities fought in the Commonwealth War, eventually falling to the Imperial forces and becoming part of the Atlantic Dominion.
Delaware
Being close to Washington, DC, Delaware was heavily influenced by the chaos surrounding the nation’s capital during the fall of the previous nation-states. The population migrations out of the urban areas did not wash over Delaware as it did other states, but the famines that swept the nation were just as brutal.
The City States that grew in the 22nd and 23rd centuries fought each other over the resources of their peninsula, banding together only to fight off raiders from the dead cities or pirates off the Atlantic. Even as trade and technology brought sustainability, the city-states remained fiercely independent of each other.
The Delaware cities joined the Lexington Organization early on, sending troops and small ships to join the war effort against the Commonwealth. Occupied by Imperial troops, Delaware is currently a part of the Atlantic Dominion and under direct control of the Commonwealth.
Florida
Florida’s fall was closer to that of the Caribbean islands than the rest of the southeastern US. Attempts to find solutions through naval power and raids failed, while the harsh floods of the era destroyed much of the infrastructure.
When city-states began to get back on their feet, it was at the mercy of pirates and privateers from the north and the south. Defending the cities became a primary concern; once raiding became unprofitable, many of the Caribbean islands turned to trade. The city-states of southern Florida became part of the UKCS. In the north, the city-states often looked west towards the Mississippi empire for protection, although retaining their independence.
The UKCS fought as part of the Lexington Organization during the Commonwealth War. Their shipping and naval forces took heavy losses during the war, although Florida itself saw little damage. The terms under which the UKCS surrendered and retained its identity saw half of the nobles of Florida disenfranchised, their lands and wealth ceded to those who were less pronounced in their denunciation of the Commonwealth.
Today, most of Florida is part of the UKCS, with some of the western panhandle a part of the Kingdom of Louisiana.
Georgia
Georgia saw the same migration patterns as the rest of the world, with Atlanta refugees rolling across the state. Shortly after the end of the 21st Century, a demagogue name Peter Godspeed came to power, leading a apocalyptic church in the ruins of Atlanta. Through strong personality, he formed the Hegemony of God, a theocratic state the brought stability and slavery to northern Georgia. He ruled for more than sixty years, but the state fell apart within three years of his death.
Coastal Georgia formed city-states, hoping to defend against pirate attacks, while the interior of the state formed largely church-based communities, foregoing political governance for religious stability. Attempts by city-states to conquer and annex land were fought by guerilla warfare. Eventually the states started to influence the land through economic trade instead of overt military actions.
The city-states did fight with the Lexington Organization, but much of the state was still unorganized and did not see themselves as combatants. When their territory was ceded to the UKCS, it was a surprise to many of them, who claimed they had no say in the war and did not fight in it. The annexation has not been easy, as the UKCS is aware of this discontent, but also answerable to the Commonwealth for the development of the former state.
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Illinois’ fall in the 21st Century produced a large volume of folk lore regarding Chicago. While all urban areas faced mass unrest and chaos, stories out of Chicago are extreme. Tales of gladiator fights, occult rituals, and obscene barbarism are still told centuries later to scare and frighten audiences. What scholarly research has been done indicated that many of the stories are made up or exaggerated, but the folk tales persist.
Illinois history since then has been influenced by the surrounding nations. Northeast came under the influence of Michigan, while northwest followed Wisconsin’s libertarian streak. Western lands followed the Iowan philosophies, while southeastern grew to be part of the Ohio Valley culture. The word Illinois has little meaning in today’s Atlantic America.
Under the Commonwealth, northern Illinois is part of the Kingdom of Michigan, and southern Illinois is part of the Kingdom of Ohio.
Indiana
Indiana’s dissolution was fairly normal, but had a quick resurgence with the shortly-lived Dynasty of Indianapolis, which attempted to rebuild a resurgent theocratic state out of the chaos. The Dynasty lasted less than twenty years.
Eventually the communities of Indiana began aligning themselves with either the growing People’s Republic of Michigan or the movement of free states along the Ohio River. When the UCOV was established during the War of the Three Fools, many communities joined it, while others welcomed annexation by Michigan during and after the war.
