List of fictional states of the United States

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This is a list of fictional states of the United States found in various works of fiction involving the states, insular areas, districts, reservations, or other unincorporated territories.

Fictional states of the United States[]

Fictional states are not as common as fictional cities, counties, or countries; often, a work will invent a fictional city and simply not reveal its state. Occasionally, however, a fictional state is created to house fictional cities, towns, or counties. Typically, a work that features a fictional state will also reveal the names of several cities within that state.

Non-existent states[]

Named U.S. states[]

Comics[]

• Calisota, in the Duck universe from various Walt Disney comic books, Calisota is roughly equivalent to Northern California. It includes the city of Duckburg, and possibly Mouseton, Spoonerville, and St. Canard. The name is likely derived from California and Minnesota, with possible references to the Northern California town of Calistoga.^{[citation needed]}
• , from Bill Willingham's horror comic book of the same name.
• Michisota, from Pierce's fake I.D. in Zits.
• New Guernsey is a surrogate for New Jersey state and/or Jersey City in various fictional contexts, including the Batman comics, television series and films. Like the real New Jersey, the "State of New Guernsey" is named after one of the Channel Islands. (The similarly named "New Guernsey" in the Grand Theft Auto video game series, is only a city, located in the state of Alderney; see below.)

Film[]

• North Montana from Meet the Robinsons (2007); the former country of Canada, in the future.

Law[]

• Ames, the fictitious state in which are set many moot court cases and examination problems at Harvard Law School.
• Midlands, the fictional (supposedly Midwestern) state in which all American Mock Trial Association cases take place.
• Reserve, the fictitious state in which are set many moot courts and mock trial cases at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Literature[]

• Catawba, in Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe, is a fictionalized North Carolina.
• Dakota, in the Southern Victory series by Harry Turtledove. As a result of the Confederate victory in the War of Secession (1861–1862), Dakota remains one unified state instead of being split into two, possibly as a result of the declining influence of the Republican Party. Dakota becomes a stronghold of an ascendant Socialist Party, being the home state of one-term Socialist President, Hosea Blackford.
• Deseret (in real-life, a provisional state proposed in by 1849 by Mormon pioneers)
  • In Ward Moore's Bring the Jubilee, set in a reality where the Confederacy won the American Civil War and the United States became a dysfunctional rump state, is the only prosperous U.S. state, and the only place where polygamy is still practiced.
  • In Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series, the Mormons attempt to gain independence for Utah as Deseret during the Second Mexican War (1881–1882) and the First (1914–1917) and Second Great Wars (1941–1944).
• Dorado in I-0 (1997), a work of interactive fiction.
• Euphoria, in the academic novels of David Lodge, based on California. It first appears in Changing Places (1975), much of which is set in Euphoric State University in the city of Plotinus, itself based on Berkeley, California. Euphoria is located between "North California" and "South California".
• Fremont, a fictional state in James A. Michener's novel Space (1982) located roughly along the border between Kansas and Nebraska, that is meant to stand for the American midwest in general. The origin of its name is clearly stated: "Fremont was the most typical of the great Western states. Named for the flamboyant explorer John Charles Fremont, it had honoured in its four major cities those outstanding politicians of the early 19th century whose interest in the West had helped that vast area become an integral part of the nation." (Webster, Calhoun, Clay, Benton – note the relationship with respectively the two great political parties of the US.)^[1]
• Hohoq, popularly known as Ar in John Hodgman's The Areas of My Expertise (2005), is a large flying state inhabited by a mix of German-American settlers and bird people known as Thunderbirds. It refuses to send a delegate to the United States Congress but provides the federal government with an annual tribute of bauxite. State Motto: "Please do not seek us".
• Houston, in the Southern Victory series by Harry Turtledove. Named after Sam Houston, the western portion of Texas is taken from the Confederate States by the United States after the First Great War (1914–1917) is won by the Central Powers. Its capital is located in Lubbock. Following the First Great War, Houston is in a state of near-constant unrest and elects Freedom Party candidates to the US Congress because of citizens' desires to be restored to the Confederacy. After Union President Al Smith agrees to Confederate President Jake Featherston's request to hold plebiscites in former Confederate states for readmittance into the Confederacy, Houston is readmitted as part of Texas; however, after the Second Great War (1941–1944) and the annexation of the Confederacy by the United States, Houston is recreated and readmitted as a state of the Union, with the independence of the Second Republic of Texas being put into doubt.
• Jefferson, in a series of short works called the State of Jefferson Stories by Harry Turtledove. Based on the borders of the proposed Pacific state, this version was created from parts of northern California and southern Oregon in 1919 rather than in 1941. The state's capital is located in Yreka. Moreover, sasquatch are real, sentient, and are regular members of Jefferson's society.
• Michisota, a fictional state in 's children's book Avalanche Annie: A Not-So-Tall-Tale that is a cross between Michigan and Minnesota, has snowy weather, and a mountain called Mount Himalachia.
• Mickewa, a state represented by Senator Elias Gotobed, in Anthony Trollope' novel The American Senator (1877).
• New Leicester, in My American by Stella Gibbons. The eponymous American comes from "Vine Falls, Paul County, New Leicester".
• New Mexico, in the Southern Victory series by Harry Turtledove. As a result of the Confederate victory in the War of Secession (1861–1862), the State of New Mexico encompasses the real-life states of New Mexico and Arizona, possibly as a result of the declining influence of the Republican Party. Following the First Great War (1914–1917), sections of US-occupied Sonora (a Confederate state) were annexed to New Mexico.
• Ochichornia, in Vasily Aksyonov's semi-biographic novels and stories, relates to the popular Russian song "The Dark Eyes" ("Очи черные", "Ochi Chernie" in Russian).^[2]
• Oconee, a fictional southern state tucked between Georgia and Tennessee, which appeared in Michael Bishop's satirical superhero/fantasy novel . The story is set in Oconee's largest city, Salonika, a Metropolis-like stand-in for Atlanta.
• Pennsyltucky, a state referenced in Tiny Cracker Zoo, by .
• Sequoyah, in the Southern Victory series by Harry Turtledove. A Confederate state in this timeline, Native Americans enjoy a large degree of autonomy in this state and are generally respected by white Confederates. The state is annexed by the United States along with Houston and Kentucky after the First Great War (1914–1917). C.S. President Jake Featherston successfully persuades U.S. President Al Smith to hold referenda in these states to return them to the Confederacy; only Sequoyah votes against re-entry into the Confederacy, becoming one of several casus belli of the Second Great War (1941–1944) in North America.
• Toxoplassachusetts, the state occupied by the "toxoplasmodic hivemind", which constitutes 1/3 of the U.S. population, in John Hodgman's That Is All.^[3]
• Udana. Made up of Utah and Montana, a location on the itinerary of Humbert-Humbert, in Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita (1955).
• Washagon, a state referenced in Robert Grudin's Book: A Novel (1992), clearly a portmanteau of Washington and Oregon.
• Winnemac, in the novels of Sinclair Lewis. Several of his novels are set in the Winnemac town of Zenith, and the University of Winnemac is located in Mohalis. Winnemac is bordered by Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana.

