Northeast Union


 * This country is a part of Altverse.

The Northeast Union, officially known as the The Northeastern Union of Hudson and New England, abbreviated as NU, is a  located in the northeast of. It consists of the historical countries Hudson and New England and is the successor state of the two. A, it is comprised of thirteen.

The country shares borders with the United Commonwealth to the south, Quebec to the west and the Maritime Federation to the north. With an area of 336,446 km² (130,733 sq. mi.), the NU is 65th largest country in the world, making it slightly larger than, but smaller than. In 2011, the NU had a population of 40,564,869, thus making it the 27th most populous country in the world, putting it with a population greater than, but less than.

The contemporary NU has been at the forefront of international politics as a. It has a with a very high standard of living. The NU is a member of the CAS, the LN, the, and. It is also global partners with the. Home to a rich culture, the Northeast Union is renowned internationally for its contributions to the sciences and technology, arts, music, literature, and sports. It's largest cities, Boston and New York City, are popular tourist destination in North America.

British and Dutch Colonies
The first colonies in the modern NU were established by Pilgrims on the Mayflower who arrived via Holland in 1620, who created the Plymouth colony at the site of modern Plymouth, Massachussetts. The colony expanded to include the entirety of Cape Cod and southeastern Massachussetts. Other English colonies were founded in the modern territory of the NU, including the Massachussetts Bay Colony around Boston in 1828, the Province of New Hampshire around Portsmouth in 1830, the New Haven Colony around New Haven, the Connecticut Colony around Harford and the Rhode Island Colony around Providence, all  in 1836.

In modern Hudson, the Dutch built the colony of New Netherlands, based around New Amsterdam, was founded in 1614 based around the Hudson and Delaware river valleys. These colonies were successful for the beaver fur industry, but were ceded to Britain for the first time in 1667 and then again after a Dutch reconquest in 1674, transforming the city of New Amsterdam into New York.

The region was caught up in King Philip's War, where the New English colonists fought against the Wampanoag tribe of Metacomet, called King Philip. While King Philip was defeated in Southern New England in 1676, modern Maine was plagued by attacks for decades to come.

In 1686, King James II of England instituted the Dominion of New England, which included the aforementioned colonies which make part of the modern Northeastern Union, as well as New Jersey. This was to reduce the independence of the colonies from the English motherland. However, inner conflict against the dominion governor Sir Edmund Andros, especially in the Connecticut Colony, led to the disintegration of Dominion of New England in 1687. New England was also sight of many colonial wars between the French and the British.

After the Glorious Revolution, the colonies were appointed Royal Governors, which led to tensions between the colonists and the self-serving governors, who wanted absolute power within their colonies. Years of abuse by the governors, high taxes imposed by the British government and Britain sending prisoners to the New World disgruntled many of the settlers, which led to the Revolutionary War.

Revolutionary War
In 1773, the Massachussetts Colony's governor Thomas Hutchinson was involved in a scandal in which private letters detailing derogatory terms towards the colonists, including among others that the colonists were not to be treated the same as British citizens in England, by Benjamin Franklin, the postmaster of the colonies. The affair led to the firing of Franklin. With tensions already high due to the tea tax, this scandal served to be a direct reason for the Boston Tea Party, the instigator of the American Revolution.

On December 16th, 1773, a group of men led by Samuel Adams called the Sons of LIberty stormed a British East India Company ship and threw £10,000  worth of tea into Boston's harbor in a protest against the tea tax. In response, the British parliament instated punitive measures against the Massachussetts Colony, including the closing of port of Boston. An underground movement for the colonies' independence existed in the underground, and the British attack on them in Concord in 1775 sparked the Revolutionary War.

While at first succesful, with the Battle of Bunker Hill being won by the Americans, the British army, aided by German auxiliaries and mercenaries, managed to defeat George Washington at Long Island and occupied the New York Colony. Further attempts at keeping the colony, however, failed, as the Saratoga Campaign to keep control of the Hudson River failed after the Battles of Saratoga.

In the long run, the British troops were forced to keep themselves in the occupied parts of the New York Colony and the Providence Plantations. The Americans fought around Rhode Island, New York and Maine in unsuccessful bids, leading to the United States' greatest loss before it's collapse, the Penobscot Expedition.

After the Peace of Paris and the Treaty of Paris, New York City was retaken by American troops after British troops left during Evacuation Day. The last shot of the war happened during the event, when a British soldier shot from a ship towards a jeering crowd on Staten Island. However, the shot didn't reach the shore. Thus did the modern NU become part of the United States of America.

