[quote=@Andreyich]
<Snipped quote by Jeddaven>

Access to the great lakes would definitely be a big boon, especially for maritime trade of which Ronto could have become a hub. That said I think the US occuppying the area would only serve as a detriment to the development. Most likely the remnants of the American army would end up transforming into terrifyingly well armed and trained raiders harassing locals for decades to come. 
[/quote]

I can see that, yeah - I'm kinda just brainstorming possibilities right now; military equipment was one of the things I considered.