Radio[]

• Malebolgia, in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio Minuet in Hell.

Theatre[]

• Missitucky, in the Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow (1947), with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, which follows one Finian McLonergan from Ireland in the town of Rainbow Valley in the mythical state of Missitucky, intent on burying a stolen pot of gold in the shadows of Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief it will grow and multiply. The name is a portmanteau of Mississippi and Kentucky.

Television[]

• Delmarva, the state in which Beach City is located in Cartoon Network series Steven Universe.^[4] It is based heavily on a peninsula with same name, the meeting point of Delaware, far eastern areas of Maryland, and a small portion of Virginia.
• Kentarkansas, a made-up state in the series All Hail King Julien from Netflix. Its name is based on the U.S. states of Kentucky and Arkansas.
• Keystone, from Keystone Motel (2015); a Steven Universe episode. A fictional version of Pennsylvania.
• Moosylvania, from Jay Ward's Rocky and Bullwinkle television series. This state has been contested by the U.S. and Canada in two episodes of the series, "Moosylvania" and "Moosylvania Saved". The U.S. says it is a province of Canada, while Canada says it is a U.S. state. It is an island in the middle of western Lake Superior. Bullwinkle is governor of Moosylvania. The state's official sport is farkling. Jay Ward even tried to make the 51st state, which he called "Moosylvania", by claiming an island off the coast of the U.S. and Canada for himself and promoting it all over the country. When Ward and his publicist, Howard Brandy, arrived at the White House gate with a proposal and signed petition, the guards told them to leave due to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• New Delaware, mentioned in a January 16, 2013, episode of The Daily Show as a state that doesn't exist anymore—an example for Senate officials who "pick up the wrong state to change the rules with".^[5]
• New Troy

• In Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, is the state wherein Metropolis is located. New Troy is probably analogous to New York State. The name was never used as a state in the comics, which has placed Metropolis in various locations along the eastern coast of the United States over the decades.
• The place name has also been used by writer Mark Gruenwald as a direct analog of New York State for the original version of the Squadron Supreme in assorted Marvel Universe comics series.

• North Texas is referenced on Fringe as a state in the show's alternate universe. A brief shot of a map shows that the Dakotas, Carolinas, and Virginias are each one state, Texas is split in two, Kansas and Oklahoma are combined into a state called "Midland," and the western half of California is missing from the map, although whether the coastline is still part of Mexico or has sunk into the sea is unclear.
• Oklachusetts, from the Seth MacFarlane animated short The Life of Larry (1995). Larry, who would later become Peter Griffin in Family Guy, described it as "where the wind comes sweeping down the Pike".
• Statesota is the state in which Moralton is located in the Adult Swim series Moral Orel. Based on the overhead map viewable during the show's opening credits, Statesota is made up of much of western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
• Wichita, appears in the Spanish humor sketch program La hora de José Mota. Its capital city has the same name: Wichita.^{[citation needed]}

Video games[]

• Columbia (BioShock Infinite), a floating city and former state; controversy over its actions in the Boxer Rebellion prompted its secession.^[6]

• Temperance (Gangsters 2) has an eastern coastline and includes several large islands. It is made up of a combination of urban and upstate areas. The architecture and in particular civic institutions like the police seem largely based on Illinois. It was a dry state during Prohibition.^{[citation needed]}

• The Grand Theft Auto video game franchise features a number of fictional states:^{[citation needed]}
  • Alderney (Grand Theft Auto IV), a parallel of New Jersey which borders Liberty City. It contains the city of New Guernsey.
  • Liberty (Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, and Grand Theft Auto IV) is based on New York and includes the eponymous Liberty City, based on New York City. Liberty is stated to be located somewhere close to Carcer City, a fictional location from another Rockstar Games title, Manhunt.
• North Yankton (Grand Theft Auto V) is based on North Dakota and contains the city of Ludendorff. As with many geographical features in the game, the state's name is derived from a Native American group, the Yankton Sioux Tribe.
  • San Andreas (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto V) is mostly based on central and southern California, with some features of Arizona and Nevada as well. The city of Los Santos appears in both games and is based on Los Angeles. The first game also includes San Fierro (based on San Francisco) and Las Venturas (based on Las Vegas). The name is derived from the San Andreas Fault.