US Rule
Even though the US controlled the vast majority of the modern NU, it didn't control one sliver: Vermont. Vermont was since the beginning of the American Revolution an independent state, due to New York claiming control over the region. Thus, Vermont only joined the USA on March 4th, 1791 as the 14th state of the Union, after the state of New York relinquished it's claims on the so-called New Hampshire Grants.

New England was a center of abolitionist thought during the times of the United States, and was site of some of the first abolitions of slavery within the country's history. The region was also dependent on trade with England, and thus was against war with the United Kingdom in the War of 1812. Due to tensions between the pro-British New English and the government, the Hartford Convention was organized in 1814 to discuss secession or autonomy from the government in Washington DC. However, the convention never gotten very far, but laid the ground of an anti-strong government autonomist movement within New England, which wanted closer ties to England due to the region's mercantilistic nature.

During the Missouri Compromise, Massachussetts released Maine as a free state to balance the addition of Missouri as a slave state. During the growing conflict between abolitionists and slavers in the US, New England and New York were a major center of Whig support, with one of the main leaders of the Whig Party, Daniel Webster, coming from Massachussetts. It was also the center of the abolitionist movement and a leading center of the Underground Railroad. Most famous was the example of Frederick Douglass, a freed slave who became one of the most reknown orators of his time. Other figures of the time were Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William H. Seward and John P. Hale. The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints was also founded in Fayette, in the modern NU state of Ontario.

During this time, New England and New York became the leading centers of industrialization within the country. The textile industry boomed during this time and New England became a world leader in this industry. The region grew to encompass a majority of the US' population.

Geography, climate, and environment
The land area of the NU is 336,446 km2. The country lies entirely on the North American continent with the exception of a few offshore islands including islands such as Martha's Vineyard which is less than 10 km off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachussetts.

Significant internal water sources include, , , the and the. Most of the NU is forested, with low-lying mountains and large plains.

The tallest mountain in the NU is which stands at 1,629 meters (5,344 m). The country contains several large mountain ranges in the Northern country, mostly in the states of Adirondack, Saratoga, Vermont and Maine.

The NU includes two unincorporated territories which are considered officially part of the Union, but where the constitution doesn't fully apply to them. These territories are Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean and the NU Virgin Islands in the Carribean.

Population
The 2011 Northeastern Bureau of Census officially counted 50,564,869. On August 3, 2016, the Census estimated that 51,573,331 people were living in the NU — an estimation consistent with the continual positive population growth the NU has experienced. The NU has had a history of immigration and has consistently grown upward since the mass immigration in 1848.

While the largest racial group in the NU has always been White Northeasterners (those of non-Hispanic origin), it has seen a decline in proportion to other races. Asian Northeasterners are the largest racial minority group, followed by Hispanic and Latino Northeaterners.

The main source of immigrants have consistently come from the Carribean and Central America. From Asia, immigrants from Hani,, and make up the second highest traffic of annual immigrants. Wealthy families and prospective students from China,, , Haiti and. have also continued in lieu of the domestic workforce to meet the ongoing demand for more jobs in technology, medicine, and science.

Language
English is the at the federal level. At state levels, official languages are German (Erie, Mohawk, Allegheny, Ontario), Dutch (Saratoga, Mohawk, New Netherlands), Portuguese (Rhode Island), Italian (New Netherlands, Connecticut, Erie) and French (Vermont, Maine). Other commonly spoken languages that do not have any official status include, , , , , and.

Religion
The NU Constitution guarantees the of  and forbids Congress from passing any law promoting religious law. has been the most practiced religion in the Northeast Union since its founding with claiming the most adherents. In spite of this, weekly church attendance has been declining since the 1970s and currently stands at 35%. has been growing particularly among younger Northeasterners and the percentage of Northeasterners openly labeling themselves as "" or "" is at 5%.

Catholicism is the largest set of religions in Northeast Union, with it's dominance thanks to the influx of Irish, Italian and Portuguese Catholics into the country. The largest Christian non-Catholic denomination are different denominations of at 15%. claim 2% of Northeast Union's population.

Lovecraftianism is the largest non-Christian religion with 27% of the population, followed by small groups of Jews and Muslims. Buddhism, Canaanism and Wiccanism are growing New Age and alternative religious trends.

Religion has influenced the NU which had held a strong Protestant tradition, but due to immigration has become a very Catholic nation. The has influenced the modern Northeastern business culture. Although the government cannot pass any religious laws, the government had been on many occasions been influenced or pressured by religious organizations and groups in the past.

