The Anglo-American Federation

This was born out of doodling around with one of my previous maps, and so is very much a "spiritual grandson" of this project. 

The POD begins in the 1850s, when Lincoln's political career fizzled out and William Seward wins the Republican nomination in 1860 instead. 

Under Seward's proposed radical policies, it was only a matter of weeks before the first states began to secede. While Seward was popular in some circles for his plans to end slavery, he was not the skilled war-time politician that they had hoped for. Northern forces were initially slow to respond, and for a short period the President floated the idea of invading Canada as a means of re-uniting everyone for a common cause. Fortunately this plan was quickly shot down. 

A year into the war, the Mormons in the West saw an opportunity to break with a weakened Union that had just humiliated them in the Utah War, and seized it by declared their own State of Deseret. This was another large blow against the United States, as its supply lines to the West were cut and their forces now became even more divided on multiple fronts. Despite this, however, the superior industry and population numbers still played into the North's favor. It wasn't until the disastrous and widely publicized routing of a Union army two years into the war that its political will to continue fighting would start to falter. After three years of a grinding war, the Union finally saw the writing on the wall and sued for peace. 

Of course, not everyone was happy with this new peace. Some elements of the army rallied around Colonol Sherman and continued to burn their way around the South for another year before getting surrounded and killed to a man in northern Georgia. There was also continued unrest in the Union for years to come as other secessionist groups felt compelled to try and make a claim to their own new nations. None would be as successful as Dixie or Deseret, however, and each would be slowly retaken by the Union one after the other. 

Another matter was working out the borders with its new neighbors. Officially, the Indian Territory had become a part of the Confederacy, but the white aristocracy wasn't looking to share their power with an Indian elite, even if they also owned slaves. At the same time, however, the Confederacy was unable to fully subdue the territory and feared that discord on the plains would give the United States the perfect excuse to invade and restart the war once it was done licking its wounds. Because of this the territory, eventually colloquially known as "India", remained self governing and quasi-independent for most practical purposes. Border states such as Kentucky and Maryland remained with the Union, but new borders would be drawn out for the loyal territories in western Virginia and eastern Tennessee which refused to join the Confederacy and lead to years of political work settling their boundaries. 

Borders were an even bigger problem with Deseret. United States politicians were more reluctant to negotiate with people they saw as "polygamous heathens", let alone recognize them as a new nation, and negotiations were stalled for longer than with the South. The lines between the two countries remained vague and never fully agreed on, which was a constant source of friction. Finally, in 1868 Deseretion forces began to intercept caravans traveling in the Washington territory and collecting fines for traveling through their claimed borders. American President Swann, hoping to regain some federal legitimacy by retaking the West, used this as a Casus Belli to re-assert the Union's authority over Deseret. 

From the beginning of the Western War, however, the Union was at a disadvantage. Federal authority was still weakened following the successful secession of the South and West, and the war never gained much public support. Many Union soldiers saw this as just a way for President Swann to build prestige, while for most Deseretians this was a war for survival. They rightly expected the Union to break apart their fledgling national government and severely hamper their newfound religious freedoms. The Deseretians also benefited from fighting on their own home turf, while the Union soldiers from the East  and California were forced to leave their homelands far behind and stretch their supply lines thin across the Rockies. The short war would expand Deseret's borders in several areas, most importantly expanding its claims to southern California which was furthest from direct Union support. 

After being so humbled in the 1860's, the United States was left disunited, weakened, and humiliated. While it still remained a considerable power due to its large population, continued industrialization, and access to Atlantic and Pacific ports, it was not the mighty giant it could have been. Britain benefited from bringing the remnant States closer into its sphere of influence, eventually culminating in an earlier Great Rapprochement as Britain took a larger interest in keeping one of its largest trade partners from further balkanizing, and America began to look to Britain and by extension Canada for new opportunities and security. It was in this period that many Americans migrated north into the Canada, especially in the Oregon Territory. 