• The Red Dead Redemption video game franchise also features a number of fictional states:^{[citation needed]}
  • Ambarino (Red Dead Redemption 2) is likely based mostly based on Colorado, with the two states' names sharing a similar etymology; in the Spanish language, ambarino means "amber", whereas Colorado means "reddish".
  • Lemoyne Red Dead Redemption 2) is based on Louisiana, with the state capitol being Saint Denis (a parody of New Orleans).
  • New Austin (Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2) is a desert state mostly based on Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. It contains the city of Armadillo and borders the fictional Mexican state of Nuevo Paraíso.
  • New Hanover (Red Dead Redemption 2) is an amalgamation of the American Heartlands, the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in eastern Colorado, and the Ouachita and Ozarks regions of eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and southern Missouri.
  • West Elizabeth (Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2) is an amalgamation of the Great Plains region in Oklahoma and Texas, with a sequoia forest resembling the Calaveras Big Trees State Park in northern California, and mountain ranges similar to several regions of the Rocky Mountains, including the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico and the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It contains the city of Blackwater.

• West Dakota from Sam & Max: Save the World is a state created shortly after the Soda Poppers won the Dakotas governor election. Whizzer was its Governor.^{[citation needed]}

Unnamed U.S. states[]

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• Cherokee State appears on the license plates on the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle; this is likely intended to be a state nickname.^{[citation needed]}
• Eagle State likewise appears on license plates on the television series Desperate Housewives.^{[citation needed]}
• Hooterville, claimed in an episode of Green Acres "A Home Isn't Built in a Day" (S02 E11) to be a state named after Rutherford B. Skrug, its first governor. In the Green Acres episode "One of Our Assemblymen is Missing" (S01 E06) Oliver Douglas visits the unnamed state's governor, who presents him with a souvenir of "The Kangaroo State", a toy kangaroo. However, Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies place Hooterville in Missouri.^{[citation needed]}
• Sideburn State appears on license plates on the television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete.^{[citation needed]}
• Sill. is the abbreviation for the state containing Lichfield in the works of James Branch Cabell.^{[citation needed]}
• Unnamed State in The Simpsons contains Springfield, Shelbyville, and Capital City from The Simpsons. Producer/director David Silverman once unofficially named Springfield's setting as being in the fictional state of North Takoma. In the episode "Duffless" Homer's driver's license states that the postal abbreviation of their home state is "NT". In "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", there is a montage with essayists from different states presenting their work, while the camera pans over a U.S. map. When the map moves to Springfield for Lisa's contribution, we can see the abbreviation "NT" over the state that Springfield is in. In The Simpsons Movie (2007), Flanders and Bart are at the top of a mountain, where Flanders states you can see the four states that border Springfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine and Kentucky. In the episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade", it is stated that the state bird is the pot-bellied finch, the state pasta is futicelli, and the state flag is a Confederate flag rising above an ocean (an embarrassment considering this state was Northern). However, in the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish", the flag of the state is depicted as a green, white, and red triband with a blue star and the caption "NOT JUST ANOTHER STATE". The state practices capital punishment.
• Unnamed State in Joe Klein's 1996 novel and 1998 film Primary Colors, also referred to in the sequel The Running Mate (2000), is a small southern state and home to Governor Jack Stanton (D), whose hometown is Grace Junction. Its capital is Mammoth Falls. Unnamed State is allegorical to Arkansas, and Jack Stanton represents Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. In the film, the state flag as seen waving from the gubernatorial mansion appears to resemble the Confederate battle flag albeit with the colours red and blue inverted.
• Unnamed State in Joe Klein's novel The Running Mate (2000) is a Midwestern state and the home state of Senator Charlie Martin (D). Des Pointe is the state capital, largest city and hometown of Senator Martin, but many other locations in the state are mentioned. Industrial centers are Port Sallesby and Singer Rapids. Stated to have 53 counties. Charlie Martin is partially based on Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, but Nebraska and several other Midwestern states are mentioned separately, leaving the identity of Martin's home state unclear.
• Unnamed State, in Sinclair Lewis' novel It Can't Happen Here (1935), is a Western state and home state of dictatorial President Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip. Windrip's secretary and chief assistant Lee Sarason is described as having been, at the beginning of Windrip's rise, managing editor of the most widely circulated paper in this state's region.

Alternative representations of The United States[]

51st state[]

"51st state" (and related terms) has been used in books and film, usually in a negative sense:

• In Americathon (1979), set in a fictional 1998, Britain (renamed as Limeyland) has become the 57th state, and the logo of the Safeway grocery chain hangs on the Palace of Westminster.
• In the alternative universe of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen, the Vietnam War ends with the conquest of the North and annexation of a united Vietnam as the 51st state.
• In the novel 51st State (1998) by Peter Preston, Britain leaves the European Union and becomes the 51st state of the United States.
• In The Light of Other Days (2000), a novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, Britain joins the United States, with the Prime Minister serving as governor and the Royal Family exiled to Australia.
• The British film The 51st State (released in the United States and Canada as Formula 51), makes fun of Anglo-American relations.
• State 51 is an upside-down, floating state featured in the Marvel Comics series Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E..
• Saudi Israelia. From the Simpsons episode "Future-Drama", which takes place in the future. Bart's future girlfriend mentions it as the 51st state. Named after Saudi Arabia and Israel.

North American Union[]

The flag used in alternate histories where the American Revolution either failed or never occurred, such as The Two Georges, is like the US Grand Union Flag.

The Two Georges world map: British Empire (red); Franco-Spanish "Holy Alliance" (pink); Portuguese territory (orange); Austrian Empire (purple); Sweden (green); Danish Empire (cyan); Russian Empire (indigo).

Territorial evolution of the Confederation of North America in the world of For Want of a Nail.