During the Commonwealth War, Indian saw little combat on its soil, and was peacefully split between the Kingdom of Ohio and the Kingdom of Michigan.
Iowa
Iowa became an early breadbasket due to the influence of the Church of Grace. The simple faith let the state recover rather quickly, eventually forming the Waterloo Confederacy. The Confederacy grew into a regional power until its aggressive nature brought it to ruin when the Iron Republic of Minnesota invaded; the laws and government was reformed and the Confederacy became an ally to its neighbors.
Iowa fought in the Lexington Organization, sending troops to every front. One of the last hold outs, Iowa was conquered during the last campaign of the Commonwealth War and was subsumed into the new Kingdom of North Mississippi.
Kansas
Kansas has added little to the history of Atlantic America. The territory of the state is a part of the Dakota Plains, and there is little cultivation or civilization in those lands. There is an Archive within the former state, near the ruins of Wichita.
Kentucky
Kentucky dissolved with its neighbors; the mountainous communities in the Appalachians cutting themselves off as the cities and farmlands fell apart. Raids from the mountains and river pirate kept communities from gaining power for much of the 22nd Century.
By the 23rd Century, several city-states had managed to assert themselves, forming forces that could stand up to the mountain peoples and sweep the rivers of their villains. These cities brought peace to the valley, and many of them formed the backbone of the UCOV when it formed during the War of the Three Fools.
The city states fought as part of the Lexington Organization during the Commonwealth War. They fell to the Mississippi Empire when that nation switched sides, some of them violently resisting and paying the price for it. The mountainous area is now part of the Atlantic Dominion, while the lowlands are part of the Kingdom of Ohio.
Louisiana
Louisiana saw an early resurgence due to the influence of the Locke Combine to the east and several stable successor states in Texas to the west. This resurgence was not without consequence: Texas states and the Locke Combine fought several wars, including a major one after the Combine became the Mississippi River Kingdom.
When the Texas states, under the Santiago family, and the MRK, under the Locke family, united and became the Santiago-Locke family, Louisiana saw a fairly peaceful existence. Raids from the north became rarer as the kingdoms pushed the border further north.
Louisiana saw some raids during the Commonwealth War, but not much. The territory is now part of the Kingdom of Louisiana.
Maine
Undoubtedly the survivors suffered through the Bandit and Pirate lords that plagued New England through that time.
During the 22nd Century, Maine communities would being looking towards either Quebec or Boston for protection. Some violence occurred but much of Maine was annexed into Quebec by the 23rd Century.
During the Commonwealth War, Maine was the sight of several battles. Once conquered, the entire state was formally brought under Quebec control.
Maryland
Maryland was inundated with population migrations coming from Baltimore, Philadelphia and the DC Metro area, then annexed by the Naval State that controlled the Chesapeake area for several decades. Between the two, Maryland suffered one of the worst population declines recorded.
Maryland slowly recovered, forming two city-states by 2300. Both became active in the Chesapeake Combine and fought in the Commonwealth War.
Maryland is currently a part of the Atlantic Dominion.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts is home to one of the few areas that survived the 21st Century with an intact political institution; the city of Boston. Though unable to influence or mitigate the chaos of the surrounding areas, and even losing control of more than half the city, Boston survived.
Boston heavily influenced the region as far south as Charleston. Their early anti-piracy patrols kept sea raids from getting as bad as they did elsewhere in the world, and allowed other seaboard city-states to grow independently of Boston. Much of Massachusetts remained out Boston’s direct control, as Boston itself did not have the manpower to conquer and coerce other communities.
Boston and the other Massachusetts communities joined the Lexington Organization during the Commonwealth War. Boston suffered several air and naval raids during the conflict, losing much of its navy, before the war ended under a close siege. To the surprise of many, Boston survived as an independent city-state, while the rest of the state was divided between Quebec and the Atlantic Dominion.
Michigan
The People’s Republic of Michigan
The Kingdom of Michigan
Civilization first returned to Michigan in the west, where the Sailing Guild of Lake Michigan allowed small lakefront settlements and camps to survive by trading resources and moving people around the lake. The Sailing Guild expanded into the former state of Michigan quicker than Wisconsin or Illinois, soon becoming the People’s Republic of Michigan.
