[b]Name:[/b] The Republic of South Carolina [b]Nicknames:[/b] The Palmetto Republic, The Iodine Nation [b]Motto:[/b] Dum Spiro Spero,"While I breathe, I hope." [b]Flag:[/b] [img]http://i66.tinypic.com/33cwsq8.jpg[[/img] [b]Nation Type:[/b] Republic [b]Claims:[/b] [img]http://oi68.tinypic.com/2zj9bgx.jpg[/img] [b]Terrain:[/b] South Carolina is a diverse land that features swamps and marshes and estuaries near the coast, a flat midlands section made of sandy soil, and a rugged piedmont upstate area that slowly becomes more mountainous as you travel north. There are a dozen natural and man-made lakes across the land, as well as a large network of rivers that flow north to south towards the sea. South Carolina is bordered by the former states of Georgia in the west and North Carolina to the north and east. [b]Government Type:[/b] South Carolina is a Republic where the people vote for their local congressman that represents them in the House, the nation's sole legislative body. The House has roughly eighty members and a speaker and congressional leadership from the two main parties, the conservative and liberal parties. The president is a member of the House elected by that body for a two-year term. The constitution states that the president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. [b]Capital:[/b] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_South_Carolina]Columbia[/url] [b]Head of State:[/b] President Joshua Campbell (C - Edgefield) currently at the end of his first term and preparing to run for reelection. [b]Other Important People:[/b] [i]Figures of note:[/i] Mark Rogers - Sheriff of York County and resident of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Hill,_South_Carolina]Rock Hill[/url], a small town on the North Carolina border. Brig. General Matthew Thurmond - Chief of Staff for the South Carolina Defense Force. Representative Alfred F. Johnston - Leader of the conservative faction of the House. Sam Calhoun - SLED Agent operating in Rock Hill. William "Billy" Brown - Owner and operator of The Slab House, a bar and trading outpost in [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calhoun_Falls,_South_Carolina]Calhoun Falls[/url], a small community that is the last stop before Georgia. Dr. Nimrata "Nini" Ansari - An Indian-American born and raised in Charleston. She is the team leader of the Filament Project, an engineering project to restart the three large hydroelectric dams (Hartwell, Russell, Thurmond) that the US Army Corps of Engineers built along the Savannah River. Lt. Commander Jerry Hunley - Commanding officer of the SCN [i]Palmetto Rose[/i], a patrol ship that protects the SC coast and merchant ships from pirates, raiders and threats. [b]Population:[/b] 1.2 Million [b]Attitude Towards Evols:[/b] We're agin' it. [b]Economic System:[/b] Capitalism, free trade [b]Resources:[/b] It's agricultural resources are tobacco, poultry, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, hay, rice, and hogs. The states lone industrial output is textile goods. [b]Currency:[/b] Sand Dollar [b]Technology:[/b] The country is mostly agricultural, but industry and technology is slowly coming back. The push to restart the hydroelectric dams will provide the state with the energy it needs to grow. [b]Official Religion:[/b] No official religion, though the majority of the country are Christian with a small minority of Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu followers. [b]History:[/b] A mostly rural state even in the early 21st century, the majority of South Carolina was untouched by nuclear war. The biggest target, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_River_Site]the Savanah River Site[/url], was hit by WMDs and wiped out. As the federal government collapsed, the state government took control and moved away from the fallout of the SRS towards the lower state, working out of the original state capital of Charleston. It was from there that the Republic of South Carolina was formed. While the lower state and midlands stayed together, the upstate formed its own Coalition of Ten, made up of the ten counties from the Upstate. The Coalition survived for ten years independent. The main sticking point between the two factions in South Carolina was the subject of the three hydroelectric dams on the Savannah River. The Coalition laid claim on them, but only the Republic had the resources to repair them and get them working again. After years of negotiation, the Coalition was annexed by the Republic and united the former state. Today, the Republic maintains stability while it continues to bring sustainable power to its state. The debate in government at the time is the annexations of the territory of Northeast Georgia, a territory plagued with bandits and anarchy. All the while, the military and intelligence establishment watch North Carolina and anticipate their next move. [b]Culture:[/b] There is a bit of a cultural divide between lower state and upper state. The low country has more power, wealth, and influence throughout the Republic as the coastline allows the low country merchants the chance to monopolize trade routes. The people in the upper state are poorer, farmers, and a bit more country. [b]Military Numbers:[/b] The SCDF has roughly 10,000 active duty members posted at hotspots around the country, and there are roughly another forty thousand militia troops that can be called to active duty if need be. [b]Military Units:[/b] While the small army and navy are based on the pre-apocalypse American military, the militias spring from the tradition of the citizen-soldier/mountain-man that fought in SC, and harassed the British army during the Revolutionary war. They are an informal group that will call when served and have sworn allegiance to their homeland and not any particular figure or politician. Related to the military is SLED, the nation's intelligence service. SLED as formerly the state of South Carolina's state police investigation service before it morphed into the agency that investigates and prevents all manner of threats both foreign and domestic.