• North American Union, a theoretical economic and political union of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The concept is based on continental union-theory (such as the European Union), occasionally including a common currency called the Amero or the North American Dollar. A union of the North American continent, sometimes extending to Central America and Union of South American Nations, has been the subject of academic concepts for over a century, as well as becoming a common trope in science fiction.
• The Hunger Games – The nation of Panem rules North America in place of the governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico, which failed to survive.^[7]
• The Two Georges – For more than two centuries, what would have become the continental United States, Canada and Baja California has been the North American Union, a self-governing dominion encompassing the northern portion of the continent except Alaska, retained under the rule of Russia. The Two Georges, a Gainsborough painting, commemorates the agreement between George Washington and King George III that created this part of the British Empire. The painting itself has become a symbol of national unity. The NAU comprises several provinces.
  • Albertus: Encompassing Alberta and west-central Montana, it is named after Prince Albert
  • Baffin: Encompassing the North West Territories (minus the southeastern section) and northwestern Nunavut as well as the Victoria and King William Islands
  • Banksia: Analogous with Yukon
  • Canada: Analogous with Ontario
  • Cherokee Nation: Encompassing Northern Mississippi, northwestern Alabama, a northeastern part of Louisiana, and part of southeastern Arkansas, it is the tribal land of the Cherokee tribe
  • Connecticut
  • Cranmer: Encompassing Texas (minus the eastern section) and Oklahoma (minus the southeastern section), it is named after Thomas Cranmer
  • Delaware
  • Disraeli: Encompassing Southeastern Idaho, eastern Nevada, all of Utah, and western Colorado, it is named after Benjamin Disraeli
  • Florida: Encompassing Florida, possibly the Bahamas, the portions of Alabama and Mississippi bordering the Gulf of Mexico, and the Florida Parishes of Louisiana
  • Franklin: Analogous with Kentucky, it is named after Benjamin Franklin
  • Georgia: Encompassing Georgia and most of Alabama
  • Hanover: Encompassing eastern Montana, southwestern South Dakota, all of Wyoming, and eastern Colorado and Nebraska north of the Platte River, it is named after the Kingdom of Hanover, which was in personal union with the United Kingdom until 1837
  • Hudsonia: Encompassing Nunavut (minus the northwestern section and the Victoria and King William Islands) and the southeastern section of the Northwest Territories, it is named after nearby Hudson Bay
  • Illinois
  • Louisiana: Encompassing Louisiana (minus the Florida Parishes and the northeastern part), central Mississippi, eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Arkansas
  • Lower California: Encompassing Baja California Peninsula
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts: Encompasses Massachusetts and Maine
  • Miami: Analogous with Ohio, it is named after the Miami tribe
  • Mississippi: Encompasses Iowa, western Minnesota west of the Mississippi River, southeastern North Dakota, South Dakota east of the Missouri River, and Missouri north of the Missouri River
  • Missouri: Encompasses Missouri south of the Missouri River, northern Arkansas, all of Kansas, and Nebraska south of the Platte River
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland: Analogous with Newfoundland and Labrador
  • New Guernsey: Encompassing Wisconsin, Minnesota east of the Mississippi River, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it is named after Guernsey Island in the English Channel
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Scotland: Encompasses Nova Scotia and possibly Prince Edward Island, with New Scotland being a literal translation of the Latin name.
  • New York: Encompasses New York (minus the western section), but includes all of Vermont
  • North Carolina
  • Ontario: Encompasses Manitoba, northeastern North Dakota, and northwestern Minnesota
  • Oregon: Encompasses Oregon and Washington, most of Idaho, a small chunk of northwestern Nevada, and northwestern Montana
  • Pennsylvania: Encompasses Pennsylvania (minus the north-central section)
  • Phoenix: Encompasses Arizona and New Mexico
  • Quebec
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • The Six Nations: Encompassing the western portion of New York State and a portion of north-central Pennsylvania, it is named after the "Six Nations" Iroquois tribes, being the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora people.
  • Tippecanoe: Analogous with Indiana
  • Upper California: Encompasses California and western Nevada
  • Vancouver: Encompasses British Columbia
  • Virginia: Encompasses Virginia and West Virginia
  • Washington: Encompassing Saskatchewan, eastern Montana, western North Dakota, and northwestern South Dakota, it is named after George Washington
  • Wilberforce: Encompassing the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, it is named after William Wilberforce
• Southern Victory series – After Confederate secession in 1862 and its defeat in the Second Mexican War (1881–1882), the United States adopts a 'Remembrance' foreign policy against the Confederacy, Great Britain and France (similar to revanchism) and allies itself with the German Empire and later the Central Powers. By the end of the First Great War (1914–1917), the United States grant statehood to Kentucky and Houston, annexes parts of Virginia, Arkansas and Confederate Sonora, grant territorial status to Sequoyah and the Sandwich Islands, occupy most of Canada (Quebec being made a U.S. puppet state), Newfoundland, the Bahamas and Bermuda and suppress the Mormon uprising in Utah; it was stated that none of the Canadian provinces other than Quebec would be admitted as states. By the end of the Second Great War (1941–1944), the United States has occupied the extraterritorial Mexican state of Baja California and begins the reincorporation of the Confederacy (including the purchased Confederate states of Sonora, Chihuahua and Cuba). By 1944, the United States occupied most of North America, with the exceptions of the Republic of Quebec, the Republic of Texas, the Empire of Mexico and Russian America.
• Futurama – In the episode , Professor Farnsworth travels back in time using the fluid used to preserve the heads of historical figures and attempts to prevent the treasonous actions of his ancestor David Farnsworth. When burning counterfeit currency, Fry unwittingly stole a lantern from the Old North Church, leading Paul Revere to mistakenly warn of a British attack from land rather than by sea. As a result, Great Britain won the American Revolutionary War and by 3011, all of North America (including the continental United States, Canada, Alaska and Central America) was eventually unified as 'West Britannia' and the Farnsworths are a ducal family whose members have served as consorts for the British Royal family. The original timeline was restored by the end of the episode.
• For Want of a Nail – Written by Robert Sobel, the novel (written as an undergraduate-level history textbook) depicts the failure of the American War of Independence owing to John Burgoyne's victory at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 and the negotiation of a truce by Continental Congressional Conciliationists in 1778. The Confederation of North America is established by 1843, comprising a number of smaller confederations.
  • The Northern Confederation: A union of the Middle and New England Colonies.
  • The Southern Confederation: A union of the Southern Colonies.
  • Indiana: A territory encompassing the real-life East North Central states (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin), analogous with the U.S. Northwest Territory.
  • Manitoba: A territory encompassing real-life Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, eastern Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
  • North Vandalia: The northern half of the former Louisiana Territory.
  • South Vandalia: The southern half of the former Louisiana Territory.