This period also marked a change in the British Empire as well, namely its Crown Jewel, India. After the mutiny in the late 1850s and the transfer of administration from the Eat India Company to the British government, voices of concern began to be heard over the feasibility of maintaining law and order in the subcontinent. While India was a great source of wealth for the Empire, administrating and defending it also showed to be a greater and greater cost, especially as British colonies expanded in Africa and Asia in the following decades. Many economists and statesmen of the age became increasingly influenced by older writings by figures such as Smith and Tucker, who argued for the economic benefits of relinquishing the colonies. By the 1890s, the British government would start the slow process of removing its direct rule from India. This was fueled by economic interest, however, and not merely benevolence. Going forward, the many small states would remain disunited and weaker; their economies would be built towards reliance on British trade, colonial armies could still freely travel through their territories, and defense treaties were made such that Indian states could still be expected to provide troops to help defend Britain and vice versa, and the British monarch would remain the nominal head of state for most of them. 

While Britain was slowly reforming in the 1890s, the decade would be the start of even more chaos in America. Starting in Texas, the boll weevil began to spread throughout Dixie. Countermeasures were largely ineffective as each state decided on its own policies to try and fight the pests, and some chose to ignore the problem entirely, expecting the farmers to find a solution on their own. By the start of the 20th century, the entire South was gripped by the Cotton Crisis. Large plantations which relied on the cash crop began to fail, and many of the Confederacy's industries relied on the processing of cotton. The failing economy worked as a spark for radicalism among the poor white underclass, which was already dissatisfied with having to struggle to compete with free slave labor. Riots broke out among many large cities, and several small slave revolts also broke loose. It was in this chaotic period that a military junta made up of top generals took over the capital of Montgomery and declared itself the legitimate government. This event would spark a full scale civil war in the South as several states, particularly Texas and India, decided to go their own way. 

In 1909, there was a failed counter-coup backed by the United States to try and restore former Confederate President Howard to office, ultimately resulting in his capture and execution for breaking the rules of his exile. The Union feared that the instability in the South would spread northward, and would soon declare war on what it saw as an illegitimate and anti-democratic government. The deluge of refugees moving over the border and continued stories of the junta violently cracking down on dissent helped give the war public support in the North. Britain would help back America in this endeavor as well, seeing it as a chance to help snuff out slavery.

By 1911, Union and Texan forces overwhelmed the South, which would become administrated as new territories under the United States. Both Texas and the Indian Confederacy were recognized as new independent states by the Union at the start of the war, and this recognition continued once it was complete. President Dubois and his administration sought to dismantle the former power structures in the South, and this largely happened through weakening the former slave-owning aristocracy. The new territories were given new borders, which were eventually reorganized into new states as many former plantations and largest farmlands were redistributed among the white underclass and newly freed slaves. 

By the early 20th century, Britain would continue to reform. It stayed close to America, and many saw it as a natural conclusion for the "superior Anglo-Saxon stock" to work together. While Britain had no interest in giving its Asian or African subjects full rights, there was great debate over fully extending them to its "White Dominions". Over the years Canada, the Maritimes, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand would become more and more integrated and the ideology of crafting a "global state" became more popular both at home and abroad. Areas where British citizens were able to make up a majority became an integral part of the metropole, while other areas such as Egypt and the Nigerian states were given similar treatment to India: independent states kept under Britain's shadow and economic domination. 

Areas such as East Africa would remain in limbo for some decades. Unlike places like Ethiopia or Morocco, most of the region lacked strong native bureaucracies and many areas remains sparsely populated (though not all). Without World Wars to drain countless resources and lives, there was a surge in emigration to the new colonies, especially by Eastern Europeans and Jews fleeing persecution. The money that would have been diverted to a war cause was instead invested in many colonies, which helped attract even more immigrants. In some areas such as the Kenyan highlands and Zimbabwe white, mixed race (known as "colored"), and Indian peoples would become a plurality, and in some smaller areas a majority. Other regions, such as Malawi or Ruanda, were ideal climates for European settlement but also had the largest native populations, and so remain black majorities to this day. As white and colored British settlers continued to push deeper into the continent, aided by new anti-Malarial medicines, they also started to demand the same rights and protections as the White Dominions. By the 1930s these settlers would be recognized as citizens, and in the next two decades citizenship would extend to coloreds and Indians, and finally to East Asian immigrants and native blacks. 

