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[center][h2][color=00aeef][b]The Republic of the Cascades[/b][/color][/h2]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80589065/Random/500px-Flag_of_Cascadia.svg.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80589065/Random/CoA_of_Cascadia.png[/img]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL0GzdfTwAA][b]Peace Rules Us![/b][/url][/center]

[b]Nation Type:[/b] Unitary, Semi-Presidential, Constitutional Republic (ex. France)

[b]Claims:[/b] The Republic of the Cascades currently holds [url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80589065/Random/cascade_empire.png]de-jure[/url] claims upon Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. However, a majority of the British Columbian region remains uncolonized and thus, unowned.

[b]Terrain:[/b] Nuclear and biochemical arms fell through the clouds and changed our nation, and our world, forever. Not only did these weapons kill countless of millions and destroy our homeland's former glory, but they brought untold and unfathomable damage to our mother earth. Luckily, unlike the wastes to the once metropolitan east, the great mountains of stone protected swaths of land from which Cascadia grew. Had it not been for the Cascade mountains the Republic would not exist. While the Pacific Northwest has retained many of her green forests and even fresh water, places such as Idaho and eastern Oregon paint a different picture. Even before the war eastern Oregon was largely deserts and plains, now even the plains have shrunk and the sand turned to glass in the hellfire. Turning large amounts of the region into what is now 'The Glass Sea'. 

In addition to the major changes on the Republic's eastern border, 'Sasquatches' as they are called no longer live as a mere myth. Some call them 'Yetis' in the mountains, but closer to the sea-level these brown-furred half-men dwell where only devoted and professional hunters travel in the great wilderness of the Northwest.

[b]Government Type:[/b] Much like the former United States, the Republic of the Cascades is established as a series of 'regions' with their own elected officials representing them in Portland. However, the United States was merely a federal republic. The 'regions' that form the Republic hold far fewer rights and autonomy as the states of America formerly held. Thus, laws are not designated per region, but are law throughout the entire nation. This does not mean democracy is not a precious thing to Cascadians though. In fact, the ideals of democracy still shine bright upon the Rockies. Presidents are elected in a much more direct system and Cascadia lacks any form of 'electoral college'. Instead, elections by popular vote reign supreme in both the Presidential and Senatorial elections.

The Senate of the Cascades is the primary and central authority of the Republic, second only to the President themselves. Within the Senate all 52 representatives from the 13 'regions' of Cascadia vote and decide the fate of our glorious nation. 

[b]Capital:[/b] The capital of the Republic has been a hotly debated issue since her founding shortly after the Great War. Originally the former politicians and military officials who came together to form the Republic founded the nation in Seattle, Washington. However in a referendum shortly thereafter Portland, Oregon was voted for as the capital. Thus the two cities have a bitter rivalry and ceaselessly bicker over who truly reigns supreme as the 'Home of Cascadia'. However, the Senate and residence of the President reside in Portland as of current.

[b]Head of State:[/b] President Joanne Hochins, Cascadian Progressives Party (Social Democrats)
Madame President Hochins currently serves her second term as President of Cascadia and continues to be hopeful for achieving a third and final term to continue solidifying the Progressives position as dominant party in Cascadia. Under the Hochins administration continued environmental protections have been put in place alongside the continued expansion of the coastal economic fund in the hopes of restoring Cascadia's position as dominant producer and supplier of canned fish and other aquatic products. 

[b]Other Important People(s):[/b] 
Vice President Eric Ovkar: Chairman and General Secretary of the Progressive Party alongside his position as second fiddle to President Hochins, Ovkar is believed to be the one of, if not the, primary mover in the Progressive Party. While Hochins leans towards the moderate or centre of the spectrum Ovkar appeals greatly to the more radical of the Party. However he has yet to gain the Far Left's interest.

Senator Nathaniel Birch: Head and Spokesman of the Cascadian Conservative Party. Birch has grown to become a major player in Cascadian politics and has served as opposition to the Progressives for over twenty years. Many of the rural and coastal constituencies of Oregon and Washington remain loyal 'Birchites' and his popularity continues to grow. Under Birch's stated platform, the rest of British Columbia would join Cascadia alongside a full military endeavor in bringing Idaho into the fold. 

Field Marshal Richard Ortega: A Hispanic-Cascadian, Ortega holds the singular position as Field Marshal of the Cascadian Armed Forces. While not an expansionist Oretga has long viewed the pacifistic and 'free-willed' Progressives as a hindrance in the goals of the Cascadian Military. However, he remains loyal to his government and nation.

[b]Population:[/b] While there is currently no completely accurate 'head count' of Cascadia's population. The general consensus states that the Republic of the Cascades currently holds a population sitting rather statically around seven million.

[b]Attitude Towards Evols: [/b]The issue of Evols remains fiercly contested in the political landscape of Cascadia. The Progressives that dominate the Senate and Presidential seat currently hold a rather unpopular coexistence and rehabilitation position on Evols. Stating that Evols, despite the possible dangers, still have humanity and human qualities. Thus, establishing a space for Evols within Cascadia is key. 