Both Nova Scotia and Quebec, whilst still parts of the British Empire, are independent of the CNA.

• Sliders – In the episode Prince of Wails, the Sliders visit a reality where Great Britain successfully suppressed the American War of Independence, establishing the British States of America at some point thereafter. The BSA's exact territorial extent is never specified with the episode being set entirely in San Francisco, itself depicted as the capital.

The United States of Canada[]

Map of the United States of Canada (in blue) and Jesusland (in red)

• Jesusland map, an Internet meme created after the 2004 United States Presidential election, which satirizes the red/blue states scheme by dividing the United States and Canada into "The United States of Canada" and "Jesusland".^[8] The map implies the existence of a fundamental political divide between contiguous northern and southern regions of North America, the former including both the socially liberal Canada (sometimes excluding Alberta) and the West Coast, northeastern, and north-Midwestern states of the US, and suggests that these states are closer in spirit to Canada than to the more conservative regions of their own country.

The United States, Inc.[]

The world of Jennifer Government. USA territories are shown in dark blue.

• Jennifer Government (written by Max Barry), a novel, is set in a dystopian alternate reality in which The United States has taken over the entire Western Hemisphere and are dominated by for-profit corporate entities while the government's^[9] political power is extremely limited.^[10]

Collections of existing states as independent sovereign nations[]

Geopolitical variations of sovereign states or nations in North America are a recurring theme due to historical debates regarding partition and secession movements. This is an especially common trope in works of alternative historical fiction involving the United States, which ultimately Balkanizes the country into a series of autonomous commonwealths.

Confederate States of America-variants[]

The Confederate States and Allied Powers (green) of World War I vs. the United States and Central Powers (yellow). Results: the United States and German Empire are the dominant regional great powers; the resulting reparations and annexation of sovereign territories under the Treaty of Versailles inevitably set the stage for World War II.

The United States vs. the Confederate States during World War II. Results: the American Empire, German Empire, and Japanese Empire are the -only- surviving global superpowers. The Confederate States of America ceases to exist after Richmond, Virginia is destroyed by the first atomic bomb and is put into "political limbo".

Flag of the Freedom Party.

Map of the Golden Circle with its possible subdivisions. The rest of the Confederate States of America is in light/pale-green.

• Southern Victory novel series by Harry Turtledove, where the United States and the Confederate States maintain an eighty-year rivalry. After the U.S. triumphs over the C.S. in an alternate World War I, fictional character Jake Featherston becomes President of the Confederate States of America, acting as the fictional timeline's equivalent of Adolf Hitler, thereby bring about the CSA's final defeat and annexation at the climax of an alternate World War II.
• Captain Confederacy, an alternate history comic book by Will Shetterly and Vince Stone (published between 1986 and 1992), tells the story of an African-American superhero created for propaganda purposes in a world in which the Confederate States of America won their independence.
• Bring the Jubilee alternate history novel, and the similarly themed movie C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, a 2004 mockumentary directed by Kevin Willmott, explore the results of a Southern victory in the American Civil War. It features a fictional "tongue-in-cheek" political-mockumentary account of an alternate history in which the Confederates, established the new Confederate States of America. Both works posit the Golden Circle as a plan enacted after the war; it incorporates the former United States, Mexico, Caribbean and nearly half of South-America not annexed by the Empire of Brazil.^[11]
• Fire on the Mountain by Terry Bisson is set in an alternate timeline whereby John Brown's raid in Harper's Ferry was more successful due to tactical advice from Harriet Tubman, resulting in a slave and abolitionist rebellion during the 1860s which led to the secession of the Southern states as Nova Africa and the reannexation of territory lost by Mexico during the Mexican American War. By 1959, the United States has been reformed into the 'U.S.S.A.', one of many socialist nations in a worldwide utopia.
• North American Confederacy States (NAC), an alternate history series of novels created by L. Neil Smith, ostensible point of divergence is the addition of a single word in the preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence, wherein it states that governments "...derive their just power from the unanimous consent of the governed." Inspired by this wording, Albert Gallatin intercedes in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 to the benefit of the farmers, rather than the fledgling United States government. This eventually leads to the overthrowing and execution of George Washington by firing squad for treason, the abrogation of the U.S. Constitution, and the reestablishment of government under the revised Articles of Confederation, but with a much greater emphasis on individual and economic freedom. Gallatin's actions would eventually lead to the US to merge with its neighbors to form the North American Confederacy in the 1890s.
• Russian Amerika, the alternate history novel, has 20th-century North America made up of several independent sovereign nations:^[12] The point of divergence is that the United States lost the Civil War with the Confederacy; and as a post-war consequence, the Union loses all ground west of the Mississippi River as American-claimed western lands secede from the Union.
  • United States of America (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, the majority of Illinois, and Quebec south of the St Lawrence River.)
  • Confederate States of America (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, the southwestern portion of Illinois, the eastern half of Kansas, Cuba, and Hispaniola.)
  • Republic of Texas (Texas, Oklahoma, and eastern New Mexico)
  • First People's Nation (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Arizona, the westernmost portion of New Mexico, the western half of Kansas, the central and southwestern portion of Ontario, and the southernmost portion of Manitoba.)
  • Deseret (Utah and the northeastern portion of Nevada.)
  • Republic of California (California, Oregon, and the majority of Nevada.)
  • French Canada (Quebec north of the St Lawrence River, Newfoundland, Labrador, and the northeastern portion of Ontario.)
  • (Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Washington state, the northwestern portion of Ontario, the southeastern portion of the Yukon Territory, and the majority of British Columbia and Manitoba.)
  • New Spain (Mexico and Central America.)
  • Danish America (Greenland)
  • Russian Amerika (Alaska, the majority of the Yukon Territory, and the northwestern portion of British Columbia.)