In regard towards the military, religious observers can opt to be a in times of a  and serve as a  in the forces. Such claims are taken seriously and rigorous background checks help determine whether an individual may receive such status.

Family structure and law
While the Congress of the NU is constitutionally prevenIn 2014, 55% of Sierrans over the age of 25 were married or, 2% were , 13% were , and the rest have never married or been involved in a long-term relationship. and the are two concepts which are losing hold in Northeastern culture. Until contemporary times, marriage was defined a union between a man and a woman. Since the 1980s, this view has been challenged by pro-LGBT activists who helped push towards greater cultural acceptance in the NU. Divorce has become increasingly non-taboo and prevalent among marriages. ted from restricting the practice of religion, it does have the power to restrict religious activity that would violate the constitution or law such as and. It also can deem whether or not an organization claiming religious status can be eligible for. Among the most prolific "bans" on a religious group is the where the government has consistently refused the Church's files for exemption.

According to the 2010 census, same-sex marriages accounted for 12% of all marriages in the NU. Same-sex marriages are legally recognized in all states except for Allegheny. Marriage between is legal in only 7 states and  is only legal in 1 of the states although. are non-existent. is forbidden in all states but the legality of zoophilia-related activities varies from state to state. (with the exception of which vary from state to state) is criminalized in all provinces and the distribution, ownership, or creation of such material is considered a  at the federal law.

Government and politics


As a, the NU is a with an elected  who serves as the foundation of the. The is Rodrigo Guimaraes, the President who is very important in day-to-day affairs. The system works much like the Congress in the Parliament of old, except that the Electoral College can and will be split according to the percentages of winning, to ensure the candidate wanted by most wins. Due to this, a normal majority is needed for the candidate to win.

The Congress fulfills the role and duty of a legislative branch. Divided between the Senate and the  House of Representatives, each house works in conjunction to create, modify, and pass national laws. Congress reserves exclusive rights among them being the, and. Members of both houses are elected by the people and election cycles renew parliamentary terms every 4 years. In the Senate, each state is represented by two senators while in the House of Commons, seats are every  (10 years). Congress features a : Social-Democrat, Liberal-Republican (, , Libertarian , Green  and New Right (, continentalism). The Social-Democrats, Liberal-Republicans and New Right have historically dominated the system, with the Libertarian and Green Party only recently becoming significant parties. Other minor parties with seats in Parliament include the Party for the US and the Vermont Independence Party.

The Supreme Court of the NU is the within the Sierran judicial system. It, along with the Inferior Courts make up the entirety of the federal judiciary. The Supreme Court interprets the Constitution and uses said interpretation to prevent the legislative or executive branch from passing or executing a law/action that would violate the Constitution. As the final interpreter, its decisions overturn all judicial actions of lower courts. Unless a case is not within its jurisdiction, the decision of any case is often treated as law. The Supreme Court is composed of eight associate justices headed by the Chief Justice (Anthony Di Gregoriis), the ninth and highest-ranking justice.

Law
Sierra uses the system wherein judges or magistrates develop law through their decision in courts or tribunals case-by-case and on previously established precedents. Some elements of however, does exist within the Sierran legal framework and was incorporated in reflection of the American interpretation of classic,  and.

Law exists on several different levels and layers of both domestic codified and uncodified law as well as international agreements such as treaties. The highest form of law in the NU rests within the Constitution, followed by federal statutory laws or regulations created through acts of Congress, executive orders, and Supreme Court decisions implemented in the Northeastern Federal Code.

Under the Northeastern federal system, the extent of federal power is limited and enumerated by the Constitution itself. Any powers not delegated or forbidden to the federal government is left among the sovereign states, who, with their own individual constitutions and governments, determine much of the "living law" of, , , , , , and.

has always been expressively forbidden under the principle provided by the Constitution. Thus, laws regarding or  are forbidden. Since the 1930s, have also been prohibited from being enacted as it was found that these laws had religious undertones. Discriminatory and hate speech laws have also been similarly prohibited as such legislation would undermine.

Political divisions
Sierra is of 13 states. The boundaries have been virtually unchanged since the unification in 1870 and are primarily based on historical state boundaries during colonial and US times and the drawing up of states within Hudson.

Territories

 * Main article: 

The Northeast Union  possesses two overseas territories: Bermuda and the NU Virgin Islands.

All citizens in the unincorporated territories enjoy all rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including the right to vote in the election. All of the territories are self-governing and represented nationally in Congress by delegates and are not subjected to most federal taxes. In addition, anyone born in any of the territories are automatically considered Sierran citizens. All citizens have free unrestricted movement between the statesand the territories, as well as any other regions in the Union.