Name: 
The American Empire

Location:
In gold.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/vjuH6un.png[/img]

History:
Following the fall of the union, the remaining Midwestern States banded together under the name of the Great Lakes Commonwealth, consisting of Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. The goal of the Commonwealth was to keep the American spirit alive, while also trying to support the border states of Wisconsin and Illinois. These two states had fallen on hard times due to the influx of Western refugees, and when the union died, it seemed like they would follow. Under the Commonwealth, however, they managed to hold on, and maintain order by the skin of their teeth. 

However, a vote passes in Ohio. The people voted nearly unanimously to pull out of the Commonwealth, taking the path of independence. With Ohio's population and resources made unavailable, the border states soon fell into anarchy, the government's unable to support the people any longer. Fearing for their own well being, Michigan and Indiana agreed that the Commonwealth had failed, and the union was broken. 

Once on its own, Michigan was left to solve the crisis of sharing a border with a state in anarchy. It quickly militarized, securing control of lake Michigan, as well as creating a control point on () bridge. While the northern peninsula eventually fell to raiders, Michigan was able to keep them from crossing the bridge, ensuring the southern peninsulas stability. 

Some years after the dissolution of the Commonwealth, Michigan launched the Frontier Initiative; a plan to retake control of the Northern Peninsula, Wisconsin, and Illinois. To this end, Michigan also declared a brief war on Indiana, taking their coastline, and the lands surrounding it. Unwilling to risk collapse, Indiana quickly surrendered, having had problems of its own to deal with in the southern half of the state. 

With a land connection to Illinois secured, Michigan began a long and brutal mission to retake Chicago. While not great for resources, restoring order to Chicago was a great morale boost, and provided a port from which supplies could be transported for future excursions.

Emboldened by the reclamation of Chicago, Michigan's soldiers made a determined push in the North, taking back the Northern Peninsula in a blitz. 

Feeling more confident than ever, the people of Michigan are now ready to continue the Frontier Initiative, already claiming Illinois and Wisconsin as their own. They also do this flying under a new flag, heralding themselves as "The American Empire". 

"The government in Washington is dead. We will rebuild what they allowed to be destroyed. Long live the Empire!"