Post-partition United States, as seen in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG and Appleseed.

• American Empire (米帝, Beitei, AE), a fictional country appearing in Masamune Shirow's anime and manga series' Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed, consists primarily of the American states that had formed the Confederate States of America, plus parts of the Great Plains and Southwest. After the end of World War III, the United States is partitioned by an unspecified process into three countries: the American Empire, the Russo-American Alliance (米露連合, Bei-Ro Rengō, in pre-1991 materials, the Ameri-Soviet Union (米ソ連合, Bei-So Rengō)), and the rump state United States of America (アメリカ合衆国, Amerika Gasshūkoku). The American Empire is the only successor state to play a major role in world politics. Its government seems driven by Golden Circle ideology and a desire to restore its diminished power and prestige, towards which end it adopts a policy of militarist aggression and open imperialism, directed primarily against Latin America.

Fractured States of America-variants[]

• The Disunited States of America: The United States dissolved in the early 1800s due to the Constitutional Convention failing. The nations of North America including a number of former U.S. states or alternate reality analogues, which have frequently been engaged in a series of small wars since the 1800s. National dissolution was also affected Canada and Mexico.
  • Alabama
  • Baja
  • Boone, a state consisting of what would have been Tennessee and eastern Kentucky.
  • Carolina, a state created by the reunion of North Carolina and South Carolina.
  • California
  • Deseret
  • Florida, mentioned as having been dissolved after the 'Florida Intervention'.
  • Mississippi, a black supremacist state created after a Black Insurrection sometime during the 1970s.
  • Oregon
  • Russian America, known for its oil production.
  • Texas, an oil-producing state.
  • Virginia, a state which competes with Ohio over coal reserves due to its retention of its western counties.
  • Wabash, a state analogous with Indiana.
• The Valley-Westside War: A world in which nuclear warfare took place in 1967. Los Angeles and the rest of the United States are split into several tiny republics, kingdoms, city states, etc.

Rump States of America-variants[]

USA divided in three parts: The Japanese Pacific States in the west, Das Große Nazi Reich (The Great Nazi Empire) in the east and The Rocky Mountain States (or The Neutral Zone) in the middle

• The Man in the High Castle: Giuseppe Zangara's assassination of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 led to the weak governments of John Nance Garner (formerly FDR's Vice President), and subsequently of Republican John W. Bricker in 1941. Both politicians failed to lead the country to recovery from the Great Depression and also maintained the country's isolationist policy against participating in the Second World War; thus, the U.S. had insufficient military capabilities to assist the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany, or to defend itself against Japan in the Pacific. After the war, the United States is divided between the Japanese-controlled Pacific States of America along the West Coast, the Nazi-occupied United States east of the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains States which acts as a buffer zone between the two empires in North America.
• In the TV miniseries Amerika, the post-invasion United States is divided into multiple "administrative areas" following its annexation by the Soviet Union:

Ameritech: (presumably named after the telecommunications company): Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania

Appalachia: Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia

California Special District: California, Nevada

Central: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska (at the climax of the series, this area is carved out of the United States as a new country called Heartland)

Mid-Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

North Central: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Northeastern: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

Northwest: Oregon, Washington

South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

Southern: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi

Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico

Western Semi-Autonomous: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming

In addition to these areas, Washington, D.C. constitutes its own National Administrative District, South Florida is described by a character as the "Space Zone," and there is a passing reference to three "International Cities," one of which is San Francisco. Michigan is separated into two administrative regions, with the Lower Peninsula belonging to Ameritech, and the Upper Peninsula belonging to the North Central region. Alaska is mentioned as never having been pacified, requiring continued engagement by Soviet troops, and there are pockets of armed resistance in the Rocky Mountains and in West Virginia. There is no mention of what happened to Hawaii or to U.S. Territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa.

• Coalition States: a fascist empire founded upon the post-apocalyptic ruins of the American Midwest in the Rifts role-playing game.^[13]
• The Alteration, written by Kingsley Amis, set in an alternate universe where the Protestant Reformation never occurred owing to the prevention of Henry VIII's succession to the English throne and the ascension to the Papacy of both Martin Luther and Thomas More; by 1976, Catholicism and the Papacy dominate most of the Western World. During the course of the book, a number of countries and territories are mentioned.