Michigan clashed with the Kingdom of Quebec over the remains of Detroit, eventually securing dominion over that territory. The PRM came to control all of the former state except for the area round Sault Sainte Marine, which remains an independent city-state to this day. As the PRM became the Kingdom of Michigan, the state’s borders have changed little into the Commonwealth era.
Minnesota
The Iron Republic of Minnesota.
The state of Minnesota survived for a few years as an independent nation before falling. Several successor city-states arose, who fought for domination. The state was eventually unified under the Iron Republic of Minnesota. The Iron Republic fell during the Commonwealth War and is now part of the Kingdom of North Mississippi.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s dissolution was similar to most of its surrounding states, with the details long lost to time and distance, except what was recorded in the diaries of Noah Locke, the first member of the Locke family to come to prominence.
Noah Locke and his family fought back against the chaos engulfing their land, forming the Locke Combine shortly before the end of the century. The Locke Combine developed into the Mississippi River Kingdom, and eventually into the Mississippi Empire.
Mississippi has been very peaceful for centuries; it avoided so much as a raid during the Commonwealth War. The state of Mississippi is now part of the Kingdom of Louisiana.
Missouri
Missouri suffered through the dissolution of the 21st Century, and spent most of the 22nd Century under constant raids from river-based pirates, Dakota plains riders, or the Prophets of Arkansas. After Arkansas was cleared by the Mississippi Empire, Missouri communities were divided in their ideals. Urban communities leaned towards the south and the Mississippi Empire; rural communities looked north to Iowa.
In 2365 St Louis was annexed by the Mississippi Empire, leading to the eventual annexation of the rest of Missouri before the end of the century. After the Commonwealth War, Missouri was allotted to the Kingdom of Ohio.
Montana
Nebraska
Nebraska disappeared into the chaos of the 21st Century fairly early; no records survive indicating what happened within the state. Nebraska quickly became part of the Dakota territories, with the same mobile communities and rebuilding cities as other plains states.
The slight exception occurred in and around Omaha, where a form of government was functioning by 2125. The stability attracted some migrations, eventually leading to the establishment of nobility and aristocracy by the end of the 22nd Century.
Omaha survived the Waterloo Confederacy and the Mississippi Empire, and avoided the pains of the Commonwealth War. The city was incorporated into the Kingdom of North Mississippi, retaining many of its own traditions.
Nevada
New Hampshire
Stories of New Hampshire from the 21st and 22nd Centuries reference ‘Bandit Lords,’ local despots who accumulated power for brief periods of time before falling to one threat or another. Boston makes references to long distance raids from the north, known for their violence and their consistency.
Quebec annexed the region in the 23rd Century, breaking the traditions of banditry in a series of purges lasting decades. The region is now largely peaceful if of dubious loyalty to Quebec.
New Jersey
New Jersey suffered through the combined depopulation of both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolises, even as the state’s own cities fell apart. In the southern part of the state, an early attempt of a new community formed at Cape May. Trying to survive the turmoil, the Cape became the first of the Archives, retaining what knowledge they could and surviving through force of will.
Outside of Cape May, the state largely regrew with an eye towards Boston, as the nearest center of power that wasn’t trying to conquer them. Repeated clashes with New York successors and the Princes of Pennsylvania led to a number of fortified towns and cities across northern and central New Jersey. These would protect the people from attacks and raids until the Commonwealth War.
New Jersey
fought with the rest of Atlantic America and was conquered accordingly. The
state is now part of the Atlantic Dominion.
New Mexico
New York
The metropolis of New York sent raves of refugees out across the eastern seaboard, even as factions within the city itself warred to maintain or reshape what was left. Though Chicago has a place in common folk lore as a place of terrible deeds during the fall, similar stories about New York abound.
The urban sprawl of NYC became the battleground for a number of successor states the following century; none could control the city in and of itself, but they could claim their territories and raid each other. When those state attempted to conquer land beyond the cities, they ran afoul of the growing communities, particularly butting heads with Boston and her allies. Several times Boson intervened in NYC, forcing diplomatic solutions until the constant warfare was largely forgotten.