The Conservatives hold the position that Evols remain dangerous and inhuman. That they are simply animals removed of all humanity, and that it would be mercy to put the creatures to death or at least force them from our borders.

[b]Economic System:[/b] The Republic has, since it's founding, held a interventionist stance upon economic matters. The economy should be free and the markets open. However, to keep fairness and prevent the inevitable creation of conglomerates, the state holds the chains of the economy and many nationalized industries exist.

[b]Resources:[/b] Due to the lush environment of Cascadia, products such as timber and agricultural goods currently reign as the key trading good of the state. However with the Hochins administration Cascadia has seen a steady increase in coastal investment and thus small fisheries once again have begun to dot the shores. 

While they exist, Cascadia has yet to master or truly invest in re-opening and operating the mines that once brought so many families from the east and to the Pacific's shores. However many Conservatives believe major investment and manpower should be put into bringing a legitimate form of industry to Cascadia's markets.

[b]Currency:[/b] The Rocky Dollar. A paper-backed non-ore currency with bills ranging from $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and finally $100.

[b]Technology:[/b] Cascadia, while far more orderly and stable than many of their stateless neighbors, remains unindustrialized and predominantly agricultural. Cascadians have indeed mastered massed agriculture in the form of horse-drawn plows and other such improvised equipment. This is predominantly due to the state funding of agriculture and organization of state-run major farms.

Militarily few pre-war vehicles such as jeeps or APCs exist in an operational state. As of current there are no operational tanks, rocket-propelled artillery, or combat aircraft in the armed forces or perhaps existence. However, small arms such as automatic rifles, pistols, hand grenades, and the like remain. Plus the Cascadian armed forces prides itself on holding horse-drawn artillery pieces.

[b]Official Religion:[/b] Even before the war the Pacific Northwest had few major religious movements. Thus, the Republic holds no official religion or intolerance towards the religious. However, a large amount of Cascadians statistically hold atheistic or agnostic views. The religions that due exist worth mentioning are the always present Protestants and smaller Catholic groups. Plus the capital of Portland holds a minority of Orthodox Christians that have existed in the Oregonian state since before the war.

[b]History:[/b] As previously mentioned. Shortly after the shattering of the former United States the surviving politicians and military officials residing in Washington and Oregon came together to prevent their states from falling into anarchy. In the first few years, known commonly as 'the troubled spring', a military tribunal controlled the major cities of Oregon and Washington. This tribunal of Cascadians ruled with an iron grip and used lethal punishments against all acts of banditry. Once peace had been restored to the cities and the rioting and looting ended, the tribunal turned their eyes towards the rest of the region and began a decade of restoration by fire. The settlements that did not immediately concede to Cascadia's new claim to power were put to the sword and many lives were lost to form the initial Republic. 

After Oregon and Washington had been quelled of the post-war anarchy and a government was justly established. The tribunal stepped down and allowed referendums on the capital of the nation and the updating of the preexisting constitution of the Cascades. Thus, the Republic of the Cascades as we know it was established with the first elected President being Conservative and former General Cameron Plank. Under the shortly lived Plank administration plans were drawn up for a eventual exploration and 'restoration of order' to Idaho and Northern California. However upon Cascadian explorers finding the existence of a state calling itself 'Jefferson' plans of military expansion south were ceased, much to the embarrassment of Plank. The Plank Map however has remained as both a militarists dream and a general's ambition.

The last eight years have seen a oceanic mindset under the Hochins administration. Joanne Hochins came to power in a sudden surge of urban and even suburban support from the coastal regions in the name of the Progressives. This coastal support has come with a great reward, as Hochins set her entire administration thus far upon putting the Republic upon the ocean. Thus far no military naval armaments have been instated but fishing as both a sport and business has begun to soar over the last decade.  


[b]Culture:[/b] Cascadian culture is built upon the ideas of liberty with restraint. While all Cascadians have the right to speak, write, and believe as they wish, in the political realm only the major cities hold substantial power. Thus, Cascadians living outside of Portland, Seattle, Salem, and Olympia must band together to have any real say in how the nation is run, represented in the Senate or not. Aside from the minor authoritarian beliefs held within Cascadia, Cascadians hold a strong connection with the arts and the environment. Cultural works flourish in the urban centers of the republic and many of those seeking works in literature, art, and architecture need only venture to Portland or Seattle to find their niche in society.

[b]Military Numbers:[/b] The armed forces of the Cascades has seen better days. Currently only seventy thousand men serve in the Mountain Guard. With ten thousand of those men serving as specialists.

[b]Military Units:[/b] The Republic's main defense against outside invaders and bandits has, since the beginning, been the Mountain Guard. The Mounties are the backbone of Cascadia's defense, even if they are merely a predominantly conscripted force of fighters from across the Republic. Of the seventy thousand Mounties, ten thousand of them serve in the Cascadian Mounted branch or the Artillery wing. These specialized forces primarily serve on the border, bombing or chasing any bandits who dare raid the villages and other minor communities on the border or colonies of the Republic.
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