• Republic of New England – the breakaway country which is the greatest extent to which Schismatic theology has spread. It includes such locations as Cramneria, Hussville, Waldsdenia, Arnoldstown and Wycliffe City. A 'First Citizen' acts as the secular head (Joseph Rudyard Kipling is mentioned as being 'First Citizen between 1914 and 1918) and the Archpresbytor of Arnoldstown acts as the head of the church. New England is scientifically more advanced and culturally freer than the Papal Realms (having invented heavier-than-air flight and allowing the performance of Shakespeare's plays) but practices a harsh penal system and a system of apartheid between whites and Native Americans.
• Louisiana – Mentioned as having fought a war against New England circa 1848. It is not mentioned whether it is a district of New France or an independent country.
• Mexico – Mentioned as having fought a war against New England circa 1848. Mexico is an independent empire existing alongside New Spain.
• Quebec – A French colony.
• Florida – A Spanish colony.
• New Muscovy – A colony of Muscovy, analogous with Alaska.

A novel-within-a-novel is mentioned, an alternate version of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle depicting an alternate reality where the Protestant Reformation occurred. In 1848, England's American colonies revolt and win their independence, going on to conquer all of North America except for New Muscovy and Spanish Florida.

• The Handmaid's Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is set during an indeterminate point in the then-future (approximately 2005, the book having been published in 1985). It is set primarily in the Christian fundamentalist theonomy of the Republic of Gilead. In the novel, the only given details of its territorial extent are its setting in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the African-American 'National Homelands' located in the Midwest and the 'Colonies' (assorted agricultural districts and areas of fatal pollution worked by 'Unwomen').

In the television series, however, the Republic of Gilead is shown via a map to occupy the former continental United States minus territories held by rebel militias. A rump United States exists, consisting of the extraterritorial states of Hawaii and Alaska (the capital being relocated to Anchorage) and an American diaspora in Canada; the new United States flag shows forty-eight of the fifty stars in its blue canton as white outlines, presumably representing those states lost to Gilead.

• The Difference Engine, co-authored by William Gibson and Bruce Stirling, is set in an alternate 1855 where the timeline diverged in 1824 with Charles Babbage's completion of his Difference Engine. The information technology revolution occurs in the Victorian Era and the British Empire is the world's leading power.

The British Empire interfered in North American affairs, causing the United States to fragment to prevent it from becoming a world power. The following nations are mentioned.

• The United States – The rump state left after fragmentation.
• The Confederate States — The exiled British hereditary nobility are mentioned as having formed a community in Charleston.
• Manhattan Commune
• Republic of California
• Republic of Texas – Sam Houston appears in the novel as the exiled Texian President, having been replaced by a military junta.
• British North America – This is slighter large than in reality.
• Russian America
• Mexico – Under the occupation of the Second French Empire.
• Terra Nullius – This consists mostly of the Missouri Territory and is ruled by different Native American nations.

• Fallout, a retro-futuristic United States setting influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s America, and its combination of hope for the promises of technology and lurking fear of nuclear annihilation. Since the end of The Great War, the United States ultimately dissolves, with various territories broadly referred as the "Wasteland" or simply the "Wastes".

• The Brotherhood of Steel is a neo-knightly order founded by deserters of the U.S. Armed Forces shortly before the Great War. They are probably the most widely-spread faction in post-war America, however many Brotherhood divisions have differing ideologies and practices, due to this they vary from location such as the Mojave Chapter and the East Coast Brotherhood. They have appeared in every Fallout game to date, and are the main focus of Fallout: Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

• The Enclave is a secretive, militaristic organization established after the Great War, founded by descendants of the pre-War United States government and its military-industrial complex. They consider themselves the legal continuation of the U.S. government and continuously plot their resurgence. They are the main antagonists of Fallout 2, Fallout 3, and its add-on Broken Steel. Remnants of the Enclave's west coast division appear as a faction in Fallout: New Vegas and the Enclave are mentioned by a former Enclave soldier turned follower for the Children of Atom in Fallout 4's add-on Far Harbor.

• The Commonwealth is what is left of the pre-Great War State of Massachusetts in New England Commonwealth of the United States in the alternate history of the Fallout universe. Most of it is a "war-ravaged quagmire of violence and despair" like much of the rest of the former United States, but it is also where Boston is located. It was first mentioned in Fallout 3 and later appeared in Fallout 4.

• Caesar's Legion is an autocratic, ultra-reactionary, utilitarian slaver army founded in 2247 by Edward Sallow and Joshua Graham. It is largely inspired and partially based on the ancient Roman Empire, though it isn't the Roman Empire or the Roman Republic or even its military, the Legion. It is a slave army with trappings of foreign-conscripted Roman legionaries during the late empire. All military, no civilian, and with none of the supporting civilian culture. It appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

• The New California Republic (NCR) is a federal presidential republic founded in New California by Aradesh. Comprising five contiguous states, territories and holdings in pre-War regions in Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and parts of Mexico, the Republic dedicates itself to the values of the old world: democracy, liberty, and the rule of law. It was founded in 2186, is mentioned in Fallout 3, and appears in Fallout 2 & Fallout: New Vegas.

• Shi is a post-apocalyptic nation that is against post-war politics, and uses some of the Chinese culture, such as their ancestors' customs, clothing, language and demeanor. The younger generations, however, seem to rely more on the surviving popular culture interpretations of Chinese culture (such as kung-fu holovideos), rather than actual cultural traditions. It only appears in Fallout 2 and flashback in memories by remains of Kellogg's brain Fallout 4.

• Republic of Dave (formerly Kingdom of Tom, Kingdom of Larry, the Republic of Stevie-Ray, Billsylvania, and the New Republic of Stevie-Ray) is a small farming settlement in the far northeast corner of the Capital Wasteland (Fallout 3) that is considered by its close-knit inhabitants to be a sovereign nation-state. This nation is actually closer to a Micronation, because since on-off monarchies and republics with an only family control it, and they only had one citizen working as a teacher or merchant (optional) during the game. This "Nation" only appears in Fallout 3.

• The Free Economic Zone of New Vegas is a faction led by Robert House in New Vegas. Although it is formally founded if House establishes sovereignty over the Mojave, in practice, it exists in a practical capacity throughout Mr House's rule in New Vegas.

• Shattered Union, on Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., a low-yield tactical nuclear weapon is detonated, destroying most of the city and effectively wiping out the presidential line of succession. The European Union sends peacekeepers to the New York and Washington metropolitan areas to secure international interests, while the Russian Federation invades and occupies Alaska (under the pretense of "expanded humanitarian operations"). As wave of secessionist sentiment rises in America; the governor of California declares home rule and secedes from the Union on April 15, 2013. Texas follows a few days later, taking neighboring states with it and re-forming the Republic of Texas. Other factions form in the following months, and by 2014, all hopes for a peaceful resolution are gone, and the Second American Civil War begins.
• Countries in Jericho

• Allied States of America: A country in the television series Jericho that forms after nuclear weapons are detonated in many of the United States' major cities. Its capital is Cheyenne, Wyoming, and it controls all of the states west of the Mississippi River, with the exception of Texas.

• Republic of Texas: A country that was formerly the state of Texas and has the same borders. Its capital is San Antonio because Dallas and Houston were destroyed.

• United States of America: A country in the television series Jericho. It is only a fictional country because it only rules over the states east of the Mississippi River. Its capital is Columbus, Ohio.

• 

  Flag of the Allied States of America

• 

  Flag of the United States of America (Same flag the real United States currently uses).

• 

  Flag of the Republic of Texas (Same flag the real State of Texas currently uses).

• 

  Map with the three countries:
  Allied States of America
  United States of America
  Republic of Texas

Other collections of independent states[]

Assumed location of Panem's Districts in comparison with the current administrative divisions of the United States; the rise of the oceans and the overflow beyond the American borders not being taken in account.

  The Capitol

  District 1 (luxury items)

  District 2 (masonry, weaponry, law enforcement units)

  District 3 (electronics)

  District 4 (pisciculture, commercial fishing)

  District 5 (hydroelectric power)

  District 6 (transportation)

  District 7 (forestry, lumber)

  District 8 (textiles)

  District 9 (agriculture [grain])

  District 10 (agriculture [livestock])

  District 11 (agriculture [fruits and vegetables])

  District 12 (mining [coal])

  District 13 (mining [graphite], military technology, nuclear technology)

• The Hunger Games takes place in the fictional nation of Panem, which has replaced the 21st century North American nations at an unspecified future time after a series of ecological disasters and a great war.^{[14][citation not found]} The name Panem comes from the Latin word for bread.^{[15][citation not found]} Panem consists of a Capitol city located in the Rocky Mountains,^{[16][citation not found]} surrounded by thirteen outlying Districts. The government is a totalitarian dictatorship similar to ancient Rome, a police state in which the Districts are subservient to the Capitol, expected to provide economic goods in exchange for protection provided by "Peacekeepers".
• The comic book Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew took place in the "United Species of America" on the parallel world of Earth-C; the comic featured several analogs of real US states, including:
  • Taxes, nicknamed "the Lone Stork State"; an analogue of Texas. Taxes was the home of supervillain Armordillo, as well as the cities of "Hogston" and "San Antoadio."
  • Kornsas, in the midwest; an analogue of Kansas.
  • Califurnia, on the western coast of the U.S.; an analogue of California. This state featured the cities "Saint Bernardino," "Beaverly Hills," "Follywood," and "Los Antelopes." The Zoo Crew's headquarters was located in Follywood; the city was also the home of team members Yankee Poodle and Rubberduck.
• The episode of the animated series Futurama entitled "Bendin' in the Wind" showed some maps of the US in the year 3000. Many states were humorously respelled (such as "eHIO" for Ohio). The map also showed two new states: Pennsylvania being divided into the Penn Republic and Sylvania, parodying the breakup of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Other humorous states, such as "East West Virginia," are included. Most of the series takes place in , which the episode "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" confirms is the name of both the state and city.
• The animated series The Flintstones presented a few "prehistoric" versions of modern-day states, including:
  • Texarock: A prehistoric version of Texas (though the name "Texas" was also used interchangeably).
  • Arkanstone: A prehistoric version of Arkansas; the former home of various hillbilly ancestors of Fred Flintstone, as well as their rivals, the Hatrock family. Bears a (probably coincidental) similarity to the name of the Arkenstone.
  • New Rock: A prehistoric version of New York.
• In Orson Scott Card's The Tales of Alvin Maker series, the United States exists as a much smaller nation, between the area of New England and the Crown Colonies which extend from roughly Virginia south to Georgia. The nation has a significantly higher Iroquois and Dutch influence than in the real world. Member states include:
  • Irrakwa
  • New Holland
  • New Orange
  • New Sweden
  • Pennsylvania
  • Suskwahenny
• Barry Shils' 1991 film Motorama contains a number of fictional states, which appear to be in the southwestern US. Three of these (Mercer, Bergen, and Essex) are counties in New Jersey. In order of appearance, they are:
  • Mercer (nickname: The Frontier State)
  • South Lydon (nickname: The Lonesome State)
  • Tristana (nickname: The Green State)
  • Bergen (nickname: The Long State)
  • Vetner (no nickname given)
  • Essex (nickname: The Last State)
• State Nº51. In John Katzenbach's novel "Games of Wits", this state is ruled by a dictatorship. This state is described as square in shape and includes the territory of several other states, including:
  • Nevada
  • Utah
  • Oregon
  • Idaho
  • California.

See also[]

• 51st state
• The United States of Canada

References[]

External links[]

• Lammle, Rob (June 23, 2014). "The U.S. Map With Only 38 States". Mental Floss.