The rest of the state regrew as it could; those closest to NYC either allied themselves to the successors or became fortified communities looking to stay independent. Others grew towards Boston for protected. Further west, the state became dependent on the Great Lakes and the growing trade found there.
Eastern New York was the sight of several campaigns during the War of the Three Fools, as Quebec worked their way south. The same ground was fought over again during the Commonwealth War, seeing trench warfare and sieges for the length of the conflict. After the war, northern New York became part of Quebec. New York City and some of the south went to the Atlantic Dominion, while the southwestern portion went to Michigan.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s fall was experienced differently depending on where one lived. The mountainous west saw the fortification of the highlands in an attempt to weather the storm. The central area saw the mass migrations and the violence of urban refugees and rural residents. And the eastern area saw the seaborne pirates and raiders that were commonplace throughout the late 21st and early 22nd centuries.
As such, North Carolina’s story through the dark age was not unified. The east saw pirate havens become city-states, while the west became part of the Appalachian culture. Central cities states rose in the 23rd century, as the dead urban areas became centers for regrowth and scavenging.
North Carolina’s successors fought as part of the Lexington Organization and fell to the Commonwealth. The entire former state is now governed through the Atlantic Dominion.
North Dakota
The strong military presence in North Dakota during the end of the United States led to a short-lived military government. Commanded by a senior general, this government attempted to bring order to the region, but was too caught up in the chaos. They picked fights with other immediate successor governments (including the Independent State of Minnesota). Suffering from supply shortages and hemorrhaging personnel who wanted to go home to protect their families, the government did not survive the 21st Century.
As the vast plains developed into the Dakota Territory, the survivors of North Dakota struggled. Many started the nomadic lifestyle that continued to this day. Small family-sized plantations grew and died with regularity. Some settlements around abandoned or mostly abandoned cities managed to eke out an existence raiding the urban centers for supplies.
By the 23rd Century the situation had stabilized, and communities no longer were in danger of disappearing. Food production grew. As did trade of recycled resources and technology. Settlements along the Red River Valley became part of the Red River Valley Dominion and eventually the Iron Republic of Minnesota.
On the plains, most settlements remained small. Two expectations were Bismarck and Minot, both of which became proper city-states. However, the distance between settlements has kept aggressive expansion in check; the city-states serve as centers of trade and transportation, not expansion. It was a joint venture between Minnesota and Bismarck that led to the first functioning railway into the state in three centuries.
The Commonwealth War had little impact on the Dakota Plains. Small trade missions were established in Minor and Bismarck, but the Commonwealth considered the entire Plain to be an Unorganized Territory and largely leaves them alone.
Ohio
The first new communities in Ohio existed along the lake and river fronts, where irrigation and transit was possible. Slowly new communities forged their way into the interior of the state, absorbing or displacing the communities of the upper hills.
In the 23rd century, the dead area around the ruins of Columbus showed signs of life. Surveyors and scavengers moved in, unearthing many old treasures. The influx caused a decade of strife, as some communities and city-states attempted to use such artifacts for their own ends.
By the time of the War of the Three Fools (2371-2377), Ohio was divided into nineteen city-states or rural communes, with some of the northwest areas controlled by the People’s Republic of Michigan. During the war, the communities of Ohio founded the United Cities of the Ohio Valley, including cities in other former states, fighting off intrusions from both Michigan and Quebec. Originally dependent on the Empire of the Mississippi for resources and weapons, the UVOC did not become the puppet state the Emperor wanted.
The UCOV joined the Lexington Organization and fought against the Commonwealth, and lost. Northern Ohio was annexed by Michigan, while southern Ohio became part of the new Kingdom of the Ohio, under the younger brother of the Emperor.
Oklahoma
The state of Oklahoma fell, but was quickly replaced with a short lived New Native Nation, an attempt by the large Native American population to form a nation in the vacuum. The NNN did not survive long, as the societal impacts that tore the county apart were still in effect.