The first half of the 20th century would go on to be known as the "New Era of Good Feelings", as pan-English nationalism and pride surged from the reunion of America and Dixie and the increased unity between the White Dominions. As Britain began to incur more and more costs from the dominions and America began to seek more prestige and global influence, there was increased support from both the citizenry and governments to bring "Anglo-Saxon peoples together for a single cause, to forge a single destiny, under the banner of a single nation!" as many pamphlets proclaimed. The first Act of Union would be signed by President Henry Dubois and Prime Minister Henry Marshall on August 23rd, 1920, which started the process of joining the two countries together. 

In this changing Union, the monarchy would continue to have less and less sway in politics, and would eventually become a wholly symbolic figure-head. Power would be delegated between the Upper and Lower Houses, with the role of prime minister being taken on by the new Premier, and a new Supreme Court made up of the 24 High Judges and a single Chief Justice. London would remain the administrative and executive capital, while the legislative branch would convene in Detroit (chosen for being a major center of industry and being between the former American and Canadian territories), while the judicial branch would be centered in Johannesburg. In this way, the three major regions of the new Federation would share in power and not feel overshadowed. 

New political parties would also take root. Going from generally left-wing to right, the major factions are:

The Mutualists, who champion economic and land reform, free markets and socialist policies. They are generally socially liberal.

The Progressives, who focus more on social reforms and greater regulations to promote equality.

The Blues, named so for their opposition to the Greens, who are a centrist, strongly pro-industry party. They see industrialization as a means to increasing prosperity and therefore living standards for the poor. They are generally socially liberal and were the biggest voice for desegregation across the Federation.

The Greens, who oppose large scale industrialization at the cost of environmental damage. They are largely concerned with looming climate change and attempts to "maintain the agrarian ideal." They tend to be socially conservative and often harken back to "the good old days."

The Heritage Party, which favors the rights of the landed elites and are largely socially conservative. They feel that the Federation is at risk of losing its Anglo-Saxon heritage and promotes assimilation of minority groups into the dominant culture. Economically, they tend to favor state intervention and regulation on labor and trade.

The Liberals, who support shrinking the Federal bureaucracy, removing regulations and promoting free trade and open borders. They are generally socially liberal.

There are also a large number of localized parties, mainly focused on regional concerns and independence. Some of the largest of these include the Irish People's Party and African League. These parties have sway on individual states and regions, but only rarely break into the national realm. 

As the new Anglo-American Federation took hold and continued to integrate, its commonwealth of associated states would also grow. New World nations such as Brazil, Deseret, Argentina and Texas would continue to be economically dominated by the Federal giant, and even Old World countries such as Morocco and Portugal would become a part of its association of common defense and free trade. As of 2016, just 4 short years before the first Federal Centennial can be celebrated, the Anglo-American Federation continues to be an economic, military, and cultural juggernaut. Its vast territories gives it naval and bases in every ocean and most major seas and military outposts on every continent. It controls global breadbaskets like the American plains and mid-South Africa; vast mineral wealth across Australia and Africa; vast reserves of coal and petroleum; a massive domestic market second only to China; rubber from Malacca, Sabah and other states; and a great number of faactories and industrial infrastructure across the British Isles, American North, and Eastern Africa. The strategically vital canals in Suez and Nicaragua remain under their direct control and serve as both a source of income through trade and a massive asset to their naval might. 

By all measures, the Federation (whose citizens are often informally called 'Feds') will remain the premier global hegemon of the 21st century.