Oklahoma has had little impact on history, being a part of the Dakota Plains. What the territory is more known for now is Oklahoma City. One of the larger communities on the Dakota Plains, Oklahoma City is a free city, where tribes and caravans can come to trade in everything from legitimate goods to drugs and slaves. While some see it as a haven for libertines, other see it as a den of criminals.
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Eastern Pennsylvania was crossed with waves of migrants coming out of the east coast metro areas; the violence between those migrants and the rural population was devastating. Western Pennsylvania avoided waves of migrants, but still suffered with the fall of the USA.
During the 22nd Century, Pennsylvania developed a spread of ‘princes’, autocrats who controlled land and enforced a feudal system on the population. Most of their power was derived from discovered caches of weapons or occupation of strategically important areas. This system lasted more than a century, until a series of uprisings and the threat of invasions by Michigan and the Quebecois forced changes.
Some of south-western Pennsylvania became part of the UVOC during the War of the Three Fools. The state saw a number of raids and incursion during that war. The area then saw heavy fighting during the Commonweal War, with Lexington and Quebecois forces trading campaigns.
After the Commonwealth War, northwest Pennsylvania was ceded to the new Kingdom of Michigan, southwestern to the Kingdom of Ohio. Eastern and central Pennsylvania became part of the Atlantic Dominion.
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island followed Connecticut by becoming a haven for pirates. Many of them fell to Boston’s influence except for one around the former city of Warwick. The pirate lords there were overthrown by a cabal of individuals who changed Warwick from a pirate fortress into one of the first Archives.
Rhode Island remained independent until the Commonwealth War, when it was subsumed into the Atlantic Dominion.
South Carolina
South Carolina attempted to survive the fall of the US Government as an independent state. Much like other states that tried, the Free State of Carolina could not withstand the societal forces that tore apart the nation. When the state fell apart, many of the coastal areas turned to sea piracy, raiding off each other or sailing further abroad in search of supplies and food. These pirate cities soon became home to pirate princes, short-lived dictators who brought a violent stability to the land.
The pirate princes thrived as trade picked up again, but soon their actions brought attention from afar. Quebec, Boston and Caribbean kingdoms took issue with the pirates, and started their own campaigns against them. Over the course of a decade, more than a dozen pirate princes and their domains were invaded, the princes overthrown and new, trade-friendly factions installed. Only Charleston survived as a princely state.
Without the pirate princes South Carolina formed into a number of city-states, surviving independently of each other. All joined the Lexington Organization during the Commonwealth War. Suffering defeat, all the states were folded into the Atlantic Dominion, with the exception of Charleston, which remains and independent city-state.
South Dakota
South Dakota followed much the same path of North Dakota; military government, nomadic lifestyles, small plantations and re-population of cities. Cities in the east became dependent on Minnesota and Iowa for trade, while the west was largely dominated by the Black Hills Society, who protected the hills from the chaos and now make it their home. The coming of the Commonwealth changed little.
Tennessee
Eastern Tennessee, as with much of the Appalachians, avoided being overrun by bottling themselves up and surviving on what they had. The populous lowlands burned as much as any other area of the US.
In the 22nd Century, the mountainous people took to raiding the lowlands for food and supplies. This led to the lowlands peoples forming defensive communities and military alliances. Many of those communities welcomed the Mississippi Empire when it annexed Memphis, hoping the strength of the empire would protect them from the mountain peoples.
The Empire continued to expand through the state, either through political or economic absorption and in some cases through military action. They never were able to conquer the Appalachians, but the raiding died down as economic stability brought boons to the mountains.
When the Empire switched and joined the Commonwealth, the mountainous region came under attack. Troops from both Mississippi and the Commonwealth burned through the mountains, destroying the communities that survived there.
Today, the state of Tennessee is divided between three governments. The eastern portion is part of the Atlantic Dominion; the southern part of the west belongs to the Kingdom of Louisiana, and the northern part to the Kingdom of Ohio.
Texas
With the fall of the United States, Texas attempted to revert back to an independent nation, but too many factions had different ideas of what that meant. Various Texan nations lasted almost to the end of the century.
Over the 22nd Century, communities and city-states began to reform. Texas became the land of a hundred flags. Over the decades these flags coalesced into various minor kingdoms as communities conquered or absorbed one another. Much of this had to do with the Santiago family, a family that provided several rulers and important politicians across the former state.
The Santiago family eventually merged with the Locke family of the Mississippi empire. The marriage of the two families provided Mississippi with troops and a source of food, and provided the Texas kingdoms with political and military protection. Texas finally stabilized into a dozen kingdoms.
After the Commonwealth War, the various Texan kingdoms were subjected to serious restrictions and punitive taxes. The kingdoms report directly to the Margrave of Houston, the former Emperor of the Mississippi, who so far has shown little favoritism towards his distant cousins on their thrones.
Utah
Vermont
Not much is known of Vermont in the late 21st and early 22nd Centuries. The former state faded from view, far removed from the urban centers and their chaos. How much of its population was lost and what trials the survivors had to suffer through is long lost to history.
In the 23rd Century Vermont was annexed by the Quebecois. Local resistance groups continued to fight well into the next century, but much of the population came to enjoy Quebecois rule.
Currently, Vermont is a region under Quebec known for its rugged and brusque people and resistance to accepting the Quebecois language. Some violence still occurs, but such actions are few and far between.
Virginia
Virginia suffered through the combined collapse of the DC Metro area and the short-lived Naval State, a flotilla of US Naval ships that attempted to retain control of the Chesapeake area. The Naval State lasted in some form or another until after 2200, although by then it was a collection of conscripts and forced sailors conducting little more than pirate raids.
After the fall of the Naval State the territory of Virginia did not see an organized government against until after 2300, when the first new city-states formed around the ruins of DC, Richmond and the naval bases. Those states formed part of the Chesapeake Combine, which fought against pirates and eventually the Commonwealth.
Most of Virginia is currently part of the Atlantic Dominion.
Washington
West Virginia
West Virginia saw some of the worst fighting and atrocities of the fall of civilization: the death of technology brought about a rise in the importance of coal. Warlords took hold and imposed chattel slavery on the population, turning the whole state into a wasteland.
Eventually even the need for coal failed, leaving a handful of heavily militarized communities outnumbered by their slaves. This lasted barely two generations before military forces out of the Ohio Valley moved in, eventually liberating the population.
The state remains an exceedingly rural region, with most of the population living in self-isolated communities, avoiding the world at large. A few city-states became part of the UCOV. After the Commonwealth War, the territory falls under the rule of the Kingdom of Ohio.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin fell apart early, swarmed by refugees fleeing Chicago. As local infrastructure failed, the city of Madison fortified itself, becoming a lone pillar of order in the chaos of the time. Madison eventually became one of the first Archives.
Many communities along the coast of Lake Michigan became part of the Sailing Guild, which developed into the People’s Republic of Michigan. Communities further inland retained their independence, forming an array of hundreds of city-states and protected communities, ranging from as small as one hundred souls to twenty-thousand. Some became involved in the various wars that raged across Minnesota in the 23rd century.
This array of independent communities survived with little more than rough skirmishing, broken up by the occasional warlord or progressive movement. In most cases, there was an entrenched belief of ‘live and let live’ between various communities. Should one warlord or movement get too large, coalitions would form and defeat them, then dissolve.
After the War of the Three Fools, the People’s Republic of Michigan turned its eye towards Wisconsin, hoping to regain some of the pride it had lost. The nation began annexing communities, sometimes very violently. The state became more conflicted as the Iron Republic of Minnesota began funneling weapons and supplies into Wisconsin. Michigan’s advance slowed, and occupation of the territory became costly.
Wisconsin remained torn until the end of the Commonwealth War, when a coup in Michigan installed a king and ended their democratic government. Wisconsin was ceded to Michigan completely, an annexation enforced by two Imperial Commonwealth Corps that marched across the land, leaving the communities behind weakened and bloody.
As of the present, Wisconsin is an occupied land. The eastern cities, long a part of the Republic of Michigan, long for their lost democracy. The western communities, newly occupied, yearn for their independence. The only exception is the Madison Archive, which retains its independence as part of the